A LOVE SONG. A. P. GRAVES. Ah! swan of slenderness, dove of tenderness, Jewel of joys, arise! The little red lark, like a rosy spark, Unto his sunburst flies, But till you are risen, earth is a prison, Full of my captive sighs. Then wake, and discover to your fond lover The morn of your matchless eyes. The dawn is dark to me; hark, oh! hark to me, Pulse of my heart, I pray, And gently gliding out of thy hiding, Dazzle me with thy day! And oh! I'll fly to thee, singing, and sigh to thee, Passion so sweet and gay, The lark shall listen, and dewdrops glisten, THE SOURCE OF HAPPINESS. C. WILCOX. Wouldst thou from sorrow find a sweet relief? Its life and beauty; not when, all unrolled, Breathes freely its perfumes throughout the ambient air. Rouse to some work of high and holy love, And thou an angel's happiness shalt know,Shalt bless the earth while in the world above; The good begun by thee shall onward flow In many a branching stream, and wider grow; The seed that, in these few and fleeting hours, Thy hands unsparing and unwearied sow, Shall deck thy grave with amaranthine flowers, And yield thee fruits divine in heaven's immortal bowers. THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC OF OCEAN. ONELY and wild it rose, That strain of solemn music from the sea, Again a low, sweet tone, Fainting in murmurs on the listening day, Once more the gush of sound, O boundless deep! we know Thou hast strange wonders in thy gloom concealed, And an eternal spring Showers her rich colors with unsparing hand, Where coral trees their graceful branches fling 249 THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC OF OCEAN But tell, O restless main! Who are the dwellers in thy world beneath, Emblem of glorious might! Are thy wild children like thyself arrayed, Or to mankind allied, Toiling with wo, and passion's fiery sting, Alas for human thought! How does it flee existence, worn and old, 'Tis vain the reckless waves Join with loud revel the dim ages flown, But keep each secret of their hidden caves SPRING. N. P. WILLIS. HE Spring is here--the delicate-footed May, And with it comes a thirst to be away, Wasting in wood-paths its voluptuous hours- We pass out from the city's feverish hum, Like a cool sleep upon the pulses broods. Strange, that the audible stillness of the noon, There's no contentment, in a world like this, |