I saw thee in thy beauty thou wert graceful as the fawn, When, in very wantonness of glee, it sports upon the

lawn;

I saw thee seek the mirror, and when it met thy sight, The very air was musical with thy burst of wild delight!

I saw thee in thy beauty! with thy sister by thy side-
She a lily of the valley, thou a rose in all its pride!
I look'd upon thy mother-there was triumph in her eyes,
And I trembled for her happiness-for grief had made me
wise!

I saw thee in thy beauty, with one hand among her curlsThe other, with no gentle grasp, had seized a string of pearls ;

She felt the pretty trespass, and she chid thee, though she

smiled,

And I knew not which was lovelier, the mother or the

child.

I saw thee in thy beauty! and a tear came to mine eye, As I press'd thy rosy cheek to mine, and thought even thou could'st die!

Thy home was like a summer bower, by thy joyous presence made;

But I only saw the sunshine, and I felt alone the shade!

I see thee in thy beauty! for there thou seem'st to lie
In slumber resting peacefully; but, oh! the change of eye
That still serenity of brow-those lips that breathe no

more,

Proclaim thee but a mockery fair of what thou wert of yore.

I see thee in thy beauty! with thy waving hair at rest, And thy busy little fingers folded lightly on thy breast: But thy merry dance is over, and thy little race is run; And the mirror that reflected two, can now give back but

one.

I see thee in thy beauty! with thy mother by thy sideBut her loveliness is faded, and quell'd her glance of pride;

The smile is absent from her lip, and absent are the pearls, And a cap, almost of widowhood, conceals her envied curls.

I see thee in thy beauty! as I saw thee on that day-
But the mirth that gladden'd then thy home, fled with thy

life away:

I see thee lying motionless upon the accustom'd floorBut my heart hath blinded both mine eyes-and I can see

no more!

TO MY DAUGHTER, ON HER BIRTH-DAY.

JOHN BALL. FROM THE FESTIVE WREATH," 1842.

HOPE of the future, pledge of promise past!
Of Love's choice gifts, the loveliest and the last;
For thee I string my lowly lyre again,

And hail thy natal day with soul-pour'd-strain.

How fondly hath young Time, with golden wing,
Fann'd thy bright form, as zephyr fans the spring!
And brought each bursting beauty into birth,

Like flowers that bloom to bless God's beauteous earth

No touch of sorrow, and no trace of blight,
Have left their impress on thy brow of light;
But rosy health hath rounded thy fair face,
With look of innocence, and smile of grace.

This added year hath taught thy little feet,
With tripping glee, each well-known step to greet,
And lisp thy parent's name with warbling word,
Sweet as the music of the midnight bird.

God-given child! in beauty's form array'd—
A folded floweret in the lowly glade-
Oh, may thy mind expand each passing hour,
In stainless glory, as such wilding flower.

This day, to heaven a seraph-wing shall bear
A father's blessing and a mother's prayer;
And oh, may God shed o'er thine every day
The light that never fades -pure Virtue's ray!

66

SONG.

FROM THE REMAINS OF THE LATE REV. CHARLES WOLFE."

Go, forget me-why should sorrow
O'er that brow a shadow fling?
Go, forget me-and to-morrow

Brightly smile and sweetly sing.
Smile-though I shall not be near thee;
Sing-though I shall never hear thee
May thy soul with pleasure shine
Lasting as the gloom of mine.

Like the sun, thy presence glowing,
Clothes the meanest things in light
And when thou, like him, art going,
Loveliest objects fade in night.
All things look'd so bright about thee,
That they nothing seem without thee,

By that pure and lucid mind

Earthly things were too refined.

Go, thou vision wildly gleaming,
Softly on my soul that fell;

Go, for me no longer beaming-
Hope and Beauty, fare ye well!
Go, and all that once delighted
Take, and leave me all benighted,
Glory's burning-generous swell,
Fancy and the poet's shell.

TWILIGHT WITH THE FAIRIES.

EMMA ROBERTS.

A FAIRY grot, and a fairy lute,

A fairy bark to float over the tide, When the winds are hush'd, and the waters mute, And the sun has sunk to his ocean bride.

How joyous it is to sit within

That elfin cave with its crystal spars,

While the glittering waves come dancing in,

As they catch the light of the gleaming stars!

How joyous to list to the fairy song

Which swells o'er that broad and tranquil sea

While Nereid voices the notes prolong,

With their wild and thrilling minstrelsy!