.

We tried to say "Thy will be done,"
We strove to be resigned;
But all in vain, our loss had left
Too deep a wound behind.
I saw the tears roll down thy cheek,
And shared thy misery,
But could not speak a soothing word,
I could but grieve with thee.

He looked so calm, so sweet, so fair
Why should we stand and weep?
Death had but paused a moment there,
And put our pet to sleep.
The weary hours crept sadly on,
Until the burial day;
Then in the deep, cold, gravel grave,
We saw him laid away.

His little bed was taen apart,
His toys put out of sight;
His brother and his sister soon
Grew gay again and bright.
But we, dear wife, we ne'er threw off,
The sorrow o'er us cast;
And even yet, at times, we grieve,
Though twenty years have passed.

We know he's in a better land,
A heaven where all is bliss;
Nor would we try if we'd the power
To bring him back to this.
Draw closer to my side, dear wife,
And wipe away that tear,
Heaven does not seem so far away,
I seem to feel him near.

He'll come no more with us to dwell,
For our life's lamp burns dim;
But He who doeth all things well,
Will draw us up to Him.
Come closer, wife, let us not part,
We have not long to wait;
A something whispers to my heart,
"Claude's waiting at the Gate."

Love.

Love--love--love--love,--
A tiny hand in a tiny glove;
A witching smile that means,--well,--well,
Whether little or much its hard to tell.
A tiny foot and a springy tread,
Short curls running riot all over her head;
A waist that invites a fond embrace,
Yet by modesty girt seems a holy place;
Not a place where an arm should be idly thrown,
But should gently rest, as would rest my own.
An angel whose wings are but hid from view,
Whose charms are many and faults so few,
As near perfection as mortal can be,
Is the one that I love and that loves but me.
They tell me that love is blind,--.oh, no!
They can never convince a lover so;
Love cannot be blind for it sees much more,
Then others have ever discovered before.
Oh, the restless night with its pleasing dreams,
Sweet visions through which her beauty beams;
The pleasant pains that find vent in sighs,--
And the hopes of a earthly paradise
Where we shall dwell and heart to heart
In unison beat. Of the world a part
Yet so full of our love for each other that we
Shall sail all alone on life's troublesome sea,
In a charmed course, of perpetual calm,