iled upon me again; and when I touched the hand that used to
rest upon my head in blessing, it was so cold that it made me start.

7. I bowed down by her side, and sobbed in the bitterness of my heart. I
then wished that I might die, and be buried with her; and, old as I now
am, I would give worlds, were they mine to give, could my mother but have
lived to tell me she forgave my childish ingratitude. But I can not call
her back; and when I stand by her grave, and whenever I think of her
manifold kindness, the memory of that reproachful look she gave me will
bite like a serpent and sting like an adder.

XC. A MOTHER'S GIFT-THE BIBLE. (255)

1. Remember, love, who gave thee this,
When other days shall come,
When she who had thine earliest kiss,
Sleeps in her narrow home.
Remember! 'twas a mother gave
The gift to one she'd die to save!

2. That mother sought a pledge of love,
The holiest for her son,
And from the gifts of God above,
She chose a goodly one;
She chose for her beloved boy,
The source of light, and life, and joy.

3. She bade him keep the gift, that, when
The parting hour should come,
They might have hope to meet again
In an eternal home.
She said his faith in this would be
Sweet incense to her memory.

4. And should the scoffer, in his pride,
Laugh that fond faith to scorn,
And bid him cast the pledge aside,
That he from youth had borne,
She bade him pause, and ask his breast
If SHE or HE had loved him best.

5. A parent's blessing on her son
Goes with this holy thing;
The love that would retain the one,
Must to the other cling.
Remember! 'tis no idle toy:
A mother's gift! remember, boy.

DEFINITIONS.--2. Pledge, proof, evidence. 3. In'cense, some-thing offered
in honor of anyone. Faith, belief 4. Scoff'er, one who laughs at what is
good.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader
by William Holmes McGuffey

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