An old lady sits in her old armchair,
Sighing for
days gone by,
When she was so happy with children
and John,
And tears
find their way to her eye.
I hear her craning to herself,
For no one
is with her tonight
Why is it I'm left while the others are gone?
To me it
doesn't seem right.
Time seems to be so unrelenting,
It bears
away all of our joys;
It brings sorrow and -care where once 'twas all sunshine
With John
and the girls and the boys.
Alone! How it sounds when I speak it aloud,
It almost
makes me start.
Alone in old age with no one to cheer me
What have I
but a sad breaking heart?
Once we all were so happy,
And life
seemed only a dream,
For we were always contented,
I with my
children, and John with his'
team.
For a farm life was ours to enjoy'
We had all
things for comfort' then:
The cows. and the horses and chicken~,
And even.
the pigs in the pen
Seemed to enjoy life as they went along,
In summer
and winter and spring,
And everything seemed to favor us.
The very
woods would ring
With the laughter of the boys and girls,
As they
roamed the green fields o'er.
Where are they now? Gone, all gone!
I ne'er
shall see them more.
Our eldest boy first went to sea.
How roving
some boys are!
Not feeling just contented like,
But want to
travel far.
Not many years ere he was lost,
We never
knew when nor how;
But twenty years have come and gone
Since I
kissed that manly brow.
And Esther, how we loved that child!
Her face
wad always glad,
No frown to mar our happiness,
No tears to
make us sad.
But fever came and took this pet
Before she
was scarcely ten.
How sad we were two of them gone:
I knew not
sorrow then,
For we had left someone to love,
And labor
for below.
But now, alas, no friends have I,
Oh time!
when can I go?
Bright-eyed Mary grew to be
A winsome
lass, so sweet and shy,
And many in the country 'round ,
Admired her curls, and bright blue eye.
Wooers came, and soon she pledged
Herself to
one for all her life,
Which wasn't long. Poor Mary died
Ere she
knew either care or strife.
Then Willie, our baby Willie,
Seemed
dearer than ever before,
For the others had left us and now we must center
Our
affections on him, for we had no more.
He grew so stately and tall, was nice looking,
And manly
and true,
We almost worshiped his very clothes;
That wasn't
the way to do.
One day with the bays for a pleasure trip
He started
in a light cance.
In one short hour, our pride and joy,
Was brought
to us drowned; what could we do?
And John now almost broken down.
With this
new grief so great,
Must sell the farm and leave the place;
How could
he resign to fate?
Well it was so very lonesome like,
No children
of our own.
For we had planned so many things
For each
when they were grown.
We left the place, came here to town
To chase
our grief away.
But we found that never could be done.
It
had come right here to stay.
A year or so and, John was gone,
What was I
then to do?
No children and no husband now.
Robbed of
all I held so true.
Alone today in my sorrow,
Alone with
my snow-white hail';
Alone! how it seems, 0 how long must I wait
Ere I meet
them again over there?