Read Ay me! of Song-waves , free online book, by Theodore H. Rand, on ReadCentral.com.

Silent, with hands crost meekly on his breast,
Long time, with keen and meditative eye,
Stood the old painter of Siena by
A canvas, whose sign manual him confest.

His head droopt low, his eye ceased from its quest,
As tears filled full the fountains long since dry;
And from his lips there broke the haunting cry:
“May God forgive me I did not my best!”

GO TO: The crystal spring
GO TO: The years