In solemn silence here I live,
A lone, deserted peach;
So high that none but birds and winds
My quiet bough can reach;
And mournfully, and hopelessly,
I think upon the past—
Upon my dear departed friends,
And I—the last—the last!
II.
My friends!—oh daily one by one
I see them drop away,
Unheeding all my tears and prayers,
That vainly bade them stay;
And here I hang, alone—alone!
While life is fleeing fast,
And sadly sigh that I am left,
Alas!—the last—the last!
III.
Farewell then, thou my little world,
My home upon the tree;
A sweet retreat, a quiet home,
Thou may'st no longer be;
The willow trees stand weeping nigh,
The sky is overcast,
The autumn winds moan sadly by—
I fall—the last—the last!
[LITERARY NOTICES.]
The Token and Atlantic Souvenir. A Christmas and New Year's Present. Edited by S. G. Goodrich, pp. 312. Boston: American Stationers' Company. New-York: Wiley and Putnam.
Talent of a high order has been employed to enrich both the pictorial and literary departments of the 'Token' for the coming year; and, in our judgment, the work greatly exceeds in merit, as it certainly does in size, any of its predecessors. Let us first take a running glance at the embellishments. The presentation-plate, from a tasteful design by Chapman, is engraved on wood by Adams; and in so masterly a manner is it executed, that it seems more like a fine steel engraving, than a cutting upon wood. The succeeding picture, 'The Expected Canoe,' painted by Chapman, and engraved by Andrews and Jewett, is very spirited in its conception, and finished in execution. The rising storm, the lightning, the anxious countenance of the Indian maiden, and the ease and grace of her position, are worthy of especial praise. There is something quite yankeeish in Chapman's design of the frontispiece—a cupid leaning over a huge pumpkin to see another carve a 'token' upon the rind. We can say little for 'The Only Daughter,' although engraved by Andrews, from a painting by Newton. The subject is harsh and unpleasing. There is Chapman's old fault in the 'Indian Maiden at her Toilet,' or 'The Token.' There is not an Indian feature, nor the semblance of one, in the face of the girl. Otherwise, the picture is well conceived. One of the richest plates in the volume, is 'English Scenery,' engraved by Smillie, from a painting by Brown. It is mellow and soft, in the ensemble, yet distinct in minute detail, and there is about it an almost living atmosphere. A very clever picture, too, is Healy's 'Young American on the Alps,' and it has received ample justice at the hands of the engraver, G. H. Cushman. 'The Last of the Tribe,' painted by Brown, and engraved by Ellis, should have been called 'A Mountain Scene,' and the Indian figure omitted. He lacks the proper physiognomy, sadly. The scenery is well imagined. 'The Fairies in America,' like all attempts at depicting such nondescript creatures of air, strikes us as a failure. Leaving out all the figures, both the painting and engraving reflect credit upon the artists, Chapman and Smillie. 'Martha Washington,' engraved by Cheney and Kellogg, is a good engraving of a far more beautiful female than we have been accustomed to consider the original, from the portraits we have hitherto seen. She is here depicted in her young and rosy years,'plump as a partridge,' and most delectable to look upon. Thus much for the plates; and now a few words touching the literary contents.