The roseate chaplet on my brow

Shrinks from the hand it loved so well.

Fondly I thought thy heart was mine,-
Methought it echoed sigh for sigh,

Foolish I dared to ope its shrine,
To find the gem of sympathy.

Lulled on thy lap, thy smile, my soul,
Cheered, as the moon-beam from the cloud,
When bound in sorrow's harsh controul,
Thy honied words could rend its shroud.

Yet thou art false-perfidious too;
An aspen friend, or like the flower,
That nestles on its breast the dew,
To spill it ere the evening hour.

Thy heart is false as summer showers,
A friend could never act thy part,

Thou showedst a poniard wreathed with flowers,
To plunge it deeper in my heart.

AMATEUR.

TO

THAT name shall one day have the power,

T'inspire a thoughtful sigh,

But not till many a lingering hour

Of sorrow is gone by.

Then if your eye should chance to meet it,
Upon some distant day,

You'll think of youth and how it fleeted,

When I am far away.

Thou sorrowest o'er the lonely flowers,

That linger on the stem, When early winter's chilly hours,

Have withered all but them,

When other mem'ries from thy mind
Cold time has chased away;
Be this small record left behind,
To struggle with decay.

J. C.

TO THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL.*

Paucis ostendi gemis, et communia laudas;
Non ita natritus. Fuge quo descendere gestis ;
Non erit immisso reditus tibi.

HOR.

AFTER a long, and to some perhaps a tedious silence, we at length resume our pen with the utmost precipitancy. The pleasureable sensations of the moment suffer no contradiction from the recol

* This article, in the 1st Edition, commenced our third number.

lections of the past and little from the prospects of the future. When we first presumed upon the liberality of an indulgent Public, and ventured to submit our labours to the eye of a more capacious world, it was but natural that, in spite of all our wishes and promises and hopes, our expectant bosoms should sometimes feel a moment's fluttering, from the apprehension of an unforeseen disappointment. Uncertain whether to confine the effusions of our youthful Fancy to the narrow limits of our own society; or to hazard their immature strength in the hands of the vengeful "Citizen of the World.” like the Bard of Soracte, we boldly issued forth, and entrusted our Productions either to the fostering care of kindly fortune, or to the devastating and ruinous influence of the victor Time.

But now, when we have been introduced, or rather, we have introduced ourselves into a new circle of acquaintance, and met with cordial and unremitting admirers in a hitherto unattempted sphere, we shall intrude with a bolder step on their notice, and claim an honourable and conspicuous place, in the ranks of their literary compilations. Encouraged by the success of our first attempts, and stimulated to more vigorous exertion, by the hope of deserving the commendations so profusely lavished, we hereby divest ourselves of all former diffidence, and look forward to a continuance of those unnumbered favours, which have been so cheerfully given, and so thankfully received.

But are there no "carping critics" studiously

biting their nails, in vexation, over our pages?-no self-elected squad of "wooden-headed Gentlemen" marshalled in formidable array against us? If so, let not our Friends imagine that we stand in awe of such potent belligerents! On the contrary, we court their animosity, and we dare their powers! The chivalric Hero of Romance, undauntedly sallying forth on the field of adventure, would be mortified and confounded, did he not encounter some gigantic warrior, surpass some impassible forest, or waste his strength in storming some half dozen airbuilt battlements. Thus instead of fearing, we ought rather to acknowledge our obligations for their services, as, without their timely opposition, we might have escaped the notice of many illustrious personages, who now honour us with their perusal. The silent stream glides unperceived away; but where a heap of rubbish intercepts the rapid current, brawling and bubbling it echoes along its banks, and owes, in great measure, its celebrity, to this fortuitous circumstance.

Again, we wish our friends to understand that we consider ourselves perfectly independent as to the time and manner of our journal's appearance; and as we hereby disclaim all connection with the higher powers of the House in the conduct of this our Paper, we are assured that it will be immediately conceded as a presumptive right to accommodate fashions and periods to our whims and conveniency.

It may not be amiss to notice here, once for all, that little or no regard will be paid to the morose

delicacy of those, who may think every harmless shaft aimed as a deadly weapom at their honour, and every abstract observation, as a direct attack upon their character.

-sed hic stylus haud petet ultro Quemquam animantem ;

and we should consider ourselves culpable in the highest degree, if, in the conduct of an Instrument, which was intended to promote good fellowship and a spirit of Literature, we should pervert it to the worst of purposes,-that of gratifying private malice, at the expense of another's reputation. We must, then, disavow all intentions of so odious, so detestable a nature; and we entreat all and each of our friends not to question, in this respect at least, the integrity of our protestations.

An argument, scarcely worth our attention, has been urged against us, that the PRESS is a hinderance to the games! The paucity of those, who busy themselves on this point, is such, that it both betrays the weakness of their cause, and bears, almost on its very countenance the shuffling pretext of a discontented cynic. Of the justice of this remark, let those judge and decide, who are more immediately concerned: but if by the Press, those are understood, who interest themselves in its welfare, we would interrogate the deluded Critic: "Has he ever felt the sweets that arise from Literature? Has he ever experienced the zest which