WHEN WAR SHALL BE NO MORE Were half the power that fills the world with terror. Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts, Given to redeem the human mind from error, There were no need of arsenals and forts. The warrior's name would be a name abhorred! And every nation that should lift again Its hand against a brother, on its forehead, Would wear forevermore the curse of Cain! Down the dark future, through long generations, The echoing sounds grow fainter and then cease; And like a bell, with solemn, sweet vibrations, I hear once more the voice of Christ say, "Peace!'' Peace! and no longer from its brazen portals The blast of War's great organ shakes the skies; But beautiful as songs of the immortals, The holy melodies of love arise. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow In the early history of America the French and the English were often in conflict for supremacy. Nova Scotia (called Acadie by the French), which was settled chiefly by those of French blood was a bone of contention between the two nations. About the middle of the eighteenth century the English, being then in control, demanded an oath of allegiance from the Acadians. The Acadians refused to take the oath except on the express condition that they would not be required to bear arms against France. This the English refused to accede to, and the King of England issued a decree that the Acadians were to be deported from their land and scattered southward through the American colonies. Some three thousand of them were forced on board English vessels, families and friends frequently being separated in the confusion and |
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