Chapter IV

"A young mother sat on a vessel's deck,
A flaxen haired babe on her knee;
And her thoughts went back to the mountain land,
And she sighed for her _ain countrie_.
But the light of love, with the hope of youth
In the true woman's heart burns clear;
Oh! what unto her is the loneliest wild
When the arm which she leans on is near!

"One glance to the stalwart form by her side,
Her spirit returns to its rest;
And gaily she dreameth of happier days
In the new land, the glorious West.
She raiseth the babe; Oh well for her peace!
Where had nestled the darling head,
A fierce, flying ball from the Gascon grazed,
Ere it plunged in its ocean bed."