LAMENT OF THE IRISH EMIGRANT.

BY MRS. PRICE BLACKWOOD.

I'm sittin' on the stile, Mary,
Where we sat side by side,

On a bright May mornin', long ago,
When first you were my bride:
The corn was springin' fresh and green,
And the lark sang loud and high,
And the red was on your lip, Mary,
And the love-light in your eye.

The place is little changed, Mary;
The day is bright as then;
The lark's loud song is in my ear,
And the corn is green again:
But I miss the soft clasp of your hand,
And your breath, warm on my cheek,
And I still keep list'nin' for the words
You never more may speak.

'T is but a step down yonder lane,
And the little church stands near-
The church where we were wed, Mary—
I see the spire from here;

But the grave-yard lies between, Mary,
And my step might break your rest;
For I've laid you, darling! down to sleep,
With your baby on your breast.

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I'm very lonely now, Mary,

For the poor make no new friends;
But, oh! they love the better still
The few our Father sends !

And yon were all I had, Mary—
My blessin' and my pride;
There's nothin' left to care for now,
Since my poor Mary died!

Yours was the good brave heart, Mary,
That still kept hoping on,

When the trust in God had left my soul

And my arms' young strength was gone
There was comfort ever on your lip,
And the kind look on your brow :
I bless you Mary, for that same,
Though you can't hear me now.

I thank you for the patient smile,
When your heart was fit to break,
When the hunger-pain was gnawin' there,
And you hid it, for my sake!

I bless you for the pleasant word,

When your heart was sad and sore;
Oh! I'm thankful you are gone, Mary,
Where grief can't reach you more.

I'm biddin' you a long farewell,
My Mary-kind and true!
But I'll not forget you, darlin',

In the land I'm goin' to;

They say there's bread and work for all,
And the sun shines always there :

But I'll not forget old Ireland,

Were it fifty times as fair!

And often in those grand old woods
I'll sit, and shut my eyes,

And my heart will travel back again

To the place where Mary lies;
And I'll think I see the little stile
Where we sat side by side,

And the springin' corn, and the bright May morn,
When first you were my bride!

ST. PAUL AND THECLA.

THE following fragment is unquestionably of very great antiquity; but it has been, without foundation, ascribed to St. Paul. The facts were never questioned by the friends or enemies of Christianity for many centuries: though they were often celebrated, and are frequently mentioned by writers of the first rank in the Christian church.

The story of Thecla is confirmed by Gregory Nazianzen, and Gregory of Nysæ, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Isidorus, and others. Cyprian of Antioch, who flourished in the third century, prays for the suffering martyrs thus: “Stand by us, O Lord, as thou didst by the Apostles in bonds, by Thecla in the fire, by Paul in persecutions, by Peter in the waves.

Tertullian, one of the most ancient writers in the church, informs us, De Baptismo, c. 17. that it was compiled by a presbyter of Asia; a man extremely attached to St. Paul, who rashly ventured to publish

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it, under the Apostle's name, toward the close of the first century and that being charged with it by the Evangelist John, he confessed the fact, alleging that he had done it out of fervent love to the Apostle. This account is confirmed by Jerome, who quotes Tertullian.

It is supposed to have happened about the year of our Lord 67, during the last time that St. Paul visited Asia, and not long before he suffered martyrdom: which according to Eusebius, was near the close of Nero's reign: Jerome fixes it the thirty-seventh year after the passion of our Lord.

The Greek copy, which is taken from a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, and published by Grabe, is in many places defective, aud in others much corrupted. Its defects are partly supplied from an ancient Latin version in the Bodleian Library, and from the Greek Commentary of Basilius Seleuciencis.]

"When Paul was going up to Iconium, as he fled from Antioch, he was accompanied by Hermogenes and Demas, men full of hypocrisy. But Paul intent only on the goodness of God suspected no evil of them, but loved them exceedingly, making the words of Christ and his gospel pleasant unto them, and discoursing to them of the knowledge of Christ as it was revealed to him.

But a certain man named Onesiphorus hearing that Paul was coming to Iconium went forth to meet him, with his wife Lectra, and their children, Simmia and Zeno, that they might receive him into their house for Titus had informed them of the person of Paul, for as yet they had not known him

in the flesh. Walking therefore in the King's highway which leads toward Lystra, they waited, expecting to receive him. Not long after they saw Paul coming toward them, a man small of stature, bald, his legs distorted, his eye-brows knit together -his nose aqueline—but manifestly full of the grace of God; for his countenance was sometimes like that of a man, and sometimes like that of an angel. And Paul seeing Ones iphorus, was glad.

And Onesiphorus said unto him, Hail thou servant of the Blessed. Paul replied, grace be with thee and with thy house. Demas and Hermogenes filled with envy and dissimulation cried out, And are we not the servants of the Blessed? Why hast thou not saluted us? To whom Onesiphorus answered, I do not see in you the fruits of righteousness: but if ye are indeed such, come and abide also at my house. So Paul went with him, and there was great joy in the house of Onesiphorus; and having fallen upon their knees and prayed, and broken bread, Paul preached to them the Word of God, concerning temperance, and the Resurrection, to this effect:

"Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are they that keep the flesh unspotted, for they shall become the temples of God.

"Blessed are they that renounce this present world, for they shall please God. Blessed are they that have wives as though they had them not, for they shall become like the angels of God. Blessed are they that tremble at the words of God, for they shall be comforted.

"Blessed are they that receive the wisdom of Jesus Christ, for they shall be called the sons of God.