16 APRIL 1853, Page 11

SONNET

TO THE LADY-ArTHOR OF "THE CHILDREN'S SUMMER."

Because thou haat the gifts that bless the child,—

The keen observance of revering love ; The microscopic glance of eyes that rove

Close down among th' entangling weeds thick piled ;— Because thy brows are with the promise sign'd

Of more complete perfection than the skill Of pliant hands yet masters to thy will ; The presage of the forward-glancing mind ;— Because thou know'st the limits of thy strength,

And art well pleased awhile a child to be,—

Childhood's Interpreter,—we honour thee ;

Secure, when Time fulfilment brings at length, With joy to track thine upward-climbing way,

And own the dawn less glorious than the day.