Elizabeth Oakes Smith.

THE AMARANTH.

Thou art not of earth, thou beautiful thing,

With thy changeless form and hueFor thou in thy heart hast ever borne

A drop of that living dew

That nourished thee, when earth was young, And the music of Eden around thee rung.

Thou art not of earth: no change is thine-
No touch of death or decay;

And the airs that fanned thee in Paradise,

Seem over thy leaves to play;

And they whisper still of fadeless bowers, Where never shall wither the blooming flowers.

Thou art not of earth: thou changest not
When the wintry blast is nigh,
Though thy scatter'd leaves are wildly toss'd
On the wind as it rushes by;

For even then, in that hour of dread,

Not a hue of beauty hath left the dead.

I deem that Eve, when in terror forced

From her Eden home to part,

Must have sadly look'd on those fadeless bowers, And clasped thee to her heart

And thou in thy exile still dost tell

Of a changeless home where the good shall dwell.

ELIZABETH OAKES SMITH.

AGE, 47 YEARS.

Miss ELIZABETH OAKES PRINCE, now Mrs. SMITH, if we can rely upon the most definite information obtained, (g) was born in the city of Portland, in the year 1807. Her first poem of any length, was published in 1842, under the title of The Sinless Child,' and contains some of the most beautiful passages in the English language. When about sixteen years of age, she became engaged to, and soon after married Seba Smith, Esq., a lawyer, now in practice in the city of New-York, but who was then residing in Portland. She has published several volumes of prose and poetry, some of which are upon the Duties of Woman, and now has a volume in press, that is said to be a journal of her own thoughts and feelings, rather than a work of fiction, although issued as such.

Mrs. Smith is an able advocate, and lectures upon the progressive side of Woman's Rights. She has talent of the highest order, and will yet attain a more extended popularity by her essays and lectures, which abound with deep thought and strong and sound arguments. She has been a pioneer in a new field for female talent, and one that bids fair to be filled with able and eloquent laborers. Mrs. Smith possesses a highly cultivated and enlarged mind, and is as well versed in the English language as any female writer of our country. As a poetess she occupies a position in the front rank among the most gifted male and female poets of America. In her poetry, She desires to teach a philosophy of the whole nature of man, in which the

imagination and the affections should predominate, and by which the relation of man and the external universe to each other and to God might be displayed

In words that move in metrical array.'

She hopes to soothe and harmonize the soul, by opening to it unexplored regions of loveliness and delight; by accustoming it to the contemplation of the majesty of the universe.'

E. P. Whipple, one of the ablest reviewers in this country, pays the following merited compliment to the poetical genius of Mrs. Smith, in an article upon the 'Poets and Poetry of America,' which appeared in the North American Review,' in 1844.

'Mrs. E. Oakes Smith, of New-York, has written a number of short poems of much beauty, purity, and spirituality. The Sinless Child,' and 'The Acorn,' manifest qualities of the mind and heart, which are worthy of a more thorough development. They display much depth of feeling and affluence of fancy, and are singularly pure and sweet in their tone. The Sinless Child,' though deficient in artistical finish, contains many passages of a high order of poetry, and is stainless as its subject. It gives evidence, also, of a capacity for a more extended sweep over the domain of thought and emotion. Mrs. Smith is not merely a smooth and skilful versifier, indulging occasionally in a flirtation with poetry, to while away the time, but one whose productions are true exponents of her inward life, and display the freshness and fervor which come from individuality of character and feeling. She speaks of what she knows and of what she has felt. Her theory of morals does not seem to have come into her soul through the inlet of her ear. Her truthfulness is a prominent characteristic of her genius.'

THE ACORN.

AN acorn fell from an old oak tree,
And lay on the frosty ground-
'O, what shall the fate of the acorn be?'
Was whisper'd all around,

By low-toned voices, chiming sweet,
Like floweret's bell when swung -

And grasshopper steeds were gathering fleet,
And the beetle's hoofs up-rung-

For the woodland Fays came sweeping past
In the pale autumnal ray,

Where the forest leaves were falling fast,
And the acorn quivering lay;

They came to tell what its fate should be,

Though life was unreveal'd;

For life is holy mystery,

Where'er it is conceal'd

They came with griefs that should life bestow :

The dew and the living air

The bane that should work its deadly woe

Was found with the Fairies there.

In the gray moss-cup was the mildew brought,
And a worm in the rose-leaf roll'd,

And many things with destruction fraught,
That its fate were quickly told.