Ventures into Verse

<SPAN name="startofbook"></SPAN> <div class='tnotes covernote'> <p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber's Note:</strong></p> <p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> </div> <div> <h1 class='c001'>Ventures <em>into</em> Verse<br/> <span class='small'>Being Various <span class='sc'>Ballads</span>, <span class='sc'>Ballades</span>, <span class='sc'>Rondeaux</span>, <span class='sc'>Triolets</span>, <span class='sc'>Songs</span>, <span class='sc'>Quatrains</span>, <span class='sc'>Odes</span> <em>and</em> <span class='sc'>Roundels</span> <ANTIMG src='images/i_001a.jpg' alt='' class='symbol' /> All rescued from <em>the</em> <span class='sc'>Potters' Field</span> <em>of</em> Old Files <em>and</em> here Given <span class='sc'>Decent Burial</span> <ANTIMG src='images/i_001a.jpg' alt='' class='symbol' /> [Peace <em>to</em> Their Ashes]</span></h1></div> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center c002'> <div><span class='large'>BY</span></div> <div class='c003'><span class='xlarge'>Henry Louis Mencken</span></div> <div class='c003'>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS &amp; OTHER THINGS</div> <div><em>By</em> CHARLES S. GORDON &amp; JOHN SIEGEL</div> </div></div> <div class='figcenter id001'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_001b.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center'> <div>MARSHALL, BEEK &amp; GORDON :: NEW</div> <div>YORK :: LONDON :: TORONTO :: SYDNEY</div> <div>BALTIMORE <ANTIMG src='images/i_001a.jpg' alt='' class='symbol' /> <span class='sc'>First</span> (<em>and Last</em>) <span class='sc'>Edition</span></div> <div>M C M I I I</div> </div></div> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center c004'> <div>Copyright, 1903, by Henry L. Mencken</div> </div></div> <div class='chapter'> <span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span> <h2 class='c005'>CONTENTS</h2></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>VENTURES INTO VERSE</div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#K'>TO R. K.</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#TIME'>THE SONG OF THE OLDEN TIME</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#MAIN'>THE SPANISH MAIN</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#FERGUSON'>THE TRANSPORT GEN'RAL FERGUSON</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#SONG'>A WAR SONG</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#FAITH'>FAITH</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#HARBOR'>THE BALLAD OF SHIPS IN HARBOR</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#BOY'>THE ORF'CER BOY</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#MAIDEN'>THE FILIPINO MAIDEN</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#VIOLET'>THE VIOLET</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#CLADS'>THE TIN-CLADS</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#SEPTEMBER'>SEPTEMBER</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#ARABESQUE'>ARABESQUE</SPAN></div> <div class='line'>ESSAYS IN OLD FRENCH FORMS</div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#PROTEST'>A BALLADE OF PROTEST</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#RONDEAU'>A FRIVOLOUS RONDEAU</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#DOROTHY'>THE RHYMES OF MISTRESS DOROTHY</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#LINES'>A FEW LINES</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#HOURS'>A RONDEAU OF TWO HOURS</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#CHRISTMAS'>AN ANTE-CHRISTMAS RONDEAU</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#ROUNDEL'>ROUNDEL</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#VAUDEVILLE'>IN VAUDEVILLE</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#RICHES'>THE RONDEAU OF RICHES</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#SOUP'>IN EATING SOUP</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#ROSE'>LOVE AND THE ROSE</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#STATESMANSHIP'>A RONDEAU OF STATESMANSHIP</SPAN></div> <div class='line'>SONGS of THE CITY</div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#CITY'>SONGS OF THE CITY</SPAN></div> <div class='line'>OTHER VERSES</div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#MADRIGAL'>A MADRIGAL</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#LOOKING'>A BALLAD OF LOOKING</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#OUT'>WHEN THE PIPE GOES OUT</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#PARADOX'>A PARADOX</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#SLAPSTICK'>THE SONG OF THE SLAPSTICK</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#PENSEROSO'>IL PENSEROSO</SPAN></div> <div class='line in4'><SPAN href='#FINIS'>FINIS</SPAN></div> </div></div> </div> <div class='chapter'> <h2 class='c005'><em>WARNING</em></h2></div> <div class='c006'> <ANTIMG class='drop-capi' src='images/i_003.jpg' width-obs='100' alt='' /></div> <p class='drop-capi_8'> Most of the verses that follow have been printed before and the author wishes to acknowledge his thanks for permission to reproduce them, to the editors and publishers of <cite>The Bookman</cite>, <cite>Life</cite>, <cite>The New England Magazine</cite>, <cite>The National Magazine</cite> and the <cite>Baltimore Morning Herald</cite>. Some are imitations—necessarily weak—of the verse of several men in whose writings he has found a good deal of innocent pleasure. The others, he fears, are more or less original.</p> <div class='chapter'> <span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span> <h2 class='c005'>PRELIMINARY REBUKE</h2></div> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center c002'> <div><em>Don't shoot the pianist; he's doing his best.</em></div> </div></div> <div class='lg-container-b'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Gesundheit! Knockers! have your Fling!</div> <div class='line'>Unto an Anvilfest you're bid;</div> <div class='line in2'>It took a Lot of Hammering,</div> <div class='line'>To build Old Cheops' Pyramid!</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='chapter'> <span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span> <h2 class='c005'>Ventures <em>into</em> Verse</h2></div> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center c002'> <div><ANTIMG src='images/i_001a.jpg' alt='' class='symbol' /> <ANTIMG src='images/i_001a.jpg' alt='' class='symbol' /> BY HENRY L. MENCKEN <ANTIMG src='images/i_001a.jpg' alt='' class='symbol' /> <ANTIMG src='images/i_001a.jpg' alt='' class='symbol' /></div> </div></div> <h3 id='K' class='c001'>TO R. K.<SPAN name='r1' /><SPAN href='#f1' class='c007'>^[1]</SPAN></h3> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Prophet of brawn and bravery!</div> <div class='line in4'>Bard of the fighting man!</div> <div class='line'>You have made us kneel to a God of Steel,</div> <div class='line in4'>And to fear his church's ban;</div> <div class='line'>You have taught the song that the bullet sings—</div> <div class='line'>The knell and the crowning ode of kings;</div> <div class='line in4'>The ne'er denied appeal!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Prophet of brain and handicraft!</div> <div class='line in4'>Bard of our grim machines!</div> <div class='line'>You have made us dream of a God of Steam,</div> <div class='line in4'>And have shown what his worship means</div> <div class='line'>In the clanking rod and the whirring wheel</div> <div class='line'>A life and a soul your songs reveal,</div> <div class='line in4'>And power and might supreme.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Bard of the East and mystery!</div> <div class='line in4'>Singer of those who bow</div> <div class='line'>To the earthen clods that they call their gods</div> <div class='line in4'>And with god-like fees endow;</div> <div class='line'>You have shown that these heed not the suppliant's plea,</div> <div class='line'>Nor the prayers of the priest and devotee,</div> <div class='line in4'>Nor the vestal's futile vow.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Singer, we ask what we cannot learn</div> <div class='line in4'>From our wise men and our schools;</div> <div class='line'>Will our offered slain from our gods obtain</div> <div class='line in4'>But the old reward of fools?</div> <div class='line'>Will our man-made gods be like their kind?</div> <div class='line'>If we bow to a clod of clay enshrined</div> <div class='line in4'>Will we pray our prayers in vain?</div> </div></div> </div> <hr class='c008' /> <div class='footnote' id='f1'> <p class='c000'><span class='label'><SPAN href='#r1'>1</SPAN>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Copyright, 1899, by Dodd, Mead &amp; Co.</p> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span> <h3 id='TIME' class='c001'>THE SONG OF THE OLDEN TIME</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Powder and shot now fight our fights</div> <div class='line in2'>And we meet our foes no more,</div> <div class='line'>As face to face our fathers fought</div> <div class='line in2'>In the brave old days of yore;</div> <div class='line'>To the thirteen inch and the needle gun,</div> <div class='line in2'>To the she-cat four-point-three</div> <div class='line'>We look for help when the war-dogs yelp</div> <div class='line in2'>And the foe comes o'er the sea!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><em>Oho! for the days of the olden time,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>When a fight was a fight of men!</em></div> <div class='line'><em>When lance broke lance and arm met arm—</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>There were no cowards then;</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Sing ho! for the fight of the olden time,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>When the muscles swelled in strain,</em></div> <div class='line'><em>As the steel found rest in a brave man's breast</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>And the axe in a brave man's brain!</em></div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>The lance-point broke on the armor's steel,</div> <div class='line in2'>And the pike crushed helmet through,</div> <div class='line'>And the blood of the vanquished, warm and red,</div> <div class='line in2'>Stained the victor's war-steed, too!</div> <div class='line'>A fight was a fight in the olden time—</div> <div class='line in2'>Sing ho, for the days bygone!—</div> <div class='line'>And a strong right arm was the luckiest charm,</div> <div class='line in2'>When the foe came marching on!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><em>Oho! for the days of the olden time,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>When a fight was a fight of men!</em></div> <div class='line'><em>When lance broke lance and arm met arm—</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>There were no cowards then!</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Sing ho! for the fight of the olden time,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>When the muscles swelled in strain,</em></div> <div class='line'><em>As the steel found rest in a brave man's breast</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>And the axe in a brave man's brain!</em></div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span> <h3 id='MAIN' class='c001'>THE SPANISH MAIN</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Between the tangle of the palms,</div> <div class='line in2'>There gleaming, like a star-strewn plain,</div> <div class='line'>All smiling, lies the sea of calms,</div> <div class='line in2'>And calls to us to fare amain;</div> <div class='line'>And calls us, as with smile and gem,</div> <div class='line in2'>She called that bold, upstanding brood,</div> <div class='line'>Whose bones, when she had done with them,</div> <div class='line in2'>Upon her shores she strewed.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Between the tangle of the palms,</div> <div class='line in2'>By day the gleam is on the swell,</div> <div class='line'>And drifting zephyrs, bearing balms,</div> <div class='line in2'>Her tales of joy and riches tell,</div> <div class='line'>And when the winds of night are free</div> <div class='line in2'>Long, glimmering ripples wander by</div> <div class='line'>As if the stars where in the sea,</div> <div class='line in2'>Instead of in the sky.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>And they went forth in ships of war</div> <div class='line in2'>Girt up in all foolhardiness,</div> <div class='line'>To take their toll from out her store,</div> <div class='line in2'>Beguiled and snared by her caress;</div> <div class='line'>And we go forth in cargo ships</div> <div class='line in2'>To wrest her treasures bloodlessly,</div> <div class='line'>And buy the nectar from her lips,</div> <div class='line in2'>Our fairy goddess, she!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Where once their galleons blundered by</div> <div class='line in2'>Our cargo ships are on their way,</div> <div class='line'>And where their galleons rotting lie,</div> <div class='line in2'>Our cargo ships are wrecked today.</div> <div class='line'>For ever, 'till the world is done,</div> <div class='line in2'>And all good merchantmen go down,</div> <div class='line'>And dies the wind, as pales the sun,</div> <div class='line in2'>Her smile will mask her frown.</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id002'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_007.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span> <h3 id='FERGUSON' class='c001'>THE TRANSPORT GEN'RAL FERGUSON<SPAN name='r2' /><SPAN href='#f2' class='c007'>^[2]</SPAN></h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she left the Golden Gate,</div> <div class='line'>With a thousand rookies sweatin' in her hold;</div> <div class='line in2'>An' the sergeants drove an' drilled them, an' the sun it nearly killed them,—</div> <div class='line'>Till they learned to do whatever they were told.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she lay at Honolu',</div> <div class='line'>An' the rookies went ashore an' roughed the town,</div> <div class='line in2'>So the sergeants they corralled them, and with butt and barrel quelled them,—</div> <div class='line'>An' they limped aboard an' set to fryin' brown.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she steamed to-ward the south,</div> <div class='line'>And the rookies sweated morning, noon and night;</div> <div class='line in2'>'Till the lookout sighted land, and they cheered each grain o' sand,—</div> <div class='line'>For their blood was boilin' over for a fight.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she tied up at the dock,</div> <div class='line'>An' each rookie lugged his gun an' kit ashore,</div> <div class='line in2'>An' a train it come and took 'em where the tropic sun could cook 'em,—</div> <div class='line'>An' the sergeants they could talk to them of war.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she had her bottom scraped,</div> <div class='line'>For the first part of her labor it was done,</div> <div class='line in2'>An' the rookies chased the Tagals and the Tagals they escaped,—</div> <div class='line'>An' the rookies set and sweated in the sun.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she loafed around awhile,</div> <div class='line'>An' the rookies they was soldier boys by now,</div> <div class='line in2'>For it don't take long to teach 'em—where the Tagal lead can reach 'em—</div> <div class='line'>All about the which and why and when and how.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she headed home again,</div> <div class='line'>With a thousand heavy coffins in her hold;</div> <div class='line in2'>They were soldered up and stenciled, they were numbered and blue penciled,—</div> <div class='line'>And the rookies lay inside 'em stiff and cold.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she reached the Golden Gate,</div> <div class='line'>An' the derrick dumped her cargo on the shore;</div> <div class='line in2'>In a pyramid they piled it—and her manifest they filed it,</div> <div class='line'>In a pigeon-hole with half a hundred more.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she travels up and down,</div> <div class='line'>A-haulin' rookies to and from the war;</div> <div class='line in2'>Outward-bound they sweat in Kharki; homeward bound they come in lead</div> <div class='line'>And they wonder what they've got to do it for.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she's owned by Uncle Sam,</div> <div class='line'>An' maybe Uncle Sam could tell 'em why,</div> <div class='line in2'>But he don't—and so he takes 'em out to fight, and sweat, and swear,</div> <div class='line'>An' brings them home for plantin' when they die.</div> </div></div> </div> <hr class='c008' /> <div class='footnote' id='f2'> <p class='c000'><span class='label'><SPAN href='#r2'>2</SPAN>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Copyright, 1902, by the <em>Life</em> Publishing Company.</p> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span> <h3 id='SONG' class='c001'>A WAR SONG</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>The wounded bird to its blasted nest,</div> <div class='line in2'>(Sing ho! for the joys of war!)</div> <div class='line'>When the sun of its life veers o'er to the West,</div> <div class='line in2'>(Sing ho! for the war, for the war!)</div> <div class='line'>The wounded fox to its cave in the hill,</div> <div class='line'>And the blood-dyed wolf to the snow-waste chill,</div> <div class='line'>And the mangled elk to the wild-wood rill,</div> <div class='line in2'>(Sing ho! for the price of war!)</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>The nest-queen harks to her master's hurts,</div> <div class='line in2'>(Sing ho! for the wounds of war!)</div> <div class='line'>And the she-fox busies with woodland worts,</div> <div class='line in2'>(Sing ho! for the end of war!)</div> <div class='line'>The she-wolf staunches the warm red flood,</div> <div class='line'>And the doe is besmeared with the spurting blood,</div> <div class='line'>For 'tis ever the weak that must help the strong,</div> <div class='line'>Though they have no part in the triumph song,</div> <div class='line'>And their glory is brief as their work is long—</div> <div class='line in2'>(Sing ho! for the saints of war!)</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id003'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_010.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span> <h3 id='FAITH' class='c001'>FAITH</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The Gawd that guided Moses</div> <div class='line'>Acrost the desert sand,</div> <div class='line in2'>The Gawd that unter Joner</div> <div class='line'>Put out a helping hand,</div> <div class='line in2'>The Gawd that saved these famous men</div> <div class='line in4'>From death on land an' sea,</div> <div class='line in2'>Can spare a minute now an' then</div> <div class='line in4'>To take a peep at you an' me.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>The Gawd of Ol' Man Adam</div> <div class='line'>An' Father Abraham,</div> <div class='line in2'>Of Joshua an' Isaiah<SPAN name='p11'></SPAN>,</div> <div class='line'>Of lion an' of lamb,</div> <div class='line in2'>Of kings, an' queens, an' potentates,</div> <div class='line in4'>An' chaps of pedigree,</div> <div class='line in2'>Wont put a bar acrost the Gate</div> <div class='line in4'>When Gabr'el toots fer you an' me.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>The Gawd that made the ocean</div> <div class='line'>An' painted up the sky,</div> <div class='line in2'>The Gawd that sets us livin'</div> <div class='line'>An' takes us when we die,</div> <div class='line in2'>Is just the same to ev'ry man,</div> <div class='line in4'>Of high or low degree,</div> <div class='line in2'>An' no one's better treated than</div> <div class='line in4'>Poor little you and little me.</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span> <h3 id='HARBOR' class='c001'>THE BALLAD OF SHIPS IN HARBOR</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><em>Clatter of shears and derrick,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Rattle of box and bale,</em></div> <div class='line'><em>The ships of the earth are at their docks,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Back from the world-round trail—</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Back from the wild waste northward,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Back from the wind and the lea,</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Back from the ports of East and West,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Back from the under sea.</em></div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Here is a bark from Rio,</div> <div class='line in2'>Back—and away she steals!</div> <div class='line'>Here, from her trip, is a clipper ship</div> <div class='line in2'>That showed the sea her heels—</div> <div class='line'>South to the Gallapagos,</div> <div class='line in2'>Down, due south, to the Horn,</div> <div class='line'>And up, by the Windward Passage way,</div> <div class='line in2'>On the breath of the balm-wind borne.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>There, standing down the channel,</div> <div class='line in2'>With a smoke wake o'er her rail,</div> <div class='line'>Is a ship that goes to Zanzibar</div> <div class='line in2'>Along the world-round trail,</div> <div class='line'>'Ere seven suns have kissed her</div> <div class='line in2'>She may pound on Quoddy Head—</div> <div class='line'>A surf-tossed speck of melting wreck,</div> <div class='line in2'>Deep-freighted with her dead.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>And see that gaunt Norwegian,</div> <div class='line in2'>Greasy, grimy and black—</div> <div class='line'>She sails today for Yeddo Bay;</div> <div class='line in2'>Who knows but she comes not back?</div> <div class='line'>And there is a low decked Briton,</div> <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>And yonder a white-winged Dane—</div> <div class='line'>Oh, a song for the ships that put to sea</div> <div class='line in2'>And come not back again!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><em>Clatter of shears and derrick,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Rattle of box and bale,</em></div> <div class='line'><em>The ships of the earth are home today,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Tomorrow they shall sail;</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Cleared for the dawn and the sunset,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Cleared for the wind and the lea;</em></div> <div class='line'><em>World-round and back, by the olden track—</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Playthings of the sea.</em></div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id003'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_013.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span> <h3 id='BOY' class='c001'>THE ORF'CER BOY</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>“He was a gran' bhoy!”—<em>Mulvaney.</em></div> </div></div> </div> <div class='lg-container-b'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Now 'e aren't got no whiskers</div> <div class='line in2'>An' 'e's only five foot 'igh,</div> <div class='line'>(All the same 'e is a' orf'cer hof the Queen!)</div> <div class='line in2'>Oh, 'is voice is like a loidy's</div> <div class='line in2'>An' 'e's so polite an' shy!</div> <div class='line'>(All the same 'e serves 'Er Majesty the Queen!)</div> <div class='line in2'>It is only 'bout a year ago 'e left 'is mother's knee,</div> <div class='line in2'>It is only 'bout a month ago 'e come acrost the sea,</div> <div class='line in2'>It is only 'bout a week that 'e 'as been aleadin' me.</div> <div class='line'>(That's the way 'e serves 'Er Majesty the Queen!)</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>'E is such a little chappie,</div> <div class='line in2'>Bein' only five foot 'igh,</div> <div class='line'>That you'd wonder how 'is likes could serve the Queen;</div> <div class='line'>You would think that when 'e 'eard the guns</div> <div class='line in2'>'E'd just set down an' cry—</div> <div class='line'>A-forgettin' ev'rythink about the Queen;</div> <div class='line in2'>But by all that's good an' holy, you'd be extraord'ny wrong,</div> <div class='line in2'>'Cos 'e doesn't like no singin' 'arf as good 's the Gatlin's song,</div> <div class='line in2'>An' 'e fights as though 'e'd been a-fightin' twenty times as long</div> <div class='line'>As any other man that serves the Queen!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>If you'd seen him when we got to where</div> <div class='line in2'>The Modder's deep an' wet,</div> <div class='line'>You'd a-knowed 'e was a' orf'cer hof the Queen!</div> <div class='line'>There's a dozen of the enemy</div> <div class='line in2'>That ain't forgot 'im yet—</div> <div class='line'>For 'e run 'is sword clean through 'em for the Queen!</div> <div class='line in2'>Oh, 'e aren't much on whiskers an' 'e aren't much on 'eight,</div> <div class='line in2'>An' a year or two ago 'e was a-learnin' for to write,</div> <div class='line in2'>But you bet your soldier's shillin' 'e's the devil in a fight—</div> <div class='line'>An' 'ed die to serve 'Er Majesty the Queen!</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span> <h3 id='MAIDEN' class='c001'>THE FILIPINO MAIDEN</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Her father we've chased in the jungle,</div> <div class='line'>And her brother is full of our lead;</div> <div class='line in2'>Her uncles and cousins</div> <div class='line in2'>In yellow half-dozens</div> <div class='line'>We've tried to induce to be dead;</div> <div class='line in2'>And while we have shot at their shadows,</div> <div class='line'>They've done the same favor for us—</div> <div class='line in2'>But, by George, she's so sweet</div> <div class='line in2'>That we'd rather be beat</div> <div class='line'>Than to have her mixed up in the fuss.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Oh! isn't her blush like the roses?</div> <div class='line'>And aren't her eyes like the stars?</div> <div class='line in2'>And whenever she smiles</div> <div class='line in2'>Don't you think you are miles</div> <div class='line'>From the rattle and roar of the wars?</div> <div class='line in2'>Would you take the three stars of a general</div> <div class='line'>If she'd say “Leave the stars and take me?”</div> <div class='line in2'>Oh! we've stolen sweet kisses from thousands of misses,</div> <div class='line'>But hers are the sweetest that be.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Her name may be Ahlo or Nina,</div> <div class='line'>Or Zanez or Lalamaloo;</div> <div class='line in2'>She may smoke the cigars</div> <div class='line in2'>Of the chino bazars,</div> <div class='line'>And prefer black maduros to you;</div> <div class='line in2'>She may speak a wild six-cornered lingo,</div> <div class='line'>And say that your Spanish is queer,</div> <div class='line in2'>But you'll never mind this</div> <div class='line in2'>When she gives you a kiss</div> <div class='line'>And calls you her “zolshier poy dear.”</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>Oh! isn't her blush like the roses?</div> <div class='line'>And aren't her eyes like the stars?</div> <div class='line in2'>And whenever she smiles</div> <div class='line in2'>Don't you think you are miles</div> <div class='line'>From the rattle and roar of the wars?</div> <div class='line in2'>Would you take the three stars of a general</div> <div class='line'>If she'd say “Leave the stars and take me?”</div> <div class='line in2'>Oh! I've stolen sweet kisses from thousands of misses,</div> <div class='line'>But her's are the sweetest for me!</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id003'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_017.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <h3 id='VIOLET' class='c001'>THE VIOLET</h3> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>As in the first pale flush of coming dawn</div> <div class='line'>We see a promise of the glorious sun,</div> <div class='line in2'>So in the violet's misty blue is drawn</div> <div class='line'>A shadowy likeness of the days to be,</div> <div class='line in2'>The days of cloudless skies and poesie,</div> <div class='line in6'>When Winter's done.</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span> <h3 id='CLADS' class='c001'>THE TIN-CLADS<SPAN name='r3' /><SPAN href='#f3' class='c007'>^[3]</SPAN></h3></div> <p class='c009'>The small gunboats captured from the Spaniards and facetiously called “tin-clads” by the men of the land forces, are of great value in the offensive operations against the insurgents along the coast.—[<span class='sc'>Manilla Dispatch</span>]</p> <div class='lg-container-b'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><em>Their draft is a foot and a half,</em></div> <div class='line'><em>And a knot and a half is their speed,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Their bows are as blunt as the stern of a punt</em></div> <div class='line'><em>And their boilers are wonders of greed;</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Their rudders are always on strike,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Their displacement is thirty-two tons,</em></div> <div class='line'><em>They are armored with tin—to the dishpan they're kin—</em></div> <div class='line'><em>But their Maxims are A number ones,</em></div> <div class='line in20'><em>(Ask Aggie!)</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Their Maxims are murderous guns!</em></div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>When from out the towns and villages, and out the jungle, too,</div> <div class='line in2'>We have chased the Filipinos on the run,</div> <div class='line'>Toward the river swamps they foot it—towards the swamps we can't go through—</div> <div class='line in2'>And we're doubtful if we've lost the fight or won;</div> <div class='line'>Then when all are safe in hiding in the slimy mud and reeds,</div> <div class='line in2'>From the river 'cross the swamp we hear a sound;</div> <div class='line'>It's the sputter and the rattle of the automatic feeds</div> <div class='line in2'>On the tin-protected cruisers—how they pound—</div> <div class='line in20'>(Sweet sound!)</div> <div class='line'>They that save us being losers—Rah! the tin-protected cruisers!</div> <div class='line in2'>Hear their rattling Maxims pound, pound, pound!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>When the guns have done their work, and the Tagals come our way,</div> <div class='line in2'>(I admit they much prefer us to the guns,)</div> <div class='line'>Why, we finish up what's left—ten in every dozen lay</div> <div class='line in2'>Dead as Noah, in the swampy pools and runs;</div> <div class='line'>Then the Maxims stop their rattle and we know that midst the reeds,</div> <div class='line in2'>Half a hundred Filipinos on the ground</div> <div class='line'>Are a-looking at the sky, with a glassy, sightless eye,</div> <div class='line in2'>And the other half—or most of them—are drowned.</div> <div class='line'>'Twas the tin-protected cruisers—How they pound!</div> <div class='line in22'>(Sweet sound!)</div> <div class='line'>They that saved us being losers—Rah! the tin-protected cruisers!</div> <div class='line in2'>How their rattling Maxims pound, pound, pound!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><em>Their draft is a foot and a half</em></div> <div class='line'><em>And a knot and a half is their speed,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Their bows are as blunt as the stern of a punt,</em></div> <div class='line'><em>And their engines are wonders, indeed.</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Their rudders are always on strike,</em></div> <div class='line in2'><em>Their bunkers hold two or three tons,</em></div> <div class='line'><em>They are armored with tin—to the meat-can they're kin—</em></div> <div class='line'><em>'But their Maxims are A number ones,</em></div> <div class='line in22'><em>(Ask Aggie!)</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Their Maxims are murderous guns;</em></div> <div class='line in22'><em>(Go ask him!)</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Their Maxims are Death's younger sons.</em></div> </div></div> </div> <hr class='c008' /> <div class='footnote' id='f3'> <p class='c000'><span class='label'><SPAN href='#r3'>3</SPAN>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Copyright, 1900, by the W. W. Potter Co.</p> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span> <h3 id='SEPTEMBER' class='c001'>SEPTEMBER</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>A dash of scarlet in the dark'ning green,</div> <div class='line'>A minor echo in the night-wind's wail,</div> <div class='line in2'>And faint and low, the swirling boughs between,</div> <div class='line'>The last, sad carol of the nightingale.</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id003'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_020.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <h3 id='ARABESQUE' class='c001'>ARABESQUE</h3> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center c002'> <div>(<em>An English Version of an old Turkish Lyric.</em>)</div> </div></div> <div class='lg-container-b'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>The tinkling sound of the camel's bell</div> <div class='line in2'>Comes softly across the sand,</div> <div class='line'>And the nightingale by the garden well</div> <div class='line in2'>Still warbles his saraband,</div> <div class='line'>But the night goes by and the dawn-winds blow</div> <div class='line'>From the glimmering East and the Hills of Snow,</div> <div class='line in2'>And I wait, sweetheart, I wait alone,</div> <div class='line in2'>For a smile from thee, my own!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Awake! e'er the gong of the muezzin</div> <div class='line in2'>Peals forth for another day;</div> <div class='line'>E'er its loveless, barren toil begin</div> <div class='line in2'>But a smile from you I pray!</div> <div class='line'>But a smile from your soul-enslaving eyes,—</div> <div class='line'>As brightly dark as the midnight skies,—</div> <div class='line in2'>But a smile, I pray! Awake! sweetheart,</div> <div class='line in2'>Awake! my own, my own!</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='chapter'> <span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span> <h2 class='c005'>ESSAYS IN OLD FRENCH FORMS</h2></div> <div class='figcenter id004'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_021.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span> <h3 id='PROTEST' class='c001'>A BALLADE OF PROTEST<SPAN name='r4' /><SPAN href='#f4' class='c007'>^[4]</SPAN></h3></div> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center c002'> <div>(<em>To the address of Master Rudyard Kipling, Poetaster</em>)</div> </div></div> <div class='lg-container-b'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>For long, unjoyed, we've heard you sing</div> <div class='line in2'>Of politics and army bills,</div> <div class='line'>Of money-lust and cricketing,</div> <div class='line in2'>Of clothes and fear and other things;</div> <div class='line in2'>Meanwhile the palm-trees and the hills</div> <div class='line'>Have lacked a bard to voice their lay;</div> <div class='line in2'>Poet, ere time your lyre string stills,</div> <div class='line'>Sing us again of Mandalay!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Unsung the East lies glimmering,</div> <div class='line in2'>Unsung the palm trees toss their frills,</div> <div class='line'>Unsung the seas their splendors fling,</div> <div class='line in2'>The while you prate of laws and tills.</div> <div class='line in2'>Each man his destiny fulfills;</div> <div class='line'>Can it be yours to loose and stray;</div> <div class='line in2'>In sophist garb to waste your quills?—</div> <div class='line'>Sing us again of Mandalay!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Sing us again in rhymes that ring,</div> <div class='line in2'>In Master-Voice that lives and thrills.</div> <div class='line'>Sing us again of wind and wing,</div> <div class='line in2'>Of temple bells and jungle thrills;</div> <div class='line in2'>And if your Pegasus e'er wills</div> <div class='line'>To lead you down some other way,</div> <div class='line in2'>Go bind him in his olden thills—</div> <div class='line'>Sing us again of Mandalay!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Master, regard the plaint we bring,</div> <div class='line in2'>And hearken to the prayer we pray.</div> <div class='line'>Lay down your law and sermoning—</div> <div class='line in2'>Sing us again of Mandalay!</div> </div></div> </div> <hr class='c008' /> <div class='footnote' id='f4'> <p class='c000'><span class='label'><SPAN href='#r4'>4</SPAN>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Copyright, 1902, by Dodd, Mead &amp; Co.</p> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span> <h3 id='RONDEAU' class='c001'>A FRIVOLOUS RONDEAU</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>“I co'd reherse</div> <div class='line'>A lyric verse.”—<em>The Hesperides.</em></div> </div></div> </div> <div class='lg-container-b'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>A lyric verse I'll make for you,</div> <div class='line'>Fair damsel that the many woo,</div> <div class='line in2'>'Twill be a sonnet on your fan—</div> <div class='line in2'>That aid to love from quaint Japan—</div> <div class='line'>And “true” will rhyme with “eyes of blue.”</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Ah! me, if you but only knew</div> <div class='line'>The toil of setting out to hew</div> <div class='line in2'>From words—as I shall try to do—</div> <div class='line in16'>A lyric verse.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Fleet metric ghosts I must pursue,</div> <div class='line'>And dim rhyme apparitions, too—</div> <div class='line in2'>But yet, 'tis joyfully I scan,</div> <div class='line in2'>And reckon rhymes and think and plan</div> <div class='line'>For there's no cheaper present than</div> <div class='line in16'>A lyric verse.</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span> <h3 id='DOROTHY' class='c001'>THE RHYMES OF MISTRESS DOROTHY</h3></div> <h4 class='c010'><em>Roundel</em>—</h4> <div class='lg-container-b c003'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Bemauled by ev'ry hurrying churl</div> <div class='line'>And deafened by the city's brawl,</div> <div class='line in2'>A helm-less craft I helpless swirl</div> <div class='line in12'>Adown the street.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>With battered hat I trip and sprawl</div> <div class='line in2'>And like a toy tee-to-tum swirl,</div> <div class='line'>To end my strugglings with a fall—</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>But what care I for knock and whirl?—</div> <div class='line'>Egad! I heed them not at all;</div> <div class='line in2'>For here comes Dolly—sweetheart girl!—</div> <div class='line in12'>Adown the street!</div> </div></div> </div> <h4 class='c010'><em>Triolet</em>—</h4> <div class='lg-container-b c003'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>The light that lies in Dolly's eyes</div> <div class='line in2'>Is sun and moon and stars to me;</div> <div class='line'>It dims the splendor of the skies—</div> <div class='line'>The light that lies in Dolly's eyes—</div> <div class='line'>And me-ward shining, testifies</div> <div class='line in2'>That Dolly's mine, fore'er to be—</div> <div class='line'>The light that lies in Dolly's eyes</div> <div class='line in2'>Is sun and moon and stars to me!</div> </div></div> </div> <h4 class='c010'><em>Roundelay</em>—</h4> <div class='lg-container-b c003'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Oh, Dolly is my treasury—</div> <div class='line in2'>What more of wealth could I desire?</div> <div class='line'>Her lips are rubies set for me,</div> <div class='line'>And there between (sweet property!)</div> <div class='line in2'>A string of pearls to smiles conspire;</div> <div class='line'>With Dolly as my treasury,</div> <div class='line in2'>What more of wealth could I desire?</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>And when have men of alchemy</div> <div class='line'>Yet dreamed of gems like those I see</div> <div class='line in2'>In Dolly's eyes, as flashing fire,</div> <div class='line in2'>They bid the envious world admire?—</div> <div class='line'>Oh, Dolly is my treasury!</div> <div class='line in2'>What more of wealth could I desire?</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>And then her hair!—there cannot be</div> <div class='line'>Such gold beyond the Purple Sea</div> <div class='line'>As this of mine—unpriced and free!</div> <div class='line'>Oh, Dolly is my treasury,</div> <div class='line in2'>My sweetheart and my heart's desire!</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id005'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_025.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <h3 id='LINES' class='c001'>A FEW LINES</h3> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Few roses like your cheeks are red,</div> <div class='line in2'>Few lilies like your brow are fair;</div> <div class='line'>Few vassals like your slave are led,</div> <div class='line'>Few roses like your cheeks are red,</div> <div class='line'>Few dangers like your frown I dread;</div> <div class='line in2'>Few rubies to your lips compare,</div> <div class='line'>Few roses like your cheeks are red,</div> <div class='line in2'>Few lilies like your brow are fair.</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span> <h3 id='HOURS' class='c001'>A RONDEAU OF TWO HOURS</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>“It's a cinch.”—<em>Plato.</em></div> </div></div> </div> <div class='lg-container-b'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>From four to six milady fair</div> <div class='line'>Is chic and sweet and debonair,</div> <div class='line in2'>For then it is, with smiles and tea,</div> <div class='line in2'>She fills the chappy mob with glee</div> <div class='line'>(The jays but come to drink and stare).</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>A rose is nestled in her hair,</div> <div class='line in2'>Like Cupid lurking in his lair—</div> <div class='line'>Few of the jays remain heart free</div> <div class='line in8'>From four to six.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Oh let them come—I would not care</div> <div class='line in2'>If all the men on earth were there;</div> <div class='line'>For when they go she smiles on me,</div> <div class='line'>And, just because she loves me, she</div> <div class='line in2'>Makes all the ringers take their share</div> <div class='line in8'>From four to six.</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span> <h3 id='CHRISTMAS' class='c001'>AN ANTE-CHRISTMAS RONDEAU</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>“'Tis a sad story, mates.”—<em>Marie Corelli.</em></div> </div></div> </div> <div class='lg-container-b'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>It's up to me—the winds are chill</div> <div class='line'>And snow clouds drift from o'er the hill,</div> <div class='line in2'>At dawn the rime is on the grass,</div> <div class='line in2'>At five o'clock we light the gas,</div> <div class='line'>And long gone is the daffodil.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Jack Frost draws flowers upon the glass</div> <div class='line in2'>And blasts the growing ones—alas!</div> <div class='line'>Whene'er he comes to scar and kill,</div> <div class='line in12'>It's up to me.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>I run not in the croaker class,</div> <div class='line'>But when I see the autumn pass,</div> <div class='line'>Of crushing woes I have my fill—</div> <div class='line'>To buy a Christmas gift for Jill</div> <div class='line in2'>A horde of gold I must amass—</div> <div class='line in12'>It's up to me.</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id006'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_027.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span> <h3 id='ROUNDEL' class='c001'>ROUNDEL</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>If love were all and we could cheat</div> <div class='line'>All gods but Cupid of their due,</div> <div class='line in2'>Our joy in life would be complete.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>We'd only live that we might woo,</div> <div class='line'>(Instead, as now, that we might eat,)</div> <div class='line in2'>And ev'ry lover would be true,—</div> <div class='line in12'>If love were all.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Yet, if we found our bread and meat</div> <div class='line'>In kisses it would please but few,</div> <div class='line in2'>Soon life would grow a cloying sweet,</div> <div class='line in12'>If love were all.</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span> <h3 id='VAUDEVILLE' class='c001'>IN VAUDEVILLE</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>In vaudeville the elder jest</div> <div class='line'>Remains the one that's loved the best;</div> <div class='line in2'>For 'tis the custom of the stage</div> <div class='line in2'>To venerate and honor age</div> <div class='line'>And look upon the old as blest.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Originality's a pest</div> <div class='line'>That artist's labor hard to best—</div> <div class='line in2'>Conservatism is the rage</div> <div class='line in10'>In vaudeville.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>The artist's arms are here expressed:</div> <div class='line'>A slapstick argent as a crest</div> <div class='line in2'>(It is an ancient heritage),</div> <div class='line'>A seltzer siphon gules—the wage</div> <div class='line'>Of newness is a lengthy rest</div> <div class='line in10'>In vaudeville.</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span> <h3 id='RICHES' class='c001'>THE RONDEAU OF RICHES</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>If I were rich and had a store</div> <div class='line'>Of gold doubloons and louis d'or—</div> <div class='line in2'>A treasure for a pirate crew—</div> <div class='line in2'>Then I would spend it all for you—</div> <div class='line'>My heart's delight and conqueror!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>About your feet upon the floor,</div> <div class='line'>Ten thousand rubies I would pour—</div> <div class='line in2'>Regardless of expense, I'd woo</div> <div class='line in10'>If I were rich.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>But as I'm not, I can but soar</div> <div class='line'>Mid fancy's heights and ponder o'er</div> <div class='line in2'>The things that I would like to do;</div> <div class='line in2'>And as I pass them in review</div> <div class='line'>It strikes me that you'd love me more</div> <div class='line in10'>If I were rich.</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span> <h3 id='SOUP' class='c001'>IN EATING SOUP</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>In eating soup, it's always well</div> <div class='line'>To make an effort to excel</div> <div class='line in2'>The unregenerate who sop</div> <div class='line in2'>With bread the last surviving drop</div> <div class='line'>As if to them but one befell.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>And if it burn you do not yell,</div> <div class='line'>Or stamp or storm or say “Oh!——well!”—</div> <div class='line in2'>From social grandeur you may flop</div> <div class='line in10'>In eating soup.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>And if the appetizing smell</div> <div class='line'>Upon you cast a witch's spell,</div> <div class='line in2'>To drain your plate pray do not stop,</div> <div class='line in2'>And please, I pray you, do not slop!</div> <div class='line'>A gurgling sound's a social knell</div> <div class='line in10'>In eating soup.</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id006'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_031.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span> <h3 id='ROSE' class='c001'>LOVE AND THE ROSE</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>The thorn lives but to shield the rose;</div> <div class='line in2'>Coquetry may but shelter love!</div> <div class='line'>(This consolation Hope bestows).</div> <div class='line'>The thorn lives but to shield the rose;</div> <div class='line'>Though blood from many a thorn wound flows</div> <div class='line in2'>I'll pluck the rose that blows above—</div> <div class='line'>The thorn lives but to shield the rose,</div> <div class='line in2'>Coquetry may but shelter love!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Love me more or not at all,</div> <div class='line in2'>Half a rose is less than none;</div> <div class='line'>Hear the wretch you hold in thrall!</div> <div class='line'>Love me more or not at all!</div> <div class='line'>Dilletante love will pall,</div> <div class='line in2'>I would have you wholly won;—</div> <div class='line'>Love me more or not at all;</div> <div class='line in2'>Half a rose is less than none!</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span> <h3 id='STATESMANSHIP' class='c001'>A RONDEAU OF STATESMANSHIP</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>In politics it's funny how</div> <div class='line'>A man may tell you one thing now</div> <div class='line in2'>And say tomorrow that he meant</div> <div class='line in2'>To voice a different sentiment</div> <div class='line'>And vow a very different vow.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>The writ and spoken laws allow</div> <div class='line'>Each individual to endow</div> <div class='line in2'>His words with underground intent</div> <div class='line in10'>In politics.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Thus he who leads in verbal prow-</div> <div class='line'>Ness sports the laurel on his brow—</div> <div class='line'>So if you wish to represent</div> <div class='line in2'>The acme of the eminent,</div> <div class='line'>Learning lying ere you make your bow</div> <div class='line in10'>In politics.</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='chapter'> <span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span> <h2 class='c005'>SONGS <em>of</em> THE CITY</h2></div> <div class='figcenter id007'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_035.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span> <h3 id='CITY' class='c001'>SONGS OF THE CITY</h3></div> <h4 class='c010'>I—<em>Auroral</em><SPAN name='r5' /><SPAN href='#f5' class='c007'>^[5]</SPAN></h4> <div class='lg-container-b c003'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Another day comes journeying with the sun,</div> <div class='line'>The east grows ghastly with the dawning's gleam,</div> <div class='line in2'>And e'er the dark has flown and night is done</div> <div class='line'>The alley pavements with their many teem.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Another day of toil and grief and pain;</div> <div class='line'>Life surely seems not sweet to such as these!</div> <div class='line in2'>Yet they live toiling that they may but gain</div> <div class='line'>The right to life and all life's miseries.</div> </div></div> </div> <h4 class='c010'>II—<em>Madrigal</em></h4> <div class='lg-container-b c003'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>Ah! what were all the running brooks</div> <div class='line'>From ocean-side to ocean-side,</div> <div class='line in2'>And what were all the chattering wrens</div> <div class='line'>That wake the wood with song,</div> <div class='line in2'>And what were all the roses red</div> <div class='line'>In all the flowery meadows wide,</div> <div class='line in2'>And what were all the fairy clouds</div> <div class='line'>That 'cross the heavens throng—</div> <div class='line in2'>And what were all the joys that bide</div> <div class='line in4'>In meadow, wood and down,</div> <div class='line in2'>To me, if I were at your side</div> <div class='line in4'>Within the joyless town?</div> </div></div> </div> <h4 class='c010'>III—<em>Within the City Gates</em></h4> <div class='lg-container-b c003'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>We can but dream of murmuring rills</div> <div class='line in2'>Mad racing down the wooded hills,</div> <div class='line'>Of meadow flowers and balmy days</div> <div class='line'>When robin sings his amorous lays;</div> <div class='line in2'>And lost among the city's ways,</div> <div class='line in2'>To us it is not given to gaze</div> <div class='line'>In wonder as the morning haze</div> <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>Lifts from the sea of daffodils,—</div> <div class='line in2'>Of all but those on window-sills</div> <div class='line in12'>We can but dream.</div> </div></div> </div> <h4 class='c010'>IV—<em>April</em></h4> <div class='lg-container-b c003'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>At dawn a gay gallant comes to the eaves</div> <div class='line in2'>And trills a song unto his lady fair,</div> <div class='line'>And then, above the reach of boyish thieves,</div> <div class='line in2'>A building nest sways in the balmy air;</div> <div class='line'>One day a flower upon a window sill</div> <div class='line in2'>Puts forth a bud, and as its beauty grows</div> <div class='line in2'>The sun—gay prodigal!—with life-light glows,</div> <div class='line in2'>The while he reads the doom of storms and snows;</div> <div class='line'>And then—and then—there comes the springtime's thrill!</div> </div></div> </div> <h4 class='c010'>V—<em>The Coming of Winter</em></h4> <div class='lg-container-b c003'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>A chill, damp west wind and a heavy sky,</div> <div class='line in2'>With clouds that merge in one gray, darkling sea,</div> <div class='line'>The last red leaves of autumn flutter by,</div> <div class='line in2'>Wrest from the dead twigs of the street-side tree;</div> <div class='line'>And then there comes an eddying cloud of white,</div> <div class='line in2'>First dim, then blotting everything below;</div> <div class='line'>Up to the eaves the sparrows haste in flight—</div> <div class='line in2'>And thus upon the town descends the snow.</div> </div></div> </div> <h4 class='c010'>VI—<em>The Snow</em></h4> <div class='lg-container-b c003'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>A song of birds adown a mine's dark galleries,</div> <div class='line in2'>A scent of roses 'mid a waste of moor and fen,</div> <div class='line'>A gush of sparkling waters from the desert sands,—</div> <div class='line in2'>So comes the snow upon the town, an alien.</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span> <h4 class='c010'>VII—<em>Nocturne</em></h4></div> <div class='lg-container-b c003'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>How like a warrior on the battlefield</div> <div class='line in2'>The city sleeps, with brain awake, and eyes</div> <div class='line in2'>That know no closing. Ere the first star dies</div> <div class='line'>It rises from its slumber, and with shield</div> <div class='line in2'>In hand, full ready for the fray,</div> <div class='line in2'>Goes forth to meet the day.</div> </div></div> </div> <hr class='c008' /> <div class='footnote' id='f5'> <p class='c000'><span class='label'><SPAN href='#r5'>5</SPAN>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Copyright, 1899, by Warren F. Kellogg.</p> </div> <div class='chapter'> <span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span> <h2 class='c005'>OTHER VERSES</h2></div> <div class='figcenter id004'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_039.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span> <h3 id='MADRIGAL' class='c001'>A MADRIGAL</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>How can I choose but love you,</div> <div class='line in2'>Maid of the witching smile?</div> <div class='line'>Your eyes are as blue as the skies above you;</div> <div class='line'>How can I choose but love you, love you,</div> <div class='line in2'>You and your witching smile?</div> <div class='line'>For the red of your lips is the red of the rose,</div> <div class='line'>And the white of your brows is the white of the snows,</div> <div class='line'>And the gold of your hair is the splendor that glows</div> <div class='line in2'>When the sun gilds the east at morn.</div> <div class='line'>And the blue of your eyes</div> <div class='line'>Is the blue of the skies</div> <div class='line in2'>Of an orient day new-born;</div> <div class='line'>And your smile has a charm that is balm to the soul,</div> <div class='line'>And your pa has a bar'l and a many-plunk roll,</div> <div class='line in2'>So how can I choose but love you, love you,</div> <div class='line'>Love you, love you, love you?</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span> <h3 id='LOOKING' class='c001'>A BALLAD OF LOOKING</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>He looked into her eyes, and there he saw</div> <div class='line in2'>No trace of that bright gleam which poets say</div> <div class='line in2'>Comes from the faery orb of love's sweet day,</div> <div class='line'>No blushing coyness causes her to withdraw</div> <div class='line'>Her gaze from his. He looked and yet he knew</div> <div class='line in2'>No joy, no whirling numbness of the brain,</div> <div class='line in2'>No quickening heart-beat. Then he looked again,</div> <div class='line'>And once again, unblushing, she looked too.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>He looked into her eyes—with interest he</div> <div class='line in2'>Stared at them through a magnifying prism.</div> <div class='line in2'>For he was but an oculist, and she</div> <div class='line'>Was being treated for astigmatism.</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id008'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_041.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <h3 id='OUT' class='c001'>WHEN THE PIPE GOES OUT</h3> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>A maiden's heart,</div> <div class='line in2'>And sighs profuse,</div> <div class='line'>A father's foot,</div> <div class='line in2'>And—what's the use?</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span> <h3 id='PARADOX' class='c001'>A PARADOX</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Dan Cupyd drewe hys lyttle bowe,</div> <div class='line in2'>And strayght ye arrowe from it flewe,</div> <div class='line'>Although its course was rather lowe,</div> <div class='line in2'>I thought 'twould pass above my heade—</div> <div class='line'>In stature I am shorte, you knowe.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>But soone upon my breast a stayne</div> <div class='line in2'>Of blood appeared, and showed ye marke</div> <div class='line'>Whereat ye boy god tooke hys aime;</div> <div class='line in2'>I staggered, groaned and then—I smyled!</div> <div class='line'>Egad! it was a pleasante payne!</div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id003'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_042.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span> <h3 id='SLAPSTICK' class='c001'>THE SONG OF THE SLAPSTICK</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Why is a hen? (Kerflop!) Haw, haw!</div> <div class='line in2'>Toot, goes the slide trombone;</div> <div class='line'>Why is a hen? (And a swat in the jaw!)</div> <div class='line in2'>And the ushers laugh alone.</div> <div class='line'>Why is a—(Bang!)—is a—(Biff!) Ho, ho!</div> <div class='line in2'>Boom! goes the sad French horn;</div> <div class='line'>Why is a hen? (Kerflop!) Do you know?—</div> <div class='line in2'>And the paid admissions mourn!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Vhy iss a hen? Yes? No? (Kerflop?)</div> <div class='line in2'>Bang! goes the man at the drum;</div> <div class='line'>Vhy iss a hen? (And a knock at the top!)</div> <div class='line in2'>And the press agent's stricken dumb;</div> <div class='line'>Vhy iss a—(Thud!)—iss a—(Flop!)—iss a hen?</div> <div class='line in2'>Hark! how the supers laugh!</div> <div class='line'>Vhy iss a—(Bing! Bang! Boom!)—and then</div> <div class='line in2'>The slapstick's bust in half!</div> <div class='line in10'>(Curtain)</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span> <h3 id='PENSEROSO' class='c001'>IL PENSEROSO</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Love's song is sung in ragtime now</div> <div class='line'>And kisses sweet are syncopated joys,</div> <div class='line'>The tender sign, the melancholy moan,</div> <div class='line'>The soft reproach and yearning up-turned gaze</div> <div class='line'>Have passed into the caves without the gates</div> <div class='line'>And in their place, to serve love's purposes,</div> <div class='line'>Bold profanations from the music halls</div> <div class='line'>Are working overtime.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>In days of old the amorous swain would sigh</div> <div class='line'>And say unto his lady love the while</div> <div class='line'>He pressed her to his heaving low-cut vest,</div> <div class='line'>“Dost love me, sweet?” And she, with many a blush,</div> <div class='line'>Would softly answer, “Yes, my cavalier!”</div> <div class='line'>Now to his girl the ragtime lover says,</div> <div class='line'>The while he strums his marked-down mandolin</div> <div class='line'>“Is you ma lady love?” and she, his girl,</div> <div class='line'>Makes answer thus: “Ah is!”</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Gadzooks! it makes me sad! I see the doom</div> <div class='line'>Of Cupid, and upon the battered air</div> <div class='line'>I hear a rumor floating. It is this:</div> <div class='line'>That when the boy god shuffles to the grave</div> <div class='line'>'Tis Syncopated Sambo that will get</div> <div class='line'>His job!</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in2'>&#8196; &#8196; * &#8196; &#8196; * &#8196; &#8196; * &#8196; &#8196; * &#8196; &#8196; *</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>Ah, me! What sadness resteth on my soul!</div> </div></div> </div> <div> <span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span> <h3 id='FINIS' class='c001'>FINIS</h3></div> <div class='lg-container-b c002'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>There was a man that delved in the earth</div> <div class='line in2'>For glittering gems and gold,</div> <div class='line'>And whatever lay hidden that seemed of worth</div> <div class='line in2'>He carefully seized and sold;</div> <div class='line'>So his days were long and his store was great,</div> <div class='line in2'>And ever for more he sighed,</div> <div class='line'>'Till kings bowed down and he ruled in state—</div> <div class='line in2'>And after awhile he died.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in4'><em>Oh, blithesome and shrill the wails resound!</em></div> <div class='line in4'><em>Oh, gaily his children moan!</em></div> <div class='line in6'><em>And the end of it all was a hole in the ground</em></div> <div class='line in6'><em>And a scratch on a crumbling stone.</em></div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>There was a man that fought for the right,</div> <div class='line in2'>And never a friend had he,</div> <div class='line'>'Till after the dark there dawned the light</div> <div class='line in2'>And the world could know and see;</div> <div class='line'>Oh, long was the fight and comfortless,</div> <div class='line in2'>But great was the fighter's pride,</div> <div class='line'>And a victor he rose from the storm and stress—</div> <div class='line in2'>And after awhile he died.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in4'><em>Oh, great was the fame but newly found</em></div> <div class='line in4'><em>Of the man that fought alone!</em></div> <div class='line in6'><em>And the end of it all was a hole in the ground</em></div> <div class='line in6'><em>And a scratch on a crumbling stone.</em></div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>There was a man that dreamed a dream,</div> <div class='line in2'>And his pen it served his brain;</div> <div class='line'>And great was his art and great his theme</div> <div class='line in2'>And long was his laurelled reign;</div> <div class='line'>But after awhile the world forgot</div> <div class='line in2'>And his work was pushed aside,</div> <div class='line'>(For to serve and wait is the mortal lot)</div> <div class='line in2'>And then, in the end, he died.</div> </div> <div class='group'> <div class='line in4'><em>Oh! brown on his brow were the bays that bound</em></div> <div class='line in4'><em>And far was his glory flown!</em></div> <div class='line in6'><em>And the end of it all was a hole in the ground</em></div> <div class='line in6'><em>And a scratch on a crumbling stone.</em></div> </div></div> </div> <div class='figcenter id003'> <ANTIMG src='images/i_046.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>DONE INTO TYPE AND PRINTED BY MARSHALL, BEEK &amp; GORDON IN THE CITY OF BALTIMORE AND ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF THE TELEGRAM BUILDING, NORTH AND BALTIMORE STREET CROSSING <ANTIMG src='images/i_047.jpg' alt='' class='symbol' /> ANNO DOMINI MCMIII</p> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center'> <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>250</div> <div>Copies Of This</div> <div>Facsimile Edition Of</div> <div>Ventures Into Verse</div> <div>Have Been Printed For</div> <div>Smith's Book Store</div> <div>Baltimore 1, Maryland</div> <div>This Is Copy No.</div> <div><em>247</em></div> </div></div> <div class='tnotes'> <div class='chapter'> <h2 class='c005'>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES</h2></div> <ol class='ol_1 c002'> <li>Added Table of Contents on p. <SPAN href='#Page_3'>3</SPAN>. </li> <li>Corrected Isaaih to Isaiah on p. <SPAN href='#p11'>11</SPAN>. </li> <li>Silently corrected typographical errors. </li> <li>Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. </li> </ol></div> <SPAN name="endofbook"></SPAN> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />