And oh! if blessings ever yet descended from above
And rested on an earthly tie to mark approval given,
A mother’s love, assuredly, is sanctioned thus by Heaven.
But soon the ruthless spoiler comes, and all its trust is vain:
The eye that beamed so kindly once, will ne’er unclose again;
The voice of love that still could soothe when all its hopes were o’er,
Alas! those sweetly sacred tones are hushed forever-more;
The smile that lingered round its path when other lights had fled,
Oh! can it be that blessed smile is buried with the dead?
Then what is left the orphan heart thus mournfully bereft?