Darling

“ With pulsing heart-throes and a mist of tears,
Of days inevitable, that are to be,
If my fair darling grows to manhood's years;
Days when he will not call for "mamma," when
The world, with many a pleasure and bright joy,
Shall tempt him forth into the haunts of men
And I shall lose the first place with my boy;
When other homes and loves shall give delight,
When younger smiles and voices will seem best. ”

“ I think my darling girl is more beautiful than ever. The sorrow that has been in her face—for it is not there now—seems to have purified even its innocent expression, and to have given it a diviner quality. ”

“ Some days my poor darling is absorbed in thought, evidently expectant, as if waiting for some one. Her voice has curt tones when she answers a question, as though she were interrupted in the current of her thoughts and secret expectations. ”

“ Her bright ways, her innocence, her artlessness, would win any heart not dead to human affection. If anything should happen to me, these friends will take care of my darling as long as they are able. I think it is likely that I shall not live long, and I have thought anxiously over the future of my darling until she arrives at an age when she may be able to protect and provide for herself. ”

“ Such endearing and alluring expressions as ‘my honey’ and ‘my darling,’ ‘you who are all my charm and my delight’ the ridiculous courtesies of lovers and their foolish doings, we blush for on the stage and abhor in men of the world. ”

“ The books in which the love scenes are most violent possess unfading charm. A hero who says "darling" every time he opens his finely-chiselled mouth is very near [Pg 54] perfection. That fondness lasts well into the after-years, for "darling" is, above all others, the favourite term of endearment with a woman. ”

“ I want to be something so much worthier than the doll in the doll’s house.’
‘My darling, are you not?’
‘Not half, not a quarter, so much worthier as I hope you may some day find me! ”

“ My darling, when you are grown up to be as tall as mamma, some one will perhaps find a way into that loving little heart. My little daughter, if divine love claims it, and our dear Lord wishes you to be all his own, do not hesitate, but gladly give your life as a sweet offering to him who has chosen you. ”

“ I was afraid that she was forcing herself to show me this tenderness, and I only said:
"What a darling you are now!" ”

“ The sixth comfort is, that our Lord, when He suffereth us to be tempted, playeth with us, as the mother with her young darling: she flies from him, and hides herself, and lets him sit alone, and look anxiously around, and call Dame! ”

“ Observing her rosy cheeks and kind expression, and the naïve smile playing on her face when she is pleased, every one feels attracted to her, and frequently women stop in the midst of a conversation and grasp her hand, exclaiming, “You darling!” ”

“ My lips till then had only known
The kiss of mother and of sister,
But somehow, full upon her own
Sweet, rosy, darling mouth,—I kissed her! ”

“ So you see, my darling boy, though it may be very difficult to do, you must, for all our sakes, determine to appear quite innocent and ignorant of every thing connected with indulgence in amorous passions. ”

“ Says, "Dear mamma, what makes me feel so strange?"
"My darling," sobs the mother, "you, are dying!"
"Dying? but what is that?" "For you, a change
From earth to heaven, my sweet." "But where is heaven?"
"Darling, 'tis where God and His angels dwell ”

“ It is a blessed thought to me that my darlings may be near me, and that possibly when I am myself more spiritual I may reach out my hands and grasp their little ones and enjoy more fully their loved presence. ”

“ Nosegays of the darlings might be seen sated on green banks, or sauntering about with a sly intention of coming in compact with their sweethearts, or, like bachelors' buttons in smiling rows, criticising the young men as they pass. ”

“ May be it will not seem so wonderful to you, for perhaps you, too, have felt the Dream-Fairies rocking your eyelids down with gentle lullaby music; perhaps you, too, know all the precious dreams they bring. In that case you will bear witness that my tale, even though it be not wonderful, is strictly true.
SWEET-ONE-DARLING AND THE MOON-GARDEN
One time Sweet-One-Darling heard her brother, little Our-Golden-Son, talking with the nurse. The nurse was a very wise woman and they called her Good-Old-Soul, because she was so kind to children. ”

“ Abides for ever! Evermore the wind
Is thy august companion; and thy peers
Are cloud, and thunder, and the face sublime
Of blue mid-heaven! On thy awful brow
Is Deity; and in that voice of thine
There is the great imperial utterance
Of God for ever; and thy feet are set
Where evermore, through all the days and years,
There rolls the grand hymn of the deathless wave.
Araluen
Take this rose, and very gently place it on the tender, deep
Mosses where our little darling, Araluen, lies asleep. ”

“ Ever since autumn he's been hanging about you and you go for a walk with him almost every day; and when he is with you, you gaze at him as though he were an angel. You are in love with him; there's no one to beat him in your eyes. ”

“ Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, lineal descendant of Henry Adams, 1630, and Hannah Dustin, 1620, presents a watch chain charm of English and American memories of her husband. Gen. Edward Irving Darling, C. S. A., and her son of the same name.
Mrs. Alice Fountleroy Turner, wife of Wm. Wm. B. Matthews, lineal descendant of Sir Henry Turner, 1640, presents an old coin, 1780, in memory of her father, Col. George Turner, of King George's County, Virginia. ”

“ BELL
The incorporators of the Association are Mrs. Green, Mrs. Darling, Mrs. Halsey, the membership limited to one hundred members; Mrs. Green Regent.
The bell was cast April 1907, at the McShane Bell Foundry, Baltimore; the work began by candle light—a candle in the old brass candlestick—donated in memory of Governor Matthews, was made a medium to cast a reflection to typify "the work of the present being aided by the light of other days." The bell weighs 500 pounds, and is 29 inches in diameter. The inscription:
THE DOMINION, 1607—VIRGINIA, 1907. ”

“ The gallantry, the graciousness, that she has brought to me;
How humble and how haughty, how quick in thought and deed,
How loyally she comrades me in every time of need.
To-night she is not with me. I kiss her empty dress.
Here I kneel beside it, not ashamed to bless
Each dear bosom-fold of it that bears a breath of her,
Makes my heart a house of pain, and my eyes a blur.
Here I kneel beside it, humble now to pray
That God will send her back to me on the morrow day.
New words, true words, only such could praise
The blessèd, blessèd magic of her dear and dauntless ways. ”

“ Presently there came in a lady, more beautiful than can be imagined anywhere but in a fairy tale, who said:
‘Thou who art in my house, name thyself! If thou art an old man, thou shalt be my father; if a middle-aged man, my brother; but if a young man, thou shalt be my husband dear. And if thou art a woman, and an old one, thou shalt be my grandmother; if middle-aged, my mother; and if a girl, thou shalt be my own sister.’
Thereupon he came forth. ”

“ There was a fragrance of lime-flowers and of hay. This fragrance and the murmur of the unseen whispers worked upon Laptev. He was all at once overwhelmed with a passionate longing to throw his arms round his companion, to shower kisses on her face, her hands, her shoulders, to burst into sobs, to fall at her feet and to tell her how long he had been waiting for her. A faint scarcely perceptible scent of incense hung about her; and that scent reminded him of the time when he, too, believed in God and used to go to evening service, and when he used to dream so much of pure romantic love. ”

“ One more kiss -- don't think I'm greedy -- good-bye, lass, before I'm seen --
Just one more -- God bless you, dearie! Don't forget to meet me here,
Life without you is but weary; now, once more, good-bye, my dear. ”

“ Would there have been one pretty, golden-haired girl among them with a sweet voice and such eyes as were sure to find the way to one's heart, such rosy, laughing lips, sweet for lovers to kiss when the time came? ”

“ But I have learned much within the past few months, and I have learned that there is a love far above all passion and sensuality; a love tender as a wife's, pure as a mother's, and lasting as eternity itself. Such love I pledge you, John Darrell. ”

“ Nay, more, and this is peculiar to lovers, you wish to run, aye, to fly, to me.
2. My Lady, your mother, is wont at times to say in fun that she envies me for being loved so much by you. What if she read this letter of yours, in which you even beseech the gods and invoke them with vows for my health? O, happy that I am! commended by your lips to the gods! Can any pain, think you, find its way into body or mind of mine to count against delight so great? . . . . hurrah! No longer do I feel any pain, nor any distress: I am whole, I am well, I leap for joy ”

“ Dear, dear, to think how much time we passed alone together afterwards, and how often I repeated to the doll the story of my birthday and confided to her that I would try as hard as ever I could to repair the fault I had been born with (of which I confessedly felt guilty and yet innocent) and would strive as I grew up to be industrious, contented, and kind-hearted and to do some good to some one, and win some love to myself if I could. ”

“ If my poor words have put you on the right track, dear lady, the sight of your face has gladdened my very heart to-day, and not mine only, but the hearts of the many that have good cause to love you and yours. ”

“ Losing “a lady dear,” he takes refuge as he may, he finds comfort as he can, in all the affections within his reach, in the society of an old college friend and of his wife, in the love of all children, beginning with his own; in a generous liking for all good work and for all good fellows. ”

“ Loving, docile, grateful, I swear never to beg for any favour, not even to kiss her hand, until I have shewn myself worthy of her precious love! The heavenly creature, delighted to see me pass so rapidly from despair to the most lively tenderness, tells me, with a voice the tone of which breathes of love, to get up from my knees. ”

“ It was now the happy lover’s turn to explain these hieroglyphics, and he never failed to send his joyous greetings across the way to the attentive ear of his sweet young gardener, through the medium of his lute. This, at length, began to make a powerful impression on her young heart; and she felt vexed at her mother for calling him a spendthrift, a very worthless fellow, which she took great pleasure in repeating during their conversations after dinner; sometimes even comparing him to the prodigal son. ”

“ Each hour I pray that I may meet
The faithful love of thine.
Ye gentle gales that waft my sighs.
Go to the youth for whom they rise,
And win him to approve my prayer,
That he will love and end my care.
Oh! would he deign on me to smile,
All my wo it would beguile;
Blest indeed the days of mine,
When passed with such a Valentine.
Sweet youth, be mine, thy charms divine
Subdue my stubborn heart;
At Hymen’s shrine, oh! call me thine,
And never, never part.
Let sordid mortals search for wealth,—
This never shall be my employ ”

“ The wooing smile, as on thy aching breast
Some wretch reclines, who feeling ne'er possess'd;
Thy poor heart bursting with the stifled tear!
Oh, GOD OF MERCY! bid her woes subside,
And be to her a friend, who hath no friend beside. ”

“ Are these not over fair
For Love to greet?
How should he greet thee? what new name,
Fit to move all men's hearts, could move
Thee, deaf to love or shame,
Love's sister, by the same
Mother as Love? ”

“ Whose hair was dark as night,
My heart will ache and maybe break,
When she's laid out of sight.
She's lost an arm and both her legs,
And only has one curl;
But you may bet she's precious yet,
This dear old darky girl.
But now I'm old; too old, they say,—
I've entered in my teens;
But I'll look back o'er memory's track,
To happy doll-day dreams.
There'll be no hours in years to come,
That have been like the past;
For dolly days and dolly plays
Were just too sweet to last. ”

“ God hath taken care of all Joy or pain that might befall! Lover’s lip shall never thrill At thy kisses, soft and still; Lover’s heart shall never break In sore anguish for thy sake; Lover’s soul for thee shall know Nor love’s rapture, nor its woe;— All is said! [58] THE SPARROW TO THE SKYLARK
O skylark, soaring, soaring, Ere day is well begun, Thy full, glad song outpouring To greet the rising sun,— So high, so high in heaven Thy swift wing cleaves the blue, We sparrows in the hedges Can scarcely follow you! ”

“ Womanly gentleness and tenderness, and long-suffering to-baby-ward reads sweetly in books, rounds graceful periods from melodious lips, and is the loveliest of all modes of levying black mail. But when you come down to matters of fact, a fractious child is just as likely to be quieted by its father’s lullaby as by its mother’s, if you pin the father down to lullabies. ”

“ And I dare utter it, for I am bold On kindly Nature's mother-breast to lay My head, and prattle of the love I bear her. As little, earnest children deck them dolls, And name them for the fair ones whom they love, I prank an image out, and call it—May. ”

“ Dear little girl!—fantastic, full of laughter, her heart full of affection, we see her grow up before us, we follow her through life, with the tenderness one would feel for a sister—who that has read of her does not feel that he has known her?... ”

“ To mark the tercentennial year,
An "alliance of education."
To unite the New World with the Old,
Through art, the wealth of a nation,
Each scholarship competitive,
The prize of higher education. ”