In city streets the west wind sweeps Before my feet in rustling flight; The midnight snows in untracked heaps Lie cold and desolate and white. I stand and wait with upturned eyes, Awed with the splendor of the skies And star-trained progress of the moon. The city walls dissolve like smoke Beneath the magic of the moon, And age falls from me like a cloak; I hear sweet girlish voices ring Clear as some softly stricken string-- (The moon is sailing to the west.) The sleigh-bells clash in homeward flight; With frost each horse's breast is white-- (The big moon sinking to the west.) * * * * * "Good night, Lettie!" "Good night, Ben!" (The moon is sinking at the west.) "Good night, my sweetheart," Once again The parting kiss while comrades wait Impatient at the roadside gate, And the red moon sinks beyond the west. Transcriber's Notes Welcome to Project Gutenberg's edition of the first version of Prairie Folks by Hamlin Garland. We have used the 1893 edition of the book published by F. J. Schulte and Company for this transcription. This book is available through the Internet Archive courtesy of the New York Public Library. In 1899, Garland published a revised edition of Prairie Folks with many changes: • The short stories Saturday Night on the Farm and Uncle Ethan's Speculation were omitted from the 1899 edition. • The short stories Aidgewise Feelings, Black Ephram, and The Wapseypinnicon Tiger were added to the 1899 edition. • The order of Elder Pill and Bacon's Man were switched; some parts of Elder Pill were modified to make the story appear as if it was written after Bacon's Man. These alterations involved changed dialogue and the revision of scenes involving Mrs. Bacon and Merry Etty. • A page or more of verse was added between each story. • Some tinkering was done with the title and text of the rest of the short stories. Notes: The following alternate spellings of words or phrases were found in the text: • every which-way (page 51); every-which-way (page 91). • checkerboard (page 180); checker-board (pages 169, 172) On page 132, change faught to fought. On page 156, transcribe forehead without the hyphen (see pages 16, 42, and 102). On page 188, transcribe new-comer with the hyphen (see page 21). On page 191, transcribe doorway without the hyphen (see pages 14 and 143). On page 235, transcribe pom-pom pullaway without the hyphen in pullaway (see page 244). On page 237, transcribe barnyard without the hyphen (see pages 36 and 91). On page 246, place left quote before my hands are cold in the sentence: "Can't do it," he laughed; "my hands are cold. Got to warm them, see?" On page 248, remove quote after Gilman in the clause "through the door came the great form and golden head of Lime Gilman."