“A brother! Lily, sit thee down And _I_ will be thy brother; Dost thou not know, since thine is dead, That thou may’st choose another?” She laid her rosy palm in mine, The artless little fairy, And said, “Dear Harry, may I be, Your sister, just like Mary? “May I watch to see you come, May I run to meet you— May I do the thousand things Mary does to greet you!” We sat us down beside the hill Broad shadowed by the mountain, And there we talked the matter o’er, Beside the gurgling fountain. And when the golden sun went down, She promised, as I kissed her, That she would ever, ever be My darling, dearest SISTER! Then a thousand plans she told— Of course none could miscarry— Oh! she was so happy now, She had a brother Harry! But my heart was beating wild Ever since I kissed her, And in vain it tried to say “Love her as a SISTER!” Softly then I bent me down— Now the stars were shining— And my arm around her waist _Brother_ly was twining— “Sister, there is one thing more I’ll tell thee while we tarry; Lily, _brothers_ go away, Darling, _brothers_ marry! “Thou wilt be alone again For thy Harry’s going— _Sisters_ may not keep me here, Though their tears be flowing. “Lily! hast thou never heard Of a bond more tender, For which the heart a brother’s love A sister’s would surrender? “Such the spell that binds me now, Dearest mountain flower, And I’ve given all my soul To its gentle power! “Dost thou hear me, Lily, love? Shall I longer tarry? Darling BROTHERS _go away_, Dearest BROTHERS _marry_!” Lily Leslie bent her head, Like a dew-wet blossom, And the tears were falling fast O’er her heaving bosom. What she sobbed I may not tell— What I answered to her; I only know the night grew dark On maiden and on wooer. When the moon was sailing high She knelt within the shealing; I beside the old man’s couch Was all the tale revealing. Soon he laid his aged hands Tremblingly upon us, And I heard his fervent voice Pray for blessings on us. Lily laughed with merry heart As she kissed her BROTHER, “HUSBANDS need not go away, Need not love another.” Now within her mountain home Long we’ve lived together, And my rovings since are all With her, in summer weather. And so happy have I been, I ne’er wished another, Nor have heard my Lily since Pine to have a—BROTHER! * * * * * TO A PORTRAIT. BY MRS. H. MARION STEPHENS.