Whate'er of peace about our hearthstone clings, Thou bring'st the child, too, to the mother's breast. When Nero perish'd by the justest doom Of nations freed and the world overjoy'd, HAIDEE. THEY Carpeted their feet On crimson satin, border'd with pale blue; Their sofa occupied three parts complete Of the apartment-and appear'd quite new ; The velvet cushions (for a throne more meet) Were scarlet, from whose glowing centre grew A sun emboss'd in gold, whose rays of tissue, Meridian-like, were seen all light to issue. Crystal and marble, plate and porcelain, Had done their work of splendour; Indian mats To say, by degradation)-mingled there As plentiful as in a court, or fair. There was no want of lofty mirrors, and "Era gia l' ora che volge 'l desio, A' naviganti, e 'ntenerisce il cuore ; Punge, se ode Squilla di lontano, Che paia' giorno pianger che si muore." DANTE'S Purgatory, canto viii This last line is the first of Gray's Elegy, taken by him without acknowledgment. T See Suetonius for this fact With mother-of-pearl or ivory, stood at hand, The greater part of these were ready spread Of all the dresses I select Haidée's: She wore two jelicks-one was of pale yellow; 'Neath which her breast heaved like a little billow All gold and crimson shone her jelick's fellow, That the hand stretch'd and shut it without harm, Around, as princess of her father's land, A like gold bar above her instep roll'd,+ Of lavish pearls, whose worth could scarce be told; Above the prettiest ankle in the world. Her hair's long auburn waves down to her heel And still they seem resentfully to feel The silken fillet's curb, and sought to shun Round her she made an atmosphere of life, This dress is Moorish, and the bracelets and bar are worn in the manner described The reader will perceive, hereafter, that as the mother of Haidée was of Fez, her daughter wore the garb of the country. The bar of gold above the instep is a mark of sovereign rank in the women of the families of the deys, and is worn as such by their female relatives. This is no exaggeration: there were four women whom I remember to have seen, who possessed their hair in this profusion; of these, three were English, the other was a Levanting. Their hair was of that length and quantity, that, when let down, it almost entirely shaded the person, so as nearly to render dress a superfluity. Of these, only one had dark hair; the Oriental's had, perhaps, the lightest colour of the four. And pure as Psyche ere she grew a wife- Her eyelashes, though dark as night, were tinged Her nails were touch'd with henna; but again The henna should be deeply dyed to make VAIN REGRETS. BUT now at thirty years my hair is gray(I wonder what it will be like at forty? I thought of a peruke the other day-) My heart is not much greener; and, in short, I Have squander'd my whole summer while 'twas May, And feel no more the spirit to retort; I Have spent my life, both interest and principal, No more no more-Oh! never more on me No more no more-Oh! never more, my heart, Once all in all, but now a thing apart, Thou canst not be my blessing or my curse: The illusion's gone for ever, and thou art Insensible, I trust, but none the worse, And in thy stead I've got a deal of judgment, Though Heaven knows how it ever found a lodgment. Ambition was my idol, which was broken O'er which reflection may be made at leisure: "Time is, Time was, Time 's past: "-a chymic treasure Is glittering youth, which I have spent betimesMy heart in passion, and my head on rhymes. THE SLAVE-MARKET. "TWAS a raw day of Autumn's bleak beginning, In all, who o'er the great deep take their ways: A crowd of shivering slaves of every nation, And age, and sex, were in the market ranged; Each bevy with the merchant in his station: Poor creatures! their good looks were sadly changed. All save the blacks seemed jaded with vexation, From friends, and home, and freedom far estranged, The negroes more philosophy display'd, Used to it, no doubt, as eels are to be flay'd. Like a backgammon-board the place was dotted Some bought the jet, while others chose the pale. A man of thirty, rather stout and hale, He had an English look; that is, was square One arm had on a bandage rather bloody; And there he stood with such sang froid, that greater Just now a black old neutral personage Of the third sex stept up, and peering over If they were fitted for the purposed cage: Horse by a blackleg, broadcloth by a tailor, As is a slave by his intended bidder. 'Tis pleasant purchasing our fellow-creatures; And all are to be sold if you consider Their passions, and are dext'rous; some by features Are bought up, others by a warlike leader, Some by a place-as tend their years or natures; The eunuch having eyed them o'er with care, They haggled, wrangled, swore, too-so they did! At last they settled into simple grumbling, And then the merchant, giving change, and signing I wonder if his appetite was good? Or, if it were, if also his digestion? Methinks at meals some odd thoughts might intrude, About the right divine, how far we should Sell flesh and blood. When dinner has oppressed one, I think it is, perhaps, the gloomiest hour Which turns up out of the sad twenty-four. THE LOVERS. THE heart which may be broken: happy they! Break with the first fall: they can ne'er behold |