Thy proud dark eye will grow less proud, thy step become less fleet, And vainly shalt thou arch thy neck, thy master's hand to meet. Only in sleep shall I behold that dark eye glancing bright; Only in sleep shall hear again that step so firm and light; And when I raise my dreaming arm, to check or cheer thy speed, Then must I starting wake to feel, thou'rt sold, my Arab steed. Ah! rudely then, unseen by me, some cruel hand may chide, 'Till foam-wreaths lie, like crested waves, along thy panting side, And the rich blood that is in thee, swells in thy indignant pain; "Till careless eyes, which rest on thee, may count each started vein. Will they ill-use thee? If I thought but no, it cannot be Thou art so swift, yet easy curb'd, so gentle, yet so free. And yet, if haply when thou'rt gone, my lonely heart should yearn, Can the hand which cast thee from it, now command thee to return. Return, alas! my Arab steed, what shall thy master do, When thou, who wert his all of joy, hath vanish'd from his view; When the dim distance cheats mine eye, and through the gathering tears, Thy bright form for a moment like the false mirage appears; Slow and unmounted will I alone, roam, with weary foot Where with fleet step and joyous bound, thou oft hast borne me on. And sitting down by that green well, I'll pause, and sadly think, It was here he bow'd his glossy neck when last I saw him drink. When last I saw thee drink? Away! the fever'd dream is o'er, I could not live a day, and know that we should meet no more. They tempted me, my beautiful! for hunger's power is strong, They tempted me, my beautiful! but I have lov'd too long. Who said that I had giv'n thee up? - who said that thou wert sold? 'Tis false, 'tis false, my Arab steed, -I fling them back their gold; Thus, thus, I leap upon thy back, and scour the distant plains, Away, who overtakes us now, shall claim thee for his pains. MRS. NORTON. THE VAIN REGRET. OH! had I nurs'd, when I was young, Alas! he only shows the truth The thoughts now budding in my brain And all that issues out of woe, Alas! he but brings back the truth Truths! hardly learn'd and lately brought To your voices, sage, serene, In the realms of thought! BARRY CORNWALL. TIME. TIME moveth not; our being 'tis that moves; KIRKE WHITE. SPRING FLOWERS. WELCOME! Sweet time of buds and bloom, renewing From the cleft soil, like babes from cradle peeping, At the glad light, where soundly they've been sleeping; Like chickens in their downy coats, just freeing From the chipp'd shell, their new-found active being; Like spotted butterfly, its wings uprearing, Now many a thing that pretty is, delays And thinks of Nature's bounteous Lord the while. MRS. J. BAILLIE. - HUMILITY. HUMILITY! the sweetest, loveliest flower 'Tis gone if it but look upon itself; Proves by that single thought she has it not. 1 CAROLINE FRY. "Le plus sage est celui qui ne pense point de l'être." Boileau. THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE.' Nor a drum was heard, not a funeral note, As his corse to the ramparts we hurried: Not a soldier discharg'd his farewell shot O'er the grave where our hero we buried. We buried him darkly at dead of night, No useless coffin enclos'd his breast, Not in sheet nor in shroud we wound him; But he lay like a warrior taking his rest, With his martial cloak around him. Few and short were the prayers we said, The He was killed at Corunna, where he fell in the arms of victory, 1809. With his dying breath he faltered out a message to his mother. Sir John Moore had often said, that if he were killed in battle, he wished to be buried where he fell. body was removed at midnight to the citadel of Corunna. grave was dug for him on the rampart there, by a party of the 9th regiment, the aides-de-camp attending by turns. No coffin could be procured, and the officers of his staff wrapped the body, dressed as it was, in a military cloak and blankets, The interment was hastened; for, about eight in the morning, some firing was heard, and the officers feared that if a serious attack were made, they should be ordered away, and not suffered to pay him their last duty. X |