THE CHILDREN.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 4, Issue 381, 16 March 1880, Page 3

THE CHILDREN.

. (Poem said to have been found in the desk of Charles Dickens alter his death.) When the lessons and tasks are all ended, And the school for the day is dismissed, * And the little ones gather around me To bid me "good night" and be kissed, Oh the little white arms that encircle My neck in a tender embrace! Oh the smileß that are halos of heaven, Shedding sunshine and love on my face. And when they are gone, I sit dreaming Of my childhood, too lovely to last; Of love that my heart will remembar > When it wakes to the pulse of, the past, Ere the world and its wickedness made me A partner of sorrow and sin— When the glory of God was about me, And the glory of gladness within. Oh my heart grows weak as a woman's *■ And the fountain of feelings will flow, When I think of the paths, steep and stony, Where the feet of the dear ones must go— - -""Of the mountains of sin hanging o'er them, Of the tempests of fate blowing wild— - Oh, there's nothing on earth half so holy As the innocent heart of a child. " — They are idols of hearts and of households, They are angels of God in disguise, His sunlight still sleeps in their tresses, His glory still beams in their eyes. - Oh those truants from earth and from heaven, They have made me more manly and mild, . And I know now how Jesus could liken * The kingdom of God to a child. Seek not a life for the dear ones All radiant as others have done, But that life may have just as much shadow To temper the glare of the sun ; I would pray God to guard them from evil, But my prayers would bound back to myself Ah, a seraph may pray for a sinner, But a sinner must pray for himself. m The twig is so easily bended, I bave banished the rule and the rod ; I have taught them the goodness of knowledge They have taught me the goodness of God. My heart is a dungeon of darkness Where I shut them from breaking a rule f My frown is sufficient correction, My love is the law of the school. I shall leave the old house in the autumn, To traverse its threshold no more. Ah, how I shall sigh for the dear ones That meet me each morn at the door, I shall miss the "good nights" and the kisses, And the gush of their innocent glee, The group on the green, and the flowers That are brought every morning to me. I shall miss them at morn and at eve, Their song in tho school and the street ; I shall miss the low hum of their voices, And the tramp of their delicate feet. /f When the lessonß and tasks are all ended, And Death says the school is dismissed, May tbe little ones gather around me, And bid me "good night" and be kissed.