{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_50509/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_50509","id":"gutenberg_50509","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50509","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Parenthood & Family Relations","Category: Poetry","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Infants -- Poetry"],"text":"BABY-LAND\n\n BY\n _Wild-Bird_\n Mrs. Almira L. Corey Frink\n\n[Illustration]\n\n Edited by\n Olive Bacon Frink\n Denver, Colorado\n\n _Copyright, 1911, by Olive Bacon Frink_\n\n\n\nContents\n\n Transcriber's Note: This Table of Contents was created\n by the transcriber to assist the reader.\n\n\n Dedication 2\n \u201cThere\u2019s a Baby Born\u201d 5\n \u201cDid You Know?\u201d 6\n Lullaby of the Moon 8\n Baby\u2019s Bed 10\n Babies 12\n Lullaby of the Arctic 13\n Baby Noah 14\n Lullaby of the Ocean 16\n Keep Warm the Baby\u2019s Feet 17\n Lullaby of the Forest 18\n Our Kitty 19\n Mother\u2019s Lullaby 20\n Wintergreen Berries 21\n The Cradle Song of the Rockies 22\n The Cradle Song of the Nile 23\n Snow-birds 25\n The Miner\u2019s Cradle Song 26\n Eve\u2019s Care 27\n The Oriole\u2019s Song 28\n Lullaby of the Oriole 30\n The Mother to Her Sleeping Babe 31\n The Baptism 36\n Ode to the Moon 37\n The Moon and Her Star 39\n Pansies 40\n My Baby 41\n Baby\u2019s Cup 42\n Be a Baby While You Can 43\n Mother Eve 45\n Lullaby of the Thrush 46\n Baby\u2019s Chilly Ride 47\n Baby\u2019s Medicine 49\n Baby\u2019s Bath 51\n The Farmer\u2019s Cradle Song 52\n The Little Fawn 53\n Our Baby 55\n Lilies 57\n The Diver\u2019s Cradle Song 58\n The Rising Generation 59\n Why the Babies Went Home 62\n Blessings of God 63\n Kindness to All 65\n Chorus of the Flowers 66\n The Cornstalk Chair 67\n Little Old Baby Clothes 69\n Lullaby of the Roses 71\n Lullaby of the Sun 73\n Earth\u2019s Requiem for the Little Ones 74\n Darling Baby 75\n The Ancient of Days 76\n Little Shoes 78\n There\u2019s an Angel Here 79\n \u201cWaking Up the Stars\u201d 80\n Lullaby of the Stars 81\n Roses 83\n Mother Earth\u2019s Lullaby 84\n Lullaby of the Rain-drops 86\n Kissing the Sunbeam 88\n Jewel of the Cradle 90\n Baby Sweet 91\n Angel of the Cradle 92\n Let Angels Name It 94\n The Two Cradles 96\n My Darling Unborn 98\n Our First-Born 100\n The Mother\u2019s Thoughts on the Death of Her\n First-Born 101\n Angel-Twin 103\n Our Children 104\n\n\n\n\nDEDICATION\n\n\n Father of Lights, to Thee I give\n These scattered notes; and as they glide\n O\u2019er hilltops bright and valleys wide;\n O\u2019er hamlet, old with penury,\n Or palace filled with luxury;\n O\u2019er city and o\u2019er wilderness;\n O\u2019er hearts in gladness or distress,\n O, give them, Lord, Thy smile indeed,\n And make them like the winged seed,\n That spreads on high its silken plumes,\n Comes softly down, takes root and blooms,\n Forever in the heart to live.\n WILD-BIRD.\n\n\n\n\n\u201cTHERE\u2019S A BABY BORN\u201d\n\n\n Hark! the shining stars are singing,\n And the azure skies are ringing:\n Angels joyful news are bringing,\n \u201cThere\u2019s a baby born.\u201d\n\n Child of Deity, unfolding\n In a form of heavenly molding;\n Endless life in frailest holding,\n Sweet as rosy morn!\n\n\n\n\n\u201cDID YOU KNOW?\u201d\n\n\n The soft winds played in the summer grove,\n That the sunlight made aglow,\n When a small face peered through the garden gate\n \u2019Mong the roses pure as snow:\n And in sweet, shy tones came the wondrous words,\n \u201cWe\u2019ve a baby; did you know?\u201d\n\n The passer-by caught the accents soft,\n And the words seemed to linger there,\n Like the fragrant breath of the sweet June rose\n On the summer\u2019s balmy air.\n And the stranger smiled \u2019neath his load of cares,\n And the sunlight seemed to glow\n With a brighter beam, as the echoes came,\n \u201cWe\u2019ve a baby; did you know?\u201d\n\n And all the way from the cottage bright\n Where our mother Eve once sung,\n The same sweet words have been spoken oft;\n And the echoes clear have rung\n Through the summer glades and upon the hills\n That were wrapped in robes of snow,\n The sweet child voices oft have said,\n \u201cWe\u2019ve a baby; did you know?\u201d\n\n We all forget what our griefs have been,\n And the toils and tears and strife,\n As the wee bright angels come to earth,\n Just born to an endless life;\n And the words will fall like a holy thrill,\n As adown life\u2019s path we go,\n And listen yet to the echoes sweet,\n \u201cWe\u2019ve a baby; did you know?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nLULLABY OF THE MOON\n\n\n Softly sway the little cradle;\n Softly in the quiet night\n Let my pure beams touch the darling,\n As I kissed Eve\u2019s babies bright.\n As I played among the tresses\n Of her lovely Abel\u2019s head,\n As I poured my floods of silver\n \u2019Round her happy ones long fled.\n\n When the grand old Ark was building,\n Noah\u2019s babies then I kissed,\n And they laughed and cooed their welcome,\n When full-orbed I cheered the east.\n Through the long and fearful Deluge\n I was hidden from the Ark,\n But when cleared away the tempest\n And the sky was chill and dark,\n\n Then I rose, my lamp full-burning,\n Pouring silver on the flood,\n Till the mighty, shoreless ocean,\n Sparkling, shouted praise to God.\n How I watched the Ark while billows\n Were returning to their place,\n And glad hearts from Noah\u2019s window\n So rejoiced to see my face.\n\n Sway the little cradle softly;\n Let me touch the darling\u2019s cheek.\n Every darling, through the ages,\n In their thoughts to me will speak.\n Baby lips for me are smiling;\n Baby fingers point to me,\n When my silver sails spread widest\n On the great, blue, silent sea.\n\n\n\n\nBABY\u2019S BED\n\n\n Baby\u2019s little bed should be\n White as drifting snow;\n Pure and sweet as Heaven\u2019s air,\n Where the soft clouds glow.\n Baby\u2019s tiny coverlet\n Should be lambs\u2019 wool white,\n Dainty as the pelican,\n Fluffy, warm and light.\n Baby\u2019s pillow should be made\n Light as eider down,\n With a cover clean and soft\n As its little gown.\n Pin a rose upon the wall,\n Something great or small,\n Place where baby\u2019s eyes can see\n In its quiet revery.\n Baby understands the flowers;\n They will cheer its waking hours.\n Place the feathered songster near;\n Let him trill for baby\u2019s ear.\n\n Baby understands sweet song,\n With no words of right or wrong.\n Guileless babies. Jesus told\n How, within the Heavenly Fold,\n All the little ones, in grace\n See our Father\u2019s blessed face.\n There what holy song they learn,\n Ne\u2019er to evil ways to turn.\n Half the soul-buds of the world\n Go to Heaven to be unfurled;\n In that Home where ne\u2019er was heard\n Thought of sin or evil word.\n Baby\u2019s bed is ready now.\n See the gladness light its brow.\n Softly tuck the velvet feet;\n Kiss the dimpled fingers sweet;\n Gently sing a lullaby,\n Till Love shuts its starry eye.\n Baby\u2019s bed\u2019s a sacred place,\n Free from every guile.\n E\u2019en the weariest of earth\n Can but look and smile.\n Be not proud, the angels there\n Guard the precious one with care,\n And the light from Pearly Gates\n Shines across the bed,\n Where the shining angel waits\n At the cradle head.\n Sweetest vigils we will keep,\n Hush! the darling is asleep.\n\n\n\n\nBABIES\n\n\n Darling babies, precious babies!\n To the cradles flocking, flocking;\n Little men and little women\n In the cradles rocking, rocking.\n\n Sweetest baby voices cooing;\n Dimpled fingers clasping, playing;\n Baby smiles and baby glances,\n From the cradles swaying, swaying.\n\n O! the stars may pale in ashes,\n And the sun may cease its glowing;\n But these new-born souls forever\n Must be onward going, going!\n\n Bless these tender hearts, O Saviour!\n With Thy love these loves entwining;\n Make them Thine own fadeless jewels.\n In Thy crown forever shining.\n\n\n\n\nLULLABY OF THE ARCTIC\n\n\n Sleep, baby, sleep;\u2014safe from the storm,\n Hid in thy wrappings downy and warm\n Tell all the drifting snow\n Tell all the winds that blow,\n That they must softly go;\n Baby is here.\n\n Sleep, baby, sleep; storm-clouds have fled,\n And not a snow-flake touched baby\u2019s bed!\n Tell the Aurora bright,\n Tell all the stars of night,\n Send down your cheery light;\n Baby is here!\n\n Sleep, baby, sleep: God holds the world:\n His starry banner now is unfurled.\n Hear what the angels say,\n Sent on their shining way,\n One soul is pure as they;\n Baby is here.\n\n\n\n\nBABY NOAH\n\n\n When Mother Lamech\u2019s baby boy\n In the bright hammock swung,\n And Grandpapa Methuselah\n Some cheery anthem sung,\n As baby Noah sucked his thumb,\n Or played with wee pink toes,\n He knew not of the flood to come\n With all its startling woes.\n\n And when he clapped to see the stars\n Peer through the heavens dark,\n He did not know his dimpled hands\n Would plan the precious Ark.\n He knew not that the baby voice\n Then learning \u201clullaby\u201d\n Must yet be by the nations heard,\n Sent by the King on high;\n\n That he must preach the coming Christ,\n The Saviour yet to die,\n And men would scoff and hate his name\n And pass his warnings by;\n That violence in all the earth\n Would run its riot free,\n Until the storm and cyclone came,\u2014\n Avenging powers to be.\n\n And when the birds of morning sang\n The chorus of the groves,\n And baby Noah cooed and laughed\n To see the bright-winged doves,\n He knew not that on Ararat\n The other side the Flood,\n He would send forth a bird like that\n To bring him tidings good.\n\n So we, who shield our little ones\n And guide their baby feet,\n Know not the bitter that may come,\n Or snares hid in the sweet.\n We hold their hands and kiss their lips,\n We wrap them in our love;\n And yet a little while and then\n Who\u2019ll guide them when they rove?\n\n Lord Jesus, Saviour of the lambs,\n Bless Thou these little ones;\n Teach us, O Lord, that _we_ may teach\n Thy daughters and Thy sons;\n That we may right examples set,\n In pleasure or in straits;\n That they may in our footsteps go\n And enter Pearly Gates.\n\n\n\n\nLULLABY OF THE OCEAN\n\n\n Rest, darling, rest,\n On Ocean\u2019s breast,\n Millions of star-worlds are mirrored to-night\n Till the great deep is all sparkling with light;\n O the blue sea is a glorious sight,\n Rocking my baby till morning shines bright!\n Rest, baby, rest,\n On the sea\u2019s breast;\n Beautiful Deep,\n Rock us to sleep!\n\n When the sea roars,\n And the storm pours,\n And the great billows so fearfully reel,\n And the loud thunders burst peal upon peal,\n Jesus, our Lord, lays His hand on the wheel,\n Then the great waves come sobbing and kneel.\n Rest, baby, rest,\n On the sea\u2019s breast;\n Beautiful Deep,\n Rock us to sleep!\n\n\n\n\nKEEP WARM THE BABY\u2019S FEET\n\n\n O mother of the darling sweet,\n Keep warm, keep warm the baby\u2019s feet!\n Would you make strong the tiny form,\n Against disease, against the storm,\n Then keep the precious feet most warm!\n\n Countless little graves now hold\n The tiny form within their fold,\n Because in life their feet were cold.\n Then, mother of the darling sweet,\n Keep warm, keep warm the baby\u2019s feet!\n\n\n\n\nLULLABY OF THE FOREST\n\n\n Sweet is summer\u2019s breeze\n Through the leafy trees,\n Where the honeysuckles grow,\n And the violets below\n Open wide their bright blue eyes,\n Looking towards the sunny skies.\n Sleep, while gentle south winds blow\n Over blossoms white as snow.\n\n Now the sunset bird\n By his trill has stirred\n All the evening songsters near;\n What a warbling choir is here!\n And the chorus \u201cWhippoorwill\u201d\n Calls from every vine-clad hill.\n Sleep, while all the birdies sing\n Praises to our Saviour King.\n\n In the leafy nest\n Songsters are at rest;\n All the little ground birds hide\n \u2019Neath the grassy curtains wide;\n In its well-made mossy bed\n Every squirrel rests its head.\n Sleep, my little precious bud\n From the Paradise of God.\n\n\n\n\nOUR KITTY\n\n\n Kitty was playing with one little ball,\n A ball that was hung on a string;\n Its bright eyes were dancing in merriest glee,\n Watching how far it would swing.\n And dear little puss, as quick as a dart,\n Would dash it, when near her it swung;\n But kitty could only laugh out of her eyes,\n For joy that a ball could be strung.\n\n O frolicsome kitty! Say, why did you come\n Where somebody often gets cross?\n You don\u2019t know what rough words may meet you in life,\n When there\u2019s not a play-ball to toss!\n Then Truth answered me in a sweet, loving tone,\n And said that wee kitty had come\n To teach little children to ever be kind\n And tender to pets in the home.\n\n The velvet is soft on the small, fragile paws;\n And if it with gentleness meet,\n \u2019Tis seldom that any will know it has claws,\n Or learn there are pins in its feet.\n And kitty is come to show us a way\n To work for a wonderful thing;\n When lions and lambs together shall play,\n And all hearts together shall sing!\n\n\n\n\nMOTHER\u2019S LULLABY\n\n\n Never fear, darling, nor start at a sound;\n Mother\u2019s arm foldeth thee tenderly \u2019round.\n Mother\u2019s heart beats for thee; rest on it, love;\n Mother\u2019s voice sings for thee, soft as a dove.\n\n Go to sleep, baby, and grow to be strong.\n Mother will teach thee a beautiful song;\n Beautiful song that together we\u2019ll sing\n In the Bright Land, that forever is Spring.\n\n O soft, little feet, lie still in the wrap,\n For ten little toes are needing a nap;\n One little hand reaches up for a kiss;\n Baby can\u2019t sleep without mother\u2019s caress!\n\n But mother is worn and weary to-night,\n Go to sleep, baby, till morning is bright.\n Mother wakes easy; don\u2019t fear if she nod;\n For nobody loves like mother and God.\n\n\n\n\nWINTERGREEN BERRIES\n\n\n \u2019Twas a cold, rough day\n As we sped away\n In the grand old Michigan woods;\n And the forest flowers,\n \u2019Mid the windy hours,\n Hid back in their wee, warm hoods.\n\n But we searched the ground,\n And the red drops found\n \u2019Neath their shining parasols green;\n Two or three on a stem,\n Each a round, ruby gem,\n \u2019Neath coverts of emerald sheen.\n\n O little, bright globes!\n In your wee, red robes,\n And hid under sweet, scented leaves,\n O why do you grow,\n Hid away till the snow\n Its great white coverlet weaves?\n\n But the berries cried,\n \u201cWe were made to hide,\n Till the dear, little hands shall come\n And bear us away\n For their own sweet play,\n In the corner of some glad home.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE CRADLE SONG OF THE ROCKIES\n\n\n Father has gone to the mountains for gold\n Hid for his baby for ages untold;\n He will come home when the wind bloweth cold,\n Calling for baby.\n\n Brother has gone to the mountains to seek\n Quartz-gems as rosy as baby\u2019s bright cheek;\n He will bring topaz from valley and peak,\n Calling for baby.\n\n Sister has gone to the mountains to bring\n All the bright blossoms that wake in the spring;\n She will come, blithe as the birdies that sing,\n Calling for baby.\n\n If we forget thou are lent from the skies,\n Angels may come from the Father All-Wise,\n With a great love shining out of their eyes,\n Calling for baby.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CRADLE SONG OF THE NILE\n\n\n \u201cLullaby, darling one; now you will ride\n On the Nile waters so quiet and wide.\n Let no one say my baby has cried\n There in the rushes.\u201d\n\n Thus said a mother, and offered a prayer,\n As the small ark floated daintily there;\n Leaving to God and His tenderest care\n The cradle of rushes.\n\n Who is now come to the river to lave?\n Oh! \u2019tis the king\u2019s daughter lovely and brave;\n Bidding her maidens bring in from the wave\n The cradle of rushes.\n\n Pharaoh\u2019s fair daughter bends low to caress:\n \u201cHushaby, pretty one! give me a kiss;\u2014\n Who ever saw such a cradle as this,\n Built out of rushes!\n\n \u201cGo! call a Hebrew to nurse it for me:\u2014\n Sing a glad song till it laughs in its glee.\n \u2019Tis well I was first the sweet cherub to see,\n Hid in the rushes.\n\n \u201cDress it in raiment of loveliest dyes;\n Pharaoh\u2019s great gems are not bright as its eyes;\n This is the king\u2019s daughter\u2019s beautiful prize,\n Found in the rushes.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nSNOW-BIRDS\n\n\n Birdies dancing on the snow,\n Merry as if this were June;\n And the little wiry feet\n Skipping to the gayest tune;\n With no stockings and no shoes,\n Chirping forth the morning news.\n O, you\u2019ll freeze your tiny feet\n While you chipper glad and sweet!\n\n \u201cFreeze?\u201d they chipper, \u201cno, for we\n Are the snow-birds, don\u2019t you see?\n This is telling our delight\n For the morning golden-bright,\n As we breakfast on the seeds\n Gathered from the old dry weeds.\n Does your song of praises flow\n Glad, as we chirp on the snow?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MINER\u2019S CRADLE SONG\n\n\n Dig a little farther; baby needs a hood,\n Cloak, and shoes, and blanket,\u2014everything that\u2019s good.\n Dig a little farther; never say despair,\n While the little darling needs a dress and chair.\n\n Sell the watch for candles, make the lantern burn;\n Soon we\u2019ll strike the treasure with a glad return.\n Dig a little farther; show us, Lord, the way!\n For the precious baby we will dig and pray.\n\n Sharpen pick and shovel; see that rope is strong;\n Turn the windlass careful, lest you hush the song\n By the little cradle where the baby sleeps,\n And God\u2019s loving angel ceaseless vigil keeps!\n\n\n\n\nEVE\u2019S CARE\n\n\n Eve kept her babies carefully warm,\n Safe from the evening chill, safe from the storm;\n As the Lord made of skins a garment for her,\n Eve must have known that the babes needed fur;\n Cloaks lined with ermine and fluffiest goods,\n Wraps fringed with camel\u2019s hair; eider down hoods.\n O, to have seen the sweet darlings of Eve\n Would have been a great lesson, we well may believe!\n\n\n\n\nTHE ORIOLE\u2019S SONG\n\n\n Dear little orioles rocked in the tree\n By the sweet summer winds, waiting for me;\n Waiting for mother the supper to bring;\n O baby orioles, father will sing!\n Father will sing as he sits on the bough,\n Watching his babies wait supper just now.\n Dear little downy brood, hearing the tune\n All the bright Baltimores warble in June.\n You must wear hoods of soft feathery black,\n With a dark cape coming over your back.\n The front of your dress must be of bright gold,\n Almost vermilion, like father\u2019s of old.\n With feathers white-edged on both little wings;\n That\u2019s what the oriole wears when he sings.\n His stockings are azure, the same that they wore\n In the bright orchestra close to Eve\u2019s door!\n We never change style; the old one is best:\n Given of Him Who our forefathers dressed;\n Days before Eve placed a rose in her hair,\n The same golden red did the orioles wear.\n The world is so restless, so hungry for change;\n Its plans are like billows that o\u2019er the sea range:\n It alters its patterns, its habits and words;\n And what would they do were it not for the birds!\n If we don\u2019t praise Him, and sing when we can,\n There\u2019ll be a chorus left out of His plan.\n And when He looks down on the oriole\u2019s tree,\n There must go up a sweet warble from me.\n \u2019Tis all I can give Him for nest on the bough;\n The song that He taught me, I\u2019m singing it now.\n Dear baby orioles, learn to sing this;\n \u2019Tis the sweet song of the Eden of bliss!\n\n\n\n\nLULLABY OF THE ORIOLE\n\n\n Your nest is all built, and your birdies are there,\n Hidden away from the draughts of the air;\n O pretty songster of garden and glen,\n Whistle again, birdie, whistle again!\n \u201cYapou-yapou! ha-ha! he-he!\u201d\n\n Who taught you to build such a wonderful nest?\n There you may rock all the night in your rest,\n Swung by the breezes till morn cometh, then,\n Whistle again, birdie, whistle again!\n \u201cYapou-yapou! ha-ha! he-he!\u201d\n\n O, pretty oriole, where is your mate?\n Still he is searching and breakfast is late.\n Call him from hill-top, call him from glen;\n Whistle again, birdie, whistle again!\n \u201cYapou-yapou! ha-ha! he-he!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MOTHER TO HER SLEEPING BABE\n\n\n Drink, little love,\n The pearly stream\n No eye can see\n That flows for thee;\n Drink, love, and dream.\n Sweet baby thought,\n Fresh and untaught,\n Bright-winged and free,\n Glide on and see\n The golden beams,\n And silvery streams;\n The budding flowers\n And starry bowers\n That glow and gleam\n In baby\u2019s dream.\n\n Drink, little love.\n Thy mother\u2019s eye,\n Like yonder star\n That shines afar\n In azure sky,\n Is bent on thee\n Each smile to see;\n Each want to fill;\n Each fear to still;\n And give thee rest\n Upon her breast.\n\n Her throbbing heart\n Beats to the song\n Her lips prolong.\n Should baby start\n From fearful dream,\n A fresher stream\n Of song will rise\n From mother then,\n Till baby\u2019s eyes\n Close soft again.\n O little one,\n Life just begun,\n Bud newly born,\n Life\u2019s early morn,\n Harp newly strung,\n Song never sung,\n Angel unknown,\n Thou art my own!\n\n Saviour, behold,\n Dearer than gold\n This pearl of love\n From God above:\n Priceless and pure,\n Gem to endure.\n Lord, it is Thine;\n O make it shine\n With jewels there\n In holy light,\n And let me see\n Its glow so bright,\n Where glories bloom\n Beyond the tomb.\n\n Sleep, little one!\n I\u2019ll cradle thee\n Upon my breast.\n Thou art to be\n A glorious saint\n Before the throne;\n To sing and praise\n Our Lord, our own.\n I know it now;\n Upon this brow\n I press so oft\n With kisses soft,\n A crown of light\n Will glitter bright;\n Forever then\n I\u2019ll love thee, when\n On that glad shore,\n To part no more,\n I clasp my love\n Safe, safe above.\n The covenant\n Is sure, if I,\n With faithful hold\n And courage bold,\n To Christ draw nigh\n And teach thy heart\n The better part.\n\n Sleep, little love:\n Thy tiny feet\n Are yet to tread\n The golden street.\n And thou wilt glide\n With angel bands\n \u2019Mong starry worlds\n In fadeless lands;\n And praising God\n With harp and voice,\n Thy mother\u2019s soul\n Shall then rejoice.\n O then these years\n Of pain and tears\n Will all be fled!\n Rest, little head,\n While shadows come\n About our home;\n And stars of night\n Shine down so bright,\n From that sweet place\n Where angels sing\n Of truth and grace.\n On tireless wing\n We, too, will rise,\n O darling one!\n To yonder skies,\u2014\n The victory won,\n The journey done;\n With joy to stand,\n Hand clasped in hand,\n Upon the heights\n Of true delights,\n Where music flows\n In deathless stream;\n And want and woes,\n And chilling snows,\n Like thy short dream,\n Forever past;\n Where Jesus Blest\n Shall lead the throng;\n And that sweet song\n Of dying love\n We\u2019ll sing above.\n Rest, babe of bliss,\n On my fond breast;\n Sweet is thy kiss:\n O I am blest!\n Angel unknown,\n Lord, \u2019tis Thine own!\n\n\n\n\nTHE BAPTISM\n\n\n This sweet little Lily, this babe of our love,\n This gift of our Father in glory above,\u2014\n O Crucified Saviour, we bring her to Thee\n To make her as pure as the lily to be;\n Thy Spirit attend her, nor leave her alone.\n O make her to love Thee and seal her Thine own!\n Thus may she forever dwell close to Thy breast,\n And enter all blood-washed, the Heavenly Rest.\n\n\n\n\nODE TO THE MOON\n\n\n Pretty Moon, do you remember\n What was Eve\u2019s first lullaby,\n When she swung the little hammock\n As the bird-songs floated by,\n And you smiled down from the sky?\n\n Lovely Moon, do you remember\n What was Noah\u2019s anthem sweet\n That they sang upon the Deluge\n When the storms had ceased to beat,\n And the stars looked down to greet?\n\n Lovely Moon, do you remember\n That sweet song the angels sung\n When the shepherds of Judea\n Sang a song for every tongue,\n And through heaven and earth it rung?\n\n Lovely Moon, you\u2019ve seen these glories:\n Through the ages thy calm smile\n Silent keeps the wondrous stories\n Hidden from our eyes awhile,\n As we walk this starry isle.\n\n And your lamp is ever burning,\n Though the clouds it from us hide;\n Your fair face is always shining,\n Ever since Eve was a bride\n And the earth one homestead wide.\n\n Lovely Moon, the baby loves you:\n Light with silver floods the mist,\n Light the clouds that try to hide you,\n Sea and plain and mountain crest;\n All things smile that thou dost kiss.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MOON AND HER STAR\n\n\n Some evenings fair, there comes a star\n To cite the beauteous moon afar,\n And travel close to her bright car;\n List\u2019ning glad to the song she sings;\n Watching her spread her silver wings;\n Learning a chorus to her song;\n Trimming his lamp as he speeds along.\n\n Whether with oars he paddles the blue,\n Or whether on lightning wings he flew,\u2014\n Whether he goes in a boat or car,\n I cannot see, for he is so far.\n\n\n\n\nPANSIES\n\n\n Bright the lovely pansies blossomed,\n Some in purple and in gold;\n And I wondered at their courage,\n Facing storms of cloud and cold.\n Then I asked them of their mission,\u2014\n Why they came to bless the world;\n And they laughed and shook the dew-drops\n From their velvet leaves unfurled,\n \u201cOh!\u201d they cried, \u201cwe\u2019ve many missions,\n But the gladdest of them all\n Is to cheer the little children,\n And gleam out from fingers small;\n To shine forth thoughts of God awhile,\n And draw from baby lips a smile.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nMY BABY\n\n\n Little pink toes, five in a row,\n With a soft, velvet patter they go;\n But that velvet patter is music to me,\n _My_ baby, _my_ baby!\n\n Oh, ten little, pearly-pink toes,\n Always go running in two little rows!\n Each is a beautiful jewel to me,\n _My_ baby, _my_ baby!\n\n\n\n\nBABY\u2019S CUP\n\n\n A draught of good fresh milk, though drank\n From earthen, tin or pewter,\n Is Nature\u2019s food and medicine,\n And ever will recruit her\n Better than all inventions served\n In cups of golden lining.\n\n If baby should need aught beside\n The precious milk, pearl-shining,\n Then give it but the blood of grapes\n Fresh-pressed from grape or raisin;\n Blest cup for all the weak and strong;\n Blest cup for every season.\n\n\n\n\nBE A BABY WHILE YOU CAN\n\n\n O little man, little man,\n In the cradle rocking,\n Soon to study and to plan,\n Soon to cipher, parse and scan,\n At door of wisdom knocking;\n Measuring the mountains high\n And the worlds that stud the sky,\u2014\n Sleep and rest, you little man,\n Be a baby while you can;\n Gather strength to lead the van.\n\n Baby darling, woman wee,\n In the cradle rocking,\n Soon to study and to plan,\n Soon to cipher, parse and scan;\n Measuring the mountains high,\n And the worlds that star the sky;\n Soon to mend the stocking,\n Learning then to sew and bake,\n Also fashion and to make.\n Dainty baby-fingers, rest;\n Soon they\u2019ll need to do their best.\n Dream that all the world is true,\n Pure as yonder starry-blue;\n Look at angels while you sleep;\n See God\u2019s foot-prints in the deep:\n All the baby hearts are His,\n And they \u201csee Him as He is.\u201d\n Be a baby while you can;\n Gather strength to lead the van.\n\n\n\n\nMOTHER EVE\n\n\n O Mother Eve, do you never look\n From the Pearly Gates to the starry nook,\n Where, glimmering here in the spangled blue,\n The world shines out that was once for you,\u2014\n The dear old home of the Eden bowers\n Where first you lived \u2019mong the birds and flowers?\n As you look down on the babies dear,\n And see their woes and their crying hear,\n As fed with the food for babies not made,\n The cheeks grow pale, and the bright hopes fade,\u2014\n Does your heart cry out, \u201cNot so! Not so\n Must the babe be fed to be strong and grow:\n Milk, precious milk, is the wee one\u2019s food,\n To strengthen the bones and nourish the blood!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nLULLABY OF THE THRUSH\n\n\n Little brown thrush, are you singing for me,\n Pouring your song from the crest of the tree?\n Oh! I\u2019m not worthy of such a sweet tune,\n Poured from the tree-tops bright mornings in June.\n Yet warble for me, warble for me!\n\n O, if you\u2019ll sing for me, little brown thrush,\n I\u2019ll build a nest for you, lined with soft plush;\n \u201cAh, that\u2019s not nice enough,\u201d that\u2019s what you say,\n Waving your pretty wings, soaring away.\n O warble for me, warble for me!\n\n Little brown thrush, then come, build your own nest\n Of fine straw and silk, and things you like best;\n I\u2019ll scatter the down for you, under the tree,\n To line the nest warm, if you\u2019ll warble for me.\n O warble for me, warble for me!\n\n\n\n\nBABY\u2019S CHILLY RIDE\n\n\n Cool the winds were rustling\n And the light was paling,\n For the sun was hidden\n With a fleecy veiling.\n\n Trundling down the sidewalk\n A baby\u2019s carriage rolled,\n Canopied with azure\n And dainty every fold.\n\n Sat the little stranger\n Sweet as lily white;\n The cap of gauzy ruffle\n Let in air and light.\n\n The little wrap was tasteful,\n Yet \u2019twas all too thin;\n The cloak was not a warm one\n To wrap a baby in.\n\n There it sat,\u2014the angel!\n Not saying, \u201cI am cold.\u201d\n I knew that face of beauty\n Would ne\u2019er on earth grow old.\n\n By all my mother-instincts\n And mother-wisdom given,\n I knew that precious baby\n Was on the road to Heaven.\n\n I thought of half-fledged birdies,\n The sparrow and the starling;\n And longed to wrap my mantle\n About the baby darling.\n\n But on the little carriage\n Rolled, with its precious freight,\n As if in haste to land it\n Within the Pearly Gate.\n\n Had baby been a dolly,\n With lifeless locks of flax;\n And had its form been molded\n Of porcelain or wax,\n\n The fragile cap so gauzy,\n The dainty cloak so thin,\n Had been enough of clothing\n To wrap the dolly in.\n\n But flesh and blood of babies\n Need something warmer far,\n Or soon the priceless jewel\n Like evening\u2019s beauteous star\n\n Will soon shine far above us;\n And baby\u2019s precious feet\n Will walk among the angels\n Along the Golden Street.\n\n\n\n\nBABY\u2019S MEDICINE\n\n\n Oh! always give to the baby\u2019s mouth\n The things God made for food;\n The precious milk or the grape\u2019s fresh juice,\n Things that the Lord calls \u201cgood.\u201d\n\n Blind Folly searched through the east and west,\n Aye, searched from north to south,\n To find great drugs of healing power\n To put in the baby\u2019s mouth.\n\n But they searched in vain! and day and night,\n Like flocks of birds, towards Heaven\n The babies went, for they could not stay\n Where the cruel drugs were given.\n\n And never put to the baby\u2019s lips\n The food for the stronger made;\n Or you may weep with a broken heart\n By its cold bed in the glade.\n\n Feed it food for the babies made,\n And dress it warm and clean;\n Give it the purest air to breathe,\n And the sunlight\u2019s golden sheen.\n\n Like the lilies fair, like the sweet June rose\n Then shall the baby grow;\n And the smile of Heaven like a halo rest\n On the angel lent below.\n\n Give it the love of a holy heart\n That plans for the life beyond;\n That mingles prayer with the daily work,\n And song with caresses fond;\n\n That sweet, glad song that forever lies\n In the heart as the years sweep on;\n And tells of the love God has for us,\n In the gift of His only Son.\n\n\n\n\nBABY\u2019S BATH\n\n\n If you\u2019ve got it right, there\u2019s a smile on his lips\u2014\n That water must cover his fat little hips,\n Coming quite up to his waist.\n Don\u2019t make him laugh! he will splash if you do,\n And learn naughty ways, and be troublesome too;\n Be quiet; don\u2019t be in haste!\n But if you would be sure\n Of the temperature,\n Put your own elbow into the bath.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FARMER\u2019S CRADLE SONG\n\n\n Come, little rain-drops, patter on the corn;\n Come, little sunbeams, bright in rosy morn;\n Shine on the wheat-fields, make them golden-sweet,\n Ready for the brown bread, baby wants to eat.\n\n Come, little dew-drops, make the apples grow,\n Bellflower and russet, bright with sunset glow.\n Come, cloud and sunshine, make the rainbow bright,\n While the grapes\u2019 sweet clusters laugh in delight.\n\n O, blessed Father, give enough for all!\n Bread for the millions, little folks and tall;\n Fruits for the wide world, bringing hope and health,\n Milk and golden butter; \u2019tis the farmer\u2019s wealth.\n\n Oh! blessed Saviour, with the bounty sweet\n Make the people praise Thee when they come to eat.\n May the little children lisp a loving prayer\n For the countless blessings, and Thy tender care.\n\n When sweet Hosannas by all cradles rise,\n When love of Jesus shines from children\u2019s eyes;\n Then earth and Heaven in one glad song will sing,\n \u201cIn the highest, Glory to our Saviour King!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE LITTLE FAWN\n\n\n There in the summer woodland,\n Down in the quiet glade,\n Hid in a leafy thicket,\n Is a little fawn in the shade.\n\n And the wildwood moss is growing\n About its dry leaf bed;\n And the vine of the forest swaying\n Its blossoms overhead.\n\n The mother roe comes often\n To nurse her baby deer;\n And she listens, listens, listens,\n Lest some bold foot come near.\n\n There she dreams with her baby,\n Till birds of the early dawn\n Wake the mother from slumber\n To nurse her dear little fawn.\n\n Who made the glad mother,\n Who made the wee fawn?\n Who made the bright birdies\n To sing at the dawn?\n\n The same Who made baby,\n The same Who made me;\n Who calls us and calls us\n His loved ones to be.\n\n\n\n\nOUR BABY\n\n\n What do you think that the kitty did\n When baby was two weeks old,\n And her eyes were dark, of a pansy blue,\n And her hair half brown, half gold?\n Kit put her paws on the baby\u2019s feet,\n And looked into baby\u2019s eyes;\n And baby looked into kitty\u2019s face\n With a curious surprise.\n She thought that puss was a funny folk,\n Half black, and yellow half;\n With eyes of shining greenish gold;\n And it made the baby laugh.\n\n What do you think that the birdies said\n In the garden \u2019mong the trees,\n As they ate of the berries growing there,\n And sang in the summer breeze,\n And built their nests on the leafy boughs\n Where the baby\u2019s eyes could see?\n They sang the words that the baby loved;\n \u201cTwitter-dee, twitter-dee-dee-dee.\u201d\n\n And what do you think that the baby did,\n When they gathered white sprays, shining,\n And made a hedge of the cradle side?\n A hedge with a white-star lining?\n Why, baby sat like a little queen,\n In the midst of the circling bower,\n And smiled as if it were Eden sweet,\n And she never crushed a flower!\n\n And what do you think that the bright stars did,\n As the baby peered through the curtain,\n And peered again with a longing look,\n To be sure they were shining, certain?\n The stars just twinkled and twinkled there,\n As they did to Eve\u2019s own darlings,\n When their dimpled fingers pointed up\n To stars of the cloudless evenings.\n\n And how do you think that the baby looked,\n As we took her out at sunset,\n And set her down \u2019mong the tall ripe oats\n (\u2019Twas before the earth was dew-wet),\n The baby looked at the golden oats\n Above and around her growing,\n And high up into God\u2019s blue sky,\n As if somebody there were knowing\n\n All about what a place she found\n Where the nodding oats were playing,\n And she sweetly smiled in her mother\u2019s face,\n As that mother\u2019s heart was praying;\n Praying there for her darling one,\n That her little feet might never\n Turn aside from the path that leads\n Where Christ is the Joy forever.\n\n\n\n\nLILIES\n\n\n When I wandered \u2019mong the lilies,\n Over hill and down the dale;\n And some bloomed in brilliant scarlet,\n Others pure as snowy veil,\n Spread their fragrance on the breeze.\n And I asked them why they came;\n And each blossom smiled to tell me\n That to speak of His dear name\n They had raised their fairest banners,\n Banners that the children seek,\n With a shout of baby gladness\n Lighting heart and eye and cheek.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DIVER\u2019S CRADLE SONG\n\n\n Come, little diver now under the sea,\n Bring up a crown of bright jewels to me.\n Bring me the coral, the sea-weed, the shell;\n Bring the anemones there in the dell,\n While baby\u2019s awake.\n\n Come, little diver now under the sea,\n Gather the mosses and bring them to me.\n Find a sea-butterfly in the blue wave;\n Get me the pearls that are hid in the cave,\n While baby\u2019s awake.\n\n Come, little diver deep under the sea;\n Find a bright star-fish and fetch it to me.\n I want a gurnet and sea-urchin, too;\n Come, little diver, we\u2019re waiting for you,\n While baby\u2019s awake.\n\n Waiting for you, and how long shall we wait?\n Golden stars gleam on the billowy gate.\n Why do you stay in the coral to sleep?\n Gather the jewels and rise from the deep,\n While baby\u2019s awake.\n\n Ah, little diver, you\u2019ve tarried so long!\n Baby\u2019s soft eyelids droop low in the song:\n See how the bright fingers rest on her cheek;\n Whatever you bring, little diver, don\u2019t speak,\n Lest baby awake.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RISING GENERATION\n\n\n See ten thousand cradles swaying\n With their burdens to and fro;\n In the vales and on the mountains,\n Tropics warm and fields of snow;\n Every land and tribe and people\n Hears the little new-born voice;\n Sees the rising generation\n In its early thoughts rejoice.\n\n Shivering Greenland has these treasures,\n Wrapt in furs with tender care.\n Sunny India fans her birdlings\n In the warm and balmy air,\n And the spicy isles shed sweetness\n \u2019Round the little cherished bed:\n From pole to pole the mother\u2019s bosom\n Pillows soft her darling\u2019s head.\n\n Little velvet hands are playing;\n Little dimpled fingers move;\n Little restless feet are nestling;\n Little ruby lips of love\n All throughout the world are smiling:\n Precious baby hearts are light;\n Wondering at surrounding objects,\n Thinking all the world is bright.\n\n Then the countless groups of children\n Sporting as they glide along\n The stream of life, while bird and rillet\n Interweave their cheerful song\n With sweetest notes; and childhood\u2019s hours\n Seem like a morning of delight\n Where gardens bloom with fairest flowers,\n Glittering with the dews of night.\n\n Oh! the rising generation\n Soon will rule throughout the world,\n And the thoughts we daily teach them\n Soon like banners be unfurled;\n Soon our words and tones be copied,\n And like seeds spring up again,\n Swaying future generations,\n Molding hearts and voices then:\n\n And again be scattered broadcast,\n And again in harvest rise.\n Teach us, Lord, Thy perfect wisdom:\n Make our hearts and lips and eyes\n To speak forth tenderness and love.\n Make the very tone of voice\n The index to the will subdued,\n Telling, \u201cWe in Christ rejoice.\u201d\n\n Give us faith and peace unshaken;\n In each parent\u2019s heart implant\n The fear of God, to guard and quicken,\n Till each thought with God is blent;\n Till His glorious presence fills\n With sweet peace no words can tell,\n And we can every cross endure,\n Seeing Him invisible.\n\n Like Moses then the parent\u2019s face\n Shall tell what patience Jesus gives;\n And little wond\u2019ring hearts will trace\n The path to where Immanuel lives.\n And little children yearn to know\n The sweetness of the Saviour\u2019s love.\n\n Then, then the world will turn to God.\n Then children pray with earnest soul;\n The clouds of unbelief will flee,\n And light shall spread from pole to pole,\n As millions bear the Gospel on\n And scatter Day-beams through the earth,\n Till all the nations shall arise\n Rejoicing in immortal birth.\n\n That glorious day my soul shall see;\n Perchance on earth, or looking forth\n From Heaven\u2019s heights of amethyst\n Rejoicing o\u2019er the ransomed earth.\n Rise, Christian, rise. Wake, parent, wake.\n The Rising Generation calls;\n Go onward and proclaim the road.\n\n\n\n\nWHY THE BABIES WENT HOME\n\n\n The other side the Pearly Gates\n Have a myriad babies gone\n Because their robes were all too thin\n For the chilly eve and dawn.\n Or the little shoes were cold and damp\n From the wet grass of the lawn.\n\n The other side the Pearly Gates\n Have a myriad babies fled\n Because in the tender baby-days\n They were given flesh and bread,\n Though God made milk, the delicious milk\n For the babies to be fed.\n\n The other side the Pearly Gates\n A myriad babies went,\n Because no sweet love greeted them\n In the hours when they were sent;\n And the way was all too hard and cold\n For the little ones God lent.\n\n The other side the Pearly Gates\n God made the loveliest place\n For the wee ones come back to Him;\n And they always \u201csee His face.\u201d\n The sweetest joys of heaven are theirs,\n In the Home of endless grace.\n\n\n\n\nBLESSINGS OF GOD\n\n\n God made the milk to be\n Creamy and sweet,\n For all of His children\n To drink and to eat.\n To make all His frail ones\n Grow happy and strong,\n Give them the precious milk\n Sweet as a song.\n\n God made the golden corn,\n God made the wheat,\n For bread and for puddings;\n Rich plenty to eat.\n The rice and the barley,\n The rye and the oats;\n O let us thank Him\n In happier notes!\n\n God made the fruits to grow\n Luscious and sweet,\n For all His dear children\n To drink and to eat.\n Never ferment them;\n For then from the rot\n Springs forth the poison!\n Taste of it not!\n\n Fresh from the fruit bottles\n Seal it away;\n Sink it in waters cold;\n Hide it in clay.\n There \u2019twill keep fresh and sweet,\n Harmless as new.\n Harmless as ripened grapes\n Sparkling with dew.\n\n\n\n\nKINDNESS TO ALL\n\n\n A record is kept of all things upon earth.\n And even the kitty that sleeps on the hearth\n Has its own rights to our kindness and care,\n As long as it lives. And no one should dare\n To think all he owes is a kick and a \u201cScat!\u201d\n To poor little pussy because she\u2019s a cat.\n And if she must die, let it be by the way\n That gives the least pain, is what Mercy would say.\n Be kind to all creatures; our heart tells us why.\n And he who cares not for the sufferer\u2019s cry\n Shall himself call in vain when the terror is nigh;\n He who cares not for pain of man, beast or bird\n Shall yet cry \u201chimself and never be heard.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHORUS OF THE FLOWERS\n\n\n There came a chorus from the vales and hills;\n From plains and mountains, and the rippling rills.\n Where\u2019er a flower was growing, came a song,\n So sweet it woke to praise a countless throng;\n And these blest words I caught within my heart\n To keep until from earthly walks I part.\n \u201cWe flowers, all, have come to earth to tell\n What every blessed angel knows so well:\n That God is Love; and seek that love to show\n Where\u2019er a human foot can ever go.\n He sent us forth in beauties numberless,\n For every heart to welcome and caress,\n And learn a little of that love divine\n That seeks through leaf and flower and star, to shine.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE CORNSTALK CHAIR\n\n\n In the years long gone, whence the shadows smile\n Like the morning beams on the song-swept isle,\n Half hid by the cloud and the rainbow\u2019s wing\n Are the early scenes that my dreamings bring.\n There\u2019s a little child at her quiet play,\n Rocking her doll in a motherly way;\n Singing a song as the hours creep by,\n And the blue-bells bloom as the sun mounts high.\n There\u2019s a violet wreath in her auburn hair,\n And her rag doll sits in a cornstalk chair\n That her grandmother made, with the skill of old\n From the tender stems like the polished gold.\n The little one then, as she planned and played\n And a tiny loaf in a teaspoon made,\n Knew not what a world of grief is this,\n For her woes were healed with the mother\u2019s kiss.\n And she never thought as she went to rub\n All her dolly\u2019s clothes in a basin-tub,\n And then hung them out on a tiny cord,\n As white as the ruff of an ancient lord,\n She should yet count the seasons one by one,\n Till the dear old folks were gone, all gone;\n Caught up to the Land of the Blessed Fold,\n And she more than half a century old!\n But O, what a change \u2019tween then and now!\n Memories stamped upon spirit and brow;\n The violets gone and the silver thread\n Is the chaplet now for the once bright head;\n And the cornstalk chair, like the polished gold,\n Is vanished away with the dreams of old.\n But the heart keeps all, and is never cold.\n While the voices heard in the anthems then,\n In the quiet hours come oft again.\n\n\n\n\nLITTLE OLD BABY CLOTHES\n\n\n From out a bundle in the old red chest\n I found some baby-clothes that called the tears.\n They brought so many precious memories forth,\n Sweet, precious memories of by-gone years.\n A little shirt so tiny that the sleeves\n Would always seem to, laughing, whisper low,\n \u201cWe were the first you made: we did not grow\n In length nor breadth; and when the baby grew\n We were laid by to serve a baby new.\u201d\n That little shirt! The tiny hem-stitched front\n Covered the little heart whose fluttering beat\n Was like a captive bird; nor did I know\n The years would come, years sorrowful and sweet,\n When I, in pain, my weary head would rest\n Against that heart, and on those arms so blest.\n O little sleeves! the arms you circled then,\n I kissed and dressed; they dress me now. Again\n The old-time tenderness comes o\u2019er me with a thrill\n She is the stronger; yet my darling still.\n O little shirt, too worn to give away;\n Too dear to waste; still with my keepsakes stay,\n With the wee stockings and the short pink dress,\n Hid in the bundle, still my heart to bless,\n By bringing back the rainbow baby days\n When God first taught me mother-thought and praise.\n These little clothes bring back the time to me\n When, full of wonder and of hope, I thought\n The coming treasure, that pure gift of God\n For which, in prayer, my earnest heart had sought,\n Would cheer me with a joy that only shines\n In mother-hearts, where Love\u2019s most costly mines\n Are thrown wide open to be gathered free\n For baby lips and baby eyes to see.\n Yes, I remember all, dear little clothes,\n You\u2019ve roused a thousand memories from repose;\n And like the sweetest music of the past,\n You breathe a song that must forever last.\n A song re-echoed ever here below;\n A song to follow me when I shall go\n To that glad Home where parting is no more,\n And greet my children on the fadeless shore.\n\n\n\n\nLULLABY OF THE ROSES\n\n\n Over the rustic window sill,\n Peering down on the little crib;\n Over the snowy pillow-frill,\n Over the snowy little bib.\n Scattering rose leaves fresh and sweet;\n Pure as the baby\u2019s lips and feet.\n\n Baby, dream a beautiful dream,\n Watched by the summer roses bright,\n That wake to see the starry gleam\n From the wonderful crown of night,\n And wait to peer on the baby\u2019s crib,\n And strew soft leaves on baby\u2019s bib.\n\n We wear the styles the roses wore\n In the summers beyond the Flood,\n And dyes the same we had before,\n And our patterns came down from God.\n We are the same glad roses still,\n Smiling over the window sill.\n\n We ne\u2019er forget the ways we learned\n There in the sinless Eden Home;\n Whether we\u2019re loved, or torn and spurned,\n We smile as Eve\u2019s own garden bloom.\n Scattering rose-leaves fresh and sweet,\n Soft as baby\u2019s lips and feet.\n\n For the Beautiful One said \u201cStay;\n Tell the children of God\u2019s own love.\n Breathing forth fragrance all the way;\n Giving the smiles sent from above.\u201d\n So we watch for the little crib;\n Strewing leaves on the baby\u2019s bib.\n\n\n\n\nLULLABY OF THE SUN\n\n\n The first baby ever to earth was born,\n I kissed with my beams on its natal morn.\n I made the dews sparkle, the tender buds bloom,\n The air of the morning with sweets to perfume.\n I love all the babies my sunbeams to see;\n I love them and all of the babies love me.\n\n The babies they hide from me always grow pale.\n None can be rosy and happy and hale\n But those that I nourish with warmth and with light;\n E\u2019en in the darkness I never leave quite;\n I shine \u2019round the corners from planet and moon,\n To whisper \u201cTake courage, I\u2019ll be with you soon.\u201d\n\n Then, touching the morning cloud, touching the hills,\n I send out the twilight that wakens the rills.\n And more and more pouring my sunbeams afar,\n Till dew-drops are diamonds, and hid is each star;\n I wake all the babies my glories to see.\n I love them and all of the babies love me!\n\n\n\n\nEARTH\u2019S REQUIEM FOR THE LITTLE ONES\n\n\n Never a baby soul fluttered away\n But I must tenderly treasure the clay,\n Holding it close to my motherly breast,\n Hiding it under my mantle to rest;\n To rest till the Father who builded the skies\n Shall waken the dust, and bid it arise.\n Every sweet babe, in my bosom I hold,\n Is a bright angel to never grow old.\n Wee, waxen hands so quietly folded;\n Little, still feet\u2014divinely they\u2019re molded!\n Eyes that once sparkled and yet to awake\n When Resurrection\u2019s bright morning shall break.\n\n\n\n\nDARLING BABY\n\n\n Do you see the darling baby\n Laughing in her crib?\n She has learned to get the bonnet\n And untie her bib.\n\n She pulls off her little stockings\n Playing with her toes.\n And her feet are soft as velvet,\n Pinky as the rose.\n\n Well, baby may be a mother\n In a little while;\n So take care what things you teach her\n By your word and smile.\n\n For she\u2019ll be just what you make her,\n Selfish, proud and cold:\n Or she may be like the angels,\n Sweet and pure as gold.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ANCIENT OF DAYS\n\n\n \u2019Tis a wonderful Chorister made us to sing,\n And taught every warbler its lays;\n And His rapturous voice leads the angels in song;\n And His name is the Ancient of Days!\n \u2019Tis a wonderful Architect builded the earth;\n We read His great heart in His ways;\n In the sweet and the beautiful mirrored He lives;\n And His name is the Ancient of Days!\n \u2019Tis a wondrous Philosopher balanced the clouds,\n And weaves the bright sunshine with haze;\n And waters the earth with the dew and the rains;\n And His name is the Ancient of Days!\n His arm never wearies; His heart never faints,\n For strength to guide worlds on their ways;\n And all the bright comets that rush through the sky,\n Heed the voice of the Ancient of Days!\n His heart is the gladdest of all the glad hearts\n That join in the anthem of praise;\n Yet none grieves like Him o\u2019er the loss of the soul,\n Because He\u2019s the Ancient of Days.\n His voice is the sweetest in all the glad song\n In rapture all Heaven to amaze:\n In all the vast universe naught can compare;\n With the voice of the Ancient of Days!\n And with Him in loveliness none can compare;\n His beauty is great as His ways.\n And those who behold Him are changed by His smile,\n Because He is Ancient of Days!\n His age shows no weakness; His beauty and truth\n Shine ever \u2019mid cycles of praise.\n Forever He keepeth \u201cthe dew of His youth,\u201d\n Because He is Ancient of Days!\n I long for His teaching; I long to behold,\n And sing with the angels His praise.\n And soon I shall see Him, see Him _as He is_,\n Our Saviour, the Ancient of Days.\n\n\n\n\nLITTLE SHOES\n\n\n Trudge, trudge, trudge, two little bright shoes;\n Two tiny feet move you along;\n Soft, dimpled fingers play with you oft;\n Two rosy lips are learning a song.\n\n Trudge, trudge, trudge, two little bright shoes;\n Two sparkling eyes laugh as you skip.\n Don\u2019t run too fast when papa comes home,\n The big tears fall whenever you slip.\n\n Trudge, trudge, trudge! O come, little shoes,\n Baby must rest, and not walk all day.\n Baby must sleep, and two little feet\n In the warm coverlet hide them away.\n\n Trudge, trudge, trudge, two little bright shoes,\n Worn at the heel, and worn at the toe,\n Holding the impress of innocence sweet,\n And more precious the older they grow.\n\n Trudge, trudge, trudge! if all of our feet\n Went half as far in God\u2019s beautiful way,\n There would be sunshine over the earth,\n And the dark places would shine as the day.\n\n\n\n\nTHERE\u2019S AN ANGEL HERE\n\n\n Don\u2019t be cross if the dishes break:\n Don\u2019t be cross if the baby wake:\n There is a pen and a record near;\n O speak kind,\u2014there\u2019s an angel here!\n\n Don\u2019t be harsh if your will be crossed;\n Life\u2019s great sea may be tempest-tossed;\n Call on Christ, for the billows kneel,\n If His hand shall but touch the wheel.\n\n Don\u2019t be cross if the tide rolls high;\n God still rules in the stormy sky.\n Still be kind though the way is dark;\n God saves some in a helpless Ark.\n\n Don\u2019t be cross, for a mighty host\n Now looks on; not a word is lost.\n What is earth, and its riches what?\n Soon all past, and its gold forgot.\n\n Don\u2019t be cross, for the iron pen\n Still writes on; for the great Amen\n Summons each to the shining throne,\n There to meet every word his own.\n\n Keep us, Lord, from the hasty word\n That wounds all hearts like the cruel sword!\n And with the blood that for us was shed,\n Blot cross words from the records read.\n\n\n\n\n\u201cWAKING UP THE STARS\u201d\n\n\n Morn has lighted up the azure,\n Yet our precious baby-treasure\n Has not wakened from her slumbers,\n And she dreams the starry numbers\n All have closed their twinkling eyes,\n As she sails the soft blue skies;\n Sails on clouds as white as snow,\n Far above the world below.\n Silken ringlets, golden-brown,\n From her temples rippling down,\n Rest aglow upon the pillow,\n While she floats dream\u2019s joyous billow.\n Now the lashes on her cheek\n Tremble, as she wakes to speak;\n From the pillow she is springing,\n And the baby-accents ringing,\n Like the song-bird\u2019s from its bars,\n \u201cI was waking up the stars!\u201d\n Baby dear, so sweetly dreaming,\n All the world so guileless seeming;\n We\u2019re the stars that need awaking;\n \u2019Tis our slumber that needs breaking.\n Life\u2019s short day is almost done;\n Wake us for the setting sun.\n\n\n\n\nLULLABY OF THE STARS\n\n\n Come little earth-star, where the babies sleep;\n Fly up the blue path, and time with us keep.\n O spread your cloud-wings, bright, tiny star,\n Come towards the Pleiades shining afar!\n\n Come, little earth-star, where the babies dream,\n Rocked in the cradles soft, \u2019neath starry gleam.\n Swung in the hammocks bright, \u2019neath summer trees,\n Where the breath of roses floats on the breeze.\n\n Come, little earth-star, where the babies laugh,\n Drinking the sweet milk God hath made to quaff.\n Bathed in the sunshine ever fresh and new,\n Tell them we are watching up in the blue.\n\n Tell them we\u2019re shining still \u2019mid the light;\n Glitt\u2019ring and twinkling all through the night.\n Gleaming at morn \u2019tween rose-clouds aglow;\n Peering through the dark storm laden with snow.\n\n Wee, precious earth-world, though so very small,\n All the big stars know thee; thou art watched by all.\n No star so favored as thyself hath been,\n Where the King of Glory died to save from sin.\n\n Brightest of sunbeam kiss thy ripening food.\n Countless pure angels guard thy baby brood.\n When we sing Love\u2019s anthem, shouting it afar,\n There\u2019s a tender chorus sung for thee, O star!\n\n Mighty is the arm that guideth on the way!\n Planets keep their orbits while the comets play.\n And you never jostle with your baby-brood,\n While they learn the praises of the Loving God.\n\n Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, little earth-world,\n Flying towards the Pleiades bright unfurled;\n While we sing Love\u2019s anthem, shouting it afar;\n And a tender chorus swells for thee, O star!\n\n\n\n\nROSES\n\n\n Sweet roses! and they bloomed as pure\n As shining cloud and shining dew,\n And when I asked why such sweet buds\n From out the cold, damp hillsides grew;\n The roses nodded in the wind,\n And every velvet lip replied,\n \u201cWe came to tell the love of God,\n And tell the sweet, old story wide.\n And that we might the longer stay\n To light the path and cheer the way,\n Where\u2019er the little children stray,\n Our stems are wisely wrapped in thorn,\n That weary night and golden morn,\n From baby lips to wake a smile\n \u2019Mid baby thoughts all pure from guile.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nMOTHER EARTH\u2019S LULLABY\n\n\n Rest, baby, rest,\n On my glad breast.\n All the babies I have carried\n Ever since sweet Eve was married,\n And I love them all so well,\n That I never yet could tell\n Which I think the dearest one,\n Whether daughter, whether son,\n All are precious from their birth\n To the fond old mother Earth.\n\n Rest, baby, rest,\n On my glad breast.\n O, the pansies, pinks and roses,\n Buttercups and fair, wild posies,\n On the lawns and in the wild,\n I am growing for each child;\n Making streamlets dance with glee\n For the baby eyes to see.\n Guarding nests of birdies near\n That bring songs to baby\u2019s ear.\n\n Rest, baby, rest,\n On my glad breast.\n Bread from golden field is coming;\n Honey flows where bees are humming.\n These in richness soon will come;\n Apple, berry, grape and plum.\n But may mother not forget\n Milk is baby\u2019s glory yet;\n And for years it still must be,\n If you would a jewel see.\n\n Rest, baby, rest,\n On my glad breast.\n How I watch your priceless slumbers.\n Holding careful, countless numbers;\n Constant turning round and round,\n That the sleeping sleep more sound\n In the shade; and those that wake\n See the rosy morning break.\n List\u2019ning to hosannas sweet,\n That all babyhood will greet.\n\n Rest, baby, rest,\n On my glad breast.\n Whether in the wilds near Eden,\n Or in Father Noah\u2019s garden,\n Kings and peasants, rich and poor,\n Born to ignorance or lore,\n I have done the best I could\n With the flocks of babyhood.\n Every baby is a gem;\n My old heart goes out to them!\n\n\n\n\nLULLABY OF THE RAIN-DROPS\n\n\n \u2019Tis the patter of the rain-drops,\n Baby dear,\n Falling lightly on the home-roof,\n That we hear.\n Patter, patter, low and sweet,\n Like the touch of velvet feet\n Coming near.\n\n \u2019Tis the patter of the rain-drops\n On the grass,\n Makes it grow so green and shining\n As they pass.\n And each leaf upon the trees\n Waves, like jewels in the breeze,\n Liquid glass.\n\n \u2019Tis the patter of the rain-drops\n On the brook,\n Makes it dimple, dimple, dimple,\n As we look:\n Saying as they run away,\n \u201cWe write records every day\n In Love\u2019s Book.\u201d\n\n \u2019Tis the cradle song of summer\n That we hear,\n In the patter of the rain-drops,\n Coming near.\n Though the dark skies seem to frown\n Every drop brings blessings down,\n Baby dear.\n\n\n\n\nKISSING THE SUNBEAM\n\n\nA babe not old enough to speak or walk was creeping on the floor. By\nand by a bright ray of sunshine fell upon the carpet. Baby saw it and\ncrept towards the dazzling spot. She looked at it, with the greatest\ninterest in her sweet face; and then, putting down her little lips, she\nkissed it.\n\n O sweet little babe, in thy innocent glee,\n Kissing the sunbeam so golden and bright;\n God sent it, a messenger lovely, to thee,\n From the blue fields of heaven, all fledged with the light.\n\n Then kiss the bright beaming, thou dear little one;\n And mayest thou ever be grateful to Him\n Who gave to redeem us His glorious Son\n And filleth our cup of sweet joy to the brim.\n\n O kiss the bright sunbeam that gladdens thy home,\n Though \u2019tween the dark storm clouds that sunbeam may come;\n It cometh so golden, so beautiful ever;\n Then welcome the sunbeam, and praise the kind Giver.\n\n The Lord, in His love to the children of earth,\n Showers His mercies and joys \u2019round the hearth;\n Crowns the year with His goodness and bounty of love,\n \u2019Till the earth teems with blessings all fresh from above.\n\n God scatters them freely and kindly on all:\n Every moment they come, and how thickly they fall;\n But blessings, like sunbeams in showers of gold,\n Are drunk without praises by hearts dark and cold.\n\n He sends them to tell us how kind is His care.\n He sends them to tell us how thankless we are.\n He sends them to beautify Life\u2019s troubled stream;\n O praise ye the Giver Who sendeth the beam.\n\n\n\n\nJEWEL OF THE CRADLE\n\n\n How fondly the heart of the mother is stirred,\n As she bends o\u2019er the cradle where Innocence sleeps,\n And the sweetest of names and the tenderest word\n For her little birdling she carefully keeps.\n\n How precious its smiles and its cooing to her;\n And the light of its eye gives her joy anew,\n And e\u2019en while she sleeps, her fond heart waketh still,\n Like a list\u2019ning star in Night\u2019s curtain of blue.\n\n Her fond, circling arms press it still to her breast,\n Where lulled by her heart-throb it slumbers again.\n If aught should awake it, the mother will start\n From dreaming and patiently comfort it then.\n\n How wilt thou reward her, O sweet little babe?\n How give back the years of her labor and care?\n How pay for the tears of sweet sympathy shed;\n The heart\u2019s deepest yearning; the river of prayer?\n\n O sweet little babe, learn of Jesus to love;\n Sing Zion\u2019s sweet songs with thy silvery voice;\n O then shall the heart of thy mother be glad,\n And o\u2019er thy existence forever rejoice.\n\n\n\n\nBABY SWEET\n\n\n Baby sweet is a wonderful one,\n From the bright country beyond the sun;\n Whether a boy or whether a girl,\n Each smile is pure; each tooth is a pearl;\n Whether we wake at midnight or morn,\n Still we are glad the sweet baby is born.\n\n Baby sweet is a wonderful one,\n With eyes that shine like dew in the sun;\n With velvet hands of the lily white;\n With cheeks and lips of the roses bright.\n Whether a boy or whether a girl,\n A voter to be; the flag to unfurl.\n\n Baby sweet is a wonderful one.\n Teach the small feet to lovingly run;\n Teach the small hands to loving caress;\n Teach the pure lips to pray and to bless.\n Whether a boy or whether a girl;\n Whether its locks are to braid or to curl;\n Hide from it vanity, cruelty hide;\n Feed it with purity, never with pride.\n\n\n\n\nANGEL OF THE CRADLE\n\n\n There\u2019s an angel in the cradle.\n \u2019Tis a little stainless one,\n In the morning of existence.\n Here we see the rising sun\n Of intelligence unfolding,\n And its dewy thought unspring,\n All so primitive and hopeful,\n As the mind unfurls its wing.\n\n Deathless wing! O little stranger,\n New-born messenger of love.\n Jesus shield thy soul from danger,\n Jesus lead thee safe above.\n Suffer not, O blest Redeemer!\n Suffer not this child to stray\n From the fountain of salvation\n And the happy, heavenly way.\n\n Suffer not, O God, my Saviour!\n This dear child\u2019s young heart to fill\n With the follies of the worldly.\n May she yield to Thee her will.\n May she seek Thee, living Saviour;\n Teach her in Thy blood to trust,\n And for faith in Thy redemption,\n Thou mayest call her with the just.\n\n O God! my heart, too full for utterance,\n Claims Thy promise. Leave her not.\n May Thy Spirit warn and shield her:\n Be her joy, whate\u2019er her lot.\n O Thou for sinners crucified!\n Hear for this babe the mother\u2019s prayer.\n O teach her all the way of life;\n May Lily be an angel there,\n Where comes no cloud of sin and fear\n And never falls the parting tear.\n\n\n\n\nLET ANGELS NAME IT\n\n\n Mother, how thy little darling\n Softly twines its tiny arms\n \u2019Round thy neck, like infant tendrils,\n Bright with more than earthly charms.\n\n What callest thou the baby cherub?\n O can mortals find a name,\n Suited to its guileless spirit,\n And its fair and fragile frame?\n\n The rose is on its snowy cheek,\n Fresh as when embalmed with dew,\n And O, its eyes are like the stars,\n \u2019Tween the soft clouds glancing through!\n\n The ruby lip that mutely smiles,\n The waving of the curls of gold,\n The changing glances of the eye,\n All shadow forth bright thoughts untold.\n\n I know that in its sinless breast,\n Embowered in the little heart,\n Thoughts primitive steal softly on,\n And Love\u2019s own happy flowers start.\n\n God\u2019s Spirit oft may light its mind\n With thoughts of gladness from above;\n Too fair for earth, thy darling seems;\n Let angels name the little Love.\n\n O! let it never see a frown,\n Nor hear a cold or cruel word;\n Its eye will imitate thy glance;\n Its tongue repeat whate\u2019er is heard.\n\n O guard, with prayer, this angel germ;\n This bud upon Life\u2019s ocean tossed,\n Lest thou shouldst ever see thy child\n Numbered among the loved and lost.\n\n O guard, with prayer, this deathless bud!\n That lust may never blight its bloom;\n And thou shalt see this cherished one\n In realms of peace beyond the tomb.\n\n Teach it to fold those little hands,\n And bend the knee to Christ in prayer:\n And all the wishes of the heart\n To tell the Lord who listens there.\n\n Teach it to plead the promises,\n Bequeathed in the sweet Book divine,\n If thou wouldst have this child of earth\n Among the stars of Heaven to shine.\n\n\n\n\nTHE TWO CRADLES\n\n\nTHE BABY PRINCESS\n\n The cradle, carved like an open shell\n Of ebony, polished bright,\n Was all inlaid with silver rare\n That shone in the mellow light,\u2014\n Which streamed through the tiny curtains, wove\n Of silver gauze and velvet flowers,\n And lightly touched the infant\u2019s cheek,\n As it lay in satin wrappings, weak,\n And slept through the quiet hours;\n And the princess dreamed in her costly bed,\n With a lady grand at her feet and head;\n And never knew nor cared what grace\n Had fashioned frills of her dainty lace;\n For she dreamed no sweeter while she slept,\n Nor suffered less when in pain she wept;\n Though the lullaby in the chorus said:\n \u201cThere\u2019s a sparkling crown for the royal head.\u201d\n\n\nTHE LITTLE RUSTIC\n\n In its cradle-hammock, cool and light,\n A baby swayed in the summer air;\n And through the leaves of the spreading trees,\n It looked on the pure, blue heavens there;\n And smiled as the warblers sang a song,\n And cooed as the sweet breeze swept along,\n Till its eyelids drooped and the lashes lay\n On the velvet cheek; while the mother there\n Guards still the babe of her tender care:\n And the winds blow soft as they come that way\n To touch the curls, and then whispering say,\n \u201cPeace to the child in its hammock bed,\n And crowns of health for the bright young head.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nMY DARLING UNBORN\n\n\n O dear little one that my eyes never saw,\n Yet sprang to existence so near to my heart.\n Thou gatherest strength from each breath that I draw;\n Thus, of all I have precious, I give thee a part.\n Thus I nourished thee, darling, by day and by night,\n And in the strange burden I take a delight;\n Hoping in future that thou, in thy love,\n Wilt strengthen the feeble and guide them above.\n\n While my heart sends to thee its own bright, crimson tide,\n Freighted with sustenance, ruby and warm,\n I bear all thy sorrows, nor seek to divide,\n With my own hidden darling, the chill of the storm.\n Thus I shield thee, my loved one, by night and by day;\n For thee do I suffer and for thee do I pray.\n My heart hovers o\u2019er the calm place of thy rest;\n I\u2019m waiting to pillow thy head on my breast.\n\n O! may God keep thee from guile and from sin;\n May this voice of warning fall sweet on thine ear.\n May He give thee a heart to love cleanness within\n And all His commandments so priceless to hear.\n Thus may Christ keep thee, my darling, my child;\n Making thee humble and patient and mild;\n Tuning thy harp for the realms of the blest:\n O there meet me, darling, in Heaven to rest!\n\n I give thee to Jesus, my dear little one.\n To the kind Shepherd\u2019s care I commit thee in love.\n May He clothe thee in truth that outshineth the sun,\n And lead thee by faith to the Mansions Above.\n Thus I hope for His blessing by day and by night,\n To let thee proclaim the great Gospel of Light,\n And strengthen thy heart to praise Christ and adore,\n When thy mother shall rest on the Heavenly Shore.\n\n\n\n\nOUR FIRST-BORN\n\n\n This little angel at my side,\n Just four days old, our God hath given,\n The little spirit newly fledged,\n Just from our Father\u2019s hand in Heaven.\n Like a bright sunbeam thou art come,\n To cheer and bless our earthly home.\n\n No word ever fell from the dear little lips,\n So sweet and so ruby; so guileless and mute.\n God teach thee the language of love, my sweet babe:\n May glad songs of Jesus pour forth from thy lute.\n When fresh buds of thought are early unfolding,\n God give to thy heart the true, heavenly molding,\n And placing Christ\u2019s image all glorious there,\n To shield in temptation and lead thee to prayer;\n In purity guide thee, sustained by His might;\n And crown thee at last in the City of Light,\n Where never to sin and to suffer and die,\n We\u2019ll sing \u201cHallelujah\u201d in Bowers on High.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MOTHER\u2019S THOUGHTS ON THE DEATH OF HER FIRST-BORN\n\n\n Where is darling baby gone?\n Where is my sweet, cherished boy,\n With his soft hands at the dawn\n Waking me in childish joy?\n Where are those blue, sparkling eyes,\n That were like stars of hope to me?\n The angels took him to the skies,\n To dwell, O God! to dwell with Thee.\n\n He left his foot-prints in my home,\n His voice is in my heart;\n He left a kiss upon my lips,\n That never can depart.\n And there in Heaven where angels dwell,\n Where parting tears are never known,\n There lives the sweet and cherished one,\n Which here on earth I called my own.\n\n Dear Saviour, let me, on Thy breast,\n In faithfulness and praise recline.\n O let me never faint and fall,\n Nor ever mourn while Thou art mine!\n Thy spirit, Lord, is with me yet,\n To wipe all tear-drops from my eyes,\n And when the sun of life is set,\n The loved shall meet me in the skies.\n\n And now adown the path of life\n I go to cheer the faint and worn,\n And scatter words and acts of love,\n For those of hope and comfort shorn.\n In Thy bright foot-prints, O my Lord!\n Help me to lead some straying one.\n Be Thou my strength and hope and shield;\n Be Thou to me the rising sun.\n Rivers of pleasure, full and free,\n Shall then flow from Thy throne above,\n And all my gloom forgotten be,\n Hid in the ocean of Thy love.\n\n\n\n\nANGEL-TWIN\n\n\n They took the new-born baby-twin,\n And sought to give it breath;\n Yet all in vain, the quiv\u2019ring heart\n Soon silent lay in death.\n\n It never knew an earthly care.\n It never wept a tear.\n Who would recall the innocent?\n O who could wish it here!\n\n Deep Slumber hushed it on her breast;\n It sleeps beneath the sod.\n We would not wake that guileless one,\n That fair and folded bud.\n\n The mother clasps the living twin\n With a young mother\u2019s love;\n Yet even she would not recall\n That sister babe above.\n\n Dear Saviour, guard this little one,\n Which Thou hast kindly given;\n That she may meet the sister-saint;\n Twin-angels, joined in Heaven.\n\n\n\n\nOUR CHILDREN\n\n\n \u201cOur children.\u201d Oft we hear these words,\n Yet none but parents know\n How deep they thrill the parent\u2019s heart.\n The oceans ebb and flow;\n You stand upon the shores and see\n The shining billows roll;\n \u2019Twould be another thing to have\n The oceans in your soul;\n To hear their music fill your heart,\n Telling of hidden goal;\n To feel the rush of every wave,\n And have the vast control.\n\n You watch the stars, the fadeless stars\n That glitter on their way;\n Yet if you had them all in charge,\n To keep them night and day,\n O then your glorious retinue,\n Your starry host so bright,\n Would be outweighed by one of these:\n Our children of delight,\n Nor the care these loved ones want,\n To guide their thoughts aright,\n That they may find the shining shore,\n Beyond our mortal sight.\n\n \u201cOur children.\u201d O these priceless words\n Wake all life\u2019s hidden springs;\n Strike all the chords of hope and joy:\n New thoughts spread trembling wings;\n Fears whisper, and emotions weep,\n While Hope lights up the tears\n That oft baptize, like dewy spray,\n Our darlings. May their years\n Be filled with Wisdom\u2019s holy light,\n And sweet with holy cheer;\n And may their brows be crowned with love,\n Pure as the angels wear.\n\n Our precious children! How we toil\n To gather joys for them;\n To shield them from the wintry blast:\n What chilling tides we stem,\n And when at last we sink in death,\n God shield each darling one,\n And keep them all in Virtue\u2019s path;\n The Tempter\u2019s smile to shun;\n Redeemed from sin, made pure and wise,\n For that glad home above the skies.\n\n\n * * * * *\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\nSeemingly inconsistent indentation was retained as printed.","title":"Baby-Land","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":12160}