At Zekesbury Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: A B C D E EEFFGGHH I E H E E J H K E H H E K H E E H H H HHHEEE L MM H J MMMNNN E HHHBOO P HHHQQQ HHHHHH EEERRR H N S HHHTTT EEEUUU VVVSSS E V E R V H W GGHHHHX H HHX X X H YYH Z X Z X JJSSHHX J Y HHHHXXX X H XXUH H

The little town as I recall it was of just enough dignity and dearth of the same to be an ordinary county seat in Indiana The Grand Old Hoosier State as it was used to being howlingly referred to by the forensic stump orator from the old stand in the courthouse yard a political campaign being the wildest delight that Zekesbury might ever hope to call its own	A
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Through years the fitful happenings of the town and its vicinity went on the same the same Annually about one circus ventured in and vanished and was gone even as a passing trumpet blast the usual rainy season swelled the Crick the driftage choking at the covered bridge and backing water till the old road looked amphibious and crowds of curious townsfolk straggled down to look upon the watery wonder and lean awe struck above it and spit in it and turn mutely home again	B
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The usual formula of incidents peculiar to an uneventful town and its vicinity The countryman from Jessup's Crossing with the cornstalk coffin measure loped into town his steaming little gray and red flecked roadster gurgitating as it were with that mysterious utterance that ever has commanded and ever must evoke the wonder and bewilderment of every boy The small pox rumor became prevalent betimes and the subtle aroma of the assafoetida bag permeated the graded schools from turret to foundation stone the still recurring expos of the poor house management the farm hand with the scythe across his shoulder struck dead by lightning the long drawn quarrel between the rival editors culminating in one of them assaulting the other with a sidestick and the other kicking the one down stairs and thenceward ad libitum the tramp suppositiously stealing a ride found dead on the railroad the grand jury returning a sensational indictment against a bar tender non est the Temperance outbreak the Revival the Church Festival and the Free Lectures on Phrenology and Marvels of Mesmerism at the town hall It was during the time of the last mentioned sensation and directly through this scientific investigation that I came upon two of the town's most remarkable characters And however meager my outline of them may prove my material for the sketch is most accurate in every detail and no deviation from the cold facts of the case shall influence any line of my report	C
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For some years prior to this odd experience I had been connected with a daily paper at the state capitol and latterly a prolonged session of the legislature where I specially reported having told threateningly upon my health I took both the advantage of a brief vacation and the invitation of a young bachelor Senator to get out of the city for awhile and bask my respiratory organs in the revivifying rural air of Zekesbury the home of my new friend	D
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It'll pay you to get out here he said cordially meeting me at the little station and I'm glad you've come for you'll find no end of odd characters to amuse you And under the very pleasant sponsorship of my senatorial friend I was placed at once on genial terms with half the citizens of the little town from the shirt sleeved nabob of the county office to the droll wag of the favorite loafing place the rules and by laws of which resort by the way being rudely charcoaled on the wall above the cutter's bench and somewhat artistically culminating in an original dialectic legend which ran thus	E
	-
F'rinstance now whar some folks gits	E
To relyin' on their wits	E
Ten to one they git too smart	F
And spile it all right at the start	F
Feller wants to jest go slow	G
And do his thinkin' first you know	G
Ef I can't think up somepin' good	H
I set still and chaw my cood	H
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And it was at this inviting rendezvous two or three evenings following my arrival that the general crowd acting upon the random proposition of one of the boys rose as a man and wended its hilarious way to the town hall	I
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Phrenology said the little old bald headed lecturer and mesmerist thumbing the egg shaped head of a young man I remembered to have met that afternoon in some law office Phrenology repeated the professor or rather the term phrenology is derived from two Greek words signifying mind and discourse hence we find embodied in phrenology proper the science of intellectual measurement together with the capacity of intelligent communication of the varying mental forces and their flexibilities etc c The study then of phrenology is to wholly simplify it is I say the general contemplation of the workings of the mind as made manifest through the certain corresponding depressions and protuberances of the human skull when of course in a healthy state of action and development as we here find the conditions exemplified in the subject before us	E
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Here the subject vaguely smiled	H
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You recognize that mug don't you whispered my friend It's that coruscating young ass you know Hedrick in Cummings' office trying to study law and literature at the same time and tampering with 'The Monster that Annually ' don't you know where we found the two young students scuffling round the office and smelling of peppermint Hedrick you know and Sweeney Sweeney the slim chap with the pallid face and frog eyes and clammy hands You remember I told you 'there was a pair of 'em ' Well they're up to something here to night Hedrick there on the stage in front and Sweeney don't you see with the gang on the rear seats	E
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Phrenology again continued the lecturer is we may say a species of mental geography as it were which by a study of the skull leads also to a study of the brain within even as geology naturally follows the initial contemplation of the earth's surface The brain thurfur or intellectual retort as we may say natively exerts a molding influence on the skull contour thurfur is the expert in phrenology most readily enabled to accurately locate the multitudinous intellectual forces and most exactingly estimate as well the sequent character of each subject submitted to his scrutiny As in the example before us a young man doubtless well known in your midst though I may say an entire stranger to myself I venture to disclose some characteristic trends and tendencies as indicated by this phrenological depression and development of the skull proper as later we will show through the mesmeric condition the accuracy of our mental diagnosis	E
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Throughout the latter part of this speech my friend nudged me spasmodically whispering something which was jostled out of intelligent utterance by some inward spasm of laughter	J
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In this head said the Professor straddling his malleable fingers across the young man's bumpy brow In this head we find Ideality large abnormally large in fact thurby indicating taken in conjunction with a like development of the perceptive qualities language following as well in the prominent eye thurby indicating I say our subject as especially endowed with a love for the beautiful the sublime the elevating the refined and delicate the lofty and superb in nature and in all the sublimated attributes of the human heart and beatific soul In fact we find this young man possessed of such natural gifts as would befit him for the exalted career of the sculptor the actor the artist or the poet any ideal calling in fact any calling but a practical matter of fact vocation though in poetry he would seem to best succeed	H
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Well said my friend seriously he's feeling for the boy Then laughingly Hedrick has written some rhymes for the county papers and Sweeney once introduced him at an Old Settlers' Meeting as 'The Best Poet in Center Township ' and never cracked a smile Always after each other that way but the best friends in the world Sweeney's strong suit is elocution He has a native ability that way by no means ordinary but even that gift he abuses and distorts simply to produce grotesque and oftentimes ridiculous effects For instance nothing more delights him than to 'lothfully' consent to answer a request at The Mite Society some evening for 'an appropriate selection ' and then with an elaborate introduction of the same and an exalted tribute to the refined genius of the author proceed with a most gruesome rendition of 'Alonzo The Brave and The Fair Imogene ' in a way to coagulate the blood and curl the hair of his fair listeners with abject terror Pale as a corpse you know and with that cadaverous face lit with those malignant looking eyes his slender figure and his long thin legs and arms and hands and his whole diabolical talent and adroitness brought into play why I want to say to you it's enough to scare 'em to death Never a smile from him though till he and Hedrick are safe out into the night again then of course they hug each other and howl over it like Modocs But pardon I'm interrupting the lecture Listen	K
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A lack of continuity however continued the Professor and an undue love of approbation would measurably at least tend to retard the young man's progress toward the consummation of any loftier ambition I fear yet as we have intimated if the subject were appropriately educated to the need's demand he could doubtless produce a high order of both prose and poetry especially the latter though he could very illy bear being laughed at for his pains	E
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He's dead wrong there said my friend Hedrick enjoys being laughed at he 's used to it gets fat on it	H
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He is fond of his friends continued the Professor and the heartier they are the better might even be convivially inclined if so tempted but prudent in a degree loiteringly concluded the speaker as though unable to find the exact bump with which to bolster up the last named attribute	H
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The subject blushed vividly my friend's right eyelid dropped and there was a noticeable though elusive sensation throughout the audience	E
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But said the Professor explosively selecting a directly opposite subject in conjunction with the study of the one before us turning to the group at the rear of the stage and beckoning we may find a newer interest in the practical comparison of these subjects side by side And the Professor pushed a very pale young man into position	K
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Sweeney whispered my friend delightedly now look out	H
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In this subject said the Professor we find the practical business head Square though small a trifle light at the base in fact but well balanced at the important points at least thoughtful eyes wide awake crafty quick restless a policy eye though not denoting language unless perhaps mere business forms and direct statements	E
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Fooled again whispered my friend and I'm afraid the old man will fail to nest out the fact also that Sweeney is the cold bloodedest guyer on the face of the earth and with more diabolical resources than a prosecuting attorney the Professor ought to know this too by this time for these same two chaps have been visiting the old man in his room at the hotel that's what I was trying to tell you awhile ago The old sharp thinks he's 'playing' the boys is my idea but it's the other way or I lose my guess	E
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Now under the mesmeric influence if the two subjects will consent to its administration said the Professor after some further tedious preamble we may at once determine the fact of my assertions as will be proved by their action while in this peculiar state Here some apparent remonstrance was met with from both subjects though amicably overcome by the Professor first manipulating the stolid brow and pallid front of the imperturbable Sweeney after which the same mysterious ordeal was lothfully submitted to by Hedrick though a noticeably longer time was consumed in securing his final loss of self control At last however this curious phenomenon was presented and there before us stood the two swaying figures the heads dropped back the lifted hands with thumb and finger tips pressed lightly together the eyelids languid and half closed and the features in appearance wan and humid	H
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Now sir said the Professor leading the limp Sweeney forward and addressing him in a quick sharp tone of voice Now sir you are a great contractor own large factories and with untold business interests Just look out there pointing out across the expectant audience look there and see the countless minions toiling servilely at your dread mandates And yet ha ha See see They recognize the avaricious greed that would thus grind them in the very dust they see alas they see themselves half clothed half fed that you may glut your coffers Half starved they listen to the wail of wife and babe and with eyes upraised in prayer they see you rolling by in gilded coach and swathed in silk attire But ha again Look look they are rising in revolt against you Speak to them before too late Appeal to them quell them with the promise of the just advance of wages they demand	H
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The limp figure of Sweeney took on something of a stately and majestic air With a graceful and commanding gesture of the hand he advanced a step or two then after a pause of some seconds duration in which the lifted face grew paler as it seemed and the eyes a denser black he said	H
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But yesterday	H
I looked away	H
O'er happy lands where sunshine lay	H
In golden blots	E
Inlaid with spots	E
Of shade and wild forget me nots	E
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The voice was low but clear and ever musical The Professor started at the strange utterance looked extremely confused and as the boisterous crowd cried Hear hear he motioned the subject to continue with some gasping comment interjected which if audible would have run thus My God It's an inspirational poem	L
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My head was fair	M
With flaxen hair	M
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resumed the subject	H
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Yoop ee yelled an irreverent auditor	J
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Silence silence commanded the excited Professor in a hoarse whisper then turning enthusiastically to the subject Go on young man Go on 'Thy head was fair with flaxen hair '	-
	-
My head was fair	M
With flaxen hair	M
And fragrant breezes faint and rare	M
And warm with drouth	N
From out the south	N
Blew all my curls across my mouth	N
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The speaker's voice exquisitely modulated yet resonant as the twang of a harp now seemed of itself to draw and hold each listener while a certain extravagance of gesticulation a fantastic movement of both form and feature seemed very near akin to fascination And so flowed on the curious utterance	E
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And cool and sweet	H
My naked feet	H
Found dewy pathways through the wheat	H
And out again	B
Where down the lane	O
The dust was dimpled with the rain	O
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In the pause following there was a breathlessness almost painful The poem went on	P
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But yesterday	H
I heard the lay	H
Of summer birds when I as they	H
With breast and wing	Q
All quivering	Q
With life and love could only sing	Q
	-
My head was leant	H
Where with it blent	H
A maiden's o'er her instrument	H
While all the night	H
From vale to height	H
Was filled with echoes of delight	H
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And all our dreams	E
Were lit with gleams	E
Of that lost land of reedy streams	E
Along whose brim	R
Forever swim	R
Pan's lilies laughing up at him	R
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And still the inspired singer held rapt sway	H
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It is wonderful I whispered under breath	N
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Of course it is answered my friend But listen there is more	S
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But yesterday	H
O blooms of May	H
And summer roses Where away	H
O stars above	T
And lips of love	T
And all the honeyed sweets thereof	T
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O lad and lass	E
And orchard pass	E
And briared lane and daisied grass	E
O gleam and gloom	U
And woodland bloom	U
And breezy breaths of all perfume	U
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No more for me	V
Or mine shall be	V
Thy raptures save in memory	V
No more no more	S
Till through the Door	S
Of Glory gleam the days of yore	S
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This was the evident conclusion of the remarkable utterance and the Professor was impetuously fluttering his hands about the subject's upward staring eyes stroking his temples and snapping his fingers in his face	E
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Well said Sweeney as he stood suddenly awakened and grinning in an idiotic way how did the old thing work And it was in the consequent hilarity and loud and long applause perhaps that the Professor was relieved from the explanation of this rather astounding phenomenon of the idealistic workings of a purely practical brain or as my impious friend scoffed the incongruity later in a particularly withering allusion as the blank blanked fallacy don't you know of staying the hunger of a howling mob by feeding 'em on Spring poetry	V
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The tumult of the audience did not cease even with the retirement of Sweeney and cries of Hedrick Hedrick only subsided with the Professor's high keyed announcement that the subject was even then endeavoring to make himself heard but could not until utter quiet was restored adding the further appeal that the young man had already been a long time under the mesmeric spell and ought not be so detained for an unnecessary period See he concluded with an assuring wave of the hand toward the subject see he is about to address you Now quiet utter quiet if you please	E
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Great heavens exclaimed my friend stiflingly Just look at the boy Get onto that position for a poet Even Sweeney has fled from the sight of him	R
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And truly too it was a grotesque pose the young man had assumed not wholly ridiculous either since the dwarfed position he had settled into seemed more a genuine physical condition than an affected one The head back tilted and sunk between the shoulders looked abnormally large while the features of the face appeared peculiarly child like especially the eyes wakeful and wide apart and very bright yet very mild and very artless and the drawn and cramped outline of the legs and feet and of the arms and hands even to the shrunken slender looking fingers all combined to most strikingly convey to the pained senses the fragile frame and pixey figure of some pitiably afflicted child unconscious altogether of the pathos of its own deformity	V
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Now mark the kuss Horatio gasped my friend	H
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At first the speaker's voice came very low and somewhat piping too and broken an eerie sort of voice it was of brittle and erratic timbre and undulant inflection Yet it was beautiful It had the ring of childhood in it though the ring was not pure golden and at times fell echoless The spirit of its utterance was always clear and pure and crisp and cheery as the twitter of a bird and yet forever ran an undercadence through it like a low pleading prayer Half garrulously and like a shallow brook might brawl across a shelvy bottom the rhythmic little changeling thus began	W
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I'm thist a little crippled boy an' never goin' to grow	G
An' git a great big man at all 'cause Aunty told me so	G
When I was thist a baby one't I falled out of the bed	H
An' got 'The Curv'ture of the Spine' 'at's what the Doctor said	H
I never had no Mother nen far my Pa run away	H
An' dassn't come back here no more 'cause he was drunk one day	H
An' stobbed a man in thish ere town an' couldn't pay his fine	X
An' nen my Ma she died an' I got 'Curv'ture of the Spine '	-
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A few titterings from the younger people in the audience marked the opening stanza while a certain restlessness and a changing to more attentive positions seemed the general tendency The old Professor in the meantime had sunk into one of the empty chairs The speaker went on with more gaiety	H
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I'm nine years old An' you can't guess how much I weigh I bet	H
Last birthday I weighed thirty three An' I weigh thirty yet	H
I'm awful little far my size I'm purt' nigh littler 'an	X
Some babies is an' neighbors all calls me 'The Little Man '	-
An' Doc one time he laughed an' said 'I 'spect first thing you know	X
You'll have a little spike tail coat an' travel with a show '	-
An' nen I laughed till I looked round an' Aunty was a cryin'	X
Sometimes she acts like that 'cause I got 'Curv'ture of the Spine '	-
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Just in front of me a great broad shouldered countryman with a rainy smell in his cumbrous overcoat cleared his throat vehemently looked startled at the sound and again settled forward his weedy chin resting on the knuckles of his hands as they tightly clutched the seat before him And it was like being taken into a childish confidence as the quaint speech continued	H
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I set while Aunty's washin' on my little long leg stool	Y
An' watch the little boys an' girls 'a skippin' by to school	Y
An' I peck on the winder an' holler out an' say	H
'Who wants to fight The Little Man 'at dares you all to day '	-
An' nen the boys climbs on the fence an' little girls peeks through	Z
An' they all says 'Cause you're so big you think we're 'feared o' you '	-
An' nen they yell an' shake their fist at me like I shake mine	X
They're thist in fun you know 'cause I got 'Curv'ture of the Spine '	-
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Well whispered my friend with rather odd irrelevance I thought of course you see through the scheme of the fellows by this time don't you	Z
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I see nothing said I most earnestly but a poor little wisp of a child that makes me love him so I dare not think of his dying soon as he surely must There listen And the plaintive gaiety of the homely poem ran on	X
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At evening when the ironin's done an' Aunty's fixed the fire	J
An' filled an' lit the lamp an' trimmed the wick an' turned it higher	J
An' fetched the wood all in far night an' locked the kitchen door	S
An' stuffed the ole crack where the wind blows in up through the floor	S
She sets the kittle on the coals an' biles an' makes the tea	H
An' fries the liver an' the mush an' cooks a egg far me	H
An' sometimes when I cough so hard her elderberry wine	X
Don't go so bad far little boys with 'Curv'ture of the Spine '	-
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Look whispered my friend touching me with his elbow Look at the Professor	J
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Look at everybody said I And the artless little voice went on again half quaveringly	Y
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But Aunty's all so childish like on my account you see	H
I'm 'most afeared she'll be took down an' 'at's what bothers me	H
'Cause ef my good ole Aunty ever would git sick an' die	H
I don't know what she'd do in Heaven till I come by an' by	H
Far she's so ust to all my ways an' ever'thing you know	X
An' no one there like me to nurse an' worry over so	X
'Cause all the little childerns there's so straight an' strong an' fine	X
They's nary angel 'bout the place with 'Curv'ture of the Spine '	-
	-
The old Professor's face was in his handkerchief so was my friend's in his and so was mine in mine as even now my pen drops and I reach for it again	X
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I half regret joining the mad party that had gathered an hour later in the old law office where these two graceless characters held almost nightly revel the instigators and conniving hosts of a reputed banquet whose menu's range confined itself to herrings or blind robins dried beef and cheese with crackers gingerbread and sometimes pie the whole washed down with anything but	H
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Wines that heaven knows when	X
Had sucked the fire of some forgotten sun	X
And kept it through a hundred years of gloom	U
Still glowing in a heart of ruby	H
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But the affair was memorable The old Professor was himself lured into it and loudest in his praise of Hedrick's realistic art and I yet recall him at the orgie's height excitedly repulsing the continued slurs and insinuations of the clammy handed Sweeney who still contending against the old man's fulsome praise of his more fortunate rival at last openly declared that Hedrick was not a poet not a genius and in no way worthy to be classed in the same breath with himself the gifted but unfortunate Sweeney sir the unacknowledged author sir 'y gad sir of the two poems that held you spell bound to night	H

James Whitcomb Riley

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