THE HEIFER DEPRIVED OF HER MATES _Do._ 88 THE WATCHFUL DOG _Do._ 91 THE GUIDE-POST _Do._ 94 THE WRONG PLACE _Do._ 97 THE HAWSER _Rear-Admiral Lord W. Compton_ 100 WATERFALL BY THE SEA _The Author_ 103 THE HUNTER _Do._ 106 FRANCIS PERRIER _Do._ 110 THE HIPPOCAMPUS _R. Barnes_ 117 _From Nature._ BIVALVES _Ven. Lord A. Compton_ 121 FRONTISPIECE AND FRAMES TO WOODCUTS _Lady Marian Alford._ A CENTURY OF EMBLEMS PROEM. I had not breathed such notes as these, Save to myself in field or wood, But for the venial hope to please Some spirits of the wise and good. For honest mirth that sings the truth, And shakes a bell in Folly's ear, May serve a crumpled hour to smooth, And whisk away a peevish tear; While haply to the heart may go Some tones amid the fall and rise, And stir the silent springs below Of deeper, holier sympathies. So now into the streets of life I venture forth, but not alone, Too well aware its roar and strife Would drown my feeble undertone. And mindful of the world's disdain, I mimic him of Rhodopé,[A] And start, escorted by a train Of beast, and bird, and flower, and tree; For lack of these, his guardian brood, The poet in his lonely woe, By Thracian dames was torn and strewed Upon the Hyperborean snow. Were these the critics of the day? And does this ancient tale, forsooth, Symbol the perils of his way Who seeks to win by tuneful truth? Thrice welcome, then, O sister art! Divert the eye with pictured spell, Assume your own attractive part, And share the wrath you may not quell. FOOTNOTE: [A] Orpheus. [Illustration] EMBLEMS EVERYWHERE. A simple faith, if fancy fed Is girt with holy signs, And common sights are seen and read As writ in holy lines. A fish, a ship, the night and day, Some Christian truth declare, And e'en the winging crows display Black crosses in the air. Nor blame thou this simplicity, For love is at the core, Which only sees what others see, But feels a little more. THE SUN AN EMBLEM OF THE CREATOR. 'Mid the glow of the dawning and dew of the mist, The valley awakens in beauty and tears, For the life-bringing day-star the ridges hath kiss'd, And the presence is felt ere the splendour appears. Now the cloud-curtain parts--from pavilion of gold The monarch goes forth with tiara of flame, And his banners abroad to the zenith unrolled, Reflect on our hearts the Ineffable Name.