Dull seasons fled, dark shadows lowered,
My utmost efforts were unmeet; When sudden, fickle Fortune showered
Her golden largess at my feet. As needle turneth to the pole,
So, homeward hied my steps to thee; But ne'er shall love, or kindred soul,
Or joys of youth return to me.
Not all my wealth of hard-won gold
Could shield from blight that lustrous head Now lying in the churchyard mould;—
The church where we had hoped to wed. I list the sweet, clear notes which thrill
Through wooded uplands o'er thy wave; The music in my heart is still,
Still as the stars o'er Mary's grave.
Oh, gorgeous lamps of living light!
Which halo all the arc of blue, Ye emblem to my raptured sight
The white soul of a life most true. My Mary! tender guiding star!
I bow before the Sovereign sway;— That higher realm, where nought can mar,
Is fairer e'en than Orwell Bay.
GOING ABROAD.
Oh fleeting hour! Oh faltering heart!
Oh long and sad farewell! How bitter long we twain may part
It is not ours to tell. For many a golden shaft will beam
Through many a pearly rain, Down forest aisles, o'er mountain stream,
Ere we can meet again.
Yet, when on far off ocean's foam,
Or on some foreign strand, Bright Memory wafts thy spirit home
Unto thy native land, Bethink thee of those gladsome days
When carelessly we strayed O'er furrowed sand, or daisied braes,
While Ocean minstrels played.
'Neath gleaming skies of cloudless blue;
Beyond the tropic's glare, Where bright-eyed birds of rainbow hue
Float through the perfumed air; By pictured scenes of former age;
In seats of ancient lore, Where poet, painter, sculptor, sage
Illumined days of yore,
Recall that grand, familiar sight,
When heaven seems all ablaze With floods of gold and purple light,—
Aurora's matchless rays. And when, from black, dissonant sky
No stars may vigil keep; When boisterous seas exult on high
And o'er the taffrail sweep,