And the child!—­but why remember
Foolish fancies that I thought? 
Every tree and every hedge-row
From the well-known past I brought: 
I would picture my dear cottage,
See the crackling wood-fire burn,
And the two beside it seated,
Watching, waiting, my return.

So, at last we reached the harbour. 
I remember nothing more
Till I stood, my sick heart throbbing,
With my hand upon the door. 
There I paused—­I heard her speaking;
Low, soft, murmuring words she said;
Then I first knew the dumb terror
I had had, lest she were dead.

It was evening in late autumn,
And the gusty wind blew chill;
Autumn leaves were falling round me,
And the red sun lit the hill. 
Six-and-twenty years are vanished
Since then—­I am old and grey,
But I never told to mortal
What I saw, until this day.

She was seated by the fire,
In her arms she held a child,
Whispering baby-words caressing,
And then, looking up, she smiled: 
Smiled on him who stood beside her—­
Oh! the bitter truth was told,
In her look of trusting fondness—­
I had seen the look of old!

But she rose and turned towards me
(Cold and dumb I waited there)
With a shriek of fear and terror,
And a white face of despair. 
He had been an ancient comrade—­
Not a single word we said,
While we gazed upon each other,
He the living:  I the dead!

I drew nearer, nearer to her,
And I took her trembling hand,
Looking on her white face, looking
That her heart might understand
All the love and all the pity
That my lips refused to say—­
I thank God no thought save sorrow
Rose in our crushed hearts that day.

Bitter tears that desolate moment,
Bitter, bitter tears we wept,
We three broken hearts together,
While the baby smiled and slept. 
Tears alone—­no words were spoken,
Till he—­till her husband said
That my boy, (I had forgotten
The poor child,) that he was dead.

Then at last I rose, and, turning,
Wrung his hand, but made no sign;
And I stooped and kissed her forehead
Once more, as if she were mine. 
Nothing of farewell I uttered,
Save in broken words to pray
That God would ever guard and bless her—­
Then in silence passed away.

Over the great restless ocean
Six-and-twenty years I roam;
All my comrades, old and weary,
Have gone back to die at home.—­
Home! yes, I shall reach a haven,
I, too, shall reach home and rest;
I shall find her waiting for me
With our baby on her breast.

VERSE:  LIFE AND DEATH

“What is Life, Father?”
“A Battle, my child,
Where the strongest lance may fail,
Where the wariest eyes may be beguiled,
And the stoutest heart may quail. 
Where the foes are gathered on every hand,
And rest not day or night,
And the feeble little ones must stand
In the thickest of the fight.”