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THE ABSENT GROUP.

AM far from ye, my little ones; I do not hear the sound
Of your tiny voices' music, and your footsteps falling round;
I cannot watch the fairy forms so precious in my sight,
And mark their untamed eagerness, their gushing, wild delight;
Or see them at the evening hour all clustering round my knee,
To breathe a prayer and warble praise with untaught melody;
And then with many a loving kiss and lingering good night,
Receive their mother's blessing, and soon sink in slumber light.
So I will cheer my lonely heart, and while away an hour
By weaving in one wreath of song by turns each cherished flower.

Our firstborn is a gentle girl, a child not six years old,
With thoughtful eyes of deepest blue, and form of graceful mould;