Page:Poems of home and country (IA poemsofhomecount01smit).pdf/36

 But ah! those cheerful scenes are gone,

Their joys fled fast away;

The friends of our bright boyhood's morn,—

Oh, tell me, where are they!

Bereaved, but bowing to our lot,

Our onward path we tread,

As mournfully we gather up

The mantles of the dead.

The places where our youth was spent;

The friends who now are not;

The scenes we loved, those joyous hours,—

They shall not be forgot.

HOU precious pledge of love,

Of ties that bind two kindred hearts in one,

Dear infant Mary; 't is with joy we hail

Thy coming; and with joy we both shall strive

To make thee happy, useful, thro' the scenes

Of mortal life. Heaven watch o'er thee, my child,

Thro' all thy infant slumbers; guard thee well

In youth's most tempting perils; spare thy life,

To us as precious as our own, and give,

When life shall end, a crown of joy.