I leave thee in thy happiness, As one too dear to love! As one I'll think of but to bless, Whilst wretchedly I rove. But oh! when sorrow's cup I drink, All bitter though it be, How sweet to me 'twill be, to think It holds no drop for thee. Then fare thee well! An exile now, Without a friend or home, With anguish written on my brow, About the world I'll roam. For all my dreams are sadly o'er-- _Fate_ bade them all depart,-- And I will leave my native shore, In brokenness of heart. S. Our young correspondent "M'C." will perceive that his poem has been altered in some of its expressions, and perhaps not altogether to his liking. Our object has been, not to damp the aspirations of genius, but to prune its luxuriance. The ardour of youth too often betrays into extravagance, which can only be corrected by cultivation and experience. We hope that he will persevere in his invocations to the muse,--believing that the time will come when she will amply reward him by her smiles. For the Southern Literary Messenger. SERENADE. Sweet lady, awake from thy downy pillow! Moonlight is gleaming all bright on yon billow, Night-flowers are blooming,--south winds are blowing So gently, they stir not the smooth waters flowing. Wake lady! wake from thy gentle slumber, Heav'n's gems are all sparkling, uncounted in number, How calm, yet how brilliant those beautiful skies, Which the wave glances back like the beam of thine eyes. Wake, dearest! wake thou, my heart's fond desire! All trembling these fingers sweep over the lyre, This bosom is heaving with love's tender throes, And my song, like the swan's last, is wild at the close. Yet thou wilt not list to me,--then lady, farewell! My lyre shall be hush'd with this last mournful swell; All lonely and desolate,--onward I roam; My bosom is void!--the wide world is my home! M'C. It is with much pleasure that the publisher is enabled to present in the first number of the "Messenger" the following poetical contributions, not heretofore published, from the pen of Mrs. Sigourney, of Hartford, Connecticut. There are few literary readers on either side of the Potomac, who are not familiar with some of the productions at least, of this accomplished authoress. The purity of her sentiments, and the strength and mellowness of her versification, will remind the reader of the highly gifted and almost unrivalled Hemans. For the Southern Literary Messenger. COLUMBUS BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA. "Columbus found, that in advocating the spherical figure of the earth, he was in danger or being convicted not merely of _error_,--but even of heterodoxy."--_Washington Irving_.