ARBOR DA Y MANUAL. 
231 
Written for the “Ardor Day Manual.’ 
A HOME BY THE WARM SOUTHERN SEA.* 
H, give me a home by the warm Southern sea! 
u 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 beauty, 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 exultantly 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. 
Ofy, 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. 
Mrs. B. C. Rude. 
St. Augustine, Fla. 
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. 
