Now has descended a serener hour,

And, with inconstant fortune, friends return;

Though suffering leaves the knowledge and the power 75

Which says:—Let scorn be not repaid with scorn;

And from thy side two gentle babes are born

To fill our home with smiles, and thus are we

Most fortunate beneath life’s beaming morn;

And these delights, and thou, have been to me 80

The parents of the Song I consecrate to thee.

Is it, that now my inexperienced fingers