| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 204. Nature |
| | | By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
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| AS a fond mother, when the day is o’er, | |
| Leads by the hand her little child to bed, | |
| Half willing, half reluctant to be led, | |
| And leave his broken playthings on the floor, | |
| Still gazing at them through the open door, | 5 |
| Nor wholly reassured and comforted | |
| By promises of others in their stead, | |
| Which, though more splendid, may not please him more; | |
| So Nature deals with us, and takes away | |
| Our playthings one by one, and by the hand | 10 |
| Leads us to rest so gently, that we go | |
| Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay, | |
| Being too full of sleep to understand | |
| How far the unknown transcends the what we know. | |
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