But slander, from her murk and Stygian sty, Breath'd a foul vapour o'er her lustrous fame, And fir'd a noble heart with jealousy,

Till fell destruction crown'd her murd'rous aim. 15

And now the charm dissolved, the splendour fled, Murmured the rippling river at my feet; [head, The breeze sigh'd hollow o'er my leaf-crown'd And thickening darkness warn'd me to retreat.

And ever as I view these scenes again,

Or think of him, the pride of Avon's shore! Those splendid pictures flit before my ken, And all the visions of that hour restore.

IVY A SONNET.

(HEDERA HELIX.)

SPRING, Summer, Autumn, like fleet dreams, are

past,

And Flora's gaudier pride hath fall'n away ; And boisterous Winter comes with gloom o'ercast, Yet still thou wreath'st unconscious of decay :Time presses on; but thy dark foliage hides His ravages, close mantling ivy, thou

Unfold'st thy blossoms when hoarse Boreas chides, And in his rage despoils the fruit-crown'd bough.

15 Othello.

To thee the birds for shelter and supply,

When sunshine and earth's products fail, resort; Thou shield'st them while the tempest passes by,

And in the needful season yield'st support. So charity defends the weak oppress'd,

And feeds with liberal hand the child distress'd.

THE ROBIN.

(SYLVIA RUBECULA.)

FROM scenes remote and woodland bowers,
The minstrel comes again,
Through Winter's dark and stormy hours,
To greet us with his strain.

The tribes that hail'd the vernal tide,
To milder climes are flown;

But though chill snows on bleak gales ride,

We list the robin's tone.

So friends that woo but fortune's smile,
Her aspect chang'd will fly;
Boonless they'll ply no cheering wile,
Nor soothing charm apply.

But when life's wintry scenes appear,
And shades and tempests come,
My lot I'd like the robin bear,

And glad affliction's gloom.

Ꮐ

THANKSGIVING OF THE EARTH,

FOR THE VISITATION OF THE SEASONS.

THERE came a rush as of a sudden wind,
Struggling impetuous thro' embowering trees,
Or to some rugged, dark abyss consign'd,
The mighty waters of unfathom'd seas ;
Strange horror seem'd my vital flood to freeze;
Starting, I look'd around in blank dismay;
When lo! far upward, light as borne on breeze,
A figure rose, flow'r-gemm'd her green array:
The spirit paus'd, and reverend awe confest;
Then thus the Throne Ineffable address'd.-

"Thanks for thy bounties, thanks, unceasing praise, My duteous provinces shall tributes bring To feed thine altars with a living blaze,

Source of all good, creation's glorious King. Thy wisdom in thy works and laws shines clear, Grateful to me each change that marks the rolling year."

"First young-ey'd Spring comes fraught with love, Infusing warmth through all my veins,

My half-suspended functions move,

And at my heart sweet joyance reigns;

Zephyr soft breathing through the sky,
Sheds balm amid reviving bowers,
He tints my robe with emerald dye,
And wakes the laughing flowers.
Affection lends the dumb a voice,
And all the elements rejoice."

"With ardent breath and eye of flame,
That briefly yields to nightly glooms,
Bright Summer drinks the limpid stream,
And ripens into fruit my blooms.
The diamond in its rocky bed,

The ocean gem, the buried ore,

Wide as where being, metal, plant, are spread,
All feel the sun's enlivening power.

Fountain of universal light,
Deriv'd from thee the Infinite."

"Dun Autumn crowns my varied store,
And proves of richest boons profuse;
She heaps with grain the bending floor,
And bids the grape yield nectar'd juice;
But soon her gathering shades prevail,
The woods in various tints are drest;
The wither'd leaf rides on the gale,
That sighs like one distress'd.

Then rains descend-the streamlets rise,
And wide the flood's expansion lies."

"Deep wrapt in clouds hoarse Winter comes,
Careering on the northern blast,

Fierce breathing storms, and doubling glooms,
He piles in snow the boundless waste:

His frost-winds bind the flowing tide;

His tempests

rive my

naked breast;

Mute horror reigns; the influence late spread wide Is fondly at my heart comprest,

To be return'd with added force,

As roll the seasons on their course."

Now ceas'd the voice-unveil'd the misty sky, And nought but fields of azure met th' exploring eye.