Ballads | Page 8

again;

I missed the shadow of the tree
That stretched of old upon the plain.
To solid marble next, my name
I gave as a perpetual trust;
An
earthquake rent it to its base,
And now it lies, o'erlaid with dust.
All these have failed. In wiser mood
I turn and ask myself, "What
then?"
If I would have my name endure,
I'll write it on the hearts of
men,
In characters of living light,
Of kindly deeds and actions wrought.

And these, beyond the touch of time,
Shall live immortal as my
thought.

IN TIME OF WAR.

GONE TO THE WAR.
My Charlie has gone to the war,
My Charlie so brave and tall;
He
left his plough in the furrow,
And flew at his country's call.
May
God in safety keep him,--
My precious boy--my all!
My heart is pining to see him;
I miss him every day;
My heart is
weary with waiting,
And sick of the long delay,--
But I know his
country needs him,
And I could not bid him stay.
I remember how his face flushed,
And how his color came,
When
the flash from the guns of Sumter
Lit the whole land with flame,

And darkened our country's banner
With the crimson hue of shame.
"Mother," he said, then faltered,--
I felt his mute appeal;
I paused--

if you are a mother,
You know what mothers feel,
When called to
yield their dear ones
To the cruel bullet and steel.
My heart stood still for a moment,
Struck with a mighty woe;
A
faint as of death came o'er me,
I am a mother, you know,
But I
sternly checked my weakness,
And firmly bade him "Go."
Wherever the fight is fiercest
I know that my boy will be;
Wherever
the need is sorest
Of the stout arms of the free.
May he prove as
true to his country
As he has been true to me.
My home is lonely without him,
My hearth bereft of joy,
The
thought of him who has left me
My constant sad employ;
But God
has been good to the mother,--
She shall not blush for her boy.
WHERE IS MY BOY TO-NIGHT?
When the clouds in the Western sky
Flush red with the setting sun,--

When the veil of twilight falls,
And the busy day is done,--
I sit
and watch the clouds,
With their crimson hues alight,
And ponder
with anxious heart,
Oh, where is my boy to-night?
It is just a year to-day
Since he bade me a gay good-by,
To march
where banners float,
And the deadly missiles fly.
As I marked his
martial step
I felt my color rise
With all a mother's pride,
And my
heart was in my eyes.
There's a little room close by,
Where I often used to creep
In the
hush of the summer night
To watch my boy asleep.
But he who
used to rest
Beneath the spread so white
Is far away from me now,--

Oh, where is my boy to-night?
Perchance in the gathering night,
With slow and weary feet,
By the
light of Southern stars,
He paces his lonely beat.
Does he think of
the mother's heart
That will never cease to yearn,
As only a

mother's can,
For her absent boy's return?
Oh, where is my boy to-night?
I cannot answer where,
But I know,
wherever he is,
He is under our Father's care.
May He guard, and
guide, and bless
My boy, wherever he be,
And bring him back at
length
To bless and to comfort me.
May God bless all our boys
By the camp-fire's ruddy glow,
Or
when in the deadly fight
They front the embattled foe;
And comfort
each mother's heart,
As she sits in the fading light,
And ponders
with anxious heart--
Oh, where is my boy to-night?
A SOLDIER'S VALENTINE.
Just from the sentry's tramp
(I must take it again at ten),
I have laid
my musket down,
And seized instead my pen;
For, pacing my
lonely round
In the chilly twilight gray,
The thought, dear Mary,
came,
That this is St. Valentine's Day.
And with the thought there came
A glimpse of the happy time

When a school-boy's first attempt
I sent you, in borrowed rhyme,

On a gilt-edged sheet, embossed
With many a quaint design,
And
signed, in school-boy hand,
"Your loving Valentine."
The years have come and gone,--
Have flown, I know not where, --

And the school-boy's merry face
Is grave with manhood's care;
But
the heart of the man still beats
At the well-remembered name,
And
on this St. Valentine's Day
His choice is still the same.
There was a time-- ah, well!
Think not that I repine
When I
dreamed this happy day
Would smile on you as mine;

But I heard
my country's call;
I knew her need was sore.
Thank God, no selfish
thought
Withheld me from the war.
But when the dear old flag
Shall float in its ancient pride,
When the

twain shall be made one,
And feuds no more divide,--
I will lay my
musket down,
My martial garb resign,
And turn my joyous feet

Toward home and Valentine.
LAST WORDS.
"DEAR Charlie," breathed a soldier,
"O comrade true and tried,

Who in the heat of battle
Pressed closely to my side;
I feel that I am
stricken,
My life is ebbing fast;
I fain would have you with me,

Dear Charlie, till the last.
"It seems so sudden, Charlie,
To think to-morrow's sun
Will look
upon me lifeless,
And I not twenty-one!
I little dreamed this
morning,
Twould bring my