GIFT F John C. Lynch, ROCK ME TO SLEEP, MOTHER. BY ELIZABETH AKERS ALLEN. ILLUSTRATED. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY ESTES AND LAURIAT. 1883. Copyright, 1882, BY ESTES AND LAURIAT. UNIVERSITY PRESS: JOHN WILSON & SON, CAMBRIDGE. Drawn and Engraved under the supervision of GEORGE T. ANDREW. ARTISTS: S. G. McCuTCHEON. JESSIE CURTIS SHEPHERD. F. S. CHURCH. W. L. TAYLOR. E. H. GARRETT. FRANCIS MILLER. FRONTISPIECE. " Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight " 1 1 " Mother, come back from the echoless shore " 13 "Over my slumbers your loving watch keep, rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep" *5 " I am so weary of toil and of tears " . 17 " Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years !".... 19 5441571 " I have grown weary of dust and decay " iy " Weary of sowing for others to reap " 19 " Many a summer the grass has grown green " 21 " Many a summer the grass has grown green, blossomed and faded, our faces between" 23 " Yet, with strong yearning and passionate pain, long I to-night for your presence again " 25 " No love like mother-love ever has shone " 27 " None like a mother can charm away pain " 29 " Haply will throng the sweet visions of yore " 31 "Shading my faint eyes away from the light" 33 " For with its sunny-edged shadows once more, haply will throng the sweet visions of yore " 35 " Since I last listened your lullaby song " . 37 " Never hereafter to wake or to weep " 39 BACKWARD, turn backward, O Time, in your flight, Make me a child again, just for to-night 1 Mother, come back from the echoless shore, Take me again to your heart, as of yore ; Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care, Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair, Over my slumbers your loving watch keep, Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years ! I am so weary of toil and of tears, Toil without recompense, tears all in vain, Take them and give me my childhood again ; 1 have grown weary of dust and decay, Weary of flinging my soul-wealth away, Weary of sowing for others to reap, Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue, Mother, O mother, my heart calls for you ; Many a summer the grass has grown green, Blossomed and faded, our faces between, Yet, with strong yearning and passionate pain, Long I to-night for your presence again. Come from the silence so long and so deep, Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. Over my heart, in the days that are flown, No love like mother-love ever has shone; No other worship abides and endures Faithful, unselfish, and patient, like yours ; None like a mother can charm away pain From the sick soul and the world-weary brain. Slumber s soft calms o er my heavy lids creep, Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. Come, let your brown hair, just lighted with gold, Fall on your shoulders again, as of old ; Let it drop over my forehead to-night, Shading my faint eyes away from the light, For with its sunny-edged shadows once more, Haply will throng the sweet visions of yore ; Lovingly, softly, its bright billows sweep, Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. Mother, dear mother, the years have been long, Since I last listened your lullaby song ; Sing, then, and unto my soul it shall seem Womanhood s years have been only a dream. Clasped to your heart in a loving embrace, With your light lashes just sweeping my face, Never hereafter to wake or to weep, Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. ROCK ME TO SLEEP, MOTHER. BACKWARD, turn backward, O Time, in your flight, Make me a child again, just for to-night ! Mother, come back from the echoless shore, Take me again to your heart, as of yore ; Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care, Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair, J father, come back from the echoless shore" Over my slumbers your loving watch keep, Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. " / am so weary of (oil and of tears." Backward, , .; flow backward, tide of the years ! I - ^^f^ 1 am so weary of toil and of tears, 1 / \? ) Toil without recompense, tears all in vain. Take them and give me my childhood again ; m : have grown weary of dust and decay, Weary of flinging my soul-wealth away, m^ Weary of sowing for others to reap, Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. "Many a summer the grass has grown green" Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue, Mother, O mother, my heart calls for you ; Many a summer the grass has grown green, Blossomed and faded, our faces between, ,V- WPs Yet, with strong yearning and passionate pain, Long I to-night for your presence again. Come from the silence so long and so deep, Rock me to sleep mother, rock me to sleep. love like mother-love ever has shone." Over my heart, in the days that are flown, No love like mother-love ever has shone ; No other worship abides and endures Faithful, unselfish, and patient, like yours ; None like a mother can charm away pain From the sick soul and the world-weary brain. Slumber s soft calms o er my heavy lids creep, - Rock me to steep, mother, rock me to sleep. * Haply will throng the sweet visions of yore Come, let your brown hair, just lighted with gold, Fall on your shoulders again, as of old ; Let it drop over my forehead to-night, Shading my faint eyes away from the light, with its sunny-edged shadows once more, Haply will throng the sweet visions of yore; Lovingly, softly, its bright billows sweep, Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. "Since I last listened your lullaby song" Mother, dear mother, the years have been long, Since I last listened your lullaby song ; Sing, then, and unto my soul it shall seem Womanhood s years have been only a dream. Clasped to your heart in a loving embrace, With your light lashes just sweeping my face, Never hereafter to wake or to weep, Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. FEB 4^963 JAN 5 1966 8 3 REC D DEC 29 65 ^1 AW LOAN DEPT. SEP 15 198 0. DISC SEP 15 198 APR 1 6 1972 LD 21-100m-9, 48(B399sl6)476 T9AM ARC UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY