14 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



the same crystalline and sparkling radiation. 

 It sometimes grows suddenly cold at noon. 

 There has been a heavy mist all the morning, 

 and. as the north wind comes sharply in, the 

 air clears and leaves it frozen upon everything, 

 with the thinness of palpable air. The trees 

 are clothed with a line white vapor, as if a 

 cloud had been arrested and fixed motionless 

 in the branches. They look, in the twilight 

 like gigantic spirits, standing in broad ranks 

 and clothed in drapery of supernatural white- 

 ness and texture. On close examination, the 

 crystals are as tine as needles, and standing 

 in perfect parallelism, pointing in the direction 

 of the wind. They are like fringes of the 

 most minute threads, edging every twig and 

 filament of the tree, so that the branches are 

 thickened by them, and have a shadowy and 

 mysterious look, as if a spirit-foliage had 

 started out from the naked limbs. It is not 

 so brilliant as the common rime seen upon 

 the trees after a frozen rain, but it is infi- 

 nitely more delicate and spiritual, and to us 

 seems a phenomenon of exquisite beauty. 



THE MONTH IN PROSPECT. 



FEBRUAKY. 



FOE EVER THINE. 



LINES ADDRESSED TO 



Dearest, I'm thine, whatever this heart betide, 

 For ever thine, where'er our lot be cast ; 

 Fate, that may rob us of all wealth beside, 

 Shall leave us Love, till death itself be past. 



The world may wrong us, we will brave its hate ; 

 False friends may change, and false hopes decline ; 

 Tho' bowed by cankering cares we'll smile at fate, 

 Since thou art mine, belov'd, and I am thine ! 



For ever thine, — when circling years have spread 

 Time's snowy blossoms o'er thy placid brow ; 

 When youth's rich glow, its purple light is fled, 

 And lilies bloom where roses flourish now. 



Say, shall I love thy fading beauty less, 

 When spring-tide radiance has been wholly mine ? 

 Let come what will, thy steadfast truth I'll bless, 

 In youth, in age, — thine own, for ever thine ! 



For ever thine — at evening's dewy hour, 

 When gentle hearts to tend'rest thoughts incline ; 

 When balmiest odors from each closing flower 

 Are breathing round, I'm thine, for ever thine. 



For ever thine, 'mid fashion's heartless throng, 

 In courtly bowers, at folly's gilded shrine ; 

 Smiles on my cheek, light words upon my tongue, 

 My deep heart still is thine, for ever thine. 



For ever thine, amid the boisterous crowd, 

 "Where the jest sparkles with the sparkling wine ; 

 I may not breathe thy gentle name aloud, 

 But drink to thee in thought, — for ever thine ! 



I would not, sweet, profane that silvery sound, — 

 The depth of love could such rude heart divine , 

 Let the loud laughter peal, the toast go round ; 

 But still my thoughts are thine, — for ever thine. 



For ever thine, whate'er this heart betide, 

 For ever thine, where'er our lot be ca>t ; 

 Fate that may rob us of all wealth beside, 

 Shall leave us Love, till life itself be past ! 



Q. 



Hold ! hold ! -what would these endless clouds be at ! 



1 hese five days it has been but pour — pour — pour; 



Methinks 'twill float again the ark of Noah 

 From its old station on Mount Ararat. 

 Oh! 'tis a pleasant time for cloak and hat ; 

 And for umbrellas, laid in dozens by, 

 That, as one drops, another may be dry : 

 For cork-soled shoes, stilts, oilcase, and all that. 

 Out, cat ! why turn thy back upon the fire ? 



We've rain enough, I say! — We'll try again 

 This weatherglass; — sweet finger, pray mount higher ! 



Down !— down it goes !— oh mercy ! — yet more rain ? 

 Shall the world drown? no dry spot left upon it, 

 And fishes swim where I now pen this sonnet ? 



February is, without doubt, the most 

 cheerless month of the year. There may be 

 pleasant varieties of it. The latter end 

 may, and frequently is, much more agree- 

 able than the commencement ; but, as a 

 whole, it is at once cold, damp, and foggy. 

 Besides the earth being saturated with a 

 whole winter's moisture, there is, generally, 

 abundance of rain during this month ; so 

 much so, that it has acquired the cogno- 

 men of ' February-fill-dike.' 



The frosts and snows which have been 

 locking up, and burying the earth for weeks 

 and months, are giving way ; and what is 

 so cheerless and chilling as a great thaw ? 

 There is a lack of comfort felt every where. 

 In real winter-weather, when the clear 

 frosty air sharply saluted the face by day, 

 and revealed to the eye at night, a scene 

 of sublime splendor in the lofty and in- 

 tensely blue sky, glittering with congregated 

 stars, or irradiated by the moon, — there 

 was a sense of vigor, of elasticity, and of 

 freshness, which made it welcome ; but 

 now, — most commonly, by day and night, 

 the sky is hidden in impenetrable vapor — 

 the earth is sodden and splashy with wet; 

 — and even the very fireside does not escape 

 the comfortless sense of humidity. 



Everything presents to the eye, accus- 

 tomed so long to the brightness of clear 

 frosts and the pure whiteness of snow, a 

 dingy and soiled aspect. All things are 

 dripping with wet. It hangs upon the walls 

 like a heavy dew ; it penetrates into the 

 drawers and wardrobes of our warmest 

 chambers ; and we are surprised at the 

 unusual dampness of our clothes, linen, 

 books, paper, — and, in short, almost every- 

 thing which we have occasion to examine. 

 Brick and stone floors are now dangerous 

 things for delicate and thinly-shod people 

 to stand upon. To this source, and, in 

 fact, to the damps of this month, operat- 

 ing in various ways, may be attributed not 

 a few of the colds, coughs, and consump- 

 tions so prevalent in England. Pavements 

 are frequently so much elevated by the 

 expansion of the moisture beneath, as to 

 obstruct the opening and shutting of doors 



