Ye old-time stave that pealeth out
To Christmas revellers all,
At tavern-tap and wassail-bout,
And in ye banquet-hall.—
Whiles ye old burden rings again,
Add yet ye verse, as due:
“God bless you, merry gentlemen”—
And gentlewomen, too!
Armazindy / The Poems and Prose Sketches of James Whitcomb Riley
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About This Book
A mixed collection of poems and prose sketches that depicts small‑town and rural life through vernacular narration, sentimental observation, and comic detail. Longer narrative pieces explore personal loss, domestic struggles, and neighborhood intrigues, while shorter lyrics and children’s verses celebrate play, memory, and everyday tenderness. The voice shifts between musical, folksy dialect and plain colloquial phrasing, producing a rhythmic, conversational tone. Recurrent concerns include household labor, family ties, youthful fancy, and the mingled humor and nostalgia of ordinary community experience.