Eben Holden: A Tale of the North CountryBacheller, Irving
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Eben Holden: A Tale of the North Country
Bacheller, Irving
Farm life -- Fiction; Historical fiction; New York (State) -- Fiction
'The red was in the clover an' the blue was in the sky:
There was music in the meadow, there was dancing in the rye;
An' I heard a voice a calling to the flocks o' Faraway
An' its echo in the wooded hills--Go'day! Go'day! Go'day!
O fair was she--my lady love--an' lithe as the willow tree,
An' aye my heart remembers well her parting words t' me.
An' I was sad as a beggar-man but she was blithe an' gay
An' I think o' her as I call the flocks Go'day! Go'day! Go'day!
Her cheeks they stole the dover's red, her lips the odoured air,
An' the glow o' the morning sunlight she took away in her hair;
Her voice had the meadow music, her form an' her laughing eye
Have taken the blue o' the heavens an' the grace o' the bending rye.
My love has robbed the summer day--the field, the sky, the dell,
She has taken their treasures with her, she has taken my heart as well;
An' if ever, in the further fields, her feet should go astray
May she hear the good God calling her Go'day! Go'day! Go'day!
Chapter 41
I got a warm welcome on Monkey Hill. John Trumbull came to dine with
us at the chalet the evening of my arrival. McGlingan had become
editor-in-chief of a new daily newspaper. Since the war began Mr Force
had found ample and remunerative occupation writing the 'Obituaries of
Distinguished Persons. He sat between Trumbull and McGlingan at table
and told again of the time he had introduced the late Daniel Webster to
the people of his native town.
Reciting a passage of the immortal Senator he tipped his beer into the
lap of McClingan. He ceased talking and sought pardon.
'It is nothing, Force--nothing,' said the Scotchman, with great dignity,
as he wiped his coat and trousers. 'You will pardon me if I say that I
had rather be drenched in beer than soaked in recollections.
'That's all right,' said Mr Opper, handing him a new napkin. 'Yes, in
the midst of such affliction I should call it excellent fun, McClingan
added. 'If you ever die, Force, I will preach the sermon without charge.
'On what text?' the obituary editor enquired.
'“There remaineth therefore, a rest for the people of God,”' quoth
McClingan solemnly. 'Hebrews, fourth chapter and ninth verse.'
'If I continue to live with you I shall need it,' said Force.
'And if I endure to the end,' said McClingan, 'I shall have excellent
Christian discipline; I shall feel like opening my mouth and making a
loud noise.
McGlingan changed his garments and then came into my room and sat with
us awhile after dinner.
'One needs ear lappers and a rubber coat at that table,' said he.
'And a chest protector,' I suggested, remembering the finger of Force.
'I shall be leaving here soon, Brower,' said McGlingan as he lit a
cigar.
'Where shall you go?' I asked.
'To my own house.
'Going to hire a housekeeper?
'Going to marry one,' said he.
'That's funny,' I said. We're all to be married--every man of us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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