BROMFIELD STREET STRAY NOTES OF SONG BY HARRY B. METCALF CONCORD, N. H. THE RUMFORD PRESS 1910 CONTENTS PAGE A Deceiver 36 A Gentleman 65 A Glance 74 A Kiss Before You Go 31 A Little Girl s Prayer 118 Along Life s Thoroughfare 17 A Many-Hued Tale 99 Any Kind o Weather 44 A Prayer 35 April 47 As Winter Winds Are Blowing . . . .115 Autumn Joys 54 Beneath Her Parasol 103 Blonde and Brunette 100 Bromfield Street 3 Christmas Bells 66 Conceit and Humility 12 Dartmouth 87 Despair Not 107 Devotion 24 Don t Freeze 51 iii CONTENTS Easter Song 48 Edgar Allan Poe 30 Evening Star 28 February 41 Forever and Forever 13 Frank L. Stanton 27 Fruit Salad for Two 96 George Sewall Boutwell 78 George T. Angell 79 Going Home for Christmas 59 Good Night 121 Grieve Not 69 Halcyon 92 Hats Off to Baby Brown 97 In Mabel s Muff 19 In the Maytime 49 In Winter 40 Jefferson 81 Just a Touch of Winter 62 Kindness 116 Kind Words 61 Little Miss Pink 25 Love is All 95 Love Song 72 March 43 Mark Twain . 32 Mary, in the Rain 26 CONTENTS May Musings 73 Mistaken Identity 82 My Wish 75 Never Meet Trouble Half Way .... 91 "Not Yet, But Soon" 45 November 57 October 55 "Old Ironsides" 117 On a Rainy Day 56 On the Lake 37 On the "L" to Sullivan Square ... 7 Orchid and Wild Rose 112 Out of the Deep 14 Over the Seas to Daylight Land ... 21 Patrick A. Collins 77 Questionings 70 Roses 11 Service 67 Sphinx 88 St. Valentine 106 Sunset 108 Sweet Louisburg Square 5 Thanksgiving 58 "The Boys" 109 The Bookshelves of Cornhill 9 The Boundaries of Love s Day .... 33 The Call of the Fields 53 V CONTENTS The Call of the Here-and-Now . . . .111 The College Clock 85 The Dreamer and the Toiler 15 The Old and the New 76 The Passing of George F. Hoar .... 34 The Relief of San Francisco 29 The Scarlet Salvia 23 Time Flies 39 To a Geranium 16 Transformed 42 Twixt Buttercups and Daisies .... 50 Two Streams 71 Underneath the Harbor 93 Up the Pathway of Pain 20 War Song 105 Washington 80 Which? . 104 STRAY NOTES OF SONG STRAY NOTES OF SONG BROMFIELD STREET BROMFIELD Street, oh, Bromfield Street, The dusks and dawns of old Sent twixt the walls of thy retreat Their greetings, gray and gold; The centuries have left thee there, Pressed to the city s heart A thoroughfare beyond compare, Oh, Bromfield Street, thou art! Bromfield Street, oh, Bromfield Street, Thy stretch is but a span Between two tides of trampling feet The toil and moil of man But restful charms thy walks endear, That words may not define, So quaintly queer an atmosphere, Oh, Bromfield Street, is thine! STRAY NOTES OF SONG Bromfield Street, oh, Bromfield Street. The lips of Lore and Art Breathe from thy windows, strangely sweet, A whisper to my heart. Broad avenues, in splendor dressed, Adorn the modern day; But mayst thou rest in Boston s breast, Oh, Bromfield Street, for aye! STRAY NOTES OF SONG SWEET LOUISBURG SQUARE O HEART of old Boston, sweet Louis- burg Square, Thy birds are all singing, there s balm in the air; And a message of peace from the dim days of yore Is borne to my soul in thine elms, bending o er. Like a cloister of ancient and mystical years, Shut out from the world, from its cares and its fears, Thy memories linger to soothe the sore heart; To bid, for a moment, life s sorrows depart. To catch from thy zephyrs their whisper, serene, The stranger fain pauses; it captivates e en The sad, white-capped nurses who greet thee each day From the haven of mercy, just over the way. STRAY NOTES OF SONG Ah, soft is thy greensward, neath shadows that fall From wings of the evening; and when, over all, The stars twinkle kindly, what vision more fair! heart of Old Boston, sweet Louisburg Square. STRAY NOTES OF SONG ON THE "L" TO SULLIVAN SQUARE OH, WE crowd and jostle and push and shove There s always room for one more We hang for dear life from the straps above, We cut fancy curves on the floor; We tumble headforemost into the crush, We plunge and we dive "for fair," We join in a great big football rush On the "L" to Sullivan Square. From station to station we swing and swerve It s very like "shooting the chutes "- Plunge forward, then backward, as round each curve The train on the long trestle scoots. If you happen to hug the girl by your side, For her to protest is not fair, For you never can tell what you ll do when you ride On the "L" to Sullivan Square. STRAY NOTES OF SONG And the banker stands with his shoulders pressed To those of the laborer grim; The callow youth joins in a casual jest With the sales-girl next to him; The matron be-bundled with bargains fine Looks in vain for a seat to spare; If I weren t pinned down I d offer her mine, On the "L" to Sullivan Square. And the journey through life, it is much the same It s jostle and crowd all the way, As onward we re hurried, with riches and fame The incidents, mere, of a day. The terminal looms up larger ahead Each moment; but why should we care? There ll be others to ride, when we are all dead, On the "L" to Sullivan Square. STRAY NOTES OF SONG THE BOOKSHELVES OF CORNHILL OCOME for a moment away with me From the city s rush and roar; Get out of the surge of humanity As it sweeps from door to door And catch a breath of the olden time, A glimpse of the past that will Set soul and senses again in rhyme, Neath the bookshelves of Cornhill. Let us greet the poets of long ago; Old barristers, stern and just; Historians grim, whom the Muses know; Philosophers, gray with dust; There s a touch of peace in their mute array. An indescribable thrill As we bow to the masters who hold sway On the bookshelves of Cornhill. STRAY NOTES OF SONG In far distant fields in coming years My lot it may be to tread Perchance there ll be joys to banish the tears And fortune may smile o erhead But where er the future may write me down, I ll ne er be content until Fate pilots me back to old Boston town, And the bookshelves of Cornhill. 10 STRAY NOTES OF SONG ROSES ROSES in the woodland byways, Roses on the mountain steeps, Roses garlanding the highways, Roses where the brooklet creeps, Roses in the garden, breathing Incense rare for you and me; Roses on the trellis, wreathing Bower for lovers reverie; Roses in the East at breaking Of the dawn, when bird songs rise; Roses with the sun s leave-taking In the glow of western skies; Roses in their softest glory In the blushes of the bride Roses in a new life-story, May they ever there abide Roses in the perfumed kisses Of the zephyrs of the night; Roses in the dreamful blisses Of a slumber-garden white; Roses in all life unfolding Petals may be falling soon Roses ours for the beholding, Roses of the joy of June. 11 STRAY NOTES OF SONG CONCEIT AND HUMILITY TWO mortals climbed a mountain top, to view The wide outstretch of the majestic world; Beneath them boundless vistas, old and new, In circling panorama were unfurled And one, as he beheld the equal zone On every hand to merge of earth and sky, Exclaimed, in lordly and exultant tone: "The centre of the universe am I!" The other, awed and silent, long surveyed The wonders of the scene; the towns of men Were dwarfed to ant hills, and the rivers made But threads of silver winding far, and when He felt the thrill of grandeur filling all Of earth revealed beneath the bending sky, His humbled soul could only cry, "How small, How helpless in Thy sight, O God, am I!" 12 STRAY NOTES OF SONG FOREVER AND FOREVER OUR little loves may pass away, As fragile heart-strings sever; But each dawn brings a sweeter day, For Love is Love forever. The little gods of time-worn creeds Die, neath the world s endeavor; But lives the grandeur of good deeds, For God is God forever. 13 STRAY NOTES OF SONG OUT OF THE DEEP FROM out the heaving bosom of the deep The waves sweep o er the rim of shining sand; High and yet higher the tidal surges creep As eager lips of Ocean kiss the land; And then a thousand rills, their strength full spent, Bear back the weary waters to the sea, Once more with the eternal to be blent, Once more a part of the immensity! So doth not clearly in this token shine The secret, and the solace, of thy soul? Like unto ocean is the Power Divine, Each feeble life a radiant of the Whole. E en as from out the vast, unchanging Source Thy being flows, its transitory tide Will bear thee back, one w r ith the living Force Wherein th eternal verities abide! 14 STRAY NOTES OF SONG THE DREAMER AND THE TOILER ONE dreamed of glory in the coming years, And waited for his dream to be fulfilled One toiled along a pathway wet with tears, To do the drudging task that fate had willed. One saw the golden hours pass idly by Until the promise of his youth was dead; While he who strove beneath a frowning sky Looked up, and saw Fame s lode-star over head. STRAY NOTES OF SONG TO A GERANIUM GERANIUM, beauteous with the glow of many blooms in one, Flower most beloved that in my garden grows, Redder than heart s blood, thy day has just begun When it is saddened by the dying rose, And brilliancy left o er from summer s noon. Is still thine own when late the aster wakes. Full many a fickle, fragile blossom, in the boon Of one rare breath of fleeting fragrance breaks, Then vanishes; but thou, from glad June s jubilee Until the Autumn whispers of the end, In soft bestowal of thy spiced perfume, art constancy, Oh, flower of all that blow, the truest friend! STRAY NOTES OF SONG ALONG LIFE S THOROUGHFARE FACES artful, avaricious, Faces buoyant, faces bright; Faces crafty and capricious, Faces dimpling with delight; Faces eager and entrancing, Faces fair and faces free; Faces glad and gaily glancing, Faces homely as can be; Faces which the "I" rules blindly Faces, jaded, joyful, too; Faces keen and faces kindly, Faces laughing up at you; Faces mournful, faces modest. Faces narrow, faces nil; Faces oh, the very oddest, Faces pinched and puerile; Faces queer and faces queenly, Faces radiant and rare; Fades sweet, that smile serenely, Faces of triumphant air; 17 STRAY NOTES OF SONG Faces ugly and uncheery, Faces vexed and faces vain; Faces worn and wan and weary: Faces experts can t explain; Faces yawning, faces yearning, Faces zealous all the way Faces in whose lines we re learning New life lessons every day, 18 STRAY NOTES OF SONG IN MABEL S MUFF WITHIN the warmth of Mabel s muff You ll find all sorts and styles of stuff A kerchief with a hand- wrought hem; A glove or two What need of them! A dainty purse that s passing stout, With pa s allowance fattened out; A veil, that half conceals the grace, Ofttimes, of Mabel s pretty face; A billet doux, the last from Ned, That must be o er and o er reread And just as though that weren t enough, Two soft, white hands in Mabel s muff. 1U STRAY NOTES OF SONG UP THE PATHWAY OF PAIN \ JAGGED path of pain she trod, ** This little mate of mine, And yet she journeyed nearest God, With dauntless soul a-shine, For, all the stern and sterile way, Uplifted were her eyes, Reflecting buoyantly the day Or starlight of the skies; And e er, a-down dim distances, She was the first who heard, With trustful ear, the messages Of some hope-singing bird ! 20 STRAY NOTES OF SONG OVER THE SEAS TO DAYLIGHT LAND LITTLE lips smiling the sweetness of rest; Little eyes closed by the magic of sleep; Lulled by a song from a fond mother s breast, A Little Boy starts o er an ocean deep. Pushing from shore neath the veil of the dark, Dream sailors over him guardingly stand No craft so staunch as his crib of a bark For the wonderful voyage to Daylight Land. Marvelous visions around him unfold As glides his trim vessel out into the foam. Fairyland shores lined with sea-shells of gold, Castles where doll-kings and queens are at home. Rainbow-hued islands o errunning with toys, Tin soldiers marching behind a tin band Oh ! what a treat is our good Little Boy s As he speeds to the portals of Daylight Land ! 21 STRAY NOTES OF SONG Angel wings sheltering all the night through, Flutter above the soft, shadowy sails; Man-in-the-Moon soon is smiling adieu, Star overhead into nothingness pales. Bird songs proclaim a new welcome from shore, Sun-gems are blazing in crescents of sand Little Boy s eyes are wide open once more, All safe in the harbor of Daylight Land ! STRAY NOTES OF SONG THE SCARLET SALVIA THE Summer, loth to take her leave with out some token tender, Lest millions who ve made merry may re gard the future drear, Calls forth from fruitful Mother Earth the brightest she can render, And leaves the scarlet salvia as emblem of good cheer, STRAY NOTES OF SONG DEVOTION HERE are no words that e en in sweetest -- song Could bear to thee the tributes of my heart, That eagerly unto my dumb lips throng Yet cannot pass beyond, so beautiful thou art! And so, when God seems nearest, and on high Has set the kind star-tokens of his care, I thank him for his love, and silently Pay thee the tribute of my soul, its purest prayer ! t4 STRAY NOTES OF SONG LITTLE MISS PINK I VE known her now for most a year, This little Miss Pink, whose cheeks are red; I hold no other maid so dear She s turned my head! She s bantered me and laughed at me, This little Miss Pink, whose hair is gold, And been as cross as cross could be The winsome scold! But she s aware I m willing quite, This little Miss Pink, whose eyes are blue, To do her bidding day and night And still be true! And who can say that I m the fool, Though little Miss Pink, whose ways are free, Is arrogant, and sometimes cool? She s only three! STRAY NOTES OF SONG MARY, IN THE RAIN A MOST appealing picture is Miss Mary, in the rain; She fills my soul with rhapsodies, Does Mary, in the rain, For when the sun is beaming bright Her eyes send forth reflected light, A dower that s all the world s by right; But Mary, in the rain, Bears her own sunshine in her face, That brightens all the gloom with grace. Ah, ever in my heart there s place For Mary, wet with rain! STRAY NOTES OF SONG FRANK L. STANTON BARD of the Southland, blest with ken Of Nature s heart, and the hearts of men, Thanks for thy sweet, clear notes that bear The message of Love from the everywhere The story that breathes in the hum of bees, The song of birds, and the budding trees; The lesson of life that Heaven has set In the frail, unfolding violet! Singer of peace unto souls oppressed, Singer of hope unto hearts distressed, Singer of Love ! May thy years be long, And sweet as thy tenderest notes of song ! STRAY NOTES OF SONG EVENING STAR EVENING Star, thou jewel gleaming In the rose-pearl west, E en at dusk thine eye is beaming On the river s breast. Many who have known but sorrow In the ebbing day, Catch a hope-gleam for the morrow In thy kindly ray; And with glooms of night descending, Brightening afar, Pledge of God s blest care unending Thou art, Evening Star! STRAY NOTES OF SONG THE RELIEF OF SAN FRANCISCO OUT of the deeps of the earth, unwarned, the shock of ruin came; Out of a city s seething wreck a thousand tongues of flame. Out of the woe for a moment mere the im pulse of despair; Out of the uncrushed spirit then, new hope, on the wings of prayer. Out of the East, and the North and South the messengers of weal; Out of man s stores the answer to the homeless one s appeal. Out of man s love an angel s smile above the stricken sod; Out of the depths of a Nation s heart the providence of God! 29 STRAY NOTES OF SONG EDGAR ALLAN POE OH, POET of tempest skies and bodings dark, Weaver of weird and wondrous fantasy, A hundred years have vanished since the spark Of thy charmed life gleamed first in infancy, For scarce twoscore to blaze, and then expire Ere men could comprehend, or homage pay Mysterious master of Parnassian fire, For whom is now Fame s choicest wreath of bay! A hundred years in the relentless sweep Of time, the handmaid of oblivion Yet treasured in its soul, the world shall keep The jewels of thy genius, every one! Still shall the melancholy "Raven" croak Its doleful message down the centuries; "The Bells," clear as when first their rhythm broke On awe-struck ears, shall peal across all seas, And "Helen s" beauty, radiant as the sun, Shall beam refulgent until Love is done! 80 STRAY NOTES OF SONG A KISS BEFORE YOU GO A KISS before you go." The toss of a golden head; The notes of a lullaby, soft and low And away to bed. "A kiss before you go." A youth at the call of life; A sigh and a sob, she loves him so And away to strife. "A kiss before you go." And a wrinkled forehead, pressed By devoted lips as the tears o erflow And away to rest. si STRAY NOTES OF SONG MARK TWAIN GREAT, gentle friend of all our human kind, The muffled heart-beat of the whole world tells Of grief that surges deep and unconfined, Of pain a more than kingly loss compels ! We laughed with you from fleeting year to year, Our lives uplifted by your message true; For in each cloud, with eye of changeless cheer, You found a gleam of silver, shining through ! Good-bye! We grieve, but treasured we will keep Your memory in all the afterwhile; You ve shown us e en, as you lay down to sleep, That death is not a shadow, but a smile ! STRAY NOTES OF SONG THE BOUNDARIES OF LOVE S DAY THE scent of a rose from a garden fair; The diamonds of the dew; A bird-song s thrill in the morning air And sweet thoughts of you ! A glint of gold on the rim of the West; The star- gems in the blue; The night wind soothing the world to rest And sweet dreams of you ! STRAY NOTES OF SONO THE PASSING OF GEORGE F. HOAR A NATION grieves for him whose ebbing life Has lent so much of glory to the State Not by the empty grandeur born of strife, But by the noblest works of peace made great. Statesman and patriot, scholar, seer and sage, A people s tribune in long, trying years : Yet not for name writ high on honor s page For his pure, lofty manhood are our tears. His simple faith abiding to the end, He waits, content, the summons from on high. Rounded, complete his day: as shades descend He shows the world how grand it is to die. 84 STRAY NOTES OF SONO A PRAYER I KNOW not if reward of gold Shall bless my labors in life s day; I care not if the shadows hold Their canopies across my way So long as, groping toward the light, My heart is right. I heed not what the tongues of men May have for me in Time s report; The balance will be cast again, And justice from the Higher Court Exalt at last, with radiance new, The soul that s true. So, Father, in the storm and strife That sternly may encompass me, Unselfish make my way of life, And make my law humility; This to the journey s end, and then Thy peace. Amen ! w STRAY NOTES OF SONO A DECEIVER ITHIN the shadows of a wood I chanced at sunset s glow; A bubbling spring Was murmuring, And in delight A water-sprite Was beckoning below. "Oh, may I, maid," I madly cried, "But kiss thy laughing lips?" Then sweetly smiled This creature wild, And tossed the spray In teasing play With fairy fingertips. But soon she nodded sweet assent, And kneeling at the brink, I sought the place Where beamed her face; The false nymph laughed, And I but quaffed Indignantly a drink! STRAY NOTES OF SONG ON THE LAKE f I ^IS moonlight on the lake, A And through the air The zephyrs from their mountain haunts are flying; From rush and brake The drone of insects in prolonged replying Floats everywhere. Tis nature s lullaby, And evening s calm Lends to the heart the peace of blessedness; And far and nigh Is felt the thrill of beauty s soft caress With buoyant charm. The diamond canopy Of Heaven above Paints mellow radiance on the water s breast; The reverie Of gentle nature in unruffled rest Tells naught but love. 87 STRAY NOTES OF SONG Dead is the world of strife; Tis mem ry s hour, And silently the faces of the past, As once in life Come back too precious and too pure to last, With nobling power. Tis midnight on the lake The hours have flown The dream of peaceful things at last must end. Dark clouds o ertake The dying moon. The glooms of night descend To claim their own. STRAY NOTES OF SONG TIME FLIES I GRIEVING, she gives up her cherished toys As bed-time approaches to end her play, For bright is the day with its rollicking joys The flashing hours, oh, where are they? II Gone are the roses that bloomed so rare In the scented garden of Love s sweet day, And she sighs for the spring-time of youth so fair The flying seasons, where are they? Ill Her eyes grown dim, and falt ring her feet, She sadly looks back o er the length ning way; The shadows are falling, and life is so sweet The fleeting years, oh, where are they? STRAY NOTES OF SONG IN WINTER CRISP and sparkling is the air, Breezes playing hide and seek With her curls and roses, rare, Painted on each maiden s cheek; Everybody shouts the praise Of Winter days. Logs piled high and hearth aglow, Cheer for all, and mirth is king Now we ride across the snow. Now a dance is just the thing; Nothing like the keen delights Of Winter nights. Spring has many charms, tis true, Bird and bloom and running rill; Summer brings her blessings, too; Autumn is a queen but still Best beloved by girls and boys Are Winter joys. 40 STRAY NOTES OF SONO FEBRUARY HEIR of the snows, child of the wintry blast, Too few have sounded thy full meed of praise; In station bare and bleak thy lot is cast, And aught but gentle are thy fitful ways; Yet unto human hearts and hearths thou hast Sent cheer unrivalled in the log fire s blaze, And so to hold the faith of weaklings fast Set Spring s sweet promise in thy length n- ing days. 41 STRAY NOTES OF SONO TRANSFORMED A GLOOMY orchard, stark and bare and brown, A night of stinging winds and swirls of snow; A golden dawn, and white trees, loaded down With many million diamonds aglow! 4f STRAY NOTES OF SONG MARCH COME on, you boist rous, madcap herald of the Spring. We welcome you with all your blow and bluster; Sweep out the refuse of old Winter s gathering And rage with all the breath that you can muster! We know that underneath your rude and rough demean Are throbs of warm regard and thrills of laughter; You melt the sunlight s gold, and lay a path of green For violet-eyed young April, who comes after. STRAY NOTES OF SONG ANY KIND O WEATHER ANY kind o weather Fills the bill for me; Glad I m livin , whether Rain or shine it be. What s the use complainin ? Everybody knows When it s right-down rainin Redder is the rose. Think the birds are sobbin Cause the sun is gone? Ask your friend, the robin, Bathin on the lawn. See him shake his feathers Happy? Yes, siree! An any kind o weather s Good enough for me! 44 STRAY NOTES OF SONG "NOT YET BUT SOON" (A Reverie of Spring) XJOT yet, but soon, the roses will be bloom- -^ ing, And poets will be singing of sweet June; The deadly cannon cracker will be booming, For July Fourth is here not yet, but soon. The lean mosquito is not dead, but sleeping Not yet, but soon, he ll make his yearly call; The house-fly his engagement will be keeping, Not yet, but soon enough, I m sure, for all. Not yet, but soon, the Summer Girl, in glory, Will reign again as queen of all the shore; The Hall-Room boys will weave the same old story A fortnight s romance, then back to the store. Not yet, but soon, the hotel man w r ill chuckle And count his profits every afternoon While you and I w y ill swelter, as we knuckle Down to our same old jobs, not yet, but soon. 45 STRAY NOTES OF SONG Not yet, but soon, the Common Man, despair ing, Will cut out eating, that he may buy ice, And sell his household furniture, preparing To pay for anthracite a triple price. Not yet, but soon, the clamor of campaigning Will fill the land where dwell the noble free; Not yet, but soon, the new year will be waning; Not yet, but soon time s up for you and me. 46 STRAY NOTES OF SONG APRIL OMES April with a violet A-nodding on her breast; Ah, could I pen a triolet To April and her violet With rarest beauty blest! Smiles gleam thro tears at her behest. Comes April with a violet A-nodding on her breast. 47 STRAY NOTES OF SONO EASTER SONG LIFT up your faces to the skies, O all ye sons of men, And let your hearts in joy arise Exultantly again ! Attune yourselves unto the songs The great bird-chorus sings; Forget the winter of your wrongs And give your sorrows wings ! Throw back the shutters of your souls, Let in the golden light That from the regal sun unrolls Upon the year s long night ! All nature smiles; the glad earth gives New verdure to the sward; In every blade and blossom lives The glory of the Lord ! 48 STRAY NOTES OF SONG IN THE MAYTIME LOSE your grumbles and your glooms in a maze of cherry blooms; Banish all your petty troubles on a bird- note floating far. Let your worries meet their dooms in the magic of perfumes That are waiting to entice you where the honeysuckles are; For a newborn gladness gleams in the sparkle of the streams, And balm -laden breezes bid you breathe the fulness of the day; In the sun s alluring beams is the glint of golden dreams Of the glory of the Springtime, in the ecstasy of May. 49 STRAY NOTES OF SONG TWIXT BUTTERCUPS AND DAISIES OH, life is fair and life is free In all its fleeting phases, As down the lane she walks with me, Twixt buttercups and daisies. High in the branches of each tree The birds proclaim her praises; Oh, all is joy and jubilee, Twixt buttercups and daisies. For, drawing closely unto me, Her tender eyes she raises, And says that mine she ll ever be Twixt buttercups and daisies. o STRAY NOTES OF SONG DON T FREEZE (A July Jingle) HOW chillingly the wintry blast Adown the chimney whistles, And how the ice-fringe, clinging fast, From snow-bound roof -tree bristles! Old Boreas is stern tonight, But what care I for zero? I ll pile the hearth with logs alight And riddle, a la Nero ! P. S. Twas some six months ago The tale above was written; Don t start your furnace fire; oh no, You will not get frost bitten. How stingingly the swirl of snow Greets our reluctant faces! The mercury is shrinking low Down toward the bulb it races. STRAY NOTES OF SONG But what care we, enwrapped in furs, As sleighbells crisply jingle? He is a weakling who demurs, Though ears and fingers tingle. P. S. The rhyme preceding grew Last Winter, do not doubt it. Don t get your ulster out, for you Can get along without it. fli STRAY NOTES OF SONO THE CALL OF THE FIELDS THE clovered fields of rippling green Cry "Health to him who comes." Ah, sad are they who ne er have seen The clovered fields of rippling green. Canst thou not make a day serene For some child of the slums? The clovered fields of rippling green Cry "Health to him who comes." STRAY NOTES OF SONG AUTUMN JOYS OH, THESE are the glorious Autumn days, The golden crown of the year; Tis now that my heart is full of praise, (And my furnace out of gear). The songs of the harvest fill the land; Soft haze o er the hillside floats; There are no flaws in the landscape grand, (No bargains in overcoats). The smile of plenty is in the sky; There s joy in the human soul; The blood in my veins in bounding high, (And so is the price of coal). 54 STRAY NOTES OF SONG OCTOBER SHE S glad, not sober nor sad October, Her song is a song of cheer; Gauzes of red and of russet robe her As radiant queen of the year. Torch of the sumach is lifted to light her Fair feet o er the harvest sod And ever was badge of a sovereign brighter Than sceptre of goldenrod? The breadth of her bounty all nature embraces; She kindles men s hearts with bliss; So beauteous her face is, the Summer retraces Her footsteps for just one kiss ! STRAY NOTES OF SONO ON A RAINY DAY THE heavens, o ercast, shut out the sun, And shadows fall, e er day is done. But what though rain its gloom imparts The love-flame gleams in human hearts. And when the dark is deepest here The true soul-light shines out most clear. STRAY NOTES OF SONG NOVEMBER THEY call thee drear, and sad, and desolate; Of all the family of months the member Most melancholy, timing thy footsteps late To crush to death the last faint, glimmering ember, And bid mankind bewail. Nay; by good fate Thou com st to bid the faltering world remember; And e er thy days are sped, full hearts, elate, Will make thee master of the feast, Novem ber! STRAY NOTES OF SONG THANKSGIVING THANKS for life and thanks for light; Thanks for home and thanks for hope; Thanks for power to see the right; Thanks for strength with wrong to cope. Thanks for brightness of the day; Thanks for God s blest care at night; Thanks for roses by the way Thanks for thorns, lest joy should blight. STRAY NOTES OF SONG GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS GOING home for Christmas ! Joy on every face, Thronging to the stations Quickened is each pace; Quickened are the heart-beats For the clasp and kiss That shall seal re-union In the morrow s bliss. Going home for Christmas ! Speeding miles away; Father, mother, waiting For their own today; White though snow-fields glisten, Roses, rich and rare, Bloom in hearts of dear ones As they homeward fare. 59 STRAY NOTES OF SONO Going home for Christmas, Where the love-hearth gleams With the glow of pleasure In the olden dreams; Going home for Christmas As the waning year Floods the souls of millions With a new-born cheer. 60 STRAY NOTES OF SONG KIND WORDS ONLY a sunbeam, stealing Through a rift in a sky of gray, Yet the face of God revealing To a soul neath sorrow s sway. Only a kind word spoken To a heart with long grieving sore, Yet mayhap despair s chain broken In some life forevermore! 01 STRAY NOTES OF SONG JUST A TOUCH OF WINTER TORE THE SPRING COMES IN WAN T it fine to see the house-tops covered deep beneath the snow When you woke up in the mornin with the sun a-shinin bright? Yes, it was a reg lar blizzard; my, but how the wind did blow! Didn t it whistle down the chimney, like blue blazes, all the night? But the kids was in their glory, tumblin in the drifts next day; There was never nothin like it; how they made the snowballs spin ! It bestowed a hearty flavor to their headlong, pell-mell play, Just to have a taste of W inter, fore the Spring comes in! 62 STRAY NOTES OF SO NO Wan t it grand up on the common, where the fluffy mantle, white, Stretched afar in all directions, resting lightly on the trees? Didn t it set you clean a-wonderin just to see so strange a sight, With the shovel brigade a-workin like a lot o busy bees? I suppose twill soon be over, all be ended like a dream, For the sun will now be hustlin and the drifts a-vanishin ; But it s good to get a vision of the old times, just a gleam, Just a tiny taste of Winter, fore the Spring comes in. How the tingle of the snowflakes made the red cheeks of the girls Redder yet with health s complexion, and the sparkle in their eyes Brighter with the glow of pleasure, as the breezes tossed their curls, Tanglin up their truant tresses as a mis chievous surprise! 63 STRAY NOTES OF SONG There was fun for old and young ones; every body felt the thrill; Jack hitched up his big old cutter bells kept up a merry din; Bill got out his double-runner, shouts resounded on the hill, For one tardy touch of Winter, fore the Spring comes in ! 64 STRAY NOTES OF SONG A GENTLEMAN ARNEST, sincere, In friendship strong, And without fear In face of wrong; Quiet, serene, A student, too, Who makes life mean A service true; Knowing his mind; With some fixed plan Tis here you find A gentleman. STRAY NOTES OF SONG QJOUND for us all the knell of selfish living, ^ 1 Of petty jealousies and foolish pride; Ring in the day of faith and of forgiving, O Bells of Christmastide ! Of larger love and nobler thought the paean, Ring in the day of peace that shall abide Peace to the glory of the Galilean, O Bells of Christmastide! 66 STRAY NOTES OF SONG SERVICE BUOYANT and bright from bubbling spring The brook in the hills Its rippling rills Taught all the livelong day to sing: "Merry and young and gay am I And on to the sea I hasten by." Over the rocks, by crag and dell With gathering strength It coursed at length And a mill was built where its waters fell. With prouder tones it spake again : "I turn the wheels and work for men." On through the valley, broad and deep It patiently bore The garnered store From fields where human toilers reap, And grandly its message came once more: "I serve content till life is o er." 67 STRAY NOTES OF SONO At last, majestic and complete, On the ocean s breast It found its rest Where all the world-worn waters meet, Murmuring: "Thou, too, shalt deserve My peace when thou hast learned to serve." STRAY NOTES OF SONG NAY, do not grieve That he took his leave Unwarned, from friends apart; Sublimest peace Crowned his release God s finger touched his heart. STRAY NOTES OF SONG QUESTIONINGS IF LIFE were a day that glided gay, And all of its hours were golden, Then what were the peace of a pain s release, Or the worth of a truth beholden? If life wore a hue of changeless blue In the archway of its heaven, Then what were the sun when the storm is done, Or a rising heart-hope s leaven? If life were a sea, from dangers free To its voyagers on their way, Then what were the rest by a soul possessed At the end of its mortal day? If life were a laugh its bitter half Unknown, with its fear and forgiving, Then what were the gain of the journey vain Through the barren land of the living? 70 STRAY NOTES OF SONG TWO STREAMS TWO rivers, rising in the spring Of every human life do flow, Their waters peace and suffering, For one is joy, and one is woe. The stream of joy, beneath the sun, Reflects his dancing beams with glee, While careless currents rippling run To laugh their life into the sea. The other stream, dark, drear and deep, Is shrouded in the mists of woe, While o er its banks, dread shades, that keep A mournful vigil, come and go. Howe er we may bewail the one, Its course is in divine control; For human good both rivers run They make the true, enduring soul. 71 STRAY NOTES OF SONG LOVE SONG PEACE rests upon the lap of spring, And Nature s gentle blossoming Makes gay the gladsome bower that keeps My lady, as she sleeps. Joy decorates her features fair; Balm floats in breezes through the air And all the wealth of Paradise About her being lies. Love lives within the rosebud bloom Upon her cheek; its sweet perfume Comes in the all-unconscious sigh Escaping silently. Heaven waits for me within the heart, That beats beneath the outer part. Bless w T ith thy bounty, Love Divine, The treasure that is mine. 7* STRAY NOTES OF SONO MAY MUSINGS BRIGHT the sunlight sheds afar A wealth of brilliancy; Does it kiss the cheeks where the roses are, The cheeks of my love, for me? Soft the balmy zephyrs blow Through every budding tree; Do they breathe a message, sweet and low, From the lips of my love, to me? Buoyant seems the new-born spring With ceaseless harmony; Does it bring more close, by its heightening, The heart of my love to me? 78 STRAY NOTES OF SONG A GLANCE A PAIR of eyes I saw but once Are looking into mine, And in their play The laughter gay And tender grace together shine As when I saw them beaming there. Come, Cupid, tell your captive where Their owner dwells today, That I may thither stray And drink again the dazzling wine That sparkles with a wealth divine Within two eyes I saw but once! 74 STRAY NOTES OF SONG MY WISH MAY the voice Of that sweet angel, Patience, whisper in my ear, And guide me on with words of comfort and of cheer; Drive from my mind all thought of doubt and fear; This is my choice. May high endeavor Direct my course of life until the end; Be my companion and my steadfast friend Until the life beyond with this doth blend, To last forever. May the light Of that far-shining lamp, Success, With guiding beams my humble pathway bless, Enabling me sometime in future to possess Its flame so bright. STRAY NOTES OF SONG THE OLD AND THE NEW THE glow of unforgotten faces, The lure of mem ried ways, Hallow the old, old places, Endear the old, old days. Yet wider boundaries of endeavor Come with the rising years, And larger hopes, forever, Are nurtured by our tears. The star of strong deed is ascendant; The joy that faith imparts Makes each new hour, resplendent, A summons to glad hearts. STRAY NOTES OF SONG PATRICK A. COLLINS A HUNDRED bells are tolling A requiem for the dead; A thousand flags, half-masted, Are drooping overhead; A million hearts are mourning As parting prayers are said. A city, great and splendid, Bows neath a weight of grief; The marts of trade are silent, Closed by a common lief, While near and dear are kneeling Beside the fallen chief. The eulogies are spoken, But, ah! no words can tell The fullness of the tribute His noble traits compel; No monument need mark him, His work was done so well! 77 STRAY NOTES OF SONG CALLED to the helm of state in that far day When Webster e en yet in the forum stood, His name for half a century had sway As synonym for civic rectitude. Faithful and brave, the years advancing wrote Him fullest meed of honor and of fame; The mantle proud of Sumner and of Choate He wore, unflecked, as larger duties came. A pilot safe, when rock and reef beset The ship, storm-tossed, of national finance; True friend of liberty, his sun has set But long shall glow his mem ry s radiance. 78 STRAY NOTES OF SONG GEORGE T. ANGELL WELL may the horse s head be bowed; Well may all dumb beasts mourn, As to the tomb, neath flower and shroud, Thy precious form is borne, Oh, great friend of the weaker kind, Who upheld mercy s shield! Men s hearts, by thy sweet life refined, Their tearful tributes yield, For tender word and soft caress, Through thy humane appeal, Rule now where once, with cruel stress, Men plied the whip and steel. 79 STRAY NOTES OF SONG WASHINGTON LIKE some far beacon whose unfailing flame, As shadows deepen, shines the more sub lime, So gleams the strong, pure lustre of that name Against the money-baseness of our time! 80 STRAY NOTES OF SONG JEFFERSON MAJESTIC in the grandeur of his thought* A seer who faced the future with no fears, A people s battles in his prime he fought, And bore their honors richly in his years Champion of right, forevermore to be The arch apostle of democracy ! 81 STRAY NOTES OF SONG MISTAKEN IDENTITY SHE spied me like a long-lost friend; I d ne er seen her before; My misery you ll comprehend Before this tale is o er. Twas on a street car; to the seat Right next to me she flew, Exclaiming in glad tones and sweet, "Can this be really you?" My first misstep was taken here, For after awkward pause In brief reply I made the mere Admission that it was. 82 STRAY NOTES OF SONG "You re such a stranger," chirruped she, "Pray tell me, what s the news?" I managed skilfully on the Fine weather to enthuse. And while in mental stress I sought For exit an excuse, She asked me if I really thought Miss Blake would marry Luce. By desperation rendered bold I promptly answered yes, That I had secretly been told She d bought her wedding dress. She d heard so. Good ! But Lord what next? "Oh, how s your cousin Nell?" Clear sailing here. I said, unvexed, "She never was so well!" Ah, what a shock unheralded The one wrong word may give ! "Why, what a change! The doctor said Last night she couldn t live." u 83 STRAY NOTES OF SONG Here, happily, my luck came back; The ordeal was o er; Just then the car ran off the track And shot me through the door. STRAY NOTES OF SONG THE COLLEGE CLOCK THE merriest potentate am I That ever turned a hand : I make the moments hasten by With absolute command. I emulate no heavenly sun Nor earthly satellite; My wheels their sportful races run As fancy may invite. What care I for the needs of men? My subjects are the hours. I grant them respite now and then From their eternal tours. They own the right to exercise The veriest of ease, For I maintain that profit lies In going as you please. 86 STRAY NOTES OF SONG Sometimes for sport I throw my hands About, as in distress. "Tis fun to hear my human friends Solicitude express. And then I work the college bell, And call the people out; Sometimes they realize the sell And swear a bit, no doubt. But, safe enthroned above them all, I thrive with Father Time; He serves my bidding and my call With gracefulness sublime. The years will hasten quickly by, But e er my rule shall stand; The merriest potentate am I That ever turned a hand ! 86 STRAY NOTES OF SONG DARTMOUTH small, but there are those who love it," Webster pleaded long ago, When the skies were dark above it And the storm was bending low. Now tis great and thousands render Tender tribute to its name; Now its cause needs no defender, Yet its mission is the same. True to its ideals keeping, Sure and pure its purpose runs, Strong as its own spirit, leaping In the pulses of its sons. Bearing high the torch of learning Northland s granite hills above, Dartmouth s bread is e er returning Tenfold in a people s love! 87 STRAY NOTES OF SONG SPHINX (Senior society initiation banquet, Dartmouth 1893) THE weariless wings of another year Have borne us to its crowning feast; So let us hold communion here Until the glowing East Shall tell us that the twinkling stars their lenient watch have ceased. The breath of June is in the air And the joyful world in its festival Bids us be free from fret and care, And worship, one and all, At the throne where fellowship is king, and genial arts enthral. So let the loving cup be filled And the heart s own sacred song arise, For still we walk, as the gods have willed, Beneath unclouded skies, Beholding still the boundless world, with all its rhapsodies. 88 STRAY NOTES OF SONG And hail, oh loyal band who now Have worshipped at the Mystic Shrine, All brothers by a sacred vow The future will be thine, And may it be as rich as gold, as sweet as Samian wine. May fortune bless your onward way With favors that she best bestows On loyalty that lasts for aye, And faithfulness that knows The majesty of manhood, and the debt that honor owes. Our brothers of departed years, In spirit with us as we celebrate Dispelling doubts, dismissing fears Greet and congratulate The comrades who now pledge to keep their trust inviolate. Our task is done. To them we leave Our heritage of fellowship. About their hearts will friendship weave A network that will keep Their lives in harmony, refreshed by joys that never sleep. 80 STRAY NOTES OF SONO So let us fill the cup again, And every brother, as he drinks, Will bless once more the magic chain Whose adamantine links Have bound him with the mystic band, the children of the Sphinx ! 90 STRAY NOTES OF SONG NEVER MEET TROUBLE HALF WAY NEVER meet trouble half way, Let it seek you out, if it must, But your heart open wide, and bid joy come inside, And dwell in abiding trust. Never meet trouble half way, All too soon will the shadows fall; See the bloom, not the blight; not the gloom, but the light That is shining over all. STRAY NOTES OF SOXV HALYCON BRIGHT beam the stars of the summer night, Clearer than diamonds ever shone, But deeper is the laughing light Of thy blue eyes, my Halcyon. Pink are the parts of the summer rose, Pure as the magic tints of dawn, But a softer color comes and goes Across thy cheek, my Halcyon. Sweet is the breath of the summer sky, As it kisses the green earth and is gone, But sweeter is thine, surpassingly, And softer it comes, my Halcyon. Dear are the mem ries of summer days, Yet in my heart there lives but one; Bright, through the ever-gathering haze, Shall shine thy face, my Halcyon! 92 STRAY NOTES Of SONG UNDERNEATH THE HARBOR OLD BOSTON sets the pace for all In tricks of rapid transit; Years back her subway had the call E er other towns would chance it; And then to make ten minutes five They built the "L"; Now, sakes alive, it s take a dive Down, Down Beneath the harbor. Just make the plunge the tunnel through It is a quick transition; You re up and out in a "jiff" or two, No time for intermission. A shuttle shot in a deep, smooth bore The car glides on, And lo, you re o er to the other shore From Down Beneath the harbor. 93 STRAY NOTES OF SONG Care not what s going on o erhead How many ships are dancing Above you as you re onward sped On trolley trip entrancing; The water s deep, but you won t get drowned You may be sure, For it s a sound hole in the ground, Down, Down Beneath the harbor. STRAY NOTES OF SONG LOVE IS ALL was gleam of gold, And raiment to allure, and rank and title old, And sorrow and a sigh, As Love passed by. There was humble fare, And treasure scant, and name of worldly glamor bare. And peace with Heaven kin, As Love came in. STRAY ^ 7 OTES OF SONG FRUIT SALAD FOR TWO HE THOUGHT himself the choicest plum that grew upon the tree; A date he had one evening with a peach from Chicopee; They were a charming pear indeed, as, strolling by the sea, He vowed the apple of his eye she evermore should be. But sad his fate most downcast youth in all the world was he, When to the realms of orange blooms he urged that they should flee; The lemon that she handed him would sour a Russian tea "You re full of prunes, young man," she cried, "you cantaloupe with me." 96 STRAY NOTES OF SONG HATS OFF TO BABY BROWN YOU may talk about babies that win at the fairs, Or infants of princely renown; But show me the kid if you can that compares With little John Nicholas Brown. A nurse at his elbow, at ten thousand per, Keeps watch for his fret or his frown; A valet, imported, stands by to defer To the whim of John Nicholas Brown. Ten millions piled high in the bank in his name Can buy him the whole of the town Yet he gets along nicely on milk, does this same Delightful John Nicholas Brown. An army of hirelings are ever on call To pose as the puppet and clown Yet when he would play he s content with his doll, Is joyful John Nicholas Brown. 97 STRAY NOTES OF SONG When they put him to bed he deliriously lies In a heaven of silk and of down Yet when he gets hurt it s a fact that he cries, Does doleful John Nicholas Brown. You may talk about babies to wisdom inclined, Or infants of princely renown, But hunt the world over and where can you find The like of John Nicholas Brown? 98 STRAY NOTES OF SONO A MANY-HUED TALE YOUNG Mister Thomas Black was wed to Miss Albina White, And Nancy Greene became the bride of handsome William Gray. It happened, too, that our old friend the dash ing David Knight Did woo and to the altar lead demure Diana Day. Not to be beat, Augustus Brown sweet Pauline Pearl did choose, And all set up housekeeping in a tenement of red. They didn t fight, tis strange to say, and never had the blues The rainbow of domestic peace was always overhead. STRAY NOTES OF SONG BLONDE AND BRUNETTE IT IS my lot to be in love with two who are most fair; I don t believe that you can find their equals anywhere. They are the queens of womankind, so beauti ful to see When I m alone with either one I d humbly bow the knee; And yet they are no more alike than sunrise and sunset, For one s a large blonde lady, one a small brunette. When I gaze fondly in the face of her whose eyes are blue I dream of April violets that sparkle with the dew. Her golden hair in tresses fine like sunlight seems to me, 100 STRAY NOTES OF SONG And when she smiles my soul is thrilled with boundless esctasy. Tis then that I am most impelled for her my cap to set Give me the large blonde lady, not the small brunette. But when I come beneath the spell of her of raven hair No other beauty, I ll be bound, can with her own compare; Tis like the glory of the night, and as from summer skies, I bask in star-like radiance the magic of her eyes. She charms me with her witching smile; I m caught fast in her net Not for me the blonde lady; mine, the small brunette. And thus my heart, a pendulum, swings back and forth, in vain; Were there a happy medium the way of love were plain. But golden hair and tresses dark upon one head can t grow 101 STRAY NOTES OF SONG And she with one eye black, one blue, would be absurd, I know. It s best for me, I plainly see, to try hard to forget Even the large blonde lady, and the small brunette. 102 STRAY NOTES OF SONG BENEATH HER PARASOL AH, COQUETTISHLY she glances From beneath her parasol; Message vague my heart entrances As coquettishly she glances Sparkle of black eyes, that s all, But she stirs my fairest fancies When coquettishly she glances From beneath her parasol ! 103 STRAY NOTES OF SONO WHICH? FAIREST maiden of the waltz, Are you true, or are you false? Are your ebon eyes, so bright, But a counterfeit delight? Doth the rose-bloom, to your cheek Rise when other voices speak? Flutters e en your heart of hearts With other bliss than mine imparts? Will our lives forever seem Like the music s joyous dream? Fairest maiden of the waltz Are you true, or are you false? 104 STRAY NOTES OF SONO WAR SONG THERE S a song of hallelujah in the stir ring bugle call, There s a psean in the cannon s mighty roar; There s a glory in the flash, in the fire and in the crash Of the battle as it breaks on Cuba s shore. For the fight is for the right, And the banner of the free Leads a nation s men of might In the cause of liberty. There s a day of triumph coming, and its splendid dawn shall break On a land that long has been the tyrant s prey; Then our country will be blest by a people sore oppressed, And the glory of our arms shall last for aye. For the fight is for the right, And the banner of the free Leads a nation s men of might In the cause of liberty. 105 STRAY NOTES OF SONG ST. VALENTINE A TOAST to the name of Valentine, Beloved Saint of Hearts! While cheeks shall glow and soft eyes shine, And Cupid holds his arts, This day each year we ll sing the cheer His memory imparts. And here s to the magic name of her Each worships as the best; Whose matchless charms the pulses stir Who blesses and is blest! And here s a toast to all the host Who love, and have confessed! 108 STRAY NOTES OF SONG DESPAIR NOT THY brother s talents may be far More generous than thine, And fortune, from a golden star, Upon his path may shine; But gifts unused for human weal Are profitless and vain, While thou, with naught but faith and zeal, A laurel crown may gain. 107 STRAY NOTES OF SONG SUNSET THE tints of purple and of pearl combine With amber and with amethyst, While golden traces softly interline A picture by Heaven s roses kissed, With glint and gleam of wonderland bedight. Blent by a touch that is divine, Its glories carry to enraptured height, On radiant wing, thy soul and mine. Ah, holy thrill of even s ebbing light As morrow s promises, benignant, shine In God s sweet smile the world s Goodnight! 108 STRAY NOTES OF SONG "THE BOYS" WHEN the din of war had ended, and the smoke had rolled away, And the Union s soul was yearning for a larger, brighter day, A million men strong-hearted in the work of Peace were they "The Boys" in Sixty-Six! The hour of sacred memories returns; a pa geant strong, Bone and sinew of the Nation, in the May- time moves along, While a People proudly honors, with the meed of cheer and song, "The Boys" in Seventy-Six! Now again the flags are flying for the veterans review; Judge and merchant, sage and toiler, comrades in the line of blue, Placing wreathes for their dead brothers on the green graves, old and new "The Boys" in Eighty-Six! 109 STRAY NOTES OF SONG Gray of head and slow of footstep, stooping neath the length of days, Yet they march with hearts of heroes, o er the old familiar ways, As a new-grown generation gratefully its token pays "The Boys" in Ninety-Six! List once more the martial music, as the grand "old guard" appears But ah! the thinned and bended legions ah, the pathos of the years, As we render them our tribute in the tenderness of tears "The Bovs" in Nineteen-Six ! no STRAY NOTES OF SONG THE CALL OF THE HERE-AND-NOW ONE turned his face from the dawn away And dwelt in the Long Ago; He knew none blest in the living day, He saw none gain nor grow; Earth s good things all had gone before, And naught should profit more. One sang the songs of the By-and-By, Wondrous in gifts to Man; He dreamed of bounties reaching high In a kind Creator s plan; And all that was good would come unsought, With never a battle fought. But one with patience set his brow And heart to the task at hand; Heeding the call of the Here-and-Now, He toiled to the World s demand; The prayer of the Long-Ago made he The pledge of the Yet-to-Be. ill STRAY NOTES OF SONG ORCHID AND WILD ROSE AN ORCHID and a wild rose met, (Just where I may not tell) The one a pampered, hot-house pet, The other from the dell. The orchid blushed that she should greet Such lowly company, She who "stood high" with the elite Of proud society. "Oh, what a country maid you are, But I suppose," she said, "The rustics seek you near and far Because your cheeks are red. Poor thing, if you could only know The pleasures that are mine, The lavishness that men bestow My colors to refine, 112 STRAY NOTES OF SOAV? The eagerness with which I m sought For every swell soiree, The romances that I have wrought In circles grand and gay, The joys of music and of wine As languidly I rest, In satins and in laces fine, Upon milady s breast!" Thus spake the orchid haughtily Unto the rose, whose red Had deepened neath the sting, till she Looked bravely up and said: ! I know I m not so grand as you, But mine s a happy life Where birds are free and heavens are blue, Far from the city s strife. I am not sought by men for gold To grace Dame Fashion s feast, But I have joys to you untold The sunrise in the east, The laughter of the mountain rills And children at their play, The beauty of the purple hills As dusk succeeds the day; 113 STRAY NOTES OF SONG And, though I bloom on humble sod And frugal is my fare, Unto my cheeks the kiss of God The evening breezes bear!" 114 STRAY NOTES OF SONO AS WINTER WINDS ARE BLOWING rpHOUGH cold winds blow * And bleak the night, My hearth s aglow, My heart is light For home is cheer Neath love s sweet sway Though earth be drear, And skies be gray. But, oh, for those Who hapless roam; WTiom love ne er knows Who have no home. 11* STRAY NOTES OF SONG KINDNESS NO KINDLY act s too small to be worth while ; Oft has the dross of gloom and fear Been turned to gold of faith and cheer By the blest alchemy of a smile. lie STRAY NOTES OF SONG "OLD IRONSIDES" UPON her decks the ringing shout Of victory was raised, And glory s messengers spake out As her ten-pounders blazed. The halo of an endless fame Has crowned her colors fair Since patriot hearts, in battle flame, Conquered the Guerriere Sons of proud sires, do you not hear This brazen threat to wrest The jewel that is held most dear From old New England s breast? If days of mem ried shrines are past, Then yield the vandal s will Put Plymouth Rock unto the blast And tear down Bunker Hill ! 117 STRAY NOTES OF SONG A LITTLE GIRL S PRAYER TO SANTA CLAUS UPON the church steps, kneeling low, A tiny girl, sad-faced, alone, Was mumbling as in prayer; the snow Was falling, and the winds, amoan, Proclaimed a drear December night. Men, homeward bound, their day s work done Stopped there, transfixed, so strange the sight, And listened to the little one. "I pray, good Santa Claus, that you Won t quite forget my mamma dear; She cries a lot, and feels so blue Cause things ain t like they was last year. 118 STRAY NOTES OF SONG You see, my poor papa is dead And she works, oh, so hard for me And Baby Jack, and goes to bed Nights just as tired as she can be. "And when I asked if Santa Claus Was goin to come on Christmas Eve She said she didn t think so, cause He never had good things to leave With folks that s poor; then mamma cried; And that is why I ve come up here To ask if you won t lay aside A gift or two for mamma dear." Who says that Santa did not hear The tender plea of that sweet child, And follow in her footsteps, near, Till she was safely domiciled? Who says that prayers to old Saint Nick Are prayers that are sent up in vain? Nay, good old Santa is a brick Long may his rotund form remain ! Tis Christmas; a wan woman weeps Not tears of sadness, but of joy, For at her door are piled in heaps Good things for mother, girl and boy; 119 STRAY NOTES OF SONG Food and clothing in fine array; Dolls, and cars on a railroad track; Books and blocks; and happy are they- Mamma and Girlie and Baby Jack. 120 STRAY NOTES OF SONQ GOOD NIGHT GOOD NIGHT; the shades are falling; The sun slips from the West; The kindly stars are calling The weary world to rest. Good night; and may thy slumbers Sweet and refreshing be, In His blest care who numbers The mist-drops of the sea. Good night; and be thy waking Unto a day made fair, To some heart that is aching, By token of thy care. 121