To
F. K. R.
A friend who had faith

INDEX

[Alone]145
[Along the Paths o' Glory]61
[Apple Tree in France, An]60
[Approach of Christmas, The]56
[At Dawn]165
[At the Peace Table]40
[Aunty]88
[Back Home]82
[Becoming a Dad]124
[Being Dad on Christmas Eve]102
[Best Way to Read a Book]122
[Boy at Christmas, A]120
[Bread and Jam]90
[Bride, The]58
[Bud Discusses Cleanliness]72
[Burden Bearer, The]112
[Change-Worker, The]174
[Children, The]108
[Choice, A]79
[Cliffs of Scotland]63
[Comedian, The]109
[Common Joys, The]171
[Compensation]36
[Convalescin' Woman, A]176
[Cookie-Lady, The]67
[Cut-Down Trousers, The]147
[Daddies]52
[Dead Return, The]84
[Different]117
[Dinner-Time]149
[Doctor, The]26
[Dr. Johnson's Picture Cow]34
[Doubtful To-morrow, The]178
[Evening-Prayer, The]152
[Faces]22
[Faith]111
[Father's Chore]186
[Father of the Man, The]94
[Fatherhood]77
[Fine]13
[Finest Fellowship, The]116
[First Name Friends]44
[Fun of Forgiving, The]162
[Furnace Door, The]46
[Gift of Play, The]98
[Good Name, A]143
[His Dog]157
[His Example]172
[It Couldn't Be Done]37
["It's a Boy"]114
[Kindness]31
[Lesson from Golf, A]184
[Lines for a Flag Raising Ceremony]28
[Little Fishermen]66
[Little Girls]103
[Little Woman, The]92
[Living Flowers]170
[Lonely Garden, The]134
[Lost Opportunities]130
[Lost Purse, The]24
[Lullaby]158
[March o' Man, The]188
[Mother's Job]55
[Mother's Party Dress]64
[Mother Watch, The]20
[Mrs. Malone and the Censor]41
[My Job]142
[My Soul and I]86
[Names and Faces]166
[Old-Fashioned Parents, The]160
[Old-Fashioned Welcome, An]15
[Old Wooden Tub, The]128
[Our Country]76
[Our House]16
[Out Fishin']48
[Path to Home, The]11
[Patriotism]131
[Pay Envelope, The]150
[Picture Books]53
[Plea, A]17
[Pleasing Dad]168
[Pleasure's Signs]69
[Right Family, The]182
[Selling the Old Home]50
[Service]38
[Shut-Ins]146
[Silver Stripes, The]136
[Snooping 'Round]70
[Song of Loved Ones, The]123
[Spoiling Them]14
[St. Valentine's Day]33
[Story-Time]18
[Test, The]126
[There Will Always Be Something to Do]119
[Thoughts of a Father]153
[Tied Down]74
[Tinkerin' at Home]138
[To the Boy]156
[Tommy Atkins' Way]180
[Tonsils]163
[Toys and Life]100
[Toy-Strewn Home, The]30
[Tramp, The]133
[Under the Roof Where the Laughter Rings]32
[United States]105
[Unknown Friends, The]43
[What Father Knows]80
[When a Little Baby Dies]155
[When an Old Man Gets to Thinking]140
[When Mother Made an Angel Cake]96
[When My Ship Comes In]106

The Path to Home

There's the mother at the doorway, and the children at the gate,
And the little parlor windows with the curtains white and straight.
There are shaggy asters blooming in the bed that lines the fence,
And the simplest of the blossoms seems of mighty consequence.
Oh, there isn't any mansion underneath God's starry dome
That can rest a weary pilgrim like the little place called home.

Men have sought for gold and silver; men have dreamed at night of fame;
In the heat of youth they've struggled for achievement's honored name;
But the selfish crowns are tinsel, and their shining jewels paste,
And the wine of pomp and glory soon grows bitter to the taste.
For there's never any laughter, howsoever far you roam,
Like the laughter of the loved ones in the happiness of home.

There is nothing so important as the mother's lullabies,
Filled with peace and sweet contentment, when the moon begins to rise—
Nothing real except the beauty and the calm upon her face
And the shouting of the children as they scamper round the place.
For the greatest of man's duties is to keep his loved ones glad
And to have his children glory in the father they have had.

So where'er a man may wander, and whatever be his care,
You'll find his soul still stretching to the home he left somewhere.
You'll find his dreams all tangled up with hollyhocks in bloom,
And the feet of little children that go racing through a room,
With the happy mother smiling as she watches them at play—
These are all in life that matter, when you've stripped the sham away.