But no matter whether his verses take us to the farm, to the child, to the inner circle of the home, or to a neighborly gathering, their first characteristic is simplicity. Some of his best verse entered the homes of the common people more easily because it was written in the Hoosier dialect. He is a democratic poet, and the common people listen to him. In Afterwhiles (1887), he says:—
"The tanned face, garlanded with mirth,
It hath the kingliest smile on earth—
The swart brow, diamonded with sweat,
Hath never need of coronet."
In like vein are his lines from Griggsby's Station:—
"Le's go a-visitin' back to Griggsby's Station—
Back where the latch string's a-hangin' from the door,
And ever' neighbor 'round the place is dear as a relation—
Back where we ust to be so happy and so pore!"
In lines like the following from Afterwhiles, there is a rare mingling of pathos and hope and kindly optimism:—
"I cannot say, and I will not say
That he is dead.—He is just away!
"With a cheery smile and a wave of the hand,
He has wandered into an unknown land,
"And left us dreaming how very fair
It needs must be, since he lingers there."
The charitable optimism of his lines:—
"I would sing of love that lives
On the errors it forgives,"