hand!

_Chorus._--Shield us and guard us from mountain to sea!
Make the homes happy where manhood is free!

Brave is our nation,
Hopeful and young;
High is her station
Countries among.

_Chorus._--Holy our banner! from mountain to sea
Floating in splendor o'er homes ever free.

Proud is our story,
Written in light;
Stars tell its glory,
Victory, might.

_Chorus._--Peerless Columbia! from mountain to sea
Throbs every pulse through the heart of the free.

Up with our banner!
Hope in each fold--
Stout hearts will man her,
Millions untold.

_Chorus._--Millions now greet her from mountain to sea,
Hope of the toil-worn! blest Flag of the free!

* * * * *

The following thoughts on some of the uses subserved by Art, are from
the pen of the Rev. J. Byington Smith. There is so much truth in their
suggestions, that we heartily commend them to our readers.

ART AS A MEANS OF HOME-CULTURE.

BY J. BYINGTON SMITH.

Art is closely allied to nature in giving impress to character. The
scenery by which a people is surrounded, will modify and almost control
its mode of being. The soft, rich landscapes of Italy enervate, while
the rough mountainous country of the North imparts force and vigor.
Mountains and seas are nature's healthful stimulants. Man grows in their
vastness and is energized in their strength. Whatever may be the scenery
of a people, it will mirror itself in the mind, and stamp its impress
upon character.

Art reproduces nature, arranging its illimitable stores in closer unity,
idealizing its charms, and bringing into nearer view its symmetry and
beauty. Bearing its lessons from afar, it colors the glowing canvas and
chisels the stone to awaken the impressions it designs to make on the
human soul. Thus art, like nature, becomes a means of culture. When the
Lombards wished to give hardihood and system to the enervated body and
enfeebled mind of the people, they covered their churches with the
sculptured representation of vigorous bodily exercises, such as war and
hunting. In the great church of St. Mark, at Venice, people were taught
the history of the Scriptures by means of imagery; a picture on the
walls being more easily read than a chapter. Such walls were sty