Matthew W. Alderson

“ But, starve for love, and when doth come relief?
The weary soul still lives, or drags along—
As pris'ner doomed for life goes to his work;
Ambitionless it moves, its purpose dead,
Yet ling'ring like 'twere powerless to go;
Struggling 'twixt hope and fear, as thro' the bars
A gleam of sunshine flitters now and then,
Glad'ning the while it shines, to leave more dark [Pg 11]
The gloomy dungeon of an unloved life;
Moving, as moves the lifeless rock or ore
When those with life exert o'er it their power;
Living! Ah, yes! But devil never cursed
His vilest victim with a death so dread ”

“ The fire warms the slumb'ring soul to life;
Warms till, as love directs, its living proves—
When under wisdom's hands—man's highest bliss.
Yes, when love fills the heart, behold how strong,
How powerful one stands! ”

“ And honeymoon pleasures that ne'er subside;
I sing of a happier time than those,
The time when making the baby's clothes.
A girlish heart may o'erflow with joy
When with the one she would call "her boy,"
And a doting wife may fail to cloy
A heart kept free from every alloy;
But joys surpassing the sweetest of those
Come when preparing the baby's clothes.
[Pg 17]
A SISTER'S LOVE.
They say that the angels look down from above
And watch us wherever we stray;
That they are the beings that guide us in love
And bring us the joys of the day. ”