For thee, to loathing languors all resign'd,
Ten slow revolving months thy MOTHER pin'd.
If cruel fate thy Parent's bliss denies,

If no fond joy sits smiling in thy eyes,

No nymph of heavenly birth shall crown thy love,
Nor shalt thou share the immortal feast above!

BEATTIE.

The sensations of pleasure which the contemplation of Infancy imparts, are not peculiar to the Mother alone; both parents are alive to them. INFANTS, when asleep, are invested with a degree of fascination; their innocency and helplessness make a deep impression on the heart.

A Father thus pours forth his feelings, with the pathos of genuine poetry:

DEAR BABE! that sleepest cradled by my side,
Whose gentle breathings, heard in this dead calm,
Fill up the interspersed vacancies

And momentary pauses of the thought!
My BABE So beautiful! it fills my heart

With tender gladness, thus to look at thee;

And think that thou shalt learn far other lore,

And in far other scenes

Great universal Teacher-he shall mould
Thy spirit, and by giving, make it ask!

Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee:
Whether the summer clothe the general earth
With greenness, or the redbreasts sit and sing
Betwixt the tufts of snow, on the bare branch
Of mossy apple tree, while all the thatch

Smokes in the sun-thaw ;-whether the eave-drops fall
Heard only in the trances of the blast;
Or whether the secret ministry of cold
Shall hang them up in silent icicles

Quietly shining to the quiet moon!

Like those, my BABE! which, ere to-morrow's warmth
Have capp'd their sharp keen points with pendulous

drops,

Will catch thine eye, and with the novelty

Suspend thy little soul; then make thee shout,
And stretch, and flutter from thy MOTHER's arms,
As thou would'st fly for very eagerness!

COLERIDGE.

A Mother's effusion on the same subject, her Sleeping Infant, replete with tenderness, will be equally acceptable:

The ponderous clouds one vast mass forming
On the land their water pour;

Dreadful winds, the heart appalling,

Through the leafy woodlands roar;

Hark! that awful peal of thunder,
Yet, again, how loud it breaks;
Vivid lightnings flame through ether,
While earth to its foundation shakes!

Yet amidst this dread commotion,
While terror every sense alarms;
Sweetly sleeps my Infant Cherub,
Cradled in his MOTHER'S arms!

My dearest-may thy future slumbers
Be soft, serene, and pure as now;
Nor guilt, with fierce remorse pursue thee,
To plant a furrow on thy brow!

Then when LIFE's tempest howls around thee,
And cares disturb thy youthful breast,
Should Love betray, or Friendship wound thee,
May Reason charm thy woes to rest!

Still may its silent dictates teach thee
Truth and Virtue's peerless ways,

Then, smiling midst the threatened danger,
PEACE shall crown my William's days!

MRS. KENDAL.

The general charms of INFANCY are thus prettily illustrated :

Whence the delight, sweet INFANCY,
That each fond eye derives from thee?
Each feature of thy face is fair,
But not a line of soul is there;
No sentiment those eyes display,
Nor Fancy's flame nor Judgment's ray;
All void they roll, the blanks of mind,
Nor Wit, nor Wisdom, there I find;
Nor in their vacant circle lie,
Or Friendship, or Philanthropy.
In thy contracted bosom's space,
Scarce e'en thy MOTHER holds a place;
Yet each fond eye, sweet Infancy,

Delights to bend its look on thee!

FAWCETT.

To these queries, the innocence of INFANCY is deemed a sufficient reply:

Hence the delight, SWEET INFANCY,
That each fond eye derives from thee!
Though no august illustrious guest
Vouchsafe to lodge within thy breast,
Though Virtue's azure mantle there,
Nor Truth, with sunshine vest, appear―
Yet there we mark with mild delight
The MAID that wears the robe of white!

FAWCETT.

But, in introducing these poetical passages to the reader as exemplifying the traits of INFANCY, it would be unpardonable to omit noticing Dr. Watt's Cradle Hymn, so justly admired for its simplicity and piety; two stanzas of which shall be here transcribed:

Hush! my dear, lie still and slumber,
'Tis thy MOTHER guards thy bed;
O! let blessings without number
Gently light upon thy head!

Sleep, my BABE, thy food and raiment,
House and home thy friends provide;
All without thy care or payment,

All thy wants are well supplied!

Thus have I endeavoured to illustrate the apparently insignificant, but truly interesting period. of Infancy. It is MAN in embryo—it is the germ from which springs, under a proper education, the intelligent, the respectable, and the useful member of the community. How are the corporeal functions enlarged and invigorated! How are the intellectual energies augmented and expanded! NEWTON, hanging on his mother's breast, exhibited the ordinary spectacle of pitiable imbecility. And yet this illustrious Infant was destined to ascertain the laws of Nature-to measure the circumference of the earth-and to disclose the secrets of the universe!

But what renders an Infant still more interesting is, that what is rising up into

Man, may be transformed into the CHRISTIAN, indulging the hopes, and cherishing the exalted prospects of immortality. Though it is indeed a melancholy fact, that so large a portion of the human race die in Infancy, yet the lovely germs, rudely and prematurely shaken from off the Tree of Life, shall not perish :

HAPPY INFANT, early blest,
Rest in peaceful slumber, rest!
Early rescu'd from the cares
Which increase with growing years.

All our gaiety is vain,

All our laughter is but pain;
Lasting only and divine,

Is an Innocence like thine!

Under such trying dispensations, parental grief can be assuaged only by the assurance of the mild and benevolent Saviour of the world; OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

Touching upon the death of Infants, I shall just add that there is only one other circumstance that can be deemed more calamitous, the decease of MOTHER and Child in her first accouchement ! And now rushes on the mind the recent melancholy event by which the whole British nation has been agitated, and overwhelmed with sorrow. The PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES, whose mind was enriched with the treasures of knowledge, whose soul was embellished with every grace, and whose

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