JASMINE—THE MATRON. 
53 
N early youth, ere life appeared 
The sober thing I since have found it, 
Or disappointment yet had seared 
The garlands with which hope had crowned 
How oft I longed, when thou, fair flower, 
At eve thy treasured sweets wert breathing, 
To find in some lone glen a bower 
Which thy dark mantling sprays were wreathing; 
And there, from morn to evening grey, 
Muse tranquilly my life away. 
it, 
But stern realities since then 
Have long such idle musings banished, 
And at their touch the lonely glen 
And jasmine-shaded bower have vanished; 
For I have seen the dark grave close 
O’er some I loved, perchance too blindly, 
And others, who once uttered vows 
Of changeless friendship, look less kindl) ; 
Still learning with my added years, 
That life has fewer smiles than tears. 
But though wild fancy never more 
Such fond conceits from thee may borrow, 
Yet still I love thee, sweetest flower, 
E’en for the tints thou yield’st to sorrow ; 
Flowers that do bend, all meek and pale, 
When storms arise, submission teach me ; 
But when upon eve’s chilly gale 
I feel thy choicest odours reach me, 
Thou showest, me more than how to bend, 
Yea, with submission praise to blend. 
Mrs. Hey. 
