1 Dear Angel, ever at my side!
How loving must thou be,
To leave thy home in heav'n to guide
A little child like me.

2 Thy beautiful and shining face
I see not, tho' so near;
The sweetness of Thy soft, low voice,
I am too deaf to hear.

3 I cannot feel thee touch my hand
With pressure light and mild,
To check me as my mother did
When I was but a child.

4 But I have felt thee in my thoughts,
Fighting with sin for me;
And when my heart loves God, I know
The sweetness is from thee.

5 And when, dear Spirit! I kneel down
Morning and night to prayer,
Something there is within my heart
That tells me thou art there.

6 Then for thy sake, dear Angel! now
More humble will I be;
But I am weak, and, when I fall,
Oh, weary not of me.

7 Oh, weary not, but love me still,
For Mary's sake, thy Queen;
She never tired of me though I
Her worse of sons have been.

8 She will reward thee with a smile;
Thou know'st what it is worth!
For Mary's smiles each day convert
The hardest hearts on earth.

9 Then love me, love me, Angel dear!
And I will love thee more;
And help me when my soul is cast
Upon th' eternal shore.