TO MY YOUNGEST DAUGHTER.

Southland Times, Issue 1330, 1 November 1870, Page 3

TO MY YOUNGEST DAUGHTER.

♦ By John G. Smith. Come to me, my darling pct — Charming, sweet, wee Margaret — With thy mother's eye s of blue, Clear as blobs of morning dew; Ringlets o'er thy shoulders play, Golden as the light of day, Garland mcct —a coronetDecks thy brow, my Margaret. Lovely sight it is to see Marg'ret's wild and pranksome glee; Rosy dimples on her cheek ; Cherry lips and eyes that speak j Tripping with her tiny feet, O'er the sward and daisies sweet j Who that sees her can forget Happy, playful Margaret ? ' Who in days of yore has seen, I Fairies sportive on the green, Lightly tread and deftly sing, Round and round in merry ring, But would say the fairy train Had returned to earth again, And that thou'rt —my lovely petOne of them —my Margaret. Wert thou chrysolite a-1-—* ■■- ■ 1 Precious gem or costly pearl— i : i. —•---.. n^^u. *uade of purest gold, To be bartered, bought, and sold, -Mammon's tribes would bow the knee, Fervent worshippers of thee ; Lowly homage thou would'st get From thy slaves, my Margaret. Or wert thou an angel child, Eeav'nly meek and heav'nly mild, From the realms beyond the sky, • Mammon's tribes would pass thee by ; If in station poor and low, Not t smile would they bestow, Not a kindly glance would get, From foe great, my Margaret: I ! She from whom thou hast thy name— ! Pearl or Margaret, 'tis the same — She, the loved in days of yore, By Edena's winding shore — She before whose shrine I'd how, Merits all my homage now — She whom I can ne'er forget, Lives in thee, my Margaret. Little reck'st thou, Nature's child! Yet by sin all undented, : Of the path that lies before — Of the cares and griefs in store. 'Neath the flow'rs that charm the eye, Deadly serpents lurking lie j Subtle wiles and snares beset Thy pilgrimage, .my Angels ever o'er thee bend, From all sorrows thee defend, Lead thee—should'st thou go astray — Back to wisdom's pleasant way, Keep thy childhood and thy youth In the paths of love and truth, When temptations thee beset, G-uard from harm, my Margaret. God—whose eye beholdeth all! Q.od—who marks the sparrow's fall! " " _et thy hand be ever spread O'er my guileless infant's head! Bid all ills and dangers flee — Bid her early come to Tbee! When her star of life is set, Take to heaven my Margaret!