Then merry voices fill the room,
As round the fire-lit hearth we close,
For ’tis the children’s hour,
Which nought but brightness knows.
“Play with us, play!” Ah, yes, young hearts,
Well that your voices coax, and make
Us for awhile forget the smarts
Of striving day for your brief sake.
“Sing with us, sing!” and youthful notes
Rise shrill in some time-hallowed strain.