Page:The Fall of the Alamo.djvu/200

 Than whom none else I longed to see once more. Admit then, brother, that my wonderment Can hardly be surpassed by thy surprise. The more as I behold the fair magician To whom I owe my strange deliverance, Beknown to thee, befriended, yea, related Through ties whose sweetness thou alone canst prize.

Oh! had a stranger, had an enemy Bestowed on me the service to restore My brother from the very jaws of death, I should have valued all that I possess Upon this world a poor reward for him. And now it is through—Elsie! thee, that I Receive him back, through thee who own'st my all. But tell me, pray, how lone and without aid Thou hast accomplished this unheard-of venture.

Oh, Travis! why pronounce the fatal word, Whereby unconsciously thou opest anew The bleeding, aching wound, that scarce was sealed By the oblivion of a moment's bliss? Alas! as oft upon my gold-strung harp My fingers touch a chord of highest joy— I change one note, and, ah! the saddest tone Conceivable strikes my astounded ear— So close, so near lie side by side the strings