_Mrs. Secord_. We must be patient, dear, it cannot last.

_Harriet_. Oh, if we girls were boys, or Charles a man!

_Mrs. Secord_. Poor baby Charles! See, he's asleep; and now,
Dear girls, seeing we cannot fight, we'll pray
That peace may come again, for strife and blood,
Though wisely spent, are taxes hard to pay.
But come, 'tis late! See Charlie's dropt asleep;
Sing first your evening hymn, and then to bed.
I'll lay the darling down.

_Exit_ MRS. SECORD, _with the child in her arms_.

_Charlotte_. You start it, Mary.

_Children sing_--


HYMN.

Softly as falls the evening shade,
On our bowed heads Thy hands be laid;
Surely as fades the parting light,
Our sleep be safe and sweet to-night
Calmly, securely, may we rest,
As on a tender father's breast.

Let War's black pinions soar away,
And dove-like Peace resume her sway,