The Press.
London, England, 1857-11-14 00:00:00

We miss that farewell laugh of hers,
With its light joyous sound,
And the kiss between the balusters,
When good-night time comes round.
And empty is her little bed,
And on her pillow there
Must never rest that cherub head
With its soft silken hair.
The verses are too many to quote at length,
but they apply religion as a soother to the
grieving parents. The universally admired
" draves of a Household," by Mrs. Hemens,
finds its appropriate place in this volume,
along with other pieces of a similar strain.
There are some verses by Caroline Bowles
extracted that would do honour to the lyre of
Tennyson. Amongst them are the " Address
of a Dying Mother to her Infant" :

Thou'lt have thy father's eyes, my child—oh ! once how

kind they were !
Ills long black lashes, his own smile, and just such raven

hair:
But here's a mark—poor innocent—he'll love thee for't

the less,
Like that upon thy mother's cheek his lips were wont to

preas.
And yet, perhaps, I do him
forgot
•

when ell's

But our young loves, in memory's mind—he'll kiss this

very spot;
Oh, then, my dearest! clasp thine arms about his neck

full fast,
And whisper that I bless'd him now, and loved him to
the last.
• • • •

And then to place the marriage crown upon that bright
young brow;
Oh no! not that—'tis full of thorns : alas ! Urn wandering

now :
This weak, weak head ! this foolish heart ! they'll cheat
me to the last—
I've been a dreamer all my life, and now that life is past.
And bast thou not one look fur me? those little restless
eyes
• - • - ••

Are Wandering, wandering everywhere, the while thy
mother dies :
And yet, perhaps, thou'rt seeking me—expecting me, mine
own I
Come, Death, and make me to my child at least in spirit
known

The volume is specially calculated to please
"the female heart." Mothers, wives, sisters,
and daughters. will all find some charming
passages in which their most sacred feelings
have been uttered by minds of genius.
Amongst the names of the writers from whom
Doctor Mackay has culled his flowers are
Caroline Bowles, Lisle Bowles, the Brown-
ings, W. C. Bryant, Burns, Lord Byron,
Campbell, Grace Greenwood, S. T. Coleridge,
Eliza Cook (one song, "The Old Arm Chair"),
Barry Cornwall, Allan Cunningham, Thomas
Davis (two choice pieces), Charles Dibdin,
Lady Dufferin, Julian Fane, T. K. and Mrs.
T. K. Hervey, Thomas Hood, Longfellow (only
one piece, " The Two Angels "), Bulw•er
Lytton, Charles Mackay (five pieces), Gerald
Massey (five pieces), and Alaric A. Watts, with
a whole catalogue of other names too tedious
to rehearse. The literature of the volume is
beyond doubt of a character far superior to
what is usually given iu books of this de-
scription.

The illustrations are engraved by the Dalziels
from designs by Alfred Elmore, R.A., Harrison
Weir, John Gilbert, Birket Foster, F R.
Pickersgill, R.A., John Absolon, .T. E. Millais,
J. M. Carrick, and many others. One of the
best drawings in the book is 0. Thomas's
capital illustration of Charles Dibdin's " Sailor's
Journal." It represents a number of sailors
drinking their grog, while Nancy's lover is
sadly ruminating in the corner of the mess-
room. It is intended for the illustration of
the. lines

And now arrived that jovial night
When every true-bred tar carouses ;
When, o'er the grog, all hands delight
To toasts their sweethearts and their spouses.
Round went the can, the jest, the glee,
While tender wishes fill'd each fancy;
And when, in turn, it came to me,
I heaved a sigh, and toasted Nancy !

Mr. Millais illustrates " There is nae luck
about the house" and " The Border Widow,"
but his peculiar mode of dealing with
light and shade does not toll well in
book engravings. Mr. Birket Foster's sea
pieces are full of spirit; and, on the whole.
though there is inequality in some of the
engravings, the illustrations are fertile in
thought and happy in execution. The volume
altogether is one of the handsomest annuals