In October, 1879, Mr. Chandler died, and Mrs. Moulton's grief was sincere and deep. It was the beginning of the breaking of the relations which had been closest in her life. Her love for her father had been always tender and fine, and both her journal and her letters show how much she felt the loss.
Lucius Lemuel Chandler, Mrs. Moulton’s Father
Page 104
She was in America at the time of her father's death, and in correspondence with many of the friends she had made abroad. Among her Christmas gifts this year came a sonnet from Dr. Westland Marston.
To L.C.M.
Take thou, as symbol of thyself, this rose Which blooms in our world's winter. Dank and prone Lie rose-stems now, by sleety gales o'erthrown, But still thy flower in hall and chamber glows, Fed, like thee, not by airs the garden knows, But by a subtler climate. Thus the zone Of Summer binds the seasons, one to one, And links the beam which dawns with that which goes. Hail, Human Rose!—With heavenly fires enshrined, Still cheat worn hearts anew in fond surprise To faith in Youth's dear, dissipated skies; Soul-flower, still shed thine influence! Sun nor wind Control not thee; thy life thy charm supplies And makes the beauty which it does not find. W.M. Christmas Eve.
