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Page:Poems Emma M. Ballard Bell.djvu/46

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40
THE CHIEFTAIN'S DAUGHTER.
Then once again she met her father's gaze;And in that gaze she read almost command,And, strengthening her soul, said, "I will go!"And in the final parting, though it seemedAs if the very soul itself were rent,An unseen Power to strengthen hovered near;And Sunny-Eye departed on her way.The night came on; but with the darkness roundShe felt the presence of protecting Power;And on the morrow, at the sunset time,She stood again within the wigwam door.And when all to her mother had been told,And when the first deep burst of grief was o'er,When calmness to her soul once more returned,The daily duties were resumed again.And now with Sunny-Eye commenced the work,The holy work to which her life was given,Of teaching truth to those who round her dwelt.One day, within their sad and lonely homeSat child and mother, filled with silent grief.The wigwam door was open, and the lightOf sunset's ling'ring beams streamed brightly in.'Twas darkened by a shadow all at once;And child and mother, looking up, beheldThe chieftain in his forest home once more;And grief gave place to sweet surprise and joy.And long the story by the chieftain told,