Works

As I near my lonely cottage,
At the close of weary day,
There's a little bit of gladness
Comes to meet me on the way:
Dimpled, tanned, and petticoated,
Innocent as angels are,...

Of all the lovely blossoms
That decorate the trees,
And shower down their petals
With every breath of breeze,
There is nothing so sweet or fair to me
As the delicate blooms of the apple tree.
...

Ah, yes; why not? Is one more adventitious born
Than others - shekels richer, honors fuller, and all that -
That he can pass his fellows by with lofty scorn,...

"Be careful for nothing," Phil. iv. 6. Revised version, "Be not anxious."


Of all the precepts in the Book
By word of inspiration given,
That bear the import, tone, and look...

O charming blossom of the sea
Atlantic waters bosomed in!
Abiding-place of gayety,
Elysian bower of "Cora Linn,"
The sprightly, lively d'biteuse
Recounting all she sees and does.
...

Yes, it is drawing nigh -
The time of blossoming;
The waiting heart beats stronger
With every breath of Spring,
The days are growing longer;
While happy hours go by
As if on zephyr wing.
...

Sweet resting place! that long hath been
A boon Elysian 'mid the din
Of city life, 'mid city smoke;
Where weary ones who toil and spin
Have turned aside as to an inn
Whose swinging sign a welcome spoke;...

I am longing to dwell by the sea,
And dip in the surf every day,
And - height of subaqueous glee -
With the sharks and the porpoises play.

To novelty ever inclined -...

Ring out, O bells, in joyful chime!
Again we hail the Christmas time;
In melting, mellow atmosphere,
The crown and glory of the year.

When bitterness, distrust, and awe...

Around my vine-wreathed portico,
At evening, there's a perfect glow
Of little lights a-flashing -
As if the stellar bodies had
From super-heat grown hyper-mad,
And spend their ire in clashing.
...

On Bancroft height Aurora's face
Shines brighter than a star,
As stepping forth in dewy grace,
The gates of day unbar;
And lo! the firmament, the hills,
And the vales that intervene -...

My careful plans all storm-subdued,
In disappointing solitude
The weary hours began;
And scarce I deemed when time had sped,
Marked only by the passing tread
Of some pedestrian.
...

Oh bud and leaf and blossom,
How beautiful they are!
Than last year's vernal season
'Tis lovelier by far;
This earth was never so enchanting
Nor half so bright before -...

[One of the notable features of Baltimore is the big bell that hangs in the city hall tower, to strike the hour and sound the fire alarm. It is called "Big Sam," and weighs 5,000 pounds]

...

There was many a token of festal display,
And reveling crowds who were never so gay,
And, as it were 'olus charming the hours,
An orchestra hidden by foliage and flowers;...

Sometimes the silver cord of life
Is loosed at one brief stroke;
As when the elements at strife,
With Nature's wild contentions rife,
Uproot the sturdy oak.

Or fell disease, in patience borne,...