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But shouldst thou sadly turn again
To hours when life was fresh and new,
Oh! may thy mother's blessing then
Fall on thy heart like evening dew,
And o'er thy softened soul once more
Thy father's holy precepts come,
To win thee back from earthly war,
And melt thee with the thought of home.
To hours when life was fresh and new,
Oh! may thy mother's blessing then
Fall on thy heart like evening dew,
And o'er thy softened soul once more
Thy father's holy precepts come,
To win thee back from earthly war,
And melt thee with the thought of home.
Oh! ever be as now thou art,
The beautiful, the undefiled;
With guileless mind and trustful heart,
In purity at least a child.
And on thy heart as on thy brow,
Still may thy father's image rest,
To tread like him thy path below,
And live by all around thee blessed.
The beautiful, the undefiled;
With guileless mind and trustful heart,
In purity at least a child.
And on thy heart as on thy brow,
Still may thy father's image rest,
To tread like him thy path below,
And live by all around thee blessed.
What blessing shall I crave for thee,
Thou child of fondest hope and love?—
That God may still thy portion be,
Thy strength on earth, thy hope above.
And oh! for thee, if grief and joy
Alike be touched with heavenly fire,
Thy mother's heart, my firstborn boy,
No more can ask, no more desire.
Thou child of fondest hope and love?—
That God may still thy portion be,
Thy strength on earth, thy hope above.
And oh! for thee, if grief and joy
Alike be touched with heavenly fire,
Thy mother's heart, my firstborn boy,
No more can ask, no more desire.
E.
December 50, 1810.
