ORIGINAL POETRY.

A HUSBAND TO HIS WIFE,

ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR MARRIAGE.

RISE, Mary, from thy couch, and see
The bright sun beaming gloriously.
"T would seem as if his loveliest ray
He sheds upon our bridal day.
See, joy and gladness, love and mirth
Attend his journey o'er the earth;
No clouds are in the sky, but such
As slake the day-god's withering touch,
So thin, his beams may travel through
To warm the earth, and drink the dew.

Rise, love, it is a morn of bliss,
And thou the richest scenes may'st miss.
The spring-wind with a mellowing speed,
Goes dancing through the wavy mead ;
Gay Ariels from the rosebuds talk
To fairies in the woodbine walk.
Up, Mary, love, the tuneful bird
Should never troll his glee unheard;
Nor thou upon this day of days,
E'er lose the thrush's lays of lays.

Has one year gone? yes, silently
As forms of night flit through the shade;
Passing unheard, unnoticed by,
Even as life's few summers fade,
Since on the altar gladly met
Hands to the seal of wedlock set,
And joined in clasp unbroken yet.
Yes, Mary, if thy bridal oath
To love me have retained its tone;
If yet thy heart believes my troth

An equal barter for thine own,

Then come, misfortune, sickness, want,

And wealth's reproach, and scorn's rude taunt;

For I can brave them, if a smile

Pass kindly o'er thy cheek the while.

Oh let another year but wind
Its course as tranquilly away;
Not they in Eastern seas, who find
One calm, perpetual summer day,

Shall live more blest than thou and I;
No frown, nor tears but such as spring
For others' woes, and not a sigh
That from a thought of self had wing.

J.

LINES

WRITTEN OFF POINT JUDITH LIGHT-HOUSE.

THE skies have rolled their clouds away,
To drink the summer evening breeze;
Night hangs upon the eye of day,
Chiding the idling twilight ray,
Among the leafy trees.

And look above! how clear and blue
The arch of night,-with one lone cloud
Parting for stars to glimmer through!
The waves are calm, the winds are still,
While the full moon, in glory proud,
Rides like Aurora o'er the hill.

Alas! that aught of grief should lower,
To cloud the bliss of such an hour.

Where yon pale spire is dimly seen

Enveloped in the moon-beam's light, Glancing its beacon torch between

The blended hues of day and night,I marked a sea-bird, from her bed,

Lighting her pathway through the skies; Lured by its dazzling form, she fled,

And fluttering first in wild surprise, Dashed madly at the vision fair,

Then shrieked, and poured her spirit there!

Oh! what a glowing image, this,

Of man's inconstancy below;
He glides along, nor heeds the bliss

He might, in calm contentment, know;
But, like the sea-bird, charmed away
By Hope's destructive meteor-ray,
He soars above the halcyon wave
Of sweet content,-and hails afar,
Some kindlier joy, his passions crave;
But finds, alas! the glittering star

DELIGHTFUL hour of sweet repose,

Of hallowed thoughts, of love, of prayer!
I love thy deep and tranquil close,
For all the Sabbath day is there.
Each pure desire, each high request
That burned before the temple shrine,-

The hopes, the fears, that moved the breast,
All live again in light like thine.

I love thee for the fervid glow

Thou shed'st around the closing day,-
Those golden fires, those wreaths of snow
That light and pave his glorious way!

Through them, I 've sometimes thought, the eye
May pierce the unmeasured deeps of space,
And track the course where spirits fly,
On viewless wings, to realms of bliss.

I love thee for the unbroken calm,
That slumbers on this fading scene,
And throws its kind and soothing charm
O'er all the little world within."
“

It trances every roving thought,
Yet sets the soaring fancy free,—
Shuts from the soul the present out,
That all is musing memory.

I love those joyous memories,
That rush, with thee, upon the soul,-
Those deep unuttered symphonies,
That o'er the spell-bound spirit roll.
All the bright scenes of love and youth
Revive, as if they had not fled,
And Fancy clothes with seeming truth
The forms she rescues from the dead.

Yet holier is thy peaceful close,
For vows love left recorded there!-
This is the noiseless hour we chose
To consecrate to mutual prayer!

"T was when misfortune's fearful cloud
Was gathering o'er the brow of heaven,
Ere yet despair's eternal shroud
Wrapt every vision hope had given.

When these deep purpling shades came down,
In softened tints, upon the hills,

We swore, that, whether fate should crown
Our future course with joys or ills,→ v
Whether safe moored in love's retreat, d
Or severed wide by mount and sea,
This hour, in spirit, we would meet,
And urge to heaven our mutual plea.

The Biblical Reader; or Interesting Extracts from the Sacred Scriptures; with Practical Observations and Questions for the Examination of Scholars. For the Use of Schools generally, and Sunday Schools in particular; and is also wel calculated for Individuals and Families. By Rev. J. L. BLAKE, A. M. Rector of St Matthew's Church, and Principal of a Literary Seminary, Boston, Mass. Ornamented with Cuts. Boston. 12mo. pp. 472.

THE manner in which the Bible is used in many of our schools seems to be one of those cases, in which we have retained the letter, while we have departed from the spirit of the maxims of our forefathers. Many of the first settlers of this country were deeply tinctured with the spirit so prevalent at that time in the mother country, which considered the Scriptures as the fountain of all knowledge, whether it regarded the concerns of this world or the next; which extracted codes of law from Leviticus, and applied to the affairs of common life in the seventeenth century of the Christian era, maxims which had their origin in the peculiar circumstances of the tribes of Israel in a remote age. The elo

quence of the inspired writers mingled with their common conversation, and as it has been observed on another occasion, often "gave pathos to their grief and dignity to their resentment." It is to be regretted, that in too many instances, we have retained the use of the language without the reverence for it; that a familiar text stands us instead of a saw or proverb, and a quaint one serves to give point to a jest. It followed naturally from the habits and opinions of our puritan ancestors, that the study of the Bible entered largely into every system of education, and that the youth, whether in the school-r -room or at the domestic fireside, were often called to the diligent perusal of it. In these days, the rising generation are directed to other works for improvement in arts, sciences, and literature; the reading of the Bible has become rather a traditional form than an essential part of the business of education; and young persons, as it appears to us, are occasionally made to go through with this upon a principle, similar to that which enjoins upon the Mahometan his daily ablutions, or the Romanist, the repetition of his decade of aves and paternosters, that is, the pronunciation of the words of a chapter is considered as an act meritorious in itself, without much regard to the degree of intelligence with which it is performed. Now we admit, that it is better that the Scriptures should be read in this way than not at all, for there is a chance that something valuable may thus be acquired, but we think it would be a great improvement upon the present system, if children were made to understand more, even though they read less of the Bible; and if this were studied, rather than merely perused. It has appeared to us, therefore, that a useful school-book might be composed of a selection from the Scriptures, accompanied with a copious commentary, explanatory of the manners and customs of the Hebrew nation; of the nature and geography of the country in which they resided; of the history and circumstances of the nations around them; the natural history of the plants and animals mentioned in Scripture; and many other points, which would render this an interesting study, and enable the young to form more definite notions on these subjects, than is usually the case. Such a Biblical Reader, we think, would be truly valuable. We have been led to these remarks by a cursory examination of the work, whose title stands at the head of this notice. It is formed upon a different plan, and one, which we do not think likely to be so useful. It is composed of selections of a moderate length; each being followed by a few questions on the text preceding, and a few practical observations. It seems to us, that these practical observations are not sufficiently simple for the purpose for which they are designed, having been selected from various commentators. This objection, indeed, the compiler anticipates, and excuses on the ground, that original comments 10

VOL. IV.