Page:Sarah Sheppard - L. E. L.pdf/155

 deep and true interest shone with the light of sympathy for years around her life-path. By them she was understood in all her varying moods. To them, in changing circumstances, prosperous or perplexing, she turned from the factitious throng of outward flatterers, and found in hearts that knew no guile, and voices that never breathed unkindness, the relief and support she required. Their homes were the green and sunny spots where her spirit sought for rest, when worn in the crowded highways of the world. Their generous kindness and protecting care were around her during the last few months she dwelt in her native land, securing her comfort, shielding her from anxiety, and brightening with the sunshine of long-tried affection the wings of Hope already spread for the far-off golden shore. Truly do they, the disinterested and faithful-hearted, possess in the memory of these things their own rich reward! Such friendships, in sooth, like the tree cast into the waters of Marah, may gently infuse sweetness and calm through the sometimes bitter and troubled current of a literary life. A stanza or two from this poem will show how this was verified in the present instance:

How often shall I think of thee In many a future scene! How can affection ever be    To me what thine has been!

How many words scarce noticed now Will rise upon my heart, Touched with a deeper tenderness When we are far apart!