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Boy-sailor, with jacket of blue, Fond hearts at home have been thinking of you; Dreaming the long nights, and thinking all day, Of a darling boy-sailor, while he was away; And when the ship sail’d away, oh! how they cried, Mother and sister, and—some one beside.”

Dear little Golden-hair, I will tell thee What I saw, what I heard, on the deep sea: As I sat all alone, on the mast high, A sea-maiden, singing and swimming, came by; Combing her tangled and silken-green hair, Thus she sang sweetly, that sea-maiden fair: ‘Little Boy-sailor, with jacket of blue, Mother and sister are thinking of you; He, too, forgets not, where’er he may roam, Mother and sister, and sweet, sweet home; But a something makes little boy-sailor’s eyes dim, When he’s thinking of some one—who’s thinking of him.’ So she pass’d swimming, and swimming she sang; And in mine ears the sweet music still rang; And I felt, on the mast as I sat all alone, Millions of tiny threads over me thrown; Threads by the silk-worm in Fairyland spun— I felt them all over, but couldn’t see one; But I knew that the magic web only could be Thrown by kind Fairies across the wide sea, To bind little Golden-hair closer to me.” T.