VI.
Out with the May-time blossoms!
Let youth and her fancies play,
For Love is the light of the lily and
Love is the rose's way!
Caught on the Fly.
Even a dead lie has a poisonous sting.
Social stars are not all of the first magnitude.
Grit in men and granite in stone are similar qualities.
Good opinions are valuable only as they come from good people.
Love never yet held poison to the lips or poured [vitriol] in a wound.
He only is truly rich who carries the sufficiencies of life within his soul.
The musician who would be praised by the ravens must learn to croak in their serenades.
Before great men can grow, the proper raw material must be provided. Pearls can't be made from putty.
My Heritage.
I am rich in the treasures of earth,
In the deeds that the fathers have done,
And for me from the moment of birth
All the gifts of the stars and the sun!
At my feet have the multitudes cast
What the ages have conquered and wrought,—
All the wonders of present and past,
All the truths that the sages have taught.
I'm the heir of the sea and the sky,
Of the storm and [the sun] and the star,
And the morning of time toils for me
Till I cross o'er the outermost bar.
Every truth that the teachers attained,
Every vision the dreamers have known
Every thought the philosophers gained,
Is forever and ever my own.
I'm the heir of the land and the sea!
'Twas for me that they finished their quest;
For they toiled the slow cycles for me
And they wrought that my days may be blest!
Shadow and Shine.
"This world is full of trouble,
And of sorrows, too, my boy!"
But Love is here with laughter
And she dwells along with Joy!
"This life is full of grieving,
Every pleasure to destroy!"
But Love is here with gladness
And she fills the days with Joy!
"This path is full of darkness
And the gloomy ways annoy!"
But Love lights all her candles
And unveils the stars of Joy!
O, this world and all that's in it,—
Life and every tiny toy!
Love is all we crave or care for,—
Love who links her hands with Joy!
The Quest.
Over the hills that rise
Still pursue the quest,
Seeking in the shadows
For the best,—the best!
And beyond the summits gleam
All the glories of the dream!
Brighter than the Dreams.
Never mind the brooding shadows,
Nor how dark they seem!
Sweeter are the laughing meadows
Than the dreams we dream.
Never mind the waves that sever
As we sail the stream;
Lo, the harbor's brighter ever
Than the dreams we dream!
Never mind the griefs that wander
Where no stars may beam;
There's a heaven fairer yonder
Than the dreams we dream!
Never mind the Sword or Miter,—
Hard or holy theme;
Brother mine, the world is brighter
Than the dreams we dream!
Still the dream and still the dreaming,
Through the tangled scheme;
But the stars of love are gleaming
Brighter than the Dream!
Little Sermons.
The cup that runs over is the one that we neglect to empty.
Those who would lie down in green pastures must not sow too many weeds and wild oats.
Howdy, Mister Summer.
It's howdy, Mister Summah!
Ah's glad toh see yoh face;
Ah hope yuh'll lak de kentry
En visit all de place!
It's howdy, Mistah Summah!
We'll happy be, Ah knows,
Wid shiny watah-melons
Eh-crowdin' in de rows!
So howdy, Mistah Summah!
Ah's glad yuh back ehgin;
We'll ten' de craps tohgetheh,
En roll de melons in!
Little Sermons.
Fast people demand a religion trained to their own pace.
Whatever may be thought of the teachings of conventional theology and its peculiar dogmas, it is undeniable that a moral and an upright manner of living secures the highest happiness for the human family. If death is only a passage-way to eternal sleep, still a goodly life is worth the living for the little years of this world only.
Sooner Sayings.
Every man's horse is the fleetest, in the contest records.
Fortune favors the first man on the ground,—if he sets his stake and stays with it.
Statehood and "manana" are putting up a fierce contest to become exact synonyms.
A Happy Dream.
"Ah had a happy dream the otheh night, Boss; jes' de happies' one I evah had in all my life!"
"How was that, Rastus?"
"Well, suh, Ah dreamed dat Ah wuz in a field of water-melons jes' eh-eatin' widout eitheh knife or spoon, en de juice a drippin' offen my chin in a reg'lah stream!"
Still Going.
The black way and the bright way,
And still we trudge along,
With sunshine o'er each path-way
And life a summer song.
The tear-drop and the heart-ache,
And still we tread the years,
With Love enough for gladness
And Joy enough for tears!
Little Sermons.
When envy enters a man's heart, the devil never gives him any more attention.
The devil needs no mortgage on the Pharisee. He already owns him in fee simple.
When a man comes to believe he is better than his neighbors, it is high time he were hunting the mourner's bench.
At the Turning of the Lane.
Say good-bye to grief and sorrow,
Leave them in a high disdain;
All the raptures come tomorrow
At the turning of the lane!
What if over you the shadows
And the nights of cold and rain?
Yonder smile the laughing meadows
At the turning of the lane!
Still the rose and still the rapture
Woven through the tangled skein,
And the joys we still shall capture
At the turning of the lane.
All the rain-bows arch their story
Bright above the hill and plain;
If we wait, we'll see the glory
At the turning of the lane!