Review And Telegraph

From the Ladies' Companion.

HOPE.

BY PARK BENJAMIN.

Hope never leaves the human heart;
She sheds a ray beneath the plume
Of sable Death, will not depart;
But, like a moonbeam through the gloom
Where storm-clouds thicken, breaks and shines,
So that the gazer, lost and lone,
Joys that, beyond those dark confines,
A purer, brighter orb is known.

Man is immortal! Hope reveals
The solemn truth; or why should we
Long for the home that Time conceals
In some blest clime beyond the sea?

The billows dash; Life's fragile bark
Reels to the shock, yet on we sail;
Hope is our pilot, bids us mark
The beacon's blaze, nor heed the gale!

There are no terrors for the breast
Of him whom Hope sustains and cheers;
And, though her promises are best
To merry minds and youthful years,

Still, when sustained by virtue, Age
Woos her mild solace, soft she breathes
Amid the white locks of the sage,
And rose-buds, in his chaplet, wreathes.

The sweet consoler! I have seen
Her spirit in a form of earth;
A simple girl she seemed, with mien
Of pensive grace and tender mirth.

She gently oped a hovel door,
And lo! a broad, rich beam of light
Poured in, and all the dark before
Became, like her, serenely bright!

I saw a dungeon. Chained and worn
With anguish, lay a brave strong man:
He fought for Freedom, and was borne
Away, while blood in torrents ran

From hearts whose loss a nation wept;
Hope came at length, like his own child,
And whispered that Oppression slept;
The patriot stood erect and smiled!

Best boon of Heaven, she visits all;
But most with grief prefers to dwell;
She flashes swift through crowded hall,
And loiters long in lonesome cell.

Ideal nymph! thou'rt all to me,
Sister and bride and angel, too;
Say, is there one on earth like thee,
So gentle, constant, fond and true!