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Why turn from me thus with such petulant pride,
When I ask thee, sweet Edith, to be my bride;
When I offer the gift of heart fond and true,
And with loyalty seek thy young love to woo?...

Darkly falls the autumn twilight, rustles by the crisp leaf sere,
Sadly wail the lonely night-winds, sweeping sea-ward, chill and drear,
Sullen dash the restless waters 'gainst a bleak and rock-bound shore,...

Oh! gladly do we welcome thee,
Fair pleasant month of May;
Month which we've eager longed to see,
Through many a wintry day:
And now with countless budding flowers,
With sunshine bright and clear -...

I.

Come tell me some olden story
Of Knight or Paladin,
Whose sword on the field of glory
Bright laurel wreaths did win:
Tell me of the heart of fire
His courage rare did prove;...

"The heart knoweth its own bitterness"


The heart hath its moments of hopeless gloom,
As rayless as is the dark night of the tomb;
When the past has no spell, the future no ray,...

To all my fond rhapsodies, Charley,
You have wearily listened, I fear;
As yet not an answer you've given
Save a shrug, or an ill-concealed sneer;
Pray, why, when I talk of my marriage,...

The earth was flooded in the amber haze
That renders so lovely our autumn days,
The dying leaves softly fluttered down,
Bright crimson and orange and golden brown,
And the hush of autumn, solemn and still,...

He stood on the wood-crowned summit
Of our mountain's regal height,
And gazed on the scene before him,
By October's golden light,
And his dark eyes, earnest, thoughtful,
Lit up with a softer ray...

In the hour of grief and sorrow,
When my heart is full of care,
Seeking sadly hope to borrow
From heaven's promises and prayer;
When around me roll the waters
Of affliction's stormy sea,...

Around the castle turrets fiercely moaned the autumn blast,
And within the old lords daughter seemed dying, dying fast;
While o'er her couch in frenzied grief the stricken father bent,...

It will be in the recollection of many of our readers that during the famine years of 1847 and 1848 there was an unusual emigration from Ireland to Canada and the United States. Numbers of those who thus left their native land ...

The moon from solemn azure sky
Looked down on earth below,
And coldly her wan light fell alike
On scenes of joy and woe:
A stately palace reared its dome,
Within reigned warmth and light...

O aptly named, Illustrious One!
Thou art that flower fair
That filled this vast and changeful world
With mystic perfume rare -
Shedding on all the balmy breath
Of countless virtues high,...

I sit by the fire musing,
With sad and downcast eye,
And my laden breast gives utt'rance
To many a weary sigh;
Hushed is each worldly feeling,
Dimmed is each day-dream bright -...

Of many gifts bestowed on earth
To cheer a lonely hour,
Oh is there one of equal worth
With music's magic power?
'Twill charm each angry thought to rest,
'Twill gloomy care dispel,...

In Memoriam.


Grief reigns now within the convent walls,
And sadly float through its silent halls
The notes of a requiem - solemn, clear,
Falling like wail on each listening ear,...

Lonely and silent and calm it lies
'Neath rosy dawn or midnight skies;
So densely peopled, yet so still,
The murmuring voice of mountain rill,
The plaint the wind 'mid branches wakes,...

How oft I've longed to gaze on thee,
Thou proud and mighty deep!
Thy vast horizon, boundless, free,
Thy coast so rude and steep;
And now entranced I breathless stand,
Where earth and ocean meet,...

It is now two hundred years and more
Since first set foot on Canadian shore
That saint-like heroine, fair and pure,
Prepared all things for Christ to endure;
Resigning rank and kindred ties,...

'Tis midnight, and solemn darkness broods
In a lonely, sacred fane -
The church of Our Lady of Montserrat,
So famous throughout all Spain;
For countless were the pilgrim hosts...