ClassJlxl-3. 
 fmiyriglifF IHQ5 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSnV 
 
THE STARS AND BARS 
 
 PAGE 50 
 
 Wk i<oved its hoIvY mission, 
 Every hope that it inspired, 
 
 And we honor every martyr 
 Who beneath its foi.ds expired. 
 
A 
 
 GALAXY OF SOOTHERN HEROES 
 AND OTHER POEMS 
 
 BY 
 
 ORION T. DOZIER, M. D. 
 
 A COMPILATION OF MANY HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED 
 
 EFFUSIONS OF THE AUTHOR, AND A NUMBER 
 
 OF OTHERS WHICH HAVE APPEARED IN 
 
 SUNDRY PERIODICALS BUT LARGELY A 
 
 REPRINT OF THOSE APPEARING 
 
 IN THE FIRST AND SECOND 
 
 EDITIONS OF 
 
 "FOIBLES OF FANCY AND RHYMES OF THE TIMES" 
 
 ISSUED BY THE WRITER IN THE YEAR 1894 
 
 BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, 
 1905 ', ' 
 
r^ 
 
 
 \'\ 
 
 LIBRARY of 00?JSS£SSJ 
 Two Ccpies ii«:e)ved j 
 
 0£C ly 1^04 
 ? -so I 
 
 Entered according' to Act of Congress, in the year 
 Nineteen hundred and five. 
 
 ORION T. DOZIER, 
 
 At the office of the Librarian at Washing-ton, D. C. 
 
 1905 : 
 
 PRE8S»OlJ DISPATCH PRINTING COMPANY, 
 • » ■ 
 
 , • • • BIRMINGHAM, ALA. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 WHEN ten years ago I yielded to the importuningfs of 
 my children and some of my personal friends to pub- 
 lish a collection of my rhymes, it was with no expec- 
 tation or desire to attract any great interest of the public to 
 myself or to my efforts in versification, for I have never 
 aspired to literary distinction, nor to poetic notoriety. 
 Whatever attempts I have made in this line have been, 
 for the most part, to while away some leisure moments, or 
 to comply with some friendly request ; or else to eulogize 
 our Confederate heroes, whose unequaled glory has always 
 been to me a theme of inspiration, and has impelled me to 
 attempt in poetic lines to give vent to those sentiments and 
 emotions which, welling up in my heart, seemed too sacred 
 for common prose to express. And it is more to the worthi- 
 ness of that theme in this particular than to any merit of 
 my verses that I ascribe the quick disposal of the first and 
 second editions of my unpretentious volume, and my chief 
 incentive now in presenting this later compilation of my 
 effusions is but a desire to gratify the oft repeated requests 
 of many of my friends and old comrades of the Confederacy. 
 Neither claiming nor asking any credit for my feeble 
 efforts in these pages, I only consent to put them forth for 
 the reasons just stated, and to gratify my own desire that it 
 be accepted and regarded by all as my humble tribute to the 
 sacred memory of Southern heroes who contended so val- 
 iantly, but in vain, for the upholding of the Cause so just, 
 but so unfortunate in its lamentable fall, and for whom my 
 humble muse has so often attempted to soar in songs of 
 praise. 
 
 ORION T. DOZIER. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 nrO THE '•United Sons" and "United Daughters of the 
 ^ Confederacy," scions of the most noble, chivalrous, 
 brave, and heroic exemplars of soldierly and loyal patriot- 
 ism — the most faithful adherents to their God-given 
 instincts of racial superiority, and fidelity to their Cauca- 
 sian blood — scions of the Statesmen, Heroes, and Soldiers 
 of the South, upon whom must devolve the sacred duty to 
 themselves, their progenitors, their country, and their God, 
 of defending the facts, shielding the justness, and of com- 
 bating the falsehoods and calumnies concerning that Cause 
 which their noble sires so valiantly struggled to defend, or 
 died to maintain : 
 
 I dedicate this little volume, trusting only that my senti- 
 ments in verse pertaining to our Sunny South and Southern 
 Dead, though but feebly expressed, may help to inspire 
 them with continued courage to proclaim to the world that 
 their fathers' cause is not dead, that only the dust of its 
 defenders is confined to the tomb, that the spirit of freedom, 
 and of justice, still survives in the hearts of their descend- 
 ants, and like "Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again," 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 A Galaxy of Southern Heroes 1 
 
 vFor Freedom Float the Flag-s I I^ove 17 
 
 ^I Think I Thunk a Lie 25 
 
 V A Sig^h for the Sea 30 
 
 Don 't Forget Your Poor Old Mother 32 
 
 Truthful Boler's Narrow Escape 34 
 
 I Do Not Know 37 
 
 V A Dream-City Dream 39 
 
 •sUncle Mose on the Prodigal's Return 42 
 
 -The Stars and Bars 49 
 
 -Be Careful How You Tread 51 
 
 --Infelice 52 
 
 '"The Vale of lyosahatchie 53 
 
 ■^L/ines for Jefferson Davis's Anniversary 54 
 
 "^Sermon by Uncle Mose, No. 1 56 
 
 -A Rebel's Reverie 59 
 
 -My Mother's Heart 61 
 
 ^To Minnie ! 63 
 
 "An Evening Reverie 65 
 
 "^A Wish 68 
 
 •^Alabama 69 
 
 -^Georgia 72 
 
 ^Speech of Uncle Mose 74 
 
 ^The Death of William McKinley 76 
 
 -Faith 78 
 
 -SDon 't It Sorter I^ook that Way ? 79 
 
 Time 82 
 
 '^he Death of Jefferson Davis 83 
 
 "Shall I Forget ? 84 
 
 ^The Evening Prayer , 86 
 
 ^The Flag and Harp of Krin 87 
 
 -The Ballot ,.... 90 
 
Pagb 
 
 The Stars and Stripes 92 
 
 Shame, O My Country, Shame 95 
 
 Could I Forget ? 98 
 
 Rizpah 99 
 
 Uncle Mose on Independence Day 102 
 
 Some Day 106 
 
 Courag-e and Ambition 108 
 
 You Are My Sweetheart Yet Ill 
 
 Cupid's Auction 112 
 
 Take Back the Lie 115 
 
 Man Was Made for Woe 117 
 
 Sermon by Uncle Mose, No. 2 119 
 
 The Rationale of Sin 121 
 
 Policy 125 
 
 Shams and Shacks 127 
 
 Coosa River 129 
 
 A Spring Cant-Oh 133 
 
 Cleopatra 136 
 
 The Death of Cheatham 'l40 
 
 Lines Sent With a Boquet 142 
 
 Gordon 143 
 
 Pepper Sauce 145 
 
 The Army of Temperance 147 
 
 Oh, Blessed be the Land 150 
 
 To-Morrow 154 
 
 A Hunter's Wish 156 
 
 Not for Bread Alone 158 
 
 Jefferson Davis 161 
 
 There is no God 162 
 
 Waiting and Dreaming 163 
 
 I 'm in Love With Two Girls 165 
 
 In Duteous Love We Come Again 167 
 
 Song by Uncle Mose 170 
 
 The Exile's Wish 173 
 
 Woman and the Snake 174 
 
 Natalitia 176 
 
 A Plea for Unity 178 
 
 Our Soldiers' Graves 180 
 
Page 
 
 "A Ivover's Pique 181 
 
 Dying- Abelard 183 
 
 The Dude 185 
 
 Brave Nickell of Kentuckj' 187 
 
 Adieu to *' Ninety-Four " 189 
 
 The Girls of Silver Creek 191 
 
 We Cotne Once More 194 
 
 A Woman of the Town 195 
 
 Waiting- and Ivonging 197 
 
 Give Me for a Friend 198 
 
 Ivines for Thanksg-iving- Day ^... 200 
 
 A Phillipic on E^xemption Laws 201 
 
 The Wreck 203 
 
 Good-Bye 205 
 
 Our Nation's Shame 207 
 
 My Friend 210 
 
 The Right 212 
 
 Woman 214 
 
 The Soldier's Grave 218 
 
 An Orphan's Story 219 
 
 Our Confederate Dead 224 
 
 The Unfortunate's Plea 229 
 
 The Crank 232 
 
 Our Sunny I^and and Southern Dead 234 
 
 Till I Come Back Again 238 
 
 V Slanderers of Gordon 240 
 
 Waiting at the River 243 
 
 " Our Order Here " 244 
 
 Mourn, Georgia, Mourn 246 
 
 My LfOsahatchie Home 248 
 
 In Paradise 249 
 
 Memorial Day Invocation 252 
 
 Six and Thirty Years Ago 253 
 
 Welcome Song , ... 256 
 
 A Dream that Was Not All a Dream 258 
 
 Blithesome I^ittle lyibby 260 
 
 Forget Me Not 261 
 
 A Fragment 261 
 
Pagb 
 
 Club Song No. 1 262 
 
 Club Song- No. 2 263 
 
 Club Song No. 3 264 
 
 Club Song No. 4 265 
 
 Retrospection 266 
 
 To I^izzie 273 
 
 Kickers 274 
 
 Hail St. Patrick's Day 276 
 
 No Compromise for Me 277 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle 279 
 
 The Death of Admiral Semmes , 280 
 
 The Gallant Immunes 281 
 
 The Guitar 282 
 
 A Plea to Mayor L<ane 284 
 
 Ivife 285 
 
 South Rome 286 
 
 Jack Frost 287 
 
 lyove 287 
 
 My Life is Like a Ship at Sea 288 
 
 Good-Bye Song to F. L. S 289 
 
 'Tis Then I Think of You 290 
 
 Lines to J. L. T 291 
 
 The Murdered Wife 292 
 
 A Horrid Dream 294 
 
 Booming Birmingham 296 
 
 The Yankees Are Coming.. 298 
 
 Lines Written on the Fly-Leaf of a Book 299 
 
 My Native Land 300 
 
 Drifting Away 303 
 
I. 
 
 Once more the genial Southern sun 
 
 Has called the roses into bloom, 
 Once more the fragrant jessamine 
 
 Lades all the air with sweet perfume ; 
 Once more the little mating birds 
 
 In every bush and tree are seen, 
 Once more the earth her carpet spreads 
 
 Of softest velvet-grassy green. 
 
 II. 
 
 Once more the dove of peace is heard 
 
 In every valley, glen and cove ; 
 Once more I come with rapturous heart 
 
 To greet the comrades that I love ; 
 And freed from hate and prejudice, 
 
 All bitter memories laid aside. 
 My muse but wakes to sing the praise 
 
 Of those who for my country died. 
 
 III. 
 And anon, here and there to lay 
 
 A chaplet on some worthy brow 
 Of glorious hero — yet alive — 
 
 And, as I place it, humbly bow, 
 As well I should, with reverence due ; 
 
 For language is too weak to prove 
 How deep, how strong the wond'rous depths 
 
 Of my unfathomed founts of love. 
 
A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 IV. 
 
 But would to God my struggling muse 
 
 Could break the bonds that bind my soul, 
 And let my wild, impassioned thoughts 
 
 Like ocean's stormy billows roll. 
 While I so vainly now attempt 
 
 To sing in lofty peans grand 
 That meed of praise to patriots due — 
 
 The heroes of my native land. 
 
 V. 
 
 With Heaven's face for music scroll 
 
 And realms of space for octave bars. 
 My clefs should be the sun and moon. 
 
 My music notes the blazing stars. 
 And oh ! I 'd sing with lofty strain 
 
 And sweep the gamut of the skies, 
 'Till every sleeping patriot's soul 
 
 Should wake and from his grave arise ! 
 
 VI. 
 
 But oh! how feeble, weak am I, 
 
 Poor, humble creature of the sod. 
 Who deigns to touch a theme too grand 
 
 For any being but that God 
 Who rules the earth and realms above. 
 
 Who speaks, and suns and worlds obey : 
 He, only He, the living God 
 
 Their meed of praise can ever pay. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 VII. 
 What tho' I had the cyclone's force, 
 
 The flaming lightning for my tongue, 
 A brain as broad as universe, 
 
 My voice to tones of thunder strung, 
 I still must fall unmeasured short 
 
 In praise of those I fain would name. 
 For God but made such God-like men 
 
 To point the source from whence they came. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 How many names — bright, glorious gems — 
 
 In Southern galaxy are set. 
 To blaze like suns forever bright 
 
 In fame's eternal coronet. 
 Behold you, first, our Washington, 
 
 Whose hands the stars and stripes unfurled, 
 A Christian soldier, patriot true, 
 
 The foremost rebel of the world. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Then see yon brilliant, fiery star, 
 
 Proud Robert Toombs — majestic man. 
 With wild, tempestuous, flaming soul, 
 
 Too great for human words to span, 
 From out whose rugged, heaving breast. 
 
 In raging, seething tempests, rolled 
 Consuming flames of eloquence — 
 
 Mount JEtnsiy he, of human mold. 
 
A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 X. 
 
 And could I paint with master hand 
 
 The great Orion of the sky, 
 With starry belt and lifted club, 
 
 With daring mien to do or die, 
 What would I do but hold to view 
 
 The chief of that heroic clan 
 Who San Jacinto's battle won. 
 
 And name Sam Houston as the man. 
 
 XI. 
 
 But countless as the countless stars 
 
 That in the dome of heaven shine, 
 Each name as bright as face of Mars, 
 
 Made glorious by their deeds sublime, 
 And bright' ning with the^passing years 
 
 Is that great constellation grand 
 Who followed where our Davis led — 
 
 The heroes of our Southern land. 
 
 XII. 
 
 No low'ring cloud of dark defeat 
 
 Can dim or shut their light from view. 
 But high above the horizon, 
 
 Where God to justice gives its due. 
 They shine within a firmament 
 
 As fixed as that of heaven's own, 
 And shed a glory on the world. 
 
 The brightest earth has ever known. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Go look upon Manassas' plains, 
 
 Where Bull Run ever onward flows, 
 No monument is needed there 
 
 Our^soldier's valor to disclose ; 
 Eternal as that flowing stream 
 
 Will rest the fame of him who fell. 
 Brave, gallant Bartow leading on, 
 
 While earth first shook with rebel yell. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 And when will history cease to tell 
 
 Of Shiloh's dark and bloody ground ? 
 Not whilst the stars in heaven shine 
 
 And suns shall rise and worlds go round, 
 For every patriot of the earth 
 
 Who lights his soul with hopes of fame 
 Will think of Shiloh and with pride 
 
 Will mention Sidney Johnston's name. 
 
 XV. 
 
 Then turn your gaze on Kenesaw, 
 
 With rugged domes uplifted high, 
 See there that altar built by God 
 
 As fitting place for him to die 
 Who cast aside his priestly robes 
 
 For sword and belt and suit of gray — 
 Brave, glorious Polk, the soldier-priest. 
 
 Whose name shall live through endless day. 
 
A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 XVI. 
 
 Now fain would I if I but could 
 
 Snatch from yon sunset's oriflame 
 Its golden glories to illume 
 
 My trembling lips that breathe the name 
 Of him who died on gallows tree : 
 
 Sam Davis, glorious martyred youth 
 Who spurned the proffered bribe of life 
 
 To die for country and for truth. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 And could my muse on soaring wing 
 
 Mount up to yon celestial height 
 Of star bespangled heavenly dome 
 
 And pluck from out the Crown of Night 
 Its brightest gems and diadems 
 
 And with God's aid transmute each flame 
 To thoughts that blaze and words that burn 
 
 r d weave a wreath and put to shame 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 The grandest eulogy of praise 
 
 That poet's pen or mortal's tongue 
 To woman fair has ever paid, 
 
 And every thought with jewels hung 
 Should be a royal, glittering gem 
 
 Of radiance bright and beauty rare 
 To crown the patriotic brow 
 
 Of our Southern women fair. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 
 
 XIX. 
 But not for me their praise to sing, 
 
 Tho' Heaven I know, however sweet, 
 Without their every presence there 
 
 Must in its bliss be incomplete; 
 Then let some nobler tongue than mine 
 
 The glorious, loving task essay ; 
 r 11 simply pray, God bless them all ! 
 
 And sing of those who wore the gray. 
 
 XX. 
 
 For like the herald of the morn 
 
 That paints the Oriental skies, 
 With amber rays and gorgeous hues 
 
 And heaven's own intermingling dyes. 
 So but the thought of those who died 
 
 For that Lost Cause, so just and right, 
 Awakes my soul with glowing love 
 
 And heavenly inspirations bright. 
 
 XXI 
 
 Then give to me, O God, I crave, 
 
 The power that never yet expressed 
 Those thoughts that well within my soul 
 
 And surge within my heaving breast. 
 That I may reach a glorious height 
 
 In epic strain and words sublime 
 To weave an amaranthine wreath 
 
 As fadeless as eternal time 
 
A GALAXY OF SOUTHKRN HEROKS 
 
 XXII. 
 
 To lay upon the hallowed shrine 
 
 Of those for whom we mourn to-day, 
 The noblest of heroic braves 
 
 That ever went to battle fray 
 And shed their blood on freedom's field, 
 
 Disdaining life and glad to die 
 Rather than their rights to yield, 
 
 And now at home with God on high. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 What tho' no stone shall mark their graves, 
 
 Nor sentry guard their place of rest, 
 They sleep within their humble graves, 
 
 Serenely sweet with glory blessed ; 
 Whilst on each mountain, vale and plain 
 
 Where raged the storm of battle's flame 
 They' ve left an everlasting print 
 
 That marks them with their deathless fame. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Go stand upon the Cumberland, 
 
 Go view the heights of Tennessee, 
 Go climb to Lookout's lofty point 
 
 And gaze as far as eye can see ; 
 On every crag and every plain, 
 
 Marked by the storm of battle blast. 
 The name of Bragg is over all, 
 
 To linger there while time shall last. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 And hear you there the distant boom 
 
 And feel you there the vibrant jar 
 Of quaking earth beneath the roar 
 
 Of thunder- crashing guns of war, 
 Let loose by that young demigod — 
 
 That re-incarnate soul of Jove, 
 Born but to reign 'mid battle storm, 
 
 The kingly Pelham, gods might love. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 And lo ! above each mountain pass, 
 
 Each hill and vale, each cove and glen, 
 A glorious halo lingers yet, 
 
 Where, meteor-like, that prince of men, 
 In brilliant speed and splendor swept 
 
 Athwart the flames on battle crest — 
 Pat Cleburne with his flashing blade. 
 
 The blazing comet of the West. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Then look on yon great ocean wide, 
 
 Extending far as billows sweep. 
 Cut by the Alabama's keel — 
 
 See there a name engraven deep. 
 Eternal and as lasting there 
 
 -\s Neptune's star in yonder sky — 
 Brave Admiral Semmes, a hero grand, 
 
 Whose name and fame can never die. 
 
10 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 And yet, oh yet, with rapturous eyes 
 
 To Cuban Isle but turn your gaze. 
 See where oppression long has reigned 
 
 A rising star, destined to blaze 
 Eternal on Old Glory, dear. 
 
 Joe Wheeler, great in peace and war, 
 Has plucked from out the Antilles 
 
 For freedom's flag another star. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 And when storm- rocked Atlanta shook 
 
 And writhed beneath the shrieking shell, 
 When tempests wild around her raged. 
 
 And leaden hail in fury fell, 
 When lightning flashed and thunders rolled 
 
 And flowed her streets with crimson flood. 
 Who then stood there — bright star of hope — 
 
 But brave, defiant Ajax-Hood ? 
 
 XXX. 
 
 And o'er yon Old Dominion State, 
 
 Star gemmed, her crown with glory shines, 
 With Southern pride I here avow 
 
 That nowhere on this earth's confines 
 Can there be found another land 
 
 Which can so many heroes claim, 
 And bright amid her brightest stars 
 
 Shines glorious Stonewall Jackson's name. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 11 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 And glittering like a royal gem 
 
 Above my own fair Georgia high, 
 I see another brilliant star, 
 
 As bright as ever decked the sky, 
 Intrepid, brilliant Gordon, brave. 
 
 The patriot, statesman, warrior grand. 
 Of Southern manhood, brightest type. 
 
 An honor to his native land. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Nor less resplendent is the light 
 
 Of him, old South Carolina's star. 
 Whose fiery soul was made by God 
 
 To blaze amid the storms of war; 
 And high on fame's eternal height. 
 
 With all the glorious and sublime, 
 Wade Hampton's name, in glory set, 
 
 Will shine while roll the wheels of time. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Now see yon grand, majestic stream, 
 
 The great mid-continental sea. 
 Whose course no human force can check. 
 
 With currents deep yet flowing free. 
 Unswerving in its onward sweep. 
 
 Proud Mississippi, king of streams, 
 See, and behold while gazing there 
 
 A fitting type to me it seems 
 
12 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN H^ROKS 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Of him whose grand and kingly soul — 
 
 Too strong for tyrant bonds to quell, 
 Too deep for prejudice to mar, 
 
 Too broad to curb by prison cell — 
 Proud, God-like man, I breath his name 
 
 With reverence and with deathless love — 
 Jeff Davis, brightest star of fame, 
 
 May heaven rest his soul above. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 - But where, oh ! where, my wavering muse, 
 
 Where wilt thou lead me in thy flight 
 To find a type or simile 
 
 Of him, the grandest, noblest knight 
 That ever sword from scabbard drew? 
 
 Not in the land Columbus gave 
 Canst thou a likeness for him find ; 
 
 Then seek beyond old ocean's wave 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Where God His grandest works designed; 
 
 Go view the Alps and Pyrenees, 
 Then onward to the Himalays, 
 
 Where great Mount Everest, rising, sees 
 All other mountains far below, 
 
 His own grand form enrobed with cloud. 
 His royal head God crowned with snow — 
 
 Yes, go and view this mountain proud — 
 
AND OTHBR POKMS. 13 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 This great, majestic, towering king — 
 
 The grandest, highest of the world — 
 God's monument of strength and power, 
 
 Defying every storm that's hurled. 
 All lightning blows from rival foes ; 
 
 Yes, go and you this mountain see, 
 Then tell me if thou yet hast found 
 
 A prototype of Robert Lee! 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 Ah, no ! ah, no ! my faithful muse. 
 
 Thou further yet must wing thy flight. 
 Go mount yon Heaven's vaulted dome. 
 
 Explore the '* azure seas of night " ; 
 Go poise amid the glittering throng 
 
 Of starry pageants in the sky. 
 And measure thou great Alcyone, 
 
 The central sun of worlds on high, 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 'Round whom all suns and worlds revolve; 
 
 The first, the greatest and the best 
 Of all the shining heavenly spheres — 
 
 And, poising there, thy wings may rest ; 
 For in that far celestial zone. 
 
 There 'mid the circling pleiades see 
 That king of worlds, imperial orb, 
 
 God's prototype of Robert Lee. 
 
14 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 XL. 
 
 And now, oh ! now, my halting muse, 
 
 While poising 'mid celestial heights 
 Of blazing suns and mighty worlds, 
 
 Of shining moons and satellites, 
 I bid thee, if thou canst, to pluck 
 
 From orbs on high, celestial fire 
 And fling it down into my soul. 
 
 That it may warm me and inspire 
 
 XLI. 
 
 My soul to higher, loftier strain 
 
 Than ever bard hath dared to sing. 
 For meed of praise to privates due 
 
 Should make the very welkin ring 
 And call angelic convoys down 
 
 From Heaven's bright, supernal sphere, 
 To catch the strain and tune their harps 
 
 To notes that they would gladly hear. 
 
 XLII. 
 What tho' no circumstance or pomp 
 
 Hath written down each separate name — 
 What tho' no granite column tells 
 
 The individual private's fame — 
 What tho' on earth there 's no reward 
 
 For all their suffering, toil and strife — 
 Their names, thank God, in realms on high 
 
 Are written in the "Book of Life." 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 15 
 
 XLIII. 
 Yes, tho' unmarked and hardly known, 
 
 Almost obscure and hid from view, 
 Theirs is a glory, none the less, 
 
 As bright as ever Heaven knew. 
 Yea, like the rolling, shining orbs 
 
 That glow in yonder '' Milky Way," 
 Tho' only faint and dimly seen, 
 
 They blaze as does yon god of day. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 For never since the morning stars 
 
 Together sang with joyful song 
 O'er new-born earth, by God-head sent 
 
 To join the grand, triumphal throng 
 Of suns and worlds that onward sweep 
 
 Around His great, majestic throne, 
 Was ever truer, nobler men 
 
 Than Southern private soldiers known. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 Not even that celestial host 
 
 Who drove, with wrathful thunders dire, 
 The traitor Satan and his horde 
 
 From Heaven's courts to pits of fire. 
 Were more unselfish, brave and true 
 
 Than was that grand, heroic band 
 Who fought beneath the ** Stars and Bars" 
 
 For God, for home, and native land. 
 
16 
 
 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 And when old earth's last round is run, 
 
 And God commands her march to halt, 
 When Gabriel, adjutant on high, 
 
 The roll shall read from yonder vault. 
 Where suns and worlds, in ranks aligned, 
 
 Shall stand to hear God's orders read. 
 May crowns the brightest God can give 
 
 Be there for every private's head. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 17 
 
 FOR FREEDOM FLOAT THE FLAGS 
 i LOVE. 
 
 Written for and read on tlie occasion of the Robert Emmett Anni- 
 versary Celebration at the Jefferson Theatre, Birmingham, Ala., March 
 4, 19C2, tinder the auspices of the Gaelic Iviterary Club. 
 
 I love the man who loves his God^ 
 
 His country and his fellow-man, 
 No matter what his state or birth, 
 
 No matter what his creed or clan ; 
 And in my very inmost heart, 
 
 In spite of all that fates decree, 
 I love him ever more and more, 
 
 The more he loves his liberty. 
 
 I love the flags, the fallen flags, 
 
 Of every land of all the world 
 By men upreared in freedom's cause, 
 
 But which oppression's hands have furled. 
 Their memory, like a sweet incense, 
 
 A fragrance sheds, all hearts to thrill. 
 And keeps aglow the lingering spark 
 
 Of liberty remaining still. 
 
 And by my faith in living God, 
 
 I still maintain that free consent 
 Of subjects is the only grant 
 
 Entailing right of Government. 
 That conquest only paves the way 
 
 For brigands and despotic might. 
 Which in the sight of Holy God 
 
 Was never, nor can e'er be right. 
 
18 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHEJRN HKROKS 
 
 I love the glorious stars and stripes, 
 
 My great fore-father's flag and mine ; 
 It gives me joy to see it wave 
 
 Where'er it floats o'er Freedom's shrine, 
 But if profaned by traitor hands, 
 
 To subjugate on foreign shore 
 A nation struggling to be free. 
 
 If I were there, — 'twere mine no more. 
 
 Nor would I follow in its wake, 
 
 Nor treat with those who thus offend, 
 For all who dare that flag pervert. 
 
 Deserve the death which has no end. 
 And rather than that I should aid 
 
 In such unjust, unholy shame, 
 I 'd suffer this warm heart of mine 
 
 Torn from my breast and cast in flame. 
 
 But if there be on this wide earth 
 
 A people bowed by galling yoke 
 Of tyrant, Emperor, King, or Czar, 
 
 Who would be free, and should invoke 
 "Old Glory's" shielding strength and might. 
 
 Before my God I 'd bid it fly 
 And with it there myself would go. 
 
 To make them free, or 'neath it die. 
 
 I love the flag, the honored flag. 
 Now drooping o'er the dying Boer, 
 
 'Tis tattered, drooping, sinking low; 
 Perhaps to float on earth no more. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 19 
 
 But braver deeds in freedom's cause 
 Were never done by sons of Mars, 
 
 Than those beneath Paul Kruger's flag, 
 Old Erin's and the Stars and Bars. 
 
 And well may England stand aghast 
 
 While she reviews the awful cost, 
 And contemplates the countless graves 
 
 Filled with the legions she has lost 
 In trampling down that honored flag, 
 
 Since well she knows not all her dead 
 Were stricken down by native Boers, 
 
 For thousands died from Irish lead. 
 
 Nor will the Irish e'er forget 
 
 To right the wrongs of England's might, 
 Nor ever shirk or slight a chance 
 
 To show her how they love to fight 
 *Neath any flag in freedom's cause. 
 
 Her mean, rapacious course to check. 
 While she retains her despot heel 
 
 Upon their prostrate country's neck. 
 
 Nor love I less old Erin's flag. 
 
 Kept sacred thro' the countless years 
 Unspotted by a single stain, 
 
 Save by a loving people's lears. 
 I love it for its sacred cause, 
 
 A cause forever dear to me, — 
 The right ordained of God to man, — 
 
 The right inherent to be free. 
 
20 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 Its hue, the shamrock's living green, 
 
 Whose roots lie deep in mother sod, 
 And like that plant, tho' crushed and torn, 
 
 That flag though under foot be trod 
 Survives in spite of time and fate. 
 
 And like the sun in yonder sky 
 Comes forth renewed at every turn, 
 
 By God ordained to never die. 
 
 Born in the love of liberty, 
 
 By faith enshrined in every heart 
 That beats in breast of patriot 
 
 Disdainful of the tyrant's art ; 
 That flag shall yet triumphant wave 
 
 Above the land that gave it birth. 
 And kissed by every ocean breeze, 
 
 Be hailed in every port on earth. 
 
 For while the cycling years of time 
 
 Roll onward in resistless sweep. 
 Old Erin's sons throughout thetworld 
 
 Next to their hearts that flag will keep, 
 And longingly abide the day 
 
 When they shall bear it back afar 
 To that green Isle from whence exiled 
 
 To blaze once more 'mid storms of war. 
 
 Even now in my prophetic eye 
 
 A vision grand sweeps on my view, 
 
 I see a thousand mustering clans 
 
 With dauntless leaders brave and true. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 21 
 
 Each panoplied and armed for war, 
 The green flag o'er them floating high, 
 
 An army grand, a million strong, 
 Resolved to conquer or to die. 
 
 I also see a mighty fleet 
 
 Of war-ships bounding through the spray, 
 With every deck for action cleared, 
 
 As now they enter Dublin Bay. 
 And then I hear a mighty shout, 
 
 A shout that seems the earth to shake. 
 Wild cheers of joy, so long and loud 
 
 Enough almost the dead to wake. 
 
 A stillness now comes over all, 
 
 A stillness that precedes the storm, 
 I see the legions grim and stern 
 
 Now lining up in battle form. 
 Ten thousand cannon frowning grim 
 
 To muzzle filled with siiot and shell, 
 Mute war-dogs, waiting but the word 
 
 To sound oppression's final knell. 
 
 Far to the right and to the left 
 
 Come platoons filing on platoons. 
 Brave mounted knights in armor clad. 
 
 An army grand of brave dragoons. 
 White foam-flecked steeds with couriers bold 
 
 Across the field are flying fast, 
 I hear afar the drum's deep roll ; 
 
 Earth soon shall quake 'neath battle blast. 
 
22 A GALAXY OF SOUTHKRN HKROKS 
 
 I turn my gaze and distant see 
 
 The British legion's flag on high. 
 I hear the signal bugle's call, 
 
 The great conflict is drawing nigh. 
 Brave leaders quick their sabers flash ; 
 
 Like thunder sounds the signal gun, 
 Earth quivers 'neath the awful crash, 
 
 No quarter now 'till freedom's won. . 
 
 A hundred thousand muskets blaze, 
 
 Ten thousand cannon hurl their shell, 
 Shots, shrapnel, grape and cannister. 
 
 Which hurtling shriek like fiends of hell. 
 Exploding bombs like thunder crash. 
 
 And rend the air with flaming breath. 
 Whilst over all a sulphurous pall 
 
 Now spreads a canopy of death. 
 
 Through which I see the dragoons charge, 
 
 Their sabers flashing in the light 
 Like lightning tongues in frenzied freak 
 
 When storm gods ride the sea at night; 
 I see them reach the flaming crest. 
 
 Lean forward in their righteous wrath. 
 Each blade descends and foes succumb 
 
 Like brittle reeds in cyclone's path. 
 
 More sombre grows the sulphurous cloud. 
 More ominous seems the awful din. 
 
 Yet now and then I catch the sound 
 Of leaders cheering on their men, 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 23 
 
 And bright o'er all like meteors flash 
 That rives the darkness of the sky, 
 
 I see old Erin's bright green flag 
 Still triumphant floating high. 
 
 Though fierce indeed the conflict's been, 
 
 Thank God for all, when day is done 
 The British flag lies in the dust — 
 
 Old Erin's flag the fight has won ! 
 No more St. George's cross shall wave 
 
 O'er Ireland redeemed and free, 
 The harp and shamrock takes its place. 
 
 Bright emblems of her liberty. 
 
 Start not nor deem my vision wild. 
 
 Or but a vain and empty dream. 
 The future yet the truth shall prove 
 
 'Tis prophecy, whate'er it seem. 
 For mills of God grind slow indeed, 
 
 But grind they do exceeding fine, 
 And Irish pluck and patience yet 
 
 Shall see fulfilled this dream of mine. 
 
 'Till then ! 'till then ! let prayers ascend 
 
 To God above who rules the world. 
 To speed with haste the coming day 
 
 When that dear flag shall be unfurled 
 And Erin's sons throughout the earth 
 
 'Neath spreading sail through ocean's foam 
 For God, for justice and the right 
 
 Shall bear that glorious banner home. 
 
24 A GA.I,AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 And when in grand imperial might 
 
 It floats unchallenged, bold and free 
 O'er Ireland redeemed at last, 
 
 From every thrall of tyranny 
 And breast abreast with nations great, 
 
 In royal robes of majesty, 
 She stands confessed by all the world 
 
 An independent nation free, 
 
 Then let the man by God inspired, 
 
 With scintillating genius bright 
 And heart aglow with rapt'rous love 
 
 Make haste the glorious task to write 
 That yet unwritten epitaph. 
 
 In thoughts that burn and words that flame, 
 And when 'tis done, above it write 
 
 The Martyred Hero, Emmett's name ! 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 25 
 
 I THINK I THUNK A LIE. 
 
 I used to think when I was young, 
 
 And my heart was free from guile, 
 That there was grief in every tear 
 
 And joy in every smile; 
 That friendship was not all a cheat 
 
 And love could never die, 
 But thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 I used to think about myself, 
 
 And think that I would be 
 A Governor or a President, 
 
 Or a General like Lee ; 
 But I have waited long in vain. 
 
 Whilst years rolled slowly by, 
 And, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a He. 
 
 I used to think the ladies were 
 
 All sweetnesses combined. 
 That they were all God's last and best 
 
 Of perfectness refined ; 
 That they were not half pads and paint, 
 
 But angels from on high. 
 But, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
26 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 The preachers, too, I used to think, 
 
 Were not like other men. 
 And were not tempted of the flesh, 
 
 And could not, therefore, sin ; 
 But since I 've traveled round a bit 
 
 I 've -watched them on the sly, 
 And, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 The honest tiller of the soil, 
 
 When marketing his crop, 
 Takes pains to put the ripe and best 
 
 Always upon the top ; 
 I used to think those honest men 
 
 Would never cheat nor try, 
 But, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a He. 
 
 The editors, a lordly set, 
 
 Who live on milk and honey, 
 They' ve nothing else on earth to do 
 
 But write and rake in money ; 
 Leastwise, that way I used to think, 
 
 But now it makes me cry, 
 To think about the way I thunk. 
 
 And how I thunk a lie. 
 
 What noble men the doctors are ! 
 
 I used to think they came 
 From Heaven or some heavenly land 
 
 And worked for love and fame; 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 27 
 
 That they could cure all humarr ills, 
 
 And never let us die, 
 But, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 The lawyers, too, I used to think, 
 
 Oh, God forgive the thought. 
 That their convictions of the right 
 
 Could not by knaves be bought ; 
 That they would not a client rob. 
 
 Or "sell" him on the sly, 
 But, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 The dry-goods men are honest, too. 
 
 They '11 swear they sell at cost, 
 I used to think they told the truth, 
 
 And all their profits lost ; 
 I thought a yard was full three feet, 
 
 Don 't ask my reasons why, 
 But, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 The hotel clerk, I used to think. 
 
 Would try to be polite. 
 Would answer questions put to him, 
 
 And treat a stranger right ; 
 And rather than he 'd play the ass 
 
 That he would sooner die. 
 But, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
28 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 The Democrats, I used to think, 
 
 If once they got the floor, 
 Would turn the dirty rascals out. 
 
 And kick 'em from the door; 
 That they would stop the tariff steal 
 
 That piles the surplus high. 
 But, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 And then I thought that Harrison, 
 
 Who took old Grover's shoes. 
 Would have the backbone and the grit 
 
 To give us all our dues ; 
 But tariff laws and pension frauds 
 
 Still make the nation sigh, 
 And, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 I used to think elections were 
 
 The public will to voice. 
 And not a thimble-rigging game 
 
 To give the cliques their choice ; 
 That patriotism played its part, 
 
 Tho' stills were never dry. 
 But, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 I used to think that public schools 
 Would fill a long-felt need. 
 
 By teaching all our boys and girls 
 To write and spell and read ; 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 29 
 
 But now red tape and rottenness 
 
 Is everywhere the cry, 
 And, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 The niggers, too, I used to think. 
 
 If once they were set free. 
 Would make good, honest citizens, 
 
 Like white folks used to be ; 
 But they have wandered far from grace, 
 
 The chickens still roost high, 
 And, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 I used to think the town police. 
 
 With all his blue and brass, 
 Would never sleep upon his post. 
 
 Nor let a criminal pass ; 
 That on '* blind tigers " they would keep 
 
 An ever watchful eye. 
 But, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
 Our prison house, I used to think, 
 
 A model kind of jail. 
 That they who 'd try its walls to break 
 
 Would most assuredly fail ; 
 That guardsmen there to duty sworn 
 
 Would ne'er let prisoners fly. 
 But, thinking now of what I thunk, 
 
 I think I thunk a lie. 
 
30 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 I used to think the poor Chinee 
 
 Was worse than ** MeHcan man"- 
 That we should missionaries send 
 
 With civiHzation's plan ; 
 But thinking now of late events 
 
 Beneath our Southern sky, 
 I rather think that what I thunk 
 
 Was ''wusser" than a lie. 
 
 A SIGH FOR THE SEA. 
 
 Oh, give me a home by the deep, blue sea, 
 
 The ocean all boundless and wide, 
 Let me list to the sounds that ever resound 
 
 In its every sweet, murmuring tide ; 
 At morn let me wake, its breakers to hear, 
 
 At night let it lull me to sleep. 
 In its murmurs, though drear, there's music to cheer, 
 
 When my heart seems melting to weep. 
 
 I long to walk by the surf-beaten shore, 
 
 And to gaze o'er the watery main. 
 Which beats on the strand of my own native land. 
 
 That never shall know me again ; 
 For tho' a poor exile, wandering afar, 
 
 Unfriended, unloved I must roam. 
 My heart ever yearns and longingly turns 
 
 To that ocean-bound isle of my home. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 31 
 
 Then marvel you not that I sigh for a place 
 
 On the shores of the deep blue sea, 
 For each billow that gleams a messenger seems 
 
 From that land that is dearest to me ; 
 And I hear in each breeze that comes o'er the seas, 
 
 The voice of a loved one fair. 
 Who, waiting so long for her lover's return. 
 
 Has gone to her grave in despair. 
 
 And now all the joy in life that I ask. 
 
 Is to walk and to muse by the sea. 
 Whose every low surge is a funeral dirge 
 
 For that loved one now lost to me ; 
 And to gaze o'er the main, with longings tho' vain. 
 
 And to mingle my tears with the wave 
 Which the tides in their sweep should bear o'er the 
 deep 
 
 To moisten the grass on her grave. 
 
32 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 DON 'T FORGET YOUR POOR OLD MOTHER 
 
 When young my heart was happy, I loved my dear 
 
 old home, 
 'Till reading of adventurers that tempted me to 
 
 roam; 
 Vain longings quelled my reason, ambitions filled my 
 
 breast ; 
 I left my home and loved ones and wandered far out 
 
 West: 
 I met with wild companions and led a wayward life, 
 I learned to drink and gamble, and oft engaged in 
 
 strife ; 
 But sickness came upon me and filled me with despair, 
 Then dear old mother's parting words came ringing 
 
 on my ear. 
 
 CHORUSo 
 
 Don 't forget your poor old mother, 
 Don 't forget your mother. Will, 
 
 Don 't forget your poor old mother. 
 She is praying for you still. 
 
 One day I got a letter, and in that letter read, 
 
 Dear Will, your poor old father is numbered with the 
 
 dead; 
 Your sister and your brother have long since gone 
 
 away, 
 Your poor old mother's all alone, no one with her to 
 
 stay ; 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 33 
 
 Her tresses now are whiter than when you saw her 
 
 last, 
 Her steps are slow and feeble, her years are nearly 
 
 past; 
 Each day I see her waiting and watching every train, 
 I know her heart is breaking, Will, to see her boy 
 
 again. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Don 't forget your poor old mother, 
 Don 't forget your mother. Will, 
 
 Don 't forget your poor old mother, 
 She is praying for you still. 
 
 I read that letter over and then made up my mind. 
 Back to my home to hasten to mother sweet and kind ; 
 I reached the cottage portal and bounded in the door 
 But the place, alas, was vacant, she 'd gone forever 
 
 more ; 
 In silent desolation the place had long been left. 
 Of every charm that hallowed 'twas now, alas, bereft ; 
 A passing stranger told me the story of her death. 
 And these the words she dying spake with her last 
 
 parting breath. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Don 't forget your poor old mother, 
 Don 't forget your mother. Will, 
 
 Don 't forget your poor old mother, 
 She is praying for you still. 
 
34 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 TRUTHFUL BOLER'S NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 You may talk of Georgia cyclones, 
 
 Of Alerbamer rains — 
 'Bout yer South Car'liny earthquakes, 
 
 Or Georgy hurricanes ; 
 But it 's only we who 've traveled 
 
 Over the plains out West 
 Have ever seed th' elements 
 
 Jest fairly do their best. 
 
 As for what you call yer cyclones 
 
 Or harricanes yer 've had, 
 Which brush away a town or two, 
 
 An' which you think so bad. 
 If compared to Western blizzards. 
 
 In works of wreck and death, 
 Why, they 're no more like cyclones 
 
 Than is a baby's breath. 
 
 Of course, you 've had some winters cold, 
 
 Some summers kinder hot ; 
 But the West can more than beat yer, 
 
 Yet never strike er trot. 
 It ain't no use of talkin' 
 
 Or listenin' ter yer chumps, 
 For when it comes ter weather 
 
 The West has got ther trumps. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 35 
 
 Yer cyclones an' yer Georgy storms, 
 
 I honestly avow, 
 If they occurred in Texas, 
 
 They'd hardly stop er plow ; 
 Unless it was in springtime, 
 
 'Long 'bout the fust uv May, 
 When folks mout go er-fishing. 
 
 Jest ter enjoy the day. 
 
 I've seen it git so cold out thar, 
 
 Little as yer may think. 
 That all the liquor' d freeze so hard 
 
 We couldn't git er drink. 
 An' ter keep ourselves from freezin' 
 
 We'd bust the barrel's head, 
 An' eat it with er knife an' fork, 
 
 Jest like 'twas meat an' bread. 
 
 An' then I've seed it git so hot 
 
 That every lake an' stream 
 Would fairly bile and cook th' fish, 
 
 While rising fogs uv steam 
 Would float off like er mighty cloud 
 
 An' shet the sun fum sight — 
 An' make the day at twelve er clock 
 
 As dark as at midnight. 
 
 Now, as fer storms uv rain an' hail, 
 
 You fellers couldn 't dream 
 Of sich er scrape as I had once 
 
 While drivin' uv er team — 
 
36 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKRO:eS 
 
 Er six-mule perary schooner 
 
 Er cross er Texas plain ; 
 Oh, sich er scrape I trust th' Lord 
 
 I '11 never have ergain. 
 
 Er hundred miles frum house or tree, 
 
 Er shed of any kind, 
 When all at once I seed er cloud. 
 
 An* heard er roarin' wind. 
 While rain began ter fall in sheets 
 
 At least four inches thick; 
 Hail, too, sot in ter comin' down 
 
 Like walls of fallin' brick. 
 
 Th' stones were big as cocanuts. 
 
 Not lighter by an ounce. 
 An' as they hit yer oughter seed 
 
 Jest how they' d thump and bounce. 
 They pounded ev'ry mule ter death, 
 
 My wagon broke ter smash. 
 And when th' storm was over 
 
 It was jest er pile of trash. 
 
 Oh, I tell yer it v/as awful. 
 
 Jest almost makes me cry ; 
 What ! does any of you fellers 
 
 S'pose I would tell a lie ? 
 How did I escape, you ask, 
 
 I'll tell yer all right now — 
 'Twas by downright^darn good dodgin* 
 
 An' by prayin' — that's jest how. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 37 
 
 I DO NOT KNOW. 
 
 Sometimes I pause in awful doubt 
 
 That God e'er answers prayer, 
 And ask, if so, why my poor heart 
 
 Is left to its despair ; 
 And why, if God can hear and aid 
 
 The plea of those distressed, 
 There comes no peace to break the gloom 
 
 That burdens my poor breast. 
 For earnestly I've sought in vain. 
 
 Through prayer's most fluent flow, 
 But why my pleas are answered not, 
 
 I do not know, I do not know. 
 
 And when I sink into the tomb. 
 
 Shall I yet rise again ? 
 Shall sentient soul rebel with earth 
 
 And breaking death's cold chain. 
 Leave cold, corrupting clay behind 
 
 And mount to other spheres ; 
 Or sleep in apathetic dust 
 
 Through time's eternal years. 
 Forgetful and forgot of earth 
 
 With all its joys and woe ? 
 Alas, though oft I question thus, 
 
 I do not know, I do not know. 
 
38 A GAIyAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 Beneath my own fair sunny skies, 
 
 Beyond my native land, 
 'Neath alien stars, in lands afar, 
 
 Beyond old ocean's strand, 
 r ve sought to learn what might be known 
 
 Of God's most holy plan 
 To purge the world of wickedness 
 
 And save the soul of man ; 
 But priests and preachers prate of creeds 
 
 No light can they bestow, 
 And still in darkness, I confess, 
 
 I do not know, I do not know. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 39 
 
 A DREAM-CITY DREAM-* 
 
 Near twelve o'clock one summer night, 
 
 At great ''Columbian Fair," 
 All wearied out, with brain oppressed 
 
 From viewing wonders there, 
 I sat me down a while to rest, 
 
 In a building wondrous grand, 
 And soon my soul was lulled to sleep 
 
 By strains from Gilmore's band. 
 
 I know not just how long I slept, 
 
 Nor what took place the while, 
 But there amid that stranger throng 
 
 With music to beguile, 
 A stranger lone I fell asleep. 
 
 And think I must have dreamed. 
 The music was a medley sweet. 
 
 Or so at least it seemed. 
 
 I heard or dreamed, or dreamed I heard, 
 "Way down on the Swanee," 
 And back in old plantation home 
 
 Once more I seemed to be. 
 I heard the darkies' happy songs, 
 
 And my heart was filled with joy. 
 To be once more amid the scenes 
 
 I loved so when a boy. 
 
 *The group of buildings comprising the Columbian Fair were 
 called the "Dream City." 
 
40 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN H^ROKS 
 
 Another old familiar strain, 
 
 While dreaming there I heard, 
 Sweet ''Annie Laurie," and my soul 
 
 Again with love was stirred. 
 And by my side I seemed to see 
 
 My love of days gone by, 
 And felt that I for her sweet sake, 
 ''Would lay me down and die." 
 
 A pause, then faintly on my ear 
 
 The sweet notes seemed to fall, 
 Of "Home, Sweet Home," that sweetest strain, 
 
 And dearest, too, of all. 
 And in my heart a rapture wrought 
 
 Of peace and joy and love — 
 A vision bright of all that 's dear — 
 
 A glimpse of Heaven above. 
 
 But hark ! A change : my sleep was broke, 
 
 My Southern heart was fired 
 By strains the grandest, sweetest yet 
 
 That ever God inspired. 
 'Twas "Dixie Land " that on my ear 
 
 In thrilling raptures fell, 
 I sprang to feet, threw hat in air. 
 
 And yelled a "rebel yell ! " 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 
 
 41 
 
 Three cheers ! I cried, for Dixie Land, 
 
 The land that gave me birth. 
 Three cheers, and then a ''tiger, too," 
 
 For grandest land on earth. 
 What recked I then of thousands there 
 
 Who gazed with scornful eye? 
 When grand old ''Dixie " smote my ear, 
 
 I had to yell or die. 
 
42 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHltRN HKROKS 
 
 UNCLE MOSE ON THE PRODIGAL'S 
 RETURN. 
 
 I don 't go much on brag an' blow, 
 
 An' all dat kind er stuff, 
 But w'en it comes ter w'at I no 
 
 I gess I noes enuff. 
 I'se read de Bible tru an' tru. 
 
 An' Watson's Commontater, 
 An' wa't I hasn't got from books 
 
 I'se larned frum common nater. 
 
 I'se read er heap cr books on law — 
 
 On fisic quite er number. 
 But de Bible am de book ob books — 
 
 I '11 tell yer its a hummer. 
 It tells erbout ole Prodigal 
 
 An' his two grown-up boys, 
 Who uster run er cattle ranch 
 
 Way up in Illinoise. 
 
 Now dat ole granger, Prodigal, 
 
 Had ways a little quar. 
 But when it come ter business. 
 
 He wus allers far an* squar. 
 He neber took ter politics. 
 
 Nor seemed to keer er cent 
 Who wus 'lected Guverner 
 
 Nor who was Preserdent. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 43 
 
 He tended strictly tu his ranch, 
 
 An' raised er sight er stock ; 
 He wus er hard-shell in belief — 
 
 His hed was like er rock. 
 His younges' son wern't bilt dat way, 
 
 He wus lazy like an' rude ; 
 He wudn't plow nor mind de stock, 
 
 But had to be er dude. 
 
 So one day w'en he met his dad. 
 
 Way down beside de branch, 
 He sed : " Ole dad, I want'er cash 
 
 My interest in de ranch. 
 In mind I 'se made up w'at I '11 do, 
 
 I '11 tell you now my plan — 
 I 'm gwine erway to some big town 
 
 An' make mysef a man." 
 
 De ole man stood awhile, den sed : 
 ' * I think I see yer game ; 
 Like dat ole sockless Kansas chap, 
 
 Yer want ter win er name. 
 Well, yer shall hab in solid cash 
 
 Yer hones', riteful shere 
 Ob all de Ian', de cows an' sheep, 
 
 An' ebery ting dat 's here." 
 
 An' so de ole man went ter town 
 
 And drawed from out de bank 
 Enough of gold and silver coin 
 
 Ter fill er water tank. 
 
44 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROBS 
 
 An' fotch it home in leather bags, 
 
 An' give it ter dat boy, 
 Who almost cut de pigeon wing, 
 
 He wus so full ob joy. 
 
 Well, dat smart Alec wid his cash 
 
 Lit out upon de kyars 
 Ter try his luck in Chicago, 
 
 Ermong de bulls and bars. 
 He bought er place in de exchange. 
 
 An' went it strong on wheat. 
 An' what he lost he tried ergin 
 
 Ter make it up on meat. 
 
 On cotton nex' he posted up 
 
 Ter give dat game er whack, 
 Hopin' dat he 'd make er deal 
 
 An' win his losses back. 
 But fortune didn't seem ter smile 
 
 Upon him wuth er cent. 
 An' ever' dollar dat he had 
 
 Ter kiver margins went. 
 
 His watch an' chain he nex' put up 
 
 Ter raise er final stake. 
 But lost it on three card monte, 
 
 Played by a circus fake. 
 Now busted flat as he cud be, 
 
 Widout a single nick. 
 He had ter ax his boardin' miss 
 
 Ter let him run on tick. 
 
AND OTHBR POKMS. 45 
 
 But w'en er man is out er cash, 
 
 He *s sho ter luse his smile, 
 An' soon his boadin' miss foun' out 
 
 Dat he had drapped his pile ; 
 An' den she bounced him out ob doors, 
 
 Ter loaf upon de street, 
 An' nex' de free lunch counter man 
 
 Jist bounced him fer a beat. 
 
 Ter steer ergin de vagrant law. 
 
 An' not git floated in, 
 Wus mo' den he cud hope ter do, 
 
 Widout er home er frien' ; 
 An' so he hid hissef all day, 
 
 'Till it was gittin' dusk. 
 Den slipt out ter de slaughter pen 
 
 An' filled hissef on husk. 
 
 But second table after hogs 
 
 Was not sich sumpchus fare 
 As dat young chap cud git at home, 
 
 If he wus only dere. 
 An' so he, talkin' to hissef, 
 
 Sed, " I will jist be durn. 
 Even ef I have ter hop cross-ties, 
 
 I '11 tu my dad return." 
 
 An' so he straightway hit de grit — 
 
 Jist lit out fer his home — 
 An' 'twasn 't may days before 
 
 In sight he 'd fairly come. 
 
46 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HBROKS 
 
 De ole man, lookin' down de road, 
 
 His wanderin' son espied, 
 Den run an' fell upon his neck, 
 
 An' sobbed an' blubbering, cried. 
 
 Den takin' him inter de house 
 
 Give him his Sunday cote. 
 His bran new boots an' diamon' ring, 
 
 An' dressed him like er spote. 
 Fine invitations by him sent 
 
 All round de country flew, 
 Invitin' all his frens ter cum 
 
 Out ter er barbicue. 
 
 He sent out fer his oberseer. 
 
 An' bid him quickly kill 
 De fattes' ox upon de ranch, 
 
 His sons an' frens ter fill. 
 He sed he didn 't keer er cent 
 
 Fer w'at de world might say. 
 He felt so glad ter see his son 
 
 He 'd celebrate de day. 
 
 His udder boy w'at stayed at home — 
 
 Young Elder was his name — 
 Heerd of de racket gwine on 
 
 An' 'lowed dat he 'd be blame 
 If he was gwinter stan' sich biz — 
 
 It wusn 't far nor squar; 
 Dat he was jest as good as him, 
 
 If he hadn 't been no whar. 
 
AND OTHKR POEJMS. 47 
 
 But w'en de niggers tole old Prod 
 
 Wat Elder had ter say 
 He lef de crowd up at de house 
 
 An' hurried right erway 
 Down to de barn whar Elder was, 
 
 An' ter dat youngster sed : 
 *' Yer brudder is erlive at home, 
 
 Aldo we thought him ded." 
 
 An' den he went on wid er yarn 
 
 'Bout havin' pleasure most 
 Ober one old ram's dats foun' 
 
 Dan ninety-nine not lost. 
 An' tried ter taffy up his son 
 
 Wid chestnut tales like dis, 
 Dat while he stayed at home an' worked 
 
 Dat ebery ting was his. 
 
 But Elder was as mad as sheol, 
 
 An' tole his daddy plain 
 He wasn 't satisfied er bit ; 
 
 Dat he troo sun an' rain 
 Had stayed at home and done de work 
 
 De whole long summer troo 
 An' neber eben got er goat, 
 
 Much less er barbicue. 
 
48 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROBS 
 
 De moral now ter dis yer tale 
 
 Ter me is bery plain ; 
 Ole Prod ought not ter bin so glad 
 
 Ter see dat boy ergain, 
 Fer as he neber was no good, 
 
 But allers breedin' harm, 
 He ought not ter bin erlowed 
 
 Ter come back on dat farm. 
 
AND OTHEJR POEMS. 49 
 
 THE STARS AND BARS.* 
 
 The "Stars and Bars" has fallen 
 
 And will never float again, 
 But bright on history's pages 
 
 It will live without a stain. 
 
 For, proudest recollections 
 
 Of great battles fought and won. 
 
 And glorious deeds of valor 
 By Southern patriots done, 
 
 Embalms in sacred mem'ry 
 That bright banner loved and dear, 
 
 To keep through coming ages 
 As the one without a peer. 
 
 'Twas born of stern oppression 
 And was cradled in the storm, 
 
 When retributive justice 
 Rose demanding a reform. 
 
 And in the name of liberty 
 
 It was christened in the blood 
 Of Patriots, and of Heroes, 
 
 Flowing then in crimson flood. 
 
 And thus endeared to freedom 
 
 By love's every sacred tie, 
 Our hearts were rent with anguish 
 
 When we saw it droop and die. 
 
 Written soon after tlie surrender of Lee. 
 
50 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 We held it m affection, 
 
 And rejoiced to see it wave, 
 
 We loved the men who bore it. 
 For they were true and brave. 
 
 We loved its holy mission, 
 Every hope that it inspired, 
 
 And we honor every martyr 
 Who beneath its folds expired. 
 
 We reverence, too, its chieftains. 
 Every consecrated name, 
 
 Who 'neath that star-wreathed banner 
 Achieved their glorious fame. 
 
 But aided not by nations 
 Who beheld it from afar, 
 
 Alone it met the tempest 
 On the fiery crest of war. 
 
 No nation recognized it, 
 
 Not an arm was stretched to save, 
 But men will ne'er forget it — 
 
 As the banner of the brave. 
 
 But now, alas ! 'tis fallen 
 
 And will proudly float no more, 
 
 Our soldiers' tents are folded. 
 And the din of war is o'er. 
 
AND OO'HBR POKMS. Si 
 
 Our cannon throats are silent, 
 
 Every sword is in its sheath, 
 Our camps are all deserted 
 
 Save the silent camps of death. 
 
 No sentinel now on duty- 
 Doth sweet freedom's watch-word tell 
 
 For liberty was ended 
 
 When that glorious banner fell. 
 
 BE CAREFUL HOW YOU TREAD. 
 
 In walking through earth's verdant fields, 
 
 Be careful where you tread, 
 Don 't crush the little flowers 
 
 While gazing overhead. 
 The stars I know are brighter far 
 
 Than flowers that deck the sod, 
 But both the flowers and the stars 
 
 Are handiworks of God. 
 
 And in the fields of human life, 
 
 Oft found in humble ways, 
 The pure in heart, the mild and good 
 
 Escape our upward gaze. 
 And in our rush and wild pursuit 
 
 Of best in social skies. 
 We sometimes crush a noble heart 
 
 That heaven itself would prize. 
 
52 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN H^ROKS 
 
 INFELICE. 
 
 I sometimes wake in the night time, 
 
 And visions come crowding my brain, 
 Which burden my soul with sadness. 
 
 And which I resist but in vain. 
 The path of my Hfe's long journey, 
 
 A trail through a desert appears. 
 Where thorns, the stones and the thistles 
 
 Are bathed with my blood and my tears. 
 
 All along are the wrecks and ruins 
 
 Of my prospects gone to decay. 
 Of idols I 've loved and cherished. 
 
 All broken and left by the way. 
 But then, through my tear-dimmed vision, 
 
 That path trending upward I see. 
 To a home of rest and pleasure. 
 
 Where loved ones are waiting for me. 
 
 So gathering my remnants of faith, 
 
 And hugging them close to my breast. 
 As beggars draw closer their rags 
 
 When by cold and hunger oppressed, 
 I look no longer behind me. 
 
 But my gaze still upward I bend. 
 Heedless of what I encounter. 
 
 Resolved to push on to the end. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 53 
 
 THE VALE OF LOSAHATCHIE, 
 
 Oh, the vale of Losahatchie, 
 
 How I long to be there nov/, 
 To bathe my fevered temples 
 
 And to cool my aching brow, 
 In the clear and limpid waters 
 
 Of the old Coloma's spring, 
 And to rest within the shadow, 
 
 While the birds above me sing. 
 
 I am tired with the tumult 
 
 Of the city's noisy din ; 
 With the struggle for existence, 
 
 And the babbling tongues of men, 
 And I long for that old valley, 
 
 With its peace and plenty blest. 
 And to make my home once more 
 
 In the old parental nest. 
 
 No breaking banks could bring dismay 
 
 In that old valley grand ; 
 With plow I 'd write my honest checks 
 
 And drafts on fertile land, 
 While that great banker, nature's God, 
 
 Whose wealth is seas and main, 
 Would principal and interest pay 
 
 Tenfold in golden grain. 
 
54 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 And when old Sol had ploughed his course 
 
 Across the heavenly way, 
 And old Coloma's mountain top 
 
 Lit up with golden ray ; 
 How sweet would be my night's repose 
 
 And undisturbed my dream, 
 Soothed there by notes of nightingale, 
 
 And lulled by murmuring stream. 
 
 LINES FOR JEFFERSON DAVIS^S 
 ANNIVERSARY* 
 
 I have read on history's pages, 
 Penned by poets and by sages, 
 Of the heroes of the ages, 
 
 Names which all men revere ; 
 But I never yet have read, 
 Of the living or the dead. 
 Of whom it could be said 
 
 He was Jeff Davis's peer. 
 
 Go search you all the rolls of fame. 
 
 Go seek you all to find a name 
 
 So free from every blot of blame — 
 
 But your search will be in vain. 
 He was honest, brave and true, 
 No dishonor ever knew; 
 Before the world's review 
 
 He passed without a stain. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 55 
 
 Then let us all now while we may, 
 On this our chieftain's natal day — 
 Yes, we who with him wore the gray — 
 
 Sing anthems to his praise. 
 'Twas for us he wore the chains, 
 Uncomplaining bore his pains, 
 And while life with us remains 
 
 We '11 praise him in our lays. 
 
 Long we held him in affection 
 As a type of all perfection, 
 And we trust at resurrection 
 
 We '11 meet him on that shore — 
 To rest in bliss eternal. 
 In realms of light supernal 
 Where bloody wars infernal 
 
 Will be known never more. 
 
56 A GAIwAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 SERMON BY UNCLE MOSE. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 My belubbcd cuUud brudders, 
 
 Havin' lef at home my specks, 
 I '11 hav' ter ax yer pardin' 
 
 Fer not readin' ob my tex ; 
 But yer '11 fine de inspirasion 
 
 Ob what I has ter say 
 In de pistle ob de postle 
 
 To de church in Africa. 
 
 De language ar explicit, 
 
 An' dis is what it am ; 
 Er man shud git er hustle on 
 
 An' be not like er clam. 
 So please ter give attention, 
 
 An' try ter keep erwake 
 Whilse I de applicasion 
 
 Will now attempt ter make. 
 
 Now de fust ting I must tell yer. 
 
 An' I gits it frum my tex, 
 'Er clam's no good fer dis yer worl*, 
 
 Nor fitten fer de nex : 
 He 's er lazy, stupid creetur — 
 
 Yes, dat 's jess what he am — 
 An' er man shud git er hustle on, 
 
 An' be not like er clam. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 All yer jinin' ob societies, 
 
 An' marchin' roun' wid flags, 
 Ain 't at all er gwinter help yer 
 
 Keep yer familys outer rags, 
 Fer behine yer grips an signuls, 
 
 Yer flip-flops and flim-flams, 
 Dere 's some hustler after nickles 
 
 In de pockets ob de clams. 
 
 All dis talk erbout dem pawn shops, 
 
 De new sub-treasury scheme, 
 Is er snare an' er delusion 
 
 An' an empty-headed dream, 
 An' yer '11 fine when yer hab waited, 
 
 Dat its but er trickster's sham ; 
 So yer wants ter git er hustle on, 
 
 An' be not like er clam. 
 
 When de wily politician 
 
 Comes er' roun' ter get yer vote, 
 An' vites yer ter de barbicue 
 
 To eat de roasted shote : 
 When he puts his arms er roun' yer 
 
 An' begs yer take er dram, 
 Yer had better git er hustle on, 
 
 An' be not like er clam. 
 
 Fer as sho as I 'se er preachin' 
 When de 'lection day is pass. 
 
 An' dat poUtician's 'lected, 
 An' yer craps are in de grass, 
 
58 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHKRN HKROES 
 
 He will scorn yer an' will spurn yer, 
 Fer de fool he knows yer am, 
 
 An' yer '11 wish yer'd kept er hustlin* 
 An' been not like er clam. 
 
 Er word now in conclusion, 
 
 While we pass er roun' de hat, 
 Yer wants ter git er hustle on 
 
 When we shall cum ter dat. 
 Let some one grine de organ 
 
 An' start us up er psalm — 
 Please, brudders, git er hustle on. 
 
 An' be not like er clam. 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 59 
 
 A REBELS REVERIE. 
 
 I was a rebel and my heart 
 
 Has never by so slight a pause 
 As one pulsation failed to beat 
 
 With Constance to that sacred cause 
 For which we of the Sunny South 
 
 Intrepid stood 'mid battle flame, 
 And for which cause we even yet 
 
 Can speak without a blush of shame. 
 
 And yet I know and I admit 
 
 The fact that men who wore the blue 
 Were just as honest and as brave 
 
 As we who differed in our view 
 With them on questions of the right ; 
 
 Nor will I even now gainsay 
 That they less just in battle fought 
 
 Than we who faced them in the fray. 
 
 They fought with patriotic love 
 
 This Union grand to shield and save, 
 And to uphold their country's flag — 
 
 The flag which their fore-fathers gave ; 
 Whilst we who wore the Southern gray 
 
 Sought to maintain state sovereignty, 
 And fought with all our might and main 
 
 For home and white supremacy. 
 
60 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 That was Alpha and Omega, 
 
 The sum total of the story ; 
 Each side was right, and for their cause 
 
 Won immortal fame and glory ; 
 And when on Appomattox's field 
 
 Great Lee and Grant stood hand in hand. 
 Re-welded was the broken link 
 
 Of this our Union great and grand. 
 
 Nor will I now with needless words 
 
 Revert to wounds that long have healed ; 
 We staked our all and played our hand 
 
 Upon the bloody battle field, 
 And tho' by fate doomed to defeat — 
 
 Doomed to behold our banner's fall — 
 Whate'er we lost this much we gained : 
 
 A world's respect — that 's worth it all. 
 
 And after all who now can say 
 
 That what is now is not the best, 
 Since every line is blotted out 
 
 'Twixt North and South, 'twixt East and West? 
 One nation now, one common flag, 
 
 One Union that embraces all, 
 One sisterhood of Sovereign States, 
 
 One common fate whate'er befall. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 61 
 
 And as we stand united now 
 
 The sun shines not on fairer land, 
 Nor land so blessed by nature's God, 
 
 As this our country, great and grand ; 
 Then let Old Glory proudly wave, 
 
 O'er North and South, o'er East and West; 
 It is the flag our father's gave — 
 
 The flag by God supremely blessed. 
 
 MY MOTHER'S HEART* 
 
 'Tis sweet to feel, what'er betide, 
 When friends forsake and foes deride, 
 That one warm heart beats for me still ; 
 One heart which only death can chill. 
 
 When somber gloom and cares oppress. 
 And bitter griefs my soul distress, 
 'Tis solace sweet to feel and know 
 That faithful heart still shares my woe. 
 
 It matters not what fate be mine, 
 What star of destiny may shine, 
 Give fate her mood to frown or smile. 
 That heart from me naught can beguile. 
 
 For when grief 's bitter cup I 've quaffed, 
 And writhed beneath a sland'rous shaft, 
 Or by ingratitude been stung. 
 That heart to me hath fondly clung. 
 
62 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 And when upon a bed of pain 
 Consuming fevers burned my brain, 
 And death came near — oh, hideous thing 
 That mother was my sheltering wing. 
 
 And now whate'er be fate's decree 
 Of good or bad in store for me, 
 I reck not, but let come what will. 
 Since that fond heart is constant still. 
 
 And when I *ve done at last with earth. 
 Where claimed by sorrow from my birth, 
 I hope to see Heaven's portals part 
 And rest once more on mother's heart. 
 
AND OTHKR PO:eMS. 63 
 
 TO MINNIEL 
 
 Tho' thy bright smiHng face but twice I have met, 
 
 Its impressions with me I can never forget. 
 
 It will cling to my mind wherever I be, 
 
 And keep me, dear girl, ever thinking of thee. 
 
 When flying by steam o'er the smooth iron rail. 
 
 Or cleaving the wave 'neath the white spreading sail, 
 
 Wherever I roam, on the land or the sea, 
 
 I '11 be thinking, dear girl, be thinking of thee. 
 
 When I view the great mountains eternal with snow, 
 Or traverse dark caverns, earth's surface below, 
 'Mid whatever scenes, wherever I flee, 
 I '11 be thinking, dear girl, be thinking of thee. 
 
 When lightly I trip in the merry quadrille. 
 
 Or fly in the chase over valley and hill, 
 
 'Mid every gay thought, in the height of my glee, 
 
 I'll be thinking, dear girl, be thinking of thee. 
 
 Should fortune e'er bless me and fill from her store 
 My purse and my coffers with bright shining ore. 
 As I count o'er the mass, each piece that I see, 
 I '11 be thinking, dear girl, be thinking of thee. 
 
64 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 But should fate, in a mood, some spite to appease. 
 Lay my form low with destroying disease, 
 1 '11 smile in defiance of her saddest decree. 
 And be happy, dear girl, by thinking of thee. 
 
 And when all my labors on earth shall be done, 
 i\nd I view the dark shadows of life's setting sun, 
 Like an angel beside me, thy face I will see. 
 And be thinking, dear girl, be thinking of thee. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 65 
 
 AN EVENING REVERIE. 
 
 The sinking sun's last lingering light 
 Has tinged the western sky with gold, 
 
 And deepening shades of coming night 
 Now gathering 'round me I behold. 
 
 The sweet, refreshing evening breeze 
 
 About my brow begins to play, 
 And now I see through yonder trees 
 
 Bright Jupiter's first twinkling ray. 
 
 And while I sit in calm repose. 
 
 Recalling memories of the past ; 
 Long by-gone days again disclose 
 
 Sweet scenes of youth too bright to last. 
 
 Sweet home, dear place of peace and love. 
 
 Hallowed by a mother's tread ; 
 To thee in thought I swiftly move, 
 
 And greet the loved ones that are dead. 
 
 Then off again in fancy's flight. 
 
 To school — the place of youthful joy. 
 
 Where merry faces greet my sight. 
 Whom once I loved when yet a boy. 
 
 Then on the tented field of Mars, 
 
 Through battle smoke with rallying cry 
 
 Beneath the glorious ** Stars and Bars," 
 I strike for Southern liberty. 
 
 5 
 
66 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 Next with the throttle in my hand, 
 My throbbing locomotive flies 
 
 From town to town — across the land, 
 Like meteor athwart the skies. 
 
 Then sitting down by Eula's side 
 I clasp her Httle hand in mine ; 
 
 And while the moments swiftly glide, 
 I drink the nectar — love divine. 
 
 Such are the scenes that swiftly pass 
 
 Before my fancy in its range, 
 Made dim by ''memory's mellowing glass," 
 
 And proving time's eternal change. 
 
 But folded be my fancy's wings, 
 
 That bear me back to scenes of gladness, 
 
 For now each scene my bosom wrings 
 With keenest pangs of grief and sadness. 
 
 Indulging in a boyish freak — 
 A wish in other lands to roam, 
 
 Now makes my heart grow faint and weak, 
 When e'er I breathe the name of home. 
 
 The schoolmates of my boyhood's days, 
 From all save memory have fled, 
 
 While many of my friends in gray 
 
 In camps of death their tents have spread. 
 
AND OTHKR POBMS. 67 
 
 And she for whom I would have died, 
 False to her every vow has proved, 
 
 And with the scorn of wounded pride 
 I curse the day I ever loved. 
 
 But there is one with noble heart 
 
 Who faithfully to me has stood, 
 And of my cares hath borne a part, 
 
 When spurned by those of nearer blood. 
 
 Yes, noble girl — my Ossie dear, 
 
 What, though I search the world around, 
 
 A heart more true, a face more fair 
 
 Than thine, sweet girl, can ne'er be found. 
 
 And while my heart beats warm and free, 
 
 Whatever skies above me bend, 
 Remember, dear, you have in me 
 
 A cousin and a faithful friend. 
 
68 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 A WISR* 
 
 I long for the day and I pray for the hour 
 
 When the cause of the right o'er the wrong shall 
 prevail ; 
 When the South shall have gained the means and the 
 power 
 To make the foes of her liberty quail. 
 
 Yes, I long to hear the cannon's loud peal, 
 And to see once more our banners unfurled ; 
 
 Whilst the rattle of guns and the clashing of steel 
 Shall announce our cause still alive to the world. 
 
 And I long for more leaders like Jackson and Lee, 
 To lead us once more our foemen to meet ; 
 
 That we by the flash of our sabres may see 
 
 How to follow the course of their broken retreat. 
 
 And I long to see die the last vandal in blue, 
 And to dance to the notes of his funeral knell ; 
 
 And I long for a hole in the ground to look through, 
 When he joins with all his companions in h — 1. 
 
 * Written soon after the surrender, during- the ever damnable so- 
 called reconstruction period. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 69 
 
 ALABAMA** 
 
 Alabama! Alabama! 
 
 I am dreaming now of thee, 
 And I see the trend of thousands 
 
 Coming from beyond the sea, 
 As they mount upon the billows. 
 
 Steaming through the spray and foam, 
 Wildly joyous at the prospect 
 
 Of an Alabama home. 
 
 And I see within my dreaming 
 
 Visions of the future cast 
 That shall overwhelm with brilliance 
 
 All the glories of the past; 
 For I see the spirit Progress 
 
 Hovering o'er thee with her wand, 
 At whose lightest touch responding, 
 
 Wonders burst on every hand. 
 
 She but touches : armies marching 
 
 Come with axe, with pick and spade, 
 Felling forests, bridging rivers, 
 
 Delving out the level grade 
 That shall be for steaming chariots 
 
 A double iron-bounded course. 
 Where the rushing wheels resounding 
 
 Shake the mountains with their force. 
 
 ♦Written about the year 1874. 
 
70 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 Again she strikes, and cities rising 
 
 Like exhalations from the earth, 
 Set the mighty world in wonder 
 
 At their unexpected birth; 
 And I hear a hum of factories, 
 
 Blending in a ceaseless roar 
 Like the sound of ocean billows 
 
 Breaking on a distant shore. 
 
 And I see thy mighty mountains 
 
 Torn asunder for their wealth, 
 And I see thy fountains crowded 
 
 By multitudes in search of health. 
 And I see thy many rivers 
 
 Opening out into the sea, 
 Vessels crowded — golden freighted — 
 
 Foreign tribute brought to thee. 
 
 She strikes again : thy .vales I see 
 
 Are waving with rich golden grain, 
 While fleets within thy harbors wait 
 
 To bear it o'er the watery main. 
 And I see thy rocky hill-sides 
 
 Purpling with the luscious vine, 
 And I hear the voice of nations 
 
 Praising Alabama wine. 
 
 But still a brighter scene appears 
 Breaking on my 'raptured eye; 
 
 Temples grand and halls of learning 
 Spread the land like stars on high, 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 
 
 71 
 
 And from out those halls and temples 
 I mark the hosts that come and go — 
 
 Poets, statesmen and commanders 
 
 Whose fame shall set the world aglow. 
 
 And yet once more I see that wand 
 
 Lifted high, the land to smite, 
 While superstition's saints and devils 
 
 Take their everlasting flight. 
 The wand descends : a shock I feel, 
 
 A mist comes over all I see, 
 My sleep is broke and all my dream 
 
 Has been of ''what is yet to be." 
 
72 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 GEORGIA- 
 
 Hail! my native Georgia! 
 
 Fair are thy sunny skies, 
 Thy mountains grand on every hand 
 
 In splendor round me rise ; 
 And down thy fertile valleys fair 
 
 Bright sparkling streamlets flow, 
 Whilst flowers rare prefume the air 
 
 And set thy hills aglow. 
 
 Great empire of the South, 
 
 Of all thou art the best, 
 For every toil upon thy soil 
 
 Returns a bounty blest. 
 Thy every mound and every hill 
 
 A wealth of minerals hold. 
 Which waits but skill, the pick and drill, 
 
 Bright treasures to unfold. 
 
 Thy rivers at their source 
 
 Flow forth from beds of gold, 
 And down the land through valleys grand 
 
 They sweep in billows bold, 
 And on their waves thy commerce great 
 
 Finds exit to the sea. 
 And nations all, both great and small. 
 
 Pay tribute unto thee. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 73 
 
 Thy sons in war are true and brave, 
 
 In peace thy virtues glow ; 
 No traitor's name nor coward's shame 
 
 Doth thy proud records show, 
 But thy bright star on freedom's flag, 
 
 As luminous as at birth, 
 Will ever shine with light divine 
 
 Whilst freedom dwells on earth. 
 
 Thou art a land of happy homes, 
 
 Where peace and pleasure reigns ; 
 Thy pretty girls, earth's treasure-pearls. 
 
 Make famous thy domains. 
 Thou art indeed supremely blest 
 
 By nature's thousand charms ; 
 Great mines of wealth and founts of health 
 
 Thou claspest in thine arms. 
 
 And thou hast many mountains grand. 
 
 And valleys fair to see, 
 And heaven's sun ne'er shone upon 
 
 A fairer land than thee; 
 And as thy wandering son returns. 
 
 Resolved no more to roam. 
 He lifts his song in measure strong 
 
 To praise his native home. 
 
74 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HE^ROES 
 
 SPEECH OF UNCLE MOSE. 
 
 My frien's and cuUud citizens, 
 
 I'm er gwine ter make er speech, 
 An' I want ter hab de 'tention 
 
 Ob all in hearin' reach. 
 My words are nuts ob wizdum. 
 
 Shucked clean ob all de hulls, 
 An' I hope dey'll find a lodgement 
 
 In de hollers ob yer skulls. 
 
 Dis am de white man's country. 
 
 An' dat nigger am er fool 
 Who thinks de white folks gwinter 
 
 Low de culled folks ter rule ; 
 For de Massachusetts Yankee 
 
 An' de Southern Democrat 
 Am united same as brudders 
 
 On de politix ob dat. 
 
 You may shout yerself plum outer breff, 
 
 And cut yer biggest figers, 
 A whoopin' fer dem candidates 
 
 Who say dey love de niggers ; 
 But you write it down with charcoal 
 
 An' jes keep it fer a rule, 
 You '11 never gain by poHtix 
 
 Forty acres and er mule. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS* 75 
 
 When Marse Lincum giv' us freedom, 
 
 'Twant no freedom fur ter steal, 
 But to earn an hones' libbin' 
 
 By a grubbin' in de fiel', 
 An' when dat proclamation 
 
 Old hones' Abram wrote 
 He nebber thought a nigger 
 
 Would git rich upon his vote. 
 
 And now I wants ter 'vise yer. 
 
 While er talkin' on dat line, 
 You better quit yo politix 
 
 And de granger's party jine ; 
 Den you can eat yer chickens, 
 
 'Thout ketchin' 'em at night, 
 An' when yer see a p'liceman 
 
 Won 't be trembling at de sight. 
 
 A word now in conclusion, 
 
 To you upper crusty coons. 
 With yo' fancy waikin' canes, 
 
 An' yer striped pantaloons ; 
 You better git yerselves ter work. 
 
 An' stop yo' braggin' sass, 
 'Fore some white man's cungeration 
 
 Lays you out below de grass. 
 
76 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 THE DEATH OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 
 
 Dead, dead! The spirit now has fled. 
 
 Cold on its bier the pulseless clay 
 Unconscious lies in dreamless rest, 
 
 To wake no more till that great day, 
 When God shall bid all sleepers rise, 
 
 To stand before His mighty throne. 
 There face to face in judgment seat, 
 
 To know their God as they are known. 
 
 Till then, kind husband, rest in sleep, 
 
 From thy fair brow death's chilling dew 
 Is warmed away by farewell kiss 
 
 Of constant wife so loving true. 
 Closed be those eyes, forever closed, 
 
 Who's light was wont but to portray 
 The genial heart and friendly soul 
 
 Of him who sleeps, alas, for aye. 
 
 But whilst untimely thou must sleep, 
 
 Cast down by vile assassin's hand, 
 Thy name around the world shall sweep — 
 
 Tny praise be sung in every land, 
 Thy glorious deeds examples be, 
 
 For all who yet on earth may dwell. 
 Thy brilliant fame still brighter grow, 
 
 Till time with earth shall bid farewell. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 77 
 
 Yes, sleep on, veteran, take thy rest ; 
 
 No war alarms thy sleep shall break, 
 Thy faithful sword in honors decked. 
 
 Thy glory and thy fame bespeak. 
 No spoils of war nor trophies rich 
 
 From conquered foe was ever wrung, 
 More grand than that, which thou hast gained — 
 
 Just praise from every Southern tongue. 
 
 Sleep, glorious ruler, gently sleep, 
 
 Tby last great pageant ends in gloom. 
 Half-masted droops a million flags, 
 
 Whilst thou art borne to waiting tomb ; 
 Throughout the world all nations mourn 
 
 And yield their plenteous tears in vain, 
 In grief sincere, well may they weep, 
 
 They ne'er will see thy like again. 
 
 'Till Judgment Day, great spirit sleep 
 
 In death's profound, unbroken rest. 
 Thy native earth thy dust shall keep. 
 
 Thy name survive, by country blest, 
 Whilst onward rolling years go by 
 
 Thy lustrous fame with time increase. 
 The grandeur of thy work remain, 
 
 Till time on earth itself shall cease. 
 
78 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 Then mighty soul from grave arise, 
 
 Come forth unawed to meet thy God, 
 Thy duty done, thy people's prayers 
 
 Shall pave the way for thy reward — 
 A place on high with ceaseless joys. 
 
 Eternal with unchanging love — 
 With all that's pure and best of earth 
 
 Be thine a home with God above. 
 
 FAITH* 
 
 Beyond the golden sunset 
 
 Of life's departing day 
 I see a star ascending 
 
 With ever bright'ning ray ; 
 Transcendent in its beauty. 
 
 For faith has made it known, 
 The beacon of my Maker 
 
 To lead me to His throne. 
 
 And, arching o'er the heavens, 
 
 The bow of peace I see. 
 And in it read the promise 
 
 Which God hath made to me ; 
 For I have had the deluge 
 
 Of sin's repentant tears, 
 And I rest upon Moriah, 
 
 Where the cross of Christ appears. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 79 
 
 DON'T IT SORTER LOOK THAT WAY? 
 
 When you see a fancy feller 
 
 Loafing 'round upon the streets, 
 AUers smoking cigarettes, 
 
 And hobnobin' with dead-beats ; 
 While his mother does his washing, 
 
 For which he doesn 't pay ; 
 You would take him for a dude — 
 
 Don 't it sorter look that way ? 
 
 An' when he gets ter fishin' 
 
 Or keeps a pinter dog, 
 He can tell a lie as easy 
 
 As fallin* off a log ; 
 Or if he doesn 't fabricate 
 
 His imagination's play 
 Er 'mounts ter 'bout the same — 
 
 Don 't it sorter look that way ? 
 
 And when you go to meetin', 
 
 An' set down in er pew, 
 . An' er gal with monster hat 
 
 Shuts the preacher out from view, 
 ; Don 't you feel more like cussin' 
 
 Than you do to kneel and pray ; 
 jNow really, if you don 't, 
 
 Don 't you sorter feel that way ? 
 
A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 An' when 'lection time 's approachin' 
 
 An' er feller comes er round 
 Er bowin' an er scrapin', 
 
 An' er talkin' so profoun' — 
 Uv the ** conflicts of opinion," 
 
 An' the ''crisis uv the day," 
 He 's er hankerin' fer offlce — 
 
 Don 't it sorter look that way ? 
 
 An' I needn 't ter remind you 
 
 That the time has got here when 
 The finances uv er man 
 
 Hides er mighty heap uv sin ; 
 For if he 's got the ducats 
 
 He can kill and he can slay. 
 An' the jury will excuse him — 
 
 Don 't it sorter look that way ? 
 
 But should you hear a lawyer 
 
 Runnin' other lawyers down, 
 An' er wearing of er swagger, 
 
 As if he run the town ; 
 You may bet your bottom dollar 
 
 He 's a jackleg every way, 
 Or er petifogin' shyster — 
 
 Don 't it sorter look that way ? 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 81 
 
 An' when you hear a feller, 
 
 As yer can most any time, 
 Abusin' some po' doctor. 
 
 An' accusin' him of crime, 
 You may swear he owes fur physic 
 
 An' don 't intend ter pay, 
 For it allers seems ter happen 
 
 That it 's sorter that er way. 
 
 An' the man that reads er paper 
 
 Fur er year er even more, 
 An' writes ter stop its comin' 
 
 'Thout settlin' up his score, 
 He 's er dead beat an' er scoundrel 
 
 Who means ter beat his way. 
 An' the devil's gwine ter get him, 
 
 Don 't it sorter look that way ? 
 
82 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 TIME. 
 
 Roll on, roll on, eternal time ! 
 
 All nature bows to thee. 
 The mountains and the hills sublime. 
 
 The rivers and the sea 
 Shall mingle in one common wreck, 
 
 And earth shall pass away. 
 Ere thou thy wasting course shall check, 
 
 Or thy destructions stay. 
 
 Coeval with the God-head born, 
 
 Coeval with his reign. 
 All human fame thou laugh'st to scorn, 
 
 All monuments disdain ; 
 Thou see'st nations rise and fall. 
 
 And empires cease to be ; 
 O'er burned out worlds thou spread'st a pall 
 
 Of darkness under thee. 
 
 Go, puerile man, nor deign to boast 
 
 Thy strength or high estate ; 
 Suns, moons and stars in darkness lost 
 
 By time's ordaining fate, 
 Shall leave a black and empty void, 
 
 Where once they bright revolved ; 
 And all that is shall be destroyed 
 
 Eire time shall be dissolved. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 83 
 
 THE DEATH OF JEFFERSON DAVIS.* 
 
 The grand old hero sleeps at last, 
 
 His life's long march is done ; 
 The grim night-watch his post has past 
 
 And left him all alone. 
 No war's wild notes shall wake him more, 
 
 No tyrant's hand shall harm ; 
 In bivouac of death he sleeps 
 
 Secure from all alarm. 
 
 No royal crown e'er pressed his brow, 
 
 Tho' kingHest he of men, 
 And, tho' in death he slumbers now, 
 
 'Tis not for tongue or pen 
 To add unto the chaplets green 
 
 Which fame for him has wove ; 
 A patriot true without a stain — 
 
 A man that gods might love. 
 
 His glorious sword, long laid aside, 
 
 Is rusting in decay ; 
 His noble voice in halls of state 
 
 Is silenced now for aye ; 
 But history's muse, with flaming pen. 
 
 When writing Davis's name. 
 Will leave on time's eternal scroll 
 
 The brightest gem of fame. 
 
 * Written on hearing- of his demise. 
 
84 A GALAXY OF SOUTHEJRN HEROES 
 
 SHALL I FORGET? 
 
 Shall I forget sweet Dora's face? 
 
 A face so dear in days gone by, 
 Shall I forget her winsome grace, 
 
 The brilliance of her jet black eye ? 
 No, whilst my memory keeps its throne, 
 
 I '11 curse the day when first we met, 
 And though my heart's as cold as stone, 
 
 Her beauty I can ne'er forget. 
 
 From land to land, from sea to sea, 
 
 I 've fled without an aim in view. 
 But like a dream, where e'er I flee. 
 
 Her haunting face my steps pursue ; 
 Her words of scorn and cold disdain 
 
 Within my heart are rankling yet. 
 And though I struggle, 'tis in vain. 
 
 Her lovely face I '11 ne'er forget. 
 
 But I will not attach a blame 
 
 To one of such transcendent charms ; 
 For heaven itself would blush with shame 
 
 To see such beauty in my arms. 
 'Twas fate that taught my youthful heart, 
 
 Its love upon such charms to set, 
 But fate can never teach the art 
 
 To change from love and then forget. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 85 
 
 Then marvel not that on my brow 
 
 The clouds of grief and sorrow rest, 
 For love can make the strongest bow, 
 
 When that love remains unblest ; 
 Yes, darker than the shades of hell. 
 
 Is love that lingers in regret. 
 No light can e'er its gloom dispel ; 
 
 It never, never can forget. 
 
86 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROE^S 
 
 THE EVENING PRAYER* 
 
 'Twas grandma taught our little girl, 
 Our four-year darling May, 
 Her *'Now I lay me down to sleep," 
 On bended knee to pray, 
 
 * * If I should die before I wake, 
 I pray the Lord my soul to take ; " 
 And then to close the evening prayer, 
 Would have her add thereto : 
 
 *' God bless my Grandma Smith, 
 Grandpa Smith and Uncle Joe, 
 My Grandpa White and Grandma White, 
 And (other names) good-night.*' 
 
 One evening at her grandma's knee, 
 When tired out with play, 
 The little darling bowed her head 
 Her evening prayer to say. 
 She finished out the little rhymes, 
 And blessings then began. 
 With *' Damma Smith and Dampa White, 
 And Dampa Smith," and here the light 
 Shut out by drooping lids, 
 She added in her innocence, 
 (Without thought of fun or jokes), 
 "Dam — dam — and all my dam tinfolks." 
 
AND OTHKR POBMS. 87 
 
 THE FLAG AND HARP OF ERIN* 
 
 Written for the occasiou aad read before the Robert Emmett Club, 
 
 March 5, 1895. 
 
 (Dedicated in reverence, and with affection to the memory of Rev. 
 Father A. J. Ryan, our South's beloved, patriotic poet priest, whose 
 sweet and soul-inspiring- songs shall ever shed a halo of g^lory over that 
 "Fallen Banner" of my Southland, which like the "Flag of Erin," 
 represents those sublime principles ever enshrined in the hearts of all 
 true lovers of " Truth, Justice and Liberty," and which, heaven-born, 
 will never die — 
 
 While suns and moons resplendent roll 
 
 And God reg-ards a patriot's soul.) 
 
 Sons of old Erin, grand is the story 
 Which history tells of your land and her glory ; 
 But the bright star resplendent that beams on her crest 
 Is the name of her Emmett — her brightest and best. 
 
 A martyr of freedom, he sleeps with the dead, 
 But his name, never dying, will eternally shed 
 A lustre of glory on the land of his birth. 
 And his fame be undimmed by any of earth. 
 
 For his country he lived, for his country he died. 
 And wherever on earth true patriots abide 
 His praise will be sung and his glorious name 
 Will shine like a star in the temple of fame. 
 
 Yes, grand is the story of your land in the past. 
 But brighter and grander 'twill be at the last. 
 For a "Washington " yet for your country will rise 
 And the sunburst of freedom shall brighten her skies. 
 
88 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEJROKS 
 
 Yea, thousands of hearts are panting to-day 
 
 For a leader to rise and lead them away 
 
 Across the wide sea to their own native isle, 
 
 There to sweep from her shores the foes who defile. 
 
 And the God of all justice on heaven's high throne 
 A leader will send and a way will make known 
 By which your '' green flag" shall in triumph yet 
 
 wave 
 O'er your ocean-bound isle, the land of the brave. 
 
 Then grasp Erin's flag, unfurl it once more ; 
 
 Let it float to the breeze as it floated of yore 
 
 In the land of your fathers, so blessed by your God 
 
 Ere the foot of a tyrant had sullied its sod. 
 
 Yea, bring it forth now ! Let it float for a day, 
 In the sunlight of heaven its colors display, 
 For down through the ages with centuries old 
 It comes without stain on its green and its gold. 
 
 Uprear it aloft ! yes, spread it on high, 
 
 That the saints whom ye love, looking down from 
 
 the sky 
 To this bright land of freedom — the land of its 
 
 friends — 
 May send it their blessings on the heaven-lent winds. 
 
 What tho* the old flag for ages exiled, 
 
 A stranger 'mid strangers, by tyrants reviled, 
 
 Is forced yet awhile an outcast to rove 
 
 By the grace of your God that flag shall yet prove 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 89 
 
 " A pillar of fire " to lead you again 
 To the home of your fathers, your rights to regain ; 
 Then woe to the tyrants who stand in your way, 
 For vengeance is God's and your wrongs He '11 repay. 
 
 Then string ye the harp, attune it again. 
 Let the rapturous notes of your country's refrain 
 Break forth in wild numbers, your hearts to inspire, 
 And with glory resounding, your souls set on fire. 
 
 With the heart-burning wrath that patriots feel 
 When stung by disdain and crushed by the heel 
 Of despots who laugh while they rivet the chains 
 And mock with their scorn the fallen one's pains. 
 
 Yes, string the old harp, let its music be heard 
 Till the soul of each Celt with emotion is stirred 
 For freedom and justice, for God and the right — 
 Till shoulder to shoulder they all shall unite 
 
 Beneath the old banner so long an exile. 
 And with eyes steady fixed on their evergreen isle. 
 They shall march to its music and bear o 'er the foam 
 The flag of old Erin to its home, sweet home. 
 
90 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 THE BALLOT- 
 
 On which side are you, my brother ? 
 
 Tis your ballot that will tell, 
 And will count for you in Heaven, 
 
 Or against you deep in hell. 
 
 Are you on the side of morals, 
 Of temperance and the right ? 
 
 Or are you for the traffic 
 Your fellow-men to blight ? 
 
 Are you on the side of Jesus, 
 With love for fellow-man. 
 
 Or helping on his ruin. 
 
 By your aid to whiskey's clan? 
 
 Are you with the weak and helpless, 
 Whom sorrow ,doth oppress ? 
 
 Or do you, by your ballot. 
 Still sanction their distress ? 
 
 Are you on the side of safety, 
 For the mother, child and wife ? 
 
 Or are you for the hellish drink, 
 That causes want and strife ? 
 
 Are you for the pure and moral. 
 Who delight in doing good ? 
 
 Or for whiskey, rum and riot — 
 For tears and sighs and blood ? 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 91 
 
 Are you for the church and Bible, 
 
 And God's sweet, holy will ? 
 Or are you for the wicked laws 
 
 That license men to kill ? 
 
 Can you vote the drunkard's ticket ? 
 
 Then on bended knees, at night 
 Ask God to bless your ballot, 
 
 And to keep your vote in sight. 
 
 That in the awful judgment day, 
 When called before His throne 
 To receive His final sentence, 
 ** You may reap as you have sown." 
 
 On which side are you, my brother? 
 
 Will you pause awhile and think. 
 Ere you slight your God and mercy 
 
 For the devil's fatal drink ? 
 
 Whatever be your answer 
 
 Your vote will surely tell. 
 And will count for you in Heaven, 
 
 Or 'gainst you deep in hell. 
 
 Yes, God will read the ballots. 
 
 Each fateful one that 's cast ; 
 And those that glorify Him not 
 
 Your soul will help to blast. 
 
92 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 THE STARS AND STRIPES** 
 
 Behold the flag, above us raised, 
 
 'Tis freedom's emblem true ; 
 The flag most grand that floats on land 
 
 Or on the waters blue. 
 Supremely blest by nature's God, 
 
 Its stars with glory shine, 
 And everywhere its folds appear 
 
 There freedom has a shrine. 
 
 See in its stripes the rainbow hues. 
 
 See in its stars the light, 
 Which God has lent and gladly sent 
 
 To make its pathway bright ; 
 And see the heaven-kissing winds 
 
 Its lovely form embrace, 
 Whilst clouds in air, I may declare. 
 
 Seem jealous of its grace. 
 
 No despot dares to touch its folds, 
 
 No nation dare despise ; 
 Its every star and every bar 
 
 Ten million patriots prize, 
 Long may it wave, long may it wave. 
 
 Above the land and sea, 
 A beacon bright our hearts to light 
 
 With love of liberty. 
 
 * Written in 1896 on the occasion of unfurling- a flag- at one of the 
 city public schools. 
 
AND OTHE^R POKMS. 93 
 
 Let tyrants stand and be dismayed 
 
 Whene'er that flag they see — 
 This Union grand was made to stand 
 
 As long as time shall be ; 
 And in this land of liberty, 
 
 Made sacred by our dead, 
 We 've sworn to God their sacred sod 
 
 No tyrant's foot shall tread. 
 
 And while that banner proudly floats 
 
 O'er freedom's wide domain, 
 Let despot's hand or traitor band 
 
 E'er dare that flag to stain ; 
 We '11 show the nations of the world 
 
 That we, though late in strife, 
 That flag will keep on land and deep. 
 
 Or 'neath it give up life. 
 
 Yes, yes ! that flag we '11 ever keep, 
 
 And proudly tell the story 
 How it was born on freedom's morn 
 
 To live in endless glory ; 
 And tell of victories grandly won 
 
 Both on the land and sea, 
 When storms arose and foreign foes 
 
 Opposed our liberty. 
 
94 A GALAXY OF SOUTHKRN HKROKS 
 
 No other land 'neath heaven's dome 
 
 Can match our banner here, 
 Then ^ive a cheer, long, loud and clear, 
 
 For freedom's banner dear; 
 Long may it wave, long may it wave. 
 
 All praise to it be given, 
 So bright and fair beyond compare, 
 
 The grandest flag 'neath heaven. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 95 
 
 SHAME, O MY COUNTRY, SHAME!* 
 
 Shame, O my country ! bow thy head, 
 
 Behold what has been done — 
 The blackest crime that ever stained 
 
 A land beneath the sun. 
 Yea, see with loathing and disgust 
 
 Then turn away thine eyes 
 From act so foul e 'en fiends of hell 
 
 With loathing would despise. 
 
 Pull dov/n the flag your fathers reared 
 
 And tear it into shreds ; 
 Let craven Anglo-Saxons now 
 
 Deign not to raise their heads. 
 Call down the eagle from on high. 
 
 With dunghills let him tread, 
 Since blackamoors and dastard knaves 
 
 Have shamed your honored dead. 
 
 Let day-god from his place on high 
 
 Recede and hide his face, 
 That darkness may come down and shield 
 
 Our land from such disgrace. 
 Pluck every star from heaven's dome. 
 
 Let midnight darkness reign, 
 Or Phoenix like, let Justice rise, 
 
 And wipe away the stain. 
 
 * These lines were written after reading- a newspaper report to the 
 vCfEeci that the North Carolina Leg-islature, which, at the time, hav- 
 iug- a Republicaa majority, refused to adjourn in respect to Washing-ton 
 and Lee's anniversary, but by resolution agreed to adjourn in respect 
 to Fred Douglas, a tiegra, who had just died. 
 
96 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKKOES 
 
 Where are the men of Mecklenburg, 
 
 Whose patriotic sires 
 Were first on North Carolina's heights 
 
 To kindle freedom's fires? 
 How have they fallen now so low, 
 
 What has their pride undone. 
 That they permit insult so base 
 
 To Lee and Washington. 
 
 And where, oh, tell me where the sons 
 
 Of that brave Spartan band 
 Who fought through hells of battle flame, 
 
 To shield their native land? 
 Where are Virginia's sons, oh, where ? 
 
 I hear the heaven's cry. 
 That they permit so foul a shame. 
 
 And strike not, though they die. 
 
 And you, ye abolition horde, 
 
 See of your work the trend — 
 Black ingrates casting scorn upon 
 
 The names you should defend. 
 You now behold the writing plain, 
 
 Of hand "upon the wall; " 
 Dishonored, bend and take the cup, 
 
 Yea, drink the bitter gall. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 97 
 
 Your true Caucasian blood deny, 
 
 Your birth-right now disown"; 
 Bow down to serpents and to toads, 
 
 Too base to worship stone. 
 Become as slimy, crawling worms, 
 
 And grovel in the sod ; 
 Too vile and loathsome for a name, 
 
 Ye damned of God and man. 
 
98 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 COULD I FORGET? 
 
 Could I forget, could I forget 
 
 One fair false face that haunts me still, 
 My last few days of waning life 
 
 Might find some joy my heart to thrill ; 
 And fondly dreaming, as of yore, 
 
 On scenes of bliss by love made blest, 
 I 'd calmly drift along life's shore 
 
 'Till death's oblivion gave me rest. 
 
 But, ah, poor me ! while life shall last, 
 
 While thought and memory keep their throne, 
 No fond, sweet dream, no wistful hope, 
 
 Within my breast shall e'er be known ; 
 For disappointment and despair, 
 
 That came to me long years ago. 
 Have stamped an impress on my heart, 
 
 And filled my soul with bitter woe. 
 
 And now to me it matters not 
 
 What course on earth my steps pursue ; 
 No friends I seek, no foes I shun, 
 
 But knowing death is sure and true, 
 I bear my lot as I may best, 
 
 And, longing, wait for that sweet day 
 When life shall flutter from my breast. 
 
 And death shall steal my soul away. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 99 
 
 RIZPAR 
 
 And Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took sackcloth and spread it for 
 lier upon the rock, from the beg-inning of the harvest until water 
 dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the 
 air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by nig-ht.— 
 J I Samuel, chapter xxi., verse lo. 
 
 On the hills of Gideon, 
 
 Near Jordan's verdant plain, 
 By the hand of God's avengers, 
 
 Were the sons of Rizpah slain ; 
 Their forms, denied sepulture, 
 
 Were cast upon the rock 
 And left for wild hyenas 
 
 And the ravenous vulture flock. 
 
 But a mother's constant love 
 
 Ends not with loved one's breath ; 
 Her constancy and her devotion 
 
 Still increaseth after death. 
 And Rizpah, with fidelity. 
 
 On the rock her sackcloth spread. 
 And stood alone in mourning 
 
 To guard her cherished dead. 
 
 Throughout the entire season, 
 
 From the harvest till the rain. 
 Her sleepless eyes unceasing 
 
 Kept vigil o'er the slain. 
 The eagle screamed above her, 
 
 Wild hyenas came to prowl. 
 And her heart was often startled 
 
 By the roaming lion's growl. 
 
 LofC. 
 
100 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 But with courage never faltering 
 
 She stood from day to day, 
 A true, unselfish sentinel 
 
 Against the beasts of prey. 
 The sunbeams burned upon her, 
 
 She bore the night wind's chill; 
 But through day-time and the darkness 
 
 She was ever faithful still. 
 
 The leopard and the tiger, 
 
 When wandering by the spot. 
 Beheld her steadfast standing 
 
 And dared to touch her not. 
 The hungry wolves came round her, 
 
 And the lynx with burning eye, 
 But daunted by her courage, 
 
 Were made to quail and fly. 
 
 And all alone upon the rock, 
 
 Unrelieved by any friend, 
 Her long, dark tresses waving 
 
 And disheveled by the wind. 
 She kept her faithful vigils 
 
 Till her weeping eyes were red, 
 Her sole and only solace — 
 
 A communion with the dead. 
 
AND OTHEJR P0E;MS. 101 
 
 And all the annals of the world, 
 
 Since the morning dawn of time, 
 Affords us no example 
 
 More heroic and sublime 
 Than of this poor, mourning mother, 
 
 Keeping vigils night and day, 
 To protect her cherished loved ones 
 
 From the birds and beasts of prey. 
 
102 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTH:eRN HEROKS 
 
 UNCLE MOSE ON INDEPENDENCE DAY* 
 
 My frens an' cullud citizens, 
 
 Wese ersembled here dis morn 
 To celebrate de 'casion 
 
 Wen liberty wus born ; 
 Wen de young American eagle 
 
 Fust busted fum his shell, 
 An' give er whoop fer liberty — 
 
 Er reg'lar rebel yell. 
 
 Dat wus de grandess' 'casion 
 
 Dat eber bless'd de earth, 
 An' nations wus astounded 
 
 At de glory ob his birth. 
 For neber in de history 
 
 Ob all de ages past 
 Wus eber such er nation 
 
 Fum de molds of wisdom cast. 
 
 An* I tell yer, fellow citizens, 
 
 It makes my bosom swell 
 Wid proudness w'en I reads erbout 
 
 Or hear dem speakers tell 
 Ob how dat unfledged eagle 
 
 Girded on de belt ob right 
 An' challenged Englan's lion 
 
 Ter come out and hab er fight. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 103 
 
 So strong had grown dat bludy beast, 
 
 So puff'd up an' so gran', 
 He thought hissef de champion 
 
 Ob all de seas an' Ian'. 
 Wid scorn he heard an' look'd upon 
 
 Dat Yankee bird so small, 
 An' swore dat he wud chaw him up — 
 
 Meat, fedders, bones an' all. 
 
 But dat new-hatched-out Yankee bird, 
 
 Do seeming small an' weak, 
 ,Wus hatched wid claws as sharp as steel 
 
 An' wid er hole-fas' beak ; 
 His eyes wus full ob lightnin' fire. 
 
 His gizzard full ob grit. 
 An' like young David wid de sling, 
 
 He noed jess whar ter hit. 
 
 An' too, our Uncle Sam was dere 
 
 Ter back dat eagle game, 
 Fer well he knew he cum fum stock 
 
 Dat tyrants cud not tame ; 
 An' quickly kiverin' ebry bet 
 
 Dat ole John Bull put down, 
 He cried w'en dat ole bluff refused 
 
 Ter bet his thrown an' crown. 
 
 But not because he had er use 
 
 Fer eny such ole plunder. 
 He only wished to win de stuff 
 
 Den kick it in ter thunder, 
 
104 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 Dat ebry Englishman might see 
 He did not care er snap 
 
 Fer dere ole royal, high-back chair, 
 Nor ole carbuncl'd cap. 
 
 At las', in Massachusetts, 
 
 Dey begun de scrappin' match 
 While Injuns stood eround an' yell'd 
 
 Ter see 'em bite an' scratch. 
 Roun' after roun' dey fit an' claw'd, 
 
 Returnin' lick for lick. 
 An' Englan's lion soon found out 
 
 Dat bird was hard ter pick. 
 
 Dey fit all round ole Lexington, 
 
 An' roun' Dorchester's hight. 
 An' plum ercross ole Bunker's hill. 
 
 Still strugglin' in dere might ; 
 Till mad wid pain dat lion's roar 
 
 Wus echo'd fur an' wide, 
 Fer ebry time he cum in reach 
 
 Dat eagle tore his hide. 
 
 He pull'd his mane, he twis' his tail. 
 
 He fiU'd his eyes wid san' 
 Till dat ole lion got so weak 
 
 Dat he cud hardly stand ; 
 But still de eagle kept his lick 
 
 Nor seemed de least dismayed, 
 Fer he was bound dat beast ter lick 
 
 An' lay him in de shade. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 105 
 
 But by an' by de sponge went up, 
 
 Dat lion tuck'd his tail, 
 An' cross'd de broad Atlantic sea 
 
 His losses ter bewail. 
 De eagle bold den spread his wing 
 
 An' soar'd erway on high 
 Ter roost ermid de circlin' stars 
 
 An guard us wid his eye. 
 
 An' since de early dawn ob time, 
 
 Wen de sky its robes unfurl'd. 
 An' de great quire of Heavenly stars 
 
 Sung er welcome ter de world ; 
 Since de day-god in his splendor 
 
 Fust look'd down fum on high, 
 Dere has neber been er 'casion 
 
 Like dat Fourth day of July. 
 
 Er word now in conclusion, 
 
 Ter yer good white folks out dere — 
 Ef any ob yer has a dime 
 
 Dat yer can kindly spare, 
 Er ef yer chance ter hab at home 
 
 Sum good ole cast off close, 
 Please 'member yer ole cullud fren, 
 
 Yer hones' Uncle Mose. 
 
106 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 SOME DAY. 
 
 Some day, I know, but know not when, 
 My pulsing heart will cease to beat, 
 
 My weary hands will cease their toil ; 
 The quick step of my hurrying feet 
 
 Will no more echo in my home. 
 
 Nor loved ones list to hear me come. 
 
 Some day, I know, but know not when, 
 The sombre hearse will reach my door, 
 
 And friends with muffled tread will come. 
 Whom I, alas ! shall see no more, 
 
 And bear me off to yonder tomb. 
 
 And leave me there in silent gloom. 
 
 Some day my loved ones, left behind. 
 Will come to where in death I sleep, 
 
 And, placing flowers upon my grave. 
 Will linger there awhile to weep — 
 
 And breathe for me a silent prayer, 
 
 But I shall never know them there. 
 
 Some day, I know, oh ! sad the thought ! 
 
 My friends and loved ones, too, will be 
 All cold and pulseless in their tombs, 
 
 And none on earth remembering me 
 Will ever speak or hear my name. 
 For I must die unknown to fame. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 107 
 
 Some day the stones that mark my grave, 
 That tell my date of death and birth 
 
 Will, too, have crumbled into dust, 
 And not a vestige here on earth 
 
 Will then be left to tell the tale 
 
 That e'er I crossed life's troubled vale. 
 
 But far beyond each trembling star. 
 Now twinkling in the heavenly dome. 
 
 My soul, released from earthly woes. 
 Shall mount to my eternal home. 
 
 Where I shall join the Heavenly choir. 
 
 And sing the praise of my Messiah. 
 
108 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 COURAGE AND AMBITION* 
 
 Ef I was but er tadpole — 
 Er tadpole weak and frail — 
 
 I wud strive ter be a frog, 
 Do I neber shed my tail. 
 
 An' befo' I 'd be a clam, 
 Ailers shet up outer sight, 
 
 I wud bust my shell ersunder, 
 Do I perish in de light. 
 
 Yes, I rudder be a flyin' squerel, 
 To fly er while and fall, 
 
 Dan be er lazy tarepin 
 
 An' do nothing else but crawl. 
 
 \ An' ef I wusn 't bigger 
 Dan er little yaller ant 
 I would exercise er courage 
 Equel tu de elephant ; 
 
 Fer I hold dat it is noble, 
 An' ercordin' ter God's plan, 
 
 Dat man in ebery station 
 Shud prove hissef er man. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 109 
 
 Dat only true nobility 
 
 Is by hones* labor wrought, 
 An' er crown dat's wuf de wearin' 
 
 Is by mortal neber, bought. 
 
 An' I can 't but hate er croaker, 
 
 Wid his weak an' watery eyes 
 Allers turned towards de groun', 
 
 Neber raised toward de skies ; 
 
 Who goes erbout complainin' 
 
 An' bemoanin' ob his fate, 
 Because he is er ninny 
 
 Instid ob sumpin' great ; 
 
 Who neber makes an effort 
 
 Ter reach er noble hight, 
 But hides his ebery talent 
 
 In his bosom outer sight, 
 
 An' bows in weak submission, 
 
 Like er cringin' yaller houn'. 
 An' licks de hand uplifted 
 
 Ter strike him ter de groun'. 
 
 But I glory in de courage 
 
 My convictions to assert. 
 An' I '11 strive to be er man, 
 
 Do I 'se but made of dirt. 
 
110 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HBRO^S 
 
 Fer I no de soul widin me 
 Is er libin' part ob God, 
 
 An* will lib in spheres eternal 
 
 When my form has turned to sod. 
 
 An' as I lub ter honor 
 
 Dat God, who in His plan, 
 
 Made me in His image, 
 I will strive to be er man. 
 
AND OTHI$R POEMS. Ill 
 
 YOU ARE MY SWEETHEART YET. 
 
 Full many, many years have past, 
 
 But, oh, how short they 've been, 
 Since, darling, you were but a girl, 
 
 And I but just nineteen. 
 We loved each other, darling, then, 
 
 Yea, from the day we met, 
 And now, though we are growing old, 
 
 You are my sweetheart yet. 
 
 Your little hands you placed in mine, 
 
 While nestling at my side, 
 And promised me that you would be 
 
 My own sweet little bride. 
 Time swiftly fled, and we were wed. 
 
 The day I '11 ne 'er forget. 
 For now, though we are growing old, 
 
 You are my sweetheart yet. 
 
 With faithful hands you 've done your part. 
 
 To make my burden light. 
 Have closer clung when cares oppressed 
 
 And sorrows came to blight ; 
 So now, when silvery threads I see 
 
 Amid your curls of jet, 
 To me your charms they but enhance, 
 
 You are my sweetheart yet. 
 
112 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROBS 
 
 Though faded are the roses now 
 
 From your fair damask cheek, 
 Where little dimples used to romp 
 
 And play at hide and seek, 
 Though time has dimmed your lovelit eye, 
 
 Thank God, this is my tret, 
 Let come what will, you love me still, 
 
 You are my sweetheart yet. 
 
 CUPID'S AUCTION- 
 
 Behold upon the market stand 
 
 A lovely gem of radiance rare. 
 With which no pearl of eastern land 
 
 In point of beauty can compare; 
 'Tis brighter than a diamond far. 
 More lovely than the fairest star. 
 More precious than Arabian gold. 
 Its worth in words can ne 'er be told. 
 
 It hath no duplicate on earth. 
 
 And Heaven claims no fairer gem 
 Of perfect cast and peerless worth 
 
 Than this endearing diadem ; 
 But here it is, and to be sold, 
 For highest price, to young or old, 
 'Tis true no small bid will suffice ; 
 Then let us hear the highest price. 
 
AND oth:^r pokms. 113 
 
 Deceitful Flattery, first to speak, 
 
 Now makes an offering fraught with pride. 
 He compliments the glowing cheek, 
 
 With raven curls on either side ; 
 Then adds unto with tenderness 
 A praise of form and style of dress. 
 And seeks by bid of coxcomb's art 
 To gain the prize unto his heart. 
 
 Then Beauty, clothed with faultless style, 
 
 Made offering of his handsome face, 
 O 'er which there played a sunny smile. 
 
 And bowed with an artistic grace. 
 Which seemed to say in language plain. 
 He had no doubt the prize he'd gain ; 
 He doubtless thought his face and form 
 Would take the precious gem by storm. 
 
 Next pompous Wealth's defiant voice 
 
 Proclaimed a bid of indolence. 
 And added gifts of Mammon's choice 
 
 In part, by way of recompense, 
 And with base heart and haughty pride 
 Thought other bids to set aside ; 
 For gold hath such a charming touch. 
 Naught else, he thought, avails so much. 
 
114 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 Then Intellect, with modest grace, 
 
 Announced his bid — a wealth of mind. 
 And by the beam upon his face. 
 
 He deemed the prize for him destined ; 
 For who, with privilege to choose, 
 Could such a bid as his refuse ; 
 His wit and wisdom, so well known. 
 He thought would make the gem his own. 
 
 But Love, all friendless and alone 
 
 At once upon the scene appears, 
 And prays to make his offering known ; 
 
 A bid it is of sighs and tears — 
 A yearning of a constant heart, 
 Whose constancy would ne 'er depart, 
 A manly soul, unknown to fear, 
 A faithful arm to do and dare. 
 
 A mind in which he daily nurtures 
 Sweet visions of the gem herself, 
 
 Feet which know but paths of virtue, 
 Hands clean of all dishonest pelf ; 
 
 All these the bid which Love would give ; 
 
 Now tell me shall his bidding thrive ? 
 
 Oh, if ! oh, if ! you answer yes, 
 
 Long will I Cupid's auction bless. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 115 
 
 TAKE BACK THE LIE! 
 
 Ifiaes suggested on reading- a speech by Gen. P r, Commander-in- 
 
 ■Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, in which he denounced the 
 Southern Flagf as an emblem of treason. 
 
 Take back the lie, base, craven wretch, 
 
 Which thy vile lips have dared to speak, 
 Such calumny from thy vile tongue. 
 
 But proves that thou art base as weak ; 
 From coward lips such venom vile, 
 
 Can only serve to wake disgust 
 In hearts of all true, noble men, 
 
 Who loathe such vipers of the dust. 
 
 Then take it back, thou snarling cur, 
 
 Insult not with thy lying breath 
 That ensign of a noble host 
 
 Now tenting in their camps of death ; 
 Nor shouldst thou dare^with lying tongue, 
 
 To slander men whose dauntless might 
 Made for that flag a name and place — 
 
 The grandest on fame's utmost height. 
 
 Thine is the craven"! coward's course. 
 
 Hyena-like that dares to tread, 
 And with thy foul polluting breath, 
 
 Profanes the turf that hides our dead ; 
 No faintest ray, nor spark of truth, 
 
 Doth to thy lying tongue give pause ; 
 Else hadst thou not, poor, slimy worm, 
 
 Have dared to slander such a cause. 
 
116 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 How worse than fool, thou poltroon knave, 
 
 To basely lie without a reason — 
 To let thy lying words imply 
 
 That our just cause was one of treason. 
 The banner that thou darest malign 
 
 Shall live through never-ending glory. 
 Whilst all such hissing toads as thou 
 
 Shall be unknown in song or story. 
 
 What valiant hero of the blue. 
 
 Who faced our warriors in the fray, 
 But knows that only patriots true, 
 
 E'er fought so valiantly as they ; 
 And knows, too, that no traitor band. 
 
 In treason's cause was ever fired 
 To such sublimely daring deeds 
 
 As our Confederate hosts inspired. 
 
 Then hush, yea, hush thy putrid mouth, 
 
 Go kill thyself, thy meed to gain ; 
 Less sinned had Ananias, when 
 
 God numbered him among the slain ; 
 Nor such a crime since Judas's sin 
 
 Hath ever damned with such just reason. 
 As that thou laidst upon thy soul 
 
 In that foul, lying charge of Treason. 
 
AND OTHld^R POEMS. 117 
 
 MAN WAS MADE FOR WOK 
 
 Go search the world from pole to pole, 
 
 And vie\v mankind in every state; 
 You '11 never find a living soul — 
 
 What 'er his land, what 'er his fate — 
 Who has not felt within his breast 
 
 The tides of sorrow ebb and flow, 
 And has not felt, when care oppress'd, 
 
 That mortal man was made for woe. 
 
 The loving swain in lonely bower 
 
 In fondness burns with passion's flame ; 
 Each budding bloom and blushing flower 
 
 Reminds him of his cherished dame. 
 But, when a few short years have fled 
 
 His youthful cheek has lost its glow, 
 In tears of disappointment shed. 
 
 He learns that man was made for woe. 
 
 And he, the pampered man of pride. 
 
 With hoarded wealth of precious ore, 
 With teeming acres, broad and wide, 
 
 Who daily scorns the weak and poor, 
 Will, when his frame with age is bent. 
 
 And every step 's a painful throe. 
 In his cold heart his pride repent. 
 
 And murmur, " man was made for woe." 
 
118 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 The royal king and lord of state, 
 
 Flushed with men's homage and with fame, 
 May for a while forget that fate 
 
 Has made all human kind the same ; 
 But, 'ere for them life's sun shall sink, 
 
 A Marah's draught for them must flow. 
 And, as they quaff the bitter drink. 
 
 Must learn that man was made for woe. 
 
 Vain is the Bacchanalian cup, 
 
 And vain is worldly wealth and fame ; 
 The cup of sorrow all must sup. 
 
 In differing phase, but all the same. 
 For some must burn 'neath tropic sun. 
 
 Some perish in the arctic snow, 
 And some have treasures, some have none. 
 
 But all must have some bitter woe. 
 
 Such is the destiny of man, 
 
 And it is just as we shall find, 
 A part of the Creator's plan 
 
 To teach us to be good and kind. 
 To succor those who need our care, 
 
 And to withhold each cruel blow ; 
 For as we share a brother's care 
 
 So shall we lessen our woe. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 119 
 
 SERMON BY UNCLE MOSE. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 My belubbed cullud brudders, 
 
 Ize gwine ter preach ter day, 
 An' I hopes ter hab attention 
 
 Ter what Ise gwine ter say. 
 I know dere's room for 'provement 
 
 In ebery sinner's hart, 
 An' my reason fur so thinkin' 
 
 I will now to you impart. 
 
 First, de selfishness ob nater 
 
 Keeps de hart from gitten clean ; 
 It blinds de eyes of conscience. 
 
 An' makes us over-mean ; 
 It puts er man ter thinkin' 
 
 Dat he 's better dan de best. 
 An' like a tyrant robber. 
 
 Steals de goodness from his breast. 
 
 An' den dere is er kind er pride 
 
 Dat steals into de brain 
 An' robs er man ob reason, 
 
 An' makes him weak an' vain ; 
 An' when er man has got it, 
 
 He is saddled mity well 
 Fur de debil den ter mount him 
 
 An' ter ride him down ter hell. 
 
120 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 Den dere's anudder passion, 
 
 An' de Scripter calls it lust, 
 An' if any ob you'se got it 
 
 You is hardly fit ter trust. 
 'Tis de pizen ob de sarpent, 
 
 So polutin' ter de soul, 
 Dat de meanness ob its venom 
 
 De debil would extole. 
 
 An' den de sin ob appetite. 
 
 Since ob dat I cum ter think. 
 It 's de debil's own invension 
 
 When it leads er man ter drink ; 
 It destroys all his conscience, 
 
 Puts er blind upon his eyes 
 An' empties him ob character, 
 
 An' fills him up wid lies. 
 
 A word now in conclusion 
 
 Ob what Ise got ter say, 
 A preacher cannot lib on wind, 
 
 He orter hab his pay. 
 So while you hunt yer nickles 
 
 An' we pass eround de hat, 
 Please see dey isn 't counterfits. 
 
 Be sho you look ter dat. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 121 
 
 THE RATIONALE OF SIN* 
 
 (A reply to Rev. F. J. E.'s " First Cause of Woe.") 
 
 How long shall the fables 
 
 Of mythology last, 
 Defaming Jehovah 
 
 And his glories o 'ercast ? 
 O, dark superstition ! 
 
 Thou shadow of night, 
 How long wilt thou linger, 
 
 Man's reason to blight ? 
 How long shall the falsehood 
 
 That a snake of the sod 
 By men be acknowledged 
 
 As more subtle than God ? 
 How long shall the darkness 
 
 Of ignorance prevail 
 And the foul tongue of slander 
 
 God's wisdom assail ? 
 
 Did the great living God, 
 
 Whose hands did create 
 This world we inhabit, 
 
 And ten thousand more great, 
 Whose will is but nature. 
 
 Supreme of all law. 
 And whose mind from the first 
 
 All the future foresaw, 
 
122 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHERN H^ROKS 
 
 Make man pure and holy — 
 
 From all sin pure and bright — 
 And ordain that no sin 
 
 Should his prospects e' er blight ; 
 Then make a vile serpent 
 
 And into him instill 
 The vile power to break 
 
 And defy his own will ? 
 
 Oh, believe it not so — 
 
 'Tis false and untrue — 
 For God, the all-wise. 
 
 Would not such folly do. 
 Yea, God is all wisdom, 
 
 And when he made man 
 He made him, no doubt. 
 
 On a rational plan. 
 He endowed him with sense, 
 
 With conscience and might. 
 And made him free agent, 
 
 To do wrong or do right ; 
 For without the extremes 
 
 Of evil and good. 
 How could he serve God 
 
 As really he should ? 
 
 Had there never been sin 
 From which to abstain, 
 
 All conscience and reason 
 Were but attributes vain ; 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 123 
 
 And my conscience and reason, 
 
 Inherit from birth, 
 I would not surrender 
 
 For all fables on earth. 
 And I '11 tell you just here, 
 
 As I have told you before, 
 To God, in our wisdom, 
 
 We should bow and adore. 
 Then never, oh never. 
 
 Defame thy great God 
 By making him less 
 
 Than a worm of the sod. 
 
 To thee He gave conscience, 
 
 A heart and a brain, 
 And thou shouldst not bury 
 
 Thy talents in vain. 
 Look around, look aloft. 
 
 Let your reason be free ; 
 Behold his great works 
 
 On the land and the sea ; 
 See mountains and rivers. 
 
 Volcanoes and seas. 
 Great oceans and lakes 
 
 And forests of trees ; 
 Then list to the thunder 
 
 And the lightning's wild crash ; 
 Hear the roar from the shore 
 
 Where the tempest waves dash ; 
 
124 A G\I,AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 Then turn thy gaze upward 
 
 To the great arching sky 
 And view thousands of worlds 
 
 That bedazzle the eye — 
 Each rolling in splendor 
 
 Through infinite space, 
 Controlled in their movements 
 
 Or held in their place 
 By the hands of Jehovah, 
 
 Whose will they obey. 
 And whose power and greatness. 
 
 Can never decay. 
 Then reflect if you will. 
 
 And believe, if you can, 
 That this great supreme God 
 
 Ever formed him a plan 
 And had not the will 
 
 And the power to make 
 That plan all secure 
 
 From the lies of the snake. 
 
AND OTHER POBMS. 125 
 
 POLICY. 
 
 Talk not to me of policy, 
 
 Of what I should or shouldn 't do, 
 For, steadfast to my conscience, 
 
 I my course will still pursue. 
 Let judgment shape my actions 
 
 And my conscience be my guide. 
 For I 'd rather face a frowning world 
 
 Than yield my manly pride. 
 
 My religion and my politics 
 
 May I never seek to hide ; 
 Let me steer with honest purpose 
 
 Though I stem against the tide. 
 And fettered not by policy, 
 
 By precept nor advice, 
 I '11 bravely meet my destiny. 
 
 Though I plunge a precipice. 
 
 No, I will not be a puppet 
 
 To any servile course. 
 Though bribed by wealth and laurels 
 
 And urged by tyrant force. 
 But my deep and clear convictions 
 
 Shall ever serve to sway, 
 And, with conscience for my shield, 
 
 Only God will I obey. 
 
126 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROE)S 
 
 Then away with all your policy, 
 
 'Tis dissembling and deceit — 
 A smiling lie upon the lip — 
 
 A vain, pretending cheat. 
 'Tis born of fraud and cowardice. 
 
 No truth is in its name. 
 And I 'd rather lose this heart of mine 
 
 Than to sear it with its shame. 
 
 Yes, I loathe and scorn the hypocrite, 
 
 Whose life's a living lie ; 
 Who smooths his actions and his speech 
 
 With the oil of policy, 
 Who stoops to public favor 
 
 At every beck and nod. 
 And brings disgrace upon the form 
 
 Made in image of my God. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 127 
 
 SHAMS AND SHACKS. 
 
 Mankind is not just what it seems, 
 This world is half made up of shams, 
 
 Some men as silent sages pose 
 Who are at best but stupid clams. 
 
 Some babbling tongues are never still, 
 
 Misquoting thoughts of wiser men, 
 i\.nd in their self-esteem suppose 
 
 That they are what they 've never been. 
 
 Some noble hearts as ever beat 
 
 Pulsate in breasts of rugged mold. 
 Whilst broadcloth often wraps the knave 
 
 Whose sins and crimes are never told. 
 
 Some glorious poets live and die, 
 
 And ne'er to wealth and fame are known, 
 
 Whilst fools are flattered to the sky 
 For genius that is not their own. 
 
 Yes, more than half mankind are fools, 
 Hence knaves and frauds find easy sailing, 
 
 To hug a sham and be humbugged 
 Is with the mass a common faiUng. 
 
 I 've known a rum-besotted quack. 
 
 High in the heahng arts to pass, 
 Whose intellect was scarce above 
 
 The instincts of a stupid ass. 
 
128 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 And oft a tailless ape we see 
 
 Whose only brain is brazen cheek, 
 
 High-seated on judicial bench 
 
 To judge the fools who justice seek. 
 
 Then sometimes, too, in sacred desk 
 A wolf we find in sheep's attire, 
 
 Too cowardly to preach the truth. 
 But preaching hell without a fire. 
 
 And so it goes throughout the world. 
 
 Hypocrisy is ruling still, 
 A man is boosted going up. 
 
 And kicked when coming down the hill. 
 
 Angelic woman, sweet and pure, 
 When wedded to a worthless clown, 
 
 By gravity of social laws, 
 
 Is to his level anchored down. 
 
 But sometimes wilful, wicked wives. 
 
 Make noblest husbands hump and hustle. 
 
 And he 's a fool who thinks to find 
 An angel wrapped with every bustle. 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 129 
 
 COOSA RIVER* 
 
 Roll on, O gentle Coosa, 
 
 Thou art dearer far to me 
 Than all the other waters 
 
 That flow into the sea. 
 From thy early fountain source, 
 
 'Mid the Georgia mountains grand, 
 Down through old Alabama 
 
 To the ocean's pearly strand. 
 Thou art peerless in thy beauty, 
 
 Thou art ever fair and bright. 
 And everywhere I view thee 
 
 There is gladness in the sight. 
 
 What memories, sweet and tender, 
 
 Of my whilom happy days, 
 Now fill my heart with rapture 
 
 When 'er on thee I gaze. 
 Those happy days of boyhood, 
 
 That can bless me never more. 
 Which spent with boon companions 
 
 In sporting on thy shore ; 
 And, oh, what royal pleasure 
 
 'Twas to plunge into thy tide 
 And, Hke the wild aquatic birds. 
 
 On the placid bosom glide. 
 
130 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 Ah, well do I remember 
 
 One blissful summer night, 
 When moon and stars of heaven 
 
 Made thy crystal waters bright, 
 Of floating down thy current, 
 
 Borne onward by thy tide, 
 In sweetest little shallop, 
 
 With fair Inez by my side ; 
 When I told her of my love, 
 
 As I clasped her to my breast. 
 And, in answer to my wooing. 
 
 Heard her love for me confest. 
 
 Then again upon thy borders 
 
 On a lovely day in May, 
 With flowers blooming 'round us 
 
 And the birds all singing gay. 
 How I led off in the dance. 
 
 With a merry, happy train, 
 Whirling in a giddy waltz 
 
 With blithsome Kitty Dane, 
 The fairest little fairy. 
 
 To my bosom firmly prest, 
 And felt her heart responding 
 
 To the throbbing in my breast. 
 
AND OTHKE POBMS. 131 
 
 Then 'neath the beech and maples 
 
 That shade thy grassy shore, 
 Near the village of Coloma, 
 
 In the halcyon days of yore, 
 Where I was wont to wonder 
 
 To view thy lovely sheen. 
 Hand in hand with pretty Lizzie, 
 
 The little village queen. 
 And with her there to angle, 
 
 With hooks oft baited not, 
 All forgetful of the fishing, 
 
 So contented with our lot. 
 
 Then drifting, gently drifting, 
 
 Adown thy placid stream. 
 Borne onward to Aurora 
 
 In my retrospective dream, 
 I meet once more the loved ones. 
 
 Both friends and kindred dear. 
 And view once more the prospect 
 
 That was wont my heart to cheer. 
 And see once more around me 
 
 Those winsome girls and boys 
 Who made that humble village 
 
 The sweet Eden of my joys. 
 
132 A GAIyAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 But roll on, noble river, 
 
 My retrospect is vain. 
 Whilst thou shalt flow forever, 
 
 I shall never feel again 
 The rapture and the ecstacy, 
 
 And charms without alloy, 
 That blest me in those sunny days 
 
 When I was yet a boy, 
 Sporting on thy bosom, 
 
 And romping on thy shore. 
 With precious friends and loved ones, 
 
 In those happy days of yore. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 133 
 
 A SPRING CANT-OH. 
 
 I do not claim to be a saint, 
 
 Filled with amazing grace, 
 Nor boast of sanctifying love 
 
 For all the human race : 
 But like most other mortals be 
 
 That 's born for wearing pants, 
 I am full to overflowing 
 
 With a great many can 'ts. 
 
 I can 't help feeling when I sit 
 
 In the temple of the Lord 
 And listen to a preacher's tongue, 
 
 Whose every studied word 
 Is meant to gain a compliment 
 
 From some dudine in her pew, 
 That he 's a sorter hypocrite; 
 
 I can 't, oh, can you ? 
 
 And when I pay my dollar cash 
 
 For a seat in the parquet. 
 And go with great anxiety 
 
 To hear and see the play. 
 And have to sit behind a hat 
 
 That hides the stage from view, 
 1 can 't help feeling cross as sin ; 
 
 I can 't, oh, can you? 
 
134 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 And when I hear a fellow pray, 
 ** Lord let Thy kingdom come," 
 And see him straightway cast his vote 
 
 For the licensed sale of rum, 
 I guess he means just what he prays 
 
 And votes to prove it true, 
 But somehow I can 't see the point ;, 
 
 I can 't, oh, can you ? 
 
 And when I 'm told the human race 
 
 Is all from Adam's seed. 
 That kinkey-headed coons and I 
 
 Are from one common breed, 
 I think that apes and darn baboons 
 
 Must be my brothers, too; 
 But then I can *t believe the tale ; 
 
 I can 't, oh, can you ? 
 
 'Tis said that wicked Birmingham 
 
 Is not a friend to grace ; 
 That every dweller in its bounds 
 
 Is heading for that place 
 Where water-works are never known 
 
 And ice supplies are scant ; 
 But I don 't think it 's wholly true, 
 
 I can 't, oh, I can 't. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 
 
 135 
 
 I 'm also told that demagogues 
 
 Have caught the hayseed vote ; 
 Are piloting and steering, too, 
 
 The new Alliance boat ; 
 That they are going to take the earth 
 
 And everything in view, 
 But I don 't hardly think they will ; 
 
 I can 't, oh, can you ? 
 
136 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 CLEOPATRA. 
 
 AN IMITATION. 
 
 Like the glorious lotus blossoms, 
 
 Drifting on the placid Nile, 
 My spirit soon on Charon's stream 
 
 Shall swiftly glide from portals vile. 
 Iris ! Charmian ! heed me quickly : 
 
 Twine my tresses o'er my brow, 
 Bring my crown and robe me swiftly, 
 
 Antony awaits me now. 
 
 From the throne of realms supernal, 
 
 Where forever he must reign, 
 Antony, my noble hero. 
 
 Calls me to his arms again. 
 Robe me as befits my station, 
 
 Scent me with the fragrant balm, 
 Fill with wine my silver chalice. 
 
 My poor weary heart to calm. 
 
 Over Egypt's plains and deserts 
 
 Caesar's triumph shall be vain ; 
 Antony, to mock his victory. 
 
 With his sword himself hath slain, 
 And Cleopatra's pride unbending, 
 
 Spurns his captive queen to be — 
 Nurtured on the throne of freedom, 
 
 Egypt's queen will e'er be free. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 137 
 
 What to me is fame and glory, 
 
 What to me is crown or throne, 
 Since my glorious lord and lover 
 
 On Angel Argus' wings hath flown. 
 Oh, the thought ! I can not bear it ! 
 
 In dreams I hearken to his call. 
 And, waking meet not his caresses ; 
 
 My soul is turned to bitter gall. 
 
 See how firm and true my courage. 
 
 To my breast I press the asp, 
 And, remembering thee, my lover. 
 
 Smile upon his deadly clasp. 
 Swiftly now the subtle poison 
 
 Wends its way through every vein ; 
 Noble hero, demi-Atlas, 
 
 I will soon be thine again. 
 
 Though thy wrecked and shattered galleys 
 Strew the beech on Actium's shore, 
 
 Though thy eagle-crested warriors 
 ** Bear thy banners high no more " ; 
 
 Though thy fame of rising splendor 
 O'er the world no more may shine, 
 
 Thou hast won a grander victory — 
 Cleopatra's heart is thine. 
 
 'Twas for thy *' Star-eyed Egyptian" 
 Thou didst fling a world away — 
 
 Fame and glory, throne and power. 
 Bartered for her love a day ? 
 
138 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 Thou, the mighty, great triumvir 
 Whom great Caesar feared to meet, 
 
 Rome beheld an humble subject 
 Suppliant at a woman's feet. 
 
 But think not of thy fair Octavia 
 
 Weeping in her widowed home, 
 For 'twas God our loves united, 
 
 Not the shallow forms of Rome, 
 And it may be in the future, 
 
 Touched by Time's soft, soothing art. 
 The blow will be by her forgotten 
 
 And love again revive her heart. 
 
 "Though the world for this condemn thee," 
 
 Thou wert grand to spurn its hate ; 
 God ne'er made thy matchless pission 
 
 But to find in me its mate. 
 And I, too, can face its frowning. 
 
 Gladly on thy breast to lie, 
 And, when sable death divides us. 
 
 Gladly for thy love to die. 
 
 Let my courage prove my passion 
 
 Whilst the asp now drains my breath, 
 And, with crown and queenly vesture, 
 
 I dare to follow thee in death. 
 Haste to meet me at the river. 
 
 Haste ! oh, haste ! to meet thy bride,. 
 Stretch thine arms and guide me safely 
 
 O'er the dark and chilling tide. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 139^ 
 
 Dim and dark grows all around me, 
 
 Sense and sight are failing fast ; 
 Never love like mine was fettered — 
 
 Death shall free me now at last. 
 Hark ! I grope in Stygian darkness ; 
 
 Come, fair Iris, bear me home. 
 Anthony ! my love, my hero, 
 
 Stretch thine arms, I come ! I come ! 
 
140 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHEATHAM. 
 
 The grand old soldier, Cheatham, 
 
 Sat dying in his chair, 
 And visions of the fitful past 
 
 Came crowding on him there. 
 
 He saw once more the legions 
 And clans of mustering men, 
 
 And heard once more the tumult 
 Of war's wild, furious din. 
 
 He heard the trump and the cannon's roar, 
 
 The musket's deadly rattle ; 
 The saber's clash, the yells and groans 
 
 And rush of men in battle. 
 
 He saw the rising clouds of smoke, 
 He heard the war-steeds neigh, 
 
 And sniffed upon the sulphurous breeze 
 The distant, deadly fray. 
 
 And then he heard the double-quick 
 
 Of soldiers hurrying by. 
 And saw, perchance, his battle flag 
 
 Borne bravely still on high. 
 
 And as he seemed to hear and see 
 
 Once more the battle storm. 
 And felt within his aged veins 
 
 His life-blood mounting warm. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 141 
 
 There woke within his martial breast 
 
 Once more the kindhug flame 
 That nerves the patriot's heart and hand 
 
 To daring deeds of fame. 
 
 His chivalrous soul unyielding then 
 
 To sickness and to pain, 
 Broke forth in that wild dream of death 
 
 To lead hts troops again. 
 
 ^' Bring me my horse, my horse," he cried, 
 
 The battle sounding nearer, 
 " I 'm going to the front," he said. 
 
 His wife, oh, who can cheer her! 
 
 AiaJi^t&'.A.:.^ ttS^biJi^Aiai^ 
 
 She caught his now fast drooping head. 
 
 She saw his glazing eye ; 
 He'd gone to join the great command 
 
 Of hosts beyond the sky. 
 
142 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 LINES SENT WITH A BOQUET* 
 
 Go ! ye sweet and gentle flowers, 
 
 To her, your queen, more fair than ye, 
 
 And speak with your celestial powers, 
 And bid her kindly think of me. 
 
 With your fair charms entrance her eyes, 
 And bless her with your sweet perfume ; 
 
 And when in dreaming sleep she lies, 
 Keep silent vigils in her room. 
 
 And if by dreams disturbed in mind 
 In whispers she should speak of me, 
 
 Send back your spirits on the wind 
 And tell me what her dreamings be. 
 
 And, oh, what rapture 'twill impart. 
 If she but softly breathe my name ; 
 
 Twill cheer my poor, despairing heart, 
 And soothe my love's consuming flame. 
 
 Yes, go, fair messengers so pure. 
 
 And speak with all your emblems true ; 
 
 With fragrant charms her heart assure 
 That I my sacred vows renew. 
 
 And if she but interpret right 
 
 The message that your emblems tell, 
 
 'T will make her gentle eyes grow bright. 
 And all her cruel doubts dispel. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 143 
 
 GORDON- 
 
 (Written during- his campaigru for Governor.) 
 
 Ye Southern sons of valiant sires, 
 
 Ye comrades of the knight, 
 Whose name your country's heart inspires 
 
 With glory and delight ; 
 Behold him stand before us all, 
 
 A hero without stain, 
 Calling us with honest call, 
 
 And shall he call in vain ? 
 
 Are we to dumb forgetfulness 
 
 So quickly fallen prey 
 That all his gallant deeds for us 
 
 Like dreams have passed away ? 
 Did he not for us shed his blood, 
 
 When souls of men were tried ? 
 And is there anything too good 
 
 To be to him denied ? 
 
 No, no ! thank God, in Southern breasts 
 
 Ingratitude dwells not ; 
 And he who once our love possest 
 
 Shall never be forgot. 
 Old Shenandoah may cease to roll, 
 
 Virginia's mountains fall ; 
 But Gordon's name on freedom's scroll, 
 
 No time shall e'er appall. 
 
144 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 Go mark ye on his martial cheek 
 
 That glorious diadem, 
 That doth to us more loudly speak 
 
 Than all the tongues of men. 
 He is our Chevalier Bayard, 
 
 Our more than Marshal Ney ; 
 A patriot praised by every bard, 
 
 **The right-hand man of Lee." 
 
 And see upon the minaret 
 
 Of fame's eternal height. 
 His name and fame in glory set 
 
 To shine forever bright. 
 Then let us rally round our chief, 
 
 Our leader grand and great, 
 'Till all his foes are put to grief, 
 
 And he be chief of state. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 145 
 
 PEPPER SAUCE* 
 
 Times now ain *t like they used to be, 
 
 There 's change in everything ; 
 Even the dollars of our daddies 
 
 Have lost their old-time ring. 
 
 Our sugar now is mixed with sand, 
 
 Of paper shoes are made ; 
 There 's fraud in measures and in weights, 
 
 In every line of trade. 
 
 The farmer used to own his land 
 
 And lived on all the best, 
 But now the merchant owns the farm 
 
 With its smoke-house in the West. 
 
 No mortgage clause was on the notes 
 
 Which our daddies used to pay. 
 But now they bind up everything, 
 
 From crops to dinner tray. 
 
 We used to have good, honest laws — 
 
 Laws made for honest men, 
 But now our code's so full of flaws 
 
 It 's hardly worth a pin. 
 
 Few honest statesmen can we find. 
 
 The demagogue now rules. 
 And everywhere in halls of state 
 
 We meet with knaves and fools. 
 
 10 
 
146 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 With homestead laws they 've gulled the poor, 
 And exemption statutes framed, 
 
 'Till thievery they Ve legalized. 
 And justice made ashamed. 
 
 The honest poor man's credit's gone, 
 
 His word ain 't worth a mote. 
 And now to get his wife a shroud 
 
 He must sign a mortgage note. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 147 
 
 THE ARMY OF TEMPERANCE. 
 
 The banner of temperance now widely unfurled 
 Gives cheer to the nation and hope to the world. 
 Its bright gleaming folds lend a glow to the sky, 
 And thousands have sworn to support it or die ; 
 And whilst the Creator remains on His throne 
 Its fall or dishonor shall never be known. 
 Raised by oppression in the cause of the right, 
 All lovers of justice will 'neath it unite ; 
 For wherever the presence of Bacchus hath been 
 Grim death and despair are there to be seen ; 
 Men he has murdered by millions untold. 
 Destroying their souls 'ere their bodies were cold ; 
 Bright homes he hath plundered of comfort and 
 
 wealth, 
 Made oceans of tears by destruction to health. 
 The kind, loving father has changed to a fiend, 
 The wife from her husband's affections hath weaned, 
 The love of the husband has changed into strife. 
 Both blasting the love and the hopes of his wife. 
 'Tvvixt brother and brother raised barriers of hate ; 
 The orphan has left unprotected to fate; 
 The widow and children hath robbed of their bread. 
 And left them to perish with hunger — unfed. 
 Great minds he hath robbed of wisdom and reason, 
 He has bribed the assassin and paid for arch-treason, 
 In the altars of God he hath found himself place. 
 And left there the traces of shame and disgrace. 
 
148 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 Sweet maidenly virtue hath robbed of its prize, 
 And done enough sin to have blackened the skies. 
 Great kingdoms hath conquered, and banners hath 
 
 furled, 
 And spotted with graveyards the face of the world, 
 He hath built on the earth the devil a throne, 
 And consigned those to hell whom Heaven should 
 
 own. 
 Yes, these are the things which Bacchus hath done, 
 But soon, thanks to God, his dark course will be run. 
 Yes, mark me well now, the bright day's near at 
 
 hand 
 When the foul curse of rum shall be swept from the 
 
 land ; 
 Throughout the wide world, from anear and afar, 
 The armies of temperance are gathering for war. 
 Justice and virtue, truth, honor and right. 
 United with temperance have joined in the fight, 
 And like the swift avalanche gath'ring in force. 
 Overleaping the obstructions that lie in its course ; 
 And like the great tides of the ocean in storm, 
 Uprising in might like mountains in form, 
 Will come the grand army with banners all bright 
 To battle for temperance, for God and the right. 
 No loud booming of guns will sound in their wake. 
 For they come not the lives of mortals to take ; 
 No steel 111 their hands will be reddened with blood. 
 No ruins mark places where houses have stood. 
 
AND OTHEJR POEMS. 149 
 
 No wails from the widowed and orphaned you '11 
 
 hear, 
 No red mangled corpse will be seen on its bier, 
 No tramping of steed nor wild clashing of steel 
 Will be heard when these armies their presence 
 
 reveal ; * 
 But softly as glides the bright clouds overhead, 
 And silent as voices which speak from the dead, 
 Will come this great army, majestic in might. 
 Bearing down on the wrong, defending the right. 
 No loud beating drums, nor shrill screaming fife, 
 Shall jar on the ear, giving token of strife ; 
 But a calmness like that of a lake in a cave 
 And a peace undisturbed as the peace of the grave, 
 Shall reign o'er the land, and the country will seem 
 Like heavenly paradise viewed in a dream. 
 The army is moving and soon will be here, 
 Even now in the distance its columns appear. 
 See, the hovering clouds which have darkened the 
 
 sky. 
 Recede and give light as the army draws nigh. 
 Yes, mark you how firmly and grandly doth move 
 This army approaching with banners of love; 
 'Tis coming, victorious, to claim its dominion, 
 'Tis the army of temperance — Public Opinion. 
 
150 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 OH, BLESSED BE THE LAND* 
 
 Oh, blest be the land, my own native land, 
 
 The Southland so gracious and fair. 
 Beneath the broad sky of God's firmament high, 
 
 There's no other land to compare. 
 
 And I '11 sing to-day with soul in my song. 
 
 For my heart is melting with love. 
 For the dear old land so glorious and grand. 
 
 So blessed by Jehovah above. 
 
 Not a star that burns in the heavenly dome, 
 But shines with a radiance more rare. 
 
 When poising in space above the fair face 
 Of the South so gracious and fair. 
 
 No rivers, no vales, no mountains so grand, 
 
 No manhood so worthy to prize, 
 Elsewhere can be found in all the world round. 
 
 As here 'neath our own sunny skies. 
 
 And, oh, the sweet charm, the chief of all charms. 
 Which hallows, endears and enshrines 
 
 In the hearts of mankind, — thy women refined. 
 The fairest on whom the sun shines. 
 
 Then to these virgins, our own vestals fair. 
 
 Be assigned the duty to keep 
 Bright glowing the flame of undying fame. 
 
 Of those for whom we still weep. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 151 
 
 But I '11 sing not now in my sad refrain, 
 
 Of wrongs that our country beset, 
 But lifting my eyes I '11 sing to the skies, 
 
 Of those whom we '11 never forget. 
 
 And oh ! that my muse could aid me to sing, 
 
 With a power potential to prove. 
 In grandeur of song, the dues that belong, 
 
 To heroes so worthy of love. 
 
 From depths of my heart, with soul in each line, 
 
 I'd sing in such rapturous strain. 
 My music would move the angels above, 
 
 To catch and repeat the refrain. 
 
 I'd sing of Davis, our faithful old chief. 
 As noble and pure as ever pressed sod. 
 
 Ne'er mortal more grand was born to command. 
 Or to walk in the image of God. 
 
 And I'd sing of Lee, the matchless, superb. 
 
 Of stature and courage sublime, 
 A model of man, made after God's plan. 
 
 To endure through ages of time. 
 
 O ! yes, I would sing as never man sung. 
 
 In a grand and rapturous song, 
 The praise of our dead who suffered and bled. 
 
 And who died opposing the wrong. 
 
152 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHKRN HEROKS 
 
 But alas, my poor muse, too impotent, weak, 
 
 In me to enkindle the flame 
 Of heavenly fire, with which to inspire 
 
 A song half worthy their fame. 
 
 Then since I must strive unaided by muse, 
 
 My harp must in silence remain, 
 My song be unsung, for never my tongue. 
 
 Can wake so lofty a strain. 
 
 But while on its throne my reason remains, 
 
 I can but remember the past, 
 When our glorious braves went down to their graves, 
 
 Each true to his flag to the last. 
 
 Nor can I forget, no never forget, 
 
 Their struggles heroic tho' vain, 
 How bravely they stood and shed their life's blood. 
 
 Their own righteous cause to maintain. 
 
 But a bard shall yet in the future arise. 
 
 With genius from God to portray. 
 In measures sublime, eternal as time, 
 
 And this of our dead he will say : 
 
 That never before nor since on the earth. 
 Have mortals who yearned to be free, 
 
 E'er made such a fight for God and the right, 
 As made by the armies of Lee. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 153 
 
 Joe Johnston, and Hood, great Jackson, and Bragg, 
 John Morgan, brave Pickett, and Hill, 
 
 He'll mention by name, and his epic will flame, 
 Till earth with their glory shall thrill. 
 
 Of these and a thousand other great names 
 
 Will the bard most gloriously sing. 
 And his wondrous song the stars will prolong 
 
 Till heaven with music shall ring. 
 
 And when he shall sing of the rank and file. 
 
 The bravest that ever had birth. 
 May God lend him aid, to sing undismayed, 
 
 Till his song encircles the earth. 
 
 Till angels on high shall hear and repeat 
 
 That song the sweetest in heaven. 
 Yes, sing and re-sing till heaven shall ring — 
 
 Till God's own plaudits be given. 
 
154 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 TO-MORROW. 
 
 To-morrow, to-morrow, 
 
 Alas, for poor me! 
 1 've been waiting so long 
 
 The morrow to see 
 That would bring me surcease 
 
 From sorrow and care, 
 And ease my poor heart 
 
 Of the pain that is there. 
 
 But, oh, the to-morrow 
 
 For which I have sighed, 
 I fear will ne'er come 
 
 Till the fountains are dried 
 That now give a vent 
 
 To my anguish and woe. 
 For my only nepenthe 
 
 Is when my tears flow. 
 
 All the friendship I 've known 
 
 Was sordid and base. 
 All the love I have sought 
 
 Was a butter-fly chase ; 
 When the prize I had seized 
 
 The attraction had fled. 
 And my poor, hungry heart 
 
 On emptiness fed. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 155 
 
 All the hopes of my youth, 
 
 My castles in air, 
 Built for the morrow, 
 
 So brilliant and fair, 
 Have mouldered in ruins, 
 
 Have gone to decay, 
 And to-morrow so bright 
 
 Is still far away. 
 
 The dream of to-morrow — 
 
 How false was the dream — 
 That to-morrow would come 
 
 With a bright sunny beam, 
 Dispelling the shadows 
 
 That darken my life. 
 And light up my soul, 
 
 Now gloomy with strife. 
 
 Yea, false was the dream. 
 
 Each day is the same. 
 The morning but dawns 
 
 To rekindle the flame 
 Of longing for pleasures 
 
 I never can know. 
 Then wanes into darkness 
 
 And leaves me in woe. 
 
156 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 But to-morrow will come, 
 
 Oh, welcome the day. 
 When my heart shall be still 
 
 Beneath the cold clay ; 
 My pulseless, pale hands 
 
 Across my cold breast, 
 My soul with its God, 
 
 My body at rest. 
 
 A HUNTER'S WISH. 
 
 My former home and friends I 've left, 
 
 And sought the forest's rugged wild, 
 Whose primeval grandeur as yet 
 
 The hand of man hath not defiled ; 
 And though it is 'mid scenes like these 
 
 That I have always loved to dwell, 
 And though there's much to please me here, 
 
 I still have cares I can't dispel. 
 
 For when upon the mountain's top 
 
 I stand with rapt, enchanted gaze, 
 On lovely scenes which meet my view, 
 
 Bathed in the distant mellow haze. 
 Within my heart, so long and sad, 
 
 I feel a restless, longing care. 
 For one on whom my soul is set 
 
 Is not with me the scene to share. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 157 
 
 And when beside the flowing stream, 
 
 To Undine's song I bend my ear, 
 And lightly tread the mossy bank, 
 
 That sweet, low murmuring song to hear ; 
 'Tis then I feel how sad it is 
 
 To waste upon the listless air 
 So much of nature's melody, 
 
 And she not there the song to share. 
 
 And when engaged in flying chase, 
 
 Excitement thrills my panting breast, 
 And climbing up the mountain's side, 
 
 I pause awhile to watch and rest, 
 And see the sta^ and hounds go by. 
 
 As if in flight of wild despair. 
 There comes, amid my wildest thoughts, 
 
 A v/ish that she the scene might share. 
 
 And when the sable shades of night 
 
 Have fallen over hills and plains, 
 Whilst tired nature takes its rest. 
 
 And deep, unbroken silence reigns, 
 'Tis then, in gloominess of mfnd, 
 
 I think of her so bright and fair. 
 And from my heart there steals a wish 
 
 That she my loneliness might share. 
 
158 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 NOT FOR BREAD ALONE* 
 
 (Response to F. L. Stanton's " Writing for Bread.") 
 
 What, tho' you sit and silent write 
 Amid the still and gloom of night, 
 Where feebly flickers, faintly falls, 
 The lamp's dim Hght on barren walls ; 
 Bend not in melancholy mood. 
 Nor think of thy surroundings rude, 
 For every care that haunts thee now, 
 And casts its shadows o'er thy brow. 
 Shall melt like mists and roll away 
 And thou shalt see a brighter day. 
 
 But think not that you sit alone ; 
 Some glorious muse — all thine own. 
 Is ever with thee — with her wand 
 To touch thy pen and guide thy hand 
 And make thine each and every line 
 With inspiration's glories shine, 
 And brightly guild thine every page. 
 Which, brightening with each coming age, 
 Shall yield thee more than bread alone — 
 Undying fame — and sculptured stone. 
 
 This world is not an empty dream, 
 Howe'er deceptive life may seem ; 
 But rich and wide its fields are spread 
 For those who toil for fame and bread. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 159 
 
 And love and tenderness and worth, 
 Like flowers that spring from mother earth, 
 Will ever bloom and bud and twine 
 Around the poet's sacred shrine, 
 And thy sweet song, in sadness sung. 
 Shall live when death has stilled thy tongue. 
 
 Thy quick'ning breast by misery wrung 
 Has given the charm to songs you've sung ; 
 For in thy sad and plaintiff strain, 
 Thou hast but voiced each brother's pain 
 Who daily strives for daily bread 
 And feels, in famished heart unfed, 
 That subtle longing and unrest 
 Which all have felt but ne'er expressed ; 
 And while with you our tears we shed, 
 We '11 give you love as well as bread. 
 
 Then rouse thee, brother, raise thy head ; 
 Thy path, though not with roses spread. 
 Is not more rough than all must tread 
 Who strive and toil to earn their bread. 
 Alone in labor can be found 
 The priceless boon of great renown ; 
 Then mourn not that thy genius bright 
 Must burn apace with lamp at night. 
 For by its pale and flickering flame 
 'Twill light you on to deathless fame. 
 
160 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 And when thy pen is laid to rest — 
 The pen which oft thy hand hath pressed, 
 (With burning heart and aching head — 
 And thou art numbered with the dead) — 
 Thy genius then shall claim its meed, 
 Thy soul on food of gods shall feed 
 And thou shalt taste the nectar wine 
 That gods prepare for souls like thine, 
 And in Elysian regions blest 
 Thy soul shall have eternal rest. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 161 
 
 JEFFERSON DAVIS-* 
 
 With love, almost idolatry, 
 
 I honor and revere 
 That grand old Southern patriot 
 
 Who stands without a peer 
 The grandest chieftain of the age, 
 
 Tho' clouded by defeat, 
 Tlie one true heart that never quailed 
 
 Nor bowed at victor's feet. 
 
 His was the noblest, truest hand 
 
 That e'er held helm of state, 
 And tho' by war's wild storms oppressed, 
 
 He bravely met his fate. 
 Nor prison walls nor victor's chain 
 
 Could e'er his heart subdue ; 
 To will of God alone he bowed, 
 
 The truest of the true. 
 
 I love him for his constancy, 
 
 And glory in his fame; 
 Compared with all his enemies. 
 
 He puts their best to shame. 
 He is the grandest, noblest type 
 
 Of all our chivalry, 
 And for himself or Winnie's sake 
 ** I 'd lay me down and die." 
 
 * Written a few years prior to his death. 
 11 
 
162 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEJROKS 
 
 THERE IS NO GOD. (?) 
 
 The fool hath said there is no God, 
 
 But how should that fool know, 
 Unless all space he had explored. 
 
 In nature high and low. 
 For if there be one spot or space 
 
 Unknown in worlds or air, 
 He cannot prove there is no God, 
 
 For may not God be there ? 
 
 To know, indeed, there is no God 
 
 All force that fool must know. 
 The power that sends the cyclones forth, 
 
 And hurls the lightning's blow; 
 For all that he or I can tell, 
 
 Of whence they had their source. 
 Amounts to nothing but a guess. 
 
 And God may be that force. 
 
 Then if he knows all space and force. 
 
 Himself a God must be. 
 For none but one omniscient 
 
 Could so much know or see ; 
 And he, indeed, is but a fool 
 
 Who this great truth denies, 
 That there is one great living God, 
 
 For nature proves he lies. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 163 
 
 WAITING AND DREAMING. 
 
 (Written for my aged friend, Mrs. B.) 
 
 I am waiting, I am dreaming, 
 
 While the years are rolling by. 
 And my hairs are whiter turning, 
 
 And a dimness of my eye 
 Is all that I am gaining 
 
 From the swiftly passing years. 
 Save the shortening of my journey 
 
 To the bright celestial spheres. 
 
 All my labors now are ended, 
 
 Every task is finished now, 
 For the stamp of many winters 
 
 Is imprinted on my brow ; 
 And a-dreaming now I ponder. 
 
 While the years are flitting by. 
 Yes, I 'm dreaming of the pleasures 
 
 Of a home beyond the sky. 
 
 Of life's years I 've had full measure. 
 
 And I 've borne my load of care ; 
 I have tasted earthly pleasure. 
 
 And of trouble had my share ; 
 But now I 'm old and feeble. 
 
 My life's journey soon will cease, 
 And by day and night I 'm dreaming 
 
 Of sweet Heaven and its peace. 
 
164 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 Many friends have gone before me, 
 
 Whom I long once more to see ; 
 Many loved ones, too, are waiting 
 
 There to greet and welcome me ; 
 And while waiting and a-dreaming, 
 
 As the years are rolling by, 
 I can almost hear their voices 
 
 Chanting anthems in the sky. 
 
 In the Saviour I have trusted, 
 
 Who has given me the peace 
 That the understanding passeth, 
 
 And my longings doth increase 
 There to stand within His presence. 
 
 And be known as I am|known ; 
 And a-waiting I am dreaming 
 
 Of sweet Jesus and His throne. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 165 
 
 TM IN LOVE WITH TWO GIRLS- 
 
 I 'm in love with two girls — 
 
 Now isn 't that queer ? 
 One 's a little brunette, 
 
 The other's quite fair ; 
 They both are so pretty, 
 
 So sweet and so dear. 
 To say which is dearest, 
 
 I can 't, I declare. 
 
 But of this I 'm assured — 
 
 They dearly love me ; 
 Are not the least jealous 
 
 Wherever I be ; 
 I know they are constant 
 
 And true in their love. 
 And ne'er will forsake me 
 
 Where ever I rove. 
 
 There are others, I know, 
 
 More sweet — debonair. 
 But in my affection 
 
 There 's none to compare 
 With these little ladies 
 
 Of whom I am so fond — 
 My black-eyed brunette 
 
 And rosy- cheeked blonde. 
 
166 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHKRN HKROKS 
 
 To say that I loved them 
 
 But feebly expressed 
 How deeply abiding 
 
 Their place in my breast ; 
 And the wealth of the world, 
 
 In diamonds and pearls, 
 I would count as but dross 
 
 Compared to my girls. 
 
 And there is another, 
 
 Of whom I 've not told, 
 And with whom I 'm in love. 
 
 As much as of old, 
 She 's the queen of my soul. 
 
 The charm of my life — 
 My little girls' Mamma, 
 
 My own precious wife. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 167 
 
 IN DUTEOUS LOVE WE COME AGAIN* 
 
 In duteous love we come again 
 
 With evergreens and brightest blooms, 
 The purest offering we can bring, 
 
 To lay upon the hallowed tombs 
 Of our loved and honored dead. 
 
 Whose deeds, heroic and subHme, 
 Shall be our country's greatest pride 
 
 Through all the years of endless time. 
 
 When northern despots came to rob 
 
 Our country of her liberty, 
 They flew to arms in her defense, 
 
 And, shouting loud their battle cry. 
 Unfurled unto the southern breeze 
 
 The banner of the triple bars 
 And rushed to meet the coming foe 
 
 Like heroes at command of Mars. 
 
 And on the wide spread battle field. 
 
 Like meeting clouds before the storm, 
 With banners bright and flashing blades, 
 
 They gathered into battle form, 
 And, in their fervency of heart. 
 
 Swore by the Heaven's eternal host 
 That they would never yield their rights 
 
 Till tyrants' blood had paid the cost. 
 
168 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 And with their bristling bayonets 
 
 They met the raging battle blast, 
 And 'mid the sulphurous clouds of smoke, 
 
 With which the field was overcast, 
 Dealt lightning blows for liberty, 
 
 And poured upon the dusty plain 
 Their precious life-sustaining blood 
 
 As freely as mid-summer's rain. 
 
 But now the storm of war is past 
 
 And freedom's flag hes in the dust ; 
 A mock of peace reigns o 'er the land, 
 
 And the most sacred, solemn trust 
 That patriot hearts have ever known 
 
 Is all that we have left to claim — 
 'Tis but the ashes of our braves 
 
 And honors of their deathless fame. 
 
 But when the muse of history wakes. 
 
 Released from bonds of prejudice, 
 She will the grandest story tell 
 
 Of valorous deeds and sacrifice 
 That ever graced the page of fame, 
 
 And glory, bright as Heaven's sun, 
 Will shed a luster o 'er the land 
 
 Of Robert Lee and Washington. 
 
 And every nation of the world. 
 
 Where honor's loved and patriots dwell, 
 
 Will glorify the martyred dead 
 
 Who 'neath the Southern banner fell ; 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 169 
 
 And bards from every clime will come 
 To where their cherished ashes lie, 
 
 And, catching inspiration there, 
 Will waft their praises to the sky. 
 
 And nature's God, who rules above, 
 
 Will bless the tributes which we lay. 
 With loving hands in tender care, 
 
 Upon the consecrated clay 
 Which lies upon the mouldering forms 
 
 Of as true and faithful band 
 As ever praised his holy name 
 
 Or battled for their native land. 
 
 And with each year's returning spring 
 
 We '11 come with flowers and deck the sod 
 Which marks each hero's resting place ; 
 
 And, lifting up our hearts to God, 
 Plead by the justness of their cause. 
 
 For which their noble lives were given. 
 That we may meet them all at last, 
 
 Gathered safely into Heaven. 
 
170 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 SONG BY UNCLE MOSE* 
 
 I feel so sad to-night, 
 
 I don 't know what to do. 
 
 My heart hangs heavy in my breast, 
 So I '11 take my old banjo 
 An' I '11 sing er song er two, 
 
 Ere I lay my poor weary head to rest. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 De days am sad, de nights am dreer, 
 But death will set me free. 
 
 And up on high beyond de sky 
 An angel I will be. 
 
 How I have lived so long 
 Since my old o'man died, 
 
 I cannot well remember now, 
 But my tears I 've never dried, 
 Tho' so vainly I have tried, 
 
 Since her death cast a shadow o'er my brow. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 De days am sad, de nights am dreer, 
 But death will set me free. 
 
 And up on high beyond de sky 
 An angel I will be. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 171 
 
 No more myself I seem, 
 
 Dis world am growing wrong, 
 
 No flowers roun' my cabin bloom, 
 Not a bird will sing er song, 
 An de days am sad and long. 
 
 Since I laid my old o'man in de toom. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 De days am sad, de nights am dreer. 
 
 But death will set me free, 
 And up on high beyond de sky 
 
 An angel I will be. 
 
 My banjo's out of tune. 
 
 And seems to 've lost its tone, 
 
 I, too, am gettin' old and gray, 
 All my frens am dead and gone, 
 And I 'm left here all alone. 
 
 Just to wait and to weep my life away. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 De days am sad, de nights am dreer, 
 
 But death will set me free. 
 And up on high beyond de sky 
 
 An angel I will be. 
 
172 
 
 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 But some ob dese ere nights, 
 When I lay me down to sleep, 
 
 I '11 close my eyes to wake no more, 
 Till she for whom I weep 
 Beyond de Jordan deep, 
 
 Wakes me up on dat bright and happy shore. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 De days am sad, de nights am dreer, 
 
 But death will set me free. 
 And up on high beyond de sky 
 
 An angel I will be. 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 173 
 
 THE EXILE'S WISH, 
 
 When my summons of death shall come, 
 
 And I must lay me down and die, 
 I wish to be afar from home. 
 
 Where not a single weeping eye 
 Shall look upon my pallid brow 
 
 And mark the heaving of my breast, 
 For were my senses then as now, 
 
 I could not calmly sink to rest. 
 
 Nor do I wish in that dread hour 
 
 The sobs of grieving friends to hear. 
 And know that 'tis not in my power 
 
 The sadness from their hearts to cheer ; 
 Nor would I feel upon my cheek 
 
 The tender touch of loving hand, 
 Nor list to lips which faltering speak 
 
 The glories of a better land. 
 
 But rather in some lonely cave, 
 
 To all the world but me unknown. 
 Be mine, the exile's unsought grave. 
 
 Where soothed by the ocean's moan, 
 Without a tear, without a groan. 
 
 To end this troubled hfe of mine 
 And leave my dust, to man unknown. 
 
 Where sun or star-rays never shine. 
 
174 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 WOMAN AND THE SNAKE. 
 
 RBPIvY TO RKV. F. J. E. 
 
 I hold it true 
 And still maintain 
 
 This fact where e 'er I go ; 
 That I or you, 
 What e 'er we do 
 
 Are heirs to pain and woe. 
 
 Old mother Eve, 
 The apple ate, 
 
 From the forbidden tree, 
 And I believe 
 'Twas to conceive. 
 
 And so caused you and me. 
 
 We all are here 
 How e 'er it be. 
 
 And all must multiply. 
 And all must bear 
 Pain, grief and care, 
 
 And in the end must die. 
 
 God willed it so. 
 We can 't deny, 
 
 Or else it ne 'er had been ; 
 And thus 'tis so 
 That all our woe 
 
 Is not produced by sin. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 175 
 
 In Eden fair, 
 
 Ere man was made, 
 
 Jehovah's will was law ; 
 The tempter's snare 
 And man's despair 
 
 God doubtless all foresaw. 
 
 And had He not 
 Ordained that Eve 
 
 Should of the apple eat. 
 Old Eve, I wot, 
 Had never got 
 
 Deceived by such a cheat. 
 
 And when you try 
 The fact to screen, 
 
 God's word you must forsake. 
 For all must die, 
 Both she and I, 
 
 Said God ; not so the snake. 
 
 And death, you see. 
 Brings pain and woe ; 
 
 And troubles multiply, 
 And you and me 
 And all we see. 
 
 Must suffer, toil and die. 
 
 And good or bad, 
 'Tis all the same. 
 
 We can 't amend the law ; 
 And whether glad. 
 Or whether mad, 
 
 It is no use to jaw. 
 
176 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 NATALITIA. 
 
 (Written before marriage, to my wife, on the occasion of lier sixteenth 
 
 birthday.) 
 
 Just sixteen years have passed away 
 Since precious Lizzie's natal day ; 
 
 Just sixteen years since Nature's God 
 Looked down from His abode above 
 
 Upon this dreary mundane sod 
 And saw it had no queen of love. 
 
 Then to an angel by His side 
 
 He did the task of love confide 
 To search through all the hosts of heaven 
 
 And find the brightest seraph there, 
 That she might to the earth be given 
 
 To reign as queen of all the fair. 
 
 The angel then, with that command, 
 Flew round among the angel band. 
 
 And, searching, found a fairy sprite. 
 With raven curls and snowy breast 
 
 And rosy cheeks and eyes of light, 
 
 Which brighter shone than all the rest. 
 
 And as no fairer could be found, 
 
 Around that sprite her arms she wound, 
 
 And, spreading forth her wings of white. 
 Flew swiftly down and brought to earth 
 
 That little queen — the fairy sprite. 
 And gave to her terrestial birth. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 
 
 177 
 
 12 
 
 And since to earth this queen was born, 
 The ranks of beauty to adorn, 
 
 With every year more fair she's grown, 
 'Till I have vowed that little elf 
 
 Shall rule but one, and one alone, 
 And I shall be that one myself. 
 
178 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 A PLEA FOR UNITY. 
 
 A CAMPAIGN POKM. 
 
 Hear me, sons of Alabama ! 
 
 Hear, oh hear my earnest plea ! 
 Cease thy fratricidal warfare, 
 
 Our nation's eyes are turned on thee. 
 Let not demagogues and traitors 
 
 With anarchistic tongues inflame 
 Thy loyal hearts with madness blind 
 
 To plunge thy State in gulfs of shame. 
 
 Let thy pride of race unite thee ; 
 
 Thy birthright is this godly land ; 
 By God's ordained supremacy 
 
 Thine is the right to still command. 
 Then spurn, oh, spurn with bitter scorn 
 
 The leadership of selfish knaves 
 Who fain would foist upon us all 
 
 A rulership of former slaves. 
 
 Ye have in times that tried men's souls 
 
 Displayed your valor and your might. 
 And borne through fiercest battle storms 
 
 Old Alabama's banner bright, 
 And now when threat'ning dangers lurk 
 
 On every hand and every side. 
 Oh, will ye, worthy patriots, 
 
 Let aught your noble ranks divide ? 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 179 
 
 Our glorious Southland's holy cause 
 
 A true Caucasian pride inspires 
 In every true and honest breast 
 
 Of Alabama's sons and sires ; 
 For come what will of weal or woe, 
 
 Our destiny must be the same ; 
 In unity there's honor still — 
 
 Division means defeat and shame. 
 
 Then curs'd be he whose selfish soul, 
 
 Groping in its darkened cell, 
 Would on our State base odium bring — 
 
 A degradation worse than h — 1. 
 For when rape fiends and radicals 
 
 Shall grasp once more the reins of state, 
 God pity helpless women fair, 
 
 Shield and protect them from their fate ! 
 
 Then let us all together come. 
 
 United firm in heart and hand. 
 And swear by God's eternal love 
 
 To shield and save our native land. 
 Yes, swear by God who made the blood 
 
 Which flows in every white man's veins, 
 That true to our Caucasian race 
 
 We '11 loyal stand while life remains. 
 
180 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 OUR SOLDIERS' GRAVES- 
 
 (Written in Oak Hill Cemetery, Atlanta, Decoration Day.) 
 
 Behold the hosts with solemn tread, 
 
 As on in silence now they move, 
 Amid the graves where sleep the dead 
 
 Who died for this dear land we love. 
 
 Tis not for pride and vain display. 
 
 That they have sought this hallowed ground, 
 
 But love's commands, which they obey, 
 To honor every sacred mound. 
 
 See, every hand a garland bears, 
 Of evergreens and sweetest blooms. 
 
 Bathed with the heart's sincerest tears. 
 To decorate those hallowed tombs. 
 
 The task is one sublimely grand, 
 
 And all that martyr ever craves. 
 Or claims of the survivor's hand — 
 
 A tribute to their silent graves. 
 
 No monument of lettered stone. 
 
 However high may be its head. 
 So much of love can e'er make known. 
 
 As do these tears by beauty shed. 
 
 And oh ! what more could patriots ask, 
 As they look down from heavenly spheres. 
 
 And see performed this grateful task. 
 
 Their graves o'erstrewn with flowers and tears. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 181 
 
 A LOVER'S PIQUE. 
 
 Fair girl, if thou could'st only know 
 
 How much of love thou art possessed, 
 Thou would'st the cruel slights forego, 
 
 By which my heart's so oft distressed : 
 Nor would thy lips in cold disdain, 
 
 E'er with scornful smile reprove me, 
 Unless 'tis pleasure to give pain 
 
 To one who cannot help but love thee. 
 
 Ne'er would'st that sparkling eye of thine 
 
 E'er blanch me with its glance of hate, 
 Nor would'st thou scorn these tears of mine, 
 
 And bid me curse my bitter fate. 
 Nay, nay, not so, if thou but 'st knew 
 
 How helpless I am to control 
 That flame of love which lit by you, 
 
 Which day and night consumes my soul. 
 
 But pity would with soothing wand 
 
 Thy heart to soft impulses move. 
 And thou who art so proud and grand, 
 
 Should'st pity my unhappy love. 
 Repentance, too, within my heart, 
 
 Should'st fill thy lovely eyes with tears, 
 And bid thy quivering lips impart 
 
 Sweet words of solace to mine ears. 
 
182 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 But go ! thy pity I disdain. 
 
 My manhood's pride is now returning, 
 For tho' I 've loved so long in vain, 
 
 The flame at last must cease its burning, 
 Yes, true, for even whilst I write, 
 
 Altho' the change has come so late. 
 My soul's aglow with new-born light. 
 
 From fires of newly kindled hate. 
 
 Yes, go ! and be thou cursed or blest. 
 
 Thy love and pity I disdain. 
 For now I feel within my breast 
 
 No more the slightest touch of pain. 
 Nor would I lose one single breath 
 
 To yield a sigh of one regret, 
 But rather would I face my death 
 
 Than suppliant sue to base coquette. 
 
AND OTHieR POBMS. 
 
 DYING ABELARD- 
 
 Here within this gloomy abbey, 
 
 Where I came to hide my shame, 
 I now welcome death's approaches 
 
 Which must soon my spirit claim. 
 Years have passed since first I entered. 
 
 Through this ill-foreboding door, 
 Casting off the wreaths of laurel, 
 
 Which in glory once I wore. 
 
 And with memories wrought in sorrow, 
 
 Slowly wearing out my life, 
 I have prayed the coming summons 
 
 That should end my bosom's strife. 
 Even now while sable shadows 
 
 Darken o'er my glazing eye, 
 Calmly I receive the warning, 
 
 Feeling that 'tis sweet to die. 
 
 But oh, my faithful Heloise, 
 
 To thee my dying spirit flies. 
 And the past with sorrows laden. 
 
 In my burning thoughts arise ; 
 And I see thee pure and lovely, 
 
 As before I brought thee shame. 
 And I hear thy earnest pleading. 
 
 To forsake thee — for my fame. 
 
 183 
 
184 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 And I see the look of anguish 
 
 Settle on thy features still, 
 As when first the curse of passion 
 
 Triumphed o'er thy virtuous will. 
 Oh, the memories of that hour ; 
 
 How they cling with keen regret, 
 Would to God my awful sinning, 
 
 I could banish or forget. 
 
 All my fortune, fame and glory, 
 
 I relinquished for thy smile. 
 Smothered was my soul and conscience, 
 
 By my passion's subtle guile. 
 And when all too late repenting, 
 
 I had taken thee, to wife, 
 Fulbert, in his brutal vengeance, 
 
 Worse than robbed me of my life. 
 
 Hark, methinks I hear thy voice, 
 
 Yes, oh, yes ! I see thy face ; 
 Quick my long neglected idol. 
 
 Clasp me in thy warm embrace ; 
 Lay thy hands upon my brow, 
 
 Whilst those burning lips of thine 
 Impart once more their latent heat 
 
 To these frozen lips of mine. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 185 
 
 Alas ! 'tis o'er, 'twas but a dream 
 
 Of my racked and frenzied brain, 
 And thou, — my own sweet Heloise, 
 
 I will never see again. 
 Still and dark is all around me, 
 
 Soon my breast will cease to swell, 
 God of mercy shield and keep thee, 
 
 Sweet Heloise, fare thee well. 
 
 THE DUDE. 
 
 There 's a fellow in this city 
 
 And I guess you know him well. 
 But if not 'tis no pity, 
 
 For he 's but a fancy swell 
 Who only lives for pleasure, 
 
 A life of ease and rest, 
 And of all his mammy's children. 
 
 He loves himself the best. 
 
 You '11 find him at the races. 
 
 The party and soiree. 
 And in the ladies' faces 
 
 He fondly looks to see 
 A smiling recognition 
 
 Of his form so finely drest, 
 For of all his mammy's children. 
 
 He loves himself the best. 
 
186 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 He drives the finest horses 
 
 And dances with much grace, 
 Tho' in his weazen features 
 
 The monkey you can trace. 
 He 's a four-ply base-ball critic, 
 
 At billiards plays with zest. 
 And of all his mammy's children. 
 
 He loves himself the best. 
 
 But at the ball and picnic 
 
 This la da da young dude 
 Gets in his finest antics, 
 
 His monkey actions rude ; 
 A crank he is on waltzing 
 
 With a dudine on his breast, 
 For of all his mammy's children, 
 
 He loves himself the best. 
 
 I guess the God who made him 
 
 Must have made him for a cause^ 
 But really I 'm too shallow 
 
 To imagine what it was ; 
 His head I know is empty. 
 
 No virtue fills his breast, 
 But of all his mammy's children, 
 
 He loves himself the best. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 187 
 
 BRAVE NICKELL OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 All through the day in battle fray 
 
 Brave Nickell nobly stood, 
 And when the fight had closed with night 
 
 And the field was red with blood, 
 When all had fled except the dead 
 
 Of his followers on the field, 
 He stood alone with flashing gun 
 
 Disdaining still to yield. 
 
 Like lightning's crash his carbine's flash 
 
 Rang out with fearful dread, 
 And every peal from out his steel 
 
 Still added to the dead. 
 Loud bursting shell around him fell 
 
 And fast the bullets flew. 
 But, trusting God, he trode the sod, 
 
 A hero brave and true. 
 
 But e'en the best must take their rest, 
 
 And he must sleep at last. 
 And ere the dawn of coming morn 
 
 The tyrants held him fast. 
 His arms they bound and 'round him wound 
 
 Long cords of strength and power. 
 And martial Judge, with spiteful grudge, 
 
 Soon fixed his fatal hour. 
 
188 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 Yes, right away he fixed the day. 
 
 And in the self-same breath, 
 With demon smile, named Johnson's isle, 
 
 His place to meet his death. 
 But not a word or muscle stirred 
 
 When the sentence struck his ear. 
 He stood alone, like cast of stone, 
 
 Unmoved by grief or fear. 
 
 And when he stood and calmly viewed 
 
 The beam and dangling rope, 
 His manly will with courage still, 
 
 Unblanched by flight of hope. 
 Showed from his eyes, without disguise, 
 
 A heart with pluck imbued — 
 A soul of flame, which would not tame. 
 
 Nor be by death subdued. 
 
 No friend was there his thoughts to share, 
 
 No priest with him to pray ; 
 But never man since tim.e began, 
 
 Met death with less dismay. 
 To friends in grey he bid them say. 
 
 When death had closed his eye, 
 That true to God and native sod. 
 
 He never feared to die. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 189 
 
 ADIEU TO ^^NINETY-FOUR/'* 
 
 Adieu ! adieu ! old ninety-four, 
 
 Your last, last sun is set ; 
 Go take thy place on Stygian shore, 
 
 Unmourned by one regret. 
 
 For though by you we 're nearer brought 
 
 To life's fast coming end, 
 You 've brought to none of pleasure aught 
 
 And proved to none a friend. 
 
 But much of that we 'd won by toil, 
 
 You 've pilfered in your stay, 
 And now like some marauding thief 
 
 By night you steal away. 
 
 How many homes all desolate, 
 
 Their ruin sad to see ; 
 How many orphans left to fate, 
 
 Old year, are due to thee ? 
 
 Your footprints on the shores of time 
 
 Forever will remain ; 
 But scarce a heart in any clime 
 
 Will wish you back again. 
 
 Then go and be forever gone ; 
 
 All that you promised fair 
 Hath been withheld, and hopes forlorn 
 
 Attest how false you were. 
 
 * Written December 31, 1894, at the close of general hard times. 
 
190 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 Thy dying dirge will fitting seem 
 When gong and clanging bell, 
 
 And everything with breath of steam 
 Shall sound thy parting knell. 
 
 Then let thy spirit take its flight, 
 Thy pinions quickly spread, 
 
 To shores of dark Plutonian night 
 To sleep with ages dead. 
 
 Earth's mantle, now of whitest snow, 
 Shall be your winding sheet. 
 
 The stars shall funeral tapers glow, 
 The winds thy requiems meet. 
 
 Hark ! Now I hear the whistles shriek, 
 
 I hear the clanging bell ; 
 Avauat ! be gone ! thy doom they speak 
 
 Farewell, old year, farewell. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 191 
 
 THE GIRLS OF SILVER CREEK. 
 
 **Poeta nascitur non fit," 
 Some ancient sage or bard has writ, 
 But I was not a poet born. 
 Or if I was, I *ve spoilt the horn ; 
 At least I 'm no poetic spoon, 
 Or if I am, was pulled too soon ; 
 Nor have I climbed Parnassus Mount, 
 Or drunk from Helicon's sweet fount; 
 Nor do I woo the sacred nine 
 To aid me in this task of mine, 
 Nor need I the Pegasus' jade, 
 For theme like mine should claim no aid. 
 I need no Latin, French or Greek 
 To praise the girls of Silver Creek. 
 Their charms alone my pen inspire 
 And lift me from prosaic mire 
 That I must tread when praising men. 
 Or telling facts "that might have been,'* 
 I '11 drink not e'en the ruby wine 
 To wake within me thoughts divine ; 
 But trusting naught for inspiration 
 I '11 write as suits my inclination. 
 Let critics mouth and criticise, 
 'Tis critics that I most despise. 
 Fools find it easier faults to find 
 Than their own business ends to mind. 
 But hang it all ! this long prelude 
 Is wasting time and does no good. 
 
192 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 So, girls, here goes ; know I 'm your friend, 
 
 I hope to please and not offend. 
 
 The first of whom I '11 sing is Matt, 
 
 She 's full of fun and awful fat ; 
 
 Where 'er she goes it 's ** get out sadness," 
 
 Make room for fun, good will and gladness. 
 
 She 's a sugar lump of sweetest joys, 
 
 And weighs two hundred avoirdupois. 
 
 The next is Georgia, her fair sister, 
 
 A kiss from whom would raise a blister; 
 
 She 's neat and tidy as a pin. 
 
 And has a heart that knows no sin. 
 
 That she 's a beauty, bet your life, 
 
 And would make a man a noble wife. 
 
 And there is Annie — she 's a daisy, 
 
 Enough to run a lover crazy. 
 
 She's young and gentle, sweet and tender, 
 
 A lovely blonde, graceful, slender ; 
 
 Her hps with ripe twin cherries vie, 
 
 And roses bow when she goes by. 
 
 Then Jennie R., the little fairy; 
 
 Bashful, timid and so wary; 
 
 To flatter her were just as silly 
 
 As trying to paint the fairest lily. 
 
 But what shall I of Julia say? 
 
 Would I a worthy tribute pay 
 
 To her kind heart and gen'rous soul, 
 
 I 'd need the heavens for a scroll ; 
 
 On less of space I could not find 
 
 Room to praise her heart so kind ; 
 
13 
 
 AND OTHKR POKMS. 193 
 
 But since such space can 't be her meed, 
 
 The will is given for the deed. 
 
 And now the next is Etta's name, 
 
 To wake my soul's poetic flame ; 
 
 And as I clasp my willing pen, 
 
 To praise this fairy of the glen, 
 
 My thoughts run wild, my heart beats high. 
 
 But to flatter her I need not try ; 
 
 Her charms no pen can eulogize, 
 
 But he who wins her wins a prize. 
 
 And then there 's Ida, whom we so miss, 
 
 To have her back would give us bliss. 
 
 Full many hearts will sigh and ache 
 
 'Till she returns, for her sweet sake. 
 
 Nor Lizzie B. will I omit. 
 
 When praising beauty, worth and wit ; 
 
 For those are graces all her own. 
 
 And thousands more I can 't make known. 
 
 Nor would I here Miss Lula slight, 
 
 For slighting her would not be right. 
 
 She 's full of goodness, pluck and grit, 
 
 And knows the rule, "git up and git." 
 
 I cannot praise her worth too much, 
 
 The world were better for more just such — 
 
 But like the dessert after dinner. 
 
 As sure as I 'm an honest sinner, 
 
 I 've left the best to be the last. 
 
 In winding up my rhyme's repast. 
 
194 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHIBRN HEROES 
 
 'Tis Emma W., she 's a whizzer, 
 
 A thousand boys would like to squeeze her, 
 
 For she 's so plump, so sweet and fair, 
 
 Tom I n sighs to be a bear. 
 
 But Tom, old boy, you need not sigh, 
 The best of grapes are always high ; 
 The sweetest sugar's in hard lumps. 
 And queens are caught by bigger trumps; 
 But sail in, Tom, with all the rest. 
 For he who wins is more than blest. 
 
 WE COME ONCE MORE* 
 
 We come once more, and with us bring 
 The sweetest flowers of early spring, 
 To decorate the lonely graves 
 Of our loved, departed braves. 
 
 Tis duty's call which we obey. 
 That prompts the tributes which we pay 
 To those who sleep in death's embrace. 
 Who died for honor and their race. 
 
 And as we deck each holy mound. 
 We '11 humbly kneel upon the ground. 
 And raise our hearts in prayer to God 
 To bless our patriots' hallowed sod. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 195 
 
 A WOMAN OF THE TOWN- 
 
 Only a fallen woman, 
 
 Mark the paint upon her cheek, 
 That hides the faltering blushes 
 
 Where modesty would speak ; 
 Spurn her from your church's door, 
 
 Seat her not in sacred pew ; 
 Her soul is steeped in vileness, 
 
 Let her learn her wrongs to rue. 
 
 Bar all your homes against her 
 
 And spurn her on the street, 
 Let her ears to scornful hisses 
 
 Hearken when you chance to meet. 
 She has parted with her virtue. 
 
 She was tempted and she fell, 
 And now, with scornful daggers, 
 
 Help to drive her soul to hell. 
 
 Jesus, the dying Saviour, 
 
 Only shed his precious blood 
 To pave the way to Heaven 
 
 For the virtuous and the good. 
 The unfortunates of passion, 
 
 And of man's deceiving lies. 
 Must never hope for pardon 
 
 Nor to mount the Christian's skies. 
 
196 A GAI<AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 If she ask of you for bread, 
 
 Be sure you give her a stone — 
 Perhaps 'twill gall her conscience 
 
 And extort a deeper groan. 
 Let her feel your pious vengeance, 
 
 Crush her heart beneath your heel. 
 And think how Christ will bless you 
 
 For the spirit you reveal. 
 
 Never touch her sinful hand, 
 
 Nor beside her kneel and pray ; 
 Shut the book of life against her, 
 
 Let her go her sinful way. 
 Sting her soul with contumely, 
 
 Never let to her be known 
 ,That Christ has said that the sinless 
 
 Should be the first to cast a stone. 
 
 Oh, you hollow-hearted men, 
 
 And you, women in your pride. 
 Behold this fallen outcast 
 
 While your consciences decide 
 If you should have forgiveness 
 
 For all your sinful stains. 
 While she, poor erring mortal. 
 
 Must, unpitied, wear her chains. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 197 
 
 WAITING AND LONGING* 
 
 How long seem the days, and what ages the weeks, 
 Since, darling, my lips I last pressed to thy cheeks ; 
 And oh ! with what longing, what anguish and pain, 
 I wait for the day when I '11 see thee again. 
 
 The nights are so long, so lonely without thee ; 
 My thoughts and my dreams are ever about thee ; 
 Sleep wooes not my lids, tho' tired and weary. 
 Life is a burden, existence is dreary. 
 
 In bright gilded halls of pleasure's resort, 
 Where the joyous and gay with companions consort; 
 The laughter there heard and all that I see, 
 O'erwhelms me with sadness and longings for thee. 
 
 On the streets when I stroll and join with the throng 
 Of multitudes rushing, hurrying along. 
 All aimless I wander on no mission bent, 
 And naught that I find can bring me content. 
 
 Oh, what in this life is worth living for me 
 When thy face and thy form no longer I see. 
 No music can soothe me, no pleasure delight. 
 When thou art not near me my life is a blight. 
 
 Then fly ye winged hours and hasten the day 
 That shall bring me surcease from my longing dismay; 
 When the sunshine of love, the smiles of my wife 
 Shall banish the gloom now dark'ning my life. 
 
198 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 GIVE ME FOR A FRIEND. 
 
 Give me for a friend 
 
 The warm-hearted man, 
 Who dares to do right, 
 
 Whatever betide ; 
 Whose love-beaming eye 
 
 Some virtue will scan 
 In the worst of all those 
 
 Whom braggarts deride. 
 
 I ask not his name, 
 
 Nor care for his birth ; 
 Whether Gentile or Jew, 
 
 No need to enquire ; 
 Whether highly in fame. 
 
 Or lowly of earth 
 If his heart warmly beats 
 
 With love-kindled fire. 
 
 Yes, give me the man 
 
 Whose soul-beaming eye 
 Grows moist with a tear 
 
 At pity's appeal, 
 And who to the call 
 
 Is ready to fly. 
 And a liberal heart 
 
 By actions reveal. 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 199 
 
 Yes, give me the man 
 
 With carriage erect, 
 In the lines of whose h'ps 
 
 True courage I '11 trace ; 
 Who 's slow in a friend 
 
 A fault to detect. 
 But ready and quick 
 
 A foeman to face. 
 
 Let him be a true man. 
 
 From dogmas all freed, 
 Whose mind is his book, 
 
 His conscience his guide ; 
 Who deigns not to stoop 
 
 To priest-ridden creed. 
 But walks by the light 
 
 Which God hath supplied. 
 
200 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 LINES FOR THANKSGIVING DAY. 
 
 When nature's God with plastic hand, 
 His pencils dip in rainbow dyes 
 
 To paint the autumn forest grand, 
 
 Such rapturous beauty greets mine eyes 
 
 That I perforce from pure delight 
 • And gratitude to God in Heaven, 
 
 For such sublime, entrancing sight 
 Must thanks return for rapture given. 
 
 I render thanks for fruitful fields, 
 
 Snow-banked with fleecy cotton white, 
 For golden wealth that harvest yields, 
 
 For fruit and flowers my soul's delight, 
 Oh ! yes, for these rich blessings rare, 
 
 I bend my head and bless the sod, 
 While from my lips I breathe a prayer 
 
 Of gratitude and thanks to God. 
 
 And when my wistful gaze I turn 
 
 To great etherial dome above. 
 Where astral lamps eternal burn 
 
 Swung out through God's supernal love 
 To light me to his home on high, 
 
 I feel my soul with rapture swell 
 And winged with prayer thanksgivings fly 
 
 To Him who doeth all things well. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 201 
 
 A PHILLIPIC ON EXEMPTION LAWS, 
 
 It used to be but ain 't so now, that men would pay 
 their debts, 
 
 But thinking now of that time past, I sigh with vain 
 regrets. 
 
 Protecting laws for scheming knaves, the bill-col- 
 lector greets, 
 
 But nowhere in our code we find a law against *' dead- 
 beats." 
 
 Exemption laws, for knaves a shield, the demagogues 
 
 have made, 
 Which license gives to every thief who wills to ply 
 
 his trade. 
 Our honest tradesmen vainly seek in courts their 
 
 rights to gain. 
 Whilst sleek-fed rascals sit and smile to see them seek 
 
 in vain. 
 
 Statutes of anti-garnishment, dishonest men protect. 
 And every poor man's word or note our tradesmen 
 
 must reject. 
 For since all the laws have been repealed for creditor's 
 
 relief. 
 We dare not credit any man lest he should prove a 
 
 thief. 
 
202 
 
 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 But men with millions to invest, in goods to sell on 
 
 time, 
 For poor men, spread the mortgage net and seine for 
 
 every dime. 
 And they who in their meshes caught, like sheep by 
 
 shearers tied. 
 Are oftimes clipped so close for wool, they lose both 
 
 wool and hide. 
 
 But let us all, as honest men, these devilish laws 
 
 efface. 
 They foster and encourage theft, our state they do 
 
 disgrace. 
 The poor man's credit they impair, the shylock's 
 
 coffers fill, 
 And all who advocate such laws, a prison cell should 
 
 fill. 
 
AND O'THER POEMS. 203 
 
 THE WRECK. 
 
 'Tis over now, the dream is past, 
 A dream it was — too bright to last ; 
 
 I know the worst, I feel it all, 
 My last bright hope has fled ; 
 
 I take the cup and drink the gall. 
 Though tears no more I '11 shed. 
 
 Yet, welling up in memory strong, 
 
 I measure still the awful wrong ; 
 His loving words were, oh, so dear, 
 
 I blindly followed on. 
 And now there 's naught my heart to cheer, 
 
 My faith in man is gone. 
 
 But oh, unequal and unjust, 
 
 That he who won my love and trust. 
 
 And then betrayed me to my shame, 
 Tho' guiltier far than I, 
 
 Escapes the penalties and blame. 
 Whilst I must worse than die. 
 
 For I have learned, alas, too late ! 
 
 To mourn my sad and bitter fate ; 
 Have learned in bitter anguish deep 
 
 How base man is — unjust, 
 And learned how useless 'tis to weep. 
 
 When conquered by his lust. 
 
204 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 But SO it is, the die is cast, 
 The past is now forever past ; 
 
 Nor pleading prayer, nor mints of gold, 
 Nor all my curses vain 
 
 Can lift the guilt from off my soul, 
 Nor bring my virtue back again. 
 
 Could I alone but bear the shame, 
 And sully not my parent's name. 
 
 My bleeding heart should bleed alone. 
 My lips should murmur not. 
 
 And I might stifle every groan, 
 And cease to wail my lot. 
 
 But when I think that with my fall. 
 My friends, my brothers, sisters, all. 
 
 And every kindred link on earth 
 Must share the blighting stain — 
 
 Yes, even my babe before its birth — 
 The thought doth wreck my brain. 
 
 Ah, yes, ah, yes, e'en now I feel 
 
 My vague and wandering senses reel ; 
 
 Black demons strike and serpents dart 
 And fiends, the blackest, round me yell ; 
 
 My friends forsake, my heart strings part ; 
 Oh, welcome, death and hell. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 205 
 
 GOOD-BYE* 
 
 Impelled by that resistless fate, 
 
 Which guides me with an iron hand, 
 
 I must forsake the scenes of late, 
 To roam again some other land. 
 
 For it has ever been my lot 
 
 'Mid strangers all my life to roam, 
 
 And never find on earth a spot 
 That I may even claim as home. 
 
 And knowing not where next I '11 be, 
 
 I follow on without a fear, 
 For since these scenes no more I '11 see. 
 
 There 's nothing else excites a care. 
 
 But let me go where 'er I may, 
 
 There 's not a scene that I '11 forget ; 
 
 There 's not a friend but every day 
 I '11 think of with a sad regret. 
 
 ^Nebo and Hebron oft will rise 
 
 In sweet imaginative view. 
 And looking on the starry skies. 
 
 My soul will all its hopes renew. 
 
 *Round Island, too, and Bethlehem 
 
 Will in affection ever dwell. 
 For sacred truths first learned in them 
 
 Have sunk in memory's deepest cell. 
 
206 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 And friendly faces that I 've loved, 
 Imprinted on my inmost heart, 
 
 Will linger there by time unmoved. 
 And only with my life depart. 
 
 There 's Robert L., my noble friend, 
 From whom I part with keenest pain. 
 
 For him my love shall never end, 
 Tho' we may never meet again. 
 
 Yes, and there is still another — 
 
 Dear Thomas S. , whose generous heart 
 
 Makes me love him like a brother. 
 
 And grieves my soul that we must part. 
 
 And oft when 1 in slumbers lie. 
 My soul, escaping from my breast. 
 
 Will back to Minnie swiftly fly. 
 And vigils keep while she's at rest. 
 
 But why should I their names repeat. 
 Or let my muse their virtues tell. 
 
 When we on earth no more shall meet. 
 So, friends and loved ones, fare ye well. 
 
 *Nebo. Hebron, Round Island and Bethlehem were names of 
 churches in a county in Alabama, 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 207 
 
 OUR NATION'S SHAME.* 
 
 " Belmont and the Rothscliilds (the English syndicate) will protect our 
 nation's credit." — Carlisle. 
 
 I am a freeman and declare 
 
 Before my God and fellow-man 
 That rather than I e'er should wear 
 
 The shackels of that craven clan, 
 Who bend the knee at Mammon's shrine 
 
 And stulify our nation's pride, 
 I would far rather see decline 
 
 My life's last sun in Lethe's tide. 
 
 I love my God and fellow-men, 
 
 And honor still my country's flag, 
 I love her every glade and glen, 
 
 Her every stream and mountain crag; 
 I love her history and the men 
 
 Whose hands the stars and stripes unfurled. 
 And wrought for her a glory then 
 
 The brightest that has blessed the world. 
 
 And I will swear and firmly vow 
 
 In spite of all that may betide. 
 That I will never bend, nor bow. 
 
 Or leaning, veer towards the side 
 Of that base, venial, bribe-bought man. 
 
 That Jumbo-Judas of our day, 
 That chieftain of a cuckoo clan 
 
 Who would my country's rights betray. 
 
 • Written during- the second term of Cleveland's administration 
 
208 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 No! no! I loathe, I spurn, I hate, 
 
 With deep disgust my soul is stirred 
 At very thought of such a fate 
 
 As on my land has been conferred 
 By that vile traitor, Shylock's tool, 
 
 Disgracing now the honored seat 
 Where Washington was wont to rule 
 
 When England groveled at his feet. 
 
 But now, my God ! my countrymen ! 
 
 Behold the shame upon us brought, 
 Yea, looking, see and tell me when 
 
 Was e'er before upon us wrought 
 Such ignominy and disgrace 
 
 As shames our nation's honor now. 
 Let Freedom's Goddess hide her face 
 
 While such disgrace shall stain her brow. 
 
 See how has sunk our nation's pride. 
 
 How mean our independence now 
 Since England, whom we long defied. 
 
 Can come and make us humbly bow 
 And eat the crumbs she deigns to give ; 
 
 Yea, lick her hand as curs might do 
 And thank our God she lets us live — 
 
 Ye gods ! the thought doth make me spew. 
 
 But out with all such twaddle base, 
 This is the land Columbus gave 
 
 And never shall a foreign race 
 
 Degrade our eighty millions brave ; 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 209 
 
 But true to God and all that 's right 
 
 Old England we will still defy 
 And in our majesty and might, 
 
 We '11 rule this land or, fighting, die. 
 
 Then down with that arch-traitor bold, 
 
 And every hireling satellite. 
 Our nation's honor to uphold 
 
 Should be each patriot's chief delight. 
 Down with the English syndicate. 
 
 Who dares our nation's rights abuse, 
 And sweep from off our ship of state 
 
 That craven crew of base " cuckoos." 
 
 And glorious, let "Old Glory" still 
 
 Before all nations proudly wave. 
 Whilst every mint shall stamp and mill 
 
 The dollars that our fathers gave. 
 No English Shylock or Cuckoo* 
 
 Shall brook the wrathful, rising tide. 
 For what we would, we dare to do 
 
 In fostering still our nation's pride. 
 
 * Cuckoo, the name facetiously given by one wing' of the Democratic 
 party to those Democrats who endorsed President Cleveland in his 
 course on the money question. 
 
 14 
 
210 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 MY FRIEND. 
 
 My friend of to-day is my friend of to-morrow, 
 His joy is my joy, his sorrow my sorrow ; 
 Let him be what he will, his acts I approve, 
 For I see not his faults, so great is my love. 
 
 I 've known him full long and know him full well. 
 Of his many good traits 'tis needless to tell ; 
 But sufficient to me is this above all. 
 He *s a friend unto those whom misfortunes befall. 
 
 He wears not the symbol of creed or of church, 
 But when charity calls is not found in the lurch, 
 And bearing no trumpet to sound his own praise, 
 His conscience by him is more treasured than bays. 
 
 Never daunted by fear, when dangers arise, 
 Nor wearing a mask, his thoughts to disguise : 
 He 's a friend to his friends and a foe to his foes, 
 And his actions his noble impulses disclose. 
 
 He is rich, but not with bright silver and gold. 
 Nor many broad acres hath he to control ; 
 But richer, far richer, than Croesus the king. 
 His wealth is the peace his conscience doth bring. 
 
 XJnsordid, unselfish ; he *s a man I can trust, 
 JFor his words and his deeds are all meant to be 
 
 just. 
 And though he may err in whole or in part, 
 ^Tis a fault of his judgment and not of his heart. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 
 
 211 
 
 And now, as in past, "let fate do her worst," 
 My hopes be destroyed, my prospects accursed ; 
 Come weal or come woe, let me sink, let me swim, 
 I '11 be true to my friend though the world should 
 condemn. 
 
 And were there some ruby or diamond more bright 
 Than the fairest of gems in the crown of the night. 
 And should all the stars turn to diamonds and fall, 
 I would not give my friend, if I could, for them all. 
 
212 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 THE RIGHT. 
 
 On the world's broad stage of action, 
 
 Whatsoever part you play, 
 Let it be your soul's attraction 
 
 To do all the good you may ; 
 Heed not you the voice of jeering. 
 
 Notice not the foes who slight ; 
 Lift your head with manly bearing. 
 
 Let you motto be ''The Right." 
 
 Seeming friends will round you linger, 
 
 When your labors meet success, 
 But will point a scorning finger 
 
 When they see you in distress ; 
 And it may be they will trample 
 
 On you with a tyrant's might. 
 But forbear from their example, 
 
 Let your motto be "The Right." 
 
 Oft temptations in your pathway, 
 
 Like fair roses will be spread ; 
 Deceitful charms to lead astray. 
 
 Hiding dangers from your tread ; 
 For oft beneath ''fair roses" He 
 
 Serpents of most deadly bite ; 
 So always keep an open eye, 
 
 Let your motto be "The Right." 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 213 
 
 First see that what you undertake 
 
 Is just and right before you start, 
 Then when you 've done so, loose the brake, 
 
 And go ahead with all your heart ; 
 Think not of troubles on the track, 
 
 Tho' many dangers meet your sight. 
 Face them bravely, force them back ; 
 
 Let your motto be " The Right." 
 
 Should slanderers base your name assail. 
 
 Turn away with heedless ear ; 
 Should friends forsake and fortune fail, 
 
 Still to duty persevere ; 
 For every star that shines above 
 
 Shines on tho* clouds obscure the light — 
 So let the stars a lesson prove — 
 
 Let your motto be **The Right." 
 
 Then when from earth you pass away. 
 
 And your soul on wings of love 
 Has reached the shores of endless day 
 
 In that spirit land above, 
 You '11 find inscribed above the throne. 
 
 In characters of living light, 
 The motto which has been thine own — 
 
 The golden motto of '' The Right." 
 
214 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHKRN HKROKS 
 
 WOMAN- 
 
 RKSPONSE TO the; toast "woman." 
 
 Fair woman, sweet woman, grand is the theme. 
 
 Yet weak, oh ! how weak, my powers all seem 
 
 When I dare to essay a task so divine 
 
 As weaving a wreath her brow to entwine. 
 
 Nowhere can I find in fancy's wide range 
 
 Words to express my emotions so strange — 
 
 Emotions that rise welling up in my soul 
 
 And hold me spell-bound by their subtle control, 
 
 Defying all efforts of tongue and of brain 
 
 Yes, strive as I may, my struggle is vain, 
 
 And yet, tho' I know how impotent — vain, 
 
 My efforts must be, I will not refrain 
 
 When called to respond to the toast you propose 
 
 Though words are too weak to ever disclose 
 
 The depths of my love and lasting respects 
 
 For that best gift of God — the fair female sex. 
 
 Shall I speak of her now as the mother who bore us 
 
 Who kissed and caressed us and fondly watched o'er us 
 
 Through infancy's hours and childhood's bright years 
 
 Who smiled when we smiled and wept with our tears. 
 
 Who nourished us through all sickness and pain ? 
 
 Oh, name of sweet mother, all language is vain 
 
 When I would but express or faintly impart 
 
 A glint of that love that wells in my heart 
 
 When that name ever sacred falls on my ear. 
 
 Or I breathe it with reverence as now I do here. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 215 
 
 And now of the maidens, oh, what shall I say ? 
 Pile Ossa on Pelion, ye gods if I may, 
 Pluck from all Heaven the orbs of the night 
 Twist rainbows and rivers into garlands all bright 
 Boil down Mount Vesuvius, old ^tna condense, 
 And mix with chain-lightning and bring them now 
 
 hence, 
 Transform all the ocean into gems of bright thought 
 And give all unto me to praise as I ought 
 These angels of earth — the to-be mother pearls. 
 These — these, oh, I ' * bust, " but God bless the girls ! 
 
 Now what of our wives, those angels of joy. 
 
 What thoughts can I give, what words can employ. 
 
 To tell of their Constance, devotion and love ? 
 
 O God, send me aid by that harbinger dove 
 
 With some olive of hope, some de bon aug^ire, 
 
 Just tribute of praise to her merit to pay 
 
 Oh, behold while I speak, my wife at my side, 
 
 And what shall I do if this aid be denied ? 
 
 Just think of her wrath and my troubles to come 
 
 When we leave this bright hall and she gets me back 
 
 home ! 
 Then send me some aid — ye muses all nine. 
 Or a fate worse than death I know will be mine. 
 So here's to the wives, let me fail if I must 
 But to do them up well on Heaven I '11 trust 
 To guide and direct me in what I shall say. 
 For to fail, I well know, means the devil to pay. 
 
216 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 Yes ! yes ! the dear wives — sweet angels of love 
 Sent down by Creator from the Heavens above, 
 To guide and direct us in the ways that are right 
 And to quiz us next day when we 've stayed out at 
 
 night ; 
 To renew our shirt buttons, and squander our riches, 
 Point us upward to God, and to patch our old breeches ; 
 To bring us sweet kidlets — a new one each year — 
 Keep up with the fashions and show she don 't care 
 For panics that come our hearts to appall, 
 But will dress like the rest, though the heavens 
 
 should fall. 
 Whether hoop-skirt or pull-back, cut high or cut low 
 Becoming or not doesn 't cut any show, 
 To all that is fashion they quickly give heed 
 And die of hysterics if not found in the lead. 
 
 But in spite of all this God bless their sweet souls, 
 Their love is the strength that supports and controls 
 Whatever is best in the nature of man, 
 And their love is inwove, web and woof in each plan. 
 Which the wisdom of man has ever proposed, 
 Or the cunning and strength of his hand has disclosed. 
 Then here 's to the ladies, their health let us drink. 
 Let each cup and each goblet be filled to the brink 
 With wine, rosy wine. No ! its color of red 
 Would remind her of blood her heart has oft shed 
 In mourning and sorrow, and grief's bitter woe 
 Resulting from wine that hath death in its glow. • 
 Nor shall it be rum or sparkling champagne 
 These, too, sear the heart and sully the brain. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 217 
 
 But come noble knights, let our goblets be filled 
 With that drink which our God himself hath distilled 
 And sends in the raindrops and sparkling bright dew, 
 A drink the most precious that mortal e'er knew — 
 Yes water, pure water, sparkling and bright 
 Fit emblem of purity, virtue and right. 
 Then up with your cups and bright gleaming glasses 
 Let us drink to our mothers, our wives and the lasses ; 
 May their lives ever be as pure and as bright 
 As this clear crystal water, and as free from all blight 
 As the roses just kissed with the dews of God's love. 
 And their souls be as white as the snows from above. 
 May angels attend them and guide them in ways 
 Where pleasures abound to the end of their days. 
 And when at life's end, death's summons shall come 
 May those angels be with them to lead them up home 
 To that place built above — that Heaven supernal. 
 Where in peace and in love they may live on eternal, 
 Each wearing a crown as we know they all should 
 Prepared by our God for the virtuous and good. 
 
218 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 THE SOLDIER'S GRAVE. 
 
 Hallowed by man and bless'd by God, 
 Is ever the turf which covers the dead, 
 
 But doubly bless'd and hallowed the sod 
 Which lies o'er the martyred patriot's head. 
 
 'Tis there that brightest flowers bloom 
 And birds in peace most sweetly sing, • 
 
 While glory there dispels the gloom 
 And death itself doth lose its sting. 
 
 'Tis there that purest tears are shed. 
 
 Tears not of pity, but of love ; 
 For tho' we weep above the dead, 
 
 We know the spirit 's with God above. 
 
 'Tis there that brightest dews are seen, 
 'Tis there that winds most plaintive moan, 
 
 'Tis there the moon's soft silvery sheen 
 Doth lightest rest o'er Heaven's own. 
 
 'Tis there that women love to kneel 
 When prayers sincere most fluent flow 
 
 For in their hearts they seem to feel 
 That Heaven's gain is our woe. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 219 
 
 AN ORPHAN'S STORY. 
 
 (Written for and recited by a little g-irl on the occasion of a public 
 entertainment g-iven by a lodge of the Knights of Honor.) 
 
 Six months ago times were so bad, 
 Poor father left us all so sad, 
 And went in search of work to do, 
 For things at home were awful blue ; 
 We had no sugar, tea nor meat 
 And very little else to eat. 
 Our clothes were thin, our feet were bare, 
 In fact starvation seemed to stare. 
 Times were indeed so awful blue 
 Poor father knew not what to do, 
 Day after day for weeks in vain 
 He tried some kind of work to gain, 
 But every day 'twas just the same. 
 When home at night he weary came, 
 I 'd hear him to poor mother say 
 " I 've not a dollar earned to-day." 
 And then he 'd bow his head and sigh 
 And say he wished that he could die. 
 Poor mother then would try to cheer 
 By saying better times were near, 
 And round his neck her arms would place 
 And kiss his lips and kiss his face. 
 And gently stroke his roughened hair 
 Striving thus to soothe his care 
 Although her bleeding heart the while 
 Was breaking, she would sweetly smile, 
 
220 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 And beg him look to God for aid 
 And be not in his heart dismayed, 
 Telling him how the ravens fed 
 Poor Lijah when he prayed for bread ; 
 But papa was not much on prayer 
 Nor much relied on raven fare ; 
 He only on himself relied 
 To furnish what should be supplied 
 Such as clothing, coal arid food, 
 Just as all true husbands should. 
 He well had learned in sorrow's school 
 That trusting fate was as a rule 
 A waste of time that comes to naught, 
 That bread is not by waiting brought. 
 " In fact," he said, ** let birds be durned ; 
 If we get bread it must be earned. 
 And earned by me with honest work," 
 That duty he would never shirk ; 
 And since no work could he get here 
 He *d go and seek it else somewhere. 
 So telling mamma not to cry 
 He kissed and bade us all good-bye. 
 But hunger long had made him weak 
 And robbed the color from his cheek. 
 Thus faint and weak he went away, 
 And^I and mother day by day 
 Waited trusting soon to hear 
 From him, some news our hearts to cheer. 
 But days went by, and when at length 
 Poor mother wasted of her strength 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 221 
 
 Through grief and hunger went to bed, 
 
 I then was forced to beg for bread. 
 
 What else was there for me to do, 
 
 While mother daily weaker grew 
 
 And needed me by her sick bed 
 
 To bathe her hands and cool her head ? 
 
 And oft so hungry I would feel 
 
 That there beside her bed I 'd kneel 
 
 And pray to Him who reigns on high 
 
 To let poor me and mamma die ; 
 
 But God was good and willed it not 
 
 That we should die, though sad our lot, 
 
 And so we lived on day by day 
 
 No star of hope to send a ray 
 
 To cheer us in our sad dismay 
 
 With promise of a better day. 
 
 Poor mother daily weaker grew 
 
 While her sad eyes of liquid blue 
 
 Grew dim with weeping and with pain — 
 
 With grieving and with longings vain 
 
 For papa, who had not returned 
 
 And of whose death we had not learned. 
 
 But by and by a letter came 
 
 From place out west, just now the name 
 
 I can 't recall, but this it said 
 
 That my poor darling Pa was dead. 
 
 And while though far from home he died 
 
 That kindly friends were by his side 
 
 And gave to him all needful care ; 
 
 In fact, that he had brothers there 
 
222 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 Who stayed beside him night and day 
 Until his soul had passed away, 
 Then gave him funeral honors such, 
 As for a Prince, were not too much. 
 The writer then went on to tell 
 That he had known my papa well, 
 Said they were brothers of a band — 
 The noblest, greatest in the land. 
 And said that Knights of Honor true. 
 Would come to see us and would do 
 What e'er they could to cheer our grief,— 
 To comfort us and give relief. 
 A few weeks later, three or four. 
 We heard a knocking at the door 
 And opening it three men I met. 
 Whose coming I will ne'er forget. 
 They were so gentle and so kind ; 
 So genteel, manly and refined. 
 And talked so nicely all the while 
 They even made poor mamma smile. 
 And oh, it eased my hunger's pain 
 To see poor mamma smile again. 
 For she had been so long you know 
 Bowed down by sickness, want and woe ; 
 So long since I had seen a trace 
 Of pleasure in her pallid face ; 
 I scarcely could believe my eyes 
 So great indeed was my surprise. 
 Just what it was that made her smile 
 I '11 tell you in a little while. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 223 
 
 They said that they had come to bring 
 
 The Knights of Honor's offering, — 
 
 Two thousand dollars in a pile, 
 
 Yes, it was that which made her smile. 
 
 And now you all can plainly see 
 
 I 'm not so poor as I used to be : 
 
 My clothes are nice, my shoes are fine, 
 
 And see my rings just how they shine, 
 
 And when I walk out on the street 
 
 I notice every boy I meet 
 
 Gives a smiling glance at me, 
 
 And I 'm just happy as can be. 
 
 But I 've determined in my mind, 
 
 I '11 never marry till I find 
 
 A really handsome nice young man, 
 
 Who is a member of the clan 
 
 Of Knights of Honor, brave and true, 
 
 Who duty knows and dares to do 
 
 What is just, what e'er is right, — 
 
 As does each valiant woithy Knight. 
 
 Yes, he who wins my heart and hand. 
 
 Must be a member of that Band 
 
 Of Knights of Honor, generous, free, 
 
 Just like my papa used to be. 
 
224 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 OUR CONFEDERATE DEAD*^ 
 
 Wake up my muse, from slumber rise, 
 Bright is the earth and fair the skies ; 
 The birds are singing everywhere, 
 And flowers sweet perfume the air ; 
 Sweet gentle spring has come again, 
 And everywhere on hill and plain 
 Artistic Nature's works are seen 
 In festoons fair and banners green. 
 Then wake my muse, attune thy lyre, 
 My soul with melody inspire. 
 And let me now the thoughts impart 
 That echo in my loyal heart 
 And surge within my heaving breast, 
 Tho' all in vain to be expressed. 
 No simple rhyming roundelay 
 Will now suffice, for I essay 
 To sing in high and rapt'rous strain 
 The praises of our hallowed slain. 
 Yes, 'tis of these my song shall be, 
 Brave martyrs, they, to Hberty. 
 And oh, my muse could never ask 
 A more sublime or holy task. 
 For never since the world began. 
 Since God created living man. 
 Has ever more heroic band 
 Been marshaled out in any land 
 
 * Written for and read ofl Memorial Day, April 26th, 1896, by request 
 of Camp Hardee, U. C. V. 
 
15 
 
 AND OTHKR POEMS. 225 
 
 Than they who took the sword in hand 
 To battle for our Southern land; 
 Nor braver men have ever bled, 
 Nor better blood was ever shed, 
 Nor shed for cause more pure and grand. 
 Than was that of our Southern band. 
 Then would to God my muse could rise 
 On soaring wing to yonder skies 
 And pluck the shining orbs of night 
 Like roses, that in garlands bright, 
 Each star might shine an immortelle 
 For those who for my country fell. 
 I durst, if such I could but do, 
 Snatch from yon dome of azure hue 
 Each sun and moon and satellite 
 That beams within the crown of night 
 For this my song, that every line 
 Might scintillate and brightly shine 
 Effulgent, glorious and so grand 
 That everywhere on sea and land 
 The hosts of earth entranced should stand, 
 And up on high the angels' band 
 Should cease their songs and gladly hear 
 A strain so glorious and so clear. 
 Yet even then 'twere all in vain. 
 And poor indeed the rapt'rous strain. 
 For though each word and every thought 
 With inspiration's glow was fraught, 
 And voiced with grand crescendo swell, 
 
226 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 In praise of those who fought and fell, 
 'Twould be in vain and fail indeed 
 To give to them one tithe the meed 
 Of praises due, or faintly tell 
 How God-like, grand and brave they fell ; 
 For mortal pen, nor mortal tongue. 
 Nor angel choir hath ever sung 
 A song of praise in lofty strain 
 Half worthy of our martyred slain. 
 And yet for all, my humble muse. 
 When called to sing will not refuse. 
 But catching inspiration's gleam 
 From Heaven sent, my noble theme 
 Should be enough my soul to fire. 
 To warm me and my heart inspire, 
 And make each word and every line 
 With beauty and with brilliance shine. 
 For nobler theme was never given 
 To man on earth or saint in Heaven 
 Than that which stirs my soul to-day- — 
 The praise of men who wore the gray ! 
 From burning Sumter, by the sea. 
 To Appomattox's apple tree ; 
 From Chesapeake in Maryland 
 To border shores of Rio Grande, 
 Like demigods from first to last 
 They met the raging battle blast, 
 And daunted not by thunder crash ^ 
 
 Of cannonade, or lightning flash 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 227 
 
 Of musketry, all undismayed, 
 
 With bayonet and flashing blade 
 
 They struggled on, or fighting fell, 
 
 Their only cry, the rebel yell, 
 
 Which in its wild defiant notes 
 
 Outrang the brazen cannon's throats, 
 
 And higher, louder seemed to rise. 
 
 As on they fought, till earth and skies 
 
 Reverb'rant shook, 'till at the last 
 
 High Heaven looked and stood aghast 
 
 To see the wreck and carnage dire 
 
 Left in their wake of stubborn ire. 
 
 But look to-day — how changed the scene, 
 
 Those battle-fields are wrapped in green. 
 
 And beauteous flowers, fresh in bloom, 
 
 Distilling out their sweet perfume. 
 
 While high o'er all is sweetly heard 
 
 The peaceful notes of mocking bird, 
 
 And o'er each mound that marks the grave 
 
 Where rests the bones of martyred brave. 
 
 Our lovely women sweet and fair, 
 
 Will come to-day with garlands rare 
 
 Of evergreens and richest blooms 
 
 To decorate those hallowed tombs ; 
 
 And as they kneel and place them there, 
 
 With fervent heart will send a prayer 
 
 To Him who reigns beyond the sky, 
 
 To bless their ashes where they lie, 
 
228 A GALAXY OF SOUTHKRN HEROES 
 
 And grant to each in Heaven a place, 
 Who fought for home and pride of race, 
 And died defending Southern rights. 
 True to their God, chivakous knights. 
 And in that last great coming day, 
 When time on earth shall cease for aye. 
 And God shall call from out the skies 
 To all the dead of earth to rise, 
 I trust to see in that great day 
 Our marshaled hosts in grand array. 
 Each laurel-crowned with victor's wreath. 
 Triumphant over sin and death. 
 Soar up in one great column grand 
 To that supreme celestial land. 
 Where angels and archangels bright 
 Shall open wide the gates of light 
 And gladly hail and welcome them, 
 Whilst cherubim and seraphim. 
 And everything with voice to sing. 
 Shall join to make the heavens ring 
 With gladsome shout and welcome song 
 To God's redeemed — the mighty^throng 
 Whose praises now we sing with pride. 
 The bravest men that ever died. 
 
\ 
 
 AND OTHER POEMS. 229 
 
 THE UNFORTUNATE'S PLEA. 
 
 Tho' clouds of adversity have darkened my life, 
 And the star of my fate goes down in the strife, 
 Tho' my destiny yields me but troubles and care. 
 And my poor aching heart is rent with despair ; 
 My lips to the struggles within shall be mute, 
 And the shafts that are hurled my soul to confute 
 Tho' striking their mark, the wounds I '11 conceal, 
 And bravely repress the anguish I feel. 
 
 Tho' my friends all forsake and the world doth con- 
 demn, 
 Tiio' my breast with its sorrow is full to the brim, 
 Though my hopes are all blasted and my prospects 
 
 are fled, 
 Thank God for His strength ; my conscience, not dead. 
 Still glows with its ardour for justice and right. 
 And my soul still unawed by oppression and might, 
 Bids a defiance to the wrath that is hurled, 
 And gives scorn in return for the scorn of the world. 
 
 Never my motives have been understood, 
 Or else they have basely been misconstrued ; 
 My actions suspected, my kindness abused, 
 My sympathies spurned, my good will refused ; 
 The serpent of slander hath traversed my fame. 
 And his trail so polluting hath sullied my name ; 
 But the 'lurements of creed, of power and gold, 
 I 've spurned from my breast like wolves from the fold. 
 
230 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 And never will I while on earth I remain 
 Seek from the world its plaudits to gain, 
 Nor bow to the shrines of fashion and pride, 
 Nor steer my course with the popular tide ; 
 For policy's rule, and bigotry's reign. 
 Awake in my soul its deepest disdain, 
 And I turn in my loathing of hate and disgust 
 From the soulless throngs, so false and unjust. 
 
 They boast of religion and love for mankind. 
 But damning a man for the bent of his mind, 
 Cry infidel, heretic, knave and fool, 
 To all who refuse their shackles and rule ; 
 Dissenters they place on Procrustean bed 
 And shorten their limb or sever their head, 
 Or lengthen them out by chains and by screws, 
 Thus making them gauge to their orthodox views. 
 
 Fraud and chicanery in politics rule. 
 
 And the greater the knave, the better the tool, 
 
 And if he, in fraud, ignore the just laws. 
 
 The louder will be the acclaim of applause. 
 
 Thus goes the world with popular sway. 
 
 Vice is triumphant and justice gives way. 
 
 And judges in ermine their benches disgrace, 
 
 Whilst the people are taxed to keep them in place. 
 
 'Tis ever the same, in state and in church. 
 When charity's wanted 'tis found in the lurch ; 
 Religion and freedom exists but in name. 
 They both have their riders and have a like aim. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 231 
 
 'Tis self aggrandizement, wealth, power and fanae, 
 And the means they pursue the devil would shame ; 
 But to be not aboard with the popular tide 
 Is to have them abuse and your conscience deride. 
 
 But why should I sigh, or my race execrate, 
 
 When God is supreme over church and the state, 
 
 And sooner or later will his vengeance be hurled, 
 
 I'o right all the wrongs and sins of the world. 
 
 Yes, soon or late, with Him must abide 
 
 The judgment of all of whatever side ; 
 
 Then the weak shall go up and the strong shall come 
 
 down 
 And justice shall wear the laurel and crown. 
 
 Yes, life is but transient and short at the best. 
 And beyond the dark grave is the haven of rest; 
 And there shall my spirit, when its trials are done, 
 Mount to the throne my conscience hath won, 
 And receive from my God, for whom I have wrought. 
 The palms and the crown for the battles I 've fought. 
 And folding my pinions, forever I '11 rest 
 In the mansions prepared for the weak and oppressed. 
 
232 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 THE CRANK, 
 
 Let poets sing of priest or king, 
 
 And prate of warriors great, 
 Or praise in verse, the men who curse 
 
 Our land in halls of state, 
 No little lord nor man of sword, 
 
 Nor statesman need we thank ; 
 My muse I '11 ask a nobler task — 
 
 To sing of the humble crank. 
 
 First in the fight for all that 's right 
 
 A trenchant sword he wields, 
 And undismayed his flashing blade 
 
 Leads on to glorious fields ; 
 Altho' unknown he toils alone. 
 
 Without reward or thank, 
 Of blessings rare our greatest are 
 
 First from some humble crank. 
 
 Galileo was, well we know, 
 
 A star-crazed crank at best. 
 The' first he found, this earth was round. 
 
 And thus his millions blest. 
 Columbus, too, the brave and true. 
 
 Colossal crank was he, 
 Was first in mind, a world to find. 
 
 Which lay beyond the sea. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 233 
 
 Old Harvey, too, with genius true, 
 
 Whose crank-won inspiration, 
 Discerned the course from cardie source, 
 
 Of sanguine circulation. 
 And Jenner great, let 's not forget, 
 
 Who taught us vaccination. 
 Was but a crank of highest rank 
 
 Who blessed our whole creation. 
 
 But should I name each crank of fame 
 
 And tell of all they 've done, 
 A story bright I would indite. 
 
 Of all earth's victories won. 
 Then here 's to cranks, aliens or Yanks, 
 
 No matter what their birth. 
 To them I '11 sing with honest ring, 
 
 They are the gods of earth. 
 
234 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 OUR SUNNY LAND AND SOUTHERN DEAD. 
 
 Fair sunny land — home of the brave 
 
 How wondrous and supremely blest ! 
 Like billows on tempestuous sea, 
 
 Emotions rise within my breast, 
 And surging with a pathos deep. 
 
 Sweep o'er my soul in currents grand, 
 When e'er I hear or breathe thy name, 
 
 Sweet sunny South, my native land. 
 
 What other land 'neath Heaven's dome 
 
 By braver men was ever trod ? 
 What other land on earth is known 
 
 So lavishly endowed of God ? 
 Where else on earth such valorous deeds, 
 
 As by our Southern patriots done, 
 And where, oh where such women true. 
 
 As here beneath our Southern sun ? 
 
 Then wake ! oh, wake ! my muse awake ! 
 
 A glorious theme my soul inspires ; 
 From blue empyrean heights above 
 
 Come warm me with celestial fires. 
 Attune my tongue to grandeur's strain, 
 
 And let my words with genius blaze, 
 Whilst I the glorious task essay — 
 
 Our martyred Southern hosts to praise. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 235 
 
 But no, ah, no ! the plea is vain. 
 
 No human tongue in words can frame, 
 Nor wreathe in thoughts however bright, 
 
 The measure of their deathless fame. 
 But everywhere on earth and sea, 
 
 Where 'er a patriot's heart shall beat. 
 The welkin with their praise shall ring. 
 
 Till eternity and time shall meet. 
 
 But till some nobler muse than mine, 
 
 Evoked by greater bard than I, 
 And aided by a power divine. 
 
 From bright supernal realms on high, 
 Shall grasp the poet's flaming pen 
 
 With superhuman force to write, 
 Be mine the will if not the power 
 
 Their glorious records to recite. 
 
 And yet tho' frail and halt of speech. 
 
 An humble chaplet I would weave, 
 To place upon our soldiers' graves. 
 
 And grandeur's task to others leave ; 
 For well I know some noble bard, 
 
 Some poet greater far than I, 
 Shall yet arise and grandly sing, 
 
 Of those who sleep, but cannot die. 
 
 And till the cycling years of time, 
 
 Have into dark oblivion rolled 
 All love of home and native land, 
 
 Their valorous deeds shall still be told ; 
 
236 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 And yearning youth at mother's knee 
 
 Shall, in the ages yet to be, 
 By grand example of their deeds, 
 
 Learn how to die for liberty. 
 
 Thermopylae and Marathon 
 
 For ages held the captive eye 
 Of all who looked for honored fields, 
 
 Where men had taught us how to die ; 
 But now the gaze of all mankind. 
 
 Who seek for glory's proudest shrines, 
 Must turn to Sumter and Bull Run, 
 
 To Gettysburg and Seven Pines. 
 
 Alexander and the Caesars great, 
 
 Long held the crown of proudest fame; 
 But lusterless their crowns appear, 
 
 Dimmed in the light of him I name — 
 Of him whose hand ne'er sought to hold 
 
 The sceptre over men yet free, 
 For now, fame's brightest shining gem, 
 
 Beams in the crown of Robert Lee. 
 
 Joan of Arc, the martial queen. 
 
 Led forth her ranks in grand array. 
 And carved her name on fame's proud fane 
 
 By valorous deeds in battle fray ; 
 But grander than her grandest march 
 
 Is that by Southern women led, 
 When marching with spring garlands bright 
 
 To deck the graves of Southern dead. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 237 
 
 And grander than all cenotaphs 
 
 That ever hand of mortal reared ; 
 More brilliant than all banners dear 
 
 That ever on the breeze appeared ; 
 More beautiful than brightest stars 
 
 That shine in vaulted dome of night 
 Are those bright tears which beauty sheds 
 
 For those who fought for home and right. 
 
 Nor will they as they come to-day, 
 
 With evergreens and brightest blooms, 
 To decorate with tender care 
 
 Our sleeping heroes' silent tombs, 
 Forget or slight those foemen brave, 
 
 Who proved through flame their courage true, 
 But true to Southern chivalry. 
 
 With flowers rare their graves will strew. 
 
 And you, ye war-scarred remnant brave. 
 
 Who loved the cause our Davis led. 
 Will never forget sweet Winnie dear 
 
 Now that her noble sire is dead. 
 And every weeping orphan's tear, 
 
 And every widow's plaintive plea, 
 Will wake a warm, responsive chord 
 
 In every heart of Camp Hardee. 
 
 And in that last great coming morn. 
 When God shall bid all sleepers rise 
 
 From earth and seas to camps on high, 
 Joined heart and hand beyond the skies. 
 
238 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROE)S 
 
 In armistice of eternal peace, 
 We '11 bivouac amid the stars, 
 
 And reverence through eternity 
 
 The stars and stripes and stars and bars. 
 
 TILL I COME BACK AGAIN* 
 
 No, I '11 not forget you, darling. 
 
 Though roaming far away. 
 Your loving smile shall light my path 
 
 Wherever I may stray ; 
 And every loving word of thine 
 
 Shall e'er with me remain. 
 And banish every gloomy thought 
 
 Till I come back again. 
 
 The many happy days with you 
 
 Were all too quickly passed, 
 They were so full of blissful joy 
 
 I knew they could not last ; 
 But in my heart a star of hope 
 
 Shines not, I trust in vain. 
 And by its light I '11 steer my course 
 
 Till I come back again. 
 
 In lands afar beyond the sea 
 
 My fate may be to roam, 
 And weeks and months and years may pass 
 
 Ere I turn back to home ; 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 239 
 
 But thy bright face in memory set 
 
 Shall never dim nor wane, 
 Or lose its charm to light my soul 
 
 Till I come back again. 
 
 *Tis only for your sake, my dear, 
 
 That I must leave you now, 
 So let me kiss and clear away 
 
 The clouds upon your brow, 
 Then with your blessing let me go. 
 
 Stern fortune's smile to gain. 
 And vow once more you '11 constant prove 
 
 Till I come back again. 
 
 Then should misfortune overtake 
 
 And pall me with dismay, 
 This thought a talisman shall be 
 
 To break all evil's sway. 
 It is your promise to be mine, 
 
 Which like some sweet refrain 
 Will ever echo in my heart, 
 
 Till I come back again. 
 
 Now, au revoir, but not farewell. 
 
 With one last kiss of love, 
 To be a seal upon the vow 
 
 That you will constant prove. 
 And that no other loving swain 
 
 Shall in your heart obtain 
 The place that I so fondly claim 
 
 Till I come back again. 
 
240 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 SLANDERERS OF GORDON. 
 
 (Written when Gordon was candidate for Governor.) 
 
 I can 't but feel within me rise 
 
 A deep indignant flame 
 When e'er I hear ungrateful tongue 
 
 Dare to assail the name 
 Of him to whom we are endeared 
 
 By every sacred tie — 
 Of him to whom 'twere pleasure yet 
 
 To follow and to die. 
 
 For, oh, I loathe, despise and hate 
 
 The poltroon and the knave, 
 Who, serpent-like, will turn and strike 
 
 The hand once stretched to save. 
 Oh yes, oh yes, ingratitude. 
 
 Of all man's sins the worst. 
 If there be deeper hells than hell. 
 
 May it be deepest curst. 
 
 Who but the bribe-bought ruffians 
 
 And self-ignobling clan. 
 Would so disgrace our noble State, 
 
 By slandering such a man? 
 A man whose great, chivalrous heart 
 
 Ne'er hath a pulsing throb 
 That does not beat for fellow-man. 
 
 For country and for God. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 241 
 
 Go to the hundred battle-fields 
 
 Where he has bravely stood, 
 And where, eight times upon their plains. 
 
 He poured his manly blood — 
 Go ask of those historic grounds, 
 
 Both vale and riverside, 
 If ever duty called to him 
 
 And he the call denied. 
 
 And ask you, too, of those who stooa 
 
 Beside him on the fields, 
 If ever once he turned to foes 
 
 And showed his back or heels. 
 And ask of those who faced him there, 
 
 Those heroes of the blue, 
 And let him answer, him who dare, 
 
 To say he was untrue. 
 
 Then, when the storm of war had passed 
 
 And all our hopes were riven, 
 When satraps, with their bayonets 
 
 (May they be cursed of Heaven) 
 Put alien thieves and scalawags 
 
 To rule and rob our State ; 
 Who was it then who led the van 
 
 To shield us from that fate? 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 Oh, 'twas that matchless, God-like man, 
 
 That Christian soldier brave, 
 The statesman and philanthropist, 
 
 Whom God in goodness gave 
 To point the way of patriots 
 
 Who seek the prize of fame, 
 And bless us with the heritage 
 
 Of one bright, spotless name. 
 
 Then, hark ! ye miscreants and knaves. 
 
 Your lying tongues be stilled, 
 For every Southern patriot 
 
 With more than scorn is filled. 
 And hark ye, too, there is a God 
 
 That 's ruling overhead, 
 And hush, lest Ananias-like, 
 
 That God may strike you dead. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 243 
 
 WAITING AT THE RIVER** 
 
 ** Lord, how long shall I have to wait 
 Before I cross the river?" 
 I long to reach that other shore, 
 Where I can rest forever. 
 
 My journey, Lord, has been so long, 
 
 Life's wilderness so dreary ; 
 My burden's been so hard to bear; 
 
 My soul is faint and weary. 
 
 Then haste, O Lord, to speak the word. 
 
 And bid my waiting cease, 
 I fain would leave this dreary shore. 
 
 And reach the land of peace. 
 
 Whilst here I wait, O^Lord, I bear 
 
 Most poignant griefs and pain. 
 My weary soul now turns to thee, 
 
 And pleads that land to gain. 
 
 'Tis dark and chilly on this shore. 
 
 But over the stream I see 
 The sun still shining warm and bright, 
 
 Where loved ones wait for me. 
 
 My heart, O Lord, has long been there, 
 
 With all I love the best ; 
 Oh, send thy angels, precious Lord, 
 
 And lead me to my rest. 
 
 * Almost the last words of my ag-ed father, Rev, Dr T. H, Dossier, 
 while on his dying- bed, were : " Oh, Lord, how long- shall I have to wait 
 before I cross the river ?" 
 
244 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 My father's face I long to see, 
 My saintly mother's, too, 
 
 And many children gone before, 
 O Lord, are there with you. 
 
 Do, precious Saviour, haste to speak. 
 And bid me now to come. 
 
 And join the bright celestial band 
 In my eternal home. 
 
 ''OUR ORDER HERE/^ 
 
 PERORATION IN RESPONSE TO A TOAST. 
 
 But I forget. 'Tis not of our fair city and her match- 
 less wealth, by lavish hand of God bestowed, 
 that I would speak. 
 
 But 'tis of something nobler far — 
 A jewel bright — a shining star — 
 The brightest gem which decks her brow. 
 Is that which I would champion now. 
 But should I speak, as well I might. 
 Of furnaces whose fires bright 
 Make noonday of our darkest night 
 And paint the skies with lurid light ; 
 Or, tell how wondrous here combine, 
 The wealth of coal and iron mine, 
 And how our manufactures great 
 The riches bring from every State ; 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 245 
 
 Or, boastful, tell in wondrous tale 
 
 The matchless glories of this vale, 
 
 Your pardon just I might receive, 
 
 Tho' some, perchance, would scarce believe. 
 
 For such the story 'twould but seem 
 
 Like fiction or a summer's dream. 
 
 But, as I said, 'tis not of these 
 
 I '11 speak my hearers now to please. 
 
 A grander theme my soul inspires 
 
 And warms me with ennobling fires. 
 
 My theme is of our order grand. 
 
 The noblest in this glorious land. 
 
 And tho' our members are but few. 
 
 Each Knight is valiant, brave and true. 
 
 And counts but wasted every sun 
 
 Which sees not some good action done. 
 
 Some noble act or generous deed 
 
 In keeping with our Order's creed, 
 
 For Knights of Honor ever hold 
 
 Kind actions more than finest gold. 
 
 To shield the widows and provide 
 
 For orphans is our greatest pride ; 
 
 To raise the fallen, help the weak. 
 
 And dry the tear on mourner's cheek ; 
 
 To help our brothers in distress. 
 
 And ev'ry home we enter, bless ; 
 
 To carry sunshine and relief 
 
 Wherever hang the clouds of grief. 
 
 Reviving hope and stilling fear. 
 
 These are our daily missions here. 
 
246 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 To sit beside the bed of pain 
 
 When fever burns a brother's brain 
 
 And nurse him back to health again. 
 
 From works like these we ne'er refrain, 
 
 And when our great dictator, God, 
 
 Bids brother Knight pass 'neath the rod 
 
 And enter that grand lodge on high — 
 
 The lodge supreme, above the sky — 
 
 We fold his hands upon his breast. 
 
 And when his corpse with prayers we've blest, 
 
 We give him cortege to the grave 
 
 And there with tears his dust we lave, 
 
 And flowers strew upon his bier : 
 
 I speak this, of our Order here. 
 
 MOURN, GEORGIA, MOURN 
 
 (Written during Gen. Gordon's campaign for Governor.) 
 
 Mourn, Georgia, mourn, my native State, 
 Sad seems, indeed, thy bitter fate : 
 Thy banner proud that never trailed. 
 By demagogues is now assailed. 
 And thy bright star of rising fame 
 Seems doomed at last to set in shame. 
 
AND OTHE^R POKMS. 247 
 
 Thou hast before been sore distressed, 
 When alien foes thy strength suppressed, 
 And held thee down 'neath tyrant heel. 
 Whilst scalawags could rob and steal ; 
 But tyrant's hate and heels to crush 
 Could never give thee cause to blush. 
 
 Unhappy then as was thy curse, 
 Thy bitter fate must now be worse — 
 To feel the shame, to see and know 
 'Tis thy own sons inflict thy woe ; 
 That they, who nurtured on thy soil. 
 Now robber-like would thee despoil. 
 
 Hear now that mob in scorn deride 
 Thy patriots and thy men of pride. 
 Whom they have dragged with malice vile 
 From seats which chumps will now defile — ^ 
 From places high which gave thee fame. 
 Which now, alas, must bring thee shame. 
 
 But hear me, O fair Georgia, hark ! 
 There yet remains one man of mark. 
 Whose hand thy honor yet might save. 
 He is that patriot — Gordon — brave. 
 Spurn not his proffer, ere too late 
 In sackcloth thou shalt mourn thy fate. 
 
248 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 MY LOSAHATCHIE HOME.* 
 
 In these days of awful panics, 
 
 (Strikes are heard of everywhere), 
 While Congress sits and piddles. 
 
 And starvation seems to stare, 
 When all business goes to pieces. 
 
 And the devil's on a tear, 
 In vain I long for refuge 
 
 From my troubles and my care. 
 
 And my heart is filled with longing 
 
 For that dear old mountain stream, 
 Losahatchie, on whose surface, 
 
 Like a vision in a dream, 
 I can always see reflected 
 
 Mount Coloma's rugged dome, 
 And the little vine-clad cottage 
 
 That I used to call my home. 
 
 Even now in heart I 'm longing 
 
 To go back there once more. 
 And with line and pole to wander 
 
 Along its shady shore, 
 Where, as a careless, barefoot boy, 
 
 I once was wont to roam, 
 When life was free from sorrow. 
 
 In my Losahatchie home. 
 
 * Losahatchie is the name of a beautiful mountain stream in North 
 Alabama. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 249 
 
 Yes, my dear old Losahatchie ! 
 
 Since I wandered from thy shore, 
 The world has not all seemed to be 
 
 What I dreamed in days of yore. 
 And thy cooling shades and fountains. 
 
 And thy vales of fertile loam 
 Now fill my soul with longing 
 
 For my Losahatchie home. 
 
 Yes, yes ; O Losahatchie ! 
 
 Thou queen of mountain streams. 
 How often have I sought thee 
 
 In my nightly troubled dreams. 
 To lave my fevered temples 
 
 In thy cooling spray and foam, 
 'Neath the spreading beech and maples, 
 
 At my Losahatchie home. 
 
 IN PARADISE. 
 
 In a deep, unbroken forest, beside a flowing stream, 
 I laid me down one afternoon, and, sleeping had a 
 
 dream ; 
 The pearly gates of paradise were open to my view. 
 And I saw therein the faces that once on earth I 
 
 knew. 
 
 No jeweled king or beaded priest did there my vis- 
 ion trace, 
 
 No warrior with his sword and plume, with epaulets 
 and lace ; 
 
250 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 No tattered coat on pauper's back, no miser with his 
 
 gold, 
 Nor any sign of earthly pomp did I therein behold. 
 
 But every one was robed alike, both of great and 
 
 lowly birth — 
 Only crowns of different lustre told their stage of 
 
 virtuous worth 
 And those who had ten talents sat nearer to the 
 
 throne 
 Than did the more unfortunates, who never had but 
 
 one. 
 
 For in Heaven, as on earth, talents supremely reign, 
 For God loves wisdom better than He does a shallow 
 
 brain ; 
 And according as the talents are improved, which he 
 
 has given, 
 So must be their lot and rank with the angel hosts of 
 
 Heaven. 
 
 Some brighter far than others shone, but all were 
 
 bright with grace, 
 No cloud of grief on any brow could there my vision 
 
 trace ; 
 I saw the Christian and the Jew, united hand in hand, 
 Dwelling in unbroken peace in that celestial land. 
 
 I saw distinctive features of every human race. 
 And types of every nation in that sweet, holy place ; 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 251 
 
 Yes, there were men of every tribe, of every rank 
 
 and creed, 
 Whose tasks on earth had been to do their great 
 
 Creator's meed. 
 
 I saw the wild barbarian, and the untaught heathen 
 
 there. 
 Who were not saved by water, by crucifix nor prayer; 
 All dwelt in peace together, from priestly hells apart. 
 For God had known their talents, and judged them 
 
 by the heart. 
 
 In supremacy of justice, and in mercy's boundless 
 
 sway, 
 God, with love and charity, had swept their sins 
 
 away. 
 And there, in blissful union, their troubles ne'er 
 
 appal. 
 They praised the great Jehovah, whose hand had 
 
 saved them all. 
 
 Yes, He who made this world, 'mid ten thousand 
 worlds to roll, 
 
 Whose hands created Heaven, and man with death- 
 less soul. 
 
 Who controls the mighty oceans, which stretch from 
 pole to pole, 
 
 Never made or framed a creed to damn a human soul. 
 
252 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 MEMORIAL DAY INVOCATION. 
 
 Be pleased, O God ! to bless this day, 
 And bless the tributes which we lay 
 
 Upon the consecrated graves 
 Of patriots who wore the gray. 
 
 Quick to obey their country's call. 
 When tyrants threatened to enthrall, 
 
 They rallied to the new-born flag. 
 Ready in her defense to fall. 
 
 For justice and for rights denied. 
 They met the raging battle's tide. 
 
 Which foemen waged against their land. 
 And in her cause they nobly died. 
 
 For native land they fought and bled. 
 And better blood was never shed, 
 
 Nor ever shed for better cause. 
 Than was that of our Southern dead. 
 
 Nor ever yet for any land 
 
 Was marshalled out a braver band. 
 Than those who stood on Southern soil 
 
 To battle for their native land. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 253 
 
 SIX AND THIRTY YEARS AGO. 
 
 Since six and thirty years ago, 
 
 What changes time has wrought, 
 Wild roses sweet now bud and blow 
 
 Where battles then were fought. 
 O'er hardened glebe where armies trod 
 
 The plowman drives afield, 
 In peaceful trust and faith in God 
 
 For bounteous harvest-yield. 
 
 The tinkling bell of gentle flock 
 
 Is heard on grassy plain 
 Once seared and torn in battle shock, 
 
 And piled with human slain. 
 Whilst pretty homes now crown the hills 
 
 Where frowning forts then stood. 
 And limpid flows the purling rills, 
 
 Once red with patriot's blood. 
 
 The wild and frenzied hate of men. 
 
 Thank God, is changed to love. 
 And now instead of battle din, 
 
 The voice of cooing dove 
 Floats softly on the summer breeze 
 
 In cadence sweet and clear. 
 And lulls the warrior now at ease 
 
 At home with loved ones dear. 
 
254 A GAI<AXY OF SOUTHKRN HKROKS 
 
 Grim, blackened ruins that whilom stood 
 
 In paths where armies led, 
 With lighted torch, through fields of blood, 
 
 Are gone, and now instead, 
 With joy, behold, in grandeur sprung 
 
 From out those rueful fires 
 A newer South, whose rapt'rous tongue 
 
 A newer song inspires. 
 
 She sings of re-united land. 
 
 Where hearts and hands unite. 
 She sings with joy of union grand, 
 
 Of happy homes so bright 
 With love and peace and plenty blest 
 
 Where hangs the rusting blade, 
 That erstwhile flashed on battle crest. 
 
 When war this land dismayed. 
 
 But whilst she sings, remembers still 
 
 The South of auld lang syne. 
 That dear old South whose memories thrill 
 
 This poor old heart of mine ; 
 For never once can I forget 
 
 The glory and the pride 
 Which, hallowed, lingers round her yet, 
 
 Till I in death abide. 
 
 No wail of woe or hate or spite 
 
 Discordant mars the strain. 
 Her cause we know was just and right 
 
 'Twas freedom to maintain, 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 255 
 
 And though by whelming odds oppressed 
 
 Her flag from her was torn, 
 Before the world it stands confessed 
 
 The purest ever borne. 
 
 And though it never floats again, 
 
 Though never more unfurled, 
 Its story true without a stain 
 
 Will glorify the world. 
 For those who bore that banner bright 
 
 Through seas of gore and flame 
 A record left on glory's height 
 
 Of never dying fame. 
 
 And whilst the cycling whirl of time 
 
 Unceasing, onward rolls, 
 The record of their deeds sublime 
 
 Beneath its sacred folds 
 Will, brightening with the lapse of years, 
 
 In brighter brilliance flame. 
 Till every orb in astral spheres 
 
 Shall see and pale with shame. 
 
256 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 WELCOME SONG. 
 
 All hail ! Great Incohonee, 
 
 Great Sachem, wise and true, 
 Our warriors, braves and chieftains 
 
 Most gladly welcome you, 
 In Freedom and in Friendship 
 
 United firm and strong, 
 We gladly hail our chieftain. 
 
 With this our welcome song. 
 
 CHORUS : 
 
 Then welcome to our wigwam, 
 Our hearts are warm and true, 
 
 Come share our corn and venison. 
 And drink our skila-wa-boo. 
 
 Within these fertile valleys, 
 
 And on these verdant plains, 
 The tomahawk we 've buried 
 
 And peace and plenty reigns. 
 Our trails but lead to pleasure, 
 
 No war-whoop here resounds, 
 And now we bid you welcome. 
 
 To these our hunting grounds. 
 
 CHORUS : 
 
 Then welcome to our wigwam, 
 Our hearts are warm and true, 
 
 Come share our corn and venison, 
 And drink our skila-wa-boo. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 257 
 
 Our hunters are the truest 
 
 That ever grasped a bow, 
 Our warriors are the bravest 
 
 That ever faced a foe. 
 Our squaws and papooses, 
 
 And all our maidens bright. 
 Will hail you, Incohonee, 
 
 With rapture and delight) 
 
 CHORUS : 
 
 Then welcome to our wigwam. 
 Our hearts are warm and true, 
 
 Come share our corn and venison, 
 And drink our skila-wa-boo. 
 
 17 
 
258 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHKKN H:SR0KS 
 
 A DREAM THAT WAS NOT ALL A DREAM. 
 
 Beside my sweet darling's grave in the city of the 
 
 dead, 
 I sat until the sinking sun's last ray of light had fled ; 
 And all alone, I heeded not the ebbing of the day, 
 For my heart was in the grave, and my thoughts 
 
 were far away. 
 
 One by one, the little stars came forth, twinkling 
 overhead. 
 
 Until the whole of heaven was with beauty over- 
 spread ; 
 
 The moon, then like a silver ship, came mounting up 
 above, 
 
 And floated gently onward, as if moved by hands of 
 love. 
 
 Bright flowers, blooming round me, lent a sweetness 
 
 to the air, 
 But I heeded not their fragrance, nor noticed they 
 
 were there ; 
 And there beside the grave, while silence reigned 
 
 supreme, 
 O'ercome at last by weeping, I slept and had a dream. 
 
 I saw the heavens part — heard a sound of thunder 
 
 loud. 
 Then saw descending earthward a shining silver cloud ; 
 And reclining on that cloud, with bright angels by 
 
 her side, 
 I recognized my darling, my sweet angelic bride. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 259 
 
 And as the cloud came slowly down, such music 
 
 filled my ears 
 As I never, never heard before upon this vale of 
 
 tears ; 
 And when it came to where I was, it seemed there to 
 
 divide. 
 And my sweet, angelic darling was sitting by my 
 
 side. 
 
 Around her forehead twined a wreath of softest glow- 
 ing light, 
 
 And^the raiment that she wore was a robe of spotless 
 white ; 
 
 Halos of radiant light all round about us shone, 
 
 And the music of her voice was like the zithern's 
 sweetest tone. 
 
 She told me of a place above, a happy spirit land, 
 Where everything is beautiful, majestical and grand ; 
 Where the God of nature sits on a glory beaming 
 
 throne. 
 Where life is life eternal, and where sorrow is 
 
 unknown. 
 
 She told me of friends and kindred all dwelling there 
 
 above, 
 Andjrom each she brought a message to remind me 
 
 of their love ; 
 Then bidding me good-bye, said she 'd wait me on 
 
 the shore 
 Of that bright land celestial where there 's parting 
 
 never more. 
 
260 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 Then on that cloud I saw her take a gentle, upward 
 
 flight, 
 And watching till she reached the sky, she vanished 
 
 from nny sight ; 
 And tho' I know 'twas but a dream, a delusion of the 
 
 brain, 
 I cannot yet help wishing she may come in dreams 
 
 again. 
 
 BLITHESOME LITTLE LIBBY* 
 
 Pretty little skating girl, 
 Fairest in the mazy whirl, 
 Winsome, charming and as fair 
 And graceful as a bird of air — 
 Blithesome little Libby. 
 
 Pretty little skating belle, 
 Playful as a young gazelle. 
 Brightly beams her hazel eyes 
 As around the rink she flies, 
 Blithesome little Libby. 
 
 Pretty little skating queen, 
 Fairer form was never seen. 
 Like a vision in a dream 
 Memories of her doth seem — 
 Blithesome little Libby. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 261 
 
 FORGET ME NOT. 
 
 Forget me not whilst memory's chain 
 
 Holds sacred, firm and true, 
 Nor let thy heart be steeped in pain 
 
 If I can bear its pain for you. 
 
 Forget me not whilst in thy heart 
 Thy life's blood ebbs and flows, 
 
 Nor let from me thy faith depart — 
 Forbid me not to share thy woes. 
 
 Forget me not where'er thou be, 
 
 Whatsoever fate be thine. 
 On desert's shore or lonely sea. 
 
 Remember, love, that I am thine. 
 
 Forget me not when shades of death 
 
 Shall dwell upon thy breast. 
 But with thy last departing breath 
 
 Remember me who loved thee best. 
 
 A FRAGMENT. 
 
 Let angels that hover around us in air 
 
 Keeping record of joys that bloom in the heart. 
 Proclaim from their tablets the dearest joy there. 
 
 And in whispers of spirit we '11 hear them impart ; 
 It is the sweet pleasure when exiles we roam 
 
 Of knowing that loved ones remember us still — 
 That dear ones we 've left behind us at home 
 
 Let thoughts of ourselves their memories fill. 
 
262 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 CLUB SONG No- U 
 
 (Air— Bonnie Blue Flag-.) 
 
 We are a band of patriots, 
 
 United heart and hand, 
 To shield the honor of our race, 
 
 In this our glorious land. 
 The blood that flows within our veins 
 
 We never will disgrace 
 By sharing our heritage 
 
 With earth's ignoble race. 
 
 CHORUS : 
 
 Then rouse ! arouse ! 
 
 Let white men all arouse ! 
 Maintaining white supremacy, 
 
 The cause which we espouse. 
 
 By laws divine, the right to rule 
 
 This white man's land we claim. 
 And true to our Caucasian blood, 
 
 We '11 not submit to shame ; 
 Nor will we e'er in peace submit 
 
 To laws which stultify. 
 But, in the majesty of right, 
 
 We '11 rule this land or die. 
 
 CHORUS : 
 
 Then rouse ! arouse ! 
 
 Let white men all arouse ! 
 Maintaining white supremacy, 
 
 The cause which we espouse. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 263 
 
 CLUB SONG No- 2. 
 
 (Air — America.) 
 
 My comrades, true and brave, 
 This land our fathers gave 
 
 To us alone ; 
 Unsullied, pure and bright. 
 No shame our flag shall blight, 
 And we will in our might 
 
 Defend our own. 
 
 Lift up your shields my braves ; 
 Think of those honored graves 
 
 Your fathers fill. 
 Think of your honored line 
 Think of your rights divine 
 To shield sweet freedom's shrine 
 
 And swear you will. 
 
 Men of Caucasian birth, 
 Regents of all the earth 
 
 United stand. 
 Sharing each other's care. 
 Shielding our women fair — 
 Be this thy daily prayer ; 
 
 God bless our land. 
 
264 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 CLUB SONG No. 3* 
 
 (Air — Greenland's Icy Mountains.) 
 
 Fromlgolden California 
 
 Tof rocky coast of Maine, 
 From gulf-washed Alabama 
 
 To farther'st Northern plain, 
 True'patriotic white men 
 
 Are rising in their might. 
 For law and white supremacy, 
 
 For God, and for the right. 
 
 Then welcome, stranger, welcome, 
 
 We hail you as a friend ; 
 Come join our ranks and help us 
 
 To shield and to defend 
 Our homes and women's honor, 
 
 Our nation's flag and laws. 
 And God will keep and bless you — 
 
 For sacred is our cause. 
 
 Nor will we, free-born Regents 
 
 Of Anglo-Saxon race, 
 Ere bow in weak submission 
 
 Or yield to such disgrace 
 As ever to surrender 
 
 The right to rule this land ; 
 But true to God and country 
 
 United we will stand. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 265 
 
 CLUB SONG No. 4. 
 
 (Air — Auld Lang" Syne.) 
 
 Good night ! Good night ! Taps now resound, 
 
 May guardian angels keep 
 A faithful watch by every couch 
 
 Where comrades fall asleep. 
 
 And when at dawn of rosy morn, 
 
 The birds sing reveille. 
 Let every Regent don his crown 
 
 Of white supremacy. 
 
 Let noble deeds of comrades true 
 
 A shield unto us be, 
 And true to our just cause and God, 
 
 We '11 rule the land and sea. 
 
266 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 RETROSPECTION- 
 
 (Read at Memorial Exercises, April 26, 1902.) 
 
 With Ides of March the winter's gone, 
 
 Her snowy robes she 's put away, 
 The April sun resplendent shines 
 
 And warms the earth with genial ray. 
 The soft south winds from southern seas 
 
 Sigh with their loads of sweet perfume, 
 Whilst vale and cove and hill and dale 
 
 Are wrapped in robes of gorgeous bloom. 
 
 All nature seems in smihng mood. 
 
 And everywhere in copse and grove, 
 The merry thrush and mocking bird. 
 
 Are caroling their songs of love. 
 No glint of grief or gloom appears 
 
 Beneath the bright cerulean sky, 
 And yet within this heart of mine 
 
 I can 't repress a rising sigh. 
 
 For flowers bright and songs of birds. 
 
 The breath of spring with sweet perfume 
 Recall to mind that April day 
 
 When years ago the cannon's boom 
 Rang wildly out in Charleston bay. 
 
 And round the earth a shudder sent. 
 For all who heard that ominous gun 
 
 Knew but too well just what it meant. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 267 
 
 All knew it meant that bonds were rent, 
 
 Which long had bound our Union strong, 
 That ties of friendship, kinship, love, 
 
 Were severed then, and all the wrong 
 That comes with war, grim visaged war, 
 
 Must needs be borne, since right of might 
 Thenceforth must rule, and reason just 
 
 Give way to passion, hate and spite. 
 
 Even now in retrospective view. 
 
 The supervening years but seem. 
 With all their turmoil, loss and strife 
 
 A fevered brain's distempered dream — 
 I see invading armies come 
 
 With sword and torch and hearts of hate. 
 I see our towns and cities burned, 
 
 Our happy homes made desolate. 
 
 I see with grief on field and plain, 
 
 Contending hosts in deadly fray ; 
 I mark the wreck and carnage dire. 
 
 The terror and the dread dismay 
 Of helpless children, mothers, wives, 
 
 Outcasts, all homeless, hungry, sad. 
 Poor, footsore, wandering refugees 
 
 From ruthless men by war made mad. 
 
 Our women then, God bless their souls, 
 
 Like Spartan mothers, every one. 
 Bade fathers, brothers, husbands, go — 
 
 Even sons who scarce could shoulder gun — 
 
268 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN PIKROES 
 
 Yea, bade them by their honor go ; 
 
 Encouraged all to go and fight, 
 And fighting win or fighting die, 
 
 For God, for country and the right. 
 
 And then I see their soft white hands, 
 
 Unused before to work and toil, 
 All calloused now by cotton cards 
 
 And menial labors, that despoil 
 Their softness, as the spinning wheel 
 
 And noisy, homely, old-time loom. 
 For which they 'd put guitars aside, 
 
 Pianos, too, to give them room. 
 
 From spinning, weaving, making cloth 
 
 To clothe their loved ones in the field, 
 I mark their cheeks grow wan and pale. 
 
 See griefs that cannot be concealed. 
 Yes, see them stifling back the tear 
 
 And smiling at privations long ; 
 Returning grim starvation's stare 
 
 With fortitude and courage strong. 
 
 I see them wending through the camp. 
 
 Ministering to maimed and sick; 
 Bathing and binding bloody wounds, 
 
 Then hastening on with footsteps quick 
 To kneel beside the dying cot 
 
 Where some poor soul is ebbing 'way. 
 And there in accents sweet and low 
 
 To aid that dying soul to pray. 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 269 
 
 Oh, would to God I yet could wake, 
 
 And waking, find 'twere all a dream ; 
 That all the memories of those days 
 
 Were not as real as yet they seem ; 
 That never women such as they — 
 
 So fair, so pure, so free from stain, — 
 Should e'er be forced by cruel war 
 
 To bear such trials, grief and pain. 
 
 But, after all, God knows what 's right, 
 
 And suffers all things for the best ; 
 Such memories serve to whet the love 
 
 And feed the flames within the breast 
 And suffers not the heart to chill. 
 
 But lights the soul, illumes the mind 
 With brighter, brilliant, just esteem 
 
 For all the world of woman-kind. 
 
 Nor yet, please God, would I forget 
 
 The faithfulness of dusky slave. 
 Who steadfast stood in those dark days 
 
 To shield, protect, to feed and save 
 The loved ones of their Master's fold, 
 
 And by their faithful service proved 
 Throughout the four long years of war 
 
 Their Constance and unselfish love. 
 
 And be it known forever more 
 
 Their Constance and devotion then 
 Set condemnation on the tongues 
 
 That slandered all slave-holding men. 
 
270 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKKOKS 
 
 And be it known those faithful slaves 
 
 By their steadfast fidelity, 
 Won from the South its free guerdon 
 
 And willing grant of liberty. 
 
 Nor will the sons of Southern sires, 
 
 So chivalrous, so true and brave, 
 E'er cease to shield, advise and help 
 
 The offspring of the old-time slave ; 
 But granting them all credit due 
 
 For what they are, or yet may be. 
 Let not one shadow of regret 
 
 E'er dim the fate that made them free. 
 
 We took them wild, uncivilized — 
 
 Taught them to labor and to think ; 
 Placed in their hands the Book of Life, 
 
 The fount of truth, that they might drink. 
 We took them beasts, we made them men, 
 
 But not co-equals with our race. 
 God ne'er ordained or will'd that they 
 
 Should reach that grand exalted place. 
 
 Yet never higher compliment 
 
 To Southern people has been paid 
 Than by our Northern conquerors. 
 
 Who by their own enactments said 
 That those whilom black faithful slaves. 
 
 Whom we had taught, and they made free, 
 Were worthy of all civil rights, 
 
 And with themselves equality. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 271 
 
 But let that pass, be as it may, 
 
 We '11 neither censure nor condemn ; 
 But this will say, the negro knows 
 
 Just where to seek and find a friend. 
 Not in the East nor in the West, 
 
 Nor in the North can he yet find 
 Such generous help, such treatment fair, 
 
 As here from Southern friends so kind. 
 
 Nor will the great warm Southern heart 
 
 Withhold its pardon full and free 
 From all who may have been to blame 
 
 For wrongs of inhumanity 
 Done in those times of heated strife 
 
 When men with passions overwrought 
 Did crimes, which, if remembered still 
 
 Are surely not with vengeful thought. 
 
 To darkness of oblivion's tomb 
 
 Let bitter memories all be cast. 
 We '11 clasp the hand of former foes, 
 
 Unheedful of the bitter past. 
 That they were brave full well we know. 
 
 And doubtless to convictions true — 
 They shed their blood on fields of death — 
 
 What more could any patriot do ? 
 
 But whilst the cycling seasons roll. 
 And time with earth shall still remain, 
 
 The Stars and Bars, that fallen flag. 
 So fair, so bright, so free from stain, 
 
272 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 Shall still survive on history's page, 
 
 Where naught can dim its lustrous light, 
 
 For God above — the God we love — 
 Knows that its cause was just and right. 
 
 Nor will the brave, chivalric men 
 
 Whose hands upheld that banner bright. 
 And wrote their names in deeds sublime 
 
 On honor's everlasting height, 
 Be e'er forgot or honored less 
 
 While centuries shall speed their way, 
 For earth shall never more behold 
 
 Another band so grand as they. 
 
 Tried by the most exacting rules 
 
 To mortals known the soul to test 
 They measured up to every height, 
 
 And by the world they stand confessed 
 The bravest, truest, noblest type 
 
 Of daring knight and cavalier 
 That ever struck for human rights 
 
 Or died with such disdain of fear. 
 
 Then, whilst on earth there yet survives 
 
 A remnant of that glorious band. 
 May God his guardian angels send 
 
 To guide and lead them by the hand 
 Past every danger, hardship, strife 
 
 And safely pilot them the way, 
 Through the shadowy vale of death 
 
 To havens of eternal day. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 273 
 
 Where foes will never more oppress, 
 
 And hate and strife be never known'; 
 Where all the just and brave of earth 
 
 Shall meet around the great whitefthrone, 
 And there in grand reunion sweet 
 
 Clasp hands with comrades gone^before 
 And join in everlasting songs 
 
 Of praise to God forevermore. 
 
 TO LIZZIE* 
 
 Thy pretty face, 
 Thy lovely grace, 
 
 And all thy winsome charms, 
 With cunning art 
 Allures my heart. 
 
 And all my hope alarms. 
 
 Thy lovely smiles. 
 Thy playful wiles, 
 
 And thy coquettish airs. 
 Entrance my eyes, 
 Awake my sighs. 
 
 And fill my breast with cares. 
 
 Thy silvery voice. 
 
 Thy words so choice. 
 When ringing out in songs. 
 
 Break on my ear. 
 
 So sweetly, dear. 
 My heart their joys prolongs. 
 18 
 
274 A GALAXY OF SOUTHKRN HKROKS 
 
 KICKERS. 
 
 Some folks ar born fer kickin', 
 An' seem tu kick fur fun ; 
 
 Day '11 kick er man fer standin' still 
 Den kick if he should run. 
 
 Dey '11 kick at ebrything dat 's good, 
 An' kick at what is bad ; 
 
 Dey '11 kick er man fer havin' fun, 
 Den kick if he gits mad. 
 
 Dey kick in winter case its cold, 
 In summer case its hot, 
 
 Dey kick at things dey never knew. 
 And kick at things forgot. 
 
 Yer can allers find dese kickers 
 
 At ebry place yer go, 
 Yer '11 find dem in de meetin' house 
 
 An' find dem at de show. 
 
 Dey is sometimes in de pulpit. 
 An' sometimes in de pew ; 
 
 But yer '11 allers find em kickin' 
 At ebrything yer do. 
 
 Yer will find 'em 'bout de hotels. 
 An' in de railroad trains ; 
 
 But yer '11 never find er kicker 
 Who*s overstock'd wid brains. 
 
 An' yer '11 notice by obsarvin' 
 
 A mighty sartin rule, 
 Dat de loudest talkin' kicker 
 
 Am de shabbiest little fool. 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 275 
 
 An' you who 's fond ob smokin' 
 
 May put dis in yer pipe, 
 Dat er kicker am er greener 
 
 Who 's seldom ober-ripe. 
 
 Fer ebrything but kickin' 
 
 And fer actin' ob de fool, 
 An' is much more like er donkey 
 
 Dan er hoss is like er mule. 
 
 An' yer cannot help concludin', 
 
 If yer watch dese kickers right, 
 Dat dey 's er breed of donkeys 
 
 Wid er gall dat 's out ob sight. 
 
 An' yer '11 also find by watchin' 
 
 Anuder rule ter fit, 
 Dat kickers am too cowardly 
 
 Ter face er man ob grit. 
 
 An' now befo' concludin' 
 
 Ob what Ise had ter say, 
 I wants ter tell de critics 
 
 Just ter bray an' kick er way 
 
 At anything dey may dislike 
 
 Ob what dese lines contains, 
 Fer d-y wasn 't writ ter fertilize 
 
 Dere unproductive brains. 
 
 And I don 't care one fiddlestick 
 
 For what all kickers say, 
 I 've got my pay fer writing it, 
 
 So let 'em kick and bray. 
 
276 A GAIvAXY OF SOUTHKRN HEROKS 
 
 HAIL ST, PATRICK'S DAY 
 
 Hail ! all hail, St. Patrick's day ! 
 
 And hail to Erin's glory, 
 A matchless land, of heroes grand, 
 
 Who live in song and story. 
 Oh, patron saint of wondrous land, 
 
 Thy name shall be immortal, 
 And light the way through endless day 
 
 To Heaven's blessed portal. 
 
 Oh, sainted man of wondrous mind. 
 
 Filled with inspiration, 
 By Heaven lent and Heaven sent. 
 
 To civilize a nation. 
 And where on earth is there a land 
 
 To-day that does not claim 
 On history's page some saint or sage — 
 
 Some glorious Irish name ? 
 
 And hail ! all hail ! to that green flag, 
 
 Old Erin's sacred treasure ; 
 A thousand years through strife and tears 
 
 And bloodshed without measure, 
 It floats to-day without a stain. 
 
 An alien though it be, 
 A tale to tell of freedom's knell, 
 
 As doth the flag of Lee. 
 
 Yes, hail ! all hail ! to Erin's flag, 
 
 Exiled though now it be. 
 In other climes and other times 
 
 That flag shall yet be free. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 277 
 
 And float as proudly to the breeze 
 
 As when unfurled of yore, 
 For Fates decree it shall be free 
 
 And float for evermore ! 
 
 Then hark ! oh, hark, ye Irish sons ! 
 
 Behold your country bleeding, 
 While saints above and sires you love 
 
 With you her cause are pleading. 
 And bid you, by the sacred ties 
 
 Of all that 's dear on earth, 
 To break in twain the tyrant's chain. 
 
 And free your land of birth. 
 
 Then grasp, oh, grasp the glorious flag 
 
 That bears no blot of shame. 
 And swear by love of God above 
 
 And by St. Patrick's name. 
 That you will ne'er forsake its cause 
 
 Till it in triumph waves. 
 That o'er the foam you *11 bear it home. 
 
 Or bear it to your graves. 
 
 NO COMPROMISE FOR ME- 
 
 Talk not to me of compromise, 
 
 I loathe, I hate the very word. 
 It is the strongest arm of him 
 
 By whom the fires of hell are stirred. 
 Old Satan never smiles so bright. 
 
 Nor darker gloam the frowning skies, 
 Than when men split the right in twain 
 
 And call that action *' compromise." 
 
278 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 What, tho' my cause shall ne'er prevail 
 
 I still can bravely bear defeat, 
 A victor's crown I 'd scorn to wear 
 
 If I must stoop that crown to greet. 
 No, let me live and let me die 
 
 In conscious practice of the right. 
 My soul unsullied by my vote. 
 
 No act of mine a home to blight. 
 
 What e'er is right, must right remain, 
 
 What e'er is wrong must still so be, 
 No policy for sake of gain 
 
 Can make the right with wrong agree. 
 Then be your license high or low. 
 
 Your whiskey dens are still the same, 
 Like whited sepulchres without. 
 
 Within there 's naught but death and shame. 
 
 Tho' dastard dotards humbly bow, 
 
 And bend the weak, the suppliant knee, 
 Tho' coward cravens cry for peace. 
 
 And talk to me of policy, 
 I yield to nothing short of truth. 
 
 No sort of compromise I take ; 
 I dare to stand up for the right, 
 
 Tho' cravens all the right forsake. 
 
 And as for me and for my house, 
 
 What ever lot the fates may plan. 
 Unmoved, unchanged, unconquered still. 
 
 With love for God and fellow-man. 
 We stand resolved to never yield. 
 
 Nor cease to work, nor cease to fight, 
 'Till gloriously we 've won the field 
 
 For God, for justice, and for right. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 279 
 
 CUBAN ISLE, FAIR CUBAN ISLE** 
 
 Air—" Maryland, My Maryland." 
 
 The Spaniard's foot is on thy soil, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle; 
 Let not oppression longer spoil, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle. 
 We '11 right the wrong of gory stain 
 
 That rests upon the gallant Maine, 
 Our martyred dead died not in vain, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle. 
 
 For though we would not strike for gain, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle, 
 The starving shall not plead in vain, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle. 
 When Spaniard's meet us in the field, 
 
 Our country's flag your rights will shield, 
 And thou shalt not to tyrant's yield, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle. 
 
 No longer yield the tyrant's toll, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle ; 
 Thou shalt not bend to his control, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle. 
 America thy suff' ring sees. 
 
 And in her might she now decrees 
 Thy freedom. Queen of Antilles, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle. 
 
 * Written for and sungf by a young lady on the occasion of a grand 
 public meeting- arranged for the purpose of arousing a patriotic enthu- 
 siasm for Cuban freedom at the hands of sympathizing Americans. 
 
280 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 When thou shalt hear our cannon's roar, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle, 
 Thy suff'ring then will soon be o'er, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle. 
 Behold our ships are at thy door. 
 
 To drive the tyrant from thy shore 
 And grant thee freedom evermore, 
 
 Cuban Isle, Fair Cuban Isle. 
 
 THE DEATH OF ADMIRAL SEMMES 
 
 Another gallant chieftain 
 
 Of the grand heroic band, 
 Who, in the cause of freedom. 
 
 For our bless'd Southern land, 
 Stemmed the tide of battle, 
 
 And won a world's renown. 
 Has doffed his earthly laurels 
 
 For Heaven's brighter crown. 
 
 My pen is too unworthy 
 
 To eulogize his name, 
 For ** earth's remotest nations" 
 
 Are familiar with his fame. 
 His grand heroic deeds 
 
 Upon the rolling sea, 
 Have made his name immortal 
 
 As that of Robert Lee. 
 
 And the waves of old Atlantic, 
 As they break upon the shore, 
 
 Will sing in loudest praises 
 His name for evermore ; 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 281 
 
 And the proud unfettered winds, 
 As they sweep from pole to pole, 
 
 Will chant in mournful dirges, 
 A requiem to his soul. 
 
 While his bright and faithful sword, 
 
 That could but brook defeat. 
 Will shine beneath the deep 
 
 In its silent, safe retreat. 
 And there 'twill rest forever. 
 
 Without a blot or stain, 
 The peerless gem of gems 
 
 That decks old Ocean's main. 
 
 THE GALLANT IMMUNES* 
 
 (Inscribed to the men of the Fifth Regiment, United States Volunteer 
 Infantry, when on their way to Cuba.) 
 
 Out now upon the ocean wave 
 
 Beneath the spreading sail, 
 Speed on the gallant, noble braves, 
 
 With hearts that never quail ; 
 Enough to know their country calls 
 
 And proudly they obey, 
 Nor pestilence nor leaden balls 
 
 Can daunt them nor dismay. 
 
 True heroes, each with willing heart, 
 
 A soldier's lot to share. 
 For country's weal, to do his part. 
 
 No matter when or where. 
 
282 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN H^ROKS 
 
 If 'neath the burning tropic sun 
 There lurks his country's foe, 
 
 He questions not, nor seeks to shun 
 When duty bids him go. 
 
 Their country's flag they proudly bear 
 
 To fields of victory new, 
 And sternly swear to keep it there 
 
 Whatever dangers brew ; 
 Their nation's honor, theirs to keep, 
 
 And they will guard it well. 
 E'en tho' simoons around them sweep. 
 
 Or surge the fiends of hell. 
 
 THE GUITAR. 
 
 I 'member way back long ago, 
 
 'Fore de Yankees sot us free, 
 A nigger wid an old banjo 
 
 Was happy as could be ; 
 But looking back to dem ole times, 
 
 Way back befo' de war, 
 I wonder how dem niggers did 
 
 Widout a light guitar. 
 
 Wid rattle bones and ole banjo 
 Dey used to play and sing, 
 
 And dance befo' de cabin do'. 
 And cut de pigeon wing ; 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 283 
 
 But dem ole days am pass and gone, 
 
 De banjo ain't nowhar; 
 ])e niggers now mus' put on airs 
 
 And pick de light guitar. 
 
 Dese am de hallelujah times, 
 
 Our work am turned to play ; 
 We ain't got nuffin' else to do 
 
 But frolic night and day ; 
 Our corn-field hands are turned to dudes, 
 
 De wash- women ''ladies" are, 
 De banjo it am laid aside, 
 
 While we pick de light guitar. 
 
 Each nigger in de barber shop. 
 
 And ebery hotel coon 
 Is trumming on de light guitar. 
 
 And trying to play er tune ; 
 But by and by dem kinkey heads 
 
 Will be hustled on de kyars 
 And bundled off to Mexico, 
 
 Along wid dere guitars. 
 
 For white folks now am gitten tired 
 
 Ob sich hyfalutin' style, 
 An' when dere patience gits threadbare 
 
 Dere blood am gwine ter bile ; 
 And if dem kinkey-headed coons 
 
 Keeps on wid sich fool airs, 
 Dey '11 land in h — 1 or Mexico, 
 
 Erlong wid dere guitars. 
 
284 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 A PLEA TO MAYOR LANE* 
 
 (For the removal of a hand-organ nuisance). 
 
 Please, Mister Lane, do hear my plea 
 
 And grant alleviation, 
 I 'm almost dead, my nerves unstrung. 
 
 My soul 's in desperation ; 
 I 've got the spancue and jimjams. 
 
 My brain is worn to pieces 
 By that infernal hurdy-gurdy 
 
 Whose grinding never ceases. 
 
 From early morn till late at night 
 
 That cruel fiend's persistence 
 In grinding doleful measures out, 
 
 Makes life unworth existence. 
 I cannot think, I cannot work, 
 
 I scarce can get my breath ; 
 Do dynamite the blasted thing 
 
 Before it proves my death. 
 
 Yes, Mister Mayor, heed my woe. 
 
 And banish, by your orders. 
 That curse-provoking, damned machine, 
 
 Beyond earth's outer borders. 
 Don 't let it drive me on to drink 
 
 To drown my wild despair, 
 But choke it off and smash its lungs ; 
 
 Oh, hear and grant my prayer. 
 
AND OTHKR POEMS. 285 
 
 LIFE, 
 
 The dew which comes with stars of night 
 To ghsten in the morning's hght, 
 An hour sparkles on the grass, 
 And then doth into vapor pass. 
 
 The flowers which in the morning bloom 
 And lade the air with sweet perfume, 
 Live not to see the close of day, 
 They lose their charms and pass away. 
 
 The bright rainbow which spans the sky, 
 Like an arch of gold on high, 
 A moment lingers to our view 
 And bids us then a slow adieu. 
 
 The snow which falls with bounteous flake 
 Upon the bosom of the lake, 
 Quick disappears and leaves no trace 
 Of its ephemeral resting place. 
 
 And these are all mere types of life 
 In this dark world of toil and strife : 
 One day we 're born, the next we die, 
 And then within the dust we He. 
 
 But oh, how sweet to feel and know 
 That death is but an end of woe ; 
 For tho' we die upon this earth, 
 Our souls will have a happier birth. 
 
286 A GALAXY OF SOUTHE]SN HEROES 
 
 SOUTH ROMR* 
 
 South Rome, superb, thy mountains grand, 
 Around thee like great sentinels stand, 
 To keep and shield thee from alarm, 
 When storms arise and threaten harm ; 
 And from their grand, majestic domes 
 Look down on smiling, peaceful homes ; 
 Whilst gushing fountains, pure and bright, 
 Break from thy hills, and in the light 
 Of sunbeams sparkling, ever sweet. 
 Forever cool, doth lave thy feet 
 And yield a glow to every cheek 
 For those who come, sweet health to seek. 
 But not alone thy lovely mountains. 
 Crystal streams and sparkHng fountains ; 
 These are not half the splendid charms 
 Which thou claspest in thine arms ; 
 But fairer far than Sharon's fields. 
 And all the wealth Golconda yields ; 
 More precious, too, than all the wine 
 That e'er was brewed from luscious vine ; 
 Yea, fairer far than India's pearls 
 Thy greatest charm — thy pretty girls. 
 God bless them, each and every one. 
 No fairer dwell beneath the sun ; 
 Then be thy boast thy daughters fair. 
 Whose loveliness and beauty rare 
 Beggars the power of pen to tell. 
 Each one 's a queen — a reigning belle, 
 A sweet enchantress be it said. 
 Whose footsteps bless the land they tread. 
 
 *Rome, Ga. 
 
AND OTHKR POKMS. 287 
 
 JACK FROST. 
 
 Old Jack Frost has come, his footprints are seen 
 O'er broad grassy plains that were lately so green, 
 And, kissed by his lips, his cold icy breath 
 Has left on the forests the shadows of death ; 
 And the few gentle flowers yet left us in bloom 
 Are drooping like angels knelt over a tomb. 
 But the ripe, golden fruit which summer has left 
 Requites us for all of its beauties bereft ; 
 And this but illustrates a fact that I 've seen. 
 When loved ones have gone like the summer's bright 
 
 green. 
 To Heaven they may go, or to— just where you 
 
 please. 
 But the gold that they leave doth all sorrow appease. 
 
 LOVE* 
 
 AN ACROSTIC. 
 
 Love, oh, thou heart-consuming flame, 
 Inspired not by wealth or fame, 
 Zest of every noble claim. 
 Zealous in thy boundless aim, 
 Inspiration taught thy name, 
 Eternal gods thy wealth proclaim. 
 
 Purest type from Heaven's mold. 
 On maiden's lips thou art extolled, 
 Wisdom too thy precepts fold. 
 Evinced through life's endearing hold, 
 Rejected not by young or old, 
 Sure all thy strength was never told. 
 
288 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 MY LIFE IS LIKE A SHIP AT SEA. 
 
 My life is like a ship at sea, 
 
 That wrestles with the storm in vain, 
 
 Which only mounts one rising swell 
 To be cast down in gulfs again. 
 
 My life is like a ship at sea, 
 
 Which madly stems the driving blast, 
 But far away from friendly port. 
 
 Is doomed to fall and sink at last. 
 
 My life is like a ship at sea. 
 
 With compass lost and shivered mast ; 
 Tossed here and there upon the waves, 
 
 A wreck that tells of tempests past. 
 
 My life is like a ship at sea, 
 
 That soon will sink 'neath the wave, 
 
 And, sinking, leave no sign or trace 
 Of its eternal resting grave. 
 
AND OTHEJR POEJMS. 289 
 
 GOOD-BYE SONG TO R L. S* 
 
 Good-bye, good-bye, dear friend, good-bye, 
 God's blessings on thee we implore, 
 
 And speak with a sigh, our parting good-bye. 
 As you leave to meet us no more. 
 
 Our joys and cares with us you've shared 
 
 Revealing a friendship sincere, 
 And now as we part, the grief in each heart 
 
 Is shown in a shimmering tear. 
 
 Warm in our minds we'll ever keep 
 Your memory, so precious and dear, 
 
 And time cannot change or ever estrange 
 The love you have won from us here. 
 
 Henceforth, afar from us you go, 
 
 Your duteous paths to pursue. 
 But oft in our eyes bright tears will arise 
 
 As we think of your sad ''Adieu." 
 
 And now, good-bye, a last good-bye, 
 Our hearts with sweet sympathy swell. 
 
 Our spirits grow weak, our lips fail to speak — 
 Dear friend and companion, farewell. 
 
 19 
 
290 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HEROES 
 
 TIS THEN I THINK OF YOU* 
 
 When mock-birds chant their matin lay, 
 
 And eastern sky's roseate hue 
 Proclaims the dawning of the day, 
 
 'Tis then — 'tis then I think of you. 
 
 And when at noontide's sultry hour 
 
 The sky is one ethereal blue, 
 And I have sought my shady bower, 
 
 'Tis then — 'tis then I think of you. 
 
 When night its starry robes reveal, 
 And Heaven sheds its glist'ning dew ; 
 
 When silence o'er the world doth steal ; 
 'Tis then — 'tis then I think of you. 
 
 And when in sleep I chance to dream. 
 
 And dream there's naught to cheer my view, 
 
 Then, waking, see the moon's bright beam, 
 'Tis then — 'tis then I think of you. 
 
 And thus my joy in life shall be, 
 
 Whilst memory's chain holds firm and true ; 
 Altho' thy face no more I see, 
 
 To sweetly — sweetly think of you. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 291 
 
 LINES TO ;• L. T. 
 
 Oh, tell me not this lovely world 
 
 Is all made up of vain deceit, 
 That love is but a fickle charm. 
 
 And friendship 's nothing but a cheat. 
 
 Nor tell me, yet, that man was made 
 For naught but labor and for strife ; 
 
 That he 's deception in himself, 
 And there 's no constancy in life. 
 
 But rather tell me if you will 
 
 That this strong body hath no soul, 
 
 And that the God who made the world, 
 Hath not, above it, all control. 
 
 But speak not thus in idle jest, 
 No words like these can I believe, 
 
 Whilst I can boast one faithful friend 
 Who 'd rather perish than deceive. 
 
 A noble, generous friend is he 
 
 With ready hand for every task ; 
 For anything, at any time. 
 
 To give, or do, what I may ask. 
 
 No sordid craven heart he bears, 
 
 But best impulses fill his breast ; 
 And when I 've needed most a friend. 
 
 He 's always stood the firmest test. 
 
292 A GAIyAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 He 's generous, too, to every fault, 
 And brave as ever crested knight ; 
 
 Disdaining all the world might say. 
 Content to do what 's just and right. 
 
 And modest as he 's good and brave. 
 He seeks not vain and empty show : 
 
 But scorns alike the flatterer's tongue 
 And dangers of a skulking foe. 
 
 Then tell me not that life 's a myth, 
 That sincere friendship is unknown ; 
 
 For one such friend as Johnnie is, 
 To live for, is enough alone. 
 
 THE MURDERED WIFE* 
 
 (A poor woman, the mother of a young- babe, died in Rome just after 
 the prohibition election, and her father testified that her death was thi 
 result of a beating- at the hands of her drunken husband.) 
 
 Behold, ye '' anti-prohi's," 
 
 Your work is well begun ; 
 A murdered mother's blood 
 
 Now stains the cause you won. 
 
 A helpless little infant, 
 
 In piteous hunger cries. 
 Whilst its mother's bloody form 
 
 In yonder graveyard lies. 
 
 'Twas a husband in his frenzy, 
 
 By whiskey driven wild, 
 Who struck that mother down — 
 
 Made an orphan of his child. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 
 
 On you my ** anti " friends, 
 Who voted ''for the sale," 
 
 Must rest the awful crime 
 When justice shall prevail. 
 
 For at the Bar of Judgment, 
 
 When God shall call your name, 
 
 You '11 not escape his vengeance, 
 For to you belongs the blame. 
 
 *Twas the sanction of your ballot 
 That licensed men to sell. 
 
 And the selling brought about 
 That bloody deed of hell. 
 
 And that poor murdered mother, 
 At the bar beyond the sky. 
 
 Will be a witness 'gainst you 
 When you are called to die. 
 
 293 
 
294 A GAI.AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 A HORRID DREAM.* 
 
 My precious babe, my darling boy, 
 Thy father's heart still true to thee, 
 
 Vibrates to-night without a joy. 
 Because thy face I do not see. 
 
 A sadness dwells within my breast, 
 A sense of gloom I can 't dispel. 
 
 An ominous dream that broke my rest 
 Forbodes to me thou art not well. 
 
 I saw within my vision wild 
 
 A raging stream with foaming crest. 
 
 And saw thy form, my lovely child. 
 Swept far away upon its breast. 
 
 And as I watched thy little arms 
 Held outstretched to me for aid — 
 
 My heart grew faint with dread alarms, 
 And paralyzed I stood dismayed. 
 
 But when I saw thy body sink 
 Without a hand thy life to save, 
 
 My strength returned and o'er the brink 
 I leapt into the rushing wave. 
 
 *While away from home when my first son was an infant I had my 
 sleep broken by the foregoing ugly dream, and not being able to sleep, 
 arose and wrote these lines, which the little chap has kept until now, 
 and insists that the lines .which he calls "his poem " be included as 
 part of his book. 
 
AND OTHER POKMS. 295 
 
 With giant strength I dashed aside 
 
 The rising billows in my course 
 And mounting every swelling tide, 
 
 I plied my strokes with double force 
 
 Until I reached the fatal spot 
 
 At which I saw thee disappear. 
 Heedless of what might be my lot 
 
 Without a thought of selfish fear, 
 
 I plunged myself beneath the wave 
 Where last I heard thy feeble cry, 
 
 Resolved thy precious life to save, 
 Or with thee in the waters die. 
 
 Down, down, I sank within the deep. 
 
 Until I reached the rocks below 
 O'er which the waters seemed to sweep 
 
 And searching round me to and fro, 
 
 Thy little form at last I found ; 
 
 Then clutching thee unto my breast, 
 I sprang up with triumphant bound. 
 
 And poising on the foaming crest, 
 
 I held thee in my arms upright 
 
 To see if there were signs of breath. 
 
 But, oh ! ril ne'er forget the sight : 
 
 Thy eyes were seeming closed in death. 
 
 And none but God will ever know 
 
 The anguish of that fitful dream. 
 When grief unveiled my sight to woe 
 
 Within that visionary stream. 
 
296 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 BOOMING BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 (Written during the panic of 1893.) 
 
 Now don't it beat the Juba to hear them croakers 
 
 croak. 
 They seem to think because er bank has happened 
 
 tu git broke 
 That the day of judgment's cum with all its awful 
 
 gloom, 
 And that Birmingham and all the world is heading 
 
 for the tomb ; 
 But I wants to tell 'em now, that in spite of all they 
 
 say, 
 That Birmingham is solid, and they 'd better clear 
 
 the way. 
 
 The time is near approaching when things is gwine 
 
 ter hum, 
 And we '11 hear a buzz of business like bees within a 
 
 gum; 
 An' every cussed croaker who wants tu save his hide 
 Will have ter git er hustle on or kinder stand erside. 
 For I feel it in my bones and I breathe it in the air, 
 The clouds are gettin' lighter and the skies are gettin' 
 
 fair, 
 The threatened storm is over, and things are gettin' 
 
 bright, 
 And Birmingham is jest the town that 's bound to 
 
 come out right. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 297 
 
 For she 's built upon a basis of the Giberalter kind, 
 And she 's gwine ter keep er goin' like er ship before 
 
 the wind ; 
 No busted bank can check her, nor nothing else can 
 
 kill, 
 Tho' she 's been a little crippled by that infernal bill 
 That keeps our honest merchants from collectin' of 
 
 their debts, 
 And hobbles every workman in the commissary's 
 
 nets. 
 It was made to aid the shylocks, and was helped 
 
 erlong by fools, 
 And was made intu er law by the corporation's tools. 
 
 But, Birmingham will get thar ; she 's er gettin' up 
 
 her steam. 
 Her nozzle's pinted upward on fortune's flowing 
 
 stream, 
 She 's bound tu make her landing, and all who git 
 
 aboard 
 Will have a glorious passage and will reap a rich 
 
 reward. 
 And there 's not a cussed croaker from Maine to 
 
 Yubadam 
 Who will live to see the sinking of our booming 
 
 Birmingham. 
 
298 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROKS 
 
 THE YANKEES ARE COMING. 
 
 Coming, coming ! the Yankees are coming 
 Down from the North, so cold and benumbing, 
 Coming by steamer, coming by sail. 
 Coming by river, coming by rail, 
 
 No foes now to face them. 
 
 No forts to menace them, 
 But friends who are ready to meet and embrace them. 
 
 From the land of Jack Frost, where the snow king 
 
 reigns. 
 Obstructing all thrift with his cold, icy chains, 
 Where the lights of Aurora shed a luminous glow 
 And the steps of all progress are fettered by snow. 
 
 To the land of the pines. 
 
 Where the warm sun shines, 
 And the cotton blooms vie with the bloom of the vines. 
 
 Once, when the Yankees came marching this way, 
 They met serried hosts in battle array. 
 Who fought them as only true patriots fight 
 When battling for home, for country and right, 
 
 But, beaten by numbers 
 
 Or cold in death's slumbers, 
 No longer a foeman their pathway encumbers. 
 
 No hearts now opposed to the oncoming tide. 
 No sword is upheld to turn them aside ; 
 No cannon's loud roar, no trumpet's wild blast — 
 All issues of hate are buried and past — 
 
 No jealousy's pall. 
 
 No embittering gall — 
 For the flag of our fathers floats over us all. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 299 
 
 Onward! yes, onward the Yankees now come, 
 Bearing no banners, beating no drum. 
 No heart is opposed to the oncoming tide. 
 No sword is uplifted to turn them aside. 
 
 For they come with their skill, 
 
 Our country to thrill 
 With the musical hum of the factory and mill. 
 
 LINES WRITTEN ON THE FLY-LEAF OF A 
 
 BOOK* 
 
 PRESENTED TO I^IZZIE P- 
 
 To her whose curls of ebon hue. 
 
 Droop o'er shoulders white as snow, 
 
 And from whose eyes, like morning dew 
 Light's brightest scintillations glow. 
 
 Whose lovely cheeks are soft and fair 
 As ever claimed a poet's thought ; 
 
 Whose mind is free from every care, 
 Whose soul's with every virtue fraught. 
 
 Whose lovely lips, divinely sweet. 
 
 Are worthy of an angel's kiss, 
 And in whose heart such virtues meet 
 
 As fit her for Heaven's courts of bliss. 
 
 Whose form of grace outvies the swan, 
 That swims upon the glassy stream, 
 
 And whose sweet thoughts from dawn to dawn 
 Are bright and pure as angel's dream. 
 
300 A GAI^AXY OF SOUTHERN HKROKS 
 
 MY NATIVE LAND* 
 I truly love my fellow men, 
 
 My country and my country's flag, 
 I love her every glade and glen, 
 
 Her every cliff and mountain crag ; 
 I love her mountains grand and steep, 
 
 Her ev'ry hill and ev'ry plain, 
 I love her lakes and rivers deep. 
 
 Her forests and her fields of grain, 
 I love her history and rejoice 
 
 When e'er Old Glory's folds I see, 
 Of all the world give me my choice, 
 
 America land of the free. 
 
 What mortal born of any land. 
 
 Has ever breathed of freedom's air 
 And has not felt his soul expand 
 
 With rapture for this country fair ? 
 Where ev'ry man wherever born, 
 
 Who on its soil his foot once sets 
 May lift his head and proudly scorn 
 
 All kingly crowns and coronets. 
 And truly feel that wondrous pride 
 
 Which comes of conscious moral worth, 
 Where rank and caste are set aside 
 
 And virtue counts for more than birth. 
 
 Let others roam if so inclined. 
 And seek beyond the ocean wide 
 
 For such attractions there to find 
 As may in foreign lands abide ; 
 
 Let them go view Mount Hercules, 
 Old ^tna and Choomalari; 
 
AND oth:^r pokms. 301 
 
 Go view the Alps and Pyrenees, 
 
 And climb Mount Everest to the sky, 
 
 I envy not those vistas grand. 
 
 With all their charms the heart to fill 
 
 Just give to me my native land — 
 
 Her charms alone my heart can thrill. 
 
 Nor envy I nor yet condemn 
 
 Those *' birds of passage " rich and gay, 
 Who o'er the ocean love to skim 
 
 In search of pleasures far away. 
 I bid them speed and find content. 
 
 No matter what their pleasures be, 
 But as for me it's my intent 
 
 To stay within this country free. 
 Old England,* Germany and France, 
 
 Greece, Switzerland and ancient Rome, 
 May have their lurements to entrance, 
 
 But give to me my native home. 
 
 My ears are closed when others prate 
 
 Of royalty and regal birth, 
 For in my heart I loathe and hate 
 
 All caste and regal claims on earth. 
 Free-born in this great country free 
 
 Beneath Old Glory's spreading folds, 
 I would not bow or bend the knee 
 
 To all the kings which Europe holds. 
 More independent, regal, I 
 
 Than any king who treads the sod — 
 A free-born heir of liberty, 
 
 I bow to none except my God. 
 
302 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HKROES 
 
 Then give to me my native land, 
 
 For lands afar I do not sigh, 
 Of all the world the best and grand 
 
 Is here beneath my native sky. 
 Our men the bravest of the brave, 
 
 Our women fairest of the fair, 
 Our flag of all the flags that wave. 
 
 The grandest is beyond compare. 
 Then here 's to thee, my native land, 
 
 Long may thy flag triumphant fly, 
 Beneath its folds, so glorious, grand. 
 
 Here let me live, here let me die. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 303 
 
 DRIFTING AWAY. 
 
 Drifting, drifting every day, 
 Down life's current, drifting away ; 
 Kings and slaves — the grave and gay, 
 All on board are drifting away. 
 
 Both saints and sinners all the same, 
 The men unknown, and men of fame ; 
 All the cowards, and all the brave, 
 Are drifting onward to the grave. 
 
 Nor love nor wealth their course can stay, 
 Not even a year, nor yet a day; 
 While some drift fast, drift others slow, 
 But drifting onward all must go. 
 
 Youth and beauty cannot avail, 
 Nor earthly powers can aught prevail; 
 No priestly prayers, nor precious gift 
 Can stay the tide on which we drift. 
 
 Hear that poor mother how she pleads, 
 With broken, wounded heart that bleeds, 
 For little loved one gone to rest 
 From its weak mooring at her breast. 
 
 And hear the father's anguish wild. 
 In mourning for that precious child ; 
 But father's grief nor mother's pain 
 Can call their loved one back again. 
 
)04 A GALAXY OF SOUTHERN HEROS 
 
 Mark yon pale cheek with hectic flush, 
 Where passion once was wont to blush, 
 And all love's fervency portray, 
 Now soon in death to drift away. 
 
 What tho' her lover's heart should break, 
 What tho' he 'd die for her dear sake ; 
 His breaking heart no anchor proves, 
 To stay the tide on which she moves. 
 
 The young, the old, the high, the low. 
 All drifting down this stream must go ; 
 'Neath spreading sails of deathly pall 
 This voyage must be made by all. 
 
 The sea to which we thither trend, 
 With every foe and every friend. 
 Is that dark, shoreless, boundless sea. 
 The dark, unknown eternity ! 
 
DEC tl