- 1. Bi-centennial Ode
From the door of the homestead the mother looks forth,
With a glance half of hope, half of fear,
For the clock in the corner now points to the hour
When the children she loves should appear.
...
- 2. Apple-blossoms.
I sit in the shadow of apple-boughs,
In the fragrant orchard close,
And around me floats the scented air,
With its wave-like tidal flows.
...
- 3. King Cotton.
King Cotton looks from his window
Towards the westering sun,
And he marks, with an anguished horror,
That his race is almost run.
...
- 4. The Merdle Origin.
Now Merdle, en passant, I had known for a score
Of years, when a dinner with Jones, Brown or Smith
As good as one gets for a quarter or more,
Was a thing unthought of, or else but a myth
...
- 5. Phoebe's Wooing.
"Phoebe! Phoebe! Where is the chit?
When I want her most she's out of the way.
Child, you're running a long account
Up, to be squared on Judgment-day.
...
- 6. St. Nicholas.
In the far-off Polar seas,
Far beyond the Hebrides,
Where the icebergs, towering high,
Seem to pierce the wintry sky,
...
- 7. The Dinner-bell Rings.
Mrs. Merdle Describes the Sufferings of Dyspepsia and its Remedy.
But come, now, I hear by the sound of the ringing
That dinner is ready; and time none to spare
...
- 8. Harvard Odes.
I.
(Feb. 23, 1869.)
...
- 9. The Church At Stratford-on-avon.
One autumn day, when hedges yet were green,
And thick-branched trees diffused a leafy gloom,
Hard by where Avon rolls its silvery tide,
I stood in silent thought by Shakspeare's tomb.
...
by Horatio Alger, Jr.
