Aspiring monument of human toil What lies beneath that's worth so vast a coil? A shapeless blackened corpse, set all alone, Embalmed and mummied into silent stone. The mighty pile its ponderous circuit rears; Ah, ingenuity! ah, wasted years! Pure be thy life; let pompous trappings be! Six feet of kindly earth's enough for thee! PIETAS RUBECULÆ. Quæ tibi regalis dederant diadematis aurum, Dant et funereum fana, Maria, tholum. Quisque suis vicibus, mæsto stant ordine flentes; Oreque velato femina triste silet. Parva avis interea, residens in vertice summo, Emittit tremula lugubre voce melos. Vespera nec claudit, nec lucem Aurora recludit, Quin eadem repetat funebre carmen avis, Tale nihil dederint vel Mausolea; Mariæ Hæc pietas soli debita vera fuit. Venales lacrymæ, jussique facessite fletus; Sumptibus hic nullis luctus emendus erit. * * * The ancient fane that crowned thy flashing head, Oh queen, oh mother! now receives thee dead. The mourning train, in funeral pomp arrayed, Weeping adore the venerable shade. A duteous bird the while, high perched above, Utters the tremulous notes of tender love. Each waning eve, each dewy opening day, That gentle heart repeats his solemn lay. No lamentable anthem pealing high Can match the gift of pious minstrelsy. Tears, venal tears, ye cannot give relief. No lavished gold can purchase natural grief! There have been several editions of Vincent Bourne; three of them deserve, bibliographically, a word. The first is the third of his publications, a very rare and beautiful book, which by the kindness of Mr. Austin Dobson I have been privileged to examine. This is _Poematia, Latine partim reddita, partim scripta_, printed by J. Watts, 1734, and dedicated to the Duke of Newcastle; it is a small volume printed in italics of the tribe of Aldus, with quaint head and tail pieces, and red lines ruled by hand. The next is the _Miscellaneous Poems_ of 1772, a handsome quarto, published by subscription. The third is _Poems by Vincent Bourne_ published by Pickering in 1840, with a memoir and notes by the Rev. John Mitford. This is a carefully and beautifully printed book, with but one drawback. Whenever an ornamental head-piece is inserted at the top of a page, the number of the page is omitted. This tiresome affectation makes it very difficult to find any particular poem.