 always be on the side of England. But such
is the character of all prayers offered in time of war. Making this
allowance, it seems as if the feeling of the hour could not be more
devoutly expressed than in the following:

  Almighty and most merciful Father, without whom nothing is strong,
  nothing is holy, we come before Thee with a deep sense of Thine
  exceeding Majesty and our own unworthiness, praying Thee to shed
  upon us the light of Thy countenance, and to hallow and sanctify the
  work in which we are this day engaged.

  We beseech Thee to forward with Thy blessing, the presentation to
  this Regiment of the Colors which are henceforth to be carried in
  its ranks; and with all lowliness and humility of spirit, we presume
  to consecrate the same in Thy great name, to the cause of peace and
  happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety. We humbly pray
  that the time may come when the sound of War shall cease to be heard
  in the world; but forasmuch as to our mortal vision that blessed
  consummation seems still far distant, we beseech Thee so to order
  the course of events that these colors shall be unfurled in the face
  of an enemy only for a righteous cause. And in that dark hour may
  stain and disgrace fall upon them never; but being borne aloft as
  emblems of loyalty and truth, may the brave who gather round them go
  forward conquering for the right, and maintaining, as becomes them,
  the honor of the British Crown, the purity of our most holy faith,
  the majesty of our laws, and the influence of our free and happy
  constitution. Finally, we pray that Thy servants here present, not
  forgetful of Thine exceeding mercies vouchsafed to their regiment
  in times gone by, and that all the forces of our Sovereign Lady the
  Queen, wherever stationed and however employed, may labor through
  Thy grace to maintain a conscience void of offence towards Thee and
  towards man, always remembering that of soldier and of civilian the
  same account shall be taken, and that he is best prepared t