Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No 3, September 1863

The Goddess – the good Goddess of Poverty!

XI

It is she who supports the tottering hut when shaken by the winter storms; it is she who saves the resin of the torch and the oil of the lamp; it is she who kneads the bread of the family, who weaves the winter wool and summer flax; it is she who nourishes and feeds the world: The Goddess – the good Goddess of Poverty!

XII

It is she who builds the mighty castles and the vast cathedrals, who bears the sword and handles the musket; it is she who fights our battles and gains our victories; it is she who buries the dead, who takes care of the wounded, and who conceals the vanquished:

The Goddess – the good Goddess of Poverty!

XIII

Thou art all patience, all sweetness, all strength, and all pity, O thou good Goddess! It is thou who linkest all thy children in the ties of a holy love, and who givest to them Faith, Hope, and Charity:

O Goddess – thou good Goddess of Poverty!

XIV

The time is coming when thy children shall no longer be crushed with the weight of the world, when they shall be rewarded for their pain and labor. The time is approaching when there shall be no longer rich and poor, when all men shall together consume the fruits of the earth, and equally enjoy the gifts of God; but thou shalt never be forgotten in their hymns:

O Goddess – thou good Goddess of Poverty!

XV

They will always remember that thou wert their faithful mother, their robust nurse, and their church militant. They will spread balm upon thy bleeding wounds, they will make the fertile and perfumed at last repose:

O Goddess – thou good Goddess of Poverty!

XVI

While patiently awaiting the promised day of the Lord, torrents and forests, mountains and valleys, lands teeming with wild flowers and filled with little singing birds, desert paths which have no masters though sanded with gold, let her pass – let her pass:

The Goddess – the good Goddess of Poverty!

THE

Continental Monthly

The readers of the Continental are aware of the important position it has assumed, of the influence which it exerts, and of the brilliant array of political and literary talent of the highest order which supports it. No publication of the kind has, in this country, so successfully combined the energy and freedom of the daily newspaper with the higher literary tone of the first-class monthly; and it is very certain that no magazine has given wider range to its contributors, or preserved itself so completely from the narrow influences of party or of faction. In times like the present, such a journal is either a power in the land or it is nothing. That the Continental is not the latter is abundantly evidenced by what it has done– by the reflection of its counsels in many important public events, and in the character and power of those who are its staunchest supporters.

Though but little more than a year has elapsed since the Continental was first established, it has during that time acquired a strength and a political significance elevating it to a position far above that previously occupied by any publication of the kind in America. In proof of which assertion we call attention to the following facts:

1. Of its POLITICAL articles republished in pamphlet form, a single one has had, thus far, a circulation of one hundred and six thousand copies.

2. From its LITERARY department, a single serial novel, "Among the Pines," has, within a very few months, sold nearly thirty-five thousand copies. Two other series of its literary articles have also been republished in book form, while the first portion of a third is already in press.

No more conclusive facts need be alleged to prove the excellence of the contributions to the Continental, or their extraordinary popularity; and its conductors are determined that it shall not fall behind. Preserving all "the boldness, vigor, and ability" which a thousand journals have attributed to it, it will greatly enlarge its circle of action, and discuss, fearlessly and frankly, every principle involved in the great questions of the day. The first minds of the country, embracing the men most familiar with its diplomacy and most distinguished for ability, are among its contributors; and it is no mere "flattering promise of a prospectus" to say that this "magazine for the times" will employ the first intellect in America, under auspices which no publication ever enjoyed before in this country.

While the Continental will express decided opinions on the great questions of the day, it will not be a mere political journal: much the larger portion of its columns will be enlivened, as heretofore, by tales, poetry, and humour. In a word, the CONTINENTAL will be found, under its new staff of Editors, occupying a position and presenting attractions never before found in a magazine.

notes

1

For the benefit of the curious reader, I would state that a perfect file of the Boston News Letter is still preserved in the Worcester Historical Library. There is also an imperfect file in the New York Historical Society Library.

2

A beautiful Polish lady, who was secretly married to the Prince Sigismund Augustus, afterward King of Poland. When he ascended the throne, at his father's death, he acknowledged his marriage, and Barbara reigned as queen until the year 1561, when she died, to the great sorrow of her husband and her people, to whom she had proved herself a real mother. —Translator's note.

3

See J. Ross Browne's sparkling papers in Harper's Magazine.