Blessings like rays! Thine is a heart to throw

A noble reflex from a manly mate,

To give his loftiest pulse a loftier glow,

And shed o’er all his path a purer fate.

Gentle as thou art may thy summers be!

Sweet as thy voice and gentle as thy smile!

And hopes that know no winter give to thee

All that is sweetest, surest! all that, while

The clouded earth obscures, has power to light

The soul upon that path that never knows a night.