The years that were, the dim, the gray, And soon to be as gray and dim. Fill high she brought us both of weal and woe, And nearer lies the land to which we go. On, on, in one unwearied round Groves bud and blossom, and the ground And undistinguish'd in the tomb, Howe'er they lived, are all that die. Gold, beauty, knightly sword, and royal crown, To the same sleep go shorn and wither'd down. How short the rapid months appear, Whose star hath now for ever set! Alas! as round this board I look, I think on more than I behold, For glossy curls in gladness shook That night, that now are damp and cold. For us no more those lovely eyes shall shine, Peace to her slumbers! drown your tears in wine. Thank heaven, no seer unblest am I, When moons as brief once more go by, The hoary mower strides apace, Nor crops alone the ripen'd ear; And we may miss the merriest face Among us, 'gainst another year. Whoe'er survive, be kind as we have been, And think of friends that sleep beneath the green. Nay, droop not being is not breath: Is heaven's own blessed vestibule; And solemn, but not sad, this cup should flow, Though nearer lies the land to which we go. J. G. LOCKHART. THE EAR-RINGS. O, MY ear-rings, my ear-rings; With a gentle northern tongue; The tittering damsels, as I go, Her sallow neck to touch A little with their lustre, And her beauty needs it much. My love gave me those costly rings, And there they glitter in the well, He gave to me these splendid gems, And there they lie-my heart is stone, I wore them at the market, In the dance they threw a spell And my looks became them well. At parting, such a heart-warm kiss, And my love will ne'er be mine. J. G. LOCKHART. FOR A LADY'S ALBUM. Grace is deceitful, and beauty vain.-Solomon. Oн, say not, wisest of all the kings That have risen on Israel's throne to reign! Your harem beauties resign! resign Their lascivious dance, their voluptuous song! To your garden come forth, among things divine, And own you do grace and beauty wrong. Is beauty vain because it will fade? Then are earth's green robe and heaven's light vain ; For this shall be lost in evening's shade, And that in winter's sleety rain. But earth's green mantle, prank'd with flowers, And heaven gives down, with its light and showers And while opening flowers in such beauty spread, That beauty or grace is a worthless thing. This willow's limbs, as they bend in the breeze, And do not these boughs all whisper of Him, And are not the beauty and grace of youth, Then say not, wisest of all the kings That have risen on Israel's throne to reign! PIERPONT. THE EAR OF CORN AND THE POPPY. OVER the fertile far-spread plain, Like billows of the sea, The undulating harvest waved In rich luxuriancy. And haughtily its stately crest Swoll'n with the pride of conscious worth, Its vermeil petals spread: And with its sharp and stridulous awns, In hoarse and scornful accents thus "Oh, symbol thou of sluggishness! Thou of lethargic torpors sire, How dost thou dare near me to spring, In Ceres' wide domain Me, who with needful food do still To whom the poppy tranquil thus:- Of his exhausting labours thou Thus seems dread Providence to speak, Mortals, no more with thankless wail, WRANGHAM. |