O’er the fount, Erewhile so wild and troubled, sweeps a spell And “peace, be still,” is in its music tone. The “still, small voice,” which breathes of “love divine,” Steals o’er the spirit like the singing rain To blossoms by the summer lightning crushed. Shrouded in beauty, flows the fountain calm. In dewy light the feelings sparkle on, For every wave of thought is full of prayer. Within its holy sanctuary hushed, So softly beats the bosom purified, So sweet the slumber of a soul forgiven,— While blended with its harmony of thought That angel “voice” is sounding peacefully, With waning life alone to pass away, And fade into the melody of Heaven! _Memphis_, 1850. “L’INCONNUE.”
RENOUNCE thy name, deceitful flower, Nor boast an art beyond thy power; Dost thou such consequence assume, That yieldeth no such rich perfume? The jessamine and fragrant rose Surpass thee far, yet humbler those: Nor does the woodbine e’er pretend To cheer or to console a friend. Cease, cease to promise happiness— What widow’s desolate distress, Or aged parent’s troubled soul Hast thou been able to control?
Thou pretty groveler on the ground, No spell for sorrow can be found In thee—a gaudy, rich attire Is all thy votaries admire. When varied colors, gay and bright, Can give a joyless mind delight, My muse shall celebrate thy fame— Till then, false flower, renounce thy name. _Burlington, N. J._
Turn thy eyes back upon thyself, and see thou judge not the doings of others. THOMAS A’KEMPIS.
“WE missed you so much at Mrs. Fenton’s last evening, Cornelia; why did you not come?” asked Miss Lee.
“Because Miss Enna had just come to us, and was not well; nor did I feel very well myself.”
“Mrs. Fenton told us Miss Duval had partly promised to come also,” said Miss Ellen Lee, a younger sister of the first speaker.
“So I did,” I replied; “when Mrs. Fenton called at Miss Clemson’s yesterday morning, I told her if I felt well enough in the evening I would come.”
“What a very pleasant young person Miss Clemson is, Miss Duval,” drawled out young Colton, a dangling beau of the Miss Lees, “my sisters go to school to her, and I had no idea their _school ma’am_ was such a nice young woman.”
The young ladies giggled at this would-be witty and patronizing remark, to which I only replied with a cold assenting bow of my head.