HERE I AM.
A little grand-daughter wrote me a little letter and in it she said, “If I were a little flower, this I would do: I would be happy all the day.” Under these words she made a sketch of a bush bearing flowers, and wrote beneath the sketch, “Here I am.” I replied as follows: To the sweet little flower, “Here I am,” formerly Miss Rose.
Caterpillars change into butterflies,
And eggs into birds that fly in the skies;
But I did not know a child had power,
To change her body into a flower.
But what need I care since flower and child,
Grown in the city, or on mountain wild,
Both receive from me the tenderest care,
I find a flower and a child is there.
—Grandpa.
A CHRISTMAS TURKEY.
Lines sent with a large fat turkey to a friend for Christmas, 1862.
A Christmas present is easy to make,
But a token of friendship should follow,
Mine is enclosed in the turkey you take,
Which is solid proof it is not hollow.
As a toothsome sign of love it is sent,
And to show you what our Maker can do,
He tells us to love with earnest intent,
And has provided this turkey for you.
Take it, and bake it, then richly enjoy,
And forget not the friend you befriended,
Whose heart will ever remember with joy,
The kind assistance you promptly lended.