IV.
With Truth about us and with Duty near,
With Hope beside and Love along the way,
Life climbs the hills and all the darkness here
Grows bright with day;
For each fond beatitude
Crowns the dreams of greater good,
And the stars of living light
Lead the footsteps through the night!
Finally.
Finally, brethren, finally,
We are marching to the sky,
And all this earthly music
Tunes us up for bye and bye!
If We Were Wise.
"If we were wise," said the social philosopher, "civilization would be of a different metal. But we are not all of us wise, and therefore we build court-houses and churches and sanitariums, and lawyers, doctors and preachers become necessary, all being the inventions of our lack of wisdom." And the man knew, for he had just been through the alimony court, turned out of church, and was on his way to a winter resort for the tinkering of his health.
Life.
A little day through which we play
In spite of wish and warning;
A little love along the way,
And then good-night,—till morning!
Pluck thou now the Good Resolution from the topmost bough of the sublime tree of righteous will; and preserve it as the apple of gold in the silver pictures of the life that has no ending.
Sighs and Songs.
Don't begin your sighing
When you see the snows;
Yonder blooms the lily;
Yonder burns the rose!
What's the use to shiver
When the blizzards blow?
Yonder blazes August
Hotter than you know!
Hope is ever ringing
All the bells she brings;
Keep a life of laughter
And a heart that sings.
Good-bye to the trouble!
Farewell to the wrong!
Man forgets the sorrow
When he sings a song!
Caught on the Fly.
The cart of imperfect deeds travels with more speed than the palace car of good intentions.
If the pew would practice only one day in the week what the pulpit preaches on Sunday, the Devil would put out all the fires in his settlement and join the angels before Saturday night.
The Third House.
Yes, they say the Legislature
Soon will come along and sit,
And for sixty days of wonder
We'll behold the likes of it;
But with all the mighty glory
That around it waves its wings,
Don't forget who does the voting
Nor the chaps who pull the strings!
There's the grave and mighty Senate
Full of statesmen wise and great,
With profound deliberations
Ere they choose to legislate:
But with all their stores of wisdom
They are slow at doing things,
For they only do the voting
While the Third House pulls the strings.
There's the House, a wondrous body,
Full of patriotic souls,
Each with ideas that would hurry
Up the world as on it rolls;
But before they get in action
Sober wisdom caution brings,
And they only do the voting
While the Third House pulls the strings!
O, my dear, deluded people!
When the statesmen cure your ills,
Look around before you honor
Those who pass the proper bills!
To the fellows you elected
There is little glory clings,
For they only do the voting
While the Third House pulls the strings!
To the Third House bring your laurels!
There you'll find the wisdom rare,
Free to tell the verdant statesmen
How to legislate with care;
There you'll find the brain and virtue
That afar the evil flings:
While the others do the voting
These delight to pull the strings!
Play Ball.
In the great orchestra of life, if you can't play the first violin, beat the drum; if you can't beat the drum, pound the triangle; and if you can't contribute anything at all to the music, get in step with it and do the best job of marching in the army of the hopeful-hearted.
Sing a Little.
When the times are sad with sorrow,
Sing a little;
Things will brighten up tomorrow,
Sing a little;
And when all the world is gloomy and the storms around you roar,
Then stuff your heart with gladness and just sing a little more!
When you meet the bleak Decembers,
Sing a little;
There's a June each heart remembers,
Sing a little;
And if winter comes and lingers as he never did before,
Think of all the summer blossoms and then sing a little more!
If the cares of life oppress you,
Sing a little;
Joy will gladly come and bless you,
Sing a little;
And the Love that never wavers shall reward with happy store
While your heart is bright with sunshine and you sing a little more!
Remembered by Santa Claus.
"Well, what did Santa Claus bring you?" inquired Neighbor Jones of Neighbor Smith on Christmas morning.
"Why, my wife got me a new silk dress and fur boa, my daughter bestowed a fine pair of No. 6 kid gloves, and each of my sons contributed a pair of skates and a sled. There is nothing like having Santa Claus remember you well, is there?" answered Neighbor Smith.
They had both been there so often that they went off behind the barn and took something to bring the sunshine in.
Evil Prophets.
The doleful prophets sadly say
That the world is going wrong;
But out yonder blooms the May
With its flowers and song.
The moaning brothers come and say
That the world is as dark as night;
But out yonder shines the day
With its laughing light.
O, brothers, don't you worry so!
Let us bravely march along;
The roses blossom where we go
Across the fields of song!
A New Year's Resolution.
I'm a New Year's Resolution:
I'm as good as good can be,
And the world will lose its follies
If 'twill only follow me!
I was sired by good intentions,
I was nursed with loving care,
Fully armed, like great Minerva,
From my birth to do and dare.
I'm a New Year's Resolution:
You can see me robed in white
Where the fortunes of the future
Men and nations come to write;
You have met my kith and kindred
As you struggled in the strife,
And you gave them love and praises
All along the ways of life.
I'm a New Year's Resolution:
I'm as good as good can be,
And the fates predict my goodness
Soon will prove the death of me;
But you'll honor me while living,
And if I should pass away
You will bury me in blossoms
In remembrance of today.
I'm a New Year's Resolution:
Treat me kindly as you can;
For I'm growing weak each moment,
Starved to death by cruel man;
Soon I'll sleep among my fathers,—
What a countless host they make!
Who in childhood went to slaughter
For a good intention's sake!
Little Sermons.
One lapse from sunshine makes the whole world sin.
If you want to pluck nose-gays, you must wander in the sunshine to find the flowers.
The Devil would rather tackle a a good man in a discouraged mood than a hardened criminal with Hope singing in his heart.
A Hard World.
"Ah done tole yuh, Mose, howebber yuh fix it up, dat dis hyar am a mighty hahd wohld we lib in?" said one colored brother to another.
"How am dat, Sambo?"
"Why, we am allus habin' ouah troubles. No soonah am de Santa Claus bills paid, den de legislachuh come erlong en stay foh sixty whole days!" and he shook his head and refused to be comforted.
A Quartette of Don'ts.
Don't sleep too much. Remember what happened to Adam when he tried an experiment of that kind.
Don't talk too mean about the Devil. There is no telling how soon he may have the chance to roast you to a turn.
Don't neglect your privileges, brethren. There is more opportunity to get through the eye of a needle in the collection baskets than in the sermon.
Don't worry any about the dead. The good Lord will take care of them, and they don't cause him half as much sitting up at nights as the living do, and he always knows where to find them when the curfew blows.
It Died Young.
"Did you make a Good Resolution, Sandy?" inquired the inquisitive neighbor.
"Yes, but it didn't live long."
"Why, how's that?"
"Well, the good die young, you know, and when I went home that night I found it had crossed the river when I wasn't watching."
To the Love Lands!
O, my Heart, the days are weary with the burdens that we know:
Hand in hand we'll haste and hurry to the Love Lands long ago!
Let us stroll as happy lovers down the roaring ways of men
Till the lilies of contentment blossom sweetly once again.
It was there we wove our Daydream, it was there the Promise sung,
For the world from us was hidden and our little lives were young.
There were happy lanes of laughter that our childish rambles knew,
Where the roses gave their glories in a ruddy crown for you.
Let us wander through the deserts and the dusty ways they know
To the green fields and the meadows of the Love Lands long ago!
On the road, perchance, we'll gather some of sweetness and of song,
As we thread the dim aisles fearful and the pathways lorn and long.
You remember how we pledged us all the glories of renown,—
Pledged the gold of Ind and Ophir and the greatness of the crown.
You remember how we pledged us in the fancies of our youth,
We would run the quest forever for the Holy Grail of Truth!
You remember how we pledged us we would banish want and woe,
As we laughed and sang the love-song in the Love Lands long ago!
What if we have failed to keep it?
Hard the struggle, fierce the throng,
And the shoutings of the rabble drown the glory of the song!
What if we have failed to keep it?
All the maddened mobs of hate
Hurl the stones of mirth and malice where Truth opes her timid gate!
Shall we sorrow at the wreckage that is heaped along the shore
Where the waters gnaw unceasing and endeavor sails no more!
Shall we sorrow that the laughters, left the shadows of the way,
And the cares of life unlifting fringed the rosy skies with gray?
Shall we sorrow without comfort for the dreams that fled in tears,—
For the hopes forlorn and shattered on the shores of other years?
We have lost the glare and glamor of the dreams we dreamed of old,
But the Wise of earth have brought us of their frankincense and gold.
We have lost the green of May-time, but the autumn gardens red
Hang with all the fruited wisdom for the blossoms that are dead!
We have lost our foolish boasting,—we are cleansed of evil pride,
And we face the past and future with their vistas wild and wide!
Still, my Heart, the days are heavy!
Wisdom weights and wearies so!
Let us run away together to the Love Lands long ago!
[Caught] on the Fly.
Beauty is not always skin-deep. Sometimes it is put on with a rag.
If you don't want Trouble to bring her dogs and hunt all over your place for game, you should tack up warning signs over every fence-post on the premises.
Lots of money is said to bring lots of trouble. But, Lord, our shoulders are mighty broad and we always did think we would like to have experiences of that kind.
Trudge Along.
Trudge along, my brother,
Through the snows!
Over yonder wait the summer
And the rose.
Trudge along, my brother,
Trudge along!
Over yonder wait the angels
And the song!
A Fine Job.
"Ah done tole yuh, Mose, howsomevah de people conflastahgate, dese heah legislachuh pohsishuns am sho'ly de bes' places in all de wide woahld dat a cullahed man ebber had in de wintah time when de wood am skeerce en de snow flyin' high!"
"How come, Rastus?"
"Why, yuh fool niggah yuh, doan't yuh see dat Ah git foh dollahs a day jes' toh open en shut de dooah befoh en aftah de Sanatohs when dey come in en go out foh erbout two houahs a day, en den sot down by de hot fiah all de res' ob de time while anothah niggah shubbles in de coal whut anothah niggah totes in at de same good price!"
A True Hero.
He wore no crown, he had no sword,
He sat him in no throne of state;
He shed no blood, he spent no hoard,
And therefore was not great;
Yet to his tomb the nations throng:
His heart was love, he sang a song!
When Trouble comes to your front gate and hears you whistling in the back-yard it scares him so bad that he never stops running till he crosses the divide into the next settlement.
Little Sermons.
Taking it all up and down, this world is a pretty good place. Only so many of us never get up or down!
Lord, we don't ask to see a thousand miles ahead. All we want is light enough to keep out of the holes two feet ahead when the Devil gets after us.
Some folks are always boasting of how many miles they keep ahead of the Devil, but I'm always thankful when I just manage to keep out of his reach when he's grabbing at me.
Never Mind the Hills.
What matter the hills above us?
What matter the dismal road?
We're climbing to those that love us
And crossing to their abode;
And over the mountains we'll crown our quest
With beautiful blossoms of all that's best!
He Voted "Graft".
He was quite a famous statesman
From a district where the folk
Were so honest that their honor
Had become a standing joke;
But this man that represented
Such a people, such a craft,
Always shouted for "retrenchment,"
While he always voted "graft."
He was quite a famous "poser,"
And he had the nimble art
Of deluding men to thinking
That he owned an honest heart;
He was always hinting "boodle,"
At which hints the lobby laughed
For they knew he talked "retrenchment,"
But he always voted "graft!"
He was frequent in the papers
With a lengthy interview
'Bout the "welfare of the people,"
And the "octopi" he knew;
And he made long-winded speeches
As he raked things fore and aft,
But he only talked "retrenchment,"
While he always voted "graft!"
O, the dear, deluded people,
Hear this Sermon from the Mount:
When a Bill is up for passage
It is only votes that count;
And you'd better watch the fellow
On the legislative raft
Who forever talks "retrenchment,"
And then casts a vote for "graft!"
Caught on the Fly.
The worst thing about failure is that it makes so many good people most unhappy.
The man who never laughs at all is as great a trial to his friends as is the one who laughs too much.
No beauty of Nature, either of heart or flower or fruit, was ever grown without the lavish use of sunshine for its development.
Joy is Here.
What to us is Trouble?
Joy is here today;
Care is but a bubble
Bursting with the May.
Onward we are drifting;
What if skies are gray?
All the clouds are lifting,—
Joy is here today!
Harbors over yonder;
Billows die away;
There we all shall anchor,—
Joy for aye and aye!
Something Left.
There's joy in Oklahoma!
Let's go it good and strong;
There's sunshine on the prairies,
The land is glad with song;
What though the cotton tumbled,—
What if the wheat was short?
We've corn for hog and hominy
Of every blessed sort!
Charity not only covers a multitude of sins, but she also tucks the quilts in around the feet and gets up in the middle of the night to see if the blanket is on straight.
Not Afraid.
"Aren't you afraid some of these lobbyists will persuade you by their eloquence into supporting some bad measure?" asked a friend of a member of the legislature.
"Not a bit of it, sir, not a bit of it! Just let them try it as often as they wish!" answered the confident statesman. "Just let me get at them one by one, privately, in a dark room with their pockets bulging with the eloquent long-green, and when they get away their pockets will be so dumb that they will be in no condition to make arguments again until they call on their employers for a new supply of oratory!"
A Blazing Future.
What's the use of getting blue
When the joys are so amazing?
This life's sunshine through and through
And the other life is blazing!
I have often noticed that the dog which uses up all his spare time in growling generally looks mighty hungry and seldom trees any game.
The Legislative Pass.
I'm a Legislative Pass:
I'm a wonder now displayed
In a large and growing class
Marching out on dress parade;
I am issued "on request"
From a statesman full of might,
And I'll never know a rest
Till adjournment is in sight.
I'm a Legislative Pass:
I am given free as air,
And I reach from shortest grass
To the farthest every where;
I am happy in the fame
That around me fondly flits,
Just to keep the statesmen tame
Till the Legislature quits.
I'm a Legislative Pass:
I have wondrous work to do,
And I use the mighty mass
Of my glories daily, too;
I'm considered pretty nice
By the hundreds of my friends,
That I carry without price
Till the Legislature ends.
I'm a Legislative Pass:
I'm the master of the state,
While the people think, alas!
They are something wise and great;
Treat me kindly every day,
As I summon dear delight
Down the legislative way
Till adjournment is in sight.
I'm a Legislative Pass:
Fly with me,—there's no expense,—
From the weary ways of gas
And the halls of eloquence;
Let us travel far and fast!
Soon we'll journey nevermore!
For I know my day is past
When the Legislature's o'er!
Little Sermons.
The dog that believes in you is more inspiration than the tawny lion that distrusts you.
It was all right for the Christ to say, "Get thee behind me, Satan," but I'd rather keep him on in front where I can watch his tricks.
The man of most exemplary habits never finds congenial spirits to herd with. The marvel is not that Christ was crucified, but that he was allowed to live till he was thirty-three years old.
At Rest.
Fold the hands and let him rest!
He shall sorrow nevermore;
Grief has done her worst and best,
But his grief is o'er!
What to him the dangers dark,—
Terrors of the waveless stream?
God shall guide the helpless barque
Through the shadowed dream!
He has fought with storm and strife,
He has conquered, all alone;
He has plucked the rose of life
For his very own.
Farewell to the world of sighs!
He has laid the burden down;
Here each grief and sorrow dies,
And he claims the crown!
Caught on the Fly.
Fate is blamed with all the failures for which laziness is responsible.
The world may owe you a living, but you'll never be able to collect it till you foreclose the mortgage by hard hustling.
However late some people get up in the morning, they always have plenty of time to spare for other people's business before bedtime.
With a Song.
No matter what the weeping,
No matter what the wrong,
Just toss a kiss to trouble
And soothe him with a song.
When all the world is winter
And storms unceasing throng,
Just clasp your hands with sunshine
And warm them up with song.
When fortune flies the window
And leaves you lonely long,
Still hum the happy music
And sing it out in song.
The summer time is coming,—
Is coming good and strong!
A welcome for the roses,
A greeting full of song!
O, life is filled with shadows,
And sorrow still is strong;
But walk the ways with laughter
And climb the hills with song!
Live your own life so happily to yourself that neither men, women or devils can swerve you one degree from the divine light shining upon your direct pathway to the stars.