16
POEMS BY MISS ELIZA JANE STEPHENS.
CHILDREN.
How glad are tho homes when the children are born
There's thankfulness, feasting and mirth,
As each little mortal, a being to love,
Awakes to the beauties of earth.
There's thankfulness, feasting and mirth,
As each little mortal, a being to love,
Awakes to the beauties of earth.
And glad are the hearts if the children prove fair,
Have cheeks that with roses can vie,
Hive brows that are lofty and lips that are curved,
Are thoughtful and dreamy of eye.
Have cheeks that with roses can vie,
Hive brows that are lofty and lips that are curved,
Are thoughtful and dreamy of eye.
But great the rejoicing if too they are good,
And loving what's noble and pure,
For brow, cheek and lips are soon blighted by time,
But goodness may ever endure.
And loving what's noble and pure,
For brow, cheek and lips are soon blighted by time,
But goodness may ever endure.
WINTER.
The snow lies deep o'er vale and hill,
For not a trace of earth is seen,
Save just a circle brown and dark,
Beneath some stately evergreen;
And compensation then is made
For leaving bare the trunk below;
By giving to each stooping bough
A gentle drift of fleecy snow.
For not a trace of earth is seen,
Save just a circle brown and dark,
Beneath some stately evergreen;
And compensation then is made
For leaving bare the trunk below;
By giving to each stooping bough
A gentle drift of fleecy snow.
The torrent we were wont to see
Its foaming waters grandly pour
Adown the crags and o'er the rocks,
Is hushed as if forevermore,
And like a castle hung in air
It glitters in the morning sun,
With lofty icy battlements,
And crystal turrets quaintly done.
Its foaming waters grandly pour
Adown the crags and o'er the rocks,
Is hushed as if forevermore,
And like a castle hung in air
It glitters in the morning sun,
With lofty icy battlements,
And crystal turrets quaintly done.
And beautiful the clouds of frost
That hover 'round the mountain's brow,
At first a thin and silvery veil,
But tinted like the rainbow now.
How well their beauty does accord,
As gracefully they float along,
With music wafted through the pines
Which seems the spirit of a song.
That hover 'round the mountain's brow,
At first a thin and silvery veil,
But tinted like the rainbow now.
How well their beauty does accord,
As gracefully they float along,
With music wafted through the pines
Which seems the spirit of a song.
What myriads of travelers too
There is abroad both day and night,
Though footprints left are all the proof
That often greets the human sight,
But thick beneath the sturdy oak.
And 'round about the chestnut tree,
And among the gardens withered weeds,
The tracks are wonderful to see.
There is abroad both day and night,
Though footprints left are all the proof
That often greets the human sight,
But thick beneath the sturdy oak.
And 'round about the chestnut tree,
And among the gardens withered weeds,
The tracks are wonderful to see.
And paths are hard on many hills,
Worn smooth as glass by tiny feet,
For sure, without the ice and snow,
The children's joys were ne'er complete,
With rosy cheeks and flashing eyes,
With merry laugh and shout and song,
Now first they learn to prize their time,
For quite too swift it speeds along.
Worn smooth as glass by tiny feet,
For sure, without the ice and snow,
The children's joys were ne'er complete,
With rosy cheeks and flashing eyes,
With merry laugh and shout and song,
Now first they learn to prize their time,
For quite too swift it speeds along.
They must divide the precious hours
Between the sports of skate and sled,
And half the figures they can make
Upon the ice would turn your head.
They leave the hill and seek the pond,
Then hie again from pond to hill,
And though to labor not a friend,
Are laboring with an earnest will.
Between the sports of skate and sled,
And half the figures they can make
Upon the ice would turn your head.
They leave the hill and seek the pond,
Then hie again from pond to hill,
And though to labor not a friend,
Are laboring with an earnest will.
But many joys the winter beings
For those long past their youthful years,
Of quiet ease, and plenty joined,
And friendly intercourse that cheers,
And though it has a chilling voice,
A grasp that often makes us start,
There is no winter we should dread
Unless 'tis winter of the heart.
For those long past their youthful years,
Of quiet ease, and plenty joined,
And friendly intercourse that cheers,
And though it has a chilling voice,
A grasp that often makes us start,
There is no winter we should dread
Unless 'tis winter of the heart.
But if the wealth of love is hid,
And checked the flow of feeling warm
The souls best attributes are dead,
And living is a useless form.
And checked the flow of feeling warm
The souls best attributes are dead,
And living is a useless form.
BELIEVING.
Be sure there's some believe in good,
That faithfully perform their part,
And would rejoice if all were blest,
And peace enthroned in every heart.
That faithfully perform their part,
And would rejoice if all were blest,
And peace enthroned in every heart.
That steadfast hold the ancient faith
That each will meet their just reward,
And reverence still the sacred word
As revelation from the Lord.
That each will meet their just reward,
And reverence still the sacred word
As revelation from the Lord.
And strive to keep alive the hope
The world grows better day by day,
That all grow wise with wisdom learned
Each in their own peculiar way.
The world grows better day by day,
That all grow wise with wisdom learned
Each in their own peculiar way.
And some there are with souls so great
They live all selfishness above,
And laboring for the good of all
They triumph by the power of love.
They live all selfishness above,
And laboring for the good of all
They triumph by the power of love.
SELF.
He turned aside from aught of pain,
Nor lent a listening ear to grief,
In old or young such heartlessness
Was strange, almost beyond belief.
Nor lent a listening ear to grief,
In old or young such heartlessness
Was strange, almost beyond belief.
He gave no alms to those in need,
No sympathy for all their woe,
Not even kindly words he said,
That bless the heart from whence they flow.
No sympathy for all their woe,
Not even kindly words he said,
That bless the heart from whence they flow.
And love, his love was all for self,
His heart had no responsive chords,
He longed for praise, for flattery,
The meed a trifling world awards.
His heart had no responsive chords,
He longed for praise, for flattery,
The meed a trifling world awards.
But when misfortune came to him
He wondered that his friends wore few,
He had not seen as others saw,
The world was wiser than he knew.
He wondered that his friends wore few,
He had not seen as others saw,
The world was wiser than he knew.
TRIALS.
The way is lonely; friends we loved,
The friends who made our journey bright
Have suffered, and have passed beyond
The farthest range of mortal sight.
The friends who made our journey bright
Have suffered, and have passed beyond
The farthest range of mortal sight.
Our paths are rough, and we forlorn
Have sought for aid on every side;
But when misfortune's torrent sweeps,
Neglect will surely swell the tide.
Have sought for aid on every side;
But when misfortune's torrent sweeps,
Neglect will surely swell the tide.
And we have toiled with all our strength
For what we've seen our fellows gain;
To them it came unsought, unasked,
But all our patient toil was vain.
For what we've seen our fellows gain;
To them it came unsought, unasked,
But all our patient toil was vain.
In sickness and in sore distress
We've found that sympathy was rare;
Companions asked why should we fret,
For we the common lot must share.
We've found that sympathy was rare;
Companions asked why should we fret,
For we the common lot must share.
And so it is; why should we fret
At sickness, sorrow, pain or loss,
Since none can hope to win a crown
Who faint and falter 'neath a cross.
At sickness, sorrow, pain or loss,
Since none can hope to win a crown
Who faint and falter 'neath a cross.
