HOME AT LAST.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVII, Issue 1437, 20 September 1861, Page 4

HOME AT LAST.

(By Thomas Hood, the youngei, in "St. James' Magazine.")

Sister 'Mary, come and sit Ileie beside me, m the bay Of the window—ruby-lit With the last gleams of the day. Steeped in crimson through and through, Glow the battlements of vapour , While above them, 111 the blue, Hesper lights his tiny taper Look 1 the rook flies nestw.ud, darling, Flapping slowly overhead, See, in dusky clouds, the stalling Whirring to the willow bed Through the lakes of mist, that ho Bieast-deep in the fields below; Underneath the darkened sky, Home the weary leapers go. Peace and Kest at length have come, All the long day's toil is past; And each heart is whispeimg "Horne — Home at last 1" Maiy I in your great giave eyes I can see the long-represt Grief, whose earnest look demo* That to night each heart's at rest Seven j ears ago you parted — He to India went alone , Young and strong and hopeful heaited — "Oh ! he would not long be gone '" Seven years have lmgeied b', Youth and stiength and hope have fled , Life, beneath an Indian i>ky, Withers limb and whitens head But his faith has never faltered , Time that noble heart lias spared ; Yet, dear, he is sadly alteied — So he writes mo. Be prepaied ! I h ive news—good news ! He sajs, — In this limned note and shoit — That Ins ship, eio m.my da} s, Will be anchored safe in port Courage I—soon,1 —soon, doar, will he come — Those fen dajs will fly so fast Yes—he's coming, Mary—Home— Home at last I • * # • Idle words —Yet stiangely fit I In a veisel, leagues aw.iy, In the cabin, ruby lit By the last gleams of the day, C Urn and itiU the loved one lies . Never tear of joy or sorrow Shall unseal those heavy ej cs — They will ope to no To morrow l'olded hands upon a breast Where no feverish pulses flutter, Speak of an unbioken lest That no earthly tongue can utter And a sweet smile seems to grow — Seems to hoy er on his lip, As the shadows come and go With the motion of the ship, Host and Peaoe at length have come— Eest and Peace how (loop and vast' Weaiy Wandeier—truly HomeHomo at List I

Beware of An-m. — I was glad to go to sleep eaily but was scaice soundly asleep when 1 was turned out of the house by a fuuons attack of the baslukouaii ants. They weie aheady ovei me when I jumped up, and I was bitten tetnbly I lan out into the stieet and called foi help. The natives c.imo out, and lights were stiuck, and piesently I -was leheved. But now we found that the whole village was attacked. The great aim} w?s pouung in on us, doubtless excited by the smell of me.it in the houses ; and my unfortunate antelope had piobably bi ought them to my dooi. All hands had to turn out to defend themselves. We built httle coidons of file, which kept them away from places they had not yet etiteied, and thus pi otected our pei sons fioni their attacks ; and towards morning, having eaten everything they could get at, they left us m peace As was to be expeoted, I found my antelope destroyed — liteially eaten up The vast numbci, the sudden appearance, the feiociby and voiacity of these fughtful animals never cease to astonish me. Last, night they pouieil m liteially by millions and billions, and only when many files weie lighted weie they foiced fiom that dneot and victorious course -which they goueially hold. Then, howevei, they tetreated in pai ties, and with the gipatest regnlauty, vast niunbeis lemainmg to complete the woik of deatiuction. — Erplorattons an I Adicnlutes in Equatorial Africu, By J)u Cttaillu,