Still reaching forth with an iron grasp,
He does with his might this God-like task;
Bears the startled child on high[328]—
So happy to hear its frightened cry—
Then crushing it to his manly breast,[329]
Kisses its cheeks with a lover’s zest.
“More brakes!” calls Bill, for the mother’s seen,[330]
And the crutches and form of Jemmie between
His wife and the train—that’s crushed the life
From his child, he thinks—“I’ll die with my wife!”