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LOCAL AND NATIONAL POETS OF AMERICA.

With a soothing murmur, the River of Slumber Flows o'er a bed of silver sand;

And angels are keeping watch o'er the sleeping
Babes of Babyland.

And there in the Valley of Babyland,
Under the moss and leaves and ferns,
Like an unfledged starling they find the
darling

For whom the heart of a mother yearns.
And they lift him lightly, and tuck him tightly
In feathers as soft as a Lady's hand,
And off with a rock away step they walk away
Out of Babyland.

As they go from the Valley of Babyland Forth into the world of great unrest, Sometimes weeping he wakes from sleeping Before he reaches his mother's breast.

Ah! how she blessed him, how she carressed him,

Bonniest bird in the bright home band, That o'er land and water the kind storks brought her

From far off Babyland.

THE MASTER HAND.

It is something too strange to understand,
How all the chords on the instrument,
Whether sorrowful, blithe, or grand,
Under the touch of your master hand
Were into one melody blent:
Major, minor, everything,-all
Came at your magic fingers' call.

Why, famed musicians had turned in despair
Again and again from those self-same keys:
They mayhap brought forth a simple air,
But a discord always crept in somewhere
In their fondest efforts to please.
Or a jarring, jangling, meaningless strain
Would anger the silence to noisy pain.
"Out of tune," they would frown, and say,
Or a loosened key," or "a broken string;"
But sure and certain they were alway
That no man living on earth could play
Measures more pleasing, or bring
Sounds more sweet, or a finer air,
Out of that curious instrument there.

And then you came. You swept the scale
With a mighty master's wonderful art;
You made the minor keys sob and wail,
While the deep notes rang like a bell in a gale,
And every chord in my heart,

From the low bass tones to the shrill ones above,

Joined into the glorious harmony-Love. And now, though I live for a thousand years, On no new chords can a new hand fall.

The chords of raptures, of hopes, of fears.
The chords of anguish, and joy, and tears.--
I say you have struck them all,
And the hidden meaning put in each strain
By the Great Composer you have made plain.

BLASE.

The world has outlived all its passion;
Its men are inane and blase,
Its women mere puppets of fashion;
Life now is a comedy play.
Our Abilard sighs for a season,

Then yields with decorum to Fate;
Our Heloise listens to reason,—
And seeks a new mate.

Our Romeo's flippant emotion

Grows pale as the summer grows old,
And our Juliet proves her devotion

By clasping-a cup filled with gold.
Vain Antony boasts of love's favors
From fair Cleopatra the frail,
And the death of the sorceress savors
Less of asps than of ale.

With the march of bold civilization

Great loves and great faiths are down trod; They belonged to an era and nation

All fresh with the imprint of God. High culture emasculates feeling;

The overtaught brain robs the heart; And the shrines now were mortals are kneel

ing

Is a commonplace mart.

By the lady-like minds of our mothers
We are taught that to feel is « bad form;"
Our effeminate fathers and brothers

Keep carefully out of life's storm;
Our worshippers, now, and our lovers,

Are calmly devout — with their brains; And we laugh at the man who discovers Warm blood in his veins.

But you, O twin souls, passion-mated,
Who love as the gods loved of old,
What blundering destiny fated

Your lives to be cast in this mould?

Like a lurid volcanic upheaval

In pastures prosaic and gray

You seem, with your fervors primeval,
Among us to-day,

You dropped from some planet of splendor,
Perhaps, as it circled afar,

And your constancy swerveless and tender

You learned from the course of that star. Fly back to its bosom, I warn you,

As back to the ark flew the dove:
The minions of earth will but scorn you
Because you can love!

LOCAL AND NATIONAL POETS OF AMERICA.

HENRY RYDER-TAYLOR.

BORN IN ENGLAND, MAY 5, 1850. WHEN a boy, Henry wrote a Poetical History of England. He was attached to the London Telegraph and All The Year Round, and at one time was amanuensis to Charles Dickens. He was subsequently employed by several prominent London and provincial papers, and wrote several able pamphlets, socn gaining a reputation as a forcible, witty, elegant and entertaining writer. Mr. RyderTaylor has edited various other publications

HENRY RYDER-TAYLOR.

of note: has filled several public offices; was for a time professor of English literature and elocution, and gave lectures on important subjects. In 1881 he came to the United States, settling in San Antonio, Texas, where he soon became an American citizen. He is now editor of the Sunday Mirror, and contributes to several prominent journals. Mr. Ryder-Taylor has a wife and a family of several children, of whom he is very proud.

THE BETTER BY AND BY.

As onward through the world we go,
We many trials see,

And troubles oft oppress us sore,
They seem so hard to be;

But when the heart is lone and sad,
Then hope to us is nigh,

And shows a happy prospect

In the better by and by.

The children think it very hard,

That elders bear the rule;

And harder still the lessons

They learn in life's great school.

Hope gives them courage as they think,It sparkles in the eye

They'll soon grow big and alter things,

In the better by and by.

The lovers often quarrel,

And think each other hard,
As often they make up their tiffs,
And greater grows regard.
They think upon the future,

When bound by dearer tie,
And hope for wedded happiness,
In the better by and by.
When man and wife are parted,
As oft we see in life,

By cruel fate, or worse yet still,

163

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Perhaps by cankerous strife;
If pure love in their hearts has burned,
This solace they apply,-

The hope of blessed reunion,
In the better by and by.

The widow, in her sore distress,
Is turned from her grief,
To her dear, loving little child,

And in it finds relief;

By want and care she is oppressed,
And under ban doth lie,

Yet waits in patience and in hope,
The better by and by.

The rich man's often envied,
By reasons of his wealth;
He trials has, vexations too,

And often bad his health.
Surrounded by his riches,

His heart has still its cry,
And even he looks forward

To the better by and by.
The poor man going forth at dawn
Toils very hard all day,

His wages small, his comforts few,

And very rough his way;

To make the most of humble means,
He and his wife doth try,
Encouraged by the goodly hope,

Of the better by and by.

The prisoner in his lonely cell,
As punished for crime,
Toils sadly on throughout the day,
And wears away his time:

He thinks of wife and loving friends,
And on them doth rely,

And longs for Freedom's happy hour,--
In the better by and by.

The sick man tossing on his bed,
Racked by the body's pain,

For him there seems but little hope
He may be well again;

But when folks come to see him,
How welcome the reply,
..You are doing very nicely

You'll be better by and by."

164

LOCAL AND NATIONAL POETS OF AMERICA.

But when we mourn our loved, our dead,

How bitter is the heart!

'Tis then we feel the force of love

How hard it is to part!

But hope stands by to cheer us,

While we with fate comply,
And says that we shall meet again
In the better by and by.

Since all of us, both rich and poor,
Of trials have a share,

To each let's give a helping hand,
And have a friendly care;
Let's do our duty in this world,
And when we come to die,
We'll surely be rewarded,

In the better by and by.

THE SONG OF THE WEARY.

I am weary, oh! my darling,
Of this fell earthly strife,
That day by day I'm waging
Just to sustain our life.
But I struggle on still hoping

That Time will right the wrong; And yet my weary heart will sigh, How long, Oh! Lord, how long?"

I am weary, oh! my darling,
of the sights I daily see,
Of vice in glorious splendor,
The poor in misery.

The gilded herd, with iron rule,
Oppress the common throng;

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I'm patient, yet the heart will cry: How long, oh! Lord, how long?" I am weary, oh! my darling,

Of the friendship that's not true, And sigh that we no Damons find To gild life's dreary hue.

I am weary of the love that comes
Just like a Syren's song;
And sadly does my heart repeat,
"How long, oh! Lord, how long?"

I am weary, oh! my darling,

Of the fashions of the time, That only make dressed dummies Of womanhood sublime, That make of young men noodles, Effeminate, not strong; And, sickened, then I sadly cry,

How long, oh! Lord, how long?"

I am weary, oh! my darling,
Of politic's shrewd game,
Where bosses rule in all things,
Defile the people's name;

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In the old home, nestled 'mong forest-crowned hills,

I list to the music of swift dancing rills,
And musical voices far sweeter than these
Are floating to me on the soft evening breeze.
Over my heart, long shaded in sadness,
Softly there falleth a feeling of gladness,
For the dear old days have come back to me,
When I was a child so careless and free.
Here in their prime I find Father and Mother;
Once more I frolic with sister and brother,
Building a playhouse in some pleasant nook,
Or romp in the orchard or down by the brook.
Sweet as the flowers that bloom in the wild-

wood

Are the beautiful days of innocent childhood, And like the fair flowers how short is their

stay,

The swift passing years soon bear them away. E'en as I gaze, fancy's picture is fading, Realities, stern my pathway are shading, Life's burdens and years have furrowed my brow,

And my loved ones dwell not in the old home

now.

EXTRACT.

Many a time comes sorrow and care,
And trials the heart can scarcely bear.—
But seldom will come a measure of bliss,
In a world as cold and careless as this;
The strangest of things will sometimes befall
Yet the pleasures we know as the sweetest of
all

May come but once in a lifetime.

THOMAS O'HAGAN.

BORN IN CANADA IN 1855.

THIS gentleman has received a thorough education, having become proficient in Latin, French, German, and other languages, and is one of the rising litterateurs of the new world. In 1874 Mr. O'Hagan entered the profession of teaching, and during the succeeding nine years held positions of great prominence. Later on the degrees of B. A. and M. A. were con

The wounds and scars of olden days
Had left her maiden brow,

And manly hearts stood by her side,
And swords spoke of a vow-
That Ireland, dear old Irelaud,
Should forever more be free,
And her patriot sons in union
Drive the Saxon o'er the sea.

I saw the Shannon pour along
In joyous accents clear,

Its tide of music sweet and strong-
Each wave was filled with cheer;
And hast'ning on in proud acclaim
Swept Barrow Suir and Lee;
For a nation's heart was throbbing
In each wavelet to the sea.

O land of woe and sorrow,
When shall come this vision bright?
When shall beam a glad to-morrow?
When shall fade thy starless night?
I have watch'd and waited for thee,
I have hoped for thee in fear,
I have caught thy ray of sunshine
Through the ocean of a tear!

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RIPENED FRUIT.

I know not what my heart hath lost,

I cannot strike the chords of old;

The breath that charmed my morning life Hath chilled each leaf within the wold.

The swallows twitter in the sky,
But bare the nest beneath the eaves;
The fledglings of my care are gone,
And left me but the rustling leaves.

And yet I know my life hath strength,
And firmer hope and sweeter prayer,
For leaves that murmur on the ground
Have now for me a double care.

I see in them the hope of spring,

That erst did plan the autumn day;

I see in them each gift of man
Grow strong in years, then turn to clay.

Not all is lost the fruit remains
That ripen'd through the summer's ray;
The nurslings of the nest are gone,
Yet hear we still their warbling lay.

The glory of the summer sky
May change to tints of autumn hue:
But faith that sheds its amber light,
Will lend our heaven a tender blue.

O altar of eternal youth!

O faith that beckons from afar! Give to our lives a blossomed fruit Give to our morns an evening star!

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And the town, which lay peaceful, at break of day,

Was, in a few moments, all swept away.
And thousands of souls, borne down by the
Shall lie forever in nameless graves; [waves,
Among them the rider, who thought in the

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morning,

To the valley below, he'd carry the warning.
He thought for a time to outride the wave,
But alas! too soon it would be his grave. [tide,
As he gained the bridge, he was struck by the
And e'er he could reach the other side
The structure, with a crash, was seen to fall,
And bridge, and rider, steed and all
Were plunged, in the seething mass below!
Alas! alas! that it should be so.

A nameless Paul Revere" he dies-
Somewhere, with the nameless dead he lies;
Though no marble slab shall mark the spot,
Yet his daring deed will be ne'er forgot.
As ages roll, and the pen shall tell,

Of hero's who, with laurels fell,

No name shall shine with a brighter hue,
Than that of the rider, so brave and true.

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