Then come to "the hall of wine and song," Where the spirit of beauty reposes, And truth shall be crown'd by the shining throng, With a garland of myrtle and roses! S. W. W. _Raleigh, N. C._ For the Southern Literary Messenger. SPRING. To see thy tiny songsters rear With wondrous skill, their home of love; And hear each praise the other's care In songs, that might be breathed above. To watch the modest flowret's growth, The spotless type of love on earth Which nightly droops, as though 'twere loath To quit the breast that gave it birth; Or lay me down beside some brook, Where I may muse the livelong day, And drop my oft neglected book, To dream of others far away. Such is the joy, the quiet bliss, Of holding converse sweet with thee, And wooing, still, thy favoring kiss Midst nature's wilds, in fancy free. But I must bide within my room, Content to breathe, alone, thy air, And feel that it is double gloom, Because thou art so lovely, there. A PRISONER. For the Southern Literary Messenger. MR. T. W. WHITE. _Dear Sir:_--You have been so kind as to solicit something from my pen for your interesting periodical. With great pleasure I transmit the enclosed sheets, in the hope that you may find them suitable to the Messenger. The subject I consider as particularly congenial with this delightful season, which has been truly said to constitute the "great jubilee of nature;" awakening our sympathy with young life, and drawing our attention to the promise and hazards of the vegetable creation, amid the cheerful labors of agriculture. Nunc omnis ager, nunc omnis parturit arbos; Nunc frondent sylvæ, nunc _formosissimus annus_. But I am sure that my subject has an interest, independent of the delightful associations of the season at which I write, and that most of your readers will be ever ready to exclaim in the gallant strain of the _sweet_ Irish Bard, Oh woman! whose form and whose soul Are the spell and the light of each path we pursue! Whether sunn'd in the tropics, or chill'd at the pole, If woman be there, there is happiness too! What I have written in this first number of my Dissertation, has reference principally to what may be termed the _sentimental_ portion of our nature. I must therefore beg of your readers, to suspend all judgment as to the partiality or impartiality of the execution, until I have drawn the whole picture. I am yet to compare the sexes together, in relation to the intellectual powers. I am, sir, with high respect, Your obedient servant, Z. X. W. _May 12, 1835_. * * * * * DISSERTATION On the Characteristic Differences between the Sexes, and on the Position and Influence of Woman in Society. NO. I.