o pale, he thought;
He deemed hers far the brightest.
Ha! but my dagger touched a spot
That made _her_ face the whitest!

But oh! the days seem very long,
Without my Earl, my lover;
And something in my head seems wrong
The more I think it over.
Ah! look--she is not dead--look there!
She's standing close beside me!
Her eyes are open--how they stare!
Oh, hide me! hide me! hide me!

WHAT IS FLIRTATION?

What is flirtation? Really,
How can I tell you that?
But when she smiles I see its wiles,
And when he lifts his hat.

'Tis walking in the moonlight,
'Tis buttoning on a glove,
'Tis lips that speak of plays next week,
While eyes are talking love.

'Tis meeting in the ball-room,
'Tis whirling in the dance;
'Tis something hid beneath the lid
More than a simple glance.

'Tis lingering in the hallway,
'Tis sitting on the stair,
'Tis bearded lips on finger-tips,
If mamma isn't there.

'Tis tucking in the carriage,
'Tis asking for a call;
'Tis long good-nights in tender lights,
And that is--no, not all!

'Tis parting when it's over,
And one goes home to sleep;
Best joys must end, tra la, my friend,
But one goes home to weep!

HUSBAND AND WIFE

Reach out your arms, and hold me close and fast,
Tell me you have no memories of your past
That mar this love of ours, so great, so vast.

Some truths are cheapened when too oft averred--
Does not the deed speak louder than the word?
(_Dear Christ_! _that old dream woke again and stirred_.)

As you love me, you never loved before?
Though oft you say it--say it yet once more;
My heart is jealous of those days of yore.

Sweet wife, dear comrade, mother of my child,
My life is yours, by memory undefiled.
(_It stirs again_, _that passion brief and wild_.)

You never knew such happy hours as this,
We two alone, our hearts surcharged with bliss,
Nor other kisses sweet as my own kiss?

I was the thirsty field, long parched with drouth,
You were the warm rain blowing from the South.
(_But oh_! _the crimson madness of her mouth_.)

You would not, if you could, go down life's track
For just one little moment, and bring back
Some vanished raptures that you miss or lack?

I am content. You are my life, my all.
(_One burning hour_, _but one_, _could I recall_.
_God_! _how men lie_, _when driven to the wall_!)

HOW DOES LOVE SPEAK?

How does Love speak?
In the faint flush upo