POETICAL SELECTIONS 
 
 FROM CELEBRATED AUTHORS, 
 
 SUITABLE FOB INSCRIPTION IN 
 
 AUTOGRAPH ALBUMS, 
 
 COMPKISING A CHOICE COLLECTION 01" 
 
 HUMOROUS, FRIENDLY, AFFECTIONATE AND 
 MISCELLANEOUS VERSES. 
 
 COMPILED FOR THE PUBLISHERS 
 
 MARIE TOMISETTA. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 SHARPS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
 
 161 & 163 Fkankxin Stbeet. 
 1880. 
 
 7K 
 
m- 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1881, 
 
 BY 
 
 SHARPS PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 
FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 Faithful friends are hard to find ; 
 But she that is thy friend indeed 
 Will help thee in the time of need. 
 
 Tkue happiness consists not in a multitude, 
 But in the worth and choice of friends. 
 
 Theee are many friends of summer, 
 
 Who are friends while flowers bloom ; 
 But, when winter chills the blossoms, 
 
 They depart with the perfume. 
 On the broad highway of action, 
 
 Friends of worth are far and few ; 
 So, when one has proved her friendship, 
 
 Cling to her who clings to you. 
 
 Go, little book, from friend to friend, 
 
 And a moment claim ; 
 Ask from affection's gentle hand 
 
 The tribute of a name. 
 Time's rapid flight will leave unchanged 
 
 These autographs so dear, 
 Which love so kindly has arranged, 
 
 And penned with pleasure here. 
 
 May this autograph, friendship's offering, 
 
 Be the seedling out of which, in the long future, 
 
 Pleasant memories may blossom and flower. 
 
May all thy hopes be realized, 
 
 Thy wishes be fulfilled, 
 And never may a heart so warm 
 
 In the cold world be chilled. 
 That long may be thy life, 
 
 Crowded by a happy end, 
 Undimmed by aught of strife, 
 
 Are the wishes of your friend. 
 
 May friendly angels their kind wings display, 
 And be thy guide through every dangerous way ; 
 May all your future years be crowned with peace. 
 And every day new scenes of joy increase. 
 ■ In every state may thou most happy be, 
 And, when at leisure, cast one little thought on me 
 
 Theee wishes for my friend — 
 An earnest life ; 
 
 A friend to soothe this rugged pathway ; 
 A home in Heaven. 
 
 A favoeite thou wilt always be, 
 Forget thee I cannot ever ; 
 
 Friendship here I pledge to thee, 
 And will think of thee forever. 
 
 1^ future years, when turning to survey 
 The social joys of many a happy day, 
 If on this leaf you chance to cast your eye, 
 Eecalling scenes of pleasure long gone by, 
 Pause, ere you turn the leaf, and briefly lend 
 A transient recollection of your friend. 
 
When days, months and years have fled, 
 And friends are numbered with the dead, 
 May these few lines a remembrance be 
 Of her who penned them here for thee. 
 
 As time rolls on and faces change, 
 And friends from loved ones sever, 
 
 Some may forget to think of thee, 
 But I'll forget thee — never. 
 
 Let not your friendship, like the roses, wither , 
 But, like the evergreen, last forever. 
 
 Your album is your garden plot, 
 In which your friends may sow ; 
 Where thorns and thistles flourish not 
 I'll write within this garden plot 
 Three little words — 
 
 Forget Me Not. 
 
 We're much to blame, we're all the same, 
 
 Alike we're made of clay ; 
 And while we're here, with friends so dear, 
 
 Let's drive dull care away. 
 
 If every kind wish were a rose, 
 
 And the rose had not a thorn, 
 Thy path through life with loveliest flowers. 
 
 Fair friend, I would adorn. 
 But flowers must fade and joys decay, 
 
 And all of us must part ; 
 One treasure only will remain — 
 
 The peace of the pure in heart. 
 
6 
 
 Friends are not like pebbles lying in the path, 
 but pearls gathered with care, and rare as they are 
 beautiful. 
 
 Frieitoship, 'tis a holy charm, 
 
 That binds the broken heart ; 
 That points us from the path of harm, 
 
 And soothes afflictions smart ; 
 The sweetest boon of peace and love 
 
 That ere to man was given, 
 An emblem of the God above — 
 
 Of bliss, of joy, of Heaven. 
 
 Passing through life's field of action, 
 As we part before its end, 
 
 Take within your pretty album 
 
 This memento of a friend — 
 
 Think of me. 
 
 Remember well, and bear in mind, 
 A constant friend is hard to find ; 
 And when you've one good and true, 
 Never forsake the old one for the new. 
 
 Go, little book, thy destined course pursue, 
 Collect memorials of the just and true, 
 And beg of every friend so near 
 Some token of remembrance dear. 
 
 Remember Me ! 
 The humble lines, which here I trace, 
 Years may not change, or age efface ; 
 They may be read, though valued not, 
 When he (she) who penned them is forgot. 
 
Friendship, above all ties, does bind the heart, 
 And faith in friendship is the noblest part. 
 
 Fain would I plant on this delightful spot 
 That modest little flower — " Forget-me-not." 
 
 We may write our names in albums, 
 
 We may trace them in the sand, 
 Or may chisel them. in marble 
 
 With a firm and skillful hand ; 
 But the pages soon are sullied, 
 
 Soon each name will fade away. 
 Every monument will crumble, 
 
 Like all earthly hopes decay. 
 But, dear friend, there is an album 
 
 Filled with leaves of snowy white ; 
 There no name is ever tarnished, 
 
 But forever pure and bright. 
 In that Book of Life, God's Album, 
 
 May your names be penned with care, 
 And may all who here have written 
 
 Write their names forever there. 
 
 Oh ! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom 
 one can speak fearlessly on any subject, 
 
 With whom one's deepest, as well as one's most 
 foolish, thoughts come out simply and safely ; 
 
 Oh ! the comfort, the inexpressible comfort, of 
 feeling safe with a person, 
 
 Having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure 
 words, but proving them all right just as they 
 are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faith- 
 ful hand will take and sift them, and then, with 
 the breath of kindness, blow the rest away. 
 
8 
 
 Peeseeve this book, in later years 
 
 What happiness 'twill be, 
 To read thoughts of each loved friend 
 
 Who once was dear to thee ; 
 And while perusing those dear names, 
 
 Shedding fond tears for many, 
 Oh ! may I hope, with all my faults, 
 
 You'll have one thought for . 
 
 Why should the rich despise the poor ? 
 
 Why should the poor repine? 
 A little time will make us all 
 
 In equal friendship join. 
 
 Of all the gifts that Heaven bestows, 
 
 There's one above all measure — 
 And that's a friend ; 'midst all our woes 
 
 A friend is found a treasure. 
 To thee I give that sacred name, 
 
 For such thou art to me ; 
 And ever proudly will I claim 
 
 To be a friend to thee. 
 
 It may occur in after life 
 That you, I trust, a happy wife, 
 Will former happy hours retrace — 
 Recall each well-remembered face. 
 At such a moment I but ask — 
 I hope 'twill be a pleasant task — 
 That you'll remember, as a friend, 
 One who'll prove true e'en to the end. 
 
9 
 
 Had I the power to carve and print 
 Thy future, my dear friend, 
 
 It would be fair and ever bright, 
 Unclouded to the end. 
 
 Though many a joy around thee smile 
 
 And many a faithless friend you meet, 
 When love may cheer life's dreary dream 
 
 And turn the bitter into sweet, 
 Let memory sometimes call thee back 
 
 To other days, almost forgot ; 
 And when you think of other friends 
 
 Who loved you well — forget me not. 
 
 May joy thy steps attend, 
 And may'st thou find in eveiy form a friend, 
 And in thy dreams of home forget me not. 
 
 Foe weeks may pass and years may end, 
 Yet you will find in me a friend. 
 Friendship is not a plant of hasty growth 
 Though planted in esteem's deep-fixed soil ; 
 The gradual culture of kind intercourse 
 Must bring it to perfection. 
 
 Friendship is the cement of two minds, 
 As of one man the soul and body is, 
 Of which one cannot sever, but the other 
 Suffers a needful separation. 
 
 Friendship, sweet charmer of the soul, 
 
 What beauties in thee dwell; 
 Thou can'st man's erring heart control, 
 
 When all things else would fail, 
 
10 
 
 'Tis thou can'st raise the drooping breast, 
 
 And give new life to joy ; 
 Thou, with the weary one can'st rest, 
 
 When wrangling cares annoy. 
 
 When I from hence shall be removed, 
 And distant far from thee ; 
 
 Receive this token of my love, 
 And O, remember me. 
 
 Some friends may wish thee happiness, 
 Some others wish thee wealth ; 
 
 My wish for thee is better far — 
 Contentment, blest with health. 
 
 These few lines to you are tendered 
 By a friend sincere and true, 
 
 Hoping but to be remembered 
 When I'm far away from you. 
 
 Mat joy thy steps attend, 
 And may'st thou find in every f orm a friend ; 
 With care unsullied be thy every thought, 
 And in thy dreams of home forget me not. 
 
 Every joy that Heaven can send, 
 
 Health and every kind of treasure- 
 Health and love to thee, my friend, 
 
 And happiness without measure. 
 May your days in joy be passed 
 
 With friends to bless and cheer, 
 And each year exceed the last 
 
 In all that earth holds dear. 
 
11 
 
 In after years, when thou, perchance, 
 As thoughts of youthful times arise, 
 
 'Midst other scenes shall cast a glance 
 Along these pages, should thine eyes 
 
 Rest on this tribute — think of me ; 
 Think kindly, as I shall of thee. 
 
 May the friendships formed in childhood 
 
 Blossom in our riper years, 
 And, as time flows on, be strengthened, 
 
 Whether smiles be ours or tears, 
 
 It may occur in after life 
 That you, I trust, a happy wife, 
 Will former hours retrace — 
 Recall each well-remembered face ; 
 At such a moment I but ask, 
 I hope 'twill be a pleasant task, 
 That you'll remember, as a friend, 
 One who'll prove true e'en to the end. 
 
 Fair and flowery be thy way, 
 The skies all bright above thee, 
 
 And happier every coming day 
 To thee and those that love thee. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Many kind wishes will be written here, 
 And none more sincere than mine ; 
 
 Bnt - 
 
 Words are lighter than the clond foam 
 
 Of the restless ocean's spray ; 
 Vainer than the trembling shadow 
 
 That the next hour steals away. 
 By the fall of summer rain-drops 
 
 Is the air as deeply stirred ; 
 And the rose-leaf that we tread on 
 
 Will outlive a word. 
 
 Remember me when dawning day, 
 
 Blushing, receives the ardent sun ; 
 Or when at mournful eve you stray, 
 
 Yeil'd by its shade, like cloister'd nun. 
 When throbs your heart at pleasure's calls, 
 
 When lonely you at twilight stray 
 In silent bower, in lighted hall, 
 
 Hear what each murmuring breeze shall say- 
 " Remember me." 
 
 Sweet tastes have sour closes, 
 
 And he repents on thorns that sleeps in beds of 
 
 roses. 
 
 On life's vast ocean diversely we sail — 
 Reason the card, but passion is the gale. 
 
13 
 
 Within" the brain's most secret cells 
 A certain lord chief -justice dwells, 
 Of so v reign power, whom one and all 
 With common voice we " Keason " call. 
 
 ' In art, hate respectability 
 And respect ability. ' 
 
 Kemember, the will to do rightly, 
 
 If used, will the evil confound ; 
 Live daily by conscience, that nightly 
 
 Your sleep may be peaceful and sound. 
 In contest of right never waver, 
 
 Let thy honesty shape every plan, 
 And life will of paradise savor 
 
 If you do as near right as you can. 
 
 That love is sordid which doth need 
 Gold's filthy dust its fire to feed ; 
 That acts a higher, nobler part 
 Which comes unfettered from the heart. 
 
 In memory's casket 
 Drop one pearl for me. 
 
 May we ever see thy pathway 
 Brilliant as we see it now ; 
 
 Wearing virtue's brightest laurels 
 On thy fair and gentle brow. 
 
 Have ease, have health, 
 
 And spirits light as air ; 
 And more than wisdom, more than wealth- 
 
 A merry heart that laughs at care. 
 
14 
 
 Read it, sweet maid, tho' it be done but slightly : 
 Who can show all his love doth love but lightly. 
 
 Though thou art busied with small things, 
 Though menial thy labor may be, 
 
 Do thy utmost in that, and in all things 
 Thou still shall be noble and true. 
 
 Young men soon give and soon forget affronts ; 
 Old a^e is slow in both. 
 
 Be to every man just, and to woman 
 
 Be gentle, and tender, and true ; 
 For thine own do thy best, but for no man 
 
 Do less than a brother should do. 
 
 So living, thy days fall to number, 
 In peace thou shalt pass to the grave, 
 
 Thou shalt lie down and rest thee and slumber 
 Beloved by the good and the brave. 
 
 " Where blooms the flower which doth not fade ? 
 Where the star that doth not shine ? 
 Tell me, oh Muse ! in what fair glade 
 To seek that star and flower divine ?' 
 
 " I cannot teach thee where to find 
 
 Those treasures, if thou can'st not tell ; 
 The star and flower are in the mind, 
 
 Thrice happy they who guard them well !" 
 
 With many kind wishes for 
 
 future prosperity and happiness — 
 
 Your FniEin). 
 
15 
 
 Dost thou love ? let it be with full measure, 
 Nor mingle with coldness and hate, 
 
 Of others, the joy of thy pleasure, 
 The passions that crown thy estate. 
 
 God's angels drop, like grains of gold, 
 Our duties 'midst life's shifting sands ; 
 
 And from them, one by one, we mould 
 
 Our own bright crown, with patient hands. 
 
 This life is not all sunshine, 
 
 Nor is it yet all showers, 
 But storms and calms alternately, 
 
 As thorns among the flowers ; 
 And while we seek the roses, 
 
 The thorns full oft we scan, 
 Still let us, though they wound us, 
 
 Be happy as we can. 
 
 Haste trips up its own heels, fetters and stops itself. 
 
 'Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical lore, 
 And coming events cast their shadows before. 
 
 Lives of great men all remind us 
 
 We can make our lives sublime ; 
 And departing, leave behind us 
 
 Footprints on the sands of time. 
 There's the chisel, there's the marble, 
 
 Take them, work them to thy will ; 
 Thou alone must shape thy future, 
 
 Heaven give thee strength and skill. 
 
16 
 
 Think not, 'cause men nattering say, 
 You're fresh as April, sweet as May, 
 Bright as the morning star, 
 That you are so. 
 
 Life is a volume, from youth to old age, 
 Each year forms a chapter, each day is a page ; 
 May none be more charming, more womanly, true, 
 Than that, pure and noble, sketched yearly by you. 
 
 When long circling years have rolled away, 
 And friends departed who are here to-day ; 
 When those whose names this treasured book con- 
 tains 
 Are widely scattered o'er earth's distant plains, 
 Then shall thy mind each former scene unfold, 
 And with thy friends a sweet communion hold. 
 
 In hours of future, when time will have scattered 
 Youth's beautiful casket of pleasure and bliss, 
 
 How precious the sentiments love will have 
 scattered, 
 As diamonds of thought in an album like this. 
 
 Deop one pearl in memory's casket 
 Every time you think of me ; 
 A long life and a happy one, 
 A good husband and a pretty one. 
 
 Yet you insist that I must write 
 A verse in here for your delight ; 
 Please pardon me, my thoughts are lame, 
 And be content with just my name. 
 
17 
 
 When asked in an album to write, 
 
 I feel mnch inclined to refuse, 
 For what shall I strive to indite, 
 
 That may a young lady amuse. 
 Not love — I couldn't write that ; 
 
 Not romance — my fancy is tame; 
 And accomplishments sound rather flat, 
 
 So allow me to write simply my name. 
 
 There are three things that return not- 
 The spent arrow, the broken word, 
 And the lost opportunity. 
 
 When (Ella S.) the moral miss 
 Declares 'tis very wrong to kiss, 
 I'll bet a shilling I see through it : 
 The damsel, fairly understood, 
 Feels just as any Christian should — 
 She'd rather suffer wrong than do it. 
 
 Oh ! many a shaft at random sent 
 Finds mark the archer little meant ; 
 And many a word at random spoken, 
 May soothe or wound a heart that's broken. 
 
 Accept my best wishes for your future prosperity, 
 With love and respect for your many virtues. 
 
 Down life's swift and troubled tide 
 Safely may our vessel glide, 
 And may we anchor side by side 
 In Heaven. 
 
18 
 
 Old wood to burn, old wine to drink, 
 Old friends to trust, old books to read. 
 
 May time pass lightly o'er thy coming years, 
 No care or sorrow dim thine eye with tears ; 
 May each succeeding day bring Pleasure, 
 Joy, Happiness, Health and Treasure. 
 
 And when old age at last doth come, 
 Oh ! may it have no shade of gloom, 
 But, like the fading of a summer day, 
 Shed lustre by its parting ray. 
 
 The long are not the happiest hours, 
 The large are not the sweetest flowers ; 
 Much talk does not much friendship tell, 
 Few words are best — I wish thee well. 
 
 Would that I could add to your lustre bright 
 By penning a few lines on a starry night ; 
 But since I'm a novice unknown to fame, 
 Therefore I'll simply write my name. 
 
 As o'er the cold sepulchral stone 
 Some name arrests the passer-by, 
 
 Thus, when thou view'st this page alone 
 May mine attract thy pensive eye. 
 
 May all the names recorded here 
 In the Lamb's Book of Life appear. 
 Here friends assemble, hand and heart, 
 Whom life may sever, death must part ; 
 Sweet be their friendship's monument. 
 
19 
 
 That peace and happiness may accompany yon 
 through life is the wish of 
 
 Ever your sincere friend. 
 
 Whene'er thine' eye shall, fondly trace 
 These simple lines I've sketched for thee ; 
 
 Whate'er the time, whate'er the place, 
 Then wilt thou think of me. 
 
 Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow, 
 
 He who would search for pearls must dive below. 
 
 If wisdom's ways you wish to keep 
 Five things observe with care : 
 
 Of whom you speak, to whom you speak, 
 And how, and when, and where. 
 
 Be earnest in thy calling, 
 Whatever it may be ; 
 
 Time's sands are ever falling, 
 And will not wait for thee. 
 
 When pleasure crowns the pathway 
 As sunset crowns the sea, 
 
 And all is joy and gladness, 
 
 Will you sometimes think of me ? 
 
 May your joys be as deep as the ocean, 
 Your sorrows as light as its foam. 
 
 Remember me, 'tis all I ask, 
 
 But if remembrance proves a task — 
 
 Forget me, 
 
20 
 
 Within the oyster-shell uncouth 
 The purest pearl may bide ; 
 
 Trust me, you'll find a heart of truth 
 Beneath a rough outside. 
 
 At evening's close, when darkened shades 
 
 Are gathering thick and fast, 
 And brooding thoughts come slowly on 
 
 The memory of the past; 
 Then when the light of other days 
 
 Steals gently over thee, 
 Brings back the happy hours of yore, 
 
 Oh, then, think thou of me ! 
 
 The lords of creation men we call, 
 And they think they rule the whole ; 
 
 But they're much mistaken after all, 
 For they're under woman's control. 
 
 When the golden sun is setting, 
 And your heart from care is free, 
 
 When o'er thousand things you're thinking, 
 Will you sometimes think of me % 
 
 Of all the dear familiar names 
 This autographic book contains, 
 May each prove faithful and sincere 
 As he (she) whose name is written here. 
 
 In every clime there is a word, 
 To some it is most dear, 
 
 In English it is " forget me not," 
 In French it is " souvenir," 
 
21 
 
 When years elapse, 
 It may, perhaps, 
 Delight us to review these scraps ; 
 And live again, 'mid scenes so gay, 
 That Time's rough hand has swept away. 
 For when the eye, bedimmed with age, 
 Shall rest upon each treasured page, 
 Those pleasant hours 
 That once were ours 
 Shall come again like Autumn flowers, 
 To bloom and smile upon us here 
 When all things else seem sad and drear ; 
 'Twill tune our hearts and make them sing, 
 And turn the Autumn into Spring ! 
 
 The undistinguished seeds of good or ill, 
 Heaven in his bosom from our knowledge hides. 
 
 Present to grasp, and future still to find, 
 Is the whole employ of body and mind. 
 
 Those comforts that shall never cease, 
 Future in hope, but present in belief. 
 
 Sweetly may your bark glide 
 O'er the bounding sea of time, 
 
 By the hand of hope directed, 
 
 May you reach the Heavenly clime. 
 
 Had we never loved so kindly, 
 Had we never loved so blindly, 
 Never met, or never parted, 
 We had ne'er been broken-hearted. 
 
22 
 
 The world stretches widely before you, 
 
 A field for your muscle and brain, 
 And though clouds may often float o'er you, 
 
 And often come tempest and rain ; 
 Be fearless of storms which o'ertake you, 
 
 Push forward through all like a man, 
 Good fortune will never forsake you 
 
 If you do as near right as you can. 
 
 And wilt thou think of him who traced 
 
 This tributary lay ? 
 Or will his image be effaced 
 As footprints in the sun are chased 
 
 By the next solar ray ? 
 Can memory's light become so dim 
 That thou wilt not remember him. 
 
 Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, 
 
 Have ofttimes no connection. 
 
 Knowledge dwells in heads replete with thoughts 
 
 of other men, 
 Wisdom in minds attentive to their own. 
 
 Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much ; 
 Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. 
 
 Search not to find what lies too deeply hid, 
 Nor to know things whose knowledge is forbid. 
 
 This little emblem of respect 
 
 I dedicate to thee, 
 Treat not this emblem with neglect, 
 
 'Tis to remember me. 
 
23 
 
 When this you see, remember me, 
 And keep me in your mind ; 
 
 Let all the world say as they will, 
 Speak of me as you find. 
 
 The steps of faith 
 Fall on a seeming void, 
 And find the rocks beneath. 
 
 May your path be strewed with various flowers, 
 May your retreat be love's fresh bowers, 
 May you be wedded to one you love, 
 And your final home in Heaven above. 
 
 The only circumstance on earth 
 That ever I could find, 
 
 To soften care and temper mirth 
 Is sweet content of mind. 
 
 Seek to be good, but aim not to be great, 
 A woman's noblest station is retreat ; 
 
 Her fairest virtues fly from public sight, 
 
 Domestic worth that shuns too strong a light. 
 
 To meet, to know, and then to part, 
 Is the sad tale of a school-girl's heart. 
 
 This world is all a fleeting show 
 
 For man's illusion given, 
 The smiles of joy, the tears of woe, 
 Deceitful shine, deceitful flow, 
 There's nothing true but Heaven. 
 
24 
 
 A spot in thy memory, dearest, is all that I claim, 
 To pause and look back when thou nearest the 
 sound of my name. 
 
 When rocks and rills divide us, 
 And you no more I'll see, 
 
 Will you ever think of 
 
 Who will ever think of thee. 
 
 As a slight token of esteem 
 
 Accept these lines from me ; 
 So plain and simple, they do seem 
 
 Unworthy such as thee ; 
 But soon these traced lines will fade 
 
 And disappear — 'tis their doom ; 
 May you, unlike them, be arrayed 
 
 In perpetual bloom. 
 
 May your bark be piloted safely through 
 The ocean of life to a peaceful haven. 
 
 When worth and beauty prompt the lines, 
 Perhaps a pen as poor as mine 
 
 May be forgiven 
 To try to write of things divine 
 
 And think of Heaven. 
 But pause, rash verse, and don't abuse 
 A bashful maiden's ear with news 
 
 Of her own beauty ! 
 And yet, no other theme I'll choose, 
 
 Or think a duty. 
 So, then, for fear I might offend, 
 I'll say, " God bless her !" and thus end. 
 
25 
 
 On ! ye in grief repining, 
 And ye with sorrow bowed, 
 
 There is a silver lining 
 To every sable clond. 
 
 May Heaven protect and keep thee 
 
 From every sorrow free, 
 And grant thee every blessing — 
 
 My earnest wish for thee. 
 
 A gentle word is never lost, 
 
 Oh ! never, then, refuse one ; 
 It cheers the heart when tempest-tossed, 
 
 And lulls the cares that bruise one ; 
 It scatters sunshine o'er our way, 
 
 And turns our thorns to roses ; 
 It changes weary nights to-day, 
 
 And hope and love discloses. 
 
 A gentle word is never lost, 
 
 Thy fallen brother needs it ; 
 How easy said, how small the cost, 
 
 How peace and comfort speeds it. 
 Then drive the shadow from thy cheek, 
 
 A smile can well replace it ; 
 Your voice is music when you speak, 
 
 With gentle words to grace it. 
 
 This world is all a fleeting show, 
 
 For man's illusion given ; 
 The smiles of joy, the tears of woe, 
 Deceitful shine, deceitful flow — 
 There's nothing true but Heaven. 
 
26 
 
 Theee is a pretty little flower, 
 
 Of sky-blue tint and white, 
 That glittens in the sunshine 
 
 And goes to sleep at night. 
 'Tis a token of remembrance, 
 
 And a pretty name it's got ; 
 Would you know it if I told you ? 
 
 'Tis the sweet " Forget-me-not." 
 
 Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy ; 
 
 Neither a borrower nor a lender be, 
 
 For loan oft loses both itself and friend, 
 
 And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. 
 
 This above all, thyself be true, 
 
 And it must follow, as the night the day, 
 
 Thou can'st not then be false to any man. 
 
 Still o'er these scenes my memory wakes, 
 And fondly broods with miser care ; 
 
 Time but the impress deeper makes, 
 As streams their channels deeper wear. 
 
 O ! fkiends regretted, scenes forever dear, 
 Rememb'rance hails you with her warmest tear ! 
 Drooping she bends o'er pensive Fancy's urn 
 To trace the hours which never can return. 
 
 Long, long be my heart with such memories fill'd ! 
 Like the vase in which roses have once been dis- 
 
 till'd; 
 You may break, you may ruin the vase if you will, 
 But the scent of the roses will hang round it still. 
 
27 
 
 When a friend, in kindness, tries 
 To show you where your error lies, 
 Conviction does but more incense, 
 Perverseness is your whole defense. 
 
 Dame Nat dee, impartial in all her ends, 
 When she made man the strongest, 
 
 In justice, then, to make amends, 
 Made woman's tongue the longest. 
 
 This world is like a garden, 
 Your heart the fairest spot ; 
 
 Now, in this fairy bower 
 
 Let me plant "Forget-me-not." 
 
 Theee are two hearts whose movements thrill 
 
 In unison so closely sweet, 
 That, pulse to pulse, responsive still 
 
 They both must heave or cease to beat. 
 
 A little health, a little wealth, 
 A little house and freedom ; 
 
 A few good friends for certain ends, 
 And little use to need them. 
 
 With thee conversing, I forget all time, 
 
 All season and their change — all please alike. 
 
 Blessings rest upon thee lightly, 
 As the dew of evening lies ; 
 
 May no sorrow ever darken 
 The bright heaven of thy eyes. 
 
28 
 
 Peehaps at some time we must part, 
 And oh ! 'tis with an earnest heart 
 
 That I ask thee, while in glee 
 
 Or in sorrow, to " Remember me." 
 
 I've turned these pages o'er and o'er 
 
 To see what others here have written before : 
 
 And in this quiet little spot 
 
 I plant the sweet " Forget-me-not." 
 
 If I before you slumber, 
 Oh ! let these words tell, 
 
 That I was one of the number 
 Who always loved you well. 
 
 Whether the tempests lull or blow, 
 Whether the currents ebb or flow, 
 Whether the harvest blight or grow, 
 Whether the years are swift or slow, 
 In days of joy or days of woe, 
 In fortune high or fortune low, 
 This be my creed for friend or foe — 
 Gather the roses as you go. 
 
 May your bark of life glide gently now, 
 It has been tossed upon the main ; 
 
 But, though the clouds and storms may come, 
 The golden sun will shine again. 
 
 May happiness ever be thy lot 
 
 Wherever thou shall be, 
 And joy and pleasure light the spot 
 
 That may be home to thee. 
 
29 
 
 O woman, lovely woman ! Nature made thee 
 To temper man, who had been brutes without 
 thee. 
 
 Theee are two souls whose equal flow 
 In gentle streams so calmly ran, 
 
 That, when they part — they part ! ah, no ! 
 They cannot part — their souls are one. 
 
 Oh ! may thy future life 
 
 Be one unclouded scene of joy, 
 
 Ever with buoyant pleasure rife, 
 Sad phases to destroy. 
 
 Here is one leaf reserved for me 
 From all thy sweet memorials free ; 
 And here my simple words might tell 
 The feelings thou must guess so well. 
 But, could I within thy mind 
 One little vacant corner find, 
 Where no impression yet is seen, 
 Where no memorial yet has been, 
 Oh ! it should be my sweetest care, . 
 To write my name forever there. 
 
 What you keep by you, you may change and 
 
 mend; 
 But words, once spoken, can never be recalled. 
 
 The world is a well-furnished table, 
 Where guests are promiscuously set, 
 
 Where all fare as well as they're able, 
 And scramble for what they can get. 
 
30 
 
 All the world's a stage, 
 And all the men and women merely players ; 
 They have their exits and their entrances, 
 And one man in his turn plays many parts. 
 
 "As the diamond excels every jewel we find, 
 So truth is the one peerless gem of the mind." 
 
 There are tears that will not flow, 
 Quivering thoughts that come and go, 
 Voiceless in their agony. 
 
 Green be the turf on thy tomb, 
 May its verdure like emeralds be ; 
 
 There should not be the shadow of gloom 
 In ausrht that reminds us of thee. 
 
 None knew her but to love her, 
 None named her but to praise. 
 
 We remember with love those who join us no 
 
 more, 
 Whose lives lead us on to that heavenly shore, 
 Where weeping, enduring through life's troubled 
 
 night, 
 Is hushed in the joy of the morning's great light. 
 
 " Man's inhumanity to man 
 Makes countless thousands mourn." 
 
 Words may pass away and be forgotten, but 
 that which is committed in writing will remain as 
 evidence. 
 
31 
 
 We live in deeds, not years ; in thoughts, not 
 
 breaths ; 
 In feelings, not in figures on a dial. 
 We should count time by heart-throbs : he most 
 
 lives 
 Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. 
 
 Think of me in the hour of leisure, 
 
 Think of me in the hour of care, 
 Think of me in the hour of pleasure, 
 
 Spare me one thought in the hour of prayer. 
 
 If aught obstruct thy course, yet stand not still, 
 But wind about till thou hast topp'd the hill. 
 
 To meditate, to plan, resolve, perform, 
 Which, in itself, is good — as surely brings 
 Reward of good, no matter what be done. 
 
 He was too warm on picking work to dwell, 
 
 But fagoted his notions as they fell, 
 
 And if they rhymed and rattled, all was well. 
 
 Virtue without success 
 Is a fair picture shown by an ill light ; 
 But lucky men are favorites of Heaven : 
 All own the chief when fortune owns the cause. 
 
 United by this sympathetic bond 
 You grow familiar, intimate and fond. 
 
 Truth needs no flowers of speech. 
 
32 
 
 Vaeious discussions tear our heated braiu : 
 Opinions often turn, still doubts remain ; 
 And who indulges thought, increases pain. 
 
 Slow to resolve, but in performance quick ; 
 So true, that he was awkward at a trick. 
 
 'Tis an old maxim in the schools, 
 That vanity's the food of fools ; 
 Yet, now and then, you men of wit 
 Will condescend to take a bit. 
 
 Thought, to the man that never thinks, may seem 
 As natural as when asleep to dream ; 
 But reveries (for human minds will act), 
 Specious in show, impossible in fact, 
 Those flimsy webs that break as soon as wrought, 
 Attain not to the dignity of thought ; 
 Nor yet the swarms that occupy the brain, 
 Where dreams of dress, intrigue and pleasure 
 reign. 
 
 'Tis not to any rank confined, 
 But dwells in every honest mind ; 
 Be justice, then, your sole pursuit — 
 Plant virtue, and content's the fruit. 
 
 Can wealth give happiness ? Look around and see 
 What gay distress ! what splendid misery ! 
 I envy none their pageantry and show, 
 I envy none the gilding of their woe. 
 
 Women, like princes, find few real friends. 
 
33 
 
 Since sorrow never comes too late, 
 And happiness too swiftly flies, 
 
 Where ignorance is bliss 
 "Pis folly to be wise. 
 
 Since brevity's the soul of wit, 
 
 And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, 
 
 I will be brief. 
 
 See how the world its veterans rewards ! 
 A youth of frolics, an old age of cards ; 
 Fair to no purpose, artful to no end ; 
 Young without lovers, old without a friend ; 
 A fop their passion, but their prize a sot ; 
 Alive, ridiculous ; and dead, forgot ! 
 
 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, 
 And clothes the mountain in its azure hue. 
 
34 
 
 HUMOROUS. 
 
 If scribbling in albums remembrance secures, 
 With the greatest of pleasure I'll scribble in yours. 
 
 May you through life remain the same, 
 Unchanged in all except — a name. 
 
 Sailing down the stream of time 
 In your little bark canoe, 
 
 May you have a pleasant trip, 
 With just room enough for two. 
 
 Remember me when I am near, 
 
 And wipe from the eye a falling tear ; 
 
 Remember me a great way off, 
 
 When chickens die of whooping cough. 
 
 With your book filled with sweetness, 
 None of praise was left for me, 
 
 But I'll attach my name with meekness, 
 Trusting you will sometimes think of me. 
 
 May beauty and truth 
 Adorn your youth, 
 And catnip and sage 
 Cheer up old age. 
 
35 
 
 When I, poor elf, shall have vanished iu vapor, 
 May still my memory live on paper. 
 
 When on this page you chance to look, 
 Think of me and close the book. 
 
 May you live in bliss, from sorrow away, 
 Having plenty laid up for a rainy day ; 
 And, when you are ready to settle in life, 
 May you find a good husband and make a good 
 wife. 
 
 In the storms of life 
 
 When you need an umbrella, 
 
 May you have to hold it 
 A handsome young fellow. 
 
 So:\rE people can be funny, 
 
 I never could be so, 
 So I'll just inscribe my name, 
 
 It's the funniest thing I know. 
 
 May the man you choose in life 
 Be as good-natured as his wife. 
 
 To knit and sew and spin 
 
 Was once a girl's employment ; 
 
 But now, to run and catch a beau 
 Is what they call enjoyment. 
 
 May you glide down the river of time 
 Like a bobtailed chicken on a pea-nut vine. 
 
36 
 
 You ask me to write in your album, 
 I hardly know how to begin, 
 
 For there is nothing original in me— 
 Except original sin. 
 
 What i write in this book 
 Where people look, 
 And critics spy — 
 No, not I. 
 
 I dip my pen into the ink 
 And grasp your album tight, 
 
 But, for my life, I cannot think 
 One single word to write. 
 
 'Tis but a trine that you ask, 
 
 But this you will admit, 
 That trifles, more than greater tasks, 
 
 Will sometimes strain our wit. 
 I wish thee health, and wealth, and joy, 
 
 As others have before ; 
 And, were I in poetic mood, 
 
 I'd surely wish thee more. 
 
 Peeuse this simple rhyme, 
 If ever you read any, 
 
 And think of me sometimes, 
 Among the many. 
 
 Remembee me when far away, 
 
 And only half awake ; 
 Remember me on your wedding day, 
 
 And send me a slice of cake. 
 
37 
 
 Man's love is like Scotch snuff, 
 Take a pinch and that's enough ; 
 
 Profit by this sage advice, 
 
 And before you love, my dear, think twice. 
 
 I want (who does not want ?) a wife, 
 
 Affectionate and fail*, 
 To solace all the woes of life, 
 
 And all its joys to share ; 
 Of temper sweet, of yielding will, 
 
 Of firm yet placid mind, 
 With all my faults to love me still, 
 
 With sentiment refined 
 
38 
 
 AFFECTIONATE. 
 
 I know not why 
 I love this youth, and I have heard you say, 
 Love's reason is without reason. 
 
 They do not love that do not show their love. 
 
 New loves you seek, 
 New vows to plight, and plighted vows to break. 
 
 How long must I conceal 
 
 What yet my heart could wish were known ? 
 How long the truest passion feel, 
 
 And yet the passion fear to own ? 
 
 Be thine the more refined delights 
 Of love that banishes control, 
 
 Where the fond heart with heart unites, 
 And soul's in unison with soul. 
 
 I was, indeed, delirious in my heart 
 To lift my love so lofty as thou art ; 
 That thou wert beautiful and I not blind 
 Hath been my sin. 
 
 Shoet retirement urges sweet return. 
 
39 
 
 Your heart is a music-box, " Dearest," 
 
 With exquisite tunes at command, 
 Of melody sweetest and clearest, 
 
 If tried by a delicate hand ; 
 But its workmanship, " Love," is so fine, 
 
 At a single rude touch it would break, 
 Then, oh ! be the magic key mine, 
 
 Its fairy-like whispers to wake. 
 There's one little tune it can play, 
 
 That I fancy all others above, 
 You learned it of " Cupid " one day, 
 
 It begins with and ends with " I love." 
 
 While I sit with thee I seem in Heaven, 
 And sweeter thy discourse is to my ear 
 Than fruits of a palm tree pleasantest to thirst, 
 And hunger both, from labors, at the hour 
 Of sweet repast ; they satiate and soon fill, 
 Though pleasant ; but thy words, with grace di- 
 vine 
 Imbibed, bring to their sweetness no satiety. 
 
 Not vernal showers to budding flowers, 
 Not Autumn to the farmer, 
 
 So dear can be as thou to me, 
 My fair, my lovely charmer. 
 
 An ! within my bosom beating, 
 Varying passions wildly reign ; 
 
 Love, with proud resentment meeting, 
 Throbs, by turns, with joy and pain. 
 
40 
 
 Thy memory as a spell 
 
 Of love comes o'er the mind. 
 As dew upon the purple bell. 
 
 As perfume on the wind ; 
 As music on the sea, 
 
 As sunshine on the river ; 
 So hath it always been to me, 
 
 So shall it be forever. 
 
 Ah ! may your life, dear , be 
 
 A dream, from care and sorrow free ; 
 May every joy that love can yield 
 Be to your gentle heart revealed. 
 May faith, and hope, and wisdom lead, 
 While o'er life's trackless tide you speed, 
 Until the voyage of life is done, 
 And you eternal bliss have wou. 
 
 Sweet ! could another ever share" 
 
 This wayward, loveless heart, it would be thine ; 
 
 But, checked by every tie, I may not dare 
 To cast a worthless offering at thy shrine. 
 
 The bee through many a garden roves, 
 And hums the lay of courtship o'er ; 
 
 But when he finds the flower he loves, 
 He settles there and hums no more. 
 
 Like the lone bird that flutters her pinion, 
 And warbles in bondage her strain, 
 
 I've struggled to fly thy dominion, 
 But find that the struggle's in vain. 
 
41 
 
 Love drew your image on my heart of hearts, 
 And memory preserves it beautiful. 
 
 The mountain rill 
 Seeks with no surer now the far, bright sea 
 Than my unchanged affections now to thee. 
 
 When Nature stamped thy beauteous birth, 
 So much perfection in thee shone, 
 
 She feared that, too divine for earth, 
 
 The skies migvht claim thee for their own. 
 
 Sweet girl, though only once we met, 
 That meeting I shall ne'er forget ; 
 And, though we ne'er may meet again 
 Rememb'rance will thy form retain. 
 
 Though the fates may sever 
 
 Ties of friends and kindred dear, 
 Faithful to thee will I ever 
 
 Prove, though you are far from here. 
 Childhood days, not quite forgotten, 
 
 Visionary hover nigh ; 
 How happy were we, , then, 
 
 Never thinking of good-by. 
 
 Ah ! if a fairy's magic might were mine, 
 I'd joy to change with each new wish of thine ; 
 Nothing to all the world besides I'd be, 
 And everything thou lov'st in turn to thee. 
 
42 
 
 Distance may part us from each other, 
 
 Months and years may pass away, 
 Yet we'll meet some time together, 
 
 Cheer up, , and be gay. 
 
 Like the water in our rivers, 
 
 Ever flowing quickly on, 
 Do I banish all that severs 
 
 Or impedes the course we run. 
 
 Love never fails to master what he finds, 
 
 But works on a different way in different minds : 
 
 The fool enlightens, and the wise he blinds. 
 
 I had a heart, a heart 'twas true, 
 It has gone from me and flown to you. 
 Care for it well, as I have done, 
 You have two and I have none. 
 
 Ye flowers that droop, forsaken by the spring ; 
 Ye birds that, left by summer, cease to sing ; 
 Ye trees that fade when autumn heats remove- 
 Say, is not absence death to those who love ? 
 
 In vain you tell your parting lover 
 You wish fair winds may waft him over ; 
 Alas ! what winds can happy prove 
 That bear me far from what I love ? 
 
 Looking my love I go from place to place, 
 
 Like a young fawn that late hath lost the hind, 
 
 And seek each where, where last I saw her face, 
 Whose image yet I carry fresh in mind. 
 
43 
 
 Tho' I am forced thus to absent myself 
 From all I love, I shall contrive some means, 
 Some friendly intervals, to visit thee. 
 
 Love reckons hours for months and days for years 
 And every little absence is an age. 
 
 Live for those that love you, 
 For those whose hearts are true, 
 
 For the Heaven that smiles above you, 
 And the good that you may do, 
 
 Time cannot change nor alter me, 
 Whate'er may be my lot ; 
 
 My love for you can never change, 
 Then oh ! forget me not. 
 
 Bright be the years before thee, 
 Friend of my childhood's days ; 
 
 Peace weave her olive o'er thee, 
 And joy attend thy ways. 
 
 Around me shall hover, 
 In sadness or glee, 
 
 Till life's dream be over, 
 Sweet memories of thee. 
 
 Many years may come and go, 
 Many faces greet the sight, 
 
 But among them none can show 
 One like you to me as bright. 
 
44 
 
 The verb "I love )? I learned at school, 
 "Thou lovest" follows next in rule ; 
 
 "We love," let us say together, 
 Proving thus we love each other. 
 
 Were you, my love, a blossom, 
 When summer skies depart 
 
 I'd plant you in my bosom 
 And wear you near my heart. 
 
 Night and day have passed away, 
 
 Hills and valleys part, 
 But the dear affection I hold for you 
 
 Shall never leave my heart. 
 
 We know how fickle common lovers are, 
 Their oaths and vows are cautiously believed, 
 For few there are but have been once deceived. 
 
 Love no more is made 
 By the fireside, but in a cooler shade. 
 
 Let mutual joys our mutual trust combine, 
 And love and love-born confidence be thine. 
 
45 
 
 LIFE. 
 
 May all that in this book appears, 
 Adorn your bright and happy years, 
 Heveal fresh beauties, and embrace 
 Your life with loveliness and grace. 
 
 Mat your life have just enough clouds to make 
 glorious sunset. 
 
 May your youth he happy, 
 Your old age honored, 
 And your whole life such as your best friends 
 would wish it. 
 
 Mat your life be happy, and your faith in 
 friends unshaken. 
 
 The tissues of the life to be 
 
 We weave in colors of our own, 
 
 And in the field of destiny 
 We reap as we have sown. 
 
 Whatever life may be or bring, 
 In May-time or December, 
 
 The sweetest burden of its song 
 Will always be — " Remember." 
 
46 
 
 Write in your album ? oh ! why do you ask 
 To be blessed with such scrawling as mine ? 
 Is it to wish you all the sweet offerings 
 You find scattered on the pages of albums ? 
 No, I'll wish for you something better — 
 A noble companion for life. 
 
 Like as a plank of driftwood, 
 
 Tossed on the watery main, 
 Another plank encounters, 
 
 Meets, touches, and parts again ; 
 So, tossed and drifting ever 
 
 On life's unresting sea, 
 Men meet and greet and sever, 
 
 Parting eternally. 
 
 So many pretty sentiments 
 Whichever way I look, 
 
 I can only add my autograph 
 For the owner of the book. 
 
 Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever ; 
 
 Do noble things, not dream them, all day long ; 
 And so make life, death and the vast forever 
 
 One grand, sweet song. 
 
 Intelligence and courtesy 
 Not always are combined, 
 
 Often in a wooden house 
 A golden room we find. 
 
 To know, to esteem, to love and then to part 
 Makes up life's tale to many a feeling heart. 
 
47 
 
 As glides the bark o'er summer's seas, 
 
 When fairest winds prevail, 
 And yields her to the gentle breeze, 
 
 Though set each swelling sail. 
 So may thy life glide swiftly on, 
 
 Unknowing grief or care ; 
 And may its evening, like its morn, 
 
 Be joyous, bright and fair. 
 
 Oue lives are albums written through 
 With good or ill, with false or true ; 
 And as the blessed angels turn 
 
 The pages of our years 
 God grant they read the good with smiles, 
 
 And blot the ill with tears. 
 
 I saw two clouds at morning, 
 
 Tinged by the morning sun, 
 And in the dawn they floated on 
 
 And mingled into one ; 
 I thought that morning cloud was blest, 
 It moved so sweetly to the west. 
 Such be your gentle motion 
 Till life's last pulse shall beat, 
 And you float on in joy to meet 
 A calmer sea, where storms shall cease, 
 A purer sky where all is peace. 
 
 Life is like a game of chess, 
 Each one holds his rank according to his quality ; 
 But when the game is over, 
 
 Kings, Queens, Knights and all the rest are thrown 
 into one common box. 
 
48 
 
 We will find throughout the whole of life 
 That there is a rich ingredient wanting, 
 In the cup of mortal joy, 
 Which can never be found on earth. 
 
 There are angel guards above us, 
 Who joy to make us glad, 
 
 And a father who doth love us, 
 Then why should we be sad ? 
 
 May the choicest gifts of Heaven 
 Be showered upon thy life. 
 
 Whether we work or play, or sleep or wake, 
 Our lives doth pass and with Time's wings doth fly. 
 
 Octr lives so fast away doth slide, 
 
 As doth a hungry eagle through the wind ; 
 
 Or as a ship, transported with the tide, 
 
 Which, in her passage, leaves no print behind. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 I!ililll!lltil| ! |ifllll,llllil!llllkl 
 027 249 703 5 J 
 
 ■ •