A piece of simple goodness--a letter gushing from the heart; a
beautiful unstudied vindication of the worth and untiring read more

A piece of simple goodness--a letter gushing from the heart; a
beautiful unstudied vindication of the worth and untiring
sweetness of human nature--a record of the invulnerability of
man, armed with high purpose, sanctified by truth.

The welcome news is in the letter found;
The carrier's not commission'd to expound;
It speaks itself, read more

The welcome news is in the letter found;
The carrier's not commission'd to expound;
It speaks itself, and what it does contain,
In all things needful to be known is plain.

Ev'n so, with all submission, I
. . . .
Send you each year a homely letter,
read more

Ev'n so, with all submission, I
. . . .
Send you each year a homely letter,
Who may return me much a better.

Every day brings a ship,
Every ship brings a word;
Well for those who have no fear,
read more

Every day brings a ship,
Every ship brings a word;
Well for those who have no fear,
Looking seaward well assured
That the word the vessel brings
Is the word they wish to hear.

Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no
good.

Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no
good.

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor night stays these couriers
from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor night stays these couriers
from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Messenger of sympathy and love,
Servant of parted friends,
Consoler of the lonely,
Bond read more

Messenger of sympathy and love,
Servant of parted friends,
Consoler of the lonely,
Bond of the scattered family,
Enlarger of the common life.

Soon as thy letters trembling I unclose,
That well-known name awakens all my woes.

Soon as thy letters trembling I unclose,
That well-known name awakens all my woes.

Kind messages, that pass from land to land;
Kind letters, that betray the heart's deep history,
In read more

Kind messages, that pass from land to land;
Kind letters, that betray the heart's deep history,
In which we feel the pressure of a hand,--
One touch of fire,--and all the rest is mystery!