Do those large eyes behold me still?
With me one little year ago:-
The chill weight of the winter snow

For months upon her grave has lain;
And now, when summer south-winds blow
And brier and harebell bloom again,
I tread the pleasant paths we trod,
I see the violet-sprinkled sod,
Whereon she leaned, too frail and weak
The hillside flowers she loved to seek,
Yet following me where'er I went
With dark eyes full of love's content.
The birds are glad; the brier-rose fills
The air with sweetness; all the hills
Stretch green to June's unclouded sky;
But still I wait with ear and eye

For something gone which should be nigh,
A loss in all familiar things,

In flower that blooms, and bird that sings.
And yet, dear heart! remembering thee,
Am I not richer than of old?

Safe in thy immortality,

What change can reach the wealth I hold?
What chance can mar the pearl and gold
Thy love hath left in trust with me?
And while in life's late afternoon,

Where cool and long the shadows grow,
I walk to meet the night that soon
Shall shape and shadow overflow,

5

I cannot feel that thou art far,
Since near at need the angels are;
And when the sunset gates unbar,
Shall I not see thee waiting stand,
And, white against the evening star,
The welcome of thy beckoning hand?

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Name over the persons who

lines that tell why little Elizabeth was so much beloved by the Whittier family.

Read aloud the lines which

tell how long Elizabeth had been dead when this poem was written.

5. What is a "motley-braided 12. Find and read aloud the

18. By "Where cool and long 22. What does "thy beckoning

the shadows grow "?

19. By "I walk to meet the

night," etc.?

hand" mean?

PART IV

And now, after these beautiful lines to his beloved little sister, let us read how the evening around the fireplace in the old Whittier home closed.

The stories have been told; the games have been played; the nuts and apples have been eaten; the great fire has burned low; and the bull's-eye watch hanging on the wall shows that the hour is nine o'clock! It is time to go to bed. Uncle Moses knocks the ashes out of his pipe and lays it " tenderly away." Then he covers up the remaining fire with ashes so that it will keep till morning. The mother puts away her work. Then she says a simple and heartfelt prayer, thanking God

"For food and shelter, warmth and health,

And love's contentment more than wealth."

And in the loving kindness of her heart, remembering others, she prays,

"That none might lack, that bitter night,

For bread and clothing, warmth and light."

Then with loving "good-nights," the family and the guests go to their beds.

The storm roars on. The snow sifts in upon their coverlets.

"But sleep stole on, as sleep will do

When hearts are light and life is new;
Faint and more faint the murmurs grew,
Till in the summer-land of dreams,
They softened to the sound of streams,
Low stir of leaves, and dip of oars,
And lapsing waves on quiet shores."

Now learn the meanings of these words before you read the closing lines of the story:

bull's-eye watch: an old-fash-|prayers which no fulfillment

ioned watch, very thick, so called because it was supposed to resemble the eye of a bull. mutely-warning sign: the silent sign of the watch's hands that it was nine o'clock, and time to go to bed.

the refuse gray (ref'ūs): the

ashes left in a pipe after the tobacco has burned.

the dull red brands: the remain

ing fire in the fireplace. love's contentment more than wealth: meaning that the quiet happiness of being beloved is of more value than riches.

seek: prayers that are only words, and which the one who prays does not help to fulfill or expect to be fulfilled. the gables: the ends of the house, from the level of the eaves to the ridge of the sloping roof, covering a "halfstory."

loosened clapboards: large split

shingles used for the roof, and sometimes for the siding of a building.

lapsing waves: waves that grow less and less in power and noise.

At last the great logs, crumbling low,
Sent out a dull and duller glow;

The bull's-eye watch that hung in view,
Ticking its weary circuit through,
Pointed with mutely-warning sign
Its black hand to the hour of nine.
That sign the pleasant circle broke:
My uncle ceased his pipe to smoke,
Knocked from its bowl the refuse gray,
And laid it tenderly away;

Then roused himself to safely cover
The dull red brands with ashes over.

And while, with care, our mother laid
The work aside, her steps she stayed
One moment, seeking to express

Her grateful sense of happiness

For food and shelter, warmth and health,
And love's contentment more than wealth,
With simple wishes (not the weak,
Vain prayers which no fulfillment seek,
But such as warm the generous heart,
O'er-prompt to do with Heaven its part)
That none might lack, that bitter night,
For bread and clothing, warmth and light.

Within our beds awhile we heard

The wind that round the gables roared,