“And, mother, then I cried again,
As hard as I could cry;
And, looking up, I saw a tear
Was standing in her eye.
“She caught her bonnet from her head—
‘Here, here,’ she cried, ‘take this!
’
O, no, indeed—I fear your ’ma
Would be offended Miss.
“‘My ’ma! no, never! she delights
All sorrow to beguile;
And ’tis the sweetest joy she feels,
To make the wretched smile.
“‘She taught me when I had enough,
To share it with the poor:
And never let a needy child
Go empty from the door.
The Church the Blackberry Girl went to.
“‘So take it, for you need not fear
Offending her, you see;
I have another, too, at home,
And one’s enough for me.’
“So then I took it,—here it is—
For pray what could I do?
And, mother, I shall love that Miss
As long as I love you.”