to - C C- -?-, "'SARAH, LET ME LISTEN WHILE THE DRUMS MARCH BY." I! CITY FESTIVALS BY WILL CARLETON AUTHOR OF " FARM BALLADS" "FARM LEGENDS" "FARM FESTIVALS" " CITY BALLADS" "CITY LEGENDS" ETC. ILLUSTRA TED NEW YORK HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE I892 ., ... = aims S . Copyright, 1892, by HARPER & BROTHERS. All rights reserved. TO GOD, THE GREAT FATHER TO EARTH, THE GREAT MOTHER AND TO THE SUFFERING, SORROWING REJOICING, CONQUERING, HUMAN RACE ALL SISTERS AND BROTHERS A;. ~~~~~~~.I preface. N this sixth and last book of the Farm and City Series, it may be appropriate for its author to mention the plan and theory which he has endeavored to make his guide throughout the work. He believes, first, that the most important consideration of a book or a poem, so far as it is within the author's control, is the motive; which should be connected either with the substantial improvement, or the rational entertainment of the human race. The author who has the attention of any great number of people, and does not use it to make them better and truer, is to be pitied, as well as his readers. Second, he believes that the next most important thing in a book or poem, is its spirit and feeling-the servant of the motive. This should be hearty, deep, and sincere. Whatever the feeling which the author strives to express, he must first experience himself, in order to communicate it to his readers. No writer can touch the heart of his audience, unless his own heart has first been touched. The only sure way to the brain is through the heart. Millions of volumes are to-day finger-deep in the dust of library-cemeteries, because their makers did not write them with their hearts-did not really mean what they said. And the public felt the lack, knew them for something it did not wish, and neglected them. Third, he believes that the next most important consideration in a book or a poem is the subject-matter-the thought, the material-servant of the motive and feeling. This should never be above the comprehension of the average mind and thought of the world-if the author expects to write for the people in general, and not for the short-lived praises of a small, transient, artificial admirationsociety. There is no thought so great, so complicated, so ineffably sublime, that it cannot be resolved into elements easily understood by the average human intellect. It should be the work of a poet, not to make plain thought or lack of thought complex and difficult of being understood, but to simplify and interpret nature and art to his readers; not to produce a series of rhymed riddles and enigmas, but epics, dramas, or lyrics such as the human race can understand, enjoy, and use, for their entertainment and instruction. Fourth, the language of a book or poem-servant of the motive, thought, and feeling-should not be stilted or strained. An author ought not to consider that Preface. the moment he drops into rhyme, he must immediately rise again, in a balloon of polysyllabic words and incomprehensible phrases. The clearer the window-pane, the brighter may be seen the flowers of the garden and the tints of the sky as observed through it; and the simpler and more lucid the author's language, the more easily are observed and felt whatever beauty and power the thought may possess. It is often allowable to introduce, to a certain extent, the dialect speech of some of the characters represented, on account of the directness, simplicity, and quaintness of language thus called into use. Still, dialect should not be employed unsparingly, or with the evident design of concealing the poverty of material by the queerness of the language, or with more lapses from the established rules than uneducated people naturally make (which are much less in number than one would suppose, before careful notice). The great mistake of many writers is, that they out-dialect dialect. Fifth, come the various arts which are used in making a book or poem attractive or efficient; and all are commendable, if used, not to the injury, but to the aid of the foregoing qualities. There are the figures, which should be fresh, natural, and, as fully as possible, evolved from the author's own thought and observation; not mere reproductions fromi previous writers. So far as an author uses another's thoughts, figures, and expressions, either consciously or unconsciously, he is a compiler, and not an author. Figures should also be striking and apparent, and not so ineffably delicate as to require a literary microscope to detect them. There are the measures; which should be as regular and as conformable to established rules as the thought and feeling permit, but should not be made into jails in which to imprison and stifle sentiment and sense. There are the rhymes; which, if used, should be short, perfect, or extremely allowable, and, if possible, striking and felicitous. And there are many other generally admitted arts and expedients, which, like architecture with the casual observer, have more or less effect upon all readers of poetry, whether they understand them or not. But all these last are only the humble, though perhaps glittering, slaves of the qualities first mentioned; and when used without them, form dreary and pitiable exhibits. These details of the poetical creed which the author has striven to follow during the preparation of these volumes, and from which he has often fallen far short, are given in hopes that some younger writers may recognize in. them their own natural beliefs; that they may find in them a certain amount of help and guid ance in their work. In regard to himself, he would say, that although he has not been able to adhere to them as closely as he could wish, yet one of the chief pleasures which his millions of readers afford him is, that they induce him to believe that he has, to some extent at least, succeeded in carrying out his own theories. W. C. viii ifestivals of tbe latton —Including, HEAR THE DRUMS MARCH Y......... PRIVATE BROWN'S REFLECTIONS............. OUR GUESTS UNSEEN................... RHYMES TO THE DAY..................... THE THURSDAY SABBATH DAY............ THREE SCENES IN THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS.......... .fetivat of the 3ollp clerogmen — ncliding, ELDER LAMB'S DONATION................ McFLUFFEY'S CANOE.................. ELDER PETTIGREW'S HELPMEET................. HYMN-SERMON................... E festital ot the SI' ClUb —lncludiny, THE CHILD-THIEF........................ A LEAP FOR Lov.................. FLIGHT OF THE AGED BALLOONIST............,. f ontents. PAGE ... 16 ... 17 ... 22 ... 30 ~.. 35 ... 37 ~.. 60 ... 62 ... 67 . 71 ... 79 ... 84 ... 88 Contents. 'be festival ot the greats-Including, PAGE SONG OF THE SIDE-SHOWMAN................ THE DWARF's RESPONSE................ THE GIANT'S STORY.................... THE SPECTRE WHALE............ THE BRIDGE-JUMPER'S STORY............. THE BEARDED LADY'S STORY.......... :be fe5tival ot the tram ClUb-Including, A MODERN CASSANDRA.................... JONATHAN JARVIS...................... THE ENGINE-DRIVER'S STORY.......... UNDER THE WHEELS..................... Cbe festival of famil IRceunion. THE FESTIVAL OF FAMILY REUNION............ Mrotes. NOTES.................................... 163 x ... 101 ... 103 ...105 ...112 ...114 ...1,18 ... 129 ... 132 ... 136 ... 140 ..... 149 511ustrations. PAGE "Sarah, let me listen while the drums march by"...... Frontispiece "He bent and stroked the humble mounds with kind, old-fashioned word". 19 Of heroes that camp on the unseen shore"............27 Grandest sailor of the zones"...................... 45 ' Take me to Thyself in grace, 0 Lord, before my next donation!'".. 63 "And one day her husband's larynx was not wholly in repair".... 69 "And my love and pity clasped her, and I could not leave her there".. 81 "Oh, I am a showman old....Uncommonly large and bold!".... 99 "I kicked the whole establishment with him"............ 109 "Every once in a short time she'd come upon us quick"... I... 137 "Irou are death-pale and trembling! Here! drink some more tea!".. 143 "A grand old mansion on a city road".................. 153 I FESTIVALS OF THE NATION. FESTIVALS. fctiua1ls of toe NatioLi. I. JOHN JONEs of Philadelphia was festively inclined; Possessed obese anatomy and glad gregarious mind; A man of wealthy bachelorhood; with gracious power and will Quite happy oft to make himself and others happier still. And every time a famous Yankee anniversary came, Arrangements promptly he prepared to celebrate the same: The January day when first Ben Franklin glanced upon The Boston which acquired that day her most illustrious son; The frigid February date when Washington first smiled Upon the country that was yet to call itself his child; The raw March day when Quakers made Concession's proclamation,' Thus furnishing a germ and hint for our own Declaration; The weeping April day when, with a baby voice's aid, Young Thomas Jefferson his first free utterance loudly made; The sweet M[ay day on which, amid the tear-drops' fragrant showers, War - mourners covered first the graves of those they loved with flowers; The famous seventeenth day of June, when, with new-welded will, Americans both lost and won The Battle of the Hill; The sultry summer day when, set by passion's earthquake free, A new-found nation showed its head above Oppression's sea; The August day when Fulton first, without a stitch of sail, Climbed up the Hudson's liquid stair, in Acclamation's gale; CITY City Festivals. The blithe September day this land has no right to forget, That made America the gift of valiant La Fayette; The gold October day in which Columbus bent the knee, And thanked his God for showing him a refuge for the free; The bright November day, when, driven bv patriot endeavor, Armed Britons trimmed reluctant sails, and left New York forever; The bright December day on which the lf[ayflower's frozen band Stepped on the famous Pilgrim Rock, and thence to Freedom's land; And several other days that came into his heart and mind, On which the western world had served the cause of humankind. And this is how John Jones observed the thirtieth morn of May: Hle gathered thirty veteran braves who loved the mournful day, And strewed their banquet-hall with flowers; for, as he often said, He did not like to have them wait for wreaths, till they were dead. And when the banqueting was done, they held their glasses high, In silent reverence, while they drank to comrades in the sky; And then came speeches, songs, and rhymes, that bred the laugh and cheer, Or called a gentle sadness forth, and many a silent tear; And once a veteran, wvho could feel the words upon their way, Recited this short monologue of Decoration Day: HEAR THE DRUMS MARCH BY. Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, hear the drums march by! This is Decoration Day. Hurry, and be spry! Wheel me to the window, girl; fling it open high! Crippled of the body, now, and blinded of the eye, Sarah, let me listen while the drums march by. Hear'em; how they roll! I can feel'em in my soul. Hear the beat-beat-o' the boots on the street; Hear the sweet fife cut the air like a knife; Hear the tones grand of the words of command; Hear the walls nigh shout back their reply; Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, hear the drums dance by! i6 Festivals of the Nation. Blind as a bat, I can see'em for all that; Old Colonel Ray, stately an' gray, Riding,, slow and solemn, at head of the column; There's Mfajor Bell, sober now, and well; Old Lengthy Bragg, still a-bearing of the flag; There's old Strong, that I tented with so long; There's the whole crowd, hearty an' proud! Hley, boys, say! can't you glance up this way? Here's an old comrade, crippled now, and gray! This is too mnuch. Girl, throw me my crutch! I can see-I can walk-I can march-I could fly! No, I won't sit still an' let the boys march by! Oh! I fall and I flinch; I can't go an inch! No use to flutter; no use to try. Where's my strength? Hunt down at the front; There's where I left it. No need to sigh; All the milk's spilt; there's no use to cry. Plague o' these tears, and the moaning in my ears! Part of a war is to suffer and to die; I must sit still, and let the drums march by. Part of a war is to suffer and to dieSuffer and to die —suffer and to- Why! Of all the crowd I just yelled at so loud, There's hardly a one but is killed, dead, and gone-! All the old regiment, excepting only I, Marched out of sight in the country of the night. That was a spectre band went past so grand. All the old boys are a-tenting in the skySarah, Sarah, Sarah, hear the drmns moan by! And then a girl arrayed in black, her eyes cast sadly down, Rehearsed a veteran soldier's griefs, in words of Private Brown: PRIVATE BROWN'S REFLECTIONS. The gathered ranks with muffled drums had grandly marched away The hills had caught the sunset gleam of Decoration Day; I 7 City Festivals. The orator had held the throng on sorrow's trembling verge, The choir had sung their saddest strains-the band had played a dirge; Some graves that had neglected been through many lonely hours, Hlad leaped again to transient fame, and blossomed forth with flowers; And one old veteran, Private Brown, with gray, uncovered head, Still wandered'mongst those small green hills that held his comrades dead. Ile bent and stroked the humble mounds, with kind, old-fashioned wordHe called his comrades all by name, as if he knew they heard; He said: "Ah, Private Johnny Smith! you lie so cold and still! This isn't much like that summer day you spent at Malvern Hill! The bellowing of the mighty guns your voice screamed loud above: You yelled,' Come on and see how men fight for the land they love!' You furnished heart for fifty fights; and when the war was through, You vainly hunted round for work a crippled man could do. They let you die, with want and debt to be your winding sheet; But this bouquet of flowers they sent, is very nice and sweet. AAh, Jimmy Jones! I recollect the day they brought you back: They marched your body through the street,'neath banners draped in black. Your funeral sermon glittered well: it told how brave you died; The tears your poor old mother shed, were partly tears of pride. None left to-day to lean upon but country and her God, She crept from yonder poor-house door to kiss that bit of sod. It's hard, my boy, but nations all are likely to forget; And God must take His own good time to make them pay a debt. The sweet forget-me-nots that grow above your faithful breast, Are types of His good memory, boy, and lIe knows what is best. "Philander Johnson, from the plains we left you on as dead, You carried to the prison-pen a keepsake made of lead; You starved there for your country's good-at last you broke away And got in time to Gettysburg to help them save the day. You hired a man to ask for you a pension,'twould appear: Your papers lost-they put you off from weary year to year. And when at last you tookl your less-than-thirty cents a day, You had to fight to keep the law from taking it away. I8 1~HE BENT AND STROKED THE HUMBLE MOUNDS, WITH KIND, OLD-FASHIONED WORD." Festivals of the Na/ion. Some school-boy doctor every month must probe your aching side, And thump you like a tenor drum, to find out if you lied. You cost the Nation little, now-old hero of the frayIt sent some very pretty flowers to strew you with to-day. "Yes, Lemuel White; this little flag is all that's left to mark The place where you retired so young, to chambers cold and dark. The wooden slab I put up here so men your deeds could know, Was broken down by sundry beasts, not many months ago. But yonder monument upreared upon the village green, Is partly yours, although your name is nowhere to be seen; The country had your body, boy, it gives to God your soul; It needed not your name except upon the muster roll! "Forgive me, boys-forgive me, God! if I bad blood display; But flowers seem cheap to men whose hearts are aching day by day. Forgive me, every woman true, whose tender, thrilling hand Has lifted up to bless and soothe the saviors of the land. Forgive me, every manly heart that knows the fearful strain Of standing'twixt America and blood and death and pain. Forgive me, all who know enough to fight the future foe, By doing justice to the ones who fought so long ago! It is to those who trample us, that I feel called to say, That flowers look cheap to those who starve and suffer day by day!" The sun had fallen out of view; the night came marching down; The twinkle of the window-lights came creeping from the town. The band was playing cheerful airs-glad voices decked the sceneAnd dancing were the youths and maids upon the village green. The gloomy graves were half forgot, and pleasure ruled the night; But God has ways to teach us yet, that Private Brown was right. And last of all for them was read, with martial tone and mien, A tribute to the famous dead and called, 2 2 1 City Festivals. OUR GUESTS UNSEEN. Who are the guests in this festal throng? Many are here that we love and see: Men who have heard the soprano song Of flying bullets that death set free; Men who left a part of their days Off in the field where the blood stains are; Men who had dropped the sweet home-ways Out of their hands, to grasp a star. Honor to those who are living yet! Time shall their laurels make more green! But at this hour we must not forget Those we may call our guests unseen. One is here whose piercing eyes Sharpened young for his country's sake; Craving more than ambition's prize Great with the plans that brave men make. Once he saw the flag of the foe Mocking a history-hallowed town: He said, "That banner must be brought low I will go myself and haul it down!" He climbed the dangerous, giddy stair He braved the ambushes that he passed; He did not send, but himself went there, And stripped the flag from the rebel mast. His dark eyes flashed in the morning dawn, But he fell by a foeman's treacherous crime; His heart stopped there, but his soul went on, And joined the bravest of every clime. His body sank to untimely rest The glory he sought was snatched away; But we know that he did his noblest best, And gallant Ellsworth is here to-day! Comes another: so bravely rash, And rashly brave, yet steady still; 22 Festivals of the Natioin.2 Turbulent as the thunder's crash, But firm as the rocks of an Eastern hill. And through the valleys and o'er the plain, The drum of his horsemen's hoof-beats rolled; Death knew the pull of his bridle rein, And victory gleamed from his locks of gold. He fought till the Union sky was bright, Then flashed his sword in a western sun; He fell in civilization's fight, And died ere half of his days were done. He camps in the broad blue fields above; He needs no laurels upon his brow; He comes once more for his comrades' love, And dashing Custer is with us now! Another: a silent, mighty soul, Who rose from the plane of common things, To half of the fighting world's control, And starred in the list of Triumph's kings. When humbly toiling for daily bread, When soothed by Luxury's rich caress, When measuring acres of hapless dead, Or flushed with the giddy draught, success; Striving in blood-red clouds of woe To lead the land'neath victory's sun, Or taking the sword of a fallen foe, And writing the great words, "War is done;" Or ruling the marble halls of state, Thrust far to the statesmau's utmost goal, Or ruined by those he found too late Were friends of his purse and not his soul; Or toiling on Mount MAcGregor's height, Longing for days that would let him die, Waging meanwhile a sturdy fight Whenever the foe Despair came nigh; From earliest life to latest breath, Through valleys of woe, o'er hills of pride, Through glories of life and glooms of death, His heart and his brain marched side by side. 23 City Festivals. The Hudson's shore has his death-stilled heart; His hands in that hermit-tomb may rest; But heroes and graves dwell far apart, And Grant to-day is our unseen guest! Another: a lithe, commanding form, Kind features, stern with a soldier-gaze: A cliff of rock in a battle storm, A garden of smiles in peaceful days. He burned belligerent cities low, He planted ruin on every side, But offered love to a fallen foe, And wept when his friend McPherson died. He shaped his army into a sword, And cut the ememy's land in twain, Yet gave the conquered their kindest word, And erred, if ever, to spare them pain. The office-heroes who fought for place, Strove hard to fetter him with their pelf; But he fought for his country and his race, And not for jewels to crown himself. In times of peace it was his to be The foremost gentleman of the land; Death has no power o'er such as he, So reach for the brave old Sherman's hand! Another: a sturdy Irish heart, That gave to this land its life-long aid; The rush of the whirlwind sped his dart, The flash of the lightning fired his blade. He swore like a trooper, but what he swore Was never known to fall or fail; His oaths in The Book may be blotted o'er, For he sinned that God's cause might prevail. Once freedom's ranks were melting away; He moulded panics to victory, then, Rode down disaster and saved the day; He was good as a hundred thousand men! His iron heart lies'neath sods of green, His shoulder-stars have been hung away; 24 I Festivals of the Nation. But he rides on lofty roads unseen, And Sheridan's soul is here to-day! Another: a tall and sinewy form, A face marked deep with the lines of care; A will of iron, but a heart as warm As fiery breeze of the tropic air. He was born a prince, but in hovels cast He made the cabin a palace, then; He grew to be more than a king, at last; For monarchs, you know, are not always men. His fight for the crown was hard and grim, But his march to the front was firm and true; Hie fought for the stars, and the stars for him, And God had miracles he must do. At last he came to his lofty place, But wild rebellion was knocking there; Hiot anger frowned at his honest face, And desolation was in the air. He swore that treason should be met By every pain that could lay it low, He rallied ruin against it; yet His heart beat warm for every foe. SO on he toiled, till lo! in view Swept sacred Emancipation's plan! He did the deed he was sent to do; For God was there, and God knew His man. Guiding the nation in rocks and shoals, He climbed the eternal mast of fame, And, graced with the thanks of all true souls, Wrote Liberator before his name. His eyes flashed triumph, then swift grew dim A murderer tore that life apart; But those he loved are still loving him, And Lincoln is here in every heart! But why should I call the muster - roll Of those who are here in our hearts to-day? They need no naming; each true, grand soul lias heard your summons and marched this way. 25 Cily Festivals. Why call to Hancock, worthy all praise, Superb in stature and mental might, Who helped save Gettysburg's ominous days, And left brave blood at that glorious fight? Why call to Sedgwvick-modest man — Who longed but to do his duty well; Who died in the battle's deadly van, With no obeisance to shot or shell? Why call McClellan, whose last life view Traced over these hills its eager track,2 Whose soldiers called him their comrade true, And spoke of him ever as "Little Mac?" The Kearneys, the Wadsworths, the Burnsides, the Meades, Charge to the front of our memory; they Endorse their commissions with noble deeds, And star in this festal throng to-day. A mighty and brilliant band is here, That none with the eye of flesh may see; They come from their graves both far and near, Their bodies prisoned, their souls set free. Year after year this unseen throng, By death recruited, counts more and more; And louder and louder the battle-song Of heroes that camp on the unseen shore. If they could speak to us all to-day, These words with their greetings would be twined: "Remember us with what love you may, But care for our loved ones left behind. You give us monuments grand and high, You sing to our bravery o'er and o'er, But let us know that we did not die That those we cherished might suffer more!" And where are the thousands who bravely waged A losing strife? Whose hearts were true, Though false their cause? Whose souls engaged Their all in the work they had to do? The warrior cruelest in the fight, Is tenderest to the fallen foe; 26 4~~~ Y~%~ /',, ~7~~ ~>~ ~~ ~> ~