I loved again, and was beloved, by a thing so very fair,
It seem'd as if she came to earth from some pure and sinless

But while

sphere;

my

heart was full of joy, that like a meteor shone, My loved and lovely consort from this cold false world had gone.

Thus friendship, love, ambition, in my bosom held their sway, But false and fleeting was their light,-it came and pass'd

away;

But I remain, and, in my heart, remains th' undying strife Of all the woes, and all the pains, that wait on human life.

For all the dreams, I used to dream, have faded from my path, And I stand alone, upon the earth, in the tempest's gloomy wrath,

With nothing to console me, or make my spirit free,
Existing not upon vain hope, but upon memory.*

But in the woe that wrings my soul, O Lord! I turn to thee,
Thy aid alone can yield relief to this my misery;

For in the sadness, and the gloom, of this disastrous hour, Nothing can soothe this bursting heart, save thy Almighty

Power.

CHRISTMAS OMENS.

TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN.

One Christmas eve the young girls of the hamlet were assembled to divine their future fates by various ceremonies. Some threw their stockings behind the door-some rolled in the snow, or listened at the window, to discover in which direction the wind blew-and some dropped melted wax into cold water, predicting good or bad fortune to the assembly, according to the various forms it presented to their anxious eyes.

Then again, they took off their rings and ear-rings, and, casting them into a vase, covered it with white linen, and retired one by one, singing love-songs in chorus. A young

* Della Memoria vivo piu che della speranza." G. 28.

I

cock became in his turn the oracle of fate, and each girl placed before him a handful of grain, carefully counted. Thrice happy was she whose grains were least numerous when the animal was satisfied; she would first be united to the being whom she loved.

Like the beauteous star of night, when a dark cloud overshadows its soft and sparkling rays, the lovely Svetlana sat apart from the merry group, pensive and musing. Why this unusual sadness, dear Svetlana? Come and join in our sports, and mingle your sweet voice with ours in this joyous song."

"Come, hasten hither, jeweller, thy gold and silver bring,
And make for me a golden crown, and make for me a ring;
My wedding-day will soon be here, and I must surely wear
A sparkling ring upon my hand, a bright crown in my hair.
Then hasten hither, jeweller, ah! think not of delay,
My own true love will soon be here, to bear his bride away."

"Can I sing with you, O my friends, when my promised one is absent? Separated from him, my days seem long and sad, and every moment increases my anxiety. A year has already passed away since his departure, a whole year! and he has never sent me a single message to warn me of his return. Deprived of my lover, life has no joys for me. Has he forgotten his Svetlana? Can absence have banished my image from his heart? What detains him so long? Return, O return! your Svetlana languishes in grief! Ye guardian angels, hasten his return! guardian angels, grant my prayer!"

Yielding to the entreaties of her companions, Svetlana allowed them to conduct her to a lonely chamber, where she found a table, covered with a cloth, upon which was placed a mirror, a lamp, and two covers, apparently in readiness for two guests. "Seat yourself before this table," said her conductor," the clock will soon strike the midnight hour; at this solemn warning, look attentively upon the mirror, and it will reveal to you your destiny: he, who is most dear to you, will knock softly at the door; he will come and place himself at your side, and sup with his affianced bride."

Having spoken thus, they retired, and left Svetlana, who felt a secret fear stealing over her, at finding herself alone in

this solitary chamber, around which the lamp shed but a dim and doubtful light; the profound silence of the night, broken only by the murmurs of the wind, and the plaintive cry of the cricket, the flickering of the feeble lamp, all filled her soul with terror: She scarcely dared to look upon the mirror before her, over whose surface the shadows of the apartment passed and repassed in a thousand fantastic forms.

All at once she heard a slight noise at the door-it opened : with a trembling and palpitating heart, Svetlana cast an anxious glance upon the mirror, and beheld two sparkling eyes fixed intently upon her, She was nearly sinking with the terror which seized her, but a well-known voice softly met her ears" All our wishes are fulfilled, dear Svetlana - away with tears and sighs; your lover returns the most tender, and the most faithful of men."

She turned-O most unexpected happiness! it is he! it is her lover who encircles her with his arms! "Dear Svetlana, banish your alarm, we will never part again; the priest waits to join my hand to yours: come, the chapel is now brilliant with a thousand lights, it already resounds with the nuptial song." Svetlana smiled, and followed her guide across the court, where her light feet scarcely left their traces upon the snow; they gained the gate, and there a sleigh awaited them drawn by two coursers, who stood champing their bits, and pawing with impatient feet.

More rapid than the winds before the tempest they pressed onward, filling the air with flakes of snow. Before the travellers lay an immense plain; the moon, surrounded by a thick vapour, seemed to shed an unwilling light upon this dreary solitude; no habitation was to be seen. Svetlana, in affright, pressed closer to her lover, 'Speak, O my friend !” said she, in a trembling voice; "Speak, I conjure you!" but in vain she interrogated him-she received no reply.

as

At last, through the thick mist, they could distinguish a vast edifice, towards which their horses directed their course, and Svetlana soon perceived it was an isolated church; they approached, a sudden whirlwind burst open the door, with the voice of thunder; a crowd of men, clothed in mourning, filled the interior-the clouds of incense rose in the air; a black coffin was before the altar, and the priest, carrying in his hand a funeral taper, recited in a low voice the prayers for

the dead. The horses continued on their way. Svetlana, trembling with horror, again addressed her mute companion, but, deaf to her entreaties, he preserved an obstinate silence.

At this moment the moon, escaping from behind a cloud, discovered to the eyes of the young girl the countenance of her lover, which the obscurity of the night had hitherto concealed. Great God! what a change! the pale and inanimate face, discoloured lips, and eyes immoveably and mournfully fixed upon the planet of the night; every thing in the appearance of the young traveller indicated that he was no longer an inhabitant of this world; all was cold and insensible as the tomb. At that moment a raven, the only inha

bitant of those regions, uttering a funereal cry, flitted past fiery coursers, whose manes bristled with affright.

the

A feeble light was seen at intervals in the distant horizon, and, as if urged on by supernatural force, the horses redoubled their speed, and soon stopped before a cabin of most dismal appearance. Suddenly the traveller, the horses, the sleigh, all disappeared, leaving Svetlana alone, exposed to the pelting of the storm, in the midst of a frightful desert; the snow fell around the poor girl, and embarrassed her faltering steps. Had her friend but been near her, to sustain her courage! but, alas! all nature seemed to abandon her. At length, the sound of footsteps strikes her ear; she turns, and again beholds the consoling light. She advances towards it, and knocks at the door of the hut, which flies open at her touch. She enters; a sad and mournful spectacle meets her view! a bier, covered with a winding sheet, a taper, whose feeble brightness shed around only a dim sepulchral light. Unhappy being! what brought you here? what fatality has conducted you to this desolate abode. Svetlana took refuge near the holy images, the sight of which re-assured her sinking soul; she threw herself on her knees, and, pressing with ardour a crucifix to her lips, invoked the protection of heaven by her fervent prayers.

The tempest no longer agitated the air; all was sunk into profound repose; the dying taper at times appeared extinct, and then again sent forth a brilliant light, which illuminated every corner of the hut; suddenly, a low murmur disturbed the death-like silence of the place, and a white dove, whose eyes sparkled amid the gloom, hovered around poor Svetlana, and, perching upon her shoulders, flapped its caressing wings.

Then, O horror! the dead started, and trembled under the winding sheet, and, throwing off the veil of death which enveloped it, disclosed to the eyes of Svetlana a ghastly and livid face, a forehead encircled by the funeral bandeau,* and eyes vacant in death; from the withered lips escaped a long-drawn sigh, and the lean and lank hands were with an effort extended towards the young girl, who stood immoveable with affright, till calmed by the sweet caresses of the beauteous dove. But the bird soon spread its wings, and, flying through the apartment, alighted upon the frozen bosom of the corpse, which uttered deep and hollow groans; the spectre rose, grinding his teeth, and glaring fiercely upon the terrified girl; but all at once the eyes closed, a death-like paleness passed over the features, and it fell motionless upon the bier. "Gaze, Svetlana, gaze upon this fearful corpse-it is thy lover!" Sinking under such an accumulation of horror, she uttered a piercing shriek, and suddenly awoke.

Where did she find herself? Before the mirror, in the same chamber, and in the same place in which her companions had left her. But the golden rays of the morning were already chasing before them the shades of night, and the cock, clapping his wings, greeted with his matin song the returning dawn.

Still agitated by the terrible impressions of her dream, Svetlana was seated at the window, her mind oppressed by the saddest presentiments.

A whirlwind of snow arose upon the mountain-the noise of distant sleigh bells was heard the noise approached, and soon the tramp of horses, and the voice of the isvoschik was plainly distinguished-the door creeks upon its hinges-whọ is the traveller?-who, throwing aside his mantle, covered with snow, springs lightly from the sleigh? O Svetlana! it your promised one-it is your faithful lover!

is

A TRIFLE. AN EPIGRAM.

Phillis! you rosy little rake,

That heart of yours I long to rifle ;

Come, give it me, and do not make

So much ado about a trifle.

In Russia, they place upon the head of the corpse a crown, upon which saints and angels are represented.