 | Brother Fabian's Manuscript |  |
231
A STORY OF A STONE.
Two children in a mood forlorn
As childish mood may be,
Walked hand in hand one summer morn
Beside the western sea.
As childish mood may be,
Walked hand in hand one summer morn
Beside the western sea.
And there upon the sand, alone,
Half-hid, by chance they saw
An oval quaker-coloured stone
Without a seam or flaw.
Half-hid, by chance they saw
An oval quaker-coloured stone
Without a seam or flaw.
I know not what of comfort dwelt
Within its sea-worn face,
But something, sure, therein they felt
That seemed to meet their case.
Within its sea-worn face,
But something, sure, therein they felt
That seemed to meet their case.
232
Some household dearness in its look
Beside the weary foam:—
Some love, unwrit in any book,
That bade them bear it home.
Beside the weary foam:—
Some love, unwrit in any book,
That bade them bear it home.
And many a year, from time to time,
When brought by chance to day,
A flash from earnest childhood's prime
Around it yet would play.
When brought by chance to day,
A flash from earnest childhood's prime
Around it yet would play.
A flash from earnest childhood's prime
That dimmed the eye with tears,
And smote athwart the passing time
The moods of buried years.
That dimmed the eye with tears,
And smote athwart the passing time
The moods of buried years.
| Brother Fabian's Manuscript | |