THE CHILD AND THE ROSE. 



MY &lRiS. SEBA SMJTH 



When stirring bud and songful bird 

 Brought gladness to the Earth, 



And spring-time voices first were heard 

 In low, sweet sounds of mirth ; 



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 A little child, with pleasant eyes, 



Reclined in tranquil thought. 

 And, half communing with the skies. 



His pretty fancies wrought. 



He tum'd where cased in robes of green 

 A Rose-bud met his eye — 



And one faint streak the leaves between. 

 Rich in its crimson dye. 



The warm light gathereth in the sky— 

 The bland air stirreth round — 



And yet the child is lingering by, 

 Half kneeling on the ground : 



