Inscribed
To GEORGE C. HITT
The beginning of whose steadfast friendship was marked by the first publication of these verses which now, expanded by writer, honored by publisher and masterfully graced by artist, seem to be a worthier symbol of the author's grateful and affectionate regard for his earliest friend
| I | Frontispiece—An Old Sweetheart of Mine. |
| II | A fair, illusive vision that would vanish into air |
| III | The then of changeless sunny days—The now of shower and shine |
| IV | The old bookshelves and prints along the wall |
| V | I find the smiling features of an old sweetheart of mine |
| VI | Its fate with my tobacco and to vanish with the smoke |
| VII | When my truant fancies wander with that old sweetheart of mine |
| VIII | The voices of my children and the mother as she sings |
| IX | For I find an extra flavor in Memory's mellow wine |
| X | O childhood days enchanted! O the magic of the spring |
| XI | To—smile, behind my lesson, at that old sweetheart of mine |
| XII | A face of lily-beauty, with a form of airy grace |
| XIII | When first I kissed her, and she answered the caress |
| XIV | I slipped the apple in it—and the teacher didn't know |
| XV | She gave me her photograph, and printed "Ever Thine" |
| XVI | And again I feel the pressure of her slender little hand |
| XVII | Where the vines were ever fruited, and the weather ever fine |
| XVIII | And she my faithful sweetheart till the golden hair was gray |
| XIX | The door is softly opened, and—my wife is standing there |