Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/326

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THE ORPHAN GIRL'S RECOLLECTIONS.
Then since no parent we have here,
We'll go and search for God around;
Lady, pray can you tell us where
That God, our Father, may he found?

He lives in heaven, mother said,
And Goody says that mother's there;
So, if she knows we want His aid,
I think perhaps she'll send Him here."—

I clasped the prattlers to my breast,
And cried, "Come both and live with me;
I'll clothe you, feed you, give you rest,
And will a second mother be.

And God shall be your Father still;
'Twas He in mercy sent me here,
To teach you to obey His will,
Your steps to guide, your hearts to cheer."

The Orphan Girl's Recollections of a Mother.
I have no mother! for she died
When I was very young;
But still her memory round my heart,
Like morning mists has hung.

They tell me of an angel form,
That watched me while I slept,
And of a soft and gentle hand
That wiped the tears I wept:

And that same hand that held my own,
When I began to walk,
The joy that sparkled in her eyes
When first I tried to talk.

They say the mother's heart is pleased
When infant charms expand;
I wonder if she thinks of me
In that bright, happy land.