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THE CONCORDIENSIS. VoL. I. ScHENECTADY, N. Y., NovEMBER, 1877. No. r. LITERARY. A REVERY. Is matter all? Goe~ soul for naught? Do all our aspirations and our doubts, Do all these subtle, winged thought<;, Leave trace behind them none ? When in yon tuneful, odorous wood, We walk alone anc.l calmly muse, Do perfumes cheer and mustc move, But solitude's inspiring thoughts More fleeting, useless prove? When yonder setting sun sets fire To all the drapery of cloud, Does color's influence leave no touch On us, as on the leaves? Do our resolves and honest trials, Do moral vict'ries bravely won, Does patience long and charity Exert no influence so great, As motions physical? Be praise! man's inner life does tell, Upon the world without full well. Each hope, each fear, eac.h secret thought, Each beauteous scene, enthusiast's dream, Each purpose formed, each vow well kept, Has strength to last ten thousand years, Has power to shape e'en adamant. They make the man, man rules the world, They all are real, they only real. MARSHAL NEY. First Junz'or Prz'ze Oratz'on. JAMES COSLETT SMITH, JR. MICHAEL NEY was a soldier by inheritance. His father served in the Seven Years' -vvar, and at his father's knee he listened to the tales of valorous deeds that thrilled his soul and fed his inherent longing to be a soldier. N ey could boast no lofty lineage. Entering the army when none but royalty could hope for promotion, he advanced slowly at first ; but after equality of rights was restored, his rise . was rapid. We see hirr1 in Napoleon's battles along the Rhine; at Worms and Frankfort ; at Stuttgard and Zurich. Again, he is 1finister to Switzerland, and shortly afterward a Mar ... shal of France. With courage N ey combined coolness and sound judgment. In the heat of battle he stood in marble calmness, observing every movement and never erring in his commands. . These qualities won his soldiers' hearts. He led men where no other general could. Time and again did Napoleon place in N ey' s hands the fate of the Empire. Of the numerous titles conferred upon this hero, the worthiest was that of\ Brav- est of the Brave \ ; to win this name from M u- rat, Macdonald and Lannes was great glory. A page from the Marshal's life will illustrate his character: Moscow was taken. The burning towers ·were flaring on the night ; houses were falling ; walls were crashing down. With forty thou- sand men N ey was detailed to cover the retreat. The soldiers suffered terribly. At every step some one succumbed to the weary march and pinching cold. 'Those behind stumbled over the bodies of those who had preceded. Many, in despair, threw away their arms and lay down to die. Clo~ds of croaking ravens hovered near. The wolves howled amid the sno-vv. The winter wind whistled through the cold pines. The driving snow cut the very flesh. At night the soldiers lay do\vn about their fires, and the morning found circles of dead men in their places. N ey' s forty thousand men became fif- teen. hundred. Still he struggled on, himself gnawed by pangs of hunger, his heart bleeding
