Francis Bret Harte (b. 1839,-) was born in Albany,N.Y. When seventeen years old he went tCalifornia,where he engaged in various employments. He was a teacher,was employed in government offices,worked in the gold mines,and learned tbe a compositor in a printing office. In 1868 he started the "Overland Monthly," and his original and characteristic poems and sketches soon made it a popular magazine. Mr. Harte has been a contributor tsome of the leading periodicals of the country,but principally tthe "Atlantic Monthly."
1."The sky is clouded,the rocks are bare;The spray of the tempest is white in air;The winds are out with the waves at play,And I shall not tempt the sea to-day.
2."The trail is narrow,the wood is dim,The panther clings tthe arching limb;And the lion’s whelps are abroad at play,And I shall not join in the chase to-day."3.But the ship sailed safely over the sea,And the hunters came from the chase in glee;And the town that was builded upon a rock Was swallowed up in the earthquake shock.