ight.

I have wak'd with the thought of an absent friend
(And others I know who have done the same),
And have felt 'ere I see the daylight's end,
Her letter must come--and her letter came.
I have run indoors with the happy thought
That something pleasant was going to be,
And--coincidence strange!--my eye has caught
The sight of the thing it desired to see.

I have felt a depression all the day,
A dullness for which I could not account,
And a flower has died--a dog run away--
Or a horse gone lame that I wish'd to mount.

And if from the regions of mysteries
_Something_ can warn us of trifles like these;
How could it be I met Mr. Devize
With a smiling face and a heart at ease?

No dream at night, when by wonderful laws
The bodies are dead, the spirits alive;
No little heart--sinking without a cause
When the perfect sunshine made nature thrive;
No omen or signal, little or great,
Not a quicken'd pulse or a flutter'd breath;--
So Harry and I rush'd on to our fate,
And the unseen world was passive as Death.

We stroll'd through the gardens till dinner came,
The scented breezes were faultlessly sweet;
The sun went suddenly down in a flame,
While the birds their jubilant hymns repeat,
We chatted at dinner, and afterwards,
And the moments pleasantly slid away,
But when Mr. Devize suggested cards,
I laughingly told him I could not play.

The cards are produced; the men begin;
I sit by Harry and watch his hand;
I am very eager that he should win,
And when he does so, I feel very grand.

'Twas all very well for once you see;
Its novelty made it a thing to praise;
It was quite a joke for a girl like me,
Living with men and observing their ways.

But when Jack had dined again and again,
And with others enjoy'd the cards and fare.
With a little shiver that felt like pain,
I would say 'good night' and leave Harry there.

Cool is the chamber and pleasant the light,
Tranquil and innocent, tender and calm;
Sweet are the thoughts that approach us at night,
Sweet as the breeze with its perfumy balm.
And if I am reading the happy Word,
Or saying my prayers by the taper's glow,
I wish that my Harry had _this_ preferr'd
To the painted toys and the men below.

* * * * *

'I wish that my Harry had this preferr'd'--
But ought I to wish it, if he does not?
Has my foolish heart