I THINK OF THEE.

BY GEORGE D. PRENTICE.

I THINK of thee, when morning springs

From sleep with plumage bathed in dew, And, like a young bird, lifts her wings

Of gladness on the welkin blue.

And when, at noon, the breath of love

O'er flower and stream is wandering free And sent in music from the grove,

I think of thee-I think of thee.

I think of thee, when soft and wide

The evening spreads her robes of light, And, like a young and timid bride,

Sits blushing in the arms of Night.

And when the moon's sweet crescent springs

In light o'er heaven's deep, waveless sea, And stars are forth like blessed things,

I think of thee-I think of thee.

I think of thee ;--that eye of flame,

Those tresses falling bright and free, That brow where “ Beauty writes her name,

On fancy rush ;-I think of thee.

TIME.

BY W. H. TIMROD.

They slander thee, “old traveller,"

Who say that thy delight
Is to scatter ruin far and wide

In thy wantonness of might,
For not a leaf that falleth

Before thy restless wings,
But thou changest in thy rapid flight,

To a thousand brighter things.

Thou passest o'er the battle-field

Where the dead lie stiff and stark, Where nought is heard, save the vulture's scream,

And the gaunt wolf's famished bark.
But thou hast caused the grain to spring

From the blood enriched clay,
And the waving corn-tops seem to dance

To the rustic's merry lay.

Thou hast strewn the lordly palace

In ruin o'er the ground,
And the dismal screech of the owl is heard

Where the harp was wont to sound;
But the self-same spot thou coverest

With the dwellings of the poor, And a thousand happy hearts enjoy

What one usurped before.

'Tis true thy progress layeth

Full many a loved one low, And for the brave and beautiful

Thou hast caused our tears to flow; But “always" near the couch of death

Nor thou, nor we can stay, And the breath of thy departing wings

Dries all our tears away.

THE WAVE.

BY J. 0. ROCKWELL.

List! thou child of wind and sea,

Tell me of the far off deep,
Where the tempest's wing is free,

And the waters never sleep.
Thou perchance the storm hath aided,

In its works of stern despair,
Or perchance thy hand hath braided,

In deep caves, the mermaid's hair.

Wave! now on the golden sands,

Silent as thou art, and broken, Bearest thou not from distant strands

To my heart some pleasant token?

Tales of mountains of the south,

Spangles of the ore of silver, Which with playful singing mouth,

Thou hast leaped on high to pilfer ?

Mournful Wave! I deemed thy song

Was telling of a floating prison, Which when tempests swept along,

And the mighty winds were risen, Foundered in the ocean's grasp,

While the brave and fair were dying. Wave! didst mark a white hand clasp

In thy folds as thou wert flying ?

Hast thou seen the hallowed rock,

Where the pride of kings reposes, Crowned with many a misty lock,

Wreathed with samphire green and roses ? Or with joyous playful leap

Hast thou been a tribute flinging Up that bold and jutting steep,

Pearls upon the south wind stringing ?

Faded Wave! a joy to thee

Now thy flight and toil are over ! Oh! may my departure be

Calm as thine, thou ocean rover !
When the soul's last joy or mirth

On the shore of time is driven,
Be its lot like thine on earth,
To be lost away in heaven.

THE WIFE.

BY A. P. DINNIES.

She flung her white arms around him-Thou art all That this poor heart can cling to."

I could have stemmed misfortune's tide,

And borne the rich one's sneer,
Have braved the haughty glance of pride,

Nor shed a single tear.
I could have smiled on every blow

From life's full quiver thrown,
While I might gaze on thee, and know

I should not be “ alone."

I could-I think I could have brooked,

E'en for a time, that thou
Upon my fading face hadst looked

With less of love than now;
For then I should at least have felt

The sweet hope still my own,
To win thee back, and, whilst I dwelt

On earth, not been alone.”

But thus to see, from day to day,

Thy brightening eye and cheek,
And watch thy life-sands waste away,

Unnumbered, slowly, meek;