s so late;
The lights from the windows are banished,
Close shut is the gate
Which yesterday swung wide in joyance,
And beckoned to fate.

The goblet stands idle, untasted,
Or, tasted, is tasteless to-night;
The breath of the roses is wasted;
In sackcloth bedight,
The soul, in the dusk of her palace,
Sits waiting the light.

Ah! why do the ships waft no token
Of grace to this sorrowful realm?
Must suns shine in vain, while their broken
Rays clouds overwhelm?
Tender Breeze, if some sail bear a message,
Rule thou at the helm!

But if haply the ruler be coming,
Drug the sea-sirens each with a kiss:
Stroke the waves into calmest of humming
Over ocean's abyss:
Speed him soft from the shore of the stranger
To the haven of this.

And the soul-bells in joyous revival
Shall peal all the carols of spring;
The roses and ruby wine rival
Each other to bring,
In the crimson and fragrance of welcome,
Delight to the king.

MARY B. DODGE.

QUEEN VICTORIA AS A MILLIONAIRE.

Queen Victoria either is or ought to be a very wealthy woman. Her income
was at the beginning of her reign fixed at L385,000 a year. This sum, it
was understood, would, with the exception of L96,000 a year, be divided
between the lord steward, the lord chamberlain and the master of the
horse, the three great functionaries of the royal household. Of the
residue L60,000 were to be paid over to the queen for her personal
expenses, and the remaining L36,000 were for "contingencies." It is
probable, however, that the above arrangements have been much modified,
as time has worked changes.

The prince-consort had an allowance of L30,000 a year. The queen
originally wished him to have L100,000, and Lord Melbourne, then prime
minister, who had immense influence over her, had much difficulty in
persuading her that this sum was out of the question, and gaining her
consent to the government's proposing L50,000 a year to the House of
Commons, which, to Her Majesty's infinite chagrin, cut the sum down
nearly one-half.

During the happy days of her married life the expenditure of the court
was very much greater than it has been since the prince's death.
Emperors and kings were entertained with utmost splendor at Windsor.
During the emperor of Russia's visit, for instance, and that of Louis
Philippe,