In ancient days, breathed out his soul,
Beneath the mountain's cover!

Oh for that Great Lost Power of Song,

So soft and melancholy,

To make thy every hill and dale
Poetically holy!

And not alone each hill and dale,
Fair as they are by nature,

But every town and tower of thine,
And every lesser feature;

For where is there the spot of earth
Within my contemplation,

But from some noble deed or thing
Has taken consecration!

Scotland! the land of all I love,
The land of all that love me;
Land, whose green sod my youth has trod,
Whose sod shall lie above me

Hail, country of the brave and good;

Hail, land of song and story; Land of the uncorrupted heart, Of ancient faith and glory!

TO A LITTLE BOY.-An Extract.

My winsome one, my gallant one, so fair, so happy now, With thy bonnet set so proudly upon thy shining brow, With thy fearless bounding motions, and thy laugh of thoughtless glee,

So circled by a father's love which wards each ill from thee !

Can I suppose another time, when this shall all be o'er, And thy cheek shall wear the ruddy badge of happiness

no more;

When all who now delight in thee, far elsewhere shall

have gone,

And thou shalt pilgrimize through life, unfriended and

alone,

Without an aid to strengthen or console thy troubled

mind,

Save the memory of the love of those who left thee thus

behind?

CHARLES MACKAY, LL.D.

CHARLES MACKAY, a British poet and journalist, was born in Perth in 1812, and gained a valuable portion of his education in Belgium, where, in 1830, he was a witness of the startling events of the revolution there. In 1834, he published a small volume of poems, which was the means of introducing him to the notice of John Black, the editor of the "Morning Chronicle," through whose instrumentality he became connected with that paper. After being connected with the "Morning Chronicle" for about nine years, during which time he published a small volume of poems, the principal of which was "The Hope of the World," he became editor of the "Glasgow Argus," entering upon his duties in September, 1844. He relinquished the conduct of that paper at the general election in 1847. In 1846, the Glasgow University conferred the title of doctor of laws upon Mr. Mackay by unanimous vote. He now writes the chief leading articles for the "Illustrated London News." Mr. Mackay has published several volumes of poems-"The Salamandrine;" "Legends of the Isles;" "Egeria;" "Town Lyrics;" "Voices from the Crowd;" "Voices from the Mountains," &c., &c., and also several works in prose, the best known of which is, his "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions.”

CLEAR THE WAY.

MEN of thought! be up, and stirring Night and day:

Sow the seed-withdraw the curtain

CLEAR THE WAY!

Men of action, aid and cheer them,
As ye may!

There's a fount about to stream,

There's a light about to beam,

There's a warmth about to glow,

There's a flower about to blow;

There's a midnight blackness changing

Into gray.

Men of thought and men of action,
CLEAR THE WAY!

Once the welcome light has broken,
Who shall say

What the unimagined glories

Of the day?

What the evil that shall perish

In its ray?