Anne has long since said these words in heaven, for not many years after, she followed Willie; but I linger still. Years have passed, and there are few in the village. Scarce any one, perhaps, save the sexton and myself, can tell where little Willie E- was buried; for the humble stone that marked the spot has been sorely cracked by the frost and moss-grown by time, yet I often ponder over the little sunken green, and never without a feeling at my heart that prompts me to say: O Willie, Willie, forgive!'

A YOUTH at fifteen, on the modern plan,
Forsakes a jacket to become a man;
Discards his hockey and deserts his bat,
And, beardless yet, must wear a 'GENIN' hat.

His games are o'er; he'll hide and seek' no more;
E'en 'tag' is slow, and 'bat and ball' a bore.
Adieu to skates, and sled with merry bell!
To boyish sports he bids a long farewell.

With love of dress and showy 'garments' struck,
He apes the style of some established 'buck;'
Wears watch and charms, (a doating mother's boons,)
Embroidered vest, and 'stunning' pantaloons;
Well-varnished boots or shoes - Parisian, neat,
But woeful small- they agonize his feet:
(Such feats as these, by being oft repeated,
Deform the feet: the object is defeated.)
Ambrosial locks and curls Macassar-reared
Adorn a face expectant of a beard,

For which he sighs and daily shaves, no doubt,
But Syren song could scarcely coax it out.
Perfume vervaine- - the kind a D'ORSAY loves -
His mouchoir scents, and lemon-colored gloves;
His tile is loud, his cane perhaps is louder;
His ring the thing;' his scarf a perfect crowder :
These terms, 't is true, to most are not vernacular,
But slang with him is sure to be oracular.

With thirst for notoriety devoured,

He haunts o' nights the Museum or Howard:

His style of dress the youths have christened 'nobby,

The wearer nightly decorates the lobby:

He lounges through the early piece, perchance;
At all events, he 's sure to see the dance;
That passed away, he calmly, coolly turns,
Surveys the house, puts up his glass, adjourns.

The fastest horse-a stable's pride-he mounts,
To teach its owner how to keep accounts;
Takes fancy buggies, calls for 'rushing' sleighs,
The bills for which a parent sadly pays;
Attends the races, knows each horse and groom;
Is known at once in every billiard-room;
At ten-pin alleys bets you what you dare
He'll get each roll a 'ten-strike' or a 'spare.'
He takes his ale, and smokes a cigarette;
He'll shake for drinks,' or 'Tom-and-Jerrys' bet;
Frequents, perhaps, those freely festive halls
Where beauty meets at half a dollar balls.
His rapid course with revelry is rife:
He loves to feel that this is seeing life.'

We'll seek the cherub at his night's repose,
While, wrapt in sleep, his heavy eyelids close;
A light that, shaded, penetrates the gloom,
Will lend us aid to glance about his room.
In brawny beauty stands the sturdy 'HYER,'
Whose fearful fist made SULLIVAN retire;
And 'Lady Suffolk,' queen of all the races,
Hangs vis-à-vis with Cupid and the Graces.'
In scanty raiment 'BLANGY' meets the eye;
Then turn and see how 'SPARTACUS' can die:
The ELSSLER, too, in some ethereal dance,
'Vivandière,' with flag and 'Vive la France.'
The artist here with each has done his best,
The limbs well turned, and nothing over-dressed.
'A Pointer's Head,' 'A Windy Day's Disaster;'
'The Carnival,' and 'VENUS,' done in plaster;
A head of NEAFIE; other leading stars;
The New-York 'Spirit'-liquor-stand-cigars;
Add coats and canes, a dressing case, and then
We've seen the sanctum of our 'fast' young men.

Temptation's flood has borne the youth along;
The flesh was weak, the spirit far too strong.
Warm-hearted, ardent, full of boyish pride,
He had not strength to turn and stem the tide.
The waves of pleasure all seem bright and warm,
The youth may change, the prodigal reform:
Not hopeless yet! Though guardian angels weep
O'er erring youth, a vigil still they keep;
They may destroy this dark, delusive dream,
Awake to reason, and the youth redeem.

From seeming pleasure to withdraw the mask
With kindly care-be this a parent's task.
Avoiding anger, hushed be harsh harangue;
In cheerful kindness show the serpent's fang;
With pleasant sports the joys of home enhance,
Some harmless game-society- - a dance;
Nor needless check their frolics, boyish fun :
We've all been boys, and know what then was done.
By gentle ways their confidence you gain;
Affection binds them with a silken chain:
Let home be made replete with social joys:
Be this your aim, and you will save your boys.

Boston, 1858.

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF SCHOOL-LIFE.

BY RALPH ROANOKE.

THE first specimen of a live Yankee I ever saw was a school-master. School-teaching in country villages is an up-hill business. I never knew but one man succeed in making money at it, and he was my friend, the Yankee. The uncertainty of such an occupation in affording the means of subsistence, renders it undesirable. As a consequence, many villages are left without schools for months together. On this account, parents are often compelled to send their children from home to learn even the first rudiments of an education.

In my eleventh year, the growing village of Belleville was left minus a teacher, and it was no part of my good father's system of education to allow his children to waste their youth in idleness. I was therefore sent to board in the country at my grand-father's, to have the benefit of a great eastern light who had recently made his appearance in that neighborhood.

With a restlessness somewhat akin to the pioneer who pulls up his tent and dives still deeper into the solitudes of the forest at the echo of a new axe, the lowing of a neighbor's cattle, or the bark of a strange dog, Elihu H. Howe found his New-England home too full of competition. He had read some where, that

"Westward the course of empire take its way,'

and his adventurous nature sympathized with the prophecy.

After trainin' around a good spell,' with that ready tact and quick perception which distinguishes the whole Yankee nation, he stuck his stakes at the romantic settlement of Turkey-Hill. This he did in defiance of the past experience of other teachers, who had never succeeded beyond one quarter. But Elihu was a far-seeing man, and it required but one glance of his eye to discover where had been the previous difficulty.

The residents of that township were a peculiar people. Many of them were men of property and education. Not unlike our Pilgrim Fathers, they had left their more comfortable and enlightened homes in the Middle States from conscientious scruples. They had manumitted their slaves, and sought the far west in comparative poverty, to enjoy humbler but more cheerful homes, out of sight of the degrading influences of slavery.' The above hint will suffice to show the tact of our friend Elihu, who lost no time in joining the church, in proffering his services to open a Sunday-school, and in doing all and severally those things best calculated to please a law-abiding and religious people. Elihu was a small man, with very black hair, large gray eyes, and tremendous heavy eye-brows. But I begin to feel alarmed lest, in his love of adventure, (not to say any thing of gain,) he may have become a spiritual rapper, and give me a whack for my temerity; or perchance that

his angry ghost may appear, clothed in the same queer-looking stockinet pantaloons as tight as the skin, which he always wore, and which were such an innovation upon the fashions of that region. I shall never forget the figure he cut, and the many times I was tempted to ask him how long it took him to get in, or whether he had ever been out of them since he left Yankee land.

The school-house was located in the centre of a township, and the neighborhood in the circle of three miles furnished a sufficient number of scholars to make quite a respectable school. Like most country schoolhouses in the west, this was called the 'meeting-house' on Sundays; and I often amused myself by contrasting the scenes enacted therein by the solemn fathers and their progressive sons. Nothing could have been more delightful than this rural school. We got our breakfasts early in the morning, and taking our dinners in baskets, marched off leisurely, reaching the school-house by eight o'clock. Between studying and reciting our lessons, the time flew so rapidly that twelve o'clock was upon us before we were aware of it. This was the commencement of play-time, and then each fellow took out his basket, and seated himself on a green grass-plot, in the centre of which was a fine spring. We ate our frugal meals, and discussed the plans for spending the play-hours. Many and various were the games from which to choose, and the exercise was both healthy and refreshing. Play-time lasted for two hours, school again for three hours, and by five o'clock we were wending our way home again. Elihu was a great economist, and in making his arrangements, provided himself a home free of expense, in the following manner: he took the rounds with his scholars, going each night with a different one, until he had made the circuit; then he began again, and so kept up his social calls, and secured agreeable quarters. In this manner he became familiar with both children and parents, and increased not only his usefulness, but his reputation. Like Goldsmith's Village Master,

'His words of learned length and thundering sound
Amazed the gaping rustics ranged around;

And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew,
How one small head could carry all he knew.

In arguing, too, the parson owned his skill;

For, e'en though vanquished, he could argue still.'

Ah! those were glorious days! But, some how or other, I was more mischievous at that school than at any other. I scarcely know whether it was because I was at a mischievous age, or for the reason that I was so very happy. My observation inclines me to the belief that all cheerful boys are more fond of what in school-boy parlance is called innocent amusement than gloomy, dispirited ones. It was my opinion, when a boy, that school-days should be protected by law from all disagreeable associations; that to make a school-boy miserable should be a capital offence; and I am pleased to find, now that I have boys of my own, I can conscientiously say, I have not changed my opinion. If we wish to bring up our children an honor and a solace to our declining years, we must make their childhood happy.

This, like most country-schools, was attended by both sexes; and while the boys were having their sports, the girls appeared equally delighted. They often joined in the games of the boys, beside playing

many of the same kind among themselves, and many a young lassie would have put our swiftest laddies to the top of their mettle to lead then. in a foot-race :

'HAPPY days of childhood,
Where peaceful school-days flew,'

and young ladies were allowed to breathe the fresh air, and their merry voices echoed unchecked through the sylvan groves. They had swings and play-houses; they had dinner parties, and singing and dancing in the open air; and their ruddy and cheerful countenances gave the best evidence of their health and happiness.

I have had frequent opportunities of observing the growth and development of children taught in schools where both sexes were admitted, and I am not able to recall a solitary instance where evils resulted therefrom. And I am happy to find my opinion corroborated in a late article on education, from the pen of an able and distinguished lady, who says: 'The union of the sexes in schools stimulates to exertion, and imposes wholesome moral restraints; and were it but continued, instead of rudely broken in upon, it would prevent many unhappy marriages; for it would tend to moderate that inconsiderate passion which is often awakened by distance and imposed restraints.'

But, as a faithful chronicler of events, I must acknowledge that the harmony of this beautiful school was sometimes disturbed by little rows and riotings, in which I performed my full share. On one occasion, I was the cause of no little merriment, as I paid the penalty for insulting a young lady by giving her a nick-name. This young lady was most distressingly ugly, both in face and temper, and had a very tantalizing name to make fun out of, when associated with her personal appearance. She was christened Irene Crawford. I forget why I outraged common politeness by giving her a nick-name, but I presume I must have espoused the cause of some other girl, and, in the absence of any other means of retaliation, I called her Irene Crawfish ; a species of articulata which, by the way, she much resembled. This was very malicious in me, and I deserved even a more severe punishment than I received. But there was some little excuse for me, for no matter what disturbance occurred between the girls, Irene was sure to be mixed up with it. Doubtless the éclat that I obtained from the whole school of girls for espousing their cause was the ruling motive in my mind, to overbalance the injustice I was doing to one. Irene reported me to Elibu.

The

Among his other rare qualities, Elihu had an inventive genius, and disdained repeating himself or copying any body else. He would rather let a boy go unwhipped than punish two in the same manner. many pranks that had been played requiring punishment, had already put his genius to the test for novelties, and the wonder now was, 'What new thing can he trump up?'

I saw his large, cold gray eye sweep the horizon, as if he were offering a prayer to the god of Invention, when suddenly it rested upon a stump of a tree in front of the door, which had been transformed into a stationary step-ladder for mounting ladies on horse-back. A sardonic smile, like a gleam of moon-shine, passed quickly over his imperturbable countenance, announcing, to one familiar with his manner, the birth of a new idea.