Julia discovered at a very early age a particular sensibility to poetry. When she was eight years old she composed a poem on the departure of one of her young companions, in which she displayed, with great diligence, her whole stock of classical knowledge; and obliged all the heathen gods and goddesses, whose names she had been taught, to pass in succession, like the shades of Banquo's line. Her father did not discourage this early fondness for the muse, because he believed that a propensity for any elegant art was a source of happiness.

Perhaps more lasting reputation has been acquired by the powers of the imagination, than by any other faculty of the human mind. But even where the talents of the poet are altogether inadequate to the acquisition of fame, the cultivation of them may still confer the most soothing enjoyment. Though the soil may not be favourable to the growth of the immortal laurel, it may produce some plants of transitory verdure. Perhaps the most precious property of poetry is, that of leading the mind from the gloomy mists of care, or the black clouds of misfortune, which sometimes gather round the path of life, to scenes bright with sunshine, and blooming with beauty.

We shall venture to insert the following Address to Poetry, written by Julia a short time before her visit to town, as a proof of her fondness for that charming art.

AN ADDRESS TO POETRY