ARBOR DA Y MANUAL. 





. Written for the ".\RDOR DAY MANUAL." 



A HOME BY THE WARM SOUTHERN SEA.* 



OH, give me a home by the warm Southern sea ! 

 Where the playful waves bring a kind respite to me, 

 And from New Year's till March the jessamine bloom 

 Fills the eye with its beaut}-, and the air with perfume; 

 While I almost can hear the tinkle and swell 

 Of the dear little yellow jessamine bell, 

 As it swings on its vine from the top of a tree, 

 And exultanth- shakes its bright petals at me. 



Oh, give me a home by the warm Southern sea ! 

 Where the Cherokee rose climbs the palmetto tree, 

 And sweetly peeps forth through perennial green 

 Bedecking the months 'twixt the fair jessamine 

 And the magnolia grand, the queen of the May, 

 The tree of the Southland, the pride of the day, 

 The fountain of odors which scatter and fill 

 The fair summer flowers, and sweet daffodil. 



Oh, give me a home by the warm Southern sea ! 

 Where the jubilant sunbeams dance o'er the lea, 

 Where with oars idly dropped, I float with the tides, 

 Or rest in wild hammocks which nature provides; 

 While vines, creeping vines, come forth in an hour, 

 And noiselessly twine me a summerland bower; 

 Then opening soft eyes, speaking love and good will, 

 They twine and keep twining unweariedly still. 



Oh, give me a home by the warm Southern sea ! 

 Where lilies hang drooping from shrub and from tree. 

 Where fruits in all seasons hang luscious and rare, 

 Where from May to December the soft, balmy air 

 Brings a lazy delight to my soul as I lie 

 And list to the mocking-bird's twitter and cry : 

 Till catching a glimpse of the gay holly tree 

 As it shakes its bright berries in radiant glee, 

 I am minded that Christmas, glad Christmas is near, 

 And that I have been dreaming for nearly a year. 

 Augustine, Fla. MRS. B. C. RUDE. 



No tree in all the grove but has its charms 



Though each its hue peculiar. COWPER. 



EDITOR ARBOR DAY MANUAL Please accept this little offering as a kindly link in the great chain of 

 earnest effort which now connects the educational interests of the two halves of our one vast whole our 

 Union. THE AUTHOR. 



