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When port is gained, and slowly now
The old familiar paths are passed,
And entering, unconscious how,
I gaze upon thy face at last,

And run to thee, all faint and weak
And feel thy tears upon my cheek —
Oh! if my heart break not with joy,
The light of heaven will fairer seem,
And I shall grow once more a boy,
And, mother!-'twill be like a dream
That we were parted thus for years.
And once that we have dried our tears,
How will the days seem long and bright-
To meet thee always with the morn,
And hear thy blessing every night -
Thy "dearest"-thy "first-born ".

And be no more, as now, in a strange land, forlorn.

THE DAGUERREOTYPE *

BY WILLIAM VAUGHN MOODY

This, then, is she,

My mother as she looked at seventeen,

When she first met my father. Young incredibly,
Younger than spring, without the faintest trace

Of disappointment, weariness, or tean

Upon the childlike earnestness and grace

Of the waiting face.

Those close-wound ropes of pearl

(Or common beads made precious by their use)

Seem heavy for so slight a throat to wear;
But the low bodice leaves the shoulders bare
And half the glad swell of the breast, for news
That now the woman stirs within the girl.
And yet,

Even so, the loops and globes

Of beaten gold

And jet

Hung, in the stately way of old,

From the ears' drooping lobes

On festivals and Lord's-day of the week,
Show all too matron-sober for the cheek,-
Which, now I look again, is perfect child,
Or no- or no-'tis girlhood's very self,
Molded by some deep, mischief-ridden elf
So meek, so maiden mild,

But startling the close gazer with the sense
Of passion forest-shy and forest-wild,
And delicate delirious merriments.

As a moth beats sidewise

And up and over, and tries

To skirt the irresistible lure

Of the flame that has him sure,

My spirit, that is none too strong to-day,

Flutters and makes delay,

Pausing to wonder at the perfect lips,

Lifting to muse upon the low-drawn hair

And each hid radiance there,

But powerless to stem the tide-race bright,

The vehement peace which drifts it toward the light

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