And thought I, kneeling by thy side,
Such lot Love's annals ne'er recorded!

Life seem'd all sunshine to the bride, -
What has it to the wife afforded?

I will not say, since first we met,

My path has been all light and glory; Or, without thorns Love's coronet;

Or, that no cloud has e'er come o'er me:

But oft my fond heart has avow'd

Those thorns were never of thy twining; And could thy hand have staid the cloud, My sky had e'er been bright and shining:

And as, 'twixt midnight clouds afar,

Some lonely gem is oft seen peeping,

So thy loved smile, my bosom's star,

Has cheer'd me through my night of weeping.

Nor to that smile the past alone

Owes what it hath of joyous seeming ;

It is of present joys the crown,

It is upon the future beaming.

I clasp thy ready hand in mine,

I feel that hand my grasp returning; "Tis sweet, though mirth may fainter shine,

That bright as aye Love's lamp is burning!

THE LIME, OR LINDEN-TREE.

TILIA.

"The stately lime, smooth, gentle, straight, and fair,
(With which no other Dryad can compare.)"

THOUGH We are not prepared, perhaps, entirely to acquiesce in the sweeping commendation contained in the closing line of the selected motto, yet can we truly say the lime is a very beautiful tree: it has an aristocratic look about it, which makes it a fitting ornament for cultivated grounds, where we often find it expanding itself in full glory; it also adorns our woods and hedgerows, for it rejects no soil or situation, though of course both its size and also the swiftness of its growth depend a good deal on local circumstances. "In rich, feeding, loamy ground," says Evelyn," its growth will be most incredible for speed and spreading." This circumstance, together with the stately beauty of its appearance, makes it a matter of surprise that it is not more extensively cultivated: it is objected against it, that the leaf comes out late, and falls early; but surely this defect is more