xt734t6f232t https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt734t6f232t/data/mets.xml Dickey, Fannie Porter. 1892  books b92-29-26569044 English John P. Morton, : Louisville, Ky. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. American poetry Kentucky. American poetry. Kentucky Biography. Blades o' Bluegrass : choice selections of Kentucky poetry, biographical sketches and portraits of authors / compiled by Mrs. Fannie Porter Dickey. text Blades o' Bluegrass : choice selections of Kentucky poetry, biographical sketches and portraits of authors / compiled by Mrs. Fannie Porter Dickey. 1892 2002 true xt734t6f232t section xt734t6f232t 







































L7,f2.'d4         I, -  
      ,e.1Scl,
      /   K  

 



BLADES



2 BLUEGRASS



ChOICE SELECTIONS or KENTUCKY
POETRY. BIOGRAPhICAL SKETCHES
AND PORTRAITS or AUThORS. -



         ,COMPiL-F) BY



MRS. FANNIE PORTER DICKEY












         LOUISVILLE
  cOlIN P. MORTON  COMPANY
           1892

 











































         O1"RIGEHT BY

MRS. FANNIE PORTER DICKEY.

            1892

 



























                          TO

           Colonel R. C. Durrett,

For his love of Literature, his pride in the preservation of
  Kentucky History, and the service he has rendered
     the State in these things, this Volume is dedi-
          cated with the highest respect and
               esteem of the Compiler.

 This page in the original text is blank.

 












                     PREF ACE.



   THIS volume is offered as a miniature representation of
Kentucky verse for the one hundred years that it has been
a State.
   The whole field of poetry has been traversed from the
pioneer days to the present time, and an effort made to have
every known poet of merit represented.
   Besides selections made from published books, there are
also many fugitive verses that never went beyond the " Poet's
Corner " in a newspaper, while some are here in print for
the first time.
   That such a book has been made is due to the courtesy
and promptness with which the living writers have responded,
and to the friends of literature throughout the State who have
assisted and encouraged the work, and it is hoped that the
collection mirrors a variety of sentiment that will touch a
heart in every household and leave a pleasing influence.
  Thanks are due The Century Company, Belford's Maga-
zine, The Round-Table, and Detroit Free Press for privilege
of poems.
                                                F. P. D.

 This page in the original text is blank.


 












CONTENTS.



                                                          PAGE
AINSLIE, HEw. . . .. . . . .. . . .. .................... 299
    The Ingleside. .  ....... ..            .              2S1
 ALLEN, JAMES LANE, Lexington,.  . . . .. . . .. . . . .. 299
    Beneath the Veil,        .      .       ..... . ... 254
    In Looking on the Happy Autumn Fields .. . .. . . .. 276
 ALLMOND, MARCUS B., Louisville ....... ......... 299
   A Consolation,. .................                       77
   A Sabbath in Autumn        .      .       .... . . . 83
 ALLGOOD, JOSEPH, Louisville... . . . .. . . . .. . . ..  300
    Uncle Pete's Plea. .    .    .....              .   . 69
ASHTON, EUGENE ..............                  .    .....
   The Dead Past ........... .             .     ............... 54
   Duty.. . ...........                                    35
 BANGS, S. K., Louisville ......................
   The Old Church Bell,. .............                     74
BARRICK, J. R. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. .  . .  . 300
   The Beautiful. . ......... ......... .             . . 268
BETTS, MARY E.. . .....  ..   ... .. . .  .          .   301
   A Kentuckian Kneels to None but God..... .  .. . .  . 94
 BOLTON, SARAH T., Indianapolis, Indiana.  ... ..... .  . 300
   Left on the Battle-field    .      .      .... . . . 241
 BROTHER, ALLINE, Fort Spring,. ...... ...       300
   Castles in the Air. .    .. ......... ..I
BROWN, MATTIE N .      ..........                        301
   Crysanthemums,          .       .       ...... . . . 273
   God's Poem,          .       .        ... . . . . . . 225
 BROWN, NELLIE LA RUE, Louisville ...............
   Japanese Wall Paper        .. .                         .2
BRYAN, STANTON P., Brownsboro.. .     .301
   The Wedge            ...                             . 71
   Aspiration .          .               .93
BUTLER, WILLIAM 0.. .. ..... ... . . .. 301
   The Boatman's Horn, .. .. ..... . .                      290
BUTLER, NOBLE...                  . .301
   The Bluebird.. .... ...... .          .                293
CARR, ALICE H., Louisville . . ......... . ... .. ..
   "Sweet Girl Graduate,". . . .. . . .  . . .   .. . . . 36
                          -Deceased.

 





viii                    CONTENTS.

CASSEDAY, MISS JENNIE, Louisville....... . . . . .. .  .. or
   A Night-time Song,................ ...                  58
CAWEIN, MADISON, Louisville,.......   . .                 ,02
   Noera.  .. .. . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . .... .. . . i 67
   Andalia,......... .     . .'... ............. 59
   Chords, . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . .  51
CHILDRESS, RuFus J., Louisville .        .                ;02
   The Moods of You ....... ..3......... .. .. ;29
   Ode to A Robin       .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. '3
   In the Air       ... . . . . . . . . . . . .. 102
CLARK, FLORENCE A., Austin, Texas,. . .. . . . .. . . . . .03
   A Christmas Pansy ........ ..                          274
COLLINS, MRS. W. LESLIE, Frankfort. .. .. . . . .. . . ..03
   A Thought ......... .         ............. . . [92
   The Leaf,         ............... . 233
 COSBY, FORTUNATUS ..3................... . 303
   A Song,.......... .          ...............        . 292
COSBY, J. V.,.. .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . 304
   Song, . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . 289
CROCKETT, INGRAM, Henderson ....... . . . . . .. 304
   At Yuletide        ..                   . ....... 52
   Late Afternoon in November.   ... . . .. . . . .. . .. 75
   We Fade as a Leaf       .... ...... .                  [.. 172
 CUNNINGHAM, MRS. J. J., Louisville. .. .. . . . .. . . . . 303
   Cupid's Arrow        .........                         '74
   Yon Tiny Stream       ......... 157
CUTTER, GEORGE W ........ . ... . 304
   The Song of Steam,      .         .284
DAVIE, GEORGE M., Louisville    .       .304
   A Yearn for the Romantic.             .84
   Night in Venice       .          .78
DAVIS, WILLIAM J., Louisville, .        ..                304
   Gentleness: ASonnet.  .. . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . .  296
DOWNES, MAY SMITH, Somerset.             ..               305
   April.  .. .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. .  [ 26
   The Bird'sSong,  . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . II4
DUKE, BASIL W., Louisville  ..305
   Song of the Raid.                .243
   David and Goliath      .          .                  . 248
DURRETT, R. T., Louisville,            .305
   The Old Year and the New in the Coliseum at Rome, . . . 98
   To My Sweetheart.                 ..                   112
DYER, SYDNER, Indianapolis, Indiana .  .307
   Song of The Sunbeam       ....... . . . . . 68
                          -Deceased.

 





                         CONTENTS.                        ix

 EVANS, ALEXANDER, Louisville, ... . ..... ... . . . ..  307
    My Lute So Loved is Now Unstrung  .   .19
    Where the Beautiful River.                   .       183
 FIELDS, W. H., Louisville .....................
    Yesterday. .x9
 FITZHUGH, NANNIE MAYO, Lexington .        .             307
    Meeting Rivers,      .          .256
    Answered        .            .257
 FLIPPIN, M. T., Tompkinsville . ...... ..........307
    Rome,          .            .43
    The Days of Other Years,    .        .51
 FORD, THOMAS B., Frankfort .          .                 307
    My Violin, ...................... ... 67
    The Siren ....... . ................. . 75
    Dusk ....... ............ ..... ... 6i
 FORD, LAURA C., Owenton. ......    ..... . . . .. .   . 308
    The Household Minstrel..... . . . .. . . .. . . .  . 8i
 FOSDICK, W. W.. ...................... . 308
   Light and Night,...... . . .  ...... . . .. . . .  . 62
FOSTER, S. C......... . .   ....... .   .. . .. . .  . 308
   My Old Kentucky Home ..... ..   ...... .  . . . .  . 64
,'GALLAGHER, W. D., Pewee Valley,.... .. . . .. . . .. . 308
   The Mothers of The West................. . 76
   May ....................... 65
   Woman-Extract .. . ................ . .. 58
   Four Score and One........ ........... .              82
   GERALDINE," .................... . . ....
   W hatIsIt . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . ..  39
 HAGNER, LAURA S., Buckner .......
   The Butterfly...... .  .   ..............              IS
 HAMILTON, ANNA J., Louisville  .     ......... . 309
   Death-A Living King....... .      .... . . . .... 275
   At Set of Sun ........ . ... 215
HARNEY, JOHN M.. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . 309
   Echo and The Lover .................                 129
HARNEY, WILL WALLACE, Pine Castle, Florida .. ... .  .  .   . 309
   The Stab ..... . . ...................                95
   In Exile.......... .       . .............. 107
   The Buried Hope,. .....         ........             138
   The Bergamot Blossom.   ... . .. . . .. ... . . . . IIO
   SouthFlorida Night,      . . ..  . . .. . .. . . ... 121
   The Twilight of the Heart-Extract ......... .  . .  115
HARRIS, ALFRED W., Louisville...... ...... .   . ..   . 309
   Building Castles    ............. . 277
                         :Deceased .

 





CONTENTS.



 CHART, JOEL T.,
    Invocation to the Coliseum at Rome,
  HAYS, WILL S., Louisville .........
    The Last Hail. l............
    The Faithful Engineer. ........
  HOPKINS, EDWIN S., Jacksonville.
    Convolvuli .
    After Frost, ..............
    The Old Violin, ............
  HOSKINS, JOHN, Louisville .
    A Lullabyl..     .............
    When Loving Heart's the Goal, ....
    Good Morning, ............
  JEFFREY, ROSA V., Lexington .. . .. . .
    A Summer Idyl ............
    Owl in Church, ............



   Grecian Poetry Versus Modern Science, . . .
JESSEL, KATIE .....    .............
   " Earth Has no Sorrow that Heaven Can Not H
JOHNSTON, J. STODDARD, Louisville.
   A Dream, ..................
   Parting.
   To a Marguerite..............
KELLEV, A. W. (Parmenas Mix) .........
   The Old Scissors' Soliloquy .........
   The Bore, ..................
KETCHUM, ANNIE CHAMBERS ..........
   A Sea Shell, .  ...............
   Amabere Me ........... ......
KINKEAD, NELLIE TALBOT, Lexington, .....
   Coquette.
   Last Night, .................
" KNELM,".
   Solitude.
LITTELL, WILLIAM,   ..     .. . .. . . . ..
   Raptures.
LUCAS, OLIVER (Poet of the Asfaltus), Louisville,
   The Immortal Three, ............
   Tobogganing Down the Hill, ........
McABOY, MARY T .............. ...
   A Sonnet..... . .  ... ..........
MCAFEE, NELLY MARSHALL, Louisville .....
   To-morrow.
   Hills Look Blue When Far Away ......
   Antithesis .
                          Deceased.



...... . . 310
....... .. .. 23
......... ...... 3I0
......... ...... 113
...... .. .. - 165
...... . . 310
....-. .. .63
...... .. .. 70
    -... .. . 57
......... ...... 3II
..... .. . .- 97
......... ...... 92
......... ...  80
...... . . 311

,...  .--.     7.2
               97




.. . . .. . .  .

eal,.3 10         6
, . . .. ...... 31I
......... ...... ii6
....... ....... I22
....... ....... 108
,...,. .. .   3I
,.... . . 227
.......     224
...,... 314
...... . . 223
...... . . 229

.. . . .. . .31
. .. . ..   27
    ....--- 27




.. . . .. . 287
..3.4.... 3og
..... . . 209
...... . . 22I
.....--     314
..3...1.... . 131
.....--     314
.....- .    155
......-     I45
...... . 176



x



.. .
.. .




.. .

.. .

.. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
.. .

 




                       CONTENTS.

 MCBEATH, TOM F., Daleville, Mississippi... . .. . .. . .
   Biopsis-Extract .
 McDowELL, KrATE GOLDSBOROUGH, Louisville .........
   To Whittier.......................
MCHENRY, JENNIE T.... . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. .  .
   Evening Thoughts...... .    .  ............
MCILVAIN, CLARA L .......................



   Love.
   Wedding Bells ....................
 MCKINNEY, MRS. J. J. (Katydid), Montgomery, Alabama,
   Twilight in Kentuckyu.c y..............
   Two Songs ......................
   A Bunch of Magnolias ................
   Spring and Summer,. . ..............
 MERCER, S. C., Hopkinsville.... .. . . .. . .. . ..  .
   The Strawberry Bowl .................
   The New South ....................
   Blonde and Brunette .................
 MILLER, HOWARD .....................
   True Greatness ....................
   To Poesy ........................
MILLER, ELVIRA SYDNOR, Louisville ............
   Edgar Allan Poe .
   A Dash Through the Lines s..............
   A Ballad of Poets ....................
MORRIS, ROBERT ......................
   The Level and the Square, . ..  .........
   Memories of Galilee ...................
MORRIS, IDA GOLDSMITH, Glasgow .............
   My Lady Sleepsp.  s...................
MORTON, JENNIE C., Frankfort.
   Frankfort.
   The Sweetest Day ...................
MUDD, ALICE HAWTHORNE, Louisville ...........
   Marble Heart ......................
MURPHEY, ELIZABETH LEE, Dallas, Texas ..........
   A Letter of To-day, ...................
   Dixie Land .......................
MURRAY, HENRY C., Frankfort ...............
   In Days to Come ....................
MURRAY, STUART, Danville .................
  George Mooreo.re...................
NOBLE, VIRGINIA F., Paducah ................
  A May-time Memory ...................
  At Dawn of Day .....................
                         -Deceased.



xi



315
'34
315
294
315
288
315
2i8
206
3i6



   291
   295
   286
   239
   316
   261
   53
 50

. 147
..204

. 2I9
..279
212
 317
..203
..255
-3I7
.I49

.  141
.i58
  316
.205
.317
.123
.132



 34



.I98
.317
139
.I54



:.

 





CONTENTS.



O'HARA, THEODORE.
    The Bivouac of the Dead, ........
 O'MALLEY, CHARLES J., Hitesville ......
    Worthiness.
    His Birds, ................
    A Kentucky Twilight ..........
    Enceladus .
 OUMALLRY, SALLIE M., Hitesville.
    The Child Singer ............
 O'SULLIVAN, DANIEL E., Louisville,.
   To Adelina Patti. ............
   Margery .
   Death.
   To a Pin, ................
   A Song, .................
 PARHAM, EUGENIA, Paducah. ........
   Vanished.
   A Happy Woman, ............
 PARKER, Jo. A., Lagrange .
   As in the Long Ago, ..........
   The Kiss I Stole ...........    . ..
 PATTERSON, J. L., Frankfort .
   To Silence, ...............
 PIATT, JOHN J., Queenstown, Ireland,.
   Night Thoughts .............
   The Sight of Angels, ..........
   The Buried Organ. ...........
 PIATT, SARAH M. B., Queenstown, Ireland, . .
   A Doubt, ................
   Stop the Clock .............
   The Sermon of a Statue .........
 POTTS, EUGENIA DUNLAP, Lexington,.
   A Reverie ................
POOL, ARCH., Paducah .... . ..... ....
   Across the Way .............
PRENTICE, GEORGE D.. ...........
   Mammoth Cave, .............
   To the River in Mammoth Cave-Extract,
   The Closing Year ............
   The Dream of Life, ...........
   A Name in the Sand, '..........
   On Revisiting Brown University-Extract,
REYNOLDS, T. T., Glasgow, .........
   To L. B.'s Eyes, .............

                          Deceased.



    .318
                 40
    .319

. .............. I188
 ............. 193
  . ............... 177
..................320
. .............. I62
....... ..........320
    .211
  . .....I179

    .i86
. ............. 194
....... ..........320
........ ...........192
             .182
........ ..........320
    ..... ........208
.1 ............. I87
.. . . .. . . .. .
                 30
........ .........320
........ .........260
.. ....245
........ .........259
. .......321
                 '3
                 6
                 24
    .321
    .238
.. . . .. . . .. .
  . ............. 176
. ............. 321
                 9
    ....... ..........II
                 21
                 26
                 35
                 39
.. . . .. . . .. .
    . ...........128



xii

 





CONTENTS.



RHEA, FRANK H., Waverly. ........
   The Rock ...............
   Love's Trinityn..  ...........
   November, .
 ROBERTSON, HARRISON, Louisville,.
   Aprille.
   Perspectives.
   An Idle Poet, .............
   The Story of The Gate, ........
   Two Triolets. .............
   Coquette.
ROLLSTON, ADELAIDE D., Paducah,
   In June ................
   If I Had Known, ...........
   October.
RUBY, CLINT, Madisonville. ........
   The Violet, .............
   November.
SEMPLE, PATTY B., Louisville . . . . . . .
   A Madonna, ..............
SEMPLE, HENRY C., Louisville, ......
   Argumentum.
   Maid of Nazareth-Extract, ......
   Faultless.
SHREVEK, THOMAS H. .
   Midnight Musings. ..........
SMITH, MATTIE l., Le Sueur, Minnesota,
   The Prince is Coming,.
SMITH, J. SOULE (Falcon), Lexington,
   The Modern Tithonus..........
SPEED, THOMAS, Louisville .... . . . ..
   Topping the Locusts, .........
SPEED, MAJ. THOMAS ...........
   Autumn Leaves ............
SPOTSWOOD, F. M., Lexington .......
   I Love You ..............
   Dear Old Southern Home .......
STANTON, HENRY T., Frankfort ......
   The Moneyless Man.  .........
   Drawing It Fine, ...........
   The Devil's Hollow ..... . . ...
   Means to An End ...........
   Sweetheart.
   Double Life ..............
   Self Sacrifice-Extract, . ........
                          Deceased.



...... . .. . . 322
........ . . . ...120
..1.... . .. . 148
.. . . .. .1. .. 133
...... . .. . . 322
......... . .. . . i6i
..8.... . .. . ri8
..... . . .. . 150
....1.... .. . . I30
.. . . .. .1. ..  173
.. . . .. . . .. 140
...... . ...  . 322
....... . .. . . i64
..9.... . .. . I1g
.1..... . .. . . 127
.. . . .. . . .. 323
....1.... ...  . 125
.......... . . .. . 2T7
.. . . .. . . .. . .
.. . .. . . . .. 1-97
.. . ... . . . . 324
....... ....  47
....... . . . . 44
........ . . . ... 52
......... .  323
...... . ...  . 230
......... .  323
............. . . . .. -45
.. . . .. . . .. . .
  ........    ..........196
.. . . .. . . .. 323
.216..... . .. . . 2I6
.. . . .. . . .. 324
...... .. . . . 222
....... .... 324
....... .. . . ... 96
...... . ...  . IIn
.......... . 324
                  33
......... .. . . .. I1
......... .. . . ..  I8
....... . . . ... 6o
.. . . .. .. . .  49
........ . . . ... 25
.. . .. . . . . .. - -54



Xiii

 





CONTENTS.



STAPP, BELLE WILSON, Buckeye ......
   Dreamy September, ...........
 SWING, JEANNETTE, Dayton .
   The Death of a Soul, ...........
 TEAGER, M. M., Flemingsburg. .........
   A Valedictory, ................
   The Golden Wedding..... . . . . .     ..
 THORNTON, SARAH C...............
   Time.
 WALKER, LIZZIE, Hartford, ...........
   How.
   The Old Year ................
   November.
 WALSH, THOMAS, Louisville ...........
   The Night Displays the Stars,.
WARVIELD, CATHERINE A.. ...........
   Spring Thunder......... .... . . .
WASHINGTON, WILLIAM A ......... . . . .
   The Works of Nature ............
WATTERSON, HENRY, Louisville .........
   The Cricket .................
'WELBY, AMELIA,.
   The Rainbow, ................
   Musings-Extract.
WILsOO, LIZZIE...    ZIE...........
   Leoline-Extract.
WILSON, ROBERT BURNS, Frankfort .......
   A Wild Violet in November .
   How Spring Comes in the Bluegrass,.
   I Shall Find Rest .... . . ........
   The Passing of March.  ..........
WILSON, FORCEYTHE. ..............
   To Hersa. ..................
WOOD, HENRY CLEVELAND, Harrodsburg,.
   Completeness.
   The Weaver.. . .. . ..... ..... ..
   Beautiful Hair ........... .  
   Gwendolyne.
   Reproduction.
WRIGHT, JEAN, Louisville ............
   Ich Liebe Dich. ...............
   La Glu. ...................
   5:30 A. M....    .. ............
                          Deceased.



.... 124
...... ......278
.... 125
           38
.....     .25
.... ...70
           82
.....    ..25
..... ..... -174
      .......,25
           47
......1....... ]63
       .  -. :69
....... ... ;;26
....... ......... !26
...... ....... ;125
          '132
...... .1 26
.......... 46
.....327
..... ... 200
.... . .  . 127
           14
           37
...... .......326
           I2
           327
...... ......234
......1....... 84
          195
...... ....... 231
...... ......327
           16
...... .....328
           46
           55
           36
           48
           12
...... .....328
...... .....237
...... ......240
...... ......242



xiv

 












ILLUSTRATIONS.




WILLIAM D. GALLAGHER.
ROSA VERTNER JEFFREY.
REUBEN T. DURRETT.
HENRY T. STANTON.
GEORGE D. PRENTICE.
SARAH T. BOLTON.
JOHN JAMES PIATT.
SARAH M. B. PIATT.
ROBERT BURNS WILSON.
MADISON CAWEIN.
LIZZIE WALKER.
HENRY CLEVELAND WOOD.
MATTIE P. SMITH.
HENRY COOLIDGE SEMPLE.
JENNIE JONES CUNNINGHAM.
KATYDID."
INGRAM CROCKETT.
OLIVER LUCAS.
MARCUS B. ALLMOND.
STANTON P. BRYAN.
M. M. TEAGER.
CLINT RUBY.
EUGENIA DUNLAP POTTS.
MRS. FANNIE PORTER DICKEY.
                 (FRONTISPIECE.)

 This page in the original text is blank.

 











BLADES 2' BLUrxRASS.





       DRAWING IT-VINt.

 IN a shining cloud of meshes,
 Where a marge of Summer rushes
   To a noisy water dipt,
 Dwelt a prim, maternal spider,
 With her grim, brown spouse beside her,
   Like two mummies in a crypt.
 And except, perhaps, the shimmer
 Of a sunset's silver tremor,
   There was not the slightest breath-
 Not the faintest undulation,
 In the pendant, hooded station,
   Where they simulated death.

 Every tentacle enfolded,
 Much as if the parts were molded
   Or were carven so from stone;
 There they sat, without emotion,
 Staring from a woven ocean,
   From the funnel of their cone.

 When the dry, drawn spider's forces
 Put its legion pulsate courses
   Thus successfully to rout,
 Well, indeed, may silence marvel
 How it is this crimson travel
 Of the venous tide goes out.
                  I

 



BLADES O' BLUEGRASS.



We have no such tragic actors
As the adept tissue-factors-
  Since they never rant or rave-
And there's not a thing in nature
Wearing such a perfect feature
  Of the unrelenting grave.

True they art this tableau merely,
But they mimic death so nearly,
  Being rigid the-re and still,
That the blinded Insect rushes
DowSu the silence of their meshes
  To escape some lesser ill.

So, these consorts sat in quiet,
Watching ever for the diet
  To their finished talent due,
Waiting patiently and stilly
For the winged things and silly
  That were intermitting through.

By-and-by, upon her vision
Came a light of clear decision,
  And the sober matron spoke
(She had something like that human,
Active impulse of a woman
  In her tongue-the common joke):

Having trained our girl and taught her,
As a spider should her daughter,
  All the proper things in life,
It is time she had our blessing-
Though the thought is sore distressing-
  As some decent person's wife.

I am sure the maid is able
Now to run her line of cable,
  Unassisted, from the spool;
And as weaver and as spinner,
That there's more than common in her,
  I believe, upon my soul!



2

 



DRAWING IT FINE.



"Only yesterday I saw her,
For our neighbor, Mistress Drawer,
   Darning places in her net;
 Busy there in giving issue
 To the finest solar tissue
   I have ever noticed yet.

"She is skilled in all the graces
Of the most exquisite laces-
   Quite invisible to me-
 And I think such work would kill me,
 With my eyes so very filmy
   I could never, never see.

"There 's a wanton mass of bushes
Just above our line of rushes,
   Where to spread the maiden's net;
 So, good man, though sad to miss her,
 Let us bless the child and kiss her,
   Whilst our lives are steady yet."

 And the grim old spider listened,
 Till upon his optics glistened
   Something not unlike a tear,
 And with quite a man's agreeing
 To a woman's way of seeing
   Answered: "As you think, my dear."

 Then the mother called her daughter
 From a-sporting on the water
   In a little bay below,
 And the lady-like young spider
 Came and settled down beside her,
   To the sorrow of her beau;

 For she ceased at once her skating,
 Left the gallant there awaiting,
   Made a courtesy and flew-
 Just as every little woman,
 When she hears her mother summon,
   Ought undoubtedly to do.



3

 


BLADES O' BLUEGRASS.



It was charming in the tunnel
Of their silver-sided funnel
  Thus the family to see;
Sitting close to one another
Were the father and the mother
  And the daughter-happy three!

There their plans were all unfolded,
And the maiden's future molded
  In the fancy of the dame;
In the matted brier trellis
She should have her silver palace
  And be given up to Fame.

But alas! like every other
Living thing-that has a mother-
  How these fancies went astray!
All the goodly things we nurture
For the overburdened future
  Pass too fleetingly away.

So it was, this callow weaver,
When her mamma let her leave her,
  Went a little bit too fast;
Though she made a fair beginning
With her cunning kind o' spinning,
  It was not a kind to last.

She was full of life, and agile,
But her shining threads were fragile
  And defective in their length;
For she made her woofing wider
Than her warping justified her,
  And her fabric wanted strength.

We have seen a thousand ladies
On a rapid way to Hades
  By this Xvery common force,
And, exactly like the spinner,
They persist in drawing finer,
  When they ought to draw it coarse..



4

 




DRA WING IT FfNE.



'T is peculiar to the human-
Where the debutant's a woman-
  To exceed the parent marge;
She rejects the frugal spirit
She should properly inherit,
  And essays to "go it large."

And the rule is just as certain,
When it's time to lift the curtain
  On the drama of her days,
She has found her light ambition
At the margin of perdition
  Through the saddest sort o' ways.

Now, the highest aim that filled her-
And the very thing that killed her-
  Was her foolish love for show;
For our pulsing spider lady
Couldn't keep her palace shady
  In the brier-patch below.

But she made her nicest hitches
On some pendulating switches,
  That her glory might be seen;
And she loitered with her lover
All its silver terrace over
  With the leisure of a queen.

And, as might have been expected,
She was readily detected
  By a bandit living near,
For the wily robber sparrow,
Coming downward like an arrow,
  Made a quiet meal of her.

And the prim, maternal spider,
With the grim, brown spouse beside her,
Sits a silent mummy yet,
And the breaking of each morrow
Brings her such a meed of sorrow
As she never can forget.



5

 



BLADES O' BLUEGRASS.



        She is full of sad upheavals,
        From the crater of her evils,
        For the wrong she did her child,
        When she taught her only graces
        In the art of making laces,
          By a vanity beguiled.

       So the two unhappy tenants
       Of the cone are doing penance,
         And their bosoms both are wrung;
       He has chronic gout to bother,
       And this wicked, wicked mother
         Has paralysis of tongue.
                                   HENRY T. STANTON.





               STOP THE CLOCK.

LET this red flower here on the cliffs stay red;
  Let that glad bird sing always in the tree;
Let baby keep this pretty yellow head
And these two dimples,-do you say to me

Let these same clouds make this same sky all gold
Let these same strawberries last (You '11 tell me how)
Let's take the world up in our arms and hold
  It where it is, and make forever now

Let's sit here always in this wind and sun,
And hear the water dripping from the rock
Come, then, and tell me how it can be done.
What, ho, within there! some one stop the clock!
                                    SARAH M. B. PIATT.



6

 



OWL IN CHURCH.



                  OWL IN CHURCH.

  In the autumn of i874 a small gray owl was observed sitting in -a
niche above the organ of the Episcopal Church, greatly to the amuse-
nment of the congregation.

           FRONTING us all,
           In a niche of the wall,
         As if proud of his lofty station,
           Like a monk in a cowl
           Sat a little gray owl
         Looking down on the congregation.

           Hymns and chants as they rose
           Failed to stir his repose,
         A grave mien to the holy place suiting.
           Merely looking surprise
           With his solemn, round eyes,
         He heard them all through without hooting.

           His feathers he shook,
           And a questioning look
         On this wise he cast at the people,
         "You are high-church, 't is true,
           But I 'm higher than you,
         For my screeching I do in the steeple.

         "If by dropping in here
           Once a week ye appear
         Thus cleansed from all outward pollution,
           How clean I must be,
           Living always, ye see,
         In the top of this pure institution!"

           He glanced through the pews,
           As if trying to choose
         A few from the many, anointed,
           With charity-freed
           From ritual creed ()
         I thought that he looked disappointed.



7

 



BLADES O' BLUEGRASS.



   Quoth the wise little owl
   In his modest gray cowl,
"What grand dressing! " and then, slyly winking,
"It would be orthodox
   To put more in the box
 And less in the pews, I am thinking."
 Judging men from aloft,
   As the righteous do oft,
 And women-Oh, owl, have compassion!
   For the sees of our church
   Would be left in the lurch
 If its aisles were forsaken by fashion.
 Of our creed justly proud,
 We respond very loud,
 By holy zeal greatly excited,
 And yet look innocent,
 As if " us sinners " meant
 Not ourselves, but some race more benighted.

 Let paid choirs screech,
 Let the dear clergy preach,
 Do n't hoot at them up in the steeple;
 It 's too high a perch
 "To tell tales out of church,"
 And might frighten away outside people.
 Beware how you chat
 To the hawk and the bat;
 Church gossip, returned with due culture,
 Brings so much to boot
 You won't know your own hoot,
 And may find yourself changed to a vulture.
 It is not orthodox
 To peep into our box
 And take notes underneath your gray cowl
 Of who gives and who don't,
 And we hope that you won't,
 Or we'll call you a meddlesome owl.
                        ROSA VURTNER JEFE REV.



8

 



MAMMOTH CA VE.



              MAMMOTH CAVE.

ALL day, as day is reckoned on the earth,
I 've wandered in these dim and awful aisles,
Shut from the blue and breezy dome of heaven,
While thoughts, wild, drear, and shadowy, have swept
Across my awe-struck soul, like specters o'er
The wizard's magic glass, or thunder-clouds
O'er the blue waters deep. And now
I'll sit me down upon that broken rock
To muse upon the strange and solemn things
Of this mysterious realm.
                          All day my steps
Have been amid the beautiful, the wild,
The gloomy, the terrific. Crystal founts,
Almost invisible in their serene
And pure transparency; high pillared domes,
With stars and flowers all fretted like the halls
Of Oriental monarchs; of rivers dark
And drear and voiceless as Oblivion's stream,
That flows through Death's dim vale of silence; gulfs
All fathomless, down which the loosened rock
Plunges until its far-off echoes come
Fainter and fainter like the dying roll
Of thunders in the distance; Stygian pools
Whose agitated waves give back a sound
Hollow and dismal, like the sullen roar
In the volcano's depths;-these, these have left
Their spell upon me, and their memories
Have passed into my spirit, and are now
Blent with my being till they seem a part
Of my own immortality.
                        God's hand,
At the creation, hollowed out this vast
Domain of darkness, where no herb or flower
E'er sprang amid the sands, nor dews, nor rains,
Nor blessed sunbeams fell with refreshing power,
Nor gentle breeze its Eden message told



9

 



BLADES O' BLUEGRASS.



Amid the awful gloom. Six thousand years
Swept o'er the earth ere human footprints marked
This subterranean desert. Centuries
Like shadows came and passed, and not a sound
Was in this realm, save when at intervals,
In the long lapse of ages, some huge mass
Of overhanging rock came thundering down,
Its echoes sounding through these corridors
A moment, and then dying in a hush
Of silence, such as brooded o'er the earth
When