BY NO. 24138.

I am far from the land where my loved ones are dwelling;
Between rolls the sea, with its billows and foam;

Yet my heart with fondest emotions is swelling
As I read the dear letter they've sent me from home.

For I fancy I see the brown cottage again,
And the garden where sweetly the red roses blow;

I kneel by a grave in the shade of the glen,
Where slumbers the dear one I lost long ago.

And oft to my heart, when in solitude straying,
Fond memory recalls the bright days of yore,

And I sigh for the fields, where the children are playing,
The hills and the valley I may never see more.

Long years have I wandered, alone and a stranger,
And dark is the pathway o'er which I must roam,

But I know there is One who can shield me from danger,
And his blessing I ask on the dear ones at home.