Oh, the hours went flying past --
Hours of priceless worth;
But we took no note of Time,
Sitting round the hearth:
Sitting by the fire,
Happy in its glow,
Forty summers back --
Forty years ago.

Gleesome children were we not?
Sitting by the fire,
Ruddy in its glow,
Sixty summers back --
Sixty years ago.
Laughing voices filled the room;
Oh, the songs we sung,
When the evenings hurried by --
When our hearts were young!
Pleasant faces watched the flame --
Eyes illumed with mirth --
And we told some merry tales,
Sitting round the hearth:
Sitting by the fire,
Ruddy in its glow,
Sixty summers back --
Sixty years ago.

. . . . .

Barren Age and withered World!