Chums Sleepy little, creepy little goblins in the gloaming, With their airy little, fairy little faces all aglow, Winking little, blinking little brownies gone a-roaming, Hear the rustling little, bustling little footfalls as they go. Laughing little, chaffing little voices sweetly singing In the dearest little, queerest little baby lullabies, Creep! Creep! Creep! Time to go to sleep! Baby playing 'possum with his big brown eyes! Cricket in the thicket with the oddest little clatter Sings his rattling little, prattling little, tattling little tune; Fleet the feet of tiny stars go patter, patter, patter, As they scamper from the heavens at the rising of the moon. Beaming little, gleaming little fireflies go dreaming To the dearest little, queerest little baby lullabies. Creep! Creep! Creep! Time to go to sleep! Baby playing 'possum with his big brown eyes! Quaking little, shaking little voices all a-quiver In the mushy little, rushy little, weedy, reedy bogs, Droning little, moaning little chorus by the river, In the croaking little, joking little cadence of the frogs. Eerie little, cheery little glowworms in the gloaming Where the clover heads like fairy little nightcaps rise, Creep! Creep! Creep! Time to go to sleep! Baby playing 'possum with his big brown eyes! J.W. Foley. Chums If we should be shipwrecked together And only had water for one, And it was the hottest of weather Right out in the boiling sun, He'd tell me—no matter how bad he Might want it—to take a drink first; And then he would smile—oh, so glad he Had saved me!—and perish from thirst! Or, if we were lost on the prairie And only had food for a day, He'd come and would give me the share he Had wrapped up and hidden away; And after I ate it with sadness He'd smile with his very last breath, And lay himself down full of gladness To save me—and starve right to death. And if I was wounded in battle And out where great danger might be, He'd come through the roar and the rattle Of guns and of bullets to me, He'd carry me out, full of glory, No matter what trouble he had, And then he would fall down, all gory With wounds, and would die—but be glad! We're chums—that's the reason he'd do it; And that's what a chum ought to be. And if it was fire he'd go through it, If I should call him to me. You see other fellows may know you, And friends that you have go and come; But a boy has one boy he can go to, For help all the time—that's his chum. J.W. Foley. Jim Brady's Big Brother Jim Brady's big brother's a wonderful lad, And wonderful, wonderful muscles he had; He swung by one arm from the limb of a tree And hung there while Jim counted up forty-three Just as slow as he could; and he leaped at a bound Across a wide creek and lit square on the ground Just as light as a deer; and the things he can do, So Jimmy told us, you would hardly think true. Jim Brady's big brother could throw a fly ball From center to home just like nothing at all; And often while playing a game he would stand And take a high fly with just only one hand; Jim Brady showed us where he knocked a home run And won the big game when it stood three to one Against the home team, and Jim Brady, he showed The place where it lit in the old wagon road! Jim Brady's big brother could bat up a fly That you hardly could see, for it went up so high; He'd bring up his muscle and break any string That you tied on his arm like it wasn't a thing! He used to turn handsprings, and cartwheels, and he Could jump through his hands just as slick as could be, And circuses often would want him to go And be in the ring, but his mother said no. Jim Brady's big brother would often make bets With boys that he'd turn two complete summersets From off of the spring-board before he would dive, And you'd hardly think he would come up alive; And nobody else who went there to swim Could do it, but it was just easy for him; And they'd all be scared, so Jim said, when he'd stay In under and come up a half mile away. Jim Brady's big brother, so Jim said, could run Five miles in a race just as easy as one. Right often he walked on his hands half a block And could have walked more if he'd wanted to walk! And Jimmy says wait till he comes home from school, Where he is gone now, and some day, when it's cool, He'll get him to prove everything to be true That Jimmy told us his big brother could do! J.W. Foley. The Gray Swan "Oh tell me, sailor, tell me true, Is my little lad, my Elihu, A-sailing with your ship?" The sailor's eyes were dim with dew,— "Your little lad, your Elihu?" He said with trembling lip,— "What little lad? what ship?" "What little lad! as if there could be Another such a one as he! What little lad, do you say? Why, Elihu, that took to the sea The moment I put him off my knee! It was just the other day The Gray Swan sailed away." "The other day?" the sailor's eyes Stood open with a great surprise,— "The other day? the Swan? " His heart began in his throat to rise. "Ay, ay, sir, here in the cupboard lies The jacket he had on." "And so your lad is gone?" "Gone with the Swan ." "And did she stand With her anchor clutching hold of the sand, For a month, and never stir?" "Why, to be sure! I've seen from the land, Like a lover kissing his lady's hand, The wild sea kissing her,— A sight to remember, sir." "But, my good mother, do you know All this was twenty years ago? I stood on the Gray Swan's deck, And to that lad I saw you throw, Taking it off, as it might be, so, The kerchief from your neck." "Ay, and he'll bring it back!" "And did the little lawless lad That has made you sick and made you sad, Sail with the Gray Swan's crew?" "Lawless! the man is going mad! The best boy ever mother had,— Be sure he sailed with the crew! What would you have him do?" "And he has never written line, Nor sent you word, nor made you sign To say he was alive?" "Hold! if 'twas wrong, the wrong is mine; Besides, he may be in the brine, And could he write from the grave? Tut, man, what would you have?" "Gone twenty years,—a long, long cruise, 'Twas wicked thus your love to abuse; But if the lad still live, And come back home, think you you can Forgive him?"—"Miserable man, You're mad as the sea,—you rave,— What have I to forgive?" The sailor twitched his shirt so blue, And from within his bosom drew The kerchief. She was wild. "My God! my Father! is it true My little lad, My Elihu? My blessed boy, my child! My dead,—my living child!" Alice Cary. The Circling Year SPRING The joys of living wreathe my face, My heart keeps time to freshet's race; Of balmy airs I drink my fill— Why, there's a yellow daffodil! Along the stream a soft green tinge Gives hint of feathery willow fringe; Methinks I heard a Robin's "Cheer"— I'm glad Spring's here! SUMMER An afternoon of buzzing flies. Heat waves that sear, and quivering rise; The long white road, the plodding team, The deep, cool grass in which to dream; The distant cawing of the crows, Tall, waving grain, long orchard rows; The peaceful cattle in the stream— Midsummer's dream! AUTUMN A cold, gray day, a lowering sky, A lonesome pigeon wheeling by; The soft, blue smoke that hangs and fades, The shivering crane that flaps and wades; Dead leaves that, whispering, quit their tree, The peace the river sings to me; The chill aloofness of the Fall— I love it all! WINTER A sheet of ice, the ring of steel, The crunch of snow beneath the heel; Loud, jingling bells, the straw-lined sleigh, A restless pair that prance and neigh; The early coming of the night, Red glowing logs, a shaded light; The firelit realm of books is mine— Oh, Winter's fine! Ramona Graham. INDEX OF FIRST LINES A fellow near Kentucky's clime 34 A foolish little maiden bought a foolish little bonnet 168 'A frightful face'? Wal, yes, yer correct 125 A harbor in a sunny, southern city 137 Alone in the dreary, pitiless street 46 Among the legends sung or said 63 An old lady sat in her old arm-chair 200 An old man going a lone highway 54 April! April! are you here? 59 A sad-faced little fellow sits alone in deep disgrace 108 At Paris it was, at the opera there 72 A traveler on the dusty road 97 Away, away in the Northland 131 Beneath the hot midsummer sun 39 Between broad fields of wheat and corn 147 Billy's dead, and gone to glory—so is Billy's sister Nell 104 Break, break, break 52 Bring, novelist, your note-book! bring, dramatist, your pen! 123 By Nebo's lonely mountain 45 Chained in the market-place he stood 145 Cheeriest room, that morn, the kitchen 128 Cleon hath ten thousand acres 37 Closed eyes can't see the white roses 84 Come to me, O ye children! 16 " Corporal Green!" the orderly cried 86 Could we but draw back the curtains 29 Dear little flag in the window there 127 Did you tackle the trouble that came your way 132 Don't kill the birds, the pretty birds 53 Every coin of earthly treasure 12 Far back, in my musings, my thoughts have been cast 75 Farewell! a long farewell, to all my greatness! 94 First on the list is Washington, Virginia's proudest name 195 Fling it from mast and steeple 202 Give me that grand old volume, the gift of a mother's love 117 God makes sech nights, all white an' still 59 God said: I am tired of kings 62 God send us a little home 87 Good Deacon Roland—"May his tribe increase!" 178 Go thou thy way, and I go mine 162 Grandma told me all about it 48 Great were the hearts and strong the minds 37 "Hadst thou stayed, I must have fled!" 174 Han'some, stranger? Yes, she's purty an' ez peart as she kin be 96 Hark, hark! the lark at heaven's gate sings 111 Has there any old fellow got mixed with the boys? 27 He came to my desk with quivering lip 202 He who has the vision sees more than you or I 146 Hey! little evergreens 203 Home they brought her warrior dead 74 How are you hoeing your row, my boy? 202 Hush! my dear, lie still and slumber 35 I asked of Echo, t'other day 65 I cannot vouch my tale is true 156 I can't tell much about the thing, 'twas done so powerful quick 182 I come, I come! ye have called me long 26 I'd like to hunt the Injuns 't roam the boundless plain! 121 If all the skies were sunshine 36 If I had known in the morning 119 If I were hanged on the highest hill 70 If we should be shipwrecked together 206 If you can dress to make yourself attractive 153 If you can take your dreams into the classroom 165 If you have a friend worth loving 167 I have a rendezvous with Death 142 I love my prairies, they are mine 74 I'm not a chicken; I have seen 137 In a dark and dismal alley where the sunshine never came 112 In an attic bare and cheerless, Jim the newsboy dying lay 52 In a pioneer's cabin out West, so they say 130 In a valley, centuries ago 36 In Gettysburg at break of day 122 In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes 90 In the hush and the lonely silence 65 Into a ward of the whitewashed halls 175 I sat alone with my conscience 81 I saw him once before 20 It is Christmas day in the workhouse 193 It isn't the thing you do, dear 116 It may be that the words I spoke 103 It's easy to talk of the patience of Job 82 It takes a heap o' livin' in a houst t' make it home 7 It was a bright and lovely summer's morn 114 It was an old, old, old, old lady 30 It was a sergeant old and gray 158 It was a starry night in June, the air was soft and still 102 It was in the days when Claverhouse 9 It was kept out in the kitchen, and 'twas long and deep and wide 177 It was many and many a year ago 25 It was the pleasant harvest-time 188 It was the twilight hour 61 I've got a letter, parson, from my son away out West 53 I walked through the woodland meadows 9 I wandered lonely where the pine-trees made 199 I was mighty good-lookin' when I was young 44 I was sitting in my study 40 I was strolling one day down the Lawther Arcade 169 I went into a public 'ouse to get a pint of beer 170 I, who was always counted, they say 42 I wish there were some wonderful place 32 I wrote some lines once on a time 14 Jim Brady's big brother's a wonderful lad 206 King David's limbs were weary. He had fled 191 Laugh, and the world laughs with you 139 Let us be kind 143 Life! I know not what thou art 65 Like a dream, it all comes o'er me as I hear the Christmas bells 47 Like liquid gold the wheat field lies 8 Little lamb, who made thee? 86 Little lass of Plymouth,—gentle, shy, and sweet 154 Little one, come to my knee! 89 Marching down to Armageddon 157 Mine is a wild, strange story,—the strangest you ever heard 106 My grandfather's clock was too tall for the shelf 35 Nae shoon to hide her tiny taes 131 Never mind me, Uncle Jared, never mind my bleeding breast 11 Never yet was a springtime 93 No, comrades, I thank you—not any for me 87 No gilt or tinsel taints the dress 204 No, I never, till life and its shadows shall end 140 Not far advanced was morning day 95 Not who you are, but what you are 66 O for one hour of youthful joy! 58 O'Grady lived in Shanty row 44 Oh, a wonderful stream is the river of Time 51 Oh, East is East, and West is West 23 Oh! listen to the water mill through all the livelong day 143 Oh, such a commotion under the ground 59 "Oh tell me, sailor, tell me true" 207 O Liberty, thou child of Law 39 O month of fairer, rarer days 153 Once in Persia reigned a king 159 One sweetly solemn thought 48 On the top of the Crumpetty Tree 91 O Thou eternal One! whose presence bright 162 Our band is few, but true and tried 54 Our old brown homestead reared its walls 55 Out of the hills of Habersham 66 Piller fights is fun, I tell you 80 Prop yer eyes wide open, Joey 32 Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky 63 Saint Augustine! well hast thou said 33 She sat on the sliding cushion 29 She's up there—Old Glory—where lightnings are sped 21 She was a Phantom of delight 89 Silent he watched them—the soldiers and dog 122 Sleepy little, creepy little goblins in the gloaming 205 Slow the Kansas sun was setting 37 Some die too late and some too soon 84 Sometimes w'en I am playin' with some fellers 'at I knows 127 Somewhere, out on the blue sea sailing 138 South mountain towered upon our right, far off the river lay 176 Stand! the ground's your own, my braves! 99 Sweet is the voice that called 75 Talking of sects quite late one eve 180 The autumn is old 186 The bells of Mount Vernon are ringing to-day 58 The boy stood on the burning deck 164 The bravest battle that ever was fought 64 The children kept coming one by one 146 The coppenter man said a wicked word 139 The day is cold, and dark, and dreary 28 The district school-master was sitting behind his great book-laden desk 68 The feast is o'er! Now brimming wine 57 The gate was thrown open, I rode out alone 120 The gret big church wuz crowded full uv broadcloath an' of silk 149 The harp that once through Tara's halls 71 The joys of living wreathe my face 208 The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year 21 The Minstrel-Boy to the war is gone 55 The muffled drum's sad roll has beat 15 The night was dark when Sam set out 76 The old mayor climbed the belfry tower 150 There are two kinds of people on earth to-day 116 There fell an April shower, one night 26 There lay upon the ocean's shore 150 There's a dandy little fellow 82 There was a Boy; you knew him well, ye cliffs 90 There was a sound of revelry by night 17 There were ninety and nine 166 The rich man's son inherits lands 22 The rosy clouds float overhead 62 These are the things I hold divine 64 The shades of night were falling fast 15 The snow and the silence came down together 83 The sunlight shone on walls of stone 134 The sun's heat will give out in ten million years more 203 The sweetest lives are those to duty wed 20 The warrior bowed his crested head, and tamed his heart of fire 160 The weaver at this loom is sitting 171 They grew in beauty, side by side 130 They said, "The Master is coming" 30 This is the land where hate should die 18 Tho' yer lamp o' life is burnin' with a clear and steady light 199 Three little words you often see 201 'Tis a cold, bleak night! with angry roar 77 'Tis a lesson you should heed 135 'Tis gone at last, and I am glad; it stayed a fearful while 173 'Tis only a half truth the poet has sung 28 "To-whit! to-whit! to-whee!" 41 Turn back the leaves of history. On yon Pacific shore 183 'Twas a stylish congregation, that of Theophrastus Brown 18 'Twas on Lake Erie's broad expanse 78 'Twas the eve before Christmas; "Good-night" had been said 196 Two angels, one of Life and one of Death 187 Two little stockings hung side by side 141 Want any papers, Mister? 94 We all look on with anxious eyes 40 We are two travellers, Roger and I 49 Well, wife, I found the model church! I worshipped there to-day 148 W'en you see a man in woe 123 We squander health in search of wealth 103 We were crowded in the cabin 56 We were not many,—we who stood 165 "What fairings will ye that I bring?" 92 What flower is this that greets the morn 85 What makes the dog's nose always cold? 144 Whence come those shrieks so wild and shrill 12 Whene'er a noble deed is wrought 56 Whenever I walk to Suffern along the Erie track 8 When I compare 34 When Mary Ann Dollinger got the skule daown thar on Injun Bay 67 When papa was a little boy you really couldn't find 100 When the humid showers gather over all the starry spheres 97 When the lessons and tasks are all ended 133 When the Norn Mother saw the Whirlwind Hour 118 Whichever way the wind doth blow 67 "Which shall it be? which shall it be?" 101 Who comes dancing over the snow 153 Who dat knockin' at de do'? 71 Why dost thou wildly rush and roar 100 Why, yes, dear, we can put it by. It does seem out of plac e 186 With sable-draped banners and slow measured tread 140 Work! Thank God for the might of it 154 Work thou for pleasure; paint or sing or carve 169 Ye banks, and braes, and streams around 88 Ye say that all have passed away—that noble race and brave 135 Yes, it's a quiet station, but it suits me well enough 109 You bad leetle boy, not moche you care 80 You may talk o' gin an' beer 98 You're going to leave the homestead, John 159 Your letter, lady, came too late 136 You sail and you seek for the Fortunate Isles 168 You say I have asked for the costliest thing 155