Shut yer lips together firmly—
Let the “other feller” groan,—
Soon ye’ll find the ranch deserted,
For he will not fight alone.
Ferocious bully’ll prove a coward,—
If ye swerve not from the rut
Of yer staunch determination
That ye’ll keep yer talker shut!
Talkin’ makes a heap o’ trouble
Out o’ nothin’, scandals great,—
As one gossip, then another
From the truth will deviate
’Till the color of the story
Darker grows—I tell ye what,
Wouldn’t be so many heartaches
If they’d keep their talkers shut!
Talkin’s right, if they would only
Try to smooth the weary way
Of some poor, lone, ship wrecked brother
And a word of comfort say
To the sick and weepin’ dweller
Of the rude and lowly hut.—
Then, yes, then, the time is for ye
Not to keep yer talker shut!
If ye try to see the many
Virtues of yer feller men—
And yer kindly acts uplift him—
Ye are doin’ nobler, then
When to some heart yer words so cruel
Gives a deep malicious cut.—
If ye can’t speak words of kindness
Better keep yer talker shut!
A YULE-TIDE MISSIVE
To my dear friend:—E. L. F.
As onward Old Time is e’er rolling,
And Summer again has gone by;
The sweet bells of Christmas are ringing,
And wafting their music on high—
Telling the same sweet old story,
That ever emotion awakes;
Of Him who was born in a manger
And Who suffered and died for our sakes.
My wish is, that this day may bring you
Very rich and abundant good cheer;
May yours be a bright happy Christmas,
With friends that are ever sincere.
It is willed that I cannot be with you—
As you still linger “down by the sea;”
But my wish is—and may it be granted—
That one thought-wave may reach you from me,
Ere the bells have ceased ringing the tidings
Of Peace and Good Will to all men,
Old Santa will wake from his slumbers
And, hobbling forth from his den
He will harness his fleet footed reindeer
To the sleigh, and away he will flee,—
And eagerly on, he will hasten
To bring you this message from me!