A COMMON LESSON.

Cedit item retro, de terrâ quod fuit ante,
In terras; et, quod missum est ex ætheris oris,
Id rursum cœli relatum templa receptant.

LUCRETIUS. De Rer. Nat. lib. ii. 998.

How oft will Youth, released from home
And Nature's fond endearing ties,

To distant lands undaunted roam,

Enamoured of some vast emprise :

Then ceasing with new hopes to burn,
Or crowned with Glory's halcyon rays,

To that dear native spot return,

For solace in declining days.

So the immortal Spirit quits

The wellspring of Eternal Light,

And led by dazzling splendour flits

On airy wings of craving sight:

Then wearied by successive years
Of sorrow in its toilsome quest,
Returns with penitential tears

Again unto its heavenly rest.

THE VIOLET.

SOON as subsides the wintry storm,

Along the verdant mound,

Where drooping briers converge to form A secret bower, is found

Retiring coyly from our view

The Violet richly clothed in blue.

Invested with a kindred mien,

The pretty youthful maid

May oft with loitering steps be seen

To court its lowly shade;

And

pass the sweet inviting hour

In converse with this lovely flower.

Translated to her peaceful breast

It breathes an odour still,

But fails beneath a ruder test

Such fragrance to distil:

A growth so slender, chaste, and pure,

Can only gentleness endure.

* The violet furnishes the chemist with a delicate test of the presence of both acids and alkalies, assuming a bright red in combination with the former, and green in the instance of the latter.

TO THE CUCKOO.

HAIL! sweet aërial wanderer, hail!

On thy serene expansive wing

Comes ushered in the vernal gale,
With all the rich delights of Spring.

Through thee the voice of Nature calls

On every plant, and leaf, and flower,

To catch the vivid light that falls,

And drink the teeming fruitful shower.

Inspired by thee the lambkin skips

Around its dam in lightsome mood,

Toys with the daisy's smiling lips,

And banquets on inviting food.

The child, arrested by thy lay,

Stands listening with devoted heart, Drops from its hand the blooming spray,

And wonders what device thou art.

And even Man- the stern abode

Of toil and sorrow, hope and fear,

Feels less of life's oppressive load

When thy soft music charms his ear.

Should uncongenial winds arise

To frown upon the festive plain,

Though exultation fill the skies,

We hearken for thy notes in vain.

'Tis only when all Nature teems

With truly consentaneous joy,

That melody's resistless streams

Do thy impassioned breast employ.

On balmy wing "come gentle Spring,"

And come thou pleasing wanderer too;

And with unfaltering accent sing

Thy voluntary strain- Cuckoo !