“Then it must have been when love had come,
With a faithful bride to glad your home;
Or when the first-born cooed and smiled,
And your bosom cradled its own sweet child;
Or was it when that first-born joy,
Grew up to your hope,—a brave, strong boy,—
And promised to fill the world in your stead?”
The old man quietly shook his head.
“Say, was it then when fortune brought
The round sum you had frugally sought?