There, o’er the white bare feld we saw her come,

Our little maid, in the dear guise we knew,

With the same look she used to wear at home,

The same sweet eyes of deepest, dark-fringed blue;

Her steps they made no sound upon the icy ground.

She kissed us gently, and she stood and smiled,

While close we clasped and questioned her, and strove

To win some hint or answer from the child

That should appease the hunger of our love,

Something to soothe the pain when she must go again.