HEART ECHOES FROM
OLD SHELBYAND OTHER POEMS
By DOUGLAS DOBBINS
Author of Quarrytown
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR Franklin, Indiana
COPYRIGHT, 1916
BY
DOUGLAS DOBBINS.
INDEX
- Illustration--Douglas Dobbins
- Title Page 1
- Preface 5-6
- Heart Echoes from Old Shelby 7
- Illustration--The Old Shelby County Fair Between 7 and 8
- The Old Shelby County Fair 8
- Oh, Savior Mine 9
- The Girls O' Shelbyville 10
- Back to Old Shelby 11
- Dorothy 13
- Those Days Long Ago 14
- The Old-Time Songs 15
- If Father Were Living 16
- My Day Dreams 17
- A Gentle Rebuke 18
- The Church at Waldron 19
- The Twilight Hour 20
- My Darling's Wound 20
- Illustration--James T. Caughey Between 20 and 21
- To My Departed Friend 21
- Our Prayers 22
- "The Rosy Wine" 23
- The Lesson of the Spider 24
- Illustration Between 24 and 25
- Old Flat Rock River 25
- Thomas Hobbs 26
- Still a-Teachin' School 27
- Little Sleepy Head 28
- "The Golden Road" 29
- Pathrick's Drame 30
- Old Man Sexton 31
- Old St. Vincent 33
- Illustration--Forest Hill Cemetery Between 33 and 34
- Sabbath Afternoon in Forest Hill 34
- That Rat Story 36
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- The Snow Brigade 38
- The Kinds o' Love 39
- Old Freeport 40
- The Golden Rod 41
- The Electric Light Bug 42
- My Day of Rest 45
- My First School Day 46
- The First Temptation 47
- Laughed at Me 48
- Illustration--Saint's Rest Between 48 and 49
- Saint's Rest on Brandywine 49
- The Poets 50
- The Singing of the Old Song 51
- Old Young's Crick 52
- God Weaves the Crown 53
- A Summer Day's Reverie 54
- Illustration--John Day DePrez Between 54 and 55
- John's Picture 55
- Kicked to Death by a Sheep 56
- The Tree-Frog Example 57
- The Reformers 58
- Oh, Lonnie L. Rice 59
- Popularity 60
- The Star Shower 61
- The Old Birth Place 64
- To Jim 65
- Harry Ray, J. P. 66
- Memories 67
- The Soul's Complement 68
- The Radiant Moon 69
- The Ambitions of Childhood 70
- Thomas F. Chafee 71
- Silvan B. Morris 72
- My Ships at Sea 73
- Illustration--John J. Wingate Between 73 and 74
- The Printer Emeritus 74
- Illustration--William C. Morrison Between 74 and 75
- William C. Morrison 75
- If You Knew 76
- Ye Sage of Menlo 77
- Day Dreams of Youth 79
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- Poet Laury--ate 80
- James Whitcomb Riley 81
- To Charles Major 82
- The Watchman 83
- Optimism 84
- When I Have Won 85
- The Two Worthies 86
- Senator Slack and the Law's Delay 87
- The Old Choir 88
- The Author's Standard 89
- The Idyl of Youth 90
- The Christian Herald 91
- A Model Criticism 92
- The Old Debating Club 94
- Old Cynthy Ann 97
- October 98
- That Old-Time Home O' Mine 99
- The Centennial Parade 102
- Faces of the Yester Years 105
- My Noisy Youngsters 107
- The Valley Down the River 108
- My Mother's Last Song 110
- The Visions of a Day in June 112
PREFACE
It would have been pleasing, indeed, to the author of this book had he been able to sit dignifiedly in his study and have had a great literary success, such as other authors enjoy, come upon him. But it would not come. The mountain of success would not come to this poor, literary Mahomet, and so he just had to get out and hustle after it. It was ever thus in this particular life, and the author has begun to believe it is almost providential. And as it is with everything the good Lord orders and directs, so it was with this: It was the best thing after all, that could have happened.
It use humiliating to a certain extent, to get out and show one's friends the plans and specifications, of the forthcoming book; but this sense of humiliation soon wore away, and a sense of delight--delight in meeting old friends, and re-visiting old-time scenes--took its place.
We are glad to present this book to our friends and patrons. It has many defects and imperfectons--we grant it. But no poet has ever written with a more genuine poetical inspiration--enthusiasm--thril--whatever you may be pleased to call it--than has animated the writing of these pages. Some of the utterances may be gross, some may be egotistical, there may be some in which we ride the pronoun "I" too much, there may be others wherein we shall give offense to the technical, the fastidious, the over-nice. But, in some instances, if we have done anything we are sorry for, we are glad of it!
There are some so-called experts in music who reject the grand, old songs of the people because of their harmony and cadence They are very suspicious of anything that thrills the soul and pleases the ear. What they affect, what they claim is, the real thing in music, sounds about as well to the average ear as the page: 6[View Page 6] harmony produced by "a corn-stalk fiddle" and a "shoe-string bow." And there is a class of critics in literature of the same ilk. A Riley comes along and for thirty years has to combat this same critical crowd, before they recognize his superb singing. But when the common sense verdict of mankid, in spite of their clamor, writes the seal of approval upon his greatness, then they are ready to out-Herod Herod in doing him honor.
We love this class of critics and we wouldn't dispose of them if we could. They constitute a sort of "thorn in the fiesh," and are necessary to perfect our powers and lopp off our surplus egotism. But we have written in conformity to "the native feelings strong," in response to our own enthusiasm, and if they like it, well and good. If not, we might suggest that there is a place prepared for them from the foundation of the world! Here we pause. We won't even tell them to go there!
The author of this book believes that there can be no charge whatever of plagiarsm placed against him. A person, who, as a school boy, has conned over and committed to memory hundreds of poems until they have beome a very part of himself, will unconsciously use these expressions at times. But we do desire to say that the poem entitled "Memories suggested, etc," owes much of its merit to a beautiful little poem entitled "A Memory," by Orth Stemn, a southern writer.
THE AUTHOR.
Franklin, Indiana, October the 6th, 1916.
