Through starless nights and dreary sunless days;

Wherever currents led o'er pathless maze,

I plied the oars of aimless toil, and faced

Defeat impatiently, nor ever traced

One ray of hope along the murky haze

Of life's horizon, till I caught the blaze

Of one lone star, whose light was virgin-chaste.

But now I sail through seas where fortune smiles,

And not a cloud the brilliant sky doth mar;

For, ever twinkling near that blazing light,

A little orb my every care beguiles:

My radiant wife is that lone guiding star,

My laughing blue-eyed boy its satellite!

[Pg 32]

[Pg 32]

AFTER READING SAMUEL MINTURN PECK'S RHYMES AND ROSES

The drowsy drone of honey-laden bees,

The poppied breath of gardens blooming fair,

The scent of elder blossoms, sweet and rare,

Come stealing in on balmy southern breeze;

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