224 
% 
For, alas! that stem in its loneliness, 
And the flowers around it widely strown, 
Were but the symbols, as thou may’st guess, 
Of a heart, and its ruined hopes — my own! 
Holly. — ‘ Power of Imagination .’ 
It is a custom in the country residences of the South, to decorate 
the dining rooms at Christmas, with Holly boughs ; the green leaves 
and scarlet berries of which present a striking and cheerful appear¬ 
ance. 
There is an hour when memory brings 
The treasured joys of bygone years, 
The musing mind to soothe, and flings 
A veil o’er all its present cares; 
