to him, and then sang the little verses she had herself composed and set to
him,-
“How oft my memory turns to thee,
My own Hjalmar, ever dear!
When I could watch thy infant glee,
Or kiss away a pearly tear.
’Twas in my arms thy lisping tongue
First spoke the half-remembered word,
While o’er thy tottering steps I hung,
My fond protection to afford.
Farewell! I pray the Heavenly Power
To keep thee till thy dying hour.”
And all the birds sang the same tune, the flowers danced on their stems,
and the old trees nodded as if Ole-Luk-Oie had been telling them stories as
well.
Wednesday
How the rain did pour down! Hjalmar could hear it in his sleep;. and
when Ole-Luk-Oie opened the window, the water flowed quite up to the
window-sill. It had the appearance of a large lake outside, and a beautiful
ship lay close to the house.
