Or when our ALICE, scarcely less tall, And none the less fair, tries her slim baby feet, Or a new has lisped, to the pride of us all, Smiling, we cry, "was aught ever so sweet?" Even wee BERTHA, turning her eyes, Searching and slow from one face to another-- Wrinkling her brow in a comic surprise, And winking so soberly at her pale mother, For a baby, is wondrously pretty and wise! Well, _let_ the "vine" recline in the sun-- Three such rare "clusters" in three short years, Have sapped the red wine in her veins that should run-- For the choicest of species the gardener fears! LILLIAN, queen of the lilies shall be, Fair, tall and graceful--queenly in will; ALICE a Provence rose--rarely sweet she; BERTHA NARCISSA--white daffodil-- And the "vine," once more strong, shall entwine around the three! WHAT THE SEA SAID TO ME. One evening as I sat beside the sea, A little rippling wave stole up to me, And whispered softly, yet impressively, The word Eternity: I smiled, that anything so small should utter, A word the ocean in its wrath might mutter; And with a mirthful fancy, vainly strove, To suit its cadence to some word of love-- But all the little wave would say to me, Was, over and again, Eternity! After a time, the winds, from their dark caves, Arose, and wrestled with the swelling waves, Shrieking as doth a madman when he raves; Yet still Eternity Was spoken audibly unto my hearing; While foaming billows, their huge crests up-rearing, Rushed with a furious force upon the shore, That only answered with a sullen roar; As if it hoarsely echoed what the sea Said with such emphasis--Eternity! And by and by, the sky grew dun and dim; Soon all was darkness, save the foam's white gleam; And all was silence save the sea's deep hymn-- That hymn Eternity: While some dread presence, all the darkness filling, Crept round my heart, its healthy pulses chilling; Making the night, so awful unto me, More fearful with that word Eternity. So that my spirit, trembling and afraid, Bowed down itself before its God, and prayed For His strong arm of terror to be stayed; And sighed Eternity From its white lips, as the dark sea, subsiding, Sank into broken murmurs; and the gliding Of the soothed waters seemed once more to me The whisper I first heard, Eternity. But now I mocked not what the ripple said: I only reverently bent my head, While the pure stars, unveiled, their lustre shed Upon the peaceful sea-- And the mild moon, with a majestic motion, Uprose, and shed upon the murmuring ocean, Her calm and radiant glory, as if she Knew it the symbol of Eternity. HYMN.