Untitled Page 36

[Left page]

He saw the same eyes shining
on hi[m] as in days of yor[e].
He felt the dear arms twining
fondly round him as before,
and together at the "Beautiful
Gate," they are waiting & watching
for you.
In days gone by, it was,
Beloved, when we pass away from
this familiar spot.
I wonder who will come & stay
in the deserted home.
Whose name will be on yonder door
Whose pictures deck the wall.
Whose feet press roughly on the floor
Where your dear footsteps fall?
And when the years to centuries swing
'Till all we love are dead,
Will any echo backward bring
The words that we have said?
For, oh, this home, it is so sweet,
Each corner is so dear,
Can Heaven, without it, be complete?

[Right page]

I would that Heaven were here,
I almost think that from the skies,
If I this home can see,
I shall watch those with envious eyes
Who live here after me.
"Hush! hush! we shall not care," you say;
Dear heart, it may be true;
We shall not then, but, oh, to-day
My life is here with you.

Listen, now,
Would I come back, my dear one,
And leave my glorious home?
Although I love you dearly,
From Heaven I would not roam.

Our home is very
lonely & empty; our father's
death in '79 shattered our
mother's health & she continu
ed an invalid until her
death Jan. 1. 1891, she left
6 children, 3 sons & 3 daugh
ters, all past middle age.