"The Pet of the Cradle" (1854)
by Alice Hawthorne
[pseud. of Septimus Winner, 1827-1902]

Source: 106/109@Levy and 106/110@Levy;
Philadelphia: Winner & Schuster]

1.
  [incomplete, missing two lines of verse]
bright are the smiles ever beaming from eyes
  That greet us with pleasure and trust in our care.
The toil of a day, may be dearth to a heart;
  The care of a household the toil of a life
But there's joy in the prospect of meeting at home,
  The "Pet of the Cradle", the smile of a wife.

2.
Who love not a child with its innocent smile,
  And its delicate figure so young and so fair;
And who cannot clasp to ones bosom awhile,
  The joy of a household, the cherish'd one there;
We look at its follies and smile to behold
  The joy that a footstep can bring to the eye,
But none like a parent can dare to enfold,
  The "Pet of the Cradle" so fair and so shy.

3.
A home hath its charms be they ever so few,
  And the fare of the poor is but humble indeed,
Yet hearts, with a care that is earnest and true,
  Look well to the wants of an infant in need.
Whatever be the station in sorrow or joy;
  Whatever be the fate that our fortunes may cast,
Our hearts may be true to the circle around,
  But the "Pet of the Cradle" fares best to the last.