Somewhere nigh, the nightingale
Tells again her amorous tale

To the sultry, sleepy June;
Art thou listening, or thyself
Singing to some tinier elf,

A sweeter, livelier tune?

Whether silent, whether heard,
Welcome here, fair Ladybird,

Here enjoy thy natural leisure;
All that bloometh here is thine,
Just as much as it is mine, -

Undisturbed, then take thy pleasure.

And when colder grows the sun,
And thy summer's work is done,

To thine home unknown retire,
Till the punctual-coming spring,
Shedding snowdrops from his wing,

What seems dead shall re-inspire.

When the shifting swallows come,
Hungering, to their alien home,

Come thou duly back with them; And in sunshine and in shower, Wing and wander round my bower, Glowing, glittering, insect-gem!

ON A STATUE OF A DEAD CHILD.

BY MRS. ALARIC WATTS.

I SAW thee in thy beauty, bright phantom of the past, I saw thee for a moment, t'was the first time and the

last;

And though years since then have glided by of mingled bliss and care,

I never have forgotten thee, thou fairest of the fair!

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 looked upon thy mother, there was triumph in her

eyes,

And I trembled for her happiness, for grief had made me wise.

134

ON A STATUE OF A DEAD CHILD.

I saw thee in thy beauty, with one hand among her

curls,

The 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 pressed thy rosy cheek to mine, and thought e'en thou couldst 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 saw thee in thy beauty, and a cloud passed o'er my

brow,

As I thought of one almost as fair

as thou;

as fondly loved

I remembered how at set of sun, I blessed him as he

lay,

I remembered, ere its rising, how his soul had passed away.

I SEE thee in thy beauty, for there thou seem'st to lie, In slumber resting peacefully, but, oh! that 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, thy waving hair at rest, And thy busy little fingers folded lightly on thy breast;

But thy merry dance is over, 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 side,

But her loveliness is faded, and quelled her glance of

pride;

The smile is absent from her lips, and absent are the pearls,

And a cap of almost widowhood conceals her envied

curls.

I see thee in thy beauty, as I saw thee on that day, But the mirth that gladdened then thine home fled with thy life away;

I see thee lying motionless upon the accustomed floor, But my heart hath blinded both mine eyes, and I can

see no more.

THE POET'S RETURN FROM TRAVEL.

BY ROBERT SOUTHEY.

O JOYFUL hour, when to our longing home
The long-expected wheels at length draw nigh!
When the first sound went forth, "They come ! they
come!"

And hope's impatience quickened every eye! "Never had man whom heaven would-heap with bliss More glad return, more happy hour than this."

Aloft on yonder bench, with arms dispread,

My boy stood, shouting there his father's name, Waving his hat around his happy head:

And there a younger group, his sisters came; Smiling they stood with looks of pleased surprise, While tears of joy were seen in elder eyes.

Soon each and all came crowding round to share
The cordial greeting, the beloved sight;
What welcomings of hand and lip were there!
And when those overflowings of delight
Subsided to a sense of quiet bliss,

Life hath no purer, deeper happiness.