ed for aye, where the long weeds sigh,
In the churchyard by the stream:
And fame--oh! mine were gorgeous hopes
Of a flashing and young renown:
But early, early the flower-leaf drops
From the withering seed-cup down.

And beauty! have I not worshipp'd all
Her shining creations well?
The rock--the wood--the waterfall,
Where light or where love might dwell.
But over all, and on my heart,
The mildew hath fallen sadly,
I have no spirit, I have no part
In the earth that smiles so gladly!

I only sigh for a quiet bright spot
In the churchyard by the stream,
Whereon the morning sunbeams float,
And the stars at midnight dream;
Where only Nature's sounds may wake
The sacred and silent air,
And only her beautiful things may break
Through the long grass gathering there.

ALEXANDER HUME.

Alexander Hume was born at Kelso on the 1st of February 1809. His
father, Walter Hume, occupied a respectable position as a retail trader
in that town. Of the early history of our author little has been
ascertained. His first teacher was Mr Ballantyne of Kelso, a man
somewhat celebrated in his vocation. To his early preceptor's kindness
of heart, Hume frequently referred with tears. While under Mr
Ballantyne's scholastic superintendence, his love of nature first became
apparent. After school hours it was his delight to wander by the banks
of the Tweed, or reclining on its brink, to listen to the music of its
waters. From circumstances into which we need not inquire, his family
was induced to remove from Kelso to London. The position they occupied
we have not learned; but young Hume is remembered as being a quick,
intelligent, and most affectionate boy, eager, industrious,
self-reliant, and with an occasional dash of independence that made him
both feared and loved. He might have been persuaded to adopt almost any
view, but an attempt at coercion only excited a spirit of antagonism. To
use an old and familiar phrase, "he might break, but he would not bend."

About this period (1822 or 1823), when irritated by those who had
authority over him, he suddenly disappeared from home, and allied
himself to a company of strolling players, with whom he associated for
several months. He had an exquisite natural voice, and sung the melting
melodies of Scotland in a manner seldom equalled. With the itinerant
manager he was a favourite, b