So, when we grow aweary
Of pain, and loss and guile,
He whispers very softly,
'Tis such a little while!
GRANDMOTHER'S LOVE-LETTER.
UP, up in the sunshiny garret,
Where grandma's old treasures abide,
I can fancy her presence is near me—
And creep, as of yore, to her side;
So, shutting my eyes, I recall her—
The kindly old face in the cap,
The arm gently creeping about me
As I hid childish woe in her lap.
The herbs that she long ago gathered,
The fire-dogs ashine in the sun,
The spinning-wheel idle for ever,
The blankets whose threads she had spun,—
Seem speaking, though silent around me
These links of a life that I miss,
And the casket bequeathed with a blessing
I touch with a reverent kiss.
As I open the time-yellowed packet,
Writ "George to Amelia" without,
With a ribbon (that s made restitution
Of sky-stolen blue) tied about,
