Though icy cold by day it ran,
Yet still, like souls of mirth, began

To burn when night was near :
And thus should woman's heart and looks
At noon be cold as winter brooks,
Nor kindle till the night, returning,
Brings their genial hour for burning.

Oh! stay--Oh! stay.
When did morning ever break,
And find such beaming eyes awake

As those that sparkle here !

OH! THINK NOT MY SPIRITS ARE ALWAYS

AS LIGHT.

AIR.John O'Reilly the Active.

I.

On! think not my spirits are always as light,

And as free from a pang, as they seem to you now; Nor expect that the heart-beaming smile of to-night

Will return with to-morrow to brighten my brow.

looks

No-life is a waste of wearisome hours,

Which seldom the rose of enjoyment adorns;
And the heart that is soonest awake to the flowers,

Is always the first to be touch'd by the thorns !
But send round the bowl, and be happy awhile ;

May we never meet worse in our pilgrimage here,
Than the tear that enjoyment can gild with a smile,

And the smile that compassion can turn to a tear.

II.

WAYS

The thread of our life would be dark, Heaven knows !

If it were not with friendship and love intertwined ; And I care not how soon I may

sink to repose,
When these blessings shall cease to be dear to my

mind!
But they who have loved the fondest, the purest,

Too often have wept o'er the dream they believed ;
And the heart that has slumber'd in friendship securest,

Is happy indeed if 'twas never deceived.
But send round the bowl-while a relic of truth
Is in man or in woman,

this
prayer

shall be mine, That the sun-shine of love may illumine our youth,

And the moon-light of friendship console our decline.

THOUGH THE LAST GLIMPSE OF ERIN WITH

SORROW I SEE.

AIR.--Coulin.

I.

Though the last glimpse of Erin with sorrow I see,
Yet wherever thou art shall seem Erin to me ;
In exile thy bosom shall still be my home,
And thine

eyes
make

my

climate wherever we roan.

II.

To the gloom of some desert or cold rocky shore,
Where the

eye of the stranger can haunt us no more, I will fly with my Coulin, and think the rough wind Less rude than the foes we leave frowning behind.

III.

And I'll gaze on thy gold hair, as graceful it wreathes,
And hang o'er thy soft harp, as wildly it breathes ;
Nor dread that the cold-hearted Saxon will tear
One chord from that harp, or one lock from that hair."

* “In the twenty-eighth year of the reign of Henry VIII. an Act was made respecting the habits, and dress in general, of the Irish, whereby all persons were restrained from being

RICH AND RARE WERE THE GEMS SHE WORE.*

AIR.--The Summer is coming.

I. Rich and rare were the gems she wore, And a bright gold ring on her wand she bore ; But oh! her beauty was far beyond Her sparkling gems or snow-white wand. shorn or shaven above the ears, or from wearing Glibbes, or Coulins (long locks), on their heads, or hair on their upper lip, called Crommeal. On this occasion à song was written by one of our bards, in which an Irish virgin is made to give the preference to her dear Coulin (or the youth with the flowing locks), to all strangers (by which the English were meant), or those who wore their habits. Of this song the air alone has reached us, and is universally admired.”_WALKER's Historical Memoirs of Irish Bards, page 134. Mr. Walker informs us also, that, about the same period, there were some harsh measures taken against the Irish Minstrels.

* This ballad is founded upon the following anecdote: “The people were inspired with such a spirit of honour, virtue, and religion, by the great example of Brien, and by his excellent administration, that, as a proof of it, we are informed that a young lady of great beauty, adorned with jewels and a costly dress, undertook a journey alone from one end of the kingdom to the other, with a wand only in her hand, at the top of which was a ring of exceeding great value; and such an impression bad the laws and government of this Monarch made on the minds of all the people, that no attempt was made upon her honour, nor was she robbed of her clothes or jewels.”—WARNER's History of Irelani), Vol. 1, Book 10.

II.

Lady! dost thou not fear to stray,
“ So lone and lovely, through this bleak way?
« Are Erix's sons so good or so cold,
“ As not to be tempted by woman or gold?”

“ Sir Knight! I feel not the least alarm,
“ No son of Erin will offer me harm-
- For though they love woman and golden store,
“ Sir Knight! they love honour and virtue more!"

IV.

On she went, and her maiden smile
In safety lighted her round the green isle.
And blest for ever is she who relied
Upon Erin's honour and Eri's pride!