Page:Poems Merrill.djvu/68

At length, when I attained manhood,
 The crowning joy came to my life;
And never was husband more happy
 Than I, with my sweet little wife.

And she loved me so fondly and truly,
 It made all my toil seem like play;
I was working for her, and for baby—
 Baby Charlie I call him alway.
Well, I got a snug home for my loved ones,
 And a good sum of money to spare;
'Twould have been like the Garden of Eden
 Had the Serpent not gained entrance there.

But I had a dear friend—Jim Daley,
 The chum of my boyhood and youth;
And true, like a brother I loved him—
 For I thought him the ideal of Truth.
At school we were always together.
 E'er shared with each other our joy;
And only God knows how I loved him—
 This handsome, and proud, winsome boy.

And I trusted him, friend, I trusted him
 With all that was sacred and dear
To my heart, Yes, I trusted him fully—
 Nor dreamed I could have aught to fear.