A glow-worm fallen, and on the marge remounting
Shines, and its shadow shines, fit stars for our sweet foun-

tain!

Oh, ever, ever be thou blest!

For dearly, Nora, love I thee!

This brooding warmth across my breast,

This depth of tranquil bliss-ah, me!

Fount, tree, and shed are gone-I know not whither;
But in one quiet room, we three are still together.

The shadows dance upon the wall,

By the still-dancing fire-flames made;

And now they slumber, moveless all!

And now they melt to one deep shade!

But not from me shall this mild darkness steal thee;

I dream thee with mine eyes, and at my heart I feed

thee.

Thine eyelash on my cheek doth play;

"Tis Mary's hand upon my brow!

But let me check this tender lay,

Which none may hear but she and thou!
Like the still hive at quiet midnight humming,
Murmur it to yourselves, ye two beloved women!

The Curtain.

HE was walking in the spring time, in the morning-tide of
life,

Little reckoning of the journey, of its perils and its strife;
For the flowers were peeping coyly, and the sunshine glistened

bright;

And the dewdrops lingered, quivering, like fairy bells of light, Not a cloud was in the heavens, not a surge was on the deep, For the rimpled sea lay breathing in an unimpassioned sleep, And the fresh green leaves were nodding, to the whispers of the

breeze

"Oh! the world must be a paradise with promises like these! There's no canker in the blossoms, and no blight upon the trees."

But tho' beauty bloomed around her, and the velvet turf was

soft,

And the budding earth was smiling at the sunny dome aloft; Tho' above, behind, beside her, spread a prospect far and wide, Yet shadows crossed her pathway, she would fain have cast aside:

For a curtain hung before it-to her very feet it rolled, And it checked her looking forward, by its dark and massy fold: 'Twas her only bar to joyousness-that curtain dense and black, For at every onward step she took, it stretched across her track, While a form like Time's reached forth its hand and slowly pushed it back.

"Oh! the world is very lovely, and I'm young and very gay, And the sunbeam's wealth of amber light lies broadcast on my

way,

And the sky is like a sea of blue-the sea a blue, blue sky,
And the foliage quickens vividly, that late was wan and shy;
And the sky lark trills a melody, midway to purer spheres;
And the dew-drops twinkle merrily, as childhood smiles in tears.
There's no storm-cloud in the heavens, there's no moaning in
the wind,

Oh! life's road is not a rugged road, its thorns I cannot find But this darksome curtain mars my view and I want to peep behind!"

But old Time passed by unheeding, and the curtain did not rise, While a voice like music whispered: "Child of earth, be wise! For that veils the future, which is better left unseen."

But she answered more impatiently, "Oh! please to raise the screen!

I am sure I would be happier, if prescience were allowed;

I should then be warned of danger-now I'm walking in a cloud
It is surely best to be prepared for coming joys and woes!"
So the air grew dark around her, like the dusk of evening's

close;

But the voice like music spoke no more-and the curtain slowly

rose.

She was gazing on a picture of a home from childhood known,
On a cluster of familiar forms-one form was like her own!
And it seemed a festal gathering-like that of New Year's day;

For her grandsire stooped before her, with locks of silver gray; And her father, bland and stately, filled his wonted household

place,

With her gentle, comely mother, in her lovely matron grace, And she saw her dark-eyed sister, like a fairer second selfAnd a golden-headed brother-a mischief-loving elf

And a taller, elder, stripling, with a thoughtful student brow; 'Twas a knot of friends, both old and young, beneath the holly

bough,

And the maiden clapped her hands and laughed, “All happy then as now!"

While the smile was yet upon her lip the scene dissolved and

changed

In a garden lustrous with the moon, a pair of lovers ranged; They were lovers-for a manly face so earnest and so brave Bent in fondness o'er mirrored self, grown womanly and grave, Yes, her mirrored self, whose sweet, frank look returned the

stranger's gaze,

As the sunbeam woos the leaf-bud forth, and the bud imbibes

its rays;

And the maid exclaimed with arch, gay glance, "They're going

to confess!

Oh, they both look rather silly! but all lovers do, I guess!
And he really is so handsome, that I'm sure I'm saying Yes!"

But again the picture faded, and another rose to view.
On a river's bank a crowd had met to bid a ship adieu;
There were again old home faces, older, sadder, than of yore

And herself she stood the foremost weeping wildly on the shore; Every eye was on the vessel, but her own dim, straining sight Only sought on deck one girlish face, whose smiling lips were white,

Tho' she leaned a stalwart form that held her to his heart, And the maiden wailed, "My sister! oh, my darling! must we part?"

And a voice cried, "Bound for India"-how its echoes made her start!

She had clasped her hands across her eyes, for tears were welling

fast;

But when next she raised her eyes, behold! the parting scene

was past.

It was now a bridal party, with a white-robed virgin troop
And the guests in rich apparel-she the center of the group,
In her snowy dress, and veil of lace, her wreath and jewels

bright,

With the rubies glowing redly, and the diamonds flashing bright. And the stranger-now her bridegroom-at the altar by her side; And the wedding-bells were pealing-and the nuptial knot was

tied,

And the maiden murmured blushingly, "I should like to be a bride."

But the pleasant prospect vanished, till it vanished like the rest;
And anon, she was a mother with an infant on her breast,
In an unknown, lofty chamber, she was pacing to and fro,
And her face was looking upward, but the look was full of woe,
For the baby lay so stilly, in a slumber so profound,