Excerpt from Reminiscent Rhymes, and Other Verse The true poet, in fact, has always been earth-earthy, full of red blood, robust, heroic, manly and venturesome. He will not be fettered nor constrained. He is naturally doubting, rebellious, and irreverent. From Omar to Shakespeare, Goethe, Schiller, Heine, Pope, Burns, Voltaire, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Hugo, Tenny son, Swinburne, Lowell, Emerson, Whittier and Whitman, we find great-bodied and great-brained men who were forever blazing the fires of revolt against established tyrannies, customs, creeds and beliefs. These are the rugged, fiery and defiant souls in whom nature has enshrined her greatest verse. Let me stand bravely in such ranks, however far adown the line the space I occupy. I have made no greater attempt than to write commonplace verse for the common mind. There is room for every minor poet. There is no verse from the simplest t0'the greatest but matches some minds. By tests I have made, I am certain that my verse will fit the minds of some. I am just as certain that it will misfit the minds of many. Like most others who have courted the Muses, I have written for the pleasure it gave me and have had no thought or expectancy of success or reputation; and only upon the solicitation of many friends have I ventured to give my verse to the public. I realize that it may be justly picked to pieces, but critics of to-day are generally fair and see the good as well as the bad. If any of it possesses the genuine human qualities, it will be noted, and will withstand criticism. If any of it rings true to the ear, it is because it came straight from the heart. That which is worthy of living will live; and that unworthy of continued exist ence will die, as it ought to, and the sooner the better. All I can hope for is, that out of this great pile of chaff, there is enough good grain to be worth the sifting. In conclusion I will say that if this review of old-time memories and experiences serves to make the reader forget his present cares; if it fills the dark vales of any life with but one flush of sunlight and beauty; if it clears from the brain but one cloud of error; if it drives out one base, unfounded fear; if it wears but one fetter from the human mind; if it but lessens one single wrong, or in any degree adds to honor, truth, love and joy; if it but gives a morn ing cheerfulness to one despairing heart, I shall feel that it has been worth the while. The author. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.