LOVE LIGHTENS LABOR.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 136, 10 December 1875, Page 6

LOVE LIGHTENS LABOR.

A goodwii'e rose from her bed one mom, Aud thought with a nervous dread, Of the piles of clothes to be washed, and more Than a dozen mouths to be fed ; There were meals to get for the men in the field, And the children to fix away To school ; and the milk to be sldmmed and churned, And all to be done that day. It liad rained in the night, and ;ill the wood Was wet as wet could be ; There were puddings and pies to bake, besides A. lot of cake for tea. The day was hot, and her aching head Throbbed wearily as she said : " If maidens but knew what goodwives know, They would be in no haste to wed !" "Jennie, wliat do you think I told old Ben Brown ?" Called the farmer from the well ; And a flush crept up to his bronzed brow, And his brows half bashfully fell. "It was this," he said ; and coming near, He smiled, and stooping down, Kissed her cheek, — "'twas this: that you were the best And the dearest wife in town." The farmer Avent back to the field, and the as ife, In a smiling and absent way, Sang snathes of tender little songs She'd not sung for many a dny. The pain in her head was gone, and the clothes Where white as the foam of the sea,, Her bread was light, and her butter Avas sweet And as golden as it could be. " Just think !" the children all cried in a breath — " Tom Wood has run off to sea ! He wouldn't, I know, if he only had j\s happy a home as avc." The night came down, and the goodwifo smiled To herself, as she softly said : •"Tis so sweet to labor for those avc love. It's not strange that maids Avill wed."