Our life is a school-time; and, till that shall end, With our Father in heaven for teacher and friend, O! let us perform well each task that is given, Till our time of probation is ended in heaven.

PERSEVERANCE.

A SWALLOW, in the spring,
Came to our granary, and 'neath the eaves
Essayed to make a nest, and there did bring
Wet earth, and straw, and leaves.

Day after day she toiled,

With patient art; but ere her work was crowned, Some sad mishap the tiny fabric spoiled,

And dashed it to the ground

She found the ruin wrought;

But, not cast down, forth from the place she flew, And, with her mate, fresh earth and grasses brought, And built her nest anew.

But, scarcely had she placed

The last soft feather on its ample floor,
When wicked hand, or chance, again laid waste,

And wrought the ruin o'er.

But still her heart she kept,

And toiled again;

and, last night, hearing calls,

I looked and, lo! three little swallows slept

Within the earth-made walls.

What truth is here, O Man!

Hath Hope been smitten in its early dawn?

Have clouds o'ercast thy purpose, trust, or plan? Have FAITH, and struggle on!

THE HOME OF MY YOUTH.

BETWEEN broad fields of wheat and corn
Is the lonely home where I was born;
The peach-tree leans against the wall,
And the woodbine wanders over all;
There is the shaded doorway still,
But a stranger's foot has crossed the sill.

There is the barn- and, as of yore,

I can smell the hay from the open door
And see the busy swallows throng,
And hear the pewee's mournful song;

But the stranger comes

O, painful proof! His sheaves are piled to the heated roof

Where my childhood knew long hours of ease, And watched the shadowy moments run,

Till my life imbibed more shade than sun;

The awning from the bough still sweeps the air, But the stranger's children are swinging there.

There bubbles the shady spring below, With the bulrush brook, where the hazels grow; 'Twas there I found the calamus root,

And watched the minnow poise and shoot,

And heard the robin lave its wing;

But the stranger's bucket is at the spring.

LIFE.

LIFE's a game of hide and seek;
What is sought but few can find,
Be their purpose wise or weak,
Fortune, fame, or peace of mind.

Many, seeking for a friend,
Thinking he is found at last,
On some treacherous foe depend,
Who their fondest hopes will blast.

Some on fortune build their trust,
And the joys it can impart;
Soon the treasures turn to dust,
And the joys corrode the heart.

Err not thus, my little girl;

Seek the good that may be found,
Not in pleasure's giddy whirl,

Not on fortune's fairy ground.

Be what may thy earthly lot,
Seek thou for the things above;
Seek the Friend that faileth not,

And the treasures of His love.

ADDRESS.

WEEKS have passed on, and months their roses shed,
And some dear friends been numbered with the dead,
Since last in these loved walls 't was ours to trace
The cheering smiles of each remembered face,
Dear to our grateful hearts, to Science dear,
Whom Learning loves, and Virtue bids revere.

The flowers of summer, that were late in bloom,
Have shed their leaves, and sought their wintry tomb;
The leaves of autumn tremble on the gale,

And sighs of sadness steal along the vale,
The harbingers of that more chilling hour
When Charity's warm hand her gifts display,
To chase the wants of misery away.

Again you come your kindness to diffuse,
To wake the genius of the slumbering muse,
O'er learning's path to shed your welcome ray,
To cheer young genius, brightening into day,
To warm our hearts, to kindle proud desire,
And bid our hopes to virtue's heights aspire

Your presence animates our youthful views,
Your kindness aids us and our love renews.
What shall I say?-words linger on my tongue --
Our Teacher's thanks, the praises of the young,
Are yours, to-day, for benefits bestowed

On learning's path and virtue's sacred road.

While our best thanks are to your kindness due,
Still be it ours improvement to pursue,

To tread the paths of science and of truth,
And add new virtue to advancing youth.

While other nations mourn departing day,
And weep in vain o'er learning's vanished ray,-
While Greece looks out with half despairing eye,
To hail the sun that warmed her elder sky,-
While barren realms in desolation wait
For some kind favors from according fate, -
Here learning spreads her choicest treasures free
Of present worth, and honors yet to be.
May we partake the banquet she bestows,
And drink the stream of science as it flows.
May each advancing year our minds behold
Advance in knowledge, and to worth unfold;
More gentle grow from pleasing day to day,
And thus your kindness and your care repay
Our task is done-the lesson of to-day!
May the next lead us on a brighter way ;
Each mental step rise higher from earth's sod,
And the last bring us to the throne of God!