Sweet are the harmonies of Spring, Sweet is the Summer's evening gale, Pleasant th' autumnal winds that shake The many-colored grove;

And pleasant to the sober soul
The silence of the wintry scene,
When Nature shrouds her in her trance
In deep tranquillity.

Not undelightful now to roam,

The wild heath sparkling on the sight; Not undelightful now to pace

The forest's ample round;

And see the spangled branches shine, And mark the moss of many a hue That varies the old tree's brown bark, Or o'er the gray stone spreads.

The clustered berries claim the eye
O'er the bright holly's gay green leaves;
The ivy round the leafless oak

Clasps its full foliage close.

So Virtue, difficult of strength, Clings to Religion's firmer aid, And, by Religion's aid upheld, Endures calamity.

Nor void of beauties now the Spring, Whose waters, hid from Summer's sun, Have soothed the thirsty pilgrim's ear With more than melody.

The green moss shines with icy glare ;
The long grass bends in spear-like form;
And lovely is the silvery scene
When faint the sunbeams smile.

Reflection too may love the hour When Nature, hid in Winter's grave, No more expands the bursting bud, Or bids the flow'ret bloom.

For Nature soon in Spring's best charms
Shall rise, revived from Winter's grave,
Again expand the bursting bud,
And bid the flow'ret bloom.

READ'S "STRANGER ON THE DOOR-SILL;"
OR, THE "ALIENATED HOMESTEAD."
BETWEEN broad fields of wheat and corn
Is the lowly 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 peewee's mournful song;
But the stranger comes-0! painful proof-
His sheaves are piled to the heated roof.
There is the orchard, - the very trees,
Where my childhood knew long hours of ease,
And watched the shadowy moments run,
Till my life imbibed more shade than sun;
The swing from the bough still sweeps the air-
But the stranger's children are swinging there.
It bubbles, the shady spring below,
With its bulrush brook, where the hazels grow ;
"T was there I found the calamus 1 root,
And watched the minnows poise and shoot,
And heard the robin lave his wing-
But the stranger's bucket is at the spring.

O ye who daily cross the sill,
Step lightly, for I love it still!
And when you crowd the old barn-eaves,
Then think what countless harvest-sheaves
Have passed within that scented door,
To gladden eyes that are no more.
Deal kindly with these orchard trees,
And when your children crowd your knees,
Their sweetest fruit they shall impart,
As if old memories stirred their heart;
To youthful sport still leave the swing,
And in sweet reverence hold the spring.

1 The sweet-flag, or flag-root.

Subject proposed. Invocation and address. What soils the cane grows best in. The gray light earth. Praise of Jamaica, and of Christopher Columbus. The black soil mixed with clay and gravel. Praise of Barbadoes, Nevis, and Mountserrat. Composts may improve other soils. Advantages and disadvantages of a level plantation. Of a mountain estate. Of a midland one. Advantages of proper cultivation. Of fallowing. Of compost. Of leaving the Woura, and penning cattle on the distant cane-pieces. Whether yams improve the soil. Whether dung should be buried in each hole, or scattered over the piece. Canelands may be holed at any time. The ridges should be open to the trade-wind. The beauty of holding regularly by a line. Alternate holing, and the wheel-plough, recommended to trial. When to plant. Wet weather the best. Rain often falls in the West Indies almost without any previous signs. The signs of rainy weather. Of fogs round the high mountains. Planting described. Begin to plant mountain-land in July; the low ground in November, and the subsequent months, till May. The advantage of changing tops in planting. Whether the moon has any influence over the cane-plant. What quantity of mountain and of low cane-land may be annually planted. The last cane-piece should be cut off before the end of July. Of hedges. Of stone enclosures. Myrtle hedges recommended. Whether trees breed the blast. The character of a good planter. Of weeding. Of moulding. Of stripping.

THE SUBJECT STATED. SUGAR-CANE CULTURE.

WHAT Soil the cane affects; what care demands ;
Beneath what signs to plant; what ills await;
How the hot nectar best to crystallize,
And Afric's sable progeny to treat :

A Muse, that long hath wandered in the groves
Of myrtle-indolence, attempts to sing.

INVOCATION. HESIOD, VIRGIL, DYER, PHILIPS, SMART, SOMERVILLE.

Spirit of inspiration, that didst lead Th' Ascrean poet to the sacred mount, And taught'st him all the precepts of the swain, Descend from heaven, and guide my trembling steps To Fame's eternal dome, where Maro reigns; Where pastoral Dyer, where Pomona's bard, And Smart and Somerville, in varying strains, Their sylvan lore convey: O may I join This choral band, and from their precepts learn To deck my theme, which, though to song unknown, Is most momentous to my country's weal!

DEDICATION TO THE GOVERNOR OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS. 1

So shall my numbers win the public ear; And not displease Aurelius; him, to whom Imperial George, the monarch of the main,

1 The 'Leeward Isles' are the northern portion of the Caribbee Islands, that is, those north of latitude 15; the Caribbee Islands south of 15 are called the Windward Isles.'

Hath given to wield the sceptre of those isles, Where first the Muse beheld the spiry cane, Supreme of plants, rich subject of my song.

BEST SOIL FOR THE CANE. CLEARING.

Where'er the clouds relent in frequent rains, And the sun fiercely darts his tropic beam, The cane will joint, ungenial though the soil. But wouldst thou see huge casks, in order due, Rolled numerous on the bay, all fully fraught With strong-grained Muscovado, silvery-gray, Joy of the planter; and if happy Fate Permit a choice; avoid the rocky slope, The clay-cold bottom, and the sandy beach. But let thy biting axe, with ceaseless stroke, The wild red cedar, the tough locust, fell; Nor let his nectar, nor his silken pods, The sweet-smelled cassia or vast ceiba save.

GUAVA, GUAIAC, SHADDOC, ACAJOU, SABBACA.

Yet spare the guava, yet the guaiac spare ; A wholesome food the ripened guava yields, Boast of the housewife; while the guaiac grows A sovereign antidote, in wood, bark, gum, To cause the lame his useless crutch forego, And dry the sources of corrupted love. Nor let thy bright impatient flames destroy The golden shaddoc, the forbidden fruit, The white acajou, and rich sabbaca :

THE LIGHT-GRAY SOIL BEST.

For, where these trees their leafy banners raise
Aloft in air, a gray deep earth abounds,
Fat, light; yet, when it feels the wounding hoe,
Rising in clods, which ripening suns and rain
Resolve to crumbles, yet not pulverize :

In this the soul of vegetation wakes,
Pleased at the planter's call, to burst on day.
Thrice happy he, to whom such fields are given !
For him the cane with little labor grows;
Spite of the dog-star, shoots long yellow joints;
Concocts rich juice, though deluges descend.
What if an after-offspring it reject?
This land, for many a crop, will feed his mills;
Disdain supplies, nor ask from compost aid.

COLUMBUS EULOGIZED AND APOSTROPHIZED.

Daughters of heaven, with reverential awe, Pause at that godlike name; for not your flights Of happiest fancy can out-soar his fame.

Columbus, boast of science, boast of man!
Yet, by the great, the learned, and the wise,
Long held a visionary; who, like thee,
Could brook their scorn; wait seven long years at
A selfish, sullen, dilatory court;

Yet never from thy purposed plan decline?
No god, no hero of poetic times,

[court,

THE DARK SOILS FOR CANE. THAT OF BARBADOES, NEVIS, AND MONTSERRAT.

Shall the Muse celebrate the dark deep mould, With clay or gravel mixed? - This soil the cane, With partial fondness, loves; and oft surveys Its progeny with wonder. Such rich veins Are plenteous scattered o'er the Sugar-isles: But chief that land, to which the bearded fig, Prince of the forest, gave Barbadoes name; Chief Nevis, justly for its hot baths famed : And breezy Mountserrat, whose wondrous springs Change, like Medusa's head, whate'er they touch, To stony hardness; boast this fertile glebe.

HOW OTHER SOILS MAY BE USEFULLY IMPROVED; IRRIGATION; COMPOSTING.

Though such the soils the Antillean cane
Supremely loves, yet other soils abound,
Which Art may tutor to obtain its smile.
Say, shall the experienced Muse that Art recite?
How sand will fertilize stiff barren clay?
How clay unites the light, the porous mould,
Sport of each breeze? And how the torpid nymph
Of the rank pool, so noisome to the smell,
May be solicited, by wily ways,

To draw her humid train, and, prattling, run
Down the reviving slopes? Or shall she say
What glebes ungrateful to each other art,
Their genial treasures ope to fire alone?
Record the different composts; which the cold
To plastic gladness warm? The torrid, which
By soothing coolness win? The sharp saline,
Which best subdue? Which mollify the sour?
LOW LEVELS; THEIR DISADVANTAGES. CHARACTER OF THEIR
SUGARS.

To thee, if Fate low level land assign,
Slightly cohering, and of sable hue,
Far from the hill; be parsimony thine,
For though this year when constant showers descend;
The speeding gale, thy sturdy numerous stock,
Scarcely suffice to grind thy mighty canes :
Yet thou, with rueful eye, for many a year,
Shall view thy plants burnt by the torch of day;
Hear their parched wan blades rustle in the air;
While their black sugars, doughy to the feel,
Will not ev'n pay the labor of thy swains.

DISADVANTAGES OF MOUNTAIN LAND; CHARACTER OF THEIR
SUGARS; LAND-SLIDES.

Or, if the mountain be thy happier lot,
Let prudent foresight still thy coffers guard.
For though the clouds relent in nightly rain,
Though thy rank canes wave lofty in the gale :

Yet will the arrow, ornament of woe

(Such monarchs ofttimes give), their jointing stint ;
Yet will winds lodge them, ravening rats destroy,
Or troops of monkeys thy rich harvest steal.
The earth must also wheel around the sun,
And half perform that circuit; ere the bill
Mow down thy sugars: and though all thy mills,
Crackling, o'erflow with a redundant juice,
Poor tastes the liquor; coction long demands,
And highest temper, ere it saccharize;
A meagre produce. Such is Virtue's meed,
Alas, too oft in these degenerate days.

Thy cattle likewise, as they drag the wain, [shouts,
Charged from the beach; in spite of whips and
Will stop, will pant, will sink beneath the load;
A better fate deserving.

Besides, thy land itself is insecure :

For oft the glebe, and all its waving load,
Will journey, forced off by the mining rain;
And, with its faithless burthen, disarrange
Thy neighbor's vale. So Markley-hill of old,
As sung thy bard, Pomona (in these isles
Yet unadorned); with all its spreading trees,
Full fraught with apples, changed its lofty site.

THE BEST LOCALITY.

But, as in life, the golden mean is best, So happiest he whose green plantation lies Nor from the hill too far, nor from the shore.

IMPORTANCE OF THOROUGH CULTURE.

Planter, if thou with wonder wouldst survey Redundant harvests load thy willing soil, Let sun and rain mature thy deep-hoed land, And old fat dung cooperate with these. Be this great truth still present to thy mind; The half well-cultured far exceeds the whole, Which lust of gain, unconscious of its end, Ungrateful vexes with unceasing toil.

CULTIVATION COMPARED TO DISCIPLINE.

As, not indulged, the richest lands grow poor; And Liamuiga may, in future times, If too much urged, her barrenness bewail : So cultivation, on the shallowest soil, O'erspread with rocky cliffs, will bid the cane, With spiry pomp, all-bountifully rise. Thus Britain's flag, should discipline relent, Spite of the native courage of her sons, Would to the lily strike: ah, very far, Far be that woful day: the lily then Will rule wide ocean with resistless sway; And to old Gallia's haughty shore transport The lessening crops of these delicious isles.

COMPOSTS IN CANE-CULTURE.

Of composts shall the Muse descend to sing, Nor soil her heavenly plumes? The sacred Muse Naught sordid deems, but what is base; naught fair Unless true Virtue stampt it with her seal. Then, Planter, wouldst thou double thine estate,

Enough of composts, Muse, of soils enough: When best to dig, and when inhume the cane, A task how arduous! next demands thy song. It not imports beneath what sign thy hoes The deep trough sink, and ridge alternate raise, If this from washes guard thy gemmy tops, And that arrest the moisture these require.

Yet, should the site of thine estate permit, Let the trade-wind thy ridges ventilate; So shall a greener, loftier cane arise, And richest nectar in thy coppers foam.

AN ORDERLY SYMMETRY IN HOEING RECOMMENDED.

As art transforms the savage face of things, And order captivates the harmonious mind, Let not thy Blacks irregularly hoe

But, aided by the line, consult the site
Of thy demesnes, and beautify the whole.
So when a monarch rushes to the war,
To drive invasion from his frighted realm,
Some delegated chief the frontier views,

And to each squadron and brigade assigns Their ordered station soon the tented field, Brigade and squadron, whiten on the sight, And fill spectators with an awful joy.

IMPROVEMENT. — PLOUGHING SUGGESTED.

Planter, improvement is the child of time; What your sires knew not, ye their offspring know; But hath your art received Perfection's stamp? Thou canst not say.. Unprejudiced, then learn Of ancient modes to doubt, and new to try: And if Philosophy, with Wisdom, deign Thee to enlighten with their useful lore, Fair Fame and riches will reward thy toil. Then say, ye swains, whom wealth and fame inMight not the plough, that rolls on rapid wheels, Save no small labor to the hoe-armed gang? Might not the culture taught the British hinds, By Ceres' son, unfailing crops secure, Though neither dung nor fallowing lent their aid?

WHEN TO PLANT THE BUD-TOPS.

[spire,

The cultured land recalls the devious muse; Propitious to the planter be the call: For much, my friend, it thee imports to know The meetest season to commit thy tops, With best advantage, to the well-dug mould. The task how difficult, to cull the best From thwarting sentiments; and best adorn What Wisdom chooses, in poetic garb! Yet, Inspiration, come; the theme unsung, Whence never poet cropped one bloomy wreath; Its vast importance to my native land, Whose sweet idea rushes on my mind, And makes me 'mid this paradise repine: Urge me to pluck, from Fancy's soaring wing, A plume to deck Experience' hoary brow.

WET WEATHER BEST FOR PLANTING THE CANE.

Attend! The son of Time and Truth declares ; Unless the low-hung clouds dropped fatness down, No bunching plants of vivid green will spring, In goodly ranks, to fill the planter's eye. Let then Sagacity, with curious ken, Remark the various signs of future rain. The signs of rain the Mantuan bard hath sung In loftiest numbers; friendly to thy swains, Once fertile Italy but other marks Portend th' approaching shower, in these hot climes.

RAINS IN THE WEST INDIES; EFFECTS OF A WETTING ON

HEALTH.

Short sudden rains, from Ocean's ruffled bed, Driven by some momentary squalls, will oft, With frequent heavy bubbling drops, down-fall, While yet the Sun in cloudless lustre shines, And draw their humid train o'er half the isle. Unhappy he who journeys then from home, No shade to screen him. His untimely fate His wife, his babes, his friends, will soon deplore; Unless hot wines, dry clothes, and friction's aid, His fleeting spirits stay. Yet not even these,

Nor all Apollo's arts, will always bribe
The insidious tyrant death, thrice tyrant here:
Else good Amyntor, him the Graces loved,
Wisdom caressed, and Themis called her own,
Had lived by all admired, had now perused
These lines, with all the malice of a friend.'

SIGNS OF RAIN; MOSQUITOES, SAND-FLIES, COCKROACHES, LIZARDS, CRABS, DUCKS, AND DOVES.

Yet future rains the careful may foretell : Mosquitoes, sand-flies, seek the sheltered roof, And with fell rage the stranger-guest assail, Nor spare the sportive child; from their retreats Cockroaches crawl displeasingly abroad: These, without pity, let thy slaves destroy; Like Harpies, they defile whate'er they touch, While those the smother of combustion quells. The speckled lizard to its hole retreats, And black crabs travel from the mountain down; Thy ducks their feathers prune; thy doves return, In faithful flocks, and on the neighboring roof Perch frequent; where, with pleased attention, they Behold the deepening congregated clouds, With sadness, blot the azure vault of heaven.

THE WEST INDIA SHOWER; TORRENTS; ENLIVENING EFFECTS.

Now, while the shower depends, and rattle loud Your doors and windows, haste, ye housewives, place

Your spouts and pails; ye negroes, seek the shade,
Save those who open with the ready hoe
The enriching water-course: for, see, the drops,
Which fell with slight aspersion, now descend
In streams continuous on the laughing land.
The coyest Naiads quit their rocky caves,
And with delight run brawling to the main ;
While those who love still visible to glad
The thirsty plains from never-ceasing urns
Assume more awful majesty, and pour,
With force resistless, down the channelled rocks.
The rocks, or split or hurried from their base,
With trees, are whirled impetuous to the sea :
Fluctuates the forest; the torn mountains roar ;
The main itself recoils for many a league,
While its green face is changed to sordid brown.
A grateful freshness every sense pervades ;
While beats the heart with unaccustomed joy
Her stores fugacious Memory now recalls;
And Fancy prunes her wings for loftiest flights.
The mute creation share the enlivening hour;
Bounds the brisk kid, and wanton plays the lamb.
The drooping plants revive; ten thousand blooms,
Which, with their fragrant scents, perfume the air,
Burst into being; while the canes put on
Glad Nature's liveliest robe, the vivid green.

WOODY MOUNTAIN TOPS RESERVOIRS OF MOISTURE; FOGS;
RIVULETS; RAINBOW.

But chief let fixed Attention cast his eye
On the capt mountain, whose high rocky verge
The wild fig canopies (vast woodland king,