Gerald Massey. Born 1828. BORN at Tring, in Hertfordshire, in 1828. He was in early life an errandboy. He fought his way to distinction amid the greatest discouragements, and in 1854 established his name as a poet by the publication of the ballad of "Babe Christabel and other Poems," which met with great success. In 1856 he published "Craigcrook Castle," a volume which sustained his reputation; he is also a contributor to literary journals, and has adopted literature as his profession. FROM "BABE CHRISTABEL." AND thou hast stolen a jewel, Death! Through tears it gleams perpetually, And glitters through the thickest glooms, To light us o'er the jasper sea. With our best branch in tenderest leaf, We've strewn the way our Lord doth come; And, ready for the harvest home, His reapers bind our ripest sheaf. Our beautiful bird of light hath fled: Then straightway into glory sped. And white-winged angels nurture her; With heaven's white radiance robed and crowned, She summers on the hills of myrrh. Through childhood's morning-land, serene She walked betwixt us twain, like love; Her better angel walked unseen, Till life's highway broke bleak and wild; Her wave of life hath backward rolled To the great ocean; on whose shore We wander up and down, to store For precious pearls and relics rare, O weep no more! there yet is balm Strange glory streams through life's wild rents, To the beloved going hence. God's ichor fills the hearts that bleed; The best fruit loads the broken bough; Alexander Smith. Born 1830. BORN in Kilmarnock, on 31st December 1830, has earned a reputation as a poet. He was originally employed as a pattern-drawer in a Glasgow factory, till in 1853 appeared "A Life Drama," which was so well received that the public attention was directed to the author, and in 1854 he was elected Secretary to the Edinburgh University. The situation gave him good opportunities of cultivating his literary talents, and in 1857 appeared "City Poems." He is also a contributor to several periodicals. FROM "A LIFE DRAMA." As a wild maiden, with love-drinking eyes, As Moses' serpent the Egyptians' swallow'd, Whose melody will haunt the world for aye, For, as a torrid sunset boils with gold As passionately, my rich-laden years, Bare, bald, and tawdry, as a fingered moth, I cannot draw regard of thy great eyes. How tenderly the moon doth fill the night! In the proud zenith Might I so broaden on the skies of fame! O Fame! Fame! Fame! next grandest word to God! Some lonely wanderer 'mong the desert sands Adelaide Anne Procter. Born 1835. DAUGHTER of "Barry Cornwall," and author of two volumes of poems entitled "Lyrics and Legends." A DOUBTING HEART. WHERE are the swallows fled ? Frozen and dead, Perchance upon some bleak and stormy shore. O doubting heart! Far over purple seas, They wait in sunny ease The balmy southern breeze, To bring them to their northern home once more. Why must the flowers die ? In the cold tomb, heedless of tears or rain. O doubting heart! They only sleep below The soft white ermine snow While winter winds shall blow, To breathe and smile upon you soon again. The sun has hid its rays These many days; Will dreary hours never leave the earth! O doubting heart! The stormy clouds on high Veil the same sunny sky That soon-for spring is nigh Shall wake the summer into golden mirth. Fair hope is dead, and light Is quenched in night. What sound can break the silence of despair? O doubting heart! The sky is overcast, Yet stars shall rise at last, Brighter for darkness past, And angels' silver voices stir the air. Miscellaneous. THERE IS A TONGUE IN EVERY LEAF. THERE is a tongue in every leaf, A voice in every rill A voice that speaketh everywhere, 'Tis the Great Spirit, wide diffused I see Him in the blazing sun, I feel Him in the silent dews, I feel Him in the gentle showers, The soft south wind, the breath of flowers, I see Him, hear Him, everywhere, THE LOST LITTLE ONE. WE miss her footfall on the floor, Her tip-tap at our bed-room door, And when to Heaven's high court above Though there are voices that we love, One sweet voice is not there. |