Have we not drunk of light and liberty?

And quench'd our thirst at life's eternal stream? And would we not such blessings rich and high Should burst on them with day's meridian beam? O when to heaven thou bow'st, be Afric's sons thy theme!

Slaves were we once! Yet mercy in the cup,
The cup of gall, was mingled: we were torn
From home, from country; but a radiant hope
E'en here burst o'er us, and our hearts forlorn,
And rack'd with exile anguish, stung by scorn,
Awoke 'mid Gospel glory, and to Him

Who turn'd their darkness to the light of morn,
Gave glory e'en in fetters, and that hymn
Of praise acceptance found, where bend the seraphim.

Now free thou art, my boy! Then let thine heart
Pour its glad incense on an hallow'd shrine;
And never from thy father's God depart,
His holiest gifts thy faith may claim as thine.
And when the beams of heaven-born glory shine,
And hope, and love, and joy, thy soul inspire,
When to the love, the love untold, divine,
That comfort breathed amid affliction's fire,

Be pour'd the grateful song, and strung the' exultant lyre. Port-Royal, Jamaica, 1841.

ADELINE.

SONNET

TO AN INFANT SLEEPING.

SOFTLY as sleeps a trembling summer cloud
On the clear purple of the western sky,
Aloof from all the golden-tinted crowd,
That, with strong lustre, the last sunbeams dye,
Sleep thou, my babe! and be this mystic rest
Emblem and type of that 'celestial peace
Which, sweetly born of hopes that ever last,
Shall, long as life throbs in that quiet breast,
Reign like an inner spirit, calm and deep;
A holy presence that shall not depart,
But throned immortal in thy secret heart,
All thoughts, affections, 'passions, feelings keep,
Ruling with hallow'd sway,-till far on high,
Hope shall itself, in bright fruition, cease.

Roche, Printer, 25, Hoxton-square, London.

R.

ROTTERDAM is generally reckoned the second city in Holland, and is situated on the Meuse, (or Maas,) some twenty or thirty miles from its mouth. Its latitude is about 51° 55′ North; and longitude, 4° 30′ East. It is thus nearly opposite to Harwich, on the English coast; and a steamer, leaving the mouth of the Thames, would have to steer a few points of the to the northward of east. The voyage is now generally performed in six or eight and twenty hours.

compass

The Meuse is a large branch of the Rhine. The voyager, having entered it from the sea, finds himself in a river as large as the Thames, with flat green banks, ornamented with rows of poplars and willows; and beyond are extensive fields, on which large herds of cattle are seen grazing. Before reaching Rotterdam, the traveller passes Schiedam, the chief seat of the manufacture of "Hollands," as it is commonly called in England. The place is conspicuous by the number of its large distillery chimneys, and the quantity of windmills in its neighbourhood. In one point of sight, no less than sixty may be counted.

When the traveller reaches Rotterdam, he beholds, stretching along the north bank of the river, (facing the south-west,) for a mile in length, a row of tall and massive trees, behind which is a line of houses four or five stories high, mostly VOL. VI. Second Series.

E

built of dark-coloured brick. In front of the trees is the quay, along which lie generally a large number of merchant-vessels of different nations, together with steamers, some of which are engaged in coasting, while others communicate with the Upper Rhine. The waters of the haven, on which the town stands, run into every part of it, by means of smaller branches and canals, so that houses and ships seem mingled together, and meet the eye in every direction. These canals are crossed by means of drawbridges, placed at short intervals, and generally formed of white-painted wood, with ponderous beams overhead, and chains, for the purpose of raising the bridge, and admitting the passage of vessels. Thus the principal streets have navigable canals in the middle, on either side of which is planted a row of trees; the streets being generally clean, and the spaces between the trees paved with small yellow bricks, serving as quays for the landing of goods. In every quarter of the city, ships can thus come to the very doors of the merchants; and as the street-canals communicate directly with the river, and thus with the sea on one side, and the Rhine on the other, and by means of inland canals with the other towns of the country, affording a perfect system of water communication with places both near and remote, Rotterdam will at once be seen to be a complete business town.

The houses, though to an English eye accustomed to the modern lighter mode of building, they may present something of an old-fashioned appearance, are yet handsome; and even from the streets often present undeniable indications both of the mercantile pursuits and wealth of their inhabitants. An Englishman sees in the inhabitants, as they appear in the streets, nearly what he is accustomed to see in his own country. The costume is the same, as is likewise the personal build.

The quantity of foreign produce brought to Rotterdam by its shipping, may be easily conceived. Low trucks or waggons, drawn by powerful black horses, are constantly seen in the streets, loaded with bags of coffee, sugar, cotton, and such like articles. The place seems, indeed, full of trade and

traders.