IF I KNEW | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 19, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 32.

IF I KNEW.

If I knew the box where the smiles are kept, No matter how large the key Or strong the bolt, I would try so hard— ’Twould open, I know, for me. Then over the land and the sea, broadcast I’d scatter the smiles to play, That the children’s faces might hold them fast For many and many a day.

If I knew a box that was large enough To hold all the frowns I meet, I would like to gather them, every one, From nursery, school, and street; Then, folding and holding, I’d pack them in, And, turning the monster key, I’d hire a giant to drop the box To the depths of the deep, deep sea.

—Boston Transcript