No hour saw thee forget his misery;

Thou wert not queen until thy race went free; Yet thoughtful hearts, that ponder slow and deep, Find doubtful reverence at last for thee;

Thou heldest thy race too dear, thyself too cheap; Honor no second place for truth can keep.

HELEN HUNT JACKSON.

Purim

QUEEN ESTHER so the Scriptures say

Fasted and prayed for many a day;

For Haman would her people slay,
On Purim.

Of her good deeds I need not tell,
Nor how she did the riots quell;
Suffice to know she felt quite well,
On Purim.

And Haman was straightway bereft
Of wealth acquired by fraud and theft;
In fact, he was quite badly left
On Purim.

This tale has run for quite a time,
And chestnut-cries may blast my rhyme,
Bad verse, howe'er, is not a crime,
On Purim.

And many things we never do,
And many sights we seldom view,
Are done and seen-enjoyed, too,
On Purim.

The ultra-rabbi, now the style,
And th' old-time rabbi without guile,
May greet each other with a smile,
On Purim.

The pious man, religion's prop,
Who lectures when and how to stop,
May take, himself, an extra drop,
On Purim.

The youth who does for "Ethics" pine,
And of our Faith says: 'Tis not mine,"
Is, strange enough, well up in line
On Purim.

And editors, who never pray,
Who "squeech" each other every day,
Put hate and rancor far away,
On Purim.

The rich relax, the poor receive,
The mourners smile and cease to grieve,
And all our misdeeds we retrieve (?)
On Purim.

Long live Queen Esther's glorious fame;
For Jews in practice, Jews in name,
All seem to get there, just the same,
On Purim.

LABEL.

In Shushan
I

'ER lordly Shushan's terrac'd walls.

The starry cloak of midnight falls,
And naught doth break the solemn spell
Save the soft note of Philomel,

Or some faint fountain's silvery tongue
Lulling the gardens with its song.
The yellow moon doth rule the sky
And gild the dark-blue dome on high,
And o'er the marble stairways cold
A robe of tissue, woof'd with gold,

Doth seem to cling, a garment rare
Enmantling shoulders lustrous fair!
The King doth wassail hold to-night-
For him the hours have pinions light;

II

The gladding bounty of the vine
He pledges in the ruddy wine,
And rears his dripping goblet high
To Love and Friendship's unity.
His arm encircling Haman's neck,
He views with many a nod and beck
O'er purple rugs the dancers fly
In mazy rounds of revelry.

Then sweetest minstrels tune their song,
And the gold lamps with faltering ray
In lovelier visions fade away,

As blessed legions float along

Of gods and heroes who began

The wars of Darkness and of Light, Of dew-ey'd Morn and sullen Night, Of Ormuzd fair and Ahriman.

III

A distant palace casement by
Queen Esther pauses wearily,

And gazes toward the shadowy fields
Of silent orbs, where clustering shields

Gleam faint-Heaven's warriors' loosen'd mail
By camp fires glinting far and pale.
Sweetly the rose-tint night-wind sues
To know her secret, as it woos
With kisses passion-warm and quick
The languish'd lilies of her cheek.
Ah, many fair flowers on earth there be,
But never a flower so fair as she!

And thus upon the midnight air

Wing'd skyward goes her hallow'd prayer;

"Sweet Lord of Heaven! who aye hast shown Thy people grace, and from Thy throne, Encircled with angelic throngs,

Hast heard their prayers and healed their wrongs,

IV

Great God of Israel's love and mine,
When on the morrow 'fore the King,
I dare my people's suit to bring
Touch thou my lips with power divine;
O make my presence balmy-sweet,
That from his purpl'd, royal seat,
The king shall smile and in his grace
Undo the sorrows of my race.
Grant, Lord! that like yon moon serene
That sits enthron'd twixt earth and sky,
And 'neath her sapphire canopy
Doth cheer the night, a blessed queen,
I, too, may be twixt those who haste
To bring my people to the dust

And Thee, sweet Heaven, with all thy host,
A Queen as bright and calm and chaste,
As peerless, star-soul'd and as true,

As yon fair journeyer in the waste

Of the deep-bosom'd, endless blue!"

Purim

E. YANCEY COHEN.

FROM Shushan's royal palace came the edict dread

and dark;

"Exterminate God's chosen race, crush out life's vital spark."

This heard the youth and trembled, and the hoary. head was bowed,

And in sackcloth and in ashes the faithful mourned

aloud.

But lo! a maiden standeth now in royal garments dressed,

Though on her youthful brow a crown-'tis sadness, fills her breast;

The King upon his royal throne beholds that maiden fair,

The golden sceptre holdeth forth, and calls Queen Esther there.

"What wilt thou, Oh, Queen Esther? and what is thy behest?

Though e'en 'twere half my kingdom, it should be at thy request."

Then gently spake the maiden, as she stands in beauty there:

"Let the King and Haman come to-day to the banquet I prepare.'

While thus with joy they feasted, and the wine cup held on high,

Again the King on Esther urged to tell her thoughts and why?

Upon her brow a shadow dark had cast its gloom this

day,

But with a smile, then, Esther spake, and courage found to say:

"If I have pleased my lord the King and found grace in his eyes,

I beg that he will not refuse, or my request despise; And that once more to-morrow, when a banquet I

prepare,

The King and Haman shall again, with wine and song be there,

And then shall my petition before the King be laid, And if 'tis granted, not in vain, hath Esther, fasting, prayed."