"From her bungalow at Sound Beach, Connecticut, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, in answer to my query as to her favorite poem, copied and sent in the words of John Hay's 'The Stirrup Cup.'"

THE STIRRUP CUP

My short and happy day is done;
The long and lonely night comes on,
And at my door the pale horse stands
To carry me to distant lands.

His whinny shrill, his pawing hoof,
  Sound dreadful as a gathering storm:
And I must leave this sheltering roof
  And joys of life so soft and warm.

Tender and warm are the joys of life--
  Good friends, the faithful and the true
My rosy children and my wife,
  So sweet to kiss, so fair to view.

So sweet to kiss, so fair to view,--
The night comes on, the lights burn blue:
And at my door the pale horse stands
To bear me forth to unknown lands.

John Hay.