ll are strange to me,
And I to them. More lonely is my mood
Here, than in Nature's wildest solitude.

XVIII.

A pang of emulation, so severe
'Tis almost envy, now possesses me;
And, were I woman, many a bitter tear
Would course my cheeks. But now I am not free
To weep; my heart, though throbbing in its pain,
Uneased and comfortless must yet remain.

XIX.

Why stand I thus, and gaze upon this scene,
Since gazing but rewakes the pain that slept?
I had not thought that I should thus have been
So quickly cheated of the strength which kept
My heart from sorrowing. My pliant thought,
Suspecting not this subtlety, was caught,

XX.

And I was self-deceived, as many more
Before have been. Man estimates his power
By what he _would_ do; and but little store
Can well be placed on this, what time the hour
Of trial approaches. For 'tis sadly true,
Man often cannot what he wills to do.

XXI.

His strength is not so great as he had thought
It would be; and perchance, the hour of trial
Has come and gone, and quick defeat has brought,
Without his recognition. But denial
That it has come he dare not now put forth,
His plain defeat would make it little worth.

XXII.

And such defeat, unnoted and unseen
Till it had passed, has been my own to-day;
And, with a sense of mortified chagrin,
I turn me from the pleasing view away,
And in the busy city seek to find
A new diversion to engage my mind.

XXIII.

How pleasing are thy streets and avenues,
Toronto! And what massive buildings rise
Adorning them! I cannot now but choose
To speak my admiration. Yet it lies
Beyond my power to praise as others might,
More rich than I in words, this noble sight.

XXIV.

One mighty pile stands out pre-eminent
Among the rest--thy University,
So builded that itself will represent
Its purpose, and to see it is to be
Convinced, ere word of mouth so testifies,
That 'twas designed for classic purposes.

XXV.

The square-built tow'r, the pillared entrance-way,
The massive doors, and this encolumned porch,
Proclaim that here stern Learning holdeth sway,
And here the classic Muse illumes her torch
And, standing thus, a grand, imposing whole,
It well may awe my poor untutored soul.

XXVI.

I wander on along the tree-girt streets,
Admiring, by compulsion, all the view.
So pleasing is each changing sight that greets
My eye, as thus I slowly wander through
The city, that had Fa