ent reign,
And there in desolation I was fain
Before the gateway to lie down and die.
But one came forth who heard my mournful cry,
Nor mocked nor spurned me with a cold disdain,
But cheered me, saying, "Do not nurse thy pain!
Be brave and bid the ghosts of dead days fly!"

Then I arose and cast the Past aside,
And felt within my breast a gladness great
That I dared meet the eyes that beamed above:
And all the future time was glorified,
For I, who was a beggar at the gate,
Became a dweller in the court of Love.

THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC IN MASSACHUSETTS.

BY PAST COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF GEO. S. MERRILL.

When the American Volunteer Army was disbanded in 1865, by reason of the
completion of the great work for which it was organized, had it been
individually suggested to each one of that million of men whose eager
faces were turned homeward, to become united in a veteran association,
probably ninety-nine out of a hundred would have responded, "No; I've
had all that I want of soldiering; no more for me."

And yet, so strong did the ties of war-comradeship prove; so tender were
the memories of camp and march, of bivouac and battle; so full of
heart-stirring events was the record of intimate service in the face of
great peril, that even before the final disbandment, among the earlier
returning veterans, soldier associations had already sprung into
existence. Quite a number of these had their origin in 1864, and even
the date and place of birth of the Grand Army of the Republic, with its
membership of over three hundred thousand, is in doubt; two States at
least, Indiana and Illinois, claim its parentage; and while there are
absolutely no reliable data as to the place or exact time of the
preliminary meetings out of which the great organization grew, there is
a tradition--if the dim memories of only twenty years ago can be so
called--that at a casual meeting of returned volunteers in Illinois in
the latter portion of 1865, it was discovered that in the little group
nearly all were possessed of certain mysterious signs, grips, and
pass-words, by which various small bands of firm friends in rebel
prisons had secretly bound themselves together for mutual protection. To
no men had the value of organization come more forcibly than to these;
and in this almost chance gathering was the beginning of the Grand Army
of the Republic. There was, early enough aft