Ten years have passed since first we met,
That hour with joy is rifc-
It dwelleth in my mem'ry yet,
The happiest of my life.
The happiest, for it was the source
Whence all my joys have sprung-
The streamlet in whose pleasant course
Those blisses I have sung.
The transient clouds that since have pass'd,
Serve but to make the light
Which thou hast on my pathway cast
More strongly, purely bright.
But words are vain-oh, could they tell
What thoughts held sway o'er me,
My glowing tongue would weave a spell,
And bare my heart to thee.
Then wouldst thou read of truth untold,
And know that nought can sever
The sweet dominion thou dost hold
Within this heart for ever!
CHILD OF EARTH WITH THE GOLDEN
Child of earth with the golden hair!
Thy soul's too pure, and thy face too fair
To dwell with creatures of mortal mould,
Whose lips are warm as their hearts are cold!
Roam, roam, to our fairy home,
Child of earth with the golden hair?
Thou shalt dance with the fairy queen,
Through summer nights, on the moonlit green,
To music murmuring sweeter far
Than ever was heard 'neath the morning star!
I'll rob of its sweet the humble bee;
I'll crush the wine from the cowslip tree;
I'll pull the berries, I'll track the bed
Of downy moss, and the poppies red!
Dim sleep shall woo thee, my darling boy,
In her mildest moods with dreams of joy,
And when the morning ends her reign,
Pleasure shall bid thee welcome again.
We are two forest nymphs, who dwell
In the depth of the woodland shade;
There is not a mortal who can tell
How bright is the bow'r we've made.
Two forest, &c.
We lie all day where the streamlets play,
Under the waving boughs,
In a sweet day-dream, by the whispering stream,
And there we breathe our vows:
But whom we love, not the birds above,
Nor the stream below can tell;
For the forest maid she is sore afraid
Of the wiles that with mortals dwell.
We are two forest sprites, we float
Unseen in the summer air;
We hover around our lover's boat,
But he little dreams we're there.
But oh! would he come to our fairy home,
We'd lure him there to stay;
He never should know the way to go
From our mazy path away;
But love and song through the whole day long
Should still be his and ours;
And a fadeless youth reward the truth
Of a love in the fairy bowers!
DUET. We are two forest nymphs, &c.
Over the waves we float, we float,
Fairies two in our fairy boat;
Fanned by the breezes, rock'd by the tide,
In our nautilus bark we glide, we glide.
When the strong cordage snaps in the gale,
Safe o'er the surges we sail, we sail;
In the bright calin we rest on the deep,
And, lulled by the zephyrs, we sleep, we sleep.
Cast by the winds from shore to shore,
A moment ye view us, and then no more
The nautilus shell, by human eyes,
Is seen on the waters that sink and rise.
Over the billows, away and away,
Ours is a freedom that knows no decay,
Braving the tempest and stemming the tide,
In safety for ever we glide, we glide!
WHY DO SUMMER ROSES FADE?
Why do summer roses fade,
If not to show how fleeting
All things bright and fair are made,
To bloom awhile, as half afraid
To join our summer greeting?
Or, do they only bloom to tell
How brief a season love may dwell?
Then, while summer roses last,
Oh! let's be friends together:
Summer time will soon be past,
The autumn leaves around us cast,
And then comes wintry weather.
Surely, as the summer's day,
Friendship, too, will pass away!
But, though summer roses die,
And love give place to reason,
Friendship pass without a sigh,
And all on earth pass coldly by,
"Tis but a wintry season;
And friendship, love, and roses too,
The spring-time shall again renew.
Speak gently! it is better far
To rule by love than fear;
Speak gently! let not harsh words mar
The good we might do here.
Speak gently to the little child;
Its love be sure to gain:
Teach it in accents soft and mild,
It may not long remain.
Speak gently to the young, for they
Will have enough to bear:
Pass through the world as best they may,
"Tis full of anxious care.
Speak gently to the aged one,
Grieve not a careworn heart;
The sands of life are nearly run,
Let such in peace depart.
Speak gently! 'tis a little thing,
Dropp'd in the heart's deep well;
The good, the joy that it may bring,
Eternity shall tell.
Rose of the garden, blushing and gay,
E'en as we pluck thee, fading away!
Beams of the morning, promise of day,
While we are gazing, fading away
!
Spring's fairest blossom, summer's bright day,
"Autumn's rich cluster, fading away!
Song of the wild-bird, heart-stirring lay,
E'en as we listen, fading away!
Hope's fairy promise charms to betray.
All that is earthly fadeth away!
But there's a land where nought shall decay,
Where there's no sorrow, no fading away!
Oh, take her, but be faithful still,
And may the bridal vow
Be sacred held in after years,
And warmly breathed as now!
Remember, 'tis no common tie
That binds her youthful heart,-
"Tis one that only truth should weave,
And only death can part.
The joys of childhood's happy hour,
This home of riper years-
The treasured scenes of early youth,
In sunshine and in tears;
|