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110
IN AUTUMN.
Do thy dear eyes, made glad with life eternal,
O child beloved! look out and rest to-day?

What change has crept above thy boyish beauty?
What joys have added sweetness to thy smile?
What unknown bliss of higher hope and duty
Has crowned the brow we knew and kissed erewhile?

And how are they—the well-beloved and cherished—
Who by thy side have sought the land beyond,
Beside whose graves life's fairest dreams have perished,—
Are they still ours, the darlings fair and fond?

Thy brothers' voices in mine ear are ringing,
Their footsteps bound above the sun-brown sod,
But O for one swift glance, where, gladly springing,
Thy white feet press the happy fields of God!

O for one instant wild with bliss immortal,
And mad with fullness of delight and pain,