As soon as the beams of the bright morning sun Put the darkness to flight, and the stars, one by one, Four little blue eyes out of sleep opened wide, And at the same moment the presents espied; Then out of their beds they sprang with a bound, And the very gifts prayed for were all of them found; They laughed and they cried in their innocent glee, And shouted for papa to come quick and see What presents old Santa Claus brought in the night (Just the things that they wanted) and left before light; "And now," added Annie, in a voice soft and low, "You'll believe there's a Santa, Clans, papa, I know"; While dear little Willie climbed up on his knee, Determined no secret between them should be, And told in soft whispers how Annie had said That their blessed mamma, so long ago dead, Used to kneel down and pray by the side of her chair, And that God, up in heaven, had answered her prayer! "Then we dot up, and payed dust as well as we tould, And Dod answered our payers; now wasn't he dood?"
"I should say that he was if he sent you all these, And knew just what presents my children would please. Well, well, let him think so, the dear little elf, 'Twould be cruel to tell him I did it myself."
Blind father! who caused your proud heart to relent, And the hasty word spoken so soon to repent? 'Twas the Being who made you steal softly upstairs, And made you His agent to answer their prayers.
I wandered lonely where the pine-trees made Against the bitter East their barricade, And, guided by its sweet Perfume, I found, within a narrow dell, The trailing spring flower tinted like a shell Amid dry leaves and mosses at my feet.
From under dead boughs, for whose loss the pines Moaned ceaseless overhead, the blossoming vines Lifted their glad surprise, While yet the bluebird smoothed in leafless trees His feathers ruffled by the chill sea-breeze, And snow-drifts lingered under April skies.
As, pausing, o'er the lonely flower I bent, I thought of lives thus lowly clogged and pent, Which yet find room, Through care and cumber, coldness and decay, To lend a sweetness to the ungenial day And make the sad earth happier for their bloom.
Tho' yer lamp o' life is burnin' with a clear and steady light, An' it never seems ter flicker, but it's allers shinin' bright; Tho' it sheds its rays unbroken for a thousand happy days-- Father Time is ever turnin' down the wick that feeds yer blaze. So it clearly is yer duty ef you've got a thing to do Ter put yer shoulder to ther wheel an' try to push her through; Ef yer upon a wayward track you better turn about-- You've lost ther chance to do it When the Light Goes Out.