Story Poems

A Story for a Child

by Bayard Taylor

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Little one, come to my knee!
Hark, how the rain is pouring
Over the roof, in the pitch-black night,
And the wind in the woods a-roaring!

Hush, my darling, and listen,
Then pay for the story with kisses;
Father was lost in the pitch-black night,
In just such a storm as this is!

High up on the lonely mountains,
Where the wild men watched and waited;
Wolves in the forest, and bears in the bush,
And I on my path belated.

The rain and the night together
Came down and the wind came after,
Bending the props of the pine-tree roof,
And snapping many a rafter.

I crept along in the darkness,
Stunned, and bruised, and blinded,—
Crept to a fir with thick-set boughs,
And a sheltering rock behind it.

There, from the blowing and raining,
Crouching, I sought to hide me:
Something rustled, two green eyes shone,
And a wolf lay down beside me.

Little one, be not frightened;
I and the wolf together,
Side by side, through the long, long night,
Hid from the awful weather.

His wet fur pressed against me;
Each of us warmed the other;
Each of us felt, in the stormy dark,
That beast and man was brother.

And when the falling forest
No longer crashed in warning,
Each of us went from our hiding-place
Forth in the wild, wet morning.

Darling, kiss me payment!
Hark, how the wind is roaring;
Father's house is a better place
When the stormy rain is pouring!

Paul Revere's Ride

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Paul Revere's heroic actions in the cause of American freedom were immortalized in this poem which recounts the story Paul Revere's midnight ride of April 18-19, 1775 to warn the Massachusetts countryside of the coming British invasion.

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Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,—
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
...

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,—
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,—
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,—
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,—
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

More information at "The Paul Revere House"

The Raven

Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1849, was born in Boston, and died in Baltimore. He was left a destitute orphan at an early age, and was adopted by Mr. John Allan, a wealthy citizen of Richmond. He entered the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, where he excelled in his studies, and was always at the head of his class; but he was compelled to leave on account of irregularities. He was afterwards appointed a cadet at West Point, but failed to graduate there for the same reason. Poe now quarreled with his benefactor and left his house never to return. During the rest of his melancholy career, he obtained a precarious livelihood by different literary enterprises. His ability as a writer gained him positions with various periodicals in Richmond, New York, and Philadelphia, and during this time he wrote some of his finest prose. The appearance of "The Raven" in 1845, however, at once made Poe a literary lion. He was quite successful for a time, but then fell back into his dissipated habits which finally caused his death. In his personal appearance, Poe was neat and gentlemanly; his face was expressive of intellect and sensibility; and his mental powers in some directions were of a high order. His writings show care, and a great degree of skill in their construction; but their effect is generally morbid. NOTES.—Pallas, or Minerva, in ancient mythology, was the goddess of wisdom. Plutonian, see note on Pluto, page 242. Gilead is the name of a mountain group of Palestine, celebrated for its balsam or balm made from herbs. It is here used figuratively. Aidenn is an Anglicized and disguised spelling of the Arabic form of the word Eden: it is here used as a synonym for heaven.

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Once upon a midnight dreary,
While I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious
Volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping,
Suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping,
Rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered,
"Tapping at my chamber door
Only this, and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember,
It was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember
Wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;
Vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow
Sorrow for the lost Lenore—
For the rare and radiant maiden
Whom the angels name Lenore—
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken, sad, uncertain
Rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me,—filled me with fantastic
Terrors, never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating
Of my heart, I stood repeating,
" 'Tis some visitor entreating
Entrance at my chamber door
Some late visitor entreating
Entrance at my chamber door;
This it is, and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger;
Hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly
Your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping,
And so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping,
Tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you."—
Here I opened wide the door;
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering,
Long I stood there, wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals
Ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken,
And the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken
Was the whispered word, "Lenore!"
This I whispered, and an echo
Murmured back the word, "Lenore!"
Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning,
All my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping,
Something louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely, that is
Something at my window lattice;
Let me see then, what thereat is,
And this mystery explore—
Let my heart be still a moment,
And this mystery explore;—
'Tis the wind, and nothing more."

Open here I flung the shutter.
When, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven
Of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he;
Not a minute stopped or stayed he,
But, with mien of lord or lady,
Perched above my chamber door—
Perched upon a bust of Pallas
Just above my chamber door—
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling
My sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum
Of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven,
Thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly, grim, and ancient Raven,
Wandering from the nightly shore,
Tell me what thy lordly name is
On the night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marveled this ungainly
Fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning—
Little relevancy bore;
For we can not help agreeing
That no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing
Bird above his chamber door—
Bird or beast upon the sculptured
Bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."

But the Raven, sitting lonely
On that placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in
That one word he did outpour.
Nothing farther then he uttered,
Not a feather then he fluttered,
Till I scarcely more than muttered,
"Other friends have flown before—
On the morrow he will leave me,
As my Hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken
By reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters
Is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master
Whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster
Till his songs one burden bore—
Till the dirges of his Hope that
Melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never—nevermore.' "

But the Raven still beguiling
All my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in
Front of bird, and bust, and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking,
I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking
What this ominous bird of yore—
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly,
Gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing,
But no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now
Burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining,
With my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining
That the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining,
With the lamplight gloating o'er
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser,
Perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim, whose footfalls
Tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee—
By these angels he hath sent thee
Respite—respite and nepenthe^[1]
From thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe,
And forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!—
Prophet still, if bird or devil!—
Whether Tempter sent, or whether
Tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate, yet all undaunted,
On this desert land enchanted—
On this home by Horror haunted—
Tell me truly, I implore—
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?
Tell me—tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil,—
Prophet still, if bird or devil!—
By that heaven that bends above us,
By that God we both adore,
Tell this soul with sorrow laden,
If, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden
Whom the angels name Lenore—
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden,
Whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign of parting,
Bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting;
"Get thee back into the tempest
And the night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token
Of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!—
Quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and
Take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting,
Still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas
Just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming
Of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming
Throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow,
That lies floating on the floor,
Shall be lifted—nevermore!

The Three Warnings

by Hester Lynch Thrale

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The tree of deepest root is found
Least willing still to quit the ground;
'T was therefore said by ancient sages,
That love of life increased with years
So much, that in our latter stages,
When pains grow sharp, and sickness rages,
The greatest love of life appears.

This great affection to believe,
Which all confess, but few perceive,
If old assertions can't prevail,
Be pleased to hear a modern tale.

When sports went round, and all were gay,
On neighbor Dodson's wedding day,
Death called aside the jocund groom
With him into another room;
And looking grave, "You must," says he,
"Quit your sweet bride, and come with me."
"With you! and quit my Susan's side?
With you!" the hapless bridegroom cried:
"Young as I am, 't is monstrous hard!
Besides, in truth, I'm not prepared."

What more he urged, I have not heard;
His reasons could not well be stronger:
So Death the poor delinquent spared,
And left to live a little longer.
Yet, calling up a serious look,
His hourglass trembled while he spoke:
"Neighbor," he said, "farewell! no more
Shall Death disturb your mirthful hour;
And further, to avoid all blame
Of cruelty upon my name,
To give you time for preparation,
And fit you for your future station,
Three several warnings you shall have
Before you're summoned to the grave;
Willing for once I'll quit my prey,
And grant a kind reprieve;
In hopes you'll have no more to say,
But, when I call again this way,
Well pleased the world will leave."
To these conditions both consented,
And parted perfectly contented.

What next the hero of our tale befell,
How long he lived, how wisely, and how well,
It boots not that the Muse should tell;
He plowed, he sowed, he bought, he sold,
Nor once perceived his growing old,
Nor thought of Death as near;
His friends not false, his wife no shrew,
Many his gains, his children few,
He passed his hours in peace.
But, while he viewed his wealth increase,
While thus along life's dusty road,
The beaten track, content he trod,
Old Time, whose haste no mortal spares,
Uncalled, unheeded, unawares,
Brought on his eightieth year.

And now, one night, in musing mood,
As all alone he sate,
The unwelcome messenger of Fate
Once more before him stood.
Half-killed with wonder and surprise,
"So soon returned!" old Dodson cries.
"So soon d' ye call it?" Death replies:
"Surely! my friend, you're but in jest;
Since I was here before,
'T is six and thirty years at least,
And you are now fourscore."
"So much the worse!" the clown rejoined;
"To spare the aged would be kind:
Besides, you promised me three warnings,
Which I have looked for nights and mornings!"

"I know," cries Death, "that at the best,
I seldom am a welcome guest;
But don't be captious, friend; at least,
I little thought that you'd be able
To stump about your farm and stable;
Your years have run to a great length,
Yet still you seem to have your strength."

"Hold!" says the farmer, "not so fast!
I have been lame, these four years past."
"And no great wonder," Death replies,
"However, you still keep your eyes;
And surely, sir, to see one's friends,
For legs and arms would make amends."
"Perhaps," says Dodson, "so it might,
But latterly I've lost my sight."
"This is a shocking story, faith;
But there's some comfort still," says Death;
"Each strives your sadness to amuse;
I warrant you hear all the news."
"There's none," cries he, "and if there were,
I've grown so deaf, I could not hear."

"Nay, then," the specter stern rejoined,
"These are unpardonable yearnings;
If you are lame, and deaf, and blind,
You've had your three sufficient warnings,
So, come along; no more we'll part."
He said, and touched him with his dart:
And now old Dodson, turning pale,
Yields to his fate—so ends my tale.

The Revolutionary Soldier's Bequest

by Hannah Flagg Gould

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"Behold," the hoary veteran said,
"The silver scattered o'er my head;
A remnant of the auburn hair,
That curled in sunny clusters there,
When, in the land that now is thine,
With bounding flock and fruitful vine,
While Freedom's banner waves unfurled,
The envy of a gazing world,
Life was but slavery to me;
And when I fought, my son, for thee.

"Thy father's forehead time has bared;
The few white locks, that yet are spared
And lonely round my temples stray,
Soon from thy sight must pass away.
So thinned, so scattered o'er the land
Is now that valiant, patriot band,
Who, when their country gave the word,
' To arms! to arms! gird on thy sword!'
Sprang forth, resolved her chains to break,
Or earth their gory bed to make.
And, gathering where their chieftain led,
Thick as the hairs that clothed his head,
Marched onward, where the foeman stood
Waiting to dip his foot in blood.

"Though many a groan was heard around
From quivering lips that strewed the ground;
Yet none could pause to bid farewell,
When at his side his brother fell,
To close alone the dying eye—
To heave unheard the final sigh,
With none to stay the fleeting breath,
Or wipe away the damps of death.
For struggling Liberty impelled,
When nature's ties had fain withheld;
Until the God of armies spake
The word, that made her bonds to break.
And Independence, shouting loud,
Burst glorious from the fiery cloud
That rolled upon the battle-field,
And scenes of blood and death concealed!
'T was thus thy liberty was won,
'T was thus I fought for thee, my son!

"Yes, on the earth I've sought my rest,
The hoar-frost gathering o'er my breast;
And oft the freezing, midnight air
That chilled my blood, has warmed my prayer,
That He, who governs all, would ride
With victory on our injured side.
Through winter's cold, and summer's heat,
With aching head and weary feet,
And hunger's cravings I have gone;
And when I saw the morning dawn,
Have thought my day of life must close,
Ere the first star of evening rose.

"But now those toils have long been o'er,
And Plenty spreads from shore to shore;
While Peace and Freedom join to sing
The praises of our heavenly King.
And long his eye has sweetly slept,
Who then in lonely sorrow wept,
And bowed with years beneath the stroke,
When his last earthly prop was broke,
And his fair son, upon the plain,
Lay pale, and numbered with the slain.
The widow too, has made her bed
Low as her soldier's when he bled,
And waning life could only spare
A breath to waft the soldier's prayer,
'Receive, O God, my soul—and bless
The widow and the fatherless!'

"And now, the dimpled babe that smiled,
When the armed warrior clasped his child;
And felt a father's parting kiss
Distend his little heart with bliss;
Nor knew that parting kiss must sever
His father's face from his for ever;
That infant's face is altered now,
Life's Autumn rays are on his brow.
While bending o'er the grave I stand
Waiting a few last grains of sand,
To drop my clay beneath the sod
And give my spirit back to God.

"No glittering wealth that stored the mine,
Will at thy father's death be thine.
The scanty portion earth bestows
Just lasts me to my journey's close!
But then, I feel I leave thee more
Than sparkling gems, or dazzling ore;
Thy heritage is worth them all—
Thy lines in pleasant places fall,
Thou hast the land of liberty,
Which I have fought to win for thee.
O, keep the dear bequest I make
Unsullied, for my memory's sake!
Let no usurping tyrant tread
Upon my low and peaceful bed—
No cringing slave retire to weep
For freedom, where my ashes sleep.
But when the hand of Time shall trace
His name in furrows on thy face;
When four-score years have plucked thy hair,
And bowed thy form their weight to bear;
When thou the minute hand shalt see
Pointing thy feet to follow me,
To God, and to thy country true,
Then, for a heavenly home in view,
Thou to thy son this land resign
As blessed and free, as I to mine."

The Veteran and the Child

by Hannah Flagg Gould

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'Come, grandfather, show how you carried your gun
To the field, where Amcrica's freedom was won,
Or bore your old sword, which you say was new then,
When you rose to command, and led forward your men;
And tell how you felt with the balls whizzing by,
Where the wounded fell round you, to bleed and to die!'

The prattler had stirred, in the veteran's breast,
The embers of fire that had long been at rest.
The blood of his youth rushed anew through his veins;
The soldier returned to his weary campaigns;
His perilous battles at once fighting o'er,
While the soul of nineteen lit the eye of four-score.

"I carried my musket, as one that must be
But loosed from the hold of the dead, or the free!
And fearless I lifted my good, trusty sword,
In the hand of a mortal, the strength of the Lord!
In battle, my vital flame freely, I felt
Should go, but the chains of my country to melt!"

"I sprinkled my blood upon Lexington's sod,
And Charlestown's green height to the war-drum I trod.
From the fort, on the Hudson, our guns I depressed,
The proud coming sail of the foe to arrest.
I stood at Stillwater, the Lakes, and White Plains,
And offered for freedom to empty my veins!"

"Dost now ask me, child, since thou hear'st where I ve been,
Why my brow is so furrowed, my locks white and thin—
Why this faded eye cannot go by the line,
Trace out little beauties, and sparkle like thine;
Or why so unstable his tremulous knee,
Who bore 'sixty years since,' such perils for thee?"

"What! sobbing so quick? are the tears going to start?
Come! lean thy young head on thy grandfather's heart!
It has not much longer to glow with the joy
I feel thus to clasp thee, so noble a boy!
But when in earth's bosom it long has been cold,
A man, thou 'lt recall, what, a babe, thou art told."

The Grave and the Tree

by Arthur Weir

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Of double depth they made her grave,
And covered it with massive stone,
And there, where silvery birches wave,
They left her sleeping all alone.

These words were chiselled on her tomb:
"This grave, bought for eternity,
Even to and through the day of doom,
And ever, shall unopened be."

For years the passing stranger saw
The epitaph of Caroline,
And wondered, with a shuddering awe,
That it could dare the wrath divine.

Time is of God. He does not need
To work his purpose in an hour:
Years came and went, and then a seed,
Borne downwards by a summer shower,

Fell gently on the scanty earth,
Among the heaped-up stones that lay,
And soon a tiny birch had birth,
And grew in stature day by day.

The sun, the shower, the passing wind,
All helped the youthful tree to grow;
Its little roots ran far to find
Subsistence in the depths below.

Years passed, until at last the tree
Sundered the stones, and made the grave
Yawn wide, that hoped eternally
The ravages of Time to brave.

Vain was the exercise of skill
To seal the grave of Caroline;
And vain is every human will
That strives to break the law divine.

Why the Dog's Nose Is Always Cold

by Anonymous

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What makes the dog's nose always cold?
I'll try to tell you, Curls of Gold,
If you will good and quiet be,
And come and stand by mamma's knee.
Well, years and years and years ago—
How many I don't really know—
There came a rain on sea and shore,
Its like was never seen before
Or since. It fell unceasing down,
Till all the world began to drown;
But just before it began to pour,
An old, old man—his name was Noah—
Built him an Ark, that he might save
His family from a wat'ry grave;
And in it also he designed
To shelter two of every kind
Of beast. Well, dear, when it was done,
And heavy clouds obscured the sun,
The Noah folks to it quickly ran,
And then the animals began
To gravely march along in pairs;
The leopards, tigers, wolves and bears,
The deer, the hippopotamuses,
The rabbits, squirrels, elks, walruses,
The camels, goats, cats and donkeys,
The tall giraffes, the beavers, monkeys,
The rats, the big rhinoceroses,
The dromedaries and the horses,
The sheep, and mice and kangaroos,
Hyenas, elephants, koodoos,
And hundreds more—'twould take all day,
My dear, so many names to say—
And at the very, very end
Of the procession, by his friend
And master, faithful dog was seen;
The livelong time he'd helping been,
To drive the crowd of creatures in;
And now, with loud, exultant bark,
He gaily sprang abroad the Ark.
Alas! so crowded was the space
He could not in it find a place;
So, patiently, he turned about,
Stood half way in, half way out,
And those extremely heavy showers
Descended through nine hundred hours
And more; and, darling, at the close,
'Most frozen was his honest nose;
And never could it lose again
The dampness of that dreadful rain.
And that is what, my Curls of Gold,
Made all the doggies' noses cold.

The Wife

by John Charles McNeill

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Full Text

They locked him in a prison cell,
Murky and mean.
She kissed him there a wife's farewell
The bars between.
And when she turned to go, the crowd,
Thinking to see her shamed and bowed,
Saw her pass out as calm and proud
As any queen.

She passed a kinsman on the street,
To whose sad eyes
She made reply with smile as sweet
As April skies.
To one who loved her once and knew
The sorrow of her life, she threw
A gay word, ere his tale was due
Of sympathies.

She met a playmate, whose red rose
Had never a thorn,
Whom fortune guided when she chose
Her marriage morn,
And, smiling, looked her in the eye;
But, seeing the tears of sympathy,
Her smile died, and she passed on by
In quiet scorn.

They could not know how, when by night
The city slept,
A sleepless woman, still and white,
The watches kept;
How her wife-loyal heart had borne
The keen pain of a flowerless thorn,
How hot the tears that smiles and scorn
Had held unwept.

Mine

by Amos Russel Wells

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Full Text

"Old man," the captain blustered,
In haste to meet the foe,
"My troops are seeking forage;
Come! show us where to go."

A mile he led them onward,
To where, in beauty spread,
They saw a field of barley,
"The very thing!" they said.

"Not here!" the old man urged them;
"Have patience for a while."
And sturdily he led them
Another weary mile.

The barley fleld he showed them
They speedily despoiled;
Ah, little need of reapers,
Where such a troop has tolled!

But "Fie on all this pother!"
The angry captain cursed;
"Old man, this second barley
Is poorer than the first."

"Perhaps," the good man answered,
"It may not be so fine;
But that field is another's
And this field, sir, is mine."

The Mocking-Bird and the Donkey

by William Cullen Bryant. From the Spanish of the Mexican poet José Rosas.

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Full Text

A mock-bird in a village
Had somehow gained the skill
To imitate the voices
Of animals at will.

And singing in his prison,
Once, at the close of day,
He gave, with great precision,
The donkey's heavy bray.

Well pleased, the mock-bird's master
Sent to the neighbors 'round,
And bade them come together
To hear that curious sound.

They came, and all were talking
In praise of what they heard,
And one delighted lady
Would fain have bought the bird.

A donkey listened sadly,
And said: "Confess I must
That these are shallow people,
And terribly unjust.

"I'm bigger than the mock-bird,
And better bray than he,
Yet not a soul has uttered
A word in praise of me."

All Have Work to Do

by R. P. S.

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Full Text

A child went wandering through a wood
Upon a summer day;
She hoped to meet some pretty thing
To join her in her play.

The cloudless sky above was blue,
The grass beneath was green,
And all around were lovely flowers,
The brightest ever seen.

A honey-bee went humming by—
“Stay, little bee!” she cried,
“Oh, do come back and play with me.”
And thus the bee replied:

“I cannot stay, I must away,
And gather in my store,
For winter drear will soon be here,
When I can work no more.”

She heard a pigeon cooing soft
High in the bough above—
“Come down, and play a while with me,
My pretty, gentle dove.”

“I cannot come and play with thee,
For I must guard my nest,
And keep my sleeping children war
Beneath my downy breast."

She saw a squirrel gathering nuts
Upon a tall beech tree—
“I love to see you bound and leap;
Come down and play with me.”

“I dare not play, I must away,
And quickly homeward hie;
Were I to stay, my little ones
For want of food must die.”

She came unto a stream that leaped
Between its rocky banks—
“Stay, pretty stream, and play with me,
And you shall have my thanks.”

The stream replied, while in the pool
A moment it stood still,
“I cannot play, I must away
And drive the village mill.”

The child sat down upon a stone,
And hung her little head:
She wept a while, and sobbed a while,
Then to herself she said:
“The stream, the squirrel, dove and bee
Have all got work to do;
I must not play my hours away—
I must be busy too.”

The Skeleton in Armor

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Full Text

“Speak! speak! thou fearful guest!
Who, with thy hollow breast
Still in rude armor drest,
Comest to daunt me!
Wrapt not in Eastern balms,
But with thy fleshless palms
Stretched, as if asking alms,
Why dost thou haunt me?”

Then, from those cavernous eyes
Pale flashes seemed to rise,
As when the Northern skies
Gleam in December;
And, like the water’s flow
Under December’s snow,
Came a dull voice of woe
From the heart’s chamber.

“I was a Viking old!
My deeds, though manifold,
No Skald in song has told,
No Saga taught thee!
Take heed, that in thy verse
Thou dost the tale rehearse,
Else dread a dead man’s curse;
For this I sought thee.

“Far in the Northern Land,
By the wild Baltic’s strand,
I, with my childish hand,
Tamed the gerfalcon;
And, with my skates fast-bound,
Skimmed the half-frozen Sound,
That the poor whimpering hound
Trembled to walk on.

“Oft to his frozen lair
Tracked I the grisly bear,
While from my path the hare
Fled like a shadow;
Oft through the forest dark
Followed the were-wolf’s bark,
Until the soaring lark
Sang from the meadow.

“But when I older grew,
Joining a corsair’s crew,
O’er the dark sea I flew
With the marauders.
Wild was the life we led;
Many the souls that sped,
Many the hearts that bled,
By our stern orders.

“Many a wassail-bout
Wore the long Winter out;
Often our midnight shout
Set the cocks crowing,
As we the Berserk’s tale
Measured in cups of ale,
Draining the oaken pail,
Filled to o’erflowing.

“Once as I told in glee
Tales of the stormy sea,
Soft eyes did gaze on me,
Burning yet tender;
And as the white stars shine
On the dark Norway pine,
On that dark heart of mine
Fell their soft splendor.

“I wooed the blue-eyed maid,
Yielding, yet half afraid,
And in the forest’s shade
Our vows were plighted.
Under its loosened vest
Fluttered her little breast,
Like birds within their nest
By the hawk frighted.

“Bright in her father’s hall
Shields gleamed upon the wall,
Loud sang the minstrels all,
Chanting his glory;
When of old Hildebrand
I asked his daughter’s hand,
Mute did the minstrels stand
To hear my story.

“While the brown ale he quaffed,
Loud then the champion laughed,
And as the wind-gusts waft
The sea-foam brightly,
So the loud laugh of scorn,
Out of those lips unshorn,
From the deep drinking-horn
Blew the foam lightly.

“She was a Prince’s child,
I but a Viking wild,
And though she blushed and smiled,
I was discarded!
Should not the dove so white
Follow the sea-mew’s flight,
Why did they leave that night
Her nest unguarded?

“Scarce had I put to sea,
Bearing the maid with me,
Fairest of all was she
Among the Norsemen!
When on the white sea-strand,
Waving his armed hand,
Saw we old Hildebrand,
With twenty horsemen.

“Then launched they to the blast,
Bent like a reed each mast,
Yet we were gaining fast,
When the wind failed us;
And with a sudden flaw
Came round the gusty Skaw,
So that our foe we saw
Laugh as he hailed us.

“And as to catch the gale
Round veered the flapping sail,
‘Death!’ was the helmsman’s hail,
‘Death without quarter!’
Mid-ships with iron keel
Struck we her ribs of steel;
Down her black hulk did reel
Through the black water!

“As with his wings aslant,
Sails the fierce cormorant,
Seeking some rocky haunt,
With his prey laden,—
So toward the open main,
Beating to sea again,
Through the wild hurricane,
Bore I the maiden.

“Three weeks we westward bore,
And when the storm was o’er,
Cloud-like we saw the shore
Stretching to leeward;
There for my lady’s bower
Built I the lofty tower,
Which, to this very hour,
Stands looking seaward.

“There lived we many years;
Time dried the maiden’s tears;
She had forgot her fears,
She was a mother;
Death closed her mild blue eyes,
Under that tower she lies;
Ne’er shall the sun arise
On such another!

“Still grew my bosom then,
Still as a stagnant fen!
Hateful to me were men,
The sunlight hateful!
In the vast forest here,
Clad in my warlike gear,
Fell I upon my spear,
Oh, death was grateful!

“Thus, seamed with many scars,
Bursting these prison bars,
Up to its native stars
My soul ascended!
There from the flowing bowl
Deep drinks the warrior’s soul,
Skoal! to the Northland! skoal!”
Thus the tale ended.

Autumn Fields

by Elizabeth Madox Roberts

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Full Text

He said his legs were stiff and sore
For he had gone some twenty-eight miles,
And he'd walked through by watergaps
And fences and gates and stiles.

He said he'd been by Logan's woods,
And up by Walton's branch and Simms,
And there were sticktights on his clothes
And little dusts of seeds and stems.

And then he sat down on the steps,
And he said the miles were on his feet.
For some of that land was tangled brush,
And some was plowed for wheat.

The rabbits were thick where he had been,
And he said he'd found some ripe papaws.
He'd rested under a white oak tree,
And for his dinner he ate red haws.

Then I sat by him on the step
To see the things that he had seen.
And I could smell the shocks and clods,
And the land where he had been.

By Grandsire's Well

by Albina Brockway Letts

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"Westward Ho!" was the cry throughout the land,
And movers' wagons, as the seashore sands,
On each road were seen all the weary day;
And their canvas tops like the white-capped spray,
Westward rolled with a strong sweep, far and wide,
But never went back with the evening tide.
And while Grandsire sat 'neath the deep, green shade
Not far from the well, and the scene surveyed,
His little grandson rolled on the grass,
And watched the tired teams creeping past.
"Human nature's a study," Grandsire said,
As he softly nodded his hoary head;
"It's curious enough, how that straws will show,
As you've often heard, how the wind doth blow.
And I learn a good deal more than you'd think,
About the folks that come to the well for a drink."

One wagon had halted; the team was lean;
You could count their ribs and the spaces between;
Three dogs followed close, some guns were in view,
And fishing tackle in plenty, too.
Some frowsy children "withstanding a drouth,"
A frowsier mother, with pipe in her mouth,
And a long, lank man sauntered up to the well,
And nodded as his eye on Grandsire fell.
He paused and balanced the pail on the curb
While he answered Grandsire's greeting word:
"Yes, we're goin' out west, where things will grow
With half the work they do here, you know.
And if game is plenty we'uns 'low we'll find
A better place an' more to our mind.
Did I hate to leave? Wal—no, I can't say
That I fretted much 'bout comin' away,
For the land was foul or worn out, far an' near,
An' the weeds tuk our melons every year,
An' the neighbors never wuz much to my mind—
When we fust went thar they 'peared sorter kind,
But they didn't care much fur us arter while
When they foun' we wuz pore'n couldn't put on style.
Pore folks back thar don't have no show,
An' they never come near 'less someone wuz low.
Their stock broke into my 'taters an' corn—
Mine never teched their'n sure's you're born.
(To be sure, their fences wuz better'n mine,
An' they built most of th' division line);
They wouldn't go coonin' and didn't care shucks
Fur fishin', or huntin' fur rabbits an' ducks;
But we hope we'll find neighbors as good as the best
When we onct git settled out thar in the west."

"Nay, nay!" said Grandsire, "believe me, you'll see
That folks are alike wherever they be;
Selfish folks are plenty, and now, you mind,
Your neighbors will always be of that kind."

"Wal, that's 'bout my luck, but I'll be goin' along:
Shuah, all o' them dogs to me b'long,
Aax a fust-rate rifle an' a shot-gun too,
An' a fiddle to chirk us up when we're blue—
Yes, my bosses air powerful weak, an' one's lame—
Hope they tell us the truth 'bout western game;
When we git out into the huntin' groun'
We'll let 'em rest while we look aroun',
An' if the folks air lively an' full of fun,
I'll have good times yet, 'fore my day is done."

Grandsire pondered, and leaned on his stick
Till another team drew up for a drink.
The clean, bright children and a cow tied behind,
Proved them movers of quite a dififerent kind.
A strong, honest-faced man came up the walk
With a cheery "Good morning," and paused for a talk,
While the stout team drank and cooled in the shade,
And the children stretched their limbs and played;
While a clean, rosy woman her needles plied,
As she watched the children by the wagon's side.

Said Grandsire: "And why do you go out west?
Do you think that country so much the best?"
"Well, they say the land is cheap and rich,
With no grubbin' of stumps or diggin' o' ditch;
That there's a good chance for a poor man there,
And I'm willin' to work like a man for my share;
For we want to give the children a better show
Than we've ever had in the world, you know."

"Did you hate to leave the old home, my man?"
As Grandsire spoke, o'er the face of tan
A tremor fell; and a deep flush shone,
And his lip half quivered, then a sigh, half groan,
Came forth, as he nodded: "Indeed I did.
For I'd lived there all my life," he said;
"Yes, there were lots of things we hated to leave.
And some for which we will always grieve;
The bearing orchard, the brook by the road,
The smell of the meadow newly mowed,
The buryin' ground where father was laid
Close by where the baby's grave was made;
The poor old dog that we couldn't bring,
And e'en the old dipper down by the spring;
Most of all, the neighbors, young and old,
The best in the world, just as good as gold.
Before we left them last Thursday night,
They held prayer-meetin' at early candle-light;
And when they sang, 'Blest Be the Tie,'
Scarcely an eye in the house was dry;
And when they closed with 'My Christian friends,
In bonds of love,' until it ends
In, 'We must take the parting hand,'
My poor weak knees would hardly stand,
And I dropped down, and bending o'er,
My tears went splashin' on the floor.
They came in the morning we started away,
And when Deacon Bicknell knelt down to pray,
The Lord to preserve us in that strange land,
And hold us in the hollow of His hand,
We thought we'd rather live there on a stone,
Than go out to Paradise all alone.
They brought us fried chicken to eat on the road.
And beech-nuts and chestnuts to add to the load,
And doughnuts and pickles and cranberry sass,
And a great big sack of sassafras,
And cookies that were spiced with caraway seed,
And everything that movers could need;
And things we couldn't use, or save,
That we buried at night in the turnip cave.
No wonder, you see, I hated to leave,
For we never again will such neighbors have."

"Oh, yes! You'll have neighbors as good as can be,
And perhaps the old friends may sometime see,
You'll just such good Christians be sure to find.
Best of all, you didn't leave the Lord behind!"

No one could the gladsome truth withstand,
And as Grandsire held out his trembling hand,
The poor man took it in both his own,
While a strong thrill of courage came into his tone.
"Bless your heart ! That's true. Why, you do me good;
Tm afraid it's wicked, this sorrowful mood,
But I felt like a tree pulled out of the ground
With the roots all danglin' and limp around,
So I drank after the horses every day,
For they say you can cure home-sick, that way;
But I reckon I never have, 'til now,
Quit lookin' back with my hand on the plow.
Good-bye ! I'll be glad at the end of the route,
To find them good neighbors you're talkin' about;
We'll have a prayer-meeting and Sunday-school, too,
And no doubt find work for the Lord to do."

The little boy crept to his Grandsire's knee,
With eyes just as big as eyes could be;
"Oh, Gran'ther! I listened as still as the mice,
But you didn't say the same thing twice!"
And an awesome look in the sweet face grew.
For he couldn't see how both sayings were true:
And truth's foundations w^ere sorely assailed,
If Gran'ther's word one tittle had failed.
Grandsire held his hand, looked into his eyes
With clear, true gaze which no fraud could disguise,
And said: "It was all true, as I surely do know;
The first man was selfish and shiftless and low,
And the Good Book says, 'If a man would have friends
He must show himself friendly;' the Lord never sends
Good neighbors, or blessings, unless we can bear
Of kindness and labor an honest share.
The man who idles with dogs and guns,
Will be poor while grass grows and water runs;
But the other man was the salt of the earth;'
He'll have a sweet home and a clean, bright hearth,
And friends will flock to its warmth and cheer,
And love him still more, as year by year
He toils, and willingly takes a share
In the world's great burdens of labor and care;
He will share men's troubles and lighten their load,
By his Christian kindness along the road,
And though he will never be rich or grand,
He'll wield a man's power on every hand;
And he'll pity the sinner and teach God's word
And walk all his days in the ways of the Lord."

A light sweet as dreams of love in youth,
In the child's face grew as he saw the truth;
And glad and clear rang the voice of the lad:
"I'll have just such neighbors as that good man had!"

In the Tunnel

by Bret Harte

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Full Text

Didn't know Flynn,—
Flynn of Virginia,—
Long as he's been 'yar?
Look 'ee here, stranger,
Whar hev you been?

Here in this tunnel
He was my pardner,
That same Tom Flynn,—
Working together,
In wind and weather,
Day out and in.

Didn't know Flynn! Well, that is queer;
Why, it's a sin
To think of Tom Flynn,—
Tom with his cheer,
Tom without fear,— Stranger, look 'yar!

Thar in the drift, Back to the wall,
He held the timbers
Ready to fall;
Then in the darkness
I heard him call:
"Run for your life, Jake!
Run for your wife's sake!
Don't wait for me."
And that was all
Heard in the din,
Heard of Tom Flynn,—
Flynn of Virginia.

That's all about
Flynn of Virginia.
That lets me out.
Here in the damp,—
Out of the sun,—
That 'ar derned lamp
Makes my eyes run.
Well, there,—I'm done!

But, sir, when you'll
Hear the next fool
Asking of Flynn,—
Flynn of Virginia,—
Just you chip in,
Say you knew Flynn;
Say that you've been 'yar.

The Deacon's Bear-Yarn

by Sam Walter Foss

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Full Text

When the Deacon told his bear-yarn we would gather round to hear him,
In open-mouthed expectancy to drink in all he said;
For all list'ners who drew near him could not choose but to revere him,
For an aureole of honor rested on the Deacon's head.
'Twas a tale of gore and slaughter, where the red blood flowed like water,
Such as ear had never heard of, or the heart could not conceive;
But our faith did never weaken in that bear-yarn of the Deacon—
When the Deacon told his bear-yarn we would listen and believe.

We had listened to the horse-liar and the fish-liar and the snake-liar,
But they told no tale of wonder with the Deacon's to compare;
Though their tales were dark and dire, not a tale of not a liar
Approached the truthful story of the Deacon and the bear.
'Twas a tale of awful terror, but without a shade of error;
And whereas it was impossible the Deacon could deceive,
We knew the Deacon's bear-yarn was an honest, fair, and quare yarn—
When the Deacon told his bear-yarn we would listen and believe.

When the Deacon told his bear-yarn we could hear the bone a-breaking,
And the loud reverberations of the bear's resounding growl;
We could feel the mountains shaking, and the very planet quaking,
And the air a-palpitating with the thunder of his howl.
Oh, the sanguinary, savage fierceness of the awful ravage
Of the roaring, ravening monster, heart of man cannot conceive!
But, whereas we knew the Deacon from the truth could never weaken—
When the Deacon told his bear-yarn we would listen and believe.

When the fierce bear wound his red jaws round the white neck of the Deacon,
And we heard the Deacon gurgle with a deathgasp of despair,
How our trembling knees would weaken as we gazed upon the Deacon,
And our lifted hats go flying from our perpendicular hair!
When into the mad bear's vitals—strangest of all strange recitals—
Did the Deacon plunge his right arm, with its reeking, bloody sleeve,
And tear out the bear's heart beating, as you'd tear a piece of sheeting—
When the Deacon told this bear-yarn we would listen and believe.

Fiercer, wilder, grew the contest every time we did behold it,
Wilder, fiercer, fought the Deacon, fiercer, wilder, raged the bear;
It was bloodier, more terrific, every time the Deacon told it,
Till at length there was no story w ith this bear-yarn could compare.
Bear and Deacon m ixed and mangled, gore incrusted, blood bespangled,
Dance through sanguin ary wal tzes that the m ind cannot conceive;
But there is a deathless beauty in all truth, and 'tis our duty
When the Deacon tells his bear-yarn just to listen and believe.

The Miller of Dee

by Charles Mackay

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Full Text

There dwelt a miller, hale and bold,
Beside the river Dee;
He worked and sang from morn till night,
No lark more blithe than he;
And this the burden of his song
For ever used to be:
“I envy nobody, no, not I,
And nobody envies me.”

“Thou’rt wrong, my friend, said good King Hal—
“As wrong as wrong can be—
For could my heart be light as thine,
I’d gladly change with thee;
And tell me now, what makes thee sing,
With voice so loud and free,
While I am sad, though I’m the king,
Beside the river Dee.”

The miller smiled and doffed his cap:
“I earn my bread,” quoth he;
“I love my wife, I love my friend,
I love my children three;
I owe no penny I cannot pay;
I thank the river Dee,
That turns the mill that grinds the corn
That feeds my babes and me.”

“Good friend,” said Hal, and sighed the while,
“Farewell and happy be;
But say no more, if thou’dst be true,
That no one envies thee:
Thy mealy cap is worth my crown,
Thy mill, my kingdom’s fee;
Such men as thou are England’s boast,
O miller of the Dee!”

Table of Contents

A Story for a Child

Paul Revere's Ride

The Raven

The Three Warnings

The Revolutionary Soldier's Bequest

The Veteran and the Child

The Grave and the Tree

Why the Dog's Nose Is Always Cold

The Wife

Mine

The Mocking-Bird and the Donkey

All Have Work to Do

The Skeleton in Armor

Autumn Fields

By Grandsire's Well

In the Tunnel

The Deacon's Bear-Yarn

The Miller of Dee

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