LINES ADDRESSED TO MARY.

BY ANN OF SWANSEA.

I.

THE paths of life, alas! are rough and steep-
Much I have toil'd an upward point to reach,
Where I might poverty at distance keep,
And my aspiring hopes contentment teach;
For oft in days of youth I've fondly thought
That fame and splendid fortune might be mine;
But now, by sad experience wisdom taught,
I smile at idle dreams of "auld lang syne."

II.

Friends I have had, some flattering lovers too;
Soon they grew cold, inconstant, and unkind—
Perhaps the fault was mine they prov'd untrue,
Well, be it so 'tis o'er-and I'm resign'd.
If wrongs have alter'd me, am I to blame?
Neglect's cold serpents have a numbing twine-
Reproach not if my heart's no more the same,
Ardent, and trusting, as in "auld lang syne."

III.

Little my faithless memory retains

Of joys that seldom came, and pass'd in haste;
Yet the sweet thought of thee unchang'd remains,
The bright oasis of a desert waste!

Yes, though the wreaths for thee my fancy bound,
Withering, their bloom and odour must resign;
Yet I will hope with thee are smiling found
Some sunny gleams, resembling "auld lang syne."

IV.

The charm is broke, my harp remains unstrung,
The faithless muse from me withdraws her spell;
Mournful, and wild, upon my ear is flung

A dirge-like note, that murmurs "Fare thee well."
Yet grieve not thou when silent is my strain,
When fairy visions shall no more be mine;
But search thy memory, it may still retain
The lays I wrote for thee, in "auld lang syne."

THE OLD PALACE AT KEW.

KEW, which was heretofore a hamlet to Kingston, and is still included within the manor of Richmond, first became a parish by an act of Parliament passed in 1769. It is of very small extent, and is bounded by the River Thames on the North; by the parish of Mortlake on the East, and by Richmond on the South and West.

Old Kew Palace, commonly called, and better known by the name of Kew House, belonged about the middle of the seventeenth century to Richard Bennett, Esq., a man of great wealth and consideration, from whom it descended in marriage with his daughter to the Capel family. About 1730, Frederick, Prince of Wales, admiring the situation obtained a long lease of the house, and began to make those beautiful alterations and improvements in the gardens, which were afterwards finished by the Princess Dowager, who made this place her residence. After her death the palace became a favourite retreat of George III., who purchased the freehold. Lord Melcombe, better known as Bubb Dodington, mentions in his Diary having worked in the walks of the pleasure grounds at Kew on the 27th of February, 1749. He adds, on the 28th, "all of us, men, women, and children, worked at the same place." These grounds are laid out with remarkable taste, and

display by artificial arrangement and combination, a variety of scenery, as elaborate in its parts as delightful in the whole. The eye is attracted by many curious imitations of eastern architecture, designed by Sir William Chambers. On an open space is erected the tower commonly called the Pagoda. It was begun under the directions of the same architect in the autumn of the year 1761, and covered in the spring of 1762. The design is in imitation of the Chinese Taa.

On entering the garden from the palace, and turning to the left, the first building which appears is the orangery, or green-house. The front extends one hundred and forty-five feet, and the room is one hundred and fortytwo feet long, thirty feet wide, and twenty-five high.

Situated in an open grove near the Orangery, and in the way to the physic garden, is the temple of the Sun. Its figure is circular, but without an attic; and there is a particularity in the entablature, taken from one of the temples of Balbeck. The order is Corinthian, the

columns fluted, and the entablature fully enriched. Over each column on the frieze, are basso relievos, representing lyres and sprigs of laurel; and round the upper part of the cell are suspended festoons of fruits and flowers. The inside of the cell forms a saloon richly finished and gilt. In the centre of its cave is represented the sun, and in the frieze in the compartments, surrounded with bunches of laurel, are displayed the signs of the Zodiac in basso relievo.

Hence we proceed to the Flower Garden. The two sides are enclosed with high trees, and the end facing the principal entrance is occupied by an aviary of vast depth, in which is kept a numerous collection of birds, both foreign and domestic.