Her voyage pursue-till her anchor be cast His THE MOTHER'S RETURN. BY MISS E. L. MONTAGU. Он, we hae missed ye sair, Mither, the whiles ye hae been gane, And sadly by the ingle nook my Father sat alane ; And oh how lanesome and how lang the weary hours hae been Sin ye read me frae the picture-book the fairy tales at e'en. Oh, we hae missed ye sair, Mither, while ye hae been awa'; The bonnie doos ye loved to tend sat moping by the wa'; D The merry, merry, minster bells mair sadly seemed to ring, And the bullfinch wi' his mournfu' voice amaist forgot to sing. Oh, Mither! we hae missed ye, sair, mair sairly than ye ken; When the darksome winter night came on I sought for ye in vain : I looked upon my Father's face, but tears were in his ee, And, Mither, when we knelt and prayed, our hearts were full o' thee. But oh! I missed ye maist, Mither, when alane I ganged to bed, And the fond "Good-night! evening prayer was said: was over, and the I dinna ken what made me greet, but mony a night I wept, And I thought how ye were used to come and kiss me ere I slept. Then tell me, tell me, Mither dear, ye 'll gang nae mair awa', But bide wi' me, and Father, and the bonnie doos and a' ; And I'll promise ne'er again to greet, and ne'er, oh ne'er do wrang, And again we'll a' be happy as the simmer days are lang!" TO THE RAINBOW. BY THOMAS CAMPBELL. TRIUMPHAL arch, that fill'st the sky Still seem as to my childhood's sight, Betwixt the earth and heaven. Can all that Optics teach unfold When Science from Creation's face Enchantment's veil withdraws, What lovely visions yield their place To cold material laws! And yet, fair bow, no fabling dreams, But words of the Most High, Have told why first thy robe of beams Was woven in the sky. |