By the Sea, and Other Verses

<h2><SPAN name="ON_NEW_YEAR_1897" id="ON_NEW_YEAR_1897">ON NEW YEAR, 1897</SPAN></h2> <p class="title">TO G. D. AND S. F. B.</p> <div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">God bless you thro' this bright new year,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The first you spend together;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Give peace and trust thro' cloudy days,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Joy in its sunny weather.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And may the days as days go by,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Still richer seem and sweeter,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And passing seasons make your lives<br/></span> <span class="i2">In every good completer.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">There are not words to tell the love<br/></span> <span class="i2">In which I could caress you;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Your dear united names I breathe,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And once more pray, God bless you.<br/></span></div> </div> <hr class="chap" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />