THE GREEN-WOOD.

BY WILLIAM HOWITT, ESQ.

I.

THE green-wood! the green-wood! what bosom but allows

The gladness of the charm that dwells in thy pleasant, whispering boughs;

How often in this weary world, I pine and long to flee, And lay me down, as I was wont, under the green-wood

tree.

II.

The green-wood! the green-wood! to the bold and happy

boy,

Thy realm of shades is a faëry-land of wonder and of

joy.

Oh! for that flushness of the heart, that pure and vivid

thrill,

As he listens to the woodland cries, and wanders at his

will.

III.

The youth delights through thy leafy gloom, and thy winding walks to rove,

When his simple thought is snared and caught in the subtle webs of love:

Manhood, with high and restless hope, a spirit winged with flame,

Plans in thy bower his path to power, to affluence, or to fame.

IV.

The old man loves thee, when his soul dreams of the world no more,

But his heart is full of its gathered wealth, and he counts it o'er and o'er:

When his race is run,

bound

his prize is won, or lost, until the

Of the world unknown is overthrown, and his masterhope is crowned.

V.

The green-wood! the green-wood! oh! be it mine to

lie

In the depth of thy mossy solitude, when summer fills the

sky;

With pleasant sounds and scents around, a tome of ancient

lore,

And a pleasant friend with me to bend, and turn its pages

o'er.

THE BATTLE FIELD.

I.

I LOOKED on the field where the battle was spread,
When thousands stood forth in their glancing array,
And the beam from the steel of the valiant was shed
Through the dun rolling clouds, that o'ershadowed the
fray.

II.

I saw the dark forest of lances appear,

As the ears of the harvest unnumbered they stood;
I heard the stern shout, as the foemen drew near,

Like the storm, that lays low the proud pines of the

wood.

III.

Afar, the harsh notes of the war-drum were rolled,
Uprousing the wolf from the depths of his lair;
On high to the gust streamed the banner's red fold,
O'er the death-close of Hate, and the scowl of Despair.-

IV.

I looked on the field of contention again,

When the sabre was sheathed, and the tempest had past;
The wild weed and thistle grew rank on the plain,
And the fern softly sighed in the low wailing blast.

V.

Unmoved lay the lake in its hour of repose,

And bright shone the stars through the sky's deepened

blue;

And sweetly the song of the night-bird arose,

Where the foxglove lay gemmed with its pearl-drops of

dew.

VI.

But where swept the ranks of that dark frowning host,
As the ocean in might as the storm-cloud in speed!
Where now were the thunders of victory's boast,
The slayer's dread wrath, and the strength of the steed!

VII.

Not a time-wasted cross, not a mouldering stone,

To mark the lone scene of their shame or their pride ;One grass-covered mound told the traveller alone, Where thousands lay down in their anguish and died!

VIII.

Oh! glory!-behold thy famed guerdon's extent,
For this toil thy slaves through their earth-wasting lot;
A name like the mist, when night's beacons are spent,-
A grave, with its tenants unwept and forgot!

F. H.

A VISION OF PURGATORY.

BY WILLIAM MAGINN, ESQ.

THE church-yard of Inistubber is as lonely a one as you would wish to see on a summer's day, or avoid on a winter's night. It is situated in a narrow valley, at the bottom of three low, barren, miserable hills, on which there is nothing green to meet the eye, tree or shrub, grass or weed. The country beyond these hills is pleasant and smiling ;-rich fields of corn, fair clumps of oaks, sparkling streams of water, houses beautifully dotting the scenery, which gently undulates round and round, as far as the eye can reach but once cross the north side of Inistubber-hill, and you look upon desolation. There is nothing to see but, down in the hollow, the solitary churchyard, with its broken wall, and the long, lank grass growing over the grave-stones, mocking with its melancholy verdure the barrenness of the rest of the landscape. It is a sad thing to reflect that the only green spot in the prospect springs from the grave!