| Page | |
| Frontispiece | 1 |
| Biographical Appreciation | 3 |
| I Plead Guilty | 9 |
| Religion of Humanity | 10 |
| Joe Bailey’s Ride | 12 |
| The Other Man’s Baby | 13 |
| The Pathos of Humor | 15 |
| The Pine Creek Tragedy | 16 |
| The Homesick Boy | 18 |
| Friends Who Pass in the Dark | 19 |
| Voice of the Stone | 20 |
| Ingratitude | 22 |
| Orphan Eva | 23 |
| Loving the World | 24 |
| Lost in the Snow | 26 |
| A Plea for Childhood | 27 |
| Thoughts of Immortality | 29 |
| Teach Sentiment | 30 |
| The Soul of Sorrow | 31 |
| Visiting the Old Home | 32 |
| The Wayward Boy | 34 |
| A Wasted Life | 35 |
| Garret Memories | 36 |
| Your Baby Still | 38 |
| Wish I were a Jew | 39 |
| Memories | 40 |
| Sweetened with Sorrow | 42 |
| In Her Dreams | 43 |
| The Mortgaged Mother | 45 |
| The Toy Maker | 46 |
| The Mother-in-Law | 47 |
| Bob White | 49 |
| Whipping a Child | 51 |
| Not a Clinging Vine | 52 |
| The Saloon in Our Town | 53 |
| The Homesick Child | 55 |
| Why He Quit Hunting | 56 |
| The Hard-Luck Showman | 58 |
| Playing with Hearts | 59 |
| True Friendship | 61 |
| Sighing of the Pines | 62 |
| The Homesick Horses | 64 |
| The Blind Cigarmaker | 65 |
| The Three Classes | 66 |
| Hissed and Hooted | 68 |
| The War with Self | 69 |
| Crippled Joe and the Showman | 71 |
| Race Suicide | 73 |
| For a Stage Career | 74 |
| The Dead of the Land and Sea | 76 |
| Where Dreams Come True | 77 |
| It Might Have Been | 79 |
| A Misguided Mother | 80 |
| The World is Blind | 82 |
| Wrong on the Throne | 83 |
| The Voices We Understand | 84 |
| Chasing the Cows Up | 86 |
| Flowers for the Living | 87 |
| The Hobo’s Story | 89 |
| In the Looking Glass | 90 |
| Ungrateful Young Girls | 92 |
| The Giant Pine | 93 |
| The Little House-Keeper | 95 |
| The Male Flirt | 96 |
| Memories of the Old Trunk | 98 |
| The Auction Block | 100 |
| The Old Yard Master | 101 |
| Books that Made Me Think | 103 |
| Forgotten Graves | 104 |
| In the Open Door | 105 |
| The Judge’s Tears | 107 |
| The Dog’s Kiss | 108 |
| Love Letters | 110 |
| At the Pool of Life | 112 |
| A Palace Without Love | 113 |
| The Soldier’s Diary | 114 |
| Two Men Who Touched My Soul | 116 |
About This Book
A selection of newspaper columns and a biographical appreciation trace a rural-born writer's journey from arduous outdoor labor to a respected magazine and newspaper contributor. The collection blends autobiographical sketches and reminiscences of camp and village life with gentle humor, personal bereavement, and vivid portraits of ordinary people. The essays critique social arrogance and injustice without invective, favoring forgiveness, practical moral counsel, and sympathy for the disadvantaged. Together the pieces form a down-to-earth philosophy expressed through anecdote, satire, and plainspoken reflection aimed at encouraging personal improvement and a kinder public life.