CHAPTER I. BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD. HEAVEN lies about us in our infancy.-WORDSWORTH. YET hath thy spirit left on me An impress Time has worn not out, A shadow from the past, I see, Lingering, even yet, thy way about: Not wholly can the heart unlearn That lesson of its better hours, Not yet has Time's dull footsteps worn To common dust that path of flowers.-WHITTIER. |