THE OLD SOLDIER'S STORY Poems and Prose Sketches James Whitcomb Riley CONTENTS PAGE The Old Soldier's Story 1 Somep'n Common-like 5 Monsieur le Secretaire 6 A Phantom 7 In the Corridor 8 Louella Wainie 9 The Text 11 William Brown 12 Why 14 The Touch of Loving Hands 15 A Test 16 A Song for Christmas 17 Sun and Rain 19 With Her Face 20 My Night 21 The Hour Before the Dawn 22 Good-by, Old Year 23 False and True 24 A Ballad from April 25 Brudder Sims 27 Deformed 28 Faith 30 The Lost Thrill 31 At Dusk 32 Another Ride from Ghent to Aix 33 In the Heart of June 36 Dreams 37 Because 42 To the Cricket 43 The Old-fashioned Bible 44 Uncomforted 46 What They Said 48 After the Frost 50 Charles H. Phillips 51 When It Rains 53 An Assassin 55 Best of All 56 Bin a-Fishin' 57 Uncle Dan'l in Town Over Sunday 59 Soldiers Here To-day 61 Shadow and Shine 65 That Night 66 August 67 The Guide 68 Sutter's Claim 71 Her Light Guitar 73 While Cigarettes to Ashes Turn 74 Two Sonnets to the June-bug 77 Autographic 79 An Impromptu on Roller Skates 80 Written in Bunner's "Airs from Arcady" 81 In the Afternoon 82 At Madame Manicure's 84 A Caller from Boone 86 Lord Bacon 98 My First Womern 99 As We Read Burns 101 To James Newton Matthews 102 Song 103 When We Three Meet 105 Josh Billings 106 Which Ane 108 The Earthquake 111 A Fall-crick View of the Earthquake 112 Lewis D. Hayes 114 In Days to Come 116 Luther A. Todd 117 When the Hearse Comes Back 121 Our Old Friend Neverfail 124 Dan O'sullivan 126 John Boyle O'reilly 127 Meredith Nicholson 129 God's Mercy 130 Christmas Greeting 131 To Rudyard Kipling 132 The Gudewife 133 Tennyson 134 Rosamond C. Bailey 135 Mrs. Benjamin Harrison 136 George A. Carr 138 To Elizabeth 139 To Almon Keefer 140 To—"The J. W. R. Literary Club" 142 Little Maid-o'-dreams 143 To the Boy with a Country 145 Claude Matthews 146 To Lesley 147 The Judkins Papers 148 To the Quiet Observer—erasmus Wilson 165 America's Thanksgiving 166 William Pinkney Fishback 168 John Clark Ridpath 170 New Year's Nursery Jingle 173 To the Mother 174 To My Sister 175 A Motto 176 To a Poet on His Marriage 177 Art and Poetry 178 Her Smile of Cheer and Voice of Song 179 Old Indiany 180 Abe Martin 183 O. Henry 185 "Mona Machree" 186 William Mckinley 187 Benjamin Harrison 190 Lee O. Harris 192 The Highest Good 194 My Conscience 195 My Boy 197 The Object Lesson 198