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On the morning of Tuesday, the 13th, the wind, which, from the period of our reaching the Downs, had continued unfavourable, came round; and early the following morning we weighed, and with fine weather stood down channel; and it was then that I experienced my saddest moments. It is when we feel ourselves fast leaving the happy land of our nativity, and fairly out of the reach of all its enjoyments, that the mind, in spite of every effort we can use, feels the touch of melancholy. It is then that the value of a home is found out-that we ascertain what a blessing it indeed is, to have kindred and companions to associate with-that we get fully convinced of the truth of the saying, "it is only when our comforts are gone we learn the value of them." By a law of nature our affections are entwined around the place of our birth. Where we have been born and brought up, where we tasted our earliest, sweetest joys, and where those who are dearest to us remain, there our affections cling, and from thence there is no tearing ourselves without suffering many

a pang. Cold indeed must the heart of that man be, who, as the vessel, borne along by the steady breeze, is carrying him farther and farther from his native shore, can refuse to it his constant lingering gaze, or stand to see it recede without emotion. At such a time the man of feeling is melted into grief. When he calls to mind the days of playful youth-the parents and brothers and sisters, who had so long fondly loved, and anxiously tended and watched over him-the companions he associated withthe happy scenes he mixed in,-and feels, that now for a long time, perhaps for ever, he is leaving all his bosom becomes the seat of many a rending passion, and the sigh that is struggling in his breast, and the tear that is bursting from his eye, he finds it impossible to restrain. Ay, and even he who never thought he possessed such kindly and patriotic feelingshe who, up to the hour of trial, may imagine he has a heart quite stout enough, to give up all its pleasures, and break with all its associations, without regret, will find, when the hour comes,

he has calculated wrong; and this man, with all his hardihood, will be seen, like others, as the vessel is fast speeding along, and the high summit of the land has almost sunk into the wave, eagerly endeavouring to catch another glimpse of that which probably by him shall be seen

no more.

Come hither, hither, my little page,

Why dost thou weep and wail?
Or dost thou dread the billow's

Or tremble at the gale?

rage,

Let wind be shrill, let waves roll high,

I fear not wave nor wind;

Yet marvel not, Sir Childe, that I

Am sorrowful in mind:

For I have from my father gone,
A mother whom I love,
And have no friend, save-

Enough, enough, my little lad,

Such tears become thine eye-
If I thy guiltless bosom had,

Mine own would not be dry.

Yet, though it is pleasing and amiable to indulge in these feelings to a certain degree, it is not right to carry them too far. There is an apathy-a cold-heartedness-that would teach

us to stand unmoved under every circumstance; and there is an over-great sensibility, which would unman, and make us sink at the most trivial afflictions; neither of which is it necessary to acquire. But there is a medium state, which it is possible to find, and which enables him who finds it to stand firm; while at the same time, he sympathizes, to feel, in their proper force, his own or his neighbour's sorrowswhile, at the same time, he is capable, if necessary, of withdrawing his mind from the subject of sorrow, and fitting it for the performance of other duties.

And, if we examine, we will find, how natural, and how happy it is, for the wanderer to gain such a state of mind. No doubt, when he feels himself taking leave of all his comforts; parting with those that are dearest to him on earth with the nearest and the kindest of his kindred-with the friends and companions of his earliest days; in a word, bidding a long, perhaps an eternal, farewell, to all that ever interested his affections,-his heart must be filled

with many an anxious and distressing thought. He possesses something more than firmnesssomething not so amiable as firmness-if he does not find his spirit bend, and sink in some degree, at such a separation. If there be much affection and kindness in his nature, he is indeed apt to bend too much to the afflicting load, and shew that he wants even that degree of firmness which it is right he should have. But when, again, he remembers, that after a time has elapsed, he may return to his happy home and the bosom of his friends,-when he thinks that absence will only ripen and increase the affection, and that when again he meets those he is now parting with, and tastes those pleasures he is now forsaking, his happiness will be tenfold; when he feels assured, that wherever he goes, the prayers and affections of many go with him, and that, should it be his lot to return, his return will be greeted by many a fond and anxious heart-there is much consolation given to the mind-much of its anxiety is removed. By proper reflections, the feelings are gradually

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