"
So the sailors heard through the murky shroud
The fog-bell sounding its warning loud!
While the children, up in the lonely tower,
Tended the lamp in the midnight hour,
And prayed for any whose souls might be
In deadly peril by land or sea.
Ghostly and dim, when the storm was o'er,
The ships rode safely, far off the shore,
And a boat shot out from the town that lay
Dusk and purple, across the bay,
She touched her keel to the light-house strand,
And the eager keeper leaped to land.
And swiftly climbing the light-house stair,
He called to his children, young and fair;
But, worn with their toilsome watch, they slept,
While slowly o'er their foreheads crept,
The golden light of the morning sun,
Like a victor's crown, when his palm is won.
"God bless you, children!" the keeper cried;
"God bless thee, father!" the boy replied.
"I dreamed that there stood beside my bed
A beautiful angel, who smiled and said,
'Blessed are they whose love can make
Joy of labor, for mercy's sake!'"
[Illustration]
* * * * *
Directions for Reading.
Pages:
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