Letters from home! How musical to the ear
Of the sailor-boy on the far-off main,
When, from the friendly vessel drawing near,
Across the billow floats the gentle strain,
The words the tear-drops of his memory move;
They tell a mother's or a sister's love;
And playmates, friends, and sweetheart to him come
Out to him on the sea, in letters from his home.
How warmly there the tender home-light shines!
What household music lives in those dear tender lines.
[Page 94--Writing Land]