HOME AGAIN WITH ME

By James Whitcomb Riley

Drawings by Howard Chandler Christy
Decorations by Franklin Booth

Indianapolis
1908
The Bobbs-Merrill Company

[Original]

[Original]

[Original]

[Original]

DEDICATION

HIS LOVE OF HOME

"As love of native land," the old man said,

'Er stars and stripes a-wavin' overhead,

Er nearest kith-and-kin, er daily bread,

A Hoosier's love is for the old homestead."

HOME AGAIN WITH ME

[Original]

I'M a-feelin' ruther sad,

Fer a father proud and glad

As I am—my only child

Home, and all so rickonciléd!—

Feel so strange-like, and don't know

What the mischief ails me so!—

[Original]

[Original]

'Stid o' bad, I ort to be

Feelin' good pertickerly—

Yes, and extry thankful, too,—-

'Cause my nearest kith-and-kin,

My Elviry's schoolin' 's through,

And I' got her home ag'in—

Home ag'in with me!

[Original]

[Original]

My Elviry's schoolin' 's through,

And I' got her home ag'in —

Same as ef her mother'd bin

Livin', I have done my best

By the girl, and watchfulest;

Nussed her—keerful' as I could—

From a baby, day and night,—

Drawin' on the neighberhood

And the women-folks as light

As needsessity 'u'd 'low—

'Cept in "teethin'," onc't, and fight

Through black-measles.....

[Original]

[Original]

Same as ef her mother'd bin

Livin', I have done my best

Don't know now

How we ever saved the child!

Doc hed give her up, and said

(As I stood there by the bed

Sort o' foolin' with her hair

On the hot wet piller there)

"Wuz no use!"—And at them-air

Very words she waked and smiled—

Yes, and knowed me. And that's where

I broke down, and simply jes

Bellered like a boy—I guess!—

[Original]

[Original]

Women claimed I did, but I

Alius helt I didn't cry

But wuz laughin',—and I wuz,—

(Men don't cry like women does!)

Well, right then and there I felt

'T 'uz her mother's doin's, and,

Jes like to myse'f, I knelt,

Whisperin' "I understand."...

[Original]

[Original]

So I've raised her, you might say,

Stric'ly in the narrer way

'At her mother walked therein—

Not so quite religiously,

Yit still strivin'-like to do

Ever'thing a father could

Do he knowed the mother would

Ef she'd lived.—And now all's through

And I' got her home ag'in—

Home ag'in with me!

[Original]

[Original]

And I' bin so lonesome, too—

Here o' late, especially,—

"Old Aunt Abigail," you know,

Ain't no company;—and so

Jes the hired hand, you see—

Jonas—like a relative

More—sence he come here to live

With us, nigh ten year' ago.

[Original]

[Original]

Still he don't count much, you know.

In the line o' company—

Lonesome, 'peared-like, 'most as me!

So, as I say, I' bin so

Special lonesome-like and blue,

With Elviry, like she's bin,

'Way so much, last two er three

Year'.—But now she's home ag'in—

Home ag'in with me!

[Original]

[Original]

Drivin' fe'r her yisterday,

Me and Jonas—gay and spry,—

We jes cut up, all the way!—

Yes, and sung!—tel, blame it! I

Keyed my voice up 'bout as high

As when—days 'at I wuz young—

"Buckwheat-notes" wuz all they sung

Jonas bantered me, and 'greed

To sing one 'at town-folks sing

Down at Split Stump 'er High-Low—

[Original]

[Original]

Some new "ballet," said, 'at he'd

Learnt—about "The Grapevine Swing."

And when he quit, I begun

To chune up my voice and run

Through the what's-called "scales" and "do

Sol-me-rays" I ust to know—

Then let loose old favorite one,

"Hunters o' Kentucky!" My!

Tel I thought the boy would die!

And we both laughed......

[Original]

[Original]

Yes, and still

Heerd more laughin', top the hill;

Fer we'd missed Elviry's train,

And she'd lit out 'crosst the fields—

Dewdrops dancin' at her heels,—

And cut up old Smoots's lane

So's to meet us. And there in

Shadder o' the chinkypin,

With a danglin' dogwood-bough

Bloomin' 'bove her—See her now!—

[Original]

[Original]

Sunshine sort o' flickerin' down

And a kind o' laughin' all

Round her new red parasol,

Try'n' to git at her!—well—like

I jumped out and showed 'em how!

Yes, and jes the place to strike

That-air mouth o' hern—as sweet

As the blossoms breshed her brow

Er sweet-williams round her feet—-

[Original]

[Original]

White and blushy, too, as she

"Howdy'd" up to Jonas and

Jieuked her head and waved her hand.

"Hey!" says I, as she bounced in

The spring-wagon, reachin' back

To give me a lift, "whoop-ee! "

I-says-ee, "you're home agin—

Home agin with me!"

[Original]

[Original]

Lord! how wild she wuz and glad,

Gittin' home!—and things she had

To inquire about, and talk—

Plowin', plantin', and the stock—

News o' neighberhood; and how

Wuz the Deem-girls doin' now,

Sence that-air young chicken-hawk

They was "tamin'" soared away

With their settin'-hen, one day?—

(Said she'd got Marne's postal-card

'Bout it, very day 'at she

Started home from Bethany.)

[Original]

[Original]

How wuz pro-duce—eggs, and lard?—

Er wuz stores still claimin' "hard

Times," as usual? And, says she,

Troubled-like, "How's Deedie—say?

Sence pore child e-loped away

And got back, and goin' to 'ply

Fer school-license by and by—

And where's 'Lijy workin' at?

And how's 'Aunt' and 'Uncle Jake'?

How wuz 'Old Maje'—and the cat?

And wuz Marthy's baby fat

As his 'Humpty-Dumpty' ma!—

[Original]

[Original]

Sweetest thing she ever saw!—

Must run 'crosst and see 'em, too,

Soon as she turned in and got

Supper fer us—smokin'-hot—

And the 'dishes' all wuz through.—"

Sich a supper! W'y, I set

There and et, and et, and et!—

Jes et on, tel Jonas he

Pushed his chair back, laughed, and says,

"I could walk his log!"

[Original]

[Original]

And we

All laughed then, tel 'Viry she

Lit the lamp—and I give in!—

Riz and kissed her: "Heaven bless

You!" says I—"you're home ag'in—

Same old dimple in your chin,

Same white apern," I-says-ee,

"Same sweet girl, and good to see

As your mother ust to be,—

And I' got you home ag'in—

Home ag-'in with me!"...

[Original]

[Original]

I turns then to go on by'er

Through the door—and see her eyes

Both wuz swimmin', and she tries

To say somepin'—can't—and so

Grabs and hugs and lets me go. . . . .

Noticed Aunty'd lit the fire

In the settin'-room and gone

Back where her p'serves wuz on

B'ilin' in the kitchen. ..... I

Went out on the porch and set,

Thinkin'-like....Thinkin'-like....

[Original]

[Original]

And by and by

Heerd Elviry, soft and low,

At the organ, kind o' go

A mi-anderin' up and down

With her fingers 'mongst the keys-

"Vacant Chair" and "Old Camp-

Groun'."...

Dusk was moist-like, with a breeze

Lazin' round the locus'-trees...

Heerd the hosses champin', and

Jonas feedin'—and the hogs—

Yes, and katydids and frogs—

And a tree-toad, som'er's...

[Original]

[Original]

Heerd

Also whipperwills.—My land!—

All so mournful ever'where—

Them out here, and her in there,

That the whole thing railly 'peared

'Most like 'tendin' Services!

Anyway, I must 'a' jes

Kind o' drapped asleep, I guess;

'Cause when Jonas must 'a' passed

Me, a-comin' in, I knowed

Nothin' of it—yit it seemed

Sort o' like I kind o' dreamed

'Bout him, too, a-slippin' in,

[Original]

[Original]

And a-watchin' back to see

Ef I wuz asleep—and then

Passin' in where 'Viry wuz—

And where, I declare, it does

'Pear to me I heerd him say,

Wild and glad and whisperin'—

'Peared-like heerd him say, says-ee

"Ah! I' got you home ag'in—

Home ag'in witn me!"

[Original]

[Original]