My Own Fire-side.

Otago Witness, Issue 1596, 24 June 1882, Page 25

My Own Fire-side.

Bt AIiARIC A. WATTS.

Let others Beck for empty joys, At ball or concert, rout or play , Whilst far from Fashion's idle noiße, Her gilded domes and trappings gay, tiSSSIttSW. divide, And marvel how I e'er could stray From thee— my own fire-side ! Myownflre-side! Those simple words fcan bid the sweetest dreams arise , Awaken Feeling's tenderest chords, And fill with tears of joy mine eyes What is there my wild heart can pnze, That doth not in thy sphere abide ; Haunt of my home-bred sympathies, My own— my own flre-side I A babe, whose beauty's half divine. In sleep his mother's eyes doth hide. Af mm P ay love seeka fitter ■ shrine Than thou— my own fira-side ! What care I for the sullen roar Of winds without, that ravago earth ; It doth but bid me prize the more •The shelter of my hallowed hearth ;- To thoughts of quiet bliss give birth Then fet the churlish tempest chide, B cannot check the blameless mirth That glads my own fire-side ! My refuge ever from the storms Of the world's passion, strife, and care ; Though thunder-clouds the skies deform, V. Their fury cannot reach me there ; There all is cheerful, calm, and fair ; s: *^^( Wrath, sorrow, malice, strife, or pride, 7*H*th never made Its hated lair / By thee~my own fire-side ! Thy precincts are a charmed ring, Where no hareh feeling dare intrude ; Where life's vexations lose their sting ; ' Where even grief is half subdued ; And Peace, the halcyon, loves to brood. Then let the world's proud fool deride ; I'll pay my debt of gratitude To thee— my own firo-side ! Shrine of my household dutieß ; Bright scene of home's unsullied joys ; To thee my burtheued spirit flies, When Fortune frowns, or Care annoys 1 Thine is the bliss that never cloys ; The smile whose truth hath oft been tried ;— What, then, are this world's tinsel toys To thee— my own fire-side ! Oh, may the yearnings, fond and sweet, Th*t Did my thoughts be all of thee, Thus ever guide my wandering feet To thy heart-soothing sanctuary ! Whate'er my future years may be, Let Joy or grief my fate betide, Be still an Eden bright to me, , My own— my own flre-side !