VALENTINE VERSES,

Emma!‘ tis early time for thee

To hear the sounds of minstrelsy,

That breathe around the rosy shrine

Of honest old Saint Valentine.

Too young art thou for strains of love;

‘ Tis not thy passion I would move;

Instead of lover's strains, I send

The cordial wishes of a friend.

Nobly has Nature done her duty,

To give thee of thy mother's beauty

So large a share — oh! then be thine

The mental charms that in her shine!

And may thy father's taste refin'd

Still add new graces to thy mind;

And may'st thou to each charm impart

The gen'rous frankness of his heart.

Then, my sweet Emma! thou shall move

In many a heart more genuine love

Than ever warm'd poetic line,

Or sigh'd in any Valentine.