Thy mouth-that fissure in thy face May be a very useful place I know thou hast a wife at home, That wife sits fearless by thy side, Above thy mantel is a hook,— She begged thee not to let it go, She wept,—and breathed a trembling prayer It was a bitter sight to see That picture torn away; It was a solemn thought to think And often in her calmer hours, Upon its long-deserted hook The absent portrait seems. Thy wretched infant turns his head And looks to meet the placid stare I never saw thee, lovely one,— It is not often that we cross But if we meet in distant years, MY AUNT. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. My aunt! my dear unmarried aunt! Long years have o'er her flown; I know it hurts her-though she looks Her waist is ampler than her life, My aunt! my poor deluded aunt! Her father-grandpapa! forgive This erring lip its smiles - He sent her to a stylish school; 'T was in her thirteenth June; And with her, as the rules required, They braced my aunt against a board, They laced her up, they starved her down, They pinched her feet, they singed her hair, O never mortal suffered more In penance for her sins. So, when my precious aunt was done, Alas! nor chariot, nor barouche, Tore from the trembling father's arms For her how happy had it been! To see one sad, ungathered rose COMIC MISERIES. JOHN G. SAXE. My dear young friend, whose shining wit Sets all the room a-blaze, Don't think yourself a "happy dog," For all your merry ways; But learn to wear a sober phiz, Be stupid, if you can, It's such a very serious thing To be a funny man! You're at an evening party, with You're talking deep philosophy With very special force, To edify a clergyman. With suitable discourse, You think you 've got him-when he calls A friend across the way, And begs you'll say that funny thing You said the other day! You drop a pretty jeu-de-mot Who likes to give you credit for The clever thing he hears, The old authentic one, Just breaking off the point of it, By sudden change in politics, While every body marvels why Your mirth is under ban,— They think your very grief "a joke,” You follow up a stylish card That bids you come and dine, And bring along your freshest wit (To pay for musty wine), You're looking very dismal, when And wonders what you 're thinking of, You're telling to a knot of friends A fancy-tale of woes That cloud your matrimonial sky, And banish all repose A solemn lady overhears The story of your strife, And tells the town the pleasant news: My dear young friend, whose shining wit For all your merry ways; Be stupid, if you can, It's such a very serious thing IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES. WILLIAM AYTOUN. The impossibility of translating this now well-known expression (imperfectly rendered in a companion-work, "Ideas of Napoleonism'), will excuse the title and burden of the present ballad being left in the original French.-TRANS LATOR. COME, listen all who wish to learn How nations should be ruled, From one who from his youth has been From one who knows the art to please, Improve and govern men— Eh bien ! Ecoutez, aux Idées, To keep the mind intently fixed On number One alone |