Ten years in vigorous old age,

Within that cot he dwelt;

Tranquil as falls the snow on snow,

Life's lot to him was dealt :

But came infirmity at length,

And slowly o'er him stealt.

We miss'd him on.our seaward walk :
The children went no more
To listen to his evening talk,
Beside the cottage door;
Grim palsy held him to the bed,
Which health eschew'd before.

'Twas harvest time: day after day
Beheld him weaker grow;
Day after day, his labouring pulse
Became more faint and slow;
For, in the chambers of his heart,
Life's fire was burning low.

Thus did he weaken, did he wane,
Till frail as frail could be ;
But duly at the hour which brings
Homeward the bird and bee,

He made them prop him in his couch,
To gaze upon the sea.

And now he watch'd the moving boat,

And now the moveless ships,

And now the western hills remote,

With gold upon their tips,

As ray by ray the mighty sun
Went down in calm eclipse.

Welcome as homestead to the feet
Of pilgrim travel-tired,

Death to old Simon's dwelling came,
A thing to be desired;
And breathing peace to all around,

The man of war expired.

THE OLD HULK.

I'VE come to be a broken down
And useless wreck at last,
Too feeble for another cruise,

My working days are past.
I've sailed the seas for forty years,
And met the tempest's rage,

But now I'm stranded high and dry,

Oh, verily if none below

Will kindly care for me, I'll go to the Great Admiral Who ruleth every sea.

I used to think it hardly worth

My while to go to Him;

But latterly my strength has failed,
My sight is getting dim;

D. M. MOIR.

And every body pushes me

Aside with little care,

How well or ill a sailor, old

And broken down, may fareIt seems at last that high and low

Have all forsaken me,

Except the Mighty Admiral
Who ruleth every sea.

I've faced the howling tempest when
The bravest bent the knee;
I've seen as noble ships go down

As ever sailed the sea;

And many a messmate dear to me

Has found a watery grave, When I was nigh and heard his cry, But had not power to save ; Through all, my life has been preserved, For very kind to me Has been the Mighty Admiral,

Who ruleth every sea.

And more and more I seem to feel

My loneliness depart,

As more and more I breathe to Him

The sorrows of my heart.

But, messmates, there is One above

Who'll lend a helping hand, Whatever troubles may arise

On sea or on the land;

Who, when our life on earth is done,

Will care for such as we

It is the Mighty Admiral,

Who ruleth every sea.

THE SECRET OF THE SEA.

AH! what pleasant visions haunt me,
As I gaze upon the sea!
All the old romantic legends,

All my dreams come back to me.

Sails of silk and ropes of sendal,
Such as gleam in ancient lore;
And the singing of the sailors,

And the answer from the shore!

Most of all, the Spanish ballad
Haunts me oft, and tarries long,

Of the noble Count Arnaldos
And the sailor's mystic song.

Like the long waves on a sea-beach,
Where the sand as silver shines,

With a soft monotonous cadence,
Flow its unrhymed lyric lines ;-

Telling how the Count Arnaldos,
With his hawk upon his hand,
Saw a fair and stately galley

Steering onward to the land;

ANON.

How he heard the ancient helmsman
Chant a song so wild and clear,
That the sailing sea-bird slowly
Poised upon the mast to hear,

Till his soul was full of longing,

And he cried with impulse strong— "Helmsman! for the love of heaven,

Teach me, too, that wondrous song!"

"Wouldst thou,"-so the helmsman answered, "Learn the secret of the sea? Only those who brave its dangers Comprehend its mystery!"

In each sail that skims the horizon,
In each landward-blowing breeze,

I behold that stately galley,

Hear those mournful melodies;

Till my soul is full of longing,
For the secret of the sea,

And the heart of the great ocean

Sends a thrilling pulse through me.

LONGFELLOW.

THE DEAD IN THE SEA.

DEEP, deep beneath green ocean's wave,
On shelly bank and sand,