Upon the tear that, warm and meek, 66 Joy, joy for ever! my task is done The Gates are pass'd, and Heaven is won! HORACE SMITH.-Born, 1780; Died, 1849. Horace Smith, with his brother, James Smith, were noted literary men of the last generation. They produced together, in 1813, the celebrated "Rejected Addresses," in which all the then living poets were wonderfully well imitated. Horace wrote many novels, and light pieces in prose and verse. The following is the best of his serious efforts, and ranks, deservedly, very high. ADDRESS TO A MUMMY. AND thou hast walked about (how strange a story!) And time had not begun to overthrow Speak! for thou long enough hast acted Dummy, 20 The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. Thebes. A great city of ancient Egypt, where the Mummy addressed was found. 2 Memnonium. The tomb of Rameses III. (B.C. 1618) at Thebes. Thou'rt standing on thy legs above ground, Mummy! Not like thin ghosts or disembodied creatures, Tell us for doubtless thou canst recollect- Of either Pyramid that bears his name? Had Thebes a hundred gates, as sung by Homer? Perchance that very hand, now pinioned flat, Has hob-a-nobbed with Pharaoh' glass to glass; Or doffed thine own to let Queen Dido pass, I need not ask thee if that hand, when armed, 'Sphinx. A colossal sculpture of a human-headed animal. It is near the Pyramids. Originally, "the Sphinx" was an imaginary monster at Thebes, which propounded a mysterious riddle. Whoever guessed wrongly was killed. Edipus at last came and solved the mystery. 4 Cheops built the great Pyramid. He was a king of Egypt. 5 Cephrenes, also a king of Egypt, was the brother of Cheops, and he, too, built one of the Pyramids. • Pompey's pillar, near Alexandria; a fluted Corinthian column, raised in honour, not of Pompey, but of one of the Emperors-it is disputed which. 7 Pharaoh. The name of a great Dido, the Phoenician Queen of Romulus and Remus. The N Antiquity appears to have begun Long after thy primeval race was run. Thou couldst develop, if that withered tongue Might tell us what those sightless orbs have seen, Still silent! incommunicative elf !— Art sworn to secrecy? then keep thy vows; But, prythee, tell us something of thyself, Reveal the secrets of thy prison-house; Since in the world of spirits thou hast slumbered, bered? Since first thy form was in this box extended, We have, above ground, seen some strange mutations;10 The Roman Empire has begun and ended, New worlds have risen-we have lost old nations; Didst thou not hear the pother o'er thy head, And shook the Pyramids with fear and wonder, 10 mutations, changes. 11 Cambyses. The Persian conqueror, who, as a Persian, abhorred idols and overthrew the colossal ones of Egypt. 12 Osiris, &c. Egyptian Gods. If the tomb's secrets may not be confessed, The nature of thy private life unfold :— : A heart has throbbed beneath that leathern breast, Statue of flesh-immortal of the dead! Posthumous man, who quitt'st thy narrow bed, If its undying guest be lost for ever? O let us keep the soul embalmed and pure R. H. D. BARHAM.--Born, 1788, Died, 1845. Mr. Barham was an English clergyman, but is better known for his "Ingoldsby Legends," from which the following is taken, than in his professional character. His humour and wit are charming, and his skill in versification wonderful. THE CONFESSION. THERE'S something on my breast, father, There's something on my breast! The livelong day I sigh, father, 14 tegument, a covering-the body. I cannot take my rest, father, "Tis not the lack of gold, father, My lands are broad, and fair to see, "Tis not that Janet's false, father, Though busy flatterers swarm around, I've eat and can't digest. NEW MADE HONOUR. A friend I met some half-hour since "Good-morrow, Jack!" quoth I; The new made Knight, like any Prince, Frowned, nodded, and passed by; When up came Jem-" Sir John, your Slave!” "Ah, James; we dine at eight Fail not (low bows the supple knave) Don't make my lady wait." "The King can do no wrong ?" As I'm a sinner, He's spoilt an honest tradesman, and my dinner. |