But tears will cease. And now the boy
Once more looked forth upon the stream:
'Twas morning still, and lo! a toy,
Bright as the last one, in the beam!

He rose--pursued--the bubble caught;
It burst--he sighed--then others chased;
And as I parted, still he sought
New bubbles in their downward haste.

My onward path I still pursued,
Till the high noontide sun was o'er me.
And now, though changed in form and mood,
That Youth and river seemed before me.

The deepened stream more proudly swept,
Though chafed by many a vessel's prow;
The Youth in manhood's vigor stept,
But care was chiselled on his brow.

Still on the stream he kept his eye,
And wooed the bubbles to the shore,
And snatched them, as they circled by,
Though bursting as they burst before.

Once more we parted. Yet again
We met--though now 'twas evening dim:
Onward the waters rushed amain,
And vanished o'er a cataract's brim.