btaining an
ordinary education at the parish school, he engaged in the business of a
manufacturer. Relinquishing this occupation, he became a grocer and
general merchant; and since 1824, he has held the office of Postmaster.
He composed verses at an early period. In 1825, some of his verses
appeared in the _Paisley Advertiser_, and the favour with which they
were received induced him to offer some poetical compositions to the
_Fife Herald_, a newspaper which had just been established in the
capital of his native county. Under the signature of _Theta_, he has
since been a regular contributor of verses to that journal. He has
likewise contributed articles in prose and poetry to other newspapers
and some of the periodicals.

THE MAIDEN TO HER REAPING HOOK.

The soldier waves the shining sword, the shepherd boy his crook,
The boatman plies the splashing oar, but well I love the hook.
When swift I haste at sunny morn, unto the spreading plain,
And view before me, like a sea, the fields of golden grain,
And listen to the cheerful sound of harvest's echoing horn,
Or join the merry reaper band, that gather in the corn;
How sweet the friendly welcoming, how gladsome every look,
Ere we begin, with busy hands, to wield the Reaping Hook.

My Reaping Hook! my Reaping Hook! I love thee better far,
Than glancing spear and temper'd sword, bright instruments of war;
As thee I grasp with willing hand, and feel a reaper's glee,
When, waving in the rustling breeze, the ripen'd field I see;
Or listen to the harmless jest, the bandsman's cheerful song,
The hearty laugh, the rustic mirth, while mingling 'mid the throng;
With joy I see the well-fill'd sheaf, and mark each rising stook,
As thee I ply with agile arm, my trusty Reaping Hook!

They tell of glorious battle-fields, strew'd thick with heaps of slain!
Alas! the triumphs of the sword bring only grief and pain;
But thou, my shining Reaping Hook, the symbol art of peace,
And fill'st a thousand families with smiles and happiness;
While conquering warrior's burning brand, amid his gory path,
The emblem is of pain and woe, of man's destructive wrath.
Soon therefore may the spear give place unto the shepherd's crook,
And the conqueror's flaming sword be turn'd into a Reaping Hook!

ALEXANDER SMART.

Alexander Smart was born at Montrose on the 26th April 1798. His father
was