./ SHH R1LEY SONGS O CHEE LIBRARY UNfVERSITY OP DIEGO PS SB Barnes 00ifcom6 (Rtfeg NEGHBORLY POEMS SKETCHES IX PROSE WITH INTERLUDING VEHSES AFTERWHILES PIPES O PAN AT ZF.KESBURY (Prose and Verse) RHYMES OF CHILDHOOD THE FLYING ISLANDS OF THE NIGHT GREEN FIELDS AND RUNNING BROOKS ARMAZINDY A CHILD-WORLD HOME-FOLKS HIS PA S ROMANCE (Portrait by Clay) GREENFIELD EDITION Sold only in sets. Eleven volumes uniformly bound in sage- green cloth, k ilt top $13.50 The same in half-calf 27.00 OLD-FASHIONED ROSES (English Edition) THE GOLDEN YEAR (English Edition) POEMS HERE AT HOME RUB.-{lVAT OF DOC SIFERS THE BOOK OF JOYOUS CHILDREN RILEY CHILD-RHYMES (Pictures by Vavvter) RILEY LOVE-LYRICS (Pictures by Dyer) RILEY FARM-RHYMES (Pictures by Vawter) RILEY SONGS O CHEER (Pictures by Vawter) AN OLD SWEETHEART OF MINE (Pictures by Christy) OUT TO OLD AUNT MARY S (Pictures by Christy) A DEFECTIVE SANTA GLAUS (Forty Pictures by Kelyea and Vawter) SONGS O CHEER Y GRAMPA he s a-allus sayin , " Sing a song o cheer ! " And, wunst I says " What kind is them ?" He says, "The kind to hear. Cause they re the songs that Nature sings, In ever bird that t\vitters ! " "Well, whipperivills and doves," says I, " Hain t over-cheery critters ! " "Then don t you sing like them," he says " Xer guinny-hens, my dear Ner peafowls nuther (drat the boy!, You sing a song o cheer!" I can t sing nolhin anyhow; But, comin home, to rds night; I kindo -sorto kep a-whistlin "Old-Bob-White!" RILEY SONGS O CHEER JAMES WH1TCOMB RILE WITH PICTURES BY WILL VAWTER INDIANAPOLIS THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1883, 1887, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1894, 1896, 1897 1900, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905 b, James Whitcomb Riley All- ftig/ils Reserved PRINTED BY CHARLES FRANCIS PRESS NEW YORK DEDICATION To BLISS CARMAX HE is the morning s poet The bard of mount and moor, The minstrel fine of dci^y shine, The darning s troubadour: The brother of the bluebird, Mid blossoms, throng on throng, Whose singing calls, o er orchard walls, Seem glitter ings of song: He meets, with brow uncovered, The sunrise through the mist, With raptured eyes that range the skies And seas of amethyst: The bramblcd rose clings to him; The breezy wood receives Him as the guest she loves the best And laughs through all her leaves: Pan and Iiis nymplis and dryads They hear, in breathless pause, This earth-born wight lilt his delight, And envy him because . . . He is the morning s poet The bard of mount and moor, The minstrel fine of dewv shine, The dawning s troubadour. CONTENTS ALL-GOLDEN, THE 83 AT BROAD RIPPLE 155 AT UTTER LOAF 120 AUTUMN 176 AWAY 76 BABYHOOD ..... 55 BILLY MILLER S CIRCUS-SHOW 139 BLOSSOMS ON THE TREES, THE 23 BOY S MOTHER, A . 124 CHRISTMAS CAROL, A 167 DAN PAINE in DAWN, NOON AND DEWFALL ...... 116 EXCEEDING ALL 127 FIRST BLUEBIRD, THE 64 FULL HARVEST, A 160 FUNNIEST THING IN THE WORLD, THE .... 100 GOD BLESS Us EVERY ONE 191 GRANNY 25 HARPER, THE 168 HEREAFTER, THE 108 HER SMILE OF CHEER AND VOICE OF SONG . . 164 HIRED MAN S FAITH IN CHILDREN, THE . . . 143 HYMB OF FAITH, A 29 KISSING THE ROD 119 LAUGHTER 46 LET SOMETHING GOOD BE SAID 163 LIGHT OF LOVE, THE ... 80 CONTENTS Continued LITTLE DAVID . . 159 LITTLE-RED-APPLE TREE, THE 47 LOVELY CHILD, THE 34 MISTER HOP-TOAD 41 MY FIDDLE . .... 103 MY PHILOSOFY 67 NOON INTERVAL, A 144 OLD MAN S MEMORY, AN 37 ON ANY ORDENARY MAN IN A HIGH STATE OF LAUGHTURE AND DELIGHT 151 OUR QUEER OLD WORLD .... . . 59 PASSING HAIL, A .... .... 147 PRAYER PERFECT, THE 195 RAPTURE OF THE YEAR, THE 19 SCHOOLBOY S FAVORITE, THE . .171 SONG OF THE ROAD, A ... . . 72 SUMMER S DAY, A 95 THERE Is EVER A SONG SOMEWHERE .... 187 THERE WAS A CHERRY-TREE 152 TWINS, THE . . 132 UNLESS 88 WE TO SIGH INSTEAD OF SING ..... 109 WHATEVER THE WEATHER MAY BE .... 91 WHILE THE HEART BEATS YOUNG 128 WHO BIDES His TIME 51 WILLOW, THE . . 130 ILLUSTRATIONS MY GRAMPA HE S A-ALLUS SAYIN , "SiNG A SONG o CHEER! " ...... Frontispiece THE RAPTURE OF THE YEAR TITLE .... ig WHILE SCHOOL-GIRLS SWEET, ix LANE OR STREET . 21 THE BLOSSOMS ON THE TREES TITLE ... 23 THE BLOSSOMS ON THE TREES TAILPIECE ... 24 GRANNY TITLE . . 25 TELLS Us ALL THE FAIRY TALES 27 A HYMB OF FAITH TITLE 29 EF STORMS AND TEMPESTS URED TO SEE ... 31 THE LOVELY CHILD TITLE 34 COULD THERE BE A SWEETER THING .... 35 AN OLD MAN S MEMORY TITLE 37 To SMILE His GODSPEED ON THE PLOW .... 39 MISTER HOP-TOADTITLE ... 41 STRAIGHTEN UP AND H IST YOUR HEAD .... 43 MISTER HOP-TOADTAILPIECE 45 LAUGHTER TITLE 46 THE LITTLE-RED-APPLE TREE TITLE .... 47 WHEN I WAS THE LITTLEST BIT OF A BOY ... 49 WHO BIDES His TIME TITLE ...... 51 JOY RUNS TO MEET HIM, DRAWING NEAR . 53 BABYHOOD TITLE ....-,.. 55 TAKE THIS EAGER HAND OF MINE 57 FER THEM AT S HERE IN AIRLIEST IK ^ANT STAGES . 61 IT S A PURTY GOOD WORLD, OLD MAN ! 63 AND WHEN THAT BLUEBIRD SUNG 65 ILLUSTRATIONS-Continued MY PHILOSOFY TITLE 67 THERE Is TIMES WHEN ALL ALONE .... 69 A SONG OF THE ROAD TITLE 72 THE ROAD You TAKE "s THE PATH o LOVE ... 73 AWAY TITLE 76 WITH A WAVE OF THE HAND 77 BUT WHAT CARE WE FOR LIGHT ABOVE ? ... 81 THE ALL-GOLDEN TITLE 83 WHERE REEDS AND RUNNING WATERS ARE ... 85 THE ALL-GOLDENTAILPIECE 87 WHO HAS NOT WANTED DOES NOT GUESS WHAT PLENTY Is 89 WHATEVER THE WEATHER MAY BE TITLE ... 91 THE WORLD OF GLOOM Is A WORLD <:< GLEE . . 93 AND WATCHIN CLOS T, WITH UPTURNED EYES . . 97 THE FUNNIEST THING IN THE WORLD TITLE . . 100 WATCHIN THE MONKEYS AT S IN THE SHOW! . . . 101 MY FIDDLE TITLE 103 "THE OLD FAT GAL", AND "RYE-STRAW" AND "MY SAILYOR S ON THE SEA" 105 MY FIDDLE TAILPIECE 107 THE HEREAFTER TITLE 108 WE TO SIGH INSTEAD OF SING TITLE .... 109 DAN PAINE TITLE m WHILE THY WARM SOUL SHINES OUT, DAN PAINE . 113 DAN PAINE TAILPIECE 115 ON THE APERN o THE DAM, LEGS A-DANGLIN OVER 117 AT UTTER LOAF TITLE i2c ILLUSTRATIONS Continued THE BOUGHS ABOVE ME SPREAD A SHADE ... 121 AN GRABS ME UP AN PATS MY MEAD .... 125 EXCEEDING ALLTITLE 127 WHILE THE HEART BEATS YOUNG TITLE . . .. 128 OUR BARE FEET IN THE MEADOWS 129 THE TWINS TITLE 132 JES THE BOSSEST PAIR o BABIES AT A MORTAL EVER SAW! 133 THE WILLOW TITLE 136 IN SHADY PLACES PEERING UP WITH GLIMMERING PEBBLES 137 BILLY MILLER S CIRCUS-SHOW 139 HE S "THE OLD CLOWN", AN GOT ON CLO ES ... 141 THE HIRED MAN S FAITH IN CHILDREN TITLE . . 143 A NOON INTERVAL -TITLE 144 A DEEP DELICIOUS HUSH IN EARTH AND SKY . . 145 LET Us REST OURSELVES A BIT ...... 149 ON ANY ORDENARY MAN IN A HIGH STATE OF LAUGHTURE AND DELIGHT TITLE 151 THERE WAS A CHERRY-TREE TITLE . . . . 152 THERE WAS A BLOOM OF SNOW THERE WAS A BOY . 153 AT BROAD RIPPLE TITLE 155 I BAIT MY HOOK AND CAST MY LINE .... 157 LITTLE DAVID TITLE 159 A FULL HARVEST TITLE 160 JES LOOKY HYONDER, HEY? 161 OF DEWY MORNING BUDS AND BLOOMS .... 165 AND THERE WAS THE LITTLE BED IN THE CORNER OF THE GARRET ... ... i6g ILLUSTRATIONS Continued THE SCHOOLBOY S FAVORITE TITLE .... 171 OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOOD . . . 173 AUTUMN TITLE 176 FARING DOWN SOME WOODY TRAIL ..... 177 SINGING SLANTED STRANDS OF RAIN 181 WITH THE TAWNY LAZINESS OF THE GOLD THAT OPHIR KNEW 185 THERE Is EVER A SONG SOMEWHERE TITLE . . . 187 THERE Is EVER A SONG THAT OUR HEARTS MAY HEAR 189 GOD BLESS Us EVERY ONE TITLE 191 AND THUS HE PRAYED, "Goo BLESS Us EVERY ONE !" . 193 END PICTURE ... .... 194 RILEY SONGS O CHEER THE RAPTURE OF THE YEAR WI I ILK skies glint bright with bluest light Through clouds that race o er field and town. And leaves go dancing left and right. And orchard apples tumble down ; \\hile school-girls sweet, in lane or street. Lean gainst the wind and feel and hear Its glad heart like a lover s beat, So reigns the rapture of the year. 19 THE RAPTURE OF THE YEAR Then ho! and hc\! and whoop-hooray! Though winter clouds be looming, Remember a November day Is merrier than mildest May ll itJi all her blossoms blooming. While birds in scattered flight are blown Aloft and lost in dusky mist, And truant boys scud home alone Neath skies of gold and amethyst ; While twilight falls, and Echo calls Across the haunted atmosphere, With low, sweet laughs at intervals, So reigns the rapture of the year. Tlicn ho! and hey! and whoop-Jworay! Though winter clouds be looming, Remember a Xovcmbcr day Is merrier than mildest May H ith all her blossoms blooming. 20 THE KLOSSOMS OX THE TREES BLOSSOMS crimson, white, or blue, Purple, pink, and every hue. From sunny skies, to tintings drowned In dusky drops of dew, I praise you all, wherever found, And love you through and through ; But, Rlossoms On The Trees, "With your breath upon the breeze, There s nothing all the world around As half as sweet as you! 23 THE BLOSSOMS ON THE TREES Could the rhymer only wring All the sweetness to the lees Of all the kisses clustering In juicy Used-to-bes, To dip his rhymes therein and sing The blossoms on the trees, O Blossoms on the Trees," He would twitter, trill, and coo, However sweet, such songs as these Are not as sweet as yon : For vou are blooming melodies The eyes may listen to ! " 24 GRANNY GRANNY S come to our house, And ho ! my lawzy-daisy ! All the childern round the place Ts ist a-runnin crazy ! Fetched a cake fer little Jake, And fetched a pie fer Nanny, And fetched a pear fer all the pack That runs to kiss their Granny! Lucy Ellen s in her lap, And Wade and Silas Walker Both s a-ridin on her foot, And Polios on the rocker ; And Marthy s twins, from Aunt Marinn s, And little Orphant Annie, All s a-eatin gingerbread And giggle-un at Granny ! 25 Tells us all the fairy tales Ever thought er wtindcred - And bundance o other stories Bet she knows a hunderd ! Bob s the one fcr " Whittington," And " Golden Locks " fer T 7 anny ! Hear em laugh and clap their hands, Listenin at Granny ! Jack the Giant-Killer " s good ; And " Bean-Stalk " s another - So s the one of " Cinderell And her old godmother ; That-un s best of all the rest - Bestest one of any. Where the mices scampers home Like we runs to Granny Granny s come to our house, ITo ! my lawzy-daisy ! All the childern round the place Ts ist a-runnin crazy ! Fetched a cake fer little Jake, And fetched a pie fer Nanny, And fetched a pear fer all the pack That runs to kiss their Granny ! 26 A HYMB OF FAITH So ran the honest, earnest prayer Of old Benj. Johnson, pleading there OT1 K )T that doth all things devise And fashon for the best, He p us who sees with mortul eyes To overlook the rest. They s times, of course, we grope in doubt, And in afflictions sore ; So knock the louder, Lord, without, And we ll unlock the door. Make us to feel, when times looks bad And tears in pitty melts, Thou wast the only he ]) \ve had \Yhen they was nothin else. A IIYMB OF FAITH Death comes alike to ev ry man That ever was horned on earth. ; Then let us do the hest we can To live fer all life s wurth. Ef storms and tempusts dred to see Makes hlack the heavens ore, They done the same in Galilee Two thousand years hefore. But after all, the golden sun Poured out its floods on them That watched and waited fer the One Then horned in Rethlyham. Also, the star of Holy \Yrit Made noonday of the night, Whilse other stars that looked at it Was envious with delight. The sages then in wurship bowed, From ev ry clime so fare ; O, sinner, think of that glad crowd That congergated tharc ! A HYMB OF FAITH Thev was content to fall in ranks \Yith One that knowccl the way From good old Jurden s stormy hanks Clean up to Jedgmunt Day. Xo matter, then, how all is mixed In our near-sighted eyes, All things is fer the hest, and fixed Out straight in Paradise. Then take things as God sends em here And, ef we live er die, P>e more and more contenteder, "Without a-astin why. O Thou that doth all things devise And fashon fer the best, He p us who sees with mortul eyes To overlook the rest. THE LOVELY CHILD LILIES arc both pure and fair, Growing midst the roses there Roses, too, both red and pink, Are quite beautiful, I think. But of all bright blossoms best - Purest fairest loveliest, Could there be a sweeter thing Than a primrose, blossoming? 34 AN OLD MAN S MEMORY THE delights of our childhood is soon passed away, And our gloryus youth it departs, And yit, dead and hurried, they s blossoms of May Ore theyr medderland graves in our harts. So, friends of my bare-footed days on the farm, Whether truant in city er not, God prosper you, same as He s prosperin me, Whilse your past haint despised er fergot! 37 AN OLD MAN S MEMORY Oh ! they s nothin , at morn, that s as grand unto me As the glory s of Nachur so fare, With the Spring in the breeze, and the bloom in the trees, And the hum of the bees ev rywhcre ! The green in the woods, and the birds in the boughs, And the dew spangled over the fields ; And the bah of the sheep and the bawl of the cows And the call from the house to your meals ! Then ho! fer your brekfast! and ho! fer the toil That waiteth alike man and beast ! Oh! it s soon with my team I ll be tnrnin up soil, Whilse the sun shoulders up in the East Ore the tops of the ellums and beeches and oaks, To smile his godspeed on the plow, A.nd the furry and seed, and the Man in his need, And the joy of the swet of his brow ! MISTER HOP-TOAD HO\YDY, Mister Hop-Toad ! Glad to see you out ! Bin a month o Sund ys sencc I seen you hereabout. Kind o bin a-layin in, from the frost and snow? Good to see you out ag in, it s bin so long ago ! Plows like slicin cheese, and sod s loppin over even ; Loam s like gingerbread, and clods s softern deceivin Mister Hop-Toad, honest-true Springtime don t you love it ? You old rusty rascal you, at the bottom of it ! Oh, oh, oh! I grabs up my old hoe ; But I sees you, And s I, " Ooh-ooh ! Howdy, Mister Hop-Toad! How-dee-do!" MISTER HOP-TOAD Make yourse f more cumfo bler square round at your ease Don t set saggin slanchwise, with your nose below your knees. Swell that fat old throat o yourn and lemme see yon swaller ; Straighten up and h ist your head ! Yon don t owe a dollar ! - Hain t no mor gage on your land ner no taxes, nuther ; You don t haf to work no roads even ef you d ruthcr ! F I was you, and fixed like you, T railly wouldn t keer To swop fer life and hop right in the presidential cheer! Oh. oh, oh! T hauls back my old hoe ; But T sees yon, And s I, " Ooh-ooh ! TTowdy, Mister Hop-Toad! How-dee-do!" Long about next Aprile, hoppin down the furry, Won t you mind T ast you what pearcd to be the hurry? Won t you mind T hooked my hoe and hauled you back and smiled ? W y, bless you, Mister Hop-Toad, T love you like a child ! 42 * : MISTER HOP-TOAL) S posc I d want to flict you any morc n what you air? S pose I think you got no rights cept the warts you wear ? Hulk, sulk, and blink away, you old bloat-eyed rowdy! Hain t you got a word to say ? Won t you tell me "Howdy"? Oh, oh, oh ! I swish round my old hoe ; But I sees yon, And s I, " Ooh-ooh ! Howdy, Mister Hop-Toad ! How-dee-do ! " 45 LAUGHTER WITHIN the cosiest corner of my dreams He sits, high-throned above all gods that be Portrayed in marble-cold mythology, Since from his joyous eyes a twinkle gleams So warm with life and light it ever seems Spraying in mists of sunshine over me, And mingled with such rippling ecstasy As overleaps his lips in laughing streams. Ho ! look on him, and say if he be old Or youthful ! Hand in hand with gray old Time He toddled when an infant ; and, behold ! He hath not aged, but to the lusty prime Of babyhood,- his brow a trifle bold His hair a ravelled nimbus of gray gold. 46 THE LITTLE-RED-APPLE TREE Tl I ]: Little-red-apple Tree ! - O The Little-red-apple Tree! \Yhen I was the Httle-est bit of a boy And you were a boy with me ! The bluebird s flight from the topmost boughs. And the boys up there so high That we rocked over the roof of the house And whooped as the winds went by ! 47 THE LITTLE-RED-APPLE TREE Hey ! The Little-red-apple Tree ! "\Yith the garden-beds below, And the old grape-arbor so wclcomely Hiding the rake and hoe ! Hiding, too, as the sun dripped through In spatters of wasted gold, Frank and Amy away from you And me in the days of old ! The Little-red-apple Tree ! In the edge of the garden-spot, "Where the apples fell so lavishly Into the neighbor s lot ; So do I think of you alway. Brother of mine, as the tree,- Giving the ripest wealth of your love To the world as well as me. Ho ! The Little-red-apple Tree ! Sweet as its juiciest fruit Spanged on the palate spicily, And rolled o er the tongue to boot,. Is the memory still and the joy Of The Lit de-red-apple Tree, When I was the little-est bit of a boy And vou were a bov with me ! WHO BIDES HIS TIME WHO bides bis time, and clay by day Eaces defeat full patiently, And lifts a mirthful roundelay, However poor his fortunes be, He will not fail in any qualm Of poverty the paltry dime It will i^row golden in his palm, Who bides his time. 51 WHO BIDES HIS TIME Who bides his time he tastes the sweet Of honey in the saltest tear ; And though he fares with slowest feet, Joy runs to meet him, drawing near; The birds are heralds of his cause ; And, like a never-ending rhyme, The roadsides bloom in his applause Who bides his time. Who bides his time, and fevers not In the hot race that none achieves, Shall wear cool-wreathen laurel, wrought With crimson berries in the leaves ; And he shall reign a goodly king. And sway his hand o er every clime With peace writ on his signet-ring, Who bides his time. BABYHOOD HETGIT-TTO! Babyhood! Toll me where you linger! Let s toddle borne again, for we have gone astray; Take this eager band of mine and lead me by the finger Back to the lotus-lands of the far-away ! Turn back the leaves of life. Don t read the story. Let s find the pictures, and fancy all the rest ; \Ye can fill the written pages with a brighter glory Than old Time, the story-teller, at his very best. 55 BABYHOOD Turn to the brook where the honeysuckle tipping O er its vase of perfume spills it on the breeze, And the bee and humming-bird in ecstasy are sipping From the fairy-flagons of the blooming locust-trees. Turn to the lane where we used to " teeter-totter." Printing little foot-palms in the mellow mould Laughing at the lazy cattle wading in the water Where the ripples dimple round the buttercups of gold "Where the dusky turtle lies basking on the gravel Of the sunny sand-bar in the middle tide, And the ghostly dragon-fly pauses in his travel To rest like a blossom where the water-lily died. Heigh-ho ! Babyhood ! Tell me where you linger ! Let s toddle home again, for we have gone astray ; Take this eager hand of mine and lead me by the finger Back to the lotus-lands of the far-awav ! OL T R QUEER OLD WORLD Per them at s here in dirtiest infant stages, It s a hard world: Per them at gits the knocks of boyhood s ages, It s a mean world: Per them at nothin s good enough they re gittin , It s a baa world: Per then; at learns at last what s right am! fittin , It s a good world. THE HIRED MAN. IT S a purty hard world you find, my child It s a purty hard world you find ! You fight, little rascal ! and kick and squall, And snort out medicine, spoon and all ! \Yhen you re here longer you ll change yer mind And simmer down sorto half-rickonciled. But now Jee!- ."l/y. -mun-nee ! It s a purty hard world, my child! 59 OUR QUEER OLD WORLD It s a purty mean world you re in, my lad It s a purty mean world you re in ! We know, of course, in your schoolboy-days It s a world of too many troublesome ways Of tryin things over and startin ag in, Yit your chance beats what your parents had. But ;/oTC O! Fire-and-tow ! It s a purty mean world, my lad ! It s a purty bad world you ve struck, young- chap It s a purty bad world you ve struck But study the cards that you hold, you know, And your hopes will sprout and your mustache grow. And your store-clothes likely will change your luck, And you ll rake a rich ladybird into yer lap ! But 7/07C Doubt All things out. It s a purty mean world, young chap ! OUR QUL.ER OLD WORLD It s a purty good world this Is, old mail It s a purty good world this is ! For all its follies and shows and lies It s rainy weather, and cheeks likewise, And age, hard-hearin and rheumatiz. We re not a-faultin the Lord s own plan All things jest At their best. It s a purty good world, old man ! THE FIRST BLUEBIRD The very first bluebird of Spring, As old Bcnj. Johnson heard him sing. JEST rain and snow ! and rain again ! And dribble ! drip ! and blow ! Then snow ! and thaw ! and slush ! and the; Some more rain and snow ! This morning I was most afeard To wake up when, i jing! I seen the sun shine out and heerd The first bluebird of Spring ! Mother she d raised the winder some; And in acrost the orchurd come. Soft as a angel s wing, A breezy, treesy, beesy hum, Too sweet fer anything ! The winter s shroud was rent a-part The sun bust forth in glee, And when that bluebird. sung, my har* Hopped out o bed with me! 64 MY PHILOSOFY F A I XT. ncr don t p tcnd to be, Much posted on philosofy ; P)iit thare is times when, all alone, I work out idees of my own. And of these same thare is a few I d like to jest refer to you Pervidin that you don t object To listen clos t and rickollect. 67 MY PH1LOSOFY I allus argy that a man Who does about the best he can Is plenty good enugh to suit This lower mundane institute No matter ef his daily walk Is subject fer his neghbor s talk, And critic-minds of ev ry whim Jest all git up and go fer him ! I knowed a feller onc t that had The yeller-janders mighty bad, And each and ev ry friend he d meet Would stop and give him some receet Fer cuorin of em. But he d say He kinclo thought they d go away Without no median , and boast That he d git well without one doste. He kep a-yellerin on and they Perdict : *i that he d die some day Before he knowed it! Tuk his bed, The feller did. and lost his head And wunderet ii his mind a spell Then rallied, and, at last, got well ; But ev ry friend that said he d die Went back on him eternahy ! MY PHILOSOFY Its natchurl enugh, I guess, When some gits more and some gits less, .Per them-uns on the slimmest side To claim it ain t a fare divide ; And I ve knowed some to lay and wait, And git up soon, and set up late, To ketch some feller they could hate Fer goin at a faster gait. The signs is bad when folks commence A-findin fault with Providence, And balkin cause the earth don t shake At ev ry prancin step they take. No man is grate tel he can see How less than little he would be Ef stripped to self, and stark and bare He hung his sign out anywhare. My doctern is to lay aside Contensions, and be satisfied : Jest do your best, and praise er blame That f oilers that, counts jest the same. I ve allus noticed grate success Is mixed with troubles, more er less, And it s the man who does the best That gits more kicks than all the rest. 71 A SONG OF THE ROAD WILL walk with you, my lad, whichever way you fare, You ll have me, too, the side o you, with heart as light as air ; No care for where the road you take s a-leadin any- where, It can but be a joyful ja nt the whilst yon journey there. The road you take s the path o love, an that s the bridth o two An I will walk with you, my lad O I will walk with you. Ho ! I will walk with you, my lad, Be weather black or blue Or roadsides frost or dew, my lad O I will walk with vou. 72 - A SONG OF THE ROAD Aye, glad, my lad v I ll walk with you, whatever winds ma} blow, Or summer blossoms stay our steps, or blinding drifts of snow ; The way that you set face an foot s the way that I will go, An brave I ll be, abreast o ye, the Saints in Angels know ! With loyal hand in loyal hand, an one heart made o two, Through summer s gold, or winter s cold, it s T will walk with you. Sure, T will walk with you, my lad, As love ordains me to, To Heaven s door, an through, my lad. O I will walk with you. 75 AWAY j CANNOT say, and I will not say That he is dead. He is just away! \Yith a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand ; He has wandered into an unknown land, And left us dreaming how very fair It needs must he, since he lingers there. And you O you, who the wildest yearn For the old-time step and the glad return, Think of him faring on, as dear In the love of There as the love of Here ; And loyal still, as he gave the blows Of his warrior-strength to his country s foes.- 76 AWAY Mild and gentle, as he was brave, When the sweetest love of his life he gave To simple things : Where the violets grew Blue as the eyes they were likened to, The touches of his hands have strayed As reverently as his lips have prayed : When the little brown thrush that harshly chirred Was dear to him as the mocking-bird ; And he pitied as much as a man in pain A writhing honey-bee wet with rain. Think of him still as the same, I say : lie is not dead he is just away! 79 THE LIGHT OF LOVE THE clouds have deepened o er the night Till, through the dark profound, The moon is but a stain of light And all the stars are drowned ; And all the stars are drowned, my love, And all the skies are drear ; But what care we for light above, If light of love is here? The wind is like a wounded thing That beats about the gloom With baffled breast and drooping wing And wail of deepest doom ; And wail of deepest doom, my love ; But what have we to fear From night, or rain, or winds above, With love and laughter here? 80 EffF THE ALL-GOLDEN I THROUGH every happy line I sing I feel the tonic of the Spring. The clay is like an old-time face That gleams across some grassy place ; An old-time face an old-time chum Who rises from the grave to come And lure me hack along the ways Of time s all-golden yesterdays. Sweet day ! to thus remind me of The truant hoy I used to love To set once more his finger-tips Against the hlossom of his lips, And pipe for me the signal known By none but him and me alone ! 83 THE ALL-GOLDEN II I see, across the school-room floor, The shadow of the open door, And dancing dust and sunshine blent Slanting- the way the morning went, And beckoning my thoughts afar Where reeds and running waters are ; Where amber-colored bayous glass The half-drown d weeds and wisps of grass Where sprawling frogs, in loveless key, Sing on and on incessantly. Against the green wood s dim expanse The cattail tilts its tufted lance, While on its tip one might declare The white " snake-feeder " blossomed there III I catch my breath as children do In woodland swings when life is new And all the blood is warm as wine And tingles with a tang divine, 84 THE ALL-GOLDEN My soul soars up the atmosphere And sings aloud where God can hear, And all my being leans intent To mark His smiling wonderment. O gracious dream, and gracious time, And gracious theme, and gracious rhyme "\Yhen buds of Spring begin to blow In blossoms that we used to know And lure us back along the ways Of time s all-golden yesterdays ! UNLESS WHO has not wanted, docs not guess What plenty is. Who has not groped In depths of doubt and hopelessness, Has never truly hoped. Unless, sometimes, a shadow falls Upon his mirth, and veils his sight, And from the darkness drifts the light Of love at intervals. And that most dear of everything, I hold, is love ; and who can sit With lightest heart and laugh and sing, Knows not the worth of it. Unless, in some strange throng, perchance ; He feels how thrilling sweet it is, One yearning look that answers his The troth of glance and glance. Who knows not pain, knows not, alas ! What pleasure is. Who knows not of The bitter cup that will not pass, Knows not the taste of love. O souls that thirst, and hearts that fast, And natures faint with famishing, God lift and lead and safely bring You to your own at last ! 88 WHATEVER TTTE WEATHER MAY BE "\A7 IIATEVE VV " Whatc IIATEVER the weather may be," says he - "hatever the weather may be, It s plaze, if ye will, an I ll say me say, Supposin to-day was the winterest day, Wud the weather be changing because ye cried, Or the snow be grass were ye crucified? The best is to make yer own summer," says he, " Whatever the weather may be," says he - " Whatever the weather may be \ WHATEVER THE WEATHER MAY BE " Whatever the weather may be," says he " Whatever the weather may be, It s the songs ye sing, an the smiles ye wear, That s a-makin the sun shine everywhere ; An the world of gloom is a world of glee, Wid the bird in the bush, an the bud in the tree, An the fruit on the stim o the bough," says he, " Whatever the weather may be," says he " Whatever the weather may be ! " Whatever the weather may be," says he " Whatever the weather may be, Ye can bring the Spring, wid its green an gold. An the grass in the grove where the snow lies cold An ye ll warm yer back, wid a smiling face, As ye sit at yer heart, like an owld fire-place, An toast the toes o yer sowl," says he, Whatever the weather may be," says he = " Whatever the weather mav be ! " A SUMMER S DAY A summer day so seems it, As old Bcnj. Johnson dreams it. THE Summer s putt the idy in My head that I m a boy again; And all around s so bright and gay T want to putt my team away. And jest git out wharc I can lay And soak my hide full of the day ! But work is work, and must be done Yit, as I work, I have my fun. Jest fancyin these furries here Is childhood s paths onc t more so dear : And so I walk through medder-lands, And country lanes, and swampy trails Whare long bullrushes bresh my hands ; And, tilted on the ridered rails Of deadnin fences, "Old Bob White" Whissels his name in high delight And whirrs away. I wunder still, Whichever way a boy s feet will 95 A SUMMERS DAY Whare trees has fell, with tangled tops Whare dead leaves shakes, I stop fer breth, Heerin the acorn as it drops H istin my chin up still as dcth, And watchin clos t, with upturned eyes, The tree where Mr. Squirrel tries To hide hisse f above the limb, But lets his own tale tell on him. I wuncler on in deeper glooms Git hungry, hearin female cries From old farm-houses, whare perfumes Of harvest dinners seems to rise And ta nt a feller, hart and brane, With memories he can t explane. I wunder through the underbresh, Whare pig-tracks, pintin to rds the crick Is picked and printed in the fresh Black bottom-lands, like wimmern pick Theyr pie-crusts with a fork, some way. When bakin fer camp-meetin day. I wunder on and on and on, Tel my gray hair and beard is gone Q6 A SUMMER S DAY And ev ry wrinkle on my brow Is rubbed clean out and shaddered now "\Yith curls as brown and fare and fine As tenderls of the wild grape-vine That ust to climb the highest tree To keep the ripest ones fer me. I wunder still, and here I am \Yadin* the ford below the dam The worter chucklin round my knee At hornet-welt and bramble-scratch, And me a-slippin crost to see Ef Tyner s plums is ripe, and size The old man s wortermelon-patch, \Yith juicy mouth and drouthy eyes. Then, after sich a day of mirth And happiness as worlds is wurth So tired that heaven seems nigh about,- The sweetest tiredness on earth Is to git home and flatten out So tired you can t lay flat enugh, And sorto wish that you could spred Out like molasses on the bed And jest drip off the aidges in The dreams that never comes again. THE FUNNIEST THING IN THE WORLD THE funniest thing in the world, I know, Is watchin the monkeys at s in the show ! Jumpin an runnin an racin roun , Way up the top o the pole ; nen down ! First they re here, an nen they re there, An ist a most any an ever \vhere ! Screechin an scratchin wherever they go, They re the funniest thing in the world, T know! They re the funniest thing in the world, I think : Funny to watch em eat an drink ; Funny to watch em a-watchin us, An actin most like grow T n folks does ! Funny to watch em p tend to be Skeerd at their tail at they happen to see ; But the funniest thing in the world they do Is never to laugh, like me an you ! IOO MY FIDDLE Old Bcnj. Johnsons fiddle-playin S most as common as he s sayin . MY fiddle ? Well, I kindo keep her handy, don t you know ! Though I ain t so much inclined to tromp the strings and switch the bow As I was before the timber of my elbows got so dry, And my fingers was more limber-like and capensh and spry ; Yit I can plonk and plunk and plink, And tune her up and play, And jest lean back and laugh and wink At ev rv rainy dav ! MY FIDDLE My playin s only middlin tunes I picked up when a boy The kindo -sorto fiddlin 1 that the folks calls " corda- roy"; " The Old Fat Gal," and "Rye-straw," and " My Sail- yor s on the Sea," Is the old cowtillions 7 " saw " when the ch ice is left tn me; And so I plunk and plonk and plink And rosum-np my bow And play the tunes that makes you think The devil s in vour toe ! I was allus a romancin , do-less boy, to tell the truth, A-fiddlin and a-dancin , and a-wastin of my youth, And a-actin and a-cuttin -up all sorts o silly pranks That wasn t worth a button o anybody s thanks! But they tell me, when I ust to plink And plonk and plunk and play, Mv music seemed to have the kink O drivin cares awav ! 104 MY FIDDLE That s how this here old fiddle s won my hart s indurin love ! - From the strings acrost her middle, to the schreechin keys above From her " apern/ over " bridge," and to the ribbon round her throat, She s a wooin , cooin pigeon, singin " Love me " ev ry note! And so I pat her neck, and plink Her strings with lovin hands, And, list nin clos t, I sometimes think She kindo understands ! 107 THE HEREAFTER HEREAFTER! O we need not waste Our smiles or tears, whate er befall : No happiness but holds a taste Of something sweeter, after all ; No depth of agony but feels Some fragment of abiding trust, Whatever death unlocks or seals, The mute Beyond is just. 1 08 WE TO SIGH INSTEAD OF SING i t r) AIN and rain! and rain and rain!" 1 \ Yesterday we muttered Grimly as the grim refrain That the thunders uttered : All the heavens under cloud - All the sunshine sleeping; All the grasses limply bowed With their weight of weeping. 109 WE TO SIGH INSTEAD OF SING Sigh and sigh ! and sigh and sigh ! Never end of sighing; Rain and rain for our reply Hopes half-drowned and dying; Peering through the window-pane, Naught but endless raining Endless sighing, and, as vain, Endlessly complaining. Shine and shine! and shine and shine! Ah ! to-day the splendor ! All this glory yours and mine God ! but God is tender ! We to sigh instead of sing, Yesterday, in sorrow, While the Lord was fashioning This for our To-morrow ! TIO DAN PAINE OLD friend of mine, whose chiming name Has been the burthen of a rhyme Within my heart since first I came To know thee in thy mellow prime: With warm emotions in my breast That can but coldly be expressed, And hopes and wishes wild and vain, I reach my hand to thee, Dan Paine. in DAN PAINE In fancy, as I sit alone In gloomy fellowship with care, I hear again thy cheery tone. And wheel for thee an easy chair ; And from my hand the pencil falls My book upon the carpet sprawls, As eager soul and heart and brain, Leap up to welcome thee, Dan Paine. A something gentle in thy mien, A something tender in thy voice, Has made my trouble so serene, I can but weep, from very choice. And even then my tears, I guess, Hold more of sweet than bitterness, And more of gleaming shine than rain, Because of thy bright smile Dan Paine. The wrinkles that the years have spun And tangled round thy tawny face, Are kinked with laughter, every one, And fashioned in a mirthful grace : And though the twinkle of thine eyes Is keen as frost when Summer dies, It can not long as frost remain While thy warm soul shines out, Dan Paine. 112 DAN PAINE And so I drain a health to thce : May merry Joy and jolly Mirth Like children clamber on thy knee, And ride thee round the happy earth ! And when, at last, the hand of Fate Shall lift the latch of Canaan s gate And usher me in thy domain, Smile on me just as now, Dan Paine. DAWN, NOON AND DEWFALL I DAWN, noon and dewfall ! ]>luebinl and robin Up and at it airly, and the orchard-blossoms bob bin ! Peekin from the winder, half-awake, and wishin I could go to sleep ag in as well as go a-fishin ! II On the apern o the dam, legs a-danglin over, Drowsy-like with sound o worter and the smell o clover : Fish all out a-visitin "cept some dratted minnor ! Yes, and mill shet down at last and hands is gone to dinner. Ill Trompin home acrost the fields : Lightnin -bugs a- blinkin In the wheat like sparks o things feller keeps a-think- in : Mother waitin supper, and the childern there to cherr me ; And fiddle on the kitchen-wall a-jist a-eechin fer me! 116 KISSING THE ROD O HEART of mine, we shouldn t Worry so ! "What we ve missed of calm we couldn t Have, you know ! What we ve met of stormy pain, And of sorrow s driving rain, We can better meet again, If it blow! We have erred in that dark hour We have known, When our tears fell with the shower. All alone ! Were not shine and shower blent As the gracious Master meant? Let us temper our content With His own. For, we know, not every morrow Can be sad ; So, forgetting all the sorrow We have had, Let us fold away our fears, And put by our foolish tears, And through all the coming years Just be glad. 119 AT UTTER LOAF AN afternoon as ripe with heat As might the golden pippin he With mellowness if at my feet It dropped now from the apple-tree My hammock swings in lazily. II The boughs about me spread a shade That shields me from the sun, but weaves With breezy shuttles through the leaves Blue rifts of skies, to gleam and fade Upon the eyes that only see Just of themselves, all drowsily 120 AT UTTER LOAF III Above me drifts the fallen skein Of some tired spider, looped and blown, As fragile as a strand of rain, Across the air, and upward thrown By breaths of hayfiekls newly mown So glimmering it is and fine, I doubt these drowsy eyes of mine. IV Far-off and faint as voices pent In mines and heard from underground, Come murmurs as of discontent, And clamorings of sullen sound The city sends me, as, I guess, To vex me, though they do but bless Me in my drowsy fastnesses. V I have no care. I only know My hammock hides and holds me here In lands of shade a prisoner: "While lazily the breezes blow Light leaves of sunshine over me, And back and forth and to and fro I swing, enwrapped in some hushed glee, Smiling at all things drowsily. 123 A BOY S MOTHER MY Mother she s so good to me, Ef I was good as I could be, I couldn t be as good no, sir! Can t any boy be good as her ! She loves me when I m glad er sad; She loves me when I m good er bad; An , what s a funniest thing, she says She loves me when she punishes. I don t like her to punish me. That don t hurt, but it hurts to see Her cryin . Nen / cry ; an nen We bofc cry an be good again. She loves me when she cuts an sews My little cloak an Sund y clothes ; An when my Pa comes home to tea, She loves him most as much as me. She laughs an tells him all I said, An grabs me up an pats my head; An I hug her, an hug my Pa An love him purt nigh much as Ma. 124 EXCEEDING ALL LONG LIFE S a lovely thing to know, With lovely health and wealth, forsooth, And lovely name and fame Cut O The loveliness of Youth ! 127 WHILE THE HEART BEATS YOUNG WHILE the heart beats young ! O the splendor of the Spring, With all her dewy jewels on, is not so fair a thing! The fairest, rarest morning of the blossom-time of May Is not so sweet a season as the season of to-day While Youth s diviner climate folds and holds us, close caressed, As we feel our mothers with us by the touch of face and breast ; Our bare feet in the meadows, and our fancies up among The airy clouds of morning while the heart beats young. 128 WHILE THE HEART BEATS YOUNG While the heart beats young and our pulses leap and dance, With every day a holiday and life a glad romance, We hear the birds with wonder, and with wonder watch their flight - Standing, still the more enchanted, both of hearing and of sight, "When they have vanished wholly, for, in fancy, wing- to- w ing We ily to Heaven with them; and, returning, still we sing The praises of this lower Heaven with tireless voice and tongue, Even as the Master sanctions -while the heart beats young. While the heart beats young! While the heart beats young ! O green and gold old Earth of ours, with azure overhung And looped with rainbows ! grant us yet this grassy lap of thine We would be still thy children, through the shower and the shine ! So pray we, lisping, whispering, in childish love and trust, With our beseeching hands and faces lifted from the dust By fervor of the poem, all unwritten and unsung, Thou givest us in answer, while the heart beats young. THE TWINS ONE S the pictur of his Pa, And the other of her Ma Jes the bossest pair o habies at a mortal ever saw ! And we love em as the bees Loves the blossoms of the trees A-riclin and a-rompin in the breeze ! One s got her Mammy s eyes Soft and blue as Apurl-skies With the same sort of a smile, like Yes, and month about her size, Dimples, too, in check and chin, At my lips jes wallers in, A-goin to work, er gittin home ag in ! THE TWINS And the other Well, they say That he s got his Daddy s way O bein ruther soberfied, er ruther extry gay, That he either cries his best, Er he laughs his howlin est Like all he lacked was buttons and a vest ! Look at her! and look at /;/ ;;// Talk about yer " Cheru-6/;// / " Roll em up in dreams together, rosy arm and chubby limb ! O we love em as the bees Loves the blossoms of the trees, A-ridin and a-rompin in the breeze! 135 THE WILLOW WHO shall sing a simple ditty all about the Willow, Dainty-fine and delicate as any bending- spray That dandles high the happy bird that flutters there to trill a Tremulously tender song of greeting to the A Fay. Bravest, too, of all the trees ! none to match your daring, First of greens to greet the Spring and lead in leafy sheen ; Aye, and you re the last almost into winter wearing Still the leaf of loyalty still the badge of green. Ah, my lovely Willow ! let the Waters lilt your graces, They alone with limpid kisses lave your leaves above, Flashing back your sylvan beauty, and in shady places Peering up with glimmering pebbles, like the eyes of love. 136 BILLY MILLER S CIRCUS-SHOW AT Hilly Miller s Circus-Show In their old stable where it s at The hoys pays twenty pins to go, An gits their money s-worth at that ! Cause Billy he can climb and chalk His stockin -feet an purt -nigh walk A tight-rope - yes, an ef he fall He ll ketch, an "skin a cat"- at s all! 139 BILLY MILLER S CIRCUS SHOW He ain t afeard to swing and hang 1st by his legs ! an mayby stop An yell " Look out ! " an nen k-spang ! He ll let loose, upside-down, an drop Wite on his hands ! An nen he ll do " Contortion-acts " - ist limber through As " Injarubber Mens " at goes With shore-fer-certain circus-shows ! At Billy ^liller s Circus-Show He s got a circus-ring an they s A dressin -room, so s he can go An dress an paint-up when he plays He s somepin else ; cause sometimes he s " Ringmaster "- bossin like he please An sometimes " Ephalunt " er " Bare- Back Rider," prancin out o there ! An sometimes an the best of all ! He s " The Old Clown," an got on clo es All str/pud, an white hat, all tall An peakud like in shore- miff shows, An got three-cornered red-marks, too, On his white cheeks like all Clowns do ! - An you d ist die, the way he sings An dances an says funny things ! 140 THE HIRED MAN S FAITH IN CHILDREN (BELIEVE all childern s good, Ef they re only understood, Even bad ones, pears to me, S jes as good as they kin be! H3 A NOON INTERVAL A DEEP, delicious hush in earth and sky A gracious lull since, from its wakening. The morn has heen a feverish, restless thing In which the pulse of Summer ran too high And riotous, as though its heart went nigh To bursting with delights past uttering : Now 7 -as an o erjoyed child may cease to sing AH falteringly at play, with dro\vsy eye Draining the pictures of a fairy-tale To brim his dreams with - there comes o er the day A loathful silence wherein all sounds fail Like loitering tones of some faint roundelay No wakeful effort longer may avail The wand waves, and the dozer sinks away. 144 A PASSING HAIL LET us rest ourselves a bit ! Worry? wave your hand to it Kiss your finger-tips, and smile It farewell a little while. Weary of the weary way We have come from Yesterday, Let us fret us not, instead, Of the weary way ahead. Let us pause and catch our breath On the hither side of death, While we see the tender shoots Of the grasses not the roots, While we yet look down not up To seek out the buttercup And the daisy where they wave O er the green home of the grave. 147 A PASSIM G HAIL Let us launch us smoothly on The soft billows of the lawn, And drift out across the main Of our childish dreams again: Voyage off, beneath the trees, O er the field s enchanted seas, Where the lilies are our sails, And our sea-gulls, nightingales : Where no wilder storm shall beat Than the wind that waves the wheat And no tempest-burst above The old laughs we used to love : Lose all troubles gain release, Languor, and exceeding peace, Cruising idlv o er the vast. Calm mid-ocean of the Past. Let us rest ourselves a bit ! Worry? Wave your hand to it Kiss your finger-tips, and smile It farewell a little while. ON AXY ORDENARY MAN IN A HIGH STATE OF LAUGHTURE AND DELIGHT Let the old man laugh and be Blest therefor eternally! AS it s give me to perceive, I most certin v believe When a man s jest glad plum through, God s pleased with him, same as you. THERE WAS A CT TERRY-TREE THERE was a cherry-tree. Its bloomy snows Cool even now the fevered sight that knows Xo more its airy visions of pure joy - As when you were a boy. There was a cherry-tree. The Blue jay set His blue against its white O blue as jet He seemed there then! But now "Whoever knew He was so pale a blue ! There was a cherry-tree Our child-eyes saw The miracle : Its pure white snows did thaw Into a crimson fruitage, far too sweet But for a boy to eat. There was a cherry-tree, give thanks and joy ! There was a bloom of snow There was a boy There was a Bluejay of the realest blue And fruit for both of you. 152 r AT BROAD RTPrLE OI I , LUXURY ! Beyond the heat And dust of town, with dangling feet Astride the rock helow the dam, Tn the cool shadows where the calm Rests on the stream again, and all Is silent save the waterfall, I hait my hook and cast my line, And feel the hest of life is mine. 155 AT BROAD RIPPLE No high ambition may I claim I angle not for lordly game Of trout, or bass, or wary bream - A black perch reaches the extreme Of my desires ; and " goggle-eyes " Are not a thing that I despise ; A sunfish, or a " chub," or " cat " A " silver-side " yea, even that ! In eloquent tranquillity The waters lisp and talk to me. Sometimes, far out, the surface breaks. As some proud bass an instant shakes His glittering armor in the sun, And romping ripples, one by one, Come dallying across the space Where undulates my smiling face. The river s story flowing by, Forever sweet to ear and eye, Forever tenderly begun Forever new and never done. Thus lulled and sheltered in a shade Where never feverish cares invade, I bait my hook and cast my line, And feel the best of life is mine. 156 LITTLE DAVID THE mother of the little hoy that sleeps lias blest assurance, even as she weeps : She knows her little boy has now no pain No further ache, in body, heart or brain : All sorrow is lulled for him all distress Passed into utter peace and restfulness. All health that heretofore has been denied All happiness, all hope, and all beside Of childish longing, now he clasps and keeps In voiceless joy the little boy that sleeps. 159 A FULL HARVEST Jcs you listen and look wise N let the old man sermonise! SEEMS like a feller d ort o jcs to-day Git down and roll and waller, don t you know In that-air stubble, and flop up and crow, Seem sich craps ! I ll undertake to say There re no wheat s ever turned out thataway Afore this season ! Folks is keerless tho , And too fergitful caze we d ort o show More thankfulness ! Jes looky hyonder, hcv ? And watch that little reaper wadin time That last old yaller hunk o harvest-ground Jes natchur ly a-slicin it in-two Like honey-comb and gaumin it around The field like it had nothin else to do On y jes waste it all on me and you! 1 60 LET SOMETHING GOOD BE SAID WHEN over the fair fame of friend or foe The shadow of disgrace shall fall ; instead Of words of blame, or proof of thus and so, Let something good he said. Eorget not that no fellow-being yet May fall so low but love may lift his head: Even the cheek of shame with tears is wet, If something good be said. No generous heart may vainly turn aside In ways of sympathy ; no soul so dead But may awaken strong and glorified, If something good be said. And so I charge ye, by the thorny crown. And by the cross on which the Savior bled, And by your own souls hope of fair renown, Let something good, be said ! 163 HER SMILE OF CHEER AXD VOICE OF SONG ANNA HARRIS RANDALL SPRING fails, in all its bravery of brilliant gold and green, The sun, the grass, the leafing tree, and all the dazzling scene Of dewy morning -orchard blooms, And woodland blossoms and perfumes With bird-songs sown between, Yea, since she smiles not any more, so every flowery thing Eades, and the birds seem brooding o er her silence as they sing Her smile of cheer and voice of song Seemed so divinely to belong To ever-joyous Spring ! Xay, still she smiles. Our eyes are blurred and see not through our tears : And still her rapturous voice is heard, tho not of mortal ears : Xow ever doth she smile and sing Where Heaven s unending Clime of Spring Reclaims those gifts of hers. 164 A CHRISTMAS CAROL CHRIST used to be like you and me, When just a lad in Galilee So when we pray, on Christmas Day, He favors first the prayers we say: Then waste no tear, hut pray with cheer, This crkuldest dav of all the rear: O BROTHER MINE of birth Divine. L pon this natal day of Thine Bear with our stress of happiness Xor count our reverence the less Because with glee and jubilee Our hearts go singing up to Th.ee. 167 THE HARPER LIKE a drift of faded blossoms Caught in a slanting- rain, His fingers glimpsed down the strings of his harp In a tremulous refrain : Patter and tinkle, and drip and drip ! Ah ! hut the chords were rainy sweet ! And I closed my eyes and I hit my lip. As he played there in the street. Patter, and drip, and tinkle ! And there was the little heel In the corner of the garret, And the rafters overhead ! And there was the little window Tinkle, and drip, and drip ! The rain above, and a mother s love,. And God s companionship! 168 THE SCHOOLBOY S FAVORITE F Orcr the river and through the wood, Non Grandmother s cap I sp\! Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done? Hurrah for the pumpkin-pic! OLD SCHOOL RK ER any boy at s little as me, Er any little girl, That-un s the goodest poetry-piece In any book in the \vorl ! An ef grown-peoples wuz little ag in I bet they d say so, too, Ef they d go see their ole Gran ma Like our Pa lets us do ! 171 THE SCHOOLBOY S FAVORITE Over the river an through the wood, Now Gran mother s cap I spy! Hurrah fer the fun! Is the puddin done? Hurrah fcr the piinkin-pic! An 11 tell you why at s the goodest piece . Cause it s ist like we go To our firan ma s, a-visitun there, "When our Pa he says so ; An Ma she fixes my little cape-coat An little fuzz-cap ; an Pa He tucks me away an yells "Hoo-ray!" An whacks Ole Gray, an drives the sleigh Fastest you ever saw ! Over the river an through tJie wood, Now Gran mother s cap I spy! Plurrali fer the fun! Is the pitddin done? Hurrah fcr the piinkin-pic! An Pa ist snuggles me tween his knees An I he p hold the lines, An peek out over the buffalo-robe ; An the wind ist blows! an the snow ist snows! An the sun ist shines ! an shines ! 172 THE SCHOOLBOY S FAVORITE An th ole horse tosses his head an coughs The frost back in our face. An I ruther go to my Gran ma s Than any other place! Over the river an through the wood, Now Gran mother s cap I spy! Hurrah fcr the fun! Is the puddin done? Hurrah fcr the punkin-pie! An all the peoples they is in town Watches us whizzin past To go a-visitun our Gran ma s, Like we all went there last ; But they can t go, like ist our folks An Johnny an Lotty, an three Er four neighber-childerns, an Rober-ut Volney An Charley an Maggy an me! Over the river an through the wood, Now Gran mother s cap I spy! Hurrah fcr the fun! A? the puddin done? Hurrah fer the punkin-pie! T75 AUTUMN AS a harvester, at dusk, Faring down some woody trail Leading- homeward through the musk Of May-apple and pawpaw. Hazel-bush, and spice and haw, So comes Autumn, swart and hale, Drooped of frame and slow of stride, But withal an air of pride Looming up in stature far Higher than his shoulders are ; Weary both in arm and limb, Yet the wholesome heart of him Sheer at rest and satisfied. 176 AUTUMN Greet him as with glee of drums And glad cymbals, as he comes ! Robe him fair, O Rain and Shine! He the Emperor the King Royal lord of everything Sagging Plenty s granary floors And out-bulging all her doors ; He the god of corn and wine, Honey, milk, and fruit and oil Lord of feast, as lord of toil Jocund host of yours and mine ! Ho- ihe revel of his laugh! Half is sound of winds, and half Roar of ruddy blazes drawn Up the throats of chimneys wide, Circling which, from side to side, Faces lit as by the Dawn, With her highest tintings on Tip of nose, and cheek, and chin Smile at some old fairy-tale Of enchanted lovers, in Silken gown and coat of mail, 179 AUTUMN With a retinue of elves A Terry as their very selves, Trooping ever, hand in hand, Down the dales of Wonderland. Then the glory of his song! Lifting up his dreamy eyes Singing haze across the skies ; Singing clouds that trail along Towering tops of trees that seize Tufts of them to stanch the breeze Singing slanted strands of rain In between the sky and earth, For the lyre to mate the mirth And the might of his refrain : Singing southward-flying birds Down to us, and afterwards Singing them to flight again : Singing blushes to the cheeks Of the leaves upon the trees Singing on and changing these Into pallor, slowly wrought. Till the little, moaning creeks Bear them to their last farewell, 1 80 AUTUMN As Elaine the lovable Was borne down to Lancelot. Singing drip of tears, and then Drying them with smiles again. Singing apple, peach and grape, Into roundest, plumpest shape ; Rosy ripeness to the face Of the pippin ; and the grace Of the dainty stamin-tip To the huge bulk of the pear, Pendant in the green caress Of the leaves, and glowing through With the tawny laziness Of the gold that Ophir knew, Haply, too, within its rind Such a cleft as bees may find, Bungling on it half aware, And wherein to see them sip Fancy lifts an oozy lip, And the singer s falter there. Sweet as swallows swimming through Eddyings of dusk and dew, 183 AUTUMN Singing happy scenes of home Back to sight of eager eyes That have longed for them to come, Till their coming is surprise Uttered only by the rush Of quick tears and prayerful hush: Singing on, in clearer key, Hearty palms of you and me Into grasps that tingle still Rapturous, and ever will ! Singing twank and twang of strings Trill of flute and clarinet In a melody that rings Like the tunes we used to play, And our dreams are playing yet ! Singing lovers, long astray. Each to each ; and, sweeter things, Singing in their marriage-day, And a banquet holding all These delights for festival. 184 THERE IS EVER A SONG SOMEWHERE THERE is ever a song- somewhere, my dear; There is ever a something sings alway : There s the song of the lark when the skies are clear. And the song of the thrush when the skies are gray. The sunshine showers across the grain, And the bluebird trills in the orchard tree ; And in and out, when the eaves drip rain, The swallows are twittering ceaselessly. 187 THERE IS EVER A SONG SOMEWHERE There is ever a song somewhere, my dear, Be the skies above or dark or fair, There is ever a song that our hearts may hear There is ever a song somewhere, my dear There is ever a song somewhere ! There is ever a song somewhere, my dear, In the midnight black, or the mid-day blue ; The robin pipes when the sun is here, And the cricket chirrups the whole night through The buds may blow, and the fruit may grow, And the autumn leaves drop crisp and sear ; But whether the sun, or the rain, or the snow, There is ever a song somewhere, my dear. There is ever a song somewhere, my dear, Be the skies above or dark or fair, There is ever a song that our hearts may hear There is ever a song somewhere, my dear There is ever a song somewhere ! 1 88 CL :& _ X^ GOD BLESS US EVERY ONE / ^ OD bless us every one! " prayed Tiny Tim, ^-~+ Crippled and dwarfed of body, yet so tall Of soul, \ve tiptoe earth to look on him. High towering over all. 191 GOD BLESS US EVERY ONE He loved the loveless world, nor dreamed indeed That it at hest could give to him, the while, But pitying glances, when his only need Was but a cheery smile. And thus he prayed, " God bless us every one ! "- Enfolding all the creeds within the span Of his child-heart ; and so, despising none, Was nearer saint than man. I like to fancy God, in Paradise, Lifting a finger o er the rhythmic swing Of chiming harp and song, with eager eyes Turned earthward, listening The Anthem stilled the Angels leaning there Above the golden walls the morning sun Of Christmas bursting flower-like with the prayer, * God bless us every one ! " THE PRAYER PERFECT DEAR Lord! kind Lord! Gracious Lord ! I pray Thou wilt look on all I love, Tenderly to-day ! Weed their hearts of weariness ; Scatter every care Down a wake of angel-wings Winnowing the air. Bring unto the sorrowing All release from pain ; Let the lips of laughter Overflow again ; And with all the needy O divide, I pray, This vast treasure of content That is mine to-day ! 195 .THERNREGIONA LIBRARY FACUTV A 000817899