I see her creeping 'long the nursery floor,--
A dainty, blue-eyed Babe, scarce old enough
To realize 'tis _she_ whom I adore,--
She is a priceless diamond in the rough.
Again I see her playing with a host
Of noisy, kindergarten girls and boys;
She seems to me the fairest and the most
Refined: a _pure gold_ girl without alloys.
And thus from stage to stage I watch the maid
As she develops like the budding rose,
And then, Ah me! I'm jealously afraid
That she admires me less than other beaux.
And then, anon, I see her on the knee
Of Willie Jones: I think she shouldn't oughter!
But then my Courtship Days come back to me--
_Just like her Ma!_ She is my only Daughter!