* * * * *

ON THE APPEARANCE OF AN AURORA BOREALIS, ON THE NIGHT OF THE 25TH OF SEPTEMBER.

By A lady in her thirteenth year.

(For the Mirror.)

  What may this mean? this ruddy blaze of light,
  Breaking effulgent through the stilly night;
  Darting its blood-red form along the sky,
  Glowing with heaven’s glorious majesty. 
  How with its phalaxy of rays unfurl’d,
  It comes:  its radiance circling all our mother world. 
  The pharos of the night; where gods might dance. 
  Heedless of mortals dull, unmeaning trance;
  Where spirits in their mysteries might find,
  A sail to float upon the yielding wind;
  But see, it flies, its shadow; form outspread,
  In fainting radiance o’er earth’s startled bed,
  Yet rests, like the death gleam of beauty’s eye,
  Or last rich tint of an autumnal sky. 
  And now in fleecy clouds the heav’ns appear. 
  Again it darts, dreamer, there’s naught to fear;
  Again, like a proud spirit of the sky,
  Though conquer’d, breaking forth in majesty. 
  Britain, for thee this fearful warning sent,
  Oh! mock not foolishly its dire portent;
  For now that vice on all her malice wreaks,
  Charms on the stage, and in the assembly speaks;
  Now that with cheating fires she shameless dares,
  Fortunate where virtue once defied her snares;
  Again I say, for thee this warning sent,
  Oh! mark it well, mock not its dire portent.

F.J.H.

* * * * *

THE SELECTOR,

AND

Literary notices of NEW WORKS.

* * * * *

CHRONICLES OF THE CANONGATE.

(By the author of Waverley.)

[We have the pleasure of submitting to our readers, (almost entire,) one of the stories of the forthcoming Chronicles of the Canongate, it being the second narrative, and the last in the first volume, and as well as the others, founded on true incidents.  The Chronicles are domestic tales; but the Two Drovers should not be taken as a specimen of the work.  Slender as are its incidents, it proves that “Richard (or Walter) is himself again,” for in no vein of writing is the author of Waverley more felicitous than in delineating scenes of actual life, splendid as are his narratives of the fairy scenes and halls of romance:  and in the prevailing taste for this description of writing, we think the Chronicles of the Canongate bid fair to enjoy popularity equal to any of Sir Walter’s previous productions.]

The Two Drovers.