AN IMPROMPTU BY MR. BLOXAM.

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When thy soft blending hues, along the West,

Calmly reposing in their tranquil rest,

Strew Hesper’s cradle with their rosy light,

And shed bright tinges o’er the brow of night,—

Then let me hail thee ! for thy dewy starOpens the gates of blessedness afar;

And shining bright, and brighter from above,

Tells of a land where all is peace and love.

Fairest is Eve, where mild Ausonia ’s sky

Owns her bright hues;—and where the Zephyr’s sigh

Breathes the sweet tones of melody or song,

Or bears the fragrance of the groves along.

Lovely is eve, where Britain ’s western cloudThrows round the sun her purple glowing shroud,While even childhood, ere it sinks to rest,

Turns its blue eye enraptured to the West.

But brightest, most sublime, is Evening’s reignWhere Hawaii links her seven-fold chain, *

And where the leader of her giant bandtFlings his broad shadows proudly o’er the land,

And soaring seeks among the snow-charged cloud,

His time-worn forehead’s haughty height to shroud.He sees the twilight shed her softening dyesOn Maui ’s mountains that contiguous rise ;

While his hoar brow is bright with hu-,s of day ,

And glowing radiant ’neath the sun’s last ray,

With timid hand, may evening scarcely dareO’er his dark breast to draw her mantle fair.

But who at this soft hour is gaining nowThe heights that frown o’er yonder vale below,

Who—winding down the craggy pathway thereIn shadowy distance—seems some form of air!

t Mounakea,

* Seven Islands.