I deemed that I was dying then.
My head fell on the wave once more,
And reason left me,-all seemed o'er,
Yet something I remember now,-
I knew I gazed upon the sky,
And felt the breeze pass o'er my brow,
Along the unbroken sea to die ;

And, half with faintness, half with dread,
The spirit that sustained me fled.

6.

There was an eye that watch'd me then,―
An ear that heard my frequent prayer;
And God, who trod the unyielding wave,
When human efforts all were vain,
Ere the death-struggle, came to save,
And called me back to life again.

7.

*

I thought that I was yielding life,
To perish in that mortal strife,
And calmly lay along the sea,
That soon would calmly pass o'er me,
But my clenched teeth together met,
As if with death I struggled yet—
Then I was stemming it once more;
And then again the sea-bird's cry
Was mingling with the billows' roar,
As I laid down my head to die.
8.

Returning reason came at last,

And bade returning hope appear:

That remnant of the broken mast,

And

my dead comrade both were near;
Not floating o'er the billows now,

For they had drifted us to land-
And I was saved-I knew not how-
But felt that an Almighty hand
Had chased the waters from the strand,

9.

Beside the corpse, and by the wave,

I knelt, and murmured praise to Him,
Who, in the fearful trial, gave

Strength to the spirit and the limb!

THE SCHOOLBOY.-Anonymous.

The School-boy had been rambling all the day,
A careless, thoughtless idler, till the night

Came on, and warned him homeward; then he left
The meadows where the morning had been passed,
Chasing the butterfly, and took the road
Toward the cottage where his mother dwelt:
He had her parting blessing, and she watched
Once more to breathe the welcome to her child,
Who sauntered lazily-ungrateful boy!
Till deeper darkness came o'er sky and earth,
And then he ran, till almost breathless grown,
He passed within the wicket gate which led
Into the village church-yard-then he paused,
And earnestly looked round; for o'er his head
The gloomy cypress waved, and at his feet
Lay the last bed of many a villager.

But on again he pressed with quickened step, "Whistling aloud to keep his courage up. The bat came flapping by, the ancient church Threw its deep shadows o'er the path he trod, And the boy trembled like the aspen leaf; For now he fancied that all shapeless forms Came flitting by him, each with bony han:1, And motion as if threatening; while a weight Unearthly pressed the satchel and the slate He strove to keep within his grasp. The wind Played with the feather that adorned his cap, And seemed to whisper something horrible. The clouds had gathered thickly round the moon, But now and then her light shone gloriously Upon the sculptured tombs and humble graves, And in a moment all was dark again,

O'ercome with terror, the pale boy sank down, And wildly gazed around him, till his eye Fell on a stone, on which these warning words Were carved :

"Time! thou art flying rapidly

But whither art thou flying?"
"To the grave-which yours will be—
I wait not for the dying.

In early youth you laughed at me,

And, laughing, passed life's morning,

But in thy age I laugh at thee

Too late to give thee warning"

"Death! thy shadowy form I see,
The steps of Time pursuing;
Like him, thou comest rapidly-
What deed must thou be doing?"
"Mortal, my message is for thee-
Thy chain to earth is rended;
I bear thee to eternity--
Prepare-thy course is ended!"

Attentively the fainting boy perused

The warning lines-then grew more terrified;
For, from the grave there seemed to rise a voice
Repeating them, and telling him of time
Misspent, of death approaching rapidly,
And of the dark eternity that followed.
His fears increased, till on the ground he lay
Almost bereft of feeling and of sense-
And there his mother found him;

From the damp church-yard sod she bore her child,
Frightened to feel his clammy hands, and hear
The sighs and sobs that from his bosom came!

'Twas strange the influence which that fearful hour
Had o'er his future life; for from that night
He was a thoughtful and industrious boy!
And still the memory of those warning words
Bids him reflect-now that he is a man,
And writes those feeble lines that others may.

CHRIST STILLING THE TEMPEST.-Hemans.

"But the boat in the midst of the sea was tossed with the waves, for the wind was contrary.”—St. Matthew, chap. xiv., ver. 24. Fear was within the tossing bark, When stormy winds grew loud, And waves came rolling high and dark, And the tall mast was bowed.

2.

And men stood breathless in their dread,
And baffled in their skill-

But One was there, who rose and said
To the wild sea, Be still!

3.

And the wind ceased-it ceased-that word
Passed through the gloomy sky;
The troubled billows knew their Lord,
And sank beneath his eye.

4.

And slumber settled on the deep,

And silence on the blast,

As when the righteous falls asleep,
When death's fierce throes are past

5.

Thou that didst rule the angry hour,
And tame the tempest's mood,—
Oh! send thy Spirit forth in power,
O'er our dark souls to brood!

6.

Thou that didst bow the billow's pride,
Thy mandates to fulfil,-

So speak to passion's raging tide,

Speak, and say,-Peace, be still!