RILEY SONGS OF FRIENDSHIP

By James Whitcomb Riley

With Pictures By Will Vawter



CONTENTS

ABE MARTIN 142
AMERICA'S THANKSGIVING 182
ANCIENT PRINTERMAN, THE 101
ART AND POETRY 78
BACK FROM TOWN 23
BE OUR FORTUNES AS THEY MAY 34
BECAUSE 152
CHRISTMAS GREETING 141
DAN O'SULLIVAN 132
DEAD JOKE AND THE FUNNY MAN, THE 180
DOWN TO THE CAPITAL 80
FRIEND OF A WAYWARD HOUR 46
GOOD-BY ER HOWDY-DO 58
HER VALENTINE 140
HERR WEISER 153
HOBO VOLUNTARY, A 25
I SMOKE MY PIPE 36
IN THE AFTERNOON 148
IN THE HEART OF JUNE 120
JAMES B MAYNARD 100
LETTER TO A FRIEND, A 52
"LITTLE MAN IN THE TINSHOP, THE" 61
LITTLE OLD POEM THAT NOBODY READS, THE 146
MOTHER-SONG, A 158
MY BACHELOR CHUM 74
MY FRIEND 126
MY HENRY 48
MY JOLLY FRIEND'S SECRET 114
MY OLD FRIEND 134
OLD BAND, THE 121
OLD CHUMS 89
OLD-FASHIONED BIBLE, THE 54
OLD JOHN HENRY 136
OLD INDIANY 185
OLD MAN, THE 92
OLD MAN AND JIM, THE 105
OLD SCHOOL-CHUM, THE 112
OUR OLD FRIEND NEVERFAIL 72
POET'S LOVE FOR THE CHILDREN, THE 42
REACH YOUR HAND TO ME 176
SCOTTY 90
SONG BY UNCLE SIDNEY, A 41
STEPMOTHER, THE 162
THAT NIGHT 168
TO ALMON KEEPER 170
TO THE QUIET OBSERVER 174
TOM VAN ARDEN 68
TOMMY SMITH 66
TRAVELING MAN, THE 128
UNCLE SIDNEY TO MARCELLUS 40
WHAT "OLD SANTA" OVERHEARD 160
WHEN OLD JACK DIED 163
WHEN WE THREE MEET 60

ILLUSTRATIONS

"SLEEP, FOR THY MOTHER BENDS OVER THEE YET!" Frontispiece
BACK FROM TOWN--HEADPIECE 23
A HOBO VOLUNTARY--HEADPIECE 25
HE CAMPS NEAR TOWN, ON THE OLD CRICK-BANK 27
AND SO LIKEWISE DOES THE FARMHANDS STARE 31
A HOBO VOLUNTARY--TAILPIECE 33
BE OUR FORTUNES AS THEY MAY--HEADPIECE 34
BE OUR FORTUNES AS THEY MAY--TAILPIECE 35
AND WRAPPED IN SHROUDS OF DRIFTING CLOUDS 37
UNCLE SIDNEY TO MARCELLUS--HEADPIECE 40
THE POET'S LOVE FOR THE CHILDREN--HEADPIECE 42
OF THE ORCHARD-LANDS OF CHILDHOOD 43
FRIEND OF A WAYWARD HOUR--HEADPIECE 46
FRIEND OF A WAYWARD HOUR--TAILPIECE 47
MY HENRY--HEADPIECE 48
NOTHIN' THAT BOY WOULDN'T RESK! 49
A LETTER TO A FRIEND--HEADPIECE 52
A LETTER TO A FRIEND--TAILPIECE 53
THE OLD-FASHIONED BIBLE--HEADPIECE 54
THE BLESSED OLD VOLUME 55
GOOD-BY ER HOWDY-DO--HEADPIECE 58
GOOD-BY ER HOWDY-DO--TAILPIECE 59
"THE LITTLE MAN IN THE TINSHOP"--HEADPIECE 61
THE ORCHESTRA, WITH ITS MELODY 63
TOMMY SMITH--HEADPIECE 66
OUR OLD FRIEND NEVERFAIL--HEADPIECE 72
HIS MOUTH IS A GRIN WITH THE CORNERS TUCKED IN 75
ART AND POETRY--HEADPIECE 78
DOWN TO THE CAPITAL--HEADPIECE 80
TO OLD ONE-LEGGED CHAPS, LIKE ME 83
"IT'S ALL JES' ARTIFICIAL, THIS-ERE HIGH-PRICED LIFE OF OURS" 87
OLD CHUMS--HEADPIECE 89
SCOTTY--HEADPIECE 90
THE OLD MAN--HEADPIECE 92
IN YOUR REPOSEFUL GAZE 95
THE OLD MAN--TAILPIECE 99
THE ANCIENT PRINTERMAN--HEADPIECE 101
O PRINTERMAN OF SALLOW FACE 103
THE OLD MAN AND JIM--HEADPIECE 105
"WELL, GOOD-BY, JIM" 107
THE OLD MAN AND JIM--TAILPIECE 109
THE OLD MAN AND JIM--TAILPIECE 110
THE OLD MAN AND JIM--TAILPIECE 111
THE OLD SCHOOL-CHUM--HEADPIECE 112
THE OLD SCHOOL-CHUM--TAILPIECE 113
MY JOLLY FRIEND'S SECRET--HEADPIECE 114
AH, FRIEND OF MINE, HOW GOES IT 115
MY JOLLY FRIEND'S SECRET--TAILPIECE 119
THE OLD BAND--HEADPIECE 121
I WANT TO HEAR THE OLD BAND PLAY 123
THE OLD BAND--TAILPIECE 125
MY FRIEND--HEADPIECE 126
MY FRIEND--TAILPIECE 127
THE TRAVELING MAN--HEADPIECE 128
WHO HAVE MET HIM WITH SMILES AND WITH CHEER 129
DAN O'SULLIVAN--HEADPIECE 132
DAN O'SULLIVAN--TAILPIECE 133
MY OLD FRIEND--HEADPIECE 134
OLD JOHN HENRY--HEADPIECE 136
A SMILIN' FACE AND A HEARTY HAND 137
CHRISTMAS GREETING--HEADPIECE 141
ABE MARTIN--HEADPIECE 142
HIS MOUTH, LIKE HIS PIPE, 'S ALLUS GOIN' 143
THE LITTLE OLD POEM THAT NOBODY READS--HEADPIECE 146
THE LITTLE OLD POEM THAT NOBODY READS--TAILPIECE 147
IN THE AFTERNOON--HEADPIECE 148
YOU IN THE HAMMOCK; AND I, NEAR BY 149
IN THE AFTERNOON--TAILPIECE 151
HERR WEISER--HEADPIECE 153
AND LILY AND ASTER AND COLUMBINE 155
HERR WEISER--TAILPIECE 157
A MOTHER-SONG--HEADPIECE 158
WHAT "OLD SANTA" OVERHEARD--HEADPIECE 160
WHAT "OLD SANTA" OVERHEARD--TAILPIECE 161
WHEN OLD JACK DIED--HEADPIECE 163
WE COULDN'T ONLY CRY WHEN OLD JACK DIED 165
WHEN OLD JACK DIED--TAILPIECE 167
THAT NIGHT--HEADPIECE 168
THAT NIGHT--TAILPIECE 169
TO ALMON KEEFER--HEADPIECE 170
UNDER "THE OLD SWEET APPLE TREE" 171
TO ALMON KEEFER--TAILPIECE 173
TO THE QUIET OBSERVER--HEADPIECE 174
TO THE QUIET OBSERVER--TAILPIECE 175
REACH YOUR HAND TO ME--HEADPIECE 176
REACH YOUR HAND TO ME, MY FRIEND 177
REACH YOUR HAND TO ME--TAILPIECE 179
THE DEAD JOKE AND THE FUNNY MAN--HEADPIECE 180
THE DEAD JOKE AND THE FUNNY MAN--TAILPIECE 181
AMERICA'S THANKSGIVING--HEADPIECE 182
OLD INDIANY--HEADPIECE 185
BUT, FELLERS, SHE'S A LEAKY STATE! 187
OLD INDIANY--TAILPIECE 190





NYE AND RILEY'S

Wit and Humor

(Poems and Yarns)

By James Whitcomb Riley, and Bill Nye

Illustrated

CONTENTS

August—Riley 32
Anecdotes of Jay Gould—Nye 23
A Black Hills Episode—Riley 132
A Blasted Snore—Nye 190
A Brave Refrain—Riley 188
A Character—Riley 142
A Dose't of Blues—Riley 220
A Fall Creek View of the Earthquake—Riley 30
A Hint of Spring—Riley 168
A Letter of Acceptance—Nye 56
A Treat Ode—Riley 170
Craqueodoom—Riley 81
Curly Locks—Riley 118
Ezra House—Riley 161
From Delphi to Camden—Riley 75
Good-bye or Howdy-do—Riley 195
Healthy, but Out of the Race—Nye 101
Her Tired Hands—Nye 152
His Crazy Bone—Riley 89
His Christmas Sled—Riley 150
His First Womern—Riley 41
How to Hunt the Fox—Nye 46
In a Box—Riley 214
In the Afternoon—Riley 65
Julius Cæsar in Town—Nye 34
Lines on Hearing a Cow Bawl—Riley 107
Lines on Turning Over a Pass—Nye 120
Me and Mary—Riley 109
McFeeters' Fourth—Riley 211
My Bachelor Chum—Riley 178
Mr Silberberg—Riley 96
Niagara Falls from the Nye Side—Nye 111
Never Talk Back—Riley 20
Oh, Wilhelmina, Come Back—Nye 165
Our Wife—Nye 172
Prying Open the Future—Nye 90
Says He—Riley 204
Seeking to Be Identified—Nye 228
Seeking to Set the Public Right—Nye 216
Spirits at Home—Riley 99
Society Gurgs from Sandy Mush—Nye 197
Sutter's Claim—Riley 226
This Man Jones—Riley 43
That Night—Riley 124
The Boy Friend—Riley 54
The Chemist of the Carolinas—Nye 82
The Diary of Darius T Skinner—Nye 144
The Grammatical Boy—Nye 77
The Gruesome Ballad of Mr Squincher—Riley 21
The Man in the Moon—Riley 148
The Philanthropical Jay—Nye 180
The Truth about Methuselah—Nye 126
The Tar-heel Cow—Nye 137
The Rise and Fall of William Johnson—Nye 66
The Rossville Lecture Course—Riley 134
Wanted, a Fox—Nye 222
Where He First Met His Parents—Nye 17
Where the Roads are Engaged in Forking—Nye 206
While Cigarettes to Ashes Turn—Riley 201
Why It Was Done—Nye & Riley 11





THE OLD SOLDIER'S STORY

Poems and Prose Sketches

James Whitcomb Riley

CONTENTS

PAGE
The Old Soldier's Story 1
Somep'n Common-like 5
Monsieur le Secretaire 6
A Phantom 7
In the Corridor 8
Louella Wainie 9
The Text 11
William Brown 12
Why 14
The Touch of Loving Hands 15
A Test 16
A Song for Christmas 17
Sun and Rain 19
With Her Face 20
My Night 21
The Hour Before the Dawn 22
Good-by, Old Year 23
False and True 24
A Ballad from April 25
Brudder Sims 27
Deformed 28
Faith 30
The Lost Thrill 31
At Dusk 32
Another Ride from Ghent to Aix 33
In the Heart of June 36
Dreams 37
Because 42
To the Cricket 43
The Old-fashioned Bible 44
Uncomforted 46
What They Said 48
After the Frost 50
Charles H. Phillips 51
When It Rains 53
An Assassin 55
Best of All 56
Bin a-Fishin' 57
Uncle Dan'l in Town Over Sunday 59
Soldiers Here To-day 61
Shadow and Shine 65
That Night 66
August 67
The Guide 68
Sutter's Claim 71
Her Light Guitar 73
While Cigarettes to Ashes Turn 74
Two Sonnets to the June-bug 77
Autographic 79
An Impromptu on Roller Skates 80
Written in Bunner's "Airs from Arcady" 81
In the Afternoon 82
At Madame Manicure's 84
A Caller from Boone 86
Lord Bacon 98
My First Womern 99
As We Read Burns 101
To James Newton Matthews 102
Song 103
When We Three Meet 105
Josh Billings 106
Which Ane 108
The Earthquake 111
A Fall-crick View of the Earthquake 112
Lewis D. Hayes 114
In Days to Come 116
Luther A. Todd 117
When the Hearse Comes Back 121
Our Old Friend Neverfail 124
Dan O'sullivan 126
John Boyle O'reilly 127
Meredith Nicholson 129
God's Mercy 130
Christmas Greeting 131
To Rudyard Kipling 132
The Gudewife 133
Tennyson 134
Rosamond C. Bailey 135
Mrs. Benjamin Harrison 136
George A. Carr 138
To Elizabeth 139
To Almon Keefer 140
To—"The J. W. R. Literary Club" 142
Little Maid-o'-dreams 143
To the Boy with a Country 145
Claude Matthews 146
To Lesley 147
The Judkins Papers 148
To the Quiet Observer—erasmus Wilson 165
America's Thanksgiving 166
William Pinkney Fishback 168
John Clark Ridpath 170
New Year's Nursery Jingle 173
To the Mother 174
To My Sister 175
A Motto 176
To a Poet on His Marriage 177
Art and Poetry 178
Her Smile of Cheer and Voice of Song 179
Old Indiany 180
Abe Martin 183
O. Henry 185
"Mona Machree" 186
William Mckinley 187
Benjamin Harrison 190
Lee O. Harris 192
The Highest Good 194
My Conscience 195
My Boy 197
The Object Lesson 198