Allus kind o' liked him--whether Childern, er growed-up together! Fifteen year' ago and better, 'Fore he ever knowed a letter, Run acrosst the little fool In my Primer-class at school. {49} [Illustration: Nothin' that boy wouldn't resk!] {51} When the Teacher wuzn't lookin', He'd be th'owin' wads; er crookin' Pins; er sprinklin' pepper, more'n Likely, on the stove; er borin' Gimlet-holes up thue his desk-- Nothin' _that_ boy wouldn't resk! But, somehow, as I was goin' On to say, he seemed so knowin', _Other_ ways, and cute and cunnin'-- Allus wuz a notion runnin' Thue my giddy, fool-head he Jes' had be'n cut out fer me! Don't go much on _prophesyin'_, But last night whilse I wuz fryin' Supper, with that man a-pitchin' Little Marthy round the kitchen, Think-says-I, "Them baby's eyes Is my Henry's, jes' p'cise!" {52} [Illustration: A letter to a friend--headpiece] A LETTER TO A FRIEND The past is like a story I have listened to in dreams That vanished in the glory Of the Morning's early gleams; And--at my shadow glancing-- I feel a loss of strength, As the Day of Life advancing Leaves it shorn of half its length. {53} But it's all in vain to worry At the rapid race of Time-- And he flies in such a flurry When I trip him with a rhyme, I'll bother him no longer Than to thank you for the thought That "my fame is growing stronger As you really think it ought." And though I fall below it, I might know as much of mirth To live and die a poet Of unacknowledged worth; For Fame is but a vagrant-- Though a loyal one and brave, And his laurels ne'er so fragrant As when scattered o'er the grave. [Illustration: A letter to a friend--tailpiece] {54} [Illustration: The old-fashioned Bible--headpiece] THE OLD-FASHIONED BIBLE How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood That now but in mem'ry I sadly review; The old meeting-house at the edge of the wildwood, The rail fence, and horses all tethered thereto; The low, sloping roof, and the bell in the steeple, The doves that came fluttering out overhead As it solemnly gathered the God-fearing people To hear the old Bible my grandfather read. The old-fashioned Bible-- The dust-covered Bible-- The leathern-bound Bible my grandfather read. {55} [Illustration: The blessed old volume] {57} The blessed old volume! The face bent above it-- As now I recall it--is gravely severe, Though the reverent eye that droops downward to love it Makes grander the text through the lens of a tear, And, as down his features it trickles and glistens, The cough of the deacon is stilled, and his head Like a haloed patriarch's leans as he listens To hear the old Bible my grandfather read. The old-fashioned Bible-- The dust-covered Bible-- The leathern-bound Bible my grandfather read.