Oh, woman! 'tis thy darkest doom
To weep the wreck of beauty's bloom :
To find the smile, the flash, ihe sigh,
Like blunted darts rebounding fly:
To find the eye all powerless move,
Whose early glance had kindled love,
And won the wish as by a spell,
Of all on whom its moonlight fell !
Then toss thy head, my haughty friend,
The time will come when this shall end;
My charms no withering horrors threat,
And age will make us rivals yet;
And I shall spurn as thou dost now:
Sneer on! - soon time shall bring thee
Uncurl the scorn thy lips maintain, [low;
And all their ruby juices drain : [wrath,
Unsheathe thy lightnings! send thy
Like faming swords across my path!
There is a winter drawing nigh,
Wherein no lightning shaft can fly :
Pour forth from sunny eyes in streams
Thy golden flood of noontide beams !

Ope all the sluices where the hoard,
The treasure, of thy smiles is stored !
Soon, soon the reigning hour is o'er
Of smiles and glances, when no more
Upon the gazer's cheek appear
The bloom of hope, the blanch of fear,
As now in the full pride of power,
Where'er thy dazzling eyebeams shower :
None, none that feels, can meet thy

brow,
Nor at the sunlike vision bow !
And wrinkles, sneers of Time, shall

streak
The marble of that brow and cheek,
And o'er thy charmless visage crawl,
Like reptiles in a ruined hall,
Of all, save them, untenanted
Queen Beauty's palace ere she fled :
There shall they make their dwelling.
Upon the site of perished grace; [place
Usurp the realm of beauty's wiles,
And grin upon the throne of smiles !

AMONG OTHER THINGS SHOWS THE BAD EFFECT OF ENTERTAINING TOO GOOD AN OPINION OF OUR

OWN SPECIES.

JEREMIAH and our hero rose refreshed from their hard couches, and went out to perform their morning ablutions at the moss-covered horse-trough at the tavern door. But neither of them murmured at having to go through with that necessary duty in such a place; but on the contrary, they both acknowledged that it was more invigorating, and far pleasanter, to wash in the open air, from a clear mountain stream, than to perform the same office in a confined chamber, with stagnant Manhattan water.

Although it was cold and stormy the night before, the sun was now shining bright and warm ; the wind had died away, and the soft balmy air was filled with the pleasant and cheerful notes of myriads of twittering birds. The tavern was situated in one of the pleasantest valleys in Massachusetts, with a shallow but swift and sparkling stream running close by the door. The hills, which rose to a good height on either side, were covered to their very summits with beautiful trees, while all the level lands were under a high state of cultivation ; and although the white farm-houses which were scattered along the valley did not wear a very comfortable appearance, on close inspection, yet they were highly picturesque at a distance. There were large flocks of snowy sheep feeding upon the delicate white clover that grew upon the hilly fields, and numerous herds of fat and lordly-looking cattle were grazing in the rich meadows by the side

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VOL. XVI,

of the little stream. Jeremiah declared he had never looked upon so fair a scene before, and he thought that the demon of avarice must have a strong hold upon a man's heart, to cause him to leave the pleasant hills and valleys of New England, to seek for richer soils in the flat prairies of the West.

• I know it is very fine,' said John, whose taste for the sublime and beautiful was not fully matured, 'but for my part I should much prefer to look upon a good plate of toast, and some hot coffee, for I am very hungry?

. And so am I,' said Jeremiah ; “this fresh air, and these pleasant sights and sounds, have given me a very keen appetite.'

Our travellers now returned to the tavern, where they found the breakfast table spread, and a lady and gentleman, whom they had not seen before, just sitting down. John looked upon the table and smacked his lips, as his eyes took an accurate inventory of the good things with which it was covered; there were eggs and fried ham, apple-pies and waffles, butter and cheese, and rye-and-Indian bread, together with a great variety of dishes of the composite order, the names of which he did not know. But neither he nor Jeremiah offered to sit down, because there were but two chairs in the room, and they were occupied by the lady and gentleman, who apparently wished to be quite exclusive, and who certainly gave proofs, by their conversation, that they were not common kind of people.

As our hero had never seen the inside of a New-England tavern before, he took particular notice of the painted floors, the

wooden-bottom chairs, the green paper curtains at the windows ; of an old-fashioned mahogany secretary, with a large Bible and two or three hymn-books placed with religious care on top; and of the profiles of the family, cut in white paper, and hung up in black frames around a yellowish sampler, with the name and age of the feminine prodigy who worked it somewhat ostentatiously emblazoned in gilded letters upon the glazing; and of several other little matters, which appeared very odd to him, as every thing will appear to travellers, which they may not have been in the habit of seeing at home. But all these curiosities did not divert John's mind from the breakfast upon which he feasted with his eyes, until his appetite increased to such a degree of intensity, that he came very nigh behaving with great rudeness. A modest little hazel-eyed girl waited upon table, and poured out coffee for the gentleman and lady.

• Young gëurl!' said the lady to the little waiter, 'does your father keep this establishment ?' . Yes m'am,' replied she.

Then have the kindness, if you please, Miss,' said the lady, 'to request him to come to me.'

The little girl tripped out, and in a few minutes returned with her father. Are

you the proprietor of this hotel, Sir ? inquired the lady. • Wal, I own this house, I believe,' said the tavern-keeper.

• Do you ? — ah, very well,' said the lady; 'I wished to inquire if these eggs are fresh laid.'

Wal, I can't exactly say as to that,' said the tavern-keeper, ' but you can try and see.'

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. That is my lady, Sir,' said the gentleman, starting upon his feet; • she is very choice in her eggs, and she is n't up to that kind of talk.'

Wal, then I guess she might about as well go where she can get better,' replied the landlord.

Here the gentleman gave evident signs of strangulation, upon which the lady exclaimed, 'Do n't, my dear, get excited; do n’t, I beg of you,

for

ту sake; do be composed; I would rather eat addled eggs, and rancid butter, and stale bread, and drink muddy, horse-footy coffee, all the rest of my days, than to see you unhappy.'

The gentleman then assured his lady, that for her sake he would be patient, but that nothing but a due regard for her peculiar situation could induce him to remain quiet under such treatment. "However,' said the gentleman, shaking his head, 'I'll put the whole affair in the papers, as soon as I return to the city; if I do n't, my name

aint Jacobs, no how you can fix it!'

* My dear !' exclaimed the lady, 'what do you mean ??

• I mean my name aint G. Washington Mortimer, no how : I am blest, my dear, if I warn't thinking of your maiden name, when I spoke.'

The lady and gentleman continued to eat their breakfast, and to find fault with every thing before them. But the tavern-keeper left them to make such comments as they pleased upon his provisions.

Jeremiah followed him out, and explained to him the cause of his being placed in such an unpleasant situation, and requested breakfast for himself and companion upon credit ; promising to pay as soon as he could get an answer to a letter he had just sent off by the mail stage. The tavern-keeper hesitated a long time, but at last consented to give them a bowl of bread and milk in the kitchen.

Our travellers now went into the kitchen to get their bread and milk, where they found the tavern-keeper's wife, a very different sort of

person from her husband. She was very fat, with a florid complexion, and a thick short neck, which was ornamented with a string of gold beads, about the size of gooseberries. She was seated in a capacious arm-chair, and one of her hands was employed in holding a large horn snuff-box, while the other was occupied in conveying the yellow dust to her nostrils. Altogether, she appeared disposed to take the world very easy. “Do tell me,' she said, addressing Jeremiah, “if you are all the way from York ?'

• Yes, madam,' said Jeremiah ; 'we left there the day before yesterday.' • Well, I want to know if York is n't quite a place ?'

It is a large city,' said Jeremiah.

Well, I should n't wonder if it was,' said the lady; 'do tell me if you know a man that keeps a shoe-store in Chatham-street ?' • Perfectly well, madam,' replied Jeremiah.

do

you know he is our son-in-law ? • Is he indeed,' said Jeremiah ;' what is the gentleman's name to whom you allude ?'

• Well, it is Pinkum, to be sure,' said the lady.
• Then I do n't know him,' said Jeremiah.
• Do tell me !' said the lady; ' I thought you said

you

did.'

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6

· Well now,