Page images
PDF
EPUB

III.

Of thee, who wert so dear,

And, yet, I do not weep;

For, thine eyes were stained by many a tear

Before they went to sleep;

And, if I haunt the past,

Yet may I not repine,

Since thou hast won thy rest at last,

And all the grief is mine.

I think upon thy gain,

IV.

Whate'er to me it cost,

And fancy dwells, with less of pain,

On all that I have lost ;-
Hope-like the cuckoo's endless tale,
-Alas! it wears its wing!-

And love, that—like the nightingale -
Sings only in the spring!

Thou art my spirit's all,

V.

Just as thou wert in youth,

Still from thy grave no shadows fall

Upon my lonely truth ;

A taper yet above thy tomb,

Since lost its sweeter rays,

And what is memory, through the gloom,

Was hope, in brighter days!

Q 3

VI..

I am pining for the home

Where sorrow sinks to sleep,

Where the weary and the weepers come, And they cease to toil and weep! Why walk about with smiles

That each should be a tear,

Like the white plumes that fling their wiles

Above an early bier!

VII.

Or like those fairy things,

Those insects of the east,

Which have their beauty in their wings,
And shroud it while they rest;

Which fold their colours of the sky
When earthward they alight,

And flash their splendours on the eye,
Just as they take their flight ;-

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

At eve, to sail upon the tide,

To roam along the shore,

So sweet while thou wert at my side,
Can now delight no more:-

There is in heaven, and o'er the flood,

The same deep azure now;

The same notes warble through the wood; Where art thou?'

But

III.

Men say there is a voice of mirth
In every grove and glen;

But sounds of gladness on the earth

I cannot know again.

The rippling of the summer sea,
The bird upon the bough,

All speak with one sad voice to me;
"Tis-Where art thou !'

HOAR-FROST.

BY WILLIAM HOWITT, ESQ.

WHAT dream of beauty ever equalled this!
What bands from Faëryland have sallied forth,
With snowy foliage from the 'abundant North,
With imagery from the realms of bliss!

What visions of my boyhood do I miss
That here are not restored! All splendours pure,
All loveliness, all graces that allure;

Shapes that amaze; a paradise that is,—
Yet was not, will not in few moments be:
Glory from nakedness, that playfully
Mimics with passing life each summer boon;
Clothing the ground-replenishing the tree;
Weaving arch, bower, and delicate festoon;
Still as a dream,—and like a dream to flee!

INFLEXIBILITY.

A Dramatic Sketch.

SCENE.

Berkeley Square. Lady Mary Leslie's Boudoir.

Persons-LADY MARY. THE HONOURABLE MRS. LESLIE.

MRS. LESLIE.

I'LL not go; that's positive-sure, Lady Mary, you won't let Mr. Leslie drag you down to that horrible old place; just to humour the unreasonable whims of our honoured papa and mamma-in-law, by keeping Christmas with them, and the bats and owls, and old family por traits; (monsters! how I hate the sight of them!) instead of joining the select of Beau-Vallon, where you know we have half engaged ourselves to take part in the private theatricals, and half promised for our sposi.

LADY MARY.

Yes; without their knowing any thing of the matter, poor dear souls!

« PreviousContinue »