The pious Abbot of Aberbrothock,

Had placed that bell on the Inchcape rock;
On the waves of the storm it floated and swung,
And louder and louder its warning rung.

When the rock was hid by the tempest swell,
The mariners heard the warning bell,

And then they knew the perilous rock,

And blessed the Abbot of Aberbrothock.

The float of the Inchcape Bell was seen,
A darker spot on the ocean green;
Sir Ralph the Rover walk'd the deck,
And he fix'd his eye on the darker speck.

His eye was on the Bell and Float,—
Quoth he "My men, put down the boat,
And row me to the Inchcape Rock,—
I'll plague the priest of Aberbrothock!"

The boat was lower'd, the boatmen row,
And to the Inchcape Rock they go,
Sir Ralph leant over from the boat,
And cut the bell from off the float.

Down sunk the bell with a gurgling 1 sound,
The bubbles rose, and burst around,

Quoth he, "Who next comes to the rock,
Won't bless the priest of Aberbrothock!,"

Sir Ralph the Rover sail'd away,

He scour'd the sea for many a day,

And now, grown rich with plunder'd store,
He steers his way for Scotland's shore.

(1) Gurgling—a deep gushing noise, as made by any heavy body falling into the water, like the bell in the present instance.

So thick a haze o'erspread the sky,
They could not see the sun on high,
The wind had blown a gale all day,
At evening it hath died away.

"Can'st hear," said one, "the breakers 2 roar ?
For yonder, methinks should be the shore,

Now, where we are, I cannot tell,—

I wish we heard the Inchcape Bell."

They heard no sound-the swell is strong,

Though the wind hath fallen, they drift along; Till the vessel strikes with a quivering shock,"Oh heavens! it is the Inchcape Rock!"

Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair,
And cursed himself in his despair;

And waves rush in on every side,

The ship sinks fast beneath the tide.

SOUTHEY.

(2) Breakers-rocks against which the waves break, as the word implies.

There is a deep moral conveyed in these verses which it would be well to reflect upon for a moment, as no doubt the poet calculated to teach us a very useful lesson in a pleasant manner.

It is impossible to do wrong, or to act rashly without being at some future time punished for our wickedness, or reproved for our rashness. It has been rightly said by a great philosopher, that "theft never enriches, that falsehood never profiteth, and every bad action is sure to bring with it some sore punishment." As it was with Sir Ralph the Rover, so it has been with hundreds and thousands of individuals, who out of sheer caprice and in an idle moment, did some malicious act which sometime afterwards they bitterly regretted. Alike the boy and the man when they take that which does not belong to them, or do that which is evil in the sight of God, are sure to be punished in more ways than one, by Him who sees every act, and knows every thought of our minds.

THE POWER OF GOD.

The Lord our God is full of might,

The winds obey his will;

He speaks, and in his heavenly height,
The rolling sun stands still.

Rebel, ye waves, and o'er the land,
With threatening aspect roar;
The Lord uplifts his awful hand,
And chains you to the shore.

Howl, winds of night, your force combine;
Without His high behest, (1)
Ye shall not in the mountain pine,
Disturb the sparrows nest.

His voice sublime is heard afar,

In distant peals it dies;

He yokes the whirlwinds to his car,
And sweeps the howling skies.

Ye nations bend, in reverence bend, .

Ye monarchs wait his nod,

And bid the choral song ascend,

To celebrate the God!

H. K. WHITE.

(1) Behest-command.

"For at his word the stormy wind ariseth, which lifted up the waves thereof."

"For he maketh the storm to cease; so that the waves thereof are still."-Psalm 108th.

BIRDS.

Birds-birds! ye are beautiful things,

With your earth treading feet and your cloud cleaving wings. Where shall man wander, and where shall he dwell, Beautiful birds, that ye come not as well?

Ye have nests on the mountains all rugged aud stark : (1)
Ye have nests in the forests all tangled (2) and dark:
Ye build and ye brood 'neath the cottager's eaves,
And ye sleep on the sod 'mid the bonnie green leaves;
Ye hide in the heather, (3) ye lurk in the brake, (4)
Ye dive in the sweet flags (5) that shadow the lake:
Ye skim where the stream parts the orchard-decked land,
Ye dance where the foam sweeps the desolate strand.

Beautiful birds! ye come thickly around,

When the bud's on the branch, and the snow on the ground;
Ye come when the richest of roses flush out,
And ye come when the yellow leaf eddies about.

Beautiful birds! how the schoolboy remembers
The warblers that chorused his holiday tune;
The Robin that chirped in the frosty Decembers,
The Blackbird that whistled through flower-crowned June.

That schoolboy remembers his holiday ramble,
When he pulled every branch of palm he could see,

When his finger was raised as he stopped in the bramble
With "Hark! there's the Cuckoo: how close he must be!"

(1) Stark-bare, naked.—(2) Entangled-knitted together. (3) Heather-heath, a small plant.-(4) Brake-thicket of trees. (5) Flags-a species of water plant.

Beautiful birds! we've encircled (6) thy names

With the fairest of fruits and the fiercest of flames.
We paint war with his Eagle and peace with her Dove;
With the Redbolt of death, and the Olive of love:
The fountain of friendship is never complete,
Till ye coo o'er its waters so sparkling and sweet;
And where is the hand that would dare to divide
Even wisdom's grave self from the Owl by her side?

Beautiful creatures of freedom and light!

Oh! where is the eye that groweth not bright
As it watches you trimming your soft glossy coats,
Swelling your bosoms, and ruffling your throats;
Oh! I would not ask, as the old ditties sing,
To be "happy as sand-boy" or "happy as king;
For the joy is more blissful that bids me declare,
"I am as happy as all the wild birds in the air."
I will tell them to find me a grave when I die,
Where no marble will shut out the glorious sky;

Let them give me a tomb where the daisy will bloom,
Where the moon will shine down and the leveret (7) pass by
But be sure there's a tree stretching out high and wide,
Where the Linnet, the Thrush, and the Woodlark may hide;
For the truest and purest of requiems (8) heard,

Is the eloquent hymn of the beautiful bird.

E. COOK.

(6) Encircled-surrounded.-(7) Leveret-a young hare.
(8) Requiems-hymns for the dead.

I think this piece so admirably appeals to the choicest feelings of a schoolboy, that it needs no remark or commendation from me, to render it a great favourite among those who are destined to learn poetry from this small collection. If perfectly learnt it will fully reward the pupils patience and perseverance.