 | Rhymes with reason and without |  |
26
LITTLE EMMA GOING TO SLEEP.
Sweet night-capped traveller to the realm of dreams
Now droops thine eye towards its calm repose;
Forgotten are the various joyous schemes
And childish fancies that before thee rose.
Now droops thine eye towards its calm repose;
Forgotten are the various joyous schemes
And childish fancies that before thee rose.
The day was all too short for their employ,
And the fast waning of the autumn sun
Curbed the swift current of thy noisy joy,
That bore thee onward till the day was done.
And the fast waning of the autumn sun
Curbed the swift current of thy noisy joy,
That bore thee onward till the day was done.
The last beam fadeth from thy gentle eye,
Sleep claims dominion, and beneath its sway
Thy spirit on unfettered wing may fly
From earth and its allurements far away;
Sleep claims dominion, and beneath its sway
Thy spirit on unfettered wing may fly
From earth and its allurements far away;
To drink, perchance, from some celestial rill,
To breathe a purer atmosphere than ours,
To hear blest notes from angel harps distil.
To catch sweet odors from immortal flowers;
To breathe a purer atmosphere than ours,
To hear blest notes from angel harps distil.
To catch sweet odors from immortal flowers;
To view fair scenes bright spirits lead thee through,
Clothed in the beauteous hues that Faith reveals,
Until the day again its sway renew,
And its first dawning thy bright eye unseals.
Clothed in the beauteous hues that Faith reveals,
Until the day again its sway renew,
And its first dawning thy bright eye unseals.
27
O, could we sink thus calmly to our rest,
Who, older grown, have felt the weight of care!
We seek our pillows with a troubled breast,
And weary hours of thought attend us there.
Who, older grown, have felt the weight of care!
We seek our pillows with a troubled breast,
And weary hours of thought attend us there.
My child! I bend me gently o'er thy bed,
And listen to thy breathing soft and light;
A soothing influence doth its calmness shed,
And innocence here sanctifies the night.
And listen to thy breathing soft and light;
A soothing influence doth its calmness shed,
And innocence here sanctifies the night.
| Rhymes with reason and without | |