Lecture By Bro. Emra Holmes On " Tom Hood."

married , and to many eminent Avriters , including Charles Lamb , Barry Cornwall , & c . " Faithless Sally Brown , " one of the most . humorous of Hood's poems , was read by the lecturer , as well as graver selections , including " To a sleeping child . " As a

descriptive poem he gave "The Eomance of Cologne , " styling it as perhaps as effective a piece of versification as anything of the kind in the English language . Conjointly with Mr . Eeynolds , Hood wrote and published anonymously " Odes

and addresses to great people , " which had a great sale , and occasioned no little wonder as to the author . On the 5 th May , 1824 , Hood married Miss Eeynolds , a woman of cultivated mind and literary tastes , and well suited to him as a companion . His poem , " I love thee , " was written at this time . Mr . Holmes read extracts from

Hood ' s letters to his wife to prove that all through their wedded life he was her lover as much as her husband , and said that it would be well if the same could be said of all great literary men Then first child scarcely survived its birth . Amongst some old papers a few tiny curls of golden

hah as soft as'the finest silk , were found wrapped in a yellow aud time / worn paper , on which was inscribed iu Hood ' s handwriting—Little eyes ttudt scarce did see , Little lips that never smiled ; Alas ! my little dear dead child , Death is thy father , and not me , I but embraced thee , soon as he .

On this occasion those exquisite lines of Charles Lamb ' s , " On an infant dying as soon as born , " were written aud sent to Hood . It was to be regretted that there was no record left of the pleasant clays of this intimacy with Charles Lamb and his sister . Bro . Holmesduring the rest of

, his capital lecture ( which we regret we cannot deal with at greater length ) , read further illustrations from Hood , amongst them being " The haunted house , " Sonnet to his wife , " The bridge of si ghs , " " The song of the shirt , " & c . The lecture was

listened to with rivetted attention , as it well deserved to be , for it abounded with interest from its opening line to its closing sentence , and proved to a demonstration , not alone that Bro . Holmes has studied Hood ' s life most faithfully , but has the ability to make others benefit by his labours .- —Adapted from Ipswich Newt .

The Footsteps Of Decay.

THE FOOTSTEPS OF DECAY .

The following is a translation from an ancient Spanish poem , which , says the Edinburgh' Revieno , is surpassed by nothing which we are acquainted with in the Spanish language , except the "Ode of Louis de Leon : "—¦

0 , let the soul its slumbers break—Arouse its senses and awake To see how soon Life , in its glories , glides away And the stern footsteps of decay-Come stealing on . And while we view the rolling tide

, Down which our flowing minutes glide Away so fast , Let us the present hour employ , And deem each future dream a joy Already past . Let no vain hope deceive the mind , No happier let us hope to find

To-morrow than to-day ; Our golden dreams of yore were bright , Like them the present shall delight—Like them decay .

Our lives like hastening streams must be , That into one engulfing sea Are doomed to fall—The sea of death whose waves roll on O'er king and kingdom , crown and throne , And swallow all . Alike the river's lordly tide ,

Alike the humble rivulets glide , To that sad wave ! Death levels poverty and pride ; The rich and poor sleep side by side Within the grave . Our birth is but a starting place ; Life is the running of the race ,

And death the goal ; There all our glittering toys are brought—That path alone of all unsought , Is found of all .

See , then , how poor and little worth Are all those glittering toys of earth ¦ That lure us here ; Dreams of a sleep that death must break , Alas ! before it bids us wake , AVe disappear . Long ere the damp of earth can bliht

g , The cheek ' s pure glow of red and white Has passed away ; Youth smiled , and all was heavenly fair—Age came and lay his linger there—And where are they ? Where is strength that spurned decay , The step that roved so light and gay ,

The heart's blithe tone ? The strength is gone , the step is slow , And joy grows wearisome , and woe ! When age comes on !