TRUE LOVE.
"How much I love, you, mother dear,"
A little prattler said;
"I love you in the morning bright,
And when I go to bed.
"I love you when I'm near to you,
And when I'm far away;
I love you when I am at work,
And when I am at play."
And then she shyly, sweetly raised
Her loving eyes of blue—
"I love you when you love me best,
And when you scold me, too."
The mother kissed her darling child,
And stooped a tear to hide:
"My precious one, I love you most
When I am forced to chide.
"I could not let my darling child
In sin and folly go;
And this is why I sometimes chide—
Because I love you so."
—Sel.