Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Transcriber's Note: Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. The following variant spellings were found by readers and retained: mits should possibly be mitts Courtland and Cortlandt ante-bellum and antebellum practise and practice McIlwane and McIlwaine gray and grey Bremer and Brémer MY DAY REMINISCENCES OF A LONG LIFE THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO [Illustration: MRS. ROGER A. PRYOR.] MY DAY REMINISCENCES OF A LONG LIFE BY MRS. ROGER A. PRYOR AUTHOR OF "REMINISCENCES OF PEACE AND WAR," "THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON AND HER TIMES," ETC. ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1909 _All rights reserved_ COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1909. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. To the Memory of My Son Theodorick Bland Pryor _I stood at dawn by a limitless sea And watched the rose creep over the gray; Till the heavens were a glowing canopy! This was my day!_ _The pale stars stole away, one by one— Like sensitive souls from the presence of Pride: The moon hung low, looking back, as the sun Rose over the tide._ _And he, like a King, came up from the Sea! He opened my rose—unfettered my song— And quickened a heart to be true to me All the day long._ _The soul that was born of a song and flower Of tender dawn-flush, and shadowy gray, Was strengthened by Love for a bitter hour That chilled my day._ _I had dwelt in the garden of the Lord! I had gathered the sweets of a summer day: I was called to stand where a flaming sword Turned every way._ _It spared not the weak—nor the strong—nor the dear; And following fast, like a phantom band, Famine and Fever and shuddering Fear Swept o'er the land._ _They whispered that Hope, the angel of light, Would spread her white wings and speed her away; But she folded me close in my longest night And darkest day._ _As of old, when the fire and tempest had passed, And an earthquake had riven the rocks, the Word In a still small voice rose over the blast— The Voice of the Lord._