POEMS Every Child Should Know

THE WHAT-EVERY-CHILD-SHOULD-KNOW-LIBRARY

Published by DOUBLEDAY, DORAN & CO., INC., for THE PARENTS’ INSTITUTE, INC. Publishers of “The Parents’ Magazine” 9 EAST 40th STREET, NEW YORK

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COPYRIGHT. 1904, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N.Y.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO PUBLISHERS AND AUTHORS

It sometimes happens that there are people who do not know that authors are protected by copyright laws. A publisher once cited to me an instance of a teacher who innocently put forth a little volume of poems that she loved and admired, without asking permission of any one. Her annoyance was boundless when she found that she had no right to the poems.

Special permission has been obtained for each copyrighted poem in this volume, and the right to publish has been purchased of the author or publisher, except in those cases where the author or the publisher has, for reasons of courtesy and friendship, given the permission.

In addition to the business arrangements which have been made, we wish to extend our thanks and acknowledgments to those firms which have so kindly allowed us to use their material.

To Houghton, Mifflin & Company, of Boston, we are indebted for the use of the following poems: From the copyrighted works of Longfellow—“The Arrow and the Song,” “A Fragment of Hiawatha’s Childhood,” “The Skeleton in Armour,” “The Wreck of the Hesperus,” “The Ship of State,” “The Psalm of Life,” “The Village Blacksmith.” From Whittier—“Barbara Frietchie” and “The Three Bells of Glasgow.” From Emerson—“The Problem.” From Burroughs—“My Own Shall Come to Me.” From Lowell—“The Finding of the Lyre,” “The Shepherd of King Admetus,” and a fragment of “The Vision of Sir Launfal,” From Holmes—“The Chambered Nautilus” and “Old Ironsides.” From James T. Fields—“The Captain’s Daughter.” From Bayard Taylor—“The Song in Camp,” From Celia Thaxter—“The Sandpiper.” From J. T. Trowbridge—“Farm-Yard Song.” From Edith M. Thomas—“The God of Music” and Hermes’ “Moly.”

To Charles Scribner’s Sons we are indebted for the use of the following poems: From the copyrighted works of Eugene Field—“Wynken Blynken, and Nod,” “Krinken,” and “The Duel.” From Robert Louis Stevenson—“My Shadow.” From James Whitcomb Riley’s poems—“Little Orphant Annie.” From the poems of Sidney Lanier—“Barnacles” and “The Tournament.” From “The Poems of Patriotism”—“Sheridan’s Ride.”

We are further indebted to Charles Scribner’s Sons, as well as to Mr. George W. Cable, for “The New Arrival,” taken from “The Cable Story Book,” and to Mrs. Katherine Miller and Scribner’s Magazine for “Stevenson’s Birthday.”

To J. B. Lippincott Company we are indebted for the use of “Sheridan’s Ride,” from the complete works of T. Buchanan Read.

To Harper & Brothers for the use of “Driving Home the Cows,” by Kate Putnam Osgood.

To Little, Brown & Company, of Boston, “How the Leaves Came Down,” by Susan Coolidge.

To the Whitaker & Ray Company, of San Francisco, “Columbus,” by Joaquin Miller, from his complete works published and copyrighted by that company.

To D. Appleton & Company for “The Planting of the Apple-Tree” and “Robert of Lincoln,” from the complete works of William Cullen Bryant; also for “Marco Bozzaris,” from the works of Fitz-Greene Halleck.

To the Macmillan Company for “The Forsaken Merman,” by Matthew Arnold, from the complete volume of his poems published by that company.

To the Howard University Print, Washington, D.C., for Jeremiah Rankin’s little poem, “The Babie,” from “Ingleside Rhaims.”

To the heirs of Mary Emily Bradley for “A Chrysalis.”

To Henry Holcomb Bennett for “The Flag Goes By.”

PREFACE

Is this another collection of stupid poems that children cannot use? Will they look hopelessly through this volume for poems that suit them? Will they say despairingly, “This is too long,” and “That is too hard,” and “I don’t like that because it is not interesting”?

Are there three or four pleasing poems and are all the rest put in to fill up the book? Nay, verily! The poems in this collection are those that children love. With the exception of seven, they are short enough for children to commit to memory without wearying themselves or losing interest in the poem. If one boy learns “The Overland Mail,” or “The Recruit,” or “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod,” or “The Song in Camp,” or “Old Ironsides,” or “I Have a Little Shadow,” or “The Tournament,” or “The Duel,” nine boys out of ten will be eager to follow him. I know because I have tried it a dozen times. Every boy loves “Paul Revere’s Ride” (alas! I have not been able to include it), and is ambitious to learn it, but only boys having a quick memory will persevere to the end. Shall the slower boy be deprived of the pleasure of reading the whole poem and getting its inspiring sentiment and learning as many stanzas as his mind will take? No, indeed. Half of such a poem is better than none. Let the

slow boy learn and recite as many stanzas as he can and the boy of quick memory follow him up with the rest. It does not help the slow boy’s memory to keep it down entirely or deprive it of its smaller activity because he cannot learn the whole. Some people will invariably give the slow child a very short poem. It is often better to divide a long poem among the children, letting each child learn a part. The sustained interest of a long poem is worth while. “The Merman,” “The Battle of Ivry,” “Horatius at the Bridge,” “Krinken,” “The Skeleton in Armour,” “The Raven” and “Hervé Riel” may all profitably be learned that way. Nevertheless, the child enjoys most the poem that is just long enough, and there is much to be said in favour of the selection that is adapted, in length, to the average mind; for the child hesitates in the presence of quantity rather than in the presence of subtle thought. I make claim for this collection that it is made up of poems that the majority of children will learn of their own free will. There are people who believe

that in the matter of learning poetry there is no “ought,” but this is a false belief. There is a duty, even there; for every American citizen ought to know the great national songs that keep alive the spirit of patriotism. Children should build for their future—and get, while they are children, what only the fresh imagination of the child can assimilate.

They should store up an untold wealth of heroic sentiment; they should acquire the habit of carrying a literary quality in their conversation; they should carry a heart full of the fresh and delightful associations and memories, connected with poetry hours to brighten mature years. They should develop their memories while they have memories to develop.

Will the boy who took every poetry hour for a whole school year to learn “Henry of Navarre” ever regret it, or will the children who listened to it? No. It was fresh every week and they brought fresh interest in listening. The boy will always love it because he used to love it. There were boys who scrambled for the right to recite “The Tournament,” “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and so on. The boy who was first to reach the front had the privilege. The triumph of getting the chance to recite added to the zest of it. Will they ever forget it?

I know Lowell’s “The Finding of the Lyre.” Attention, Sir Knights! See who can learn it first as I say it to you. But I find that I have forgotten a line of it, so you may open your books and teach it to me. Now, I can recite every word of it. How much of it can you repeat from memory? One boy can say it all. Nearly every child has learned the most of it. Now, it will be easy for you to learn it alone. And Memory, the Goddess Beautiful, will henceforth go with you to recall this happy hour.

Mary E. Burt. The John A. Browning School, 1904.

PART I. The Budding Moment

The Arrow and the Song.

“The Arrow and the Song,” by Longfellow (1807-82), is placed first in this volume out of respect to a little girl of six years who used to love to recite it to me. She knew many poems, but this was her favourite.

Henry W. Longfellow.

The Babie.

I found “The Babie” in Stedman’s “Anthology.” It is placed in this volume by permission of the poet, Jeremiah Eames Rankin, of Cleveland (1828-), because it captured the heart of a ten-year-old boy whose fancy was greatly moved by the two beautiful lines:

“Her face is like an angel’s face, I’m glad she has no wings.”

Jeremiah Eames Rankin.

Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite.

“Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite,” by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), and “Little Drops of Water,” by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (1810-97), are poems that the world cannot outgrow. Once in the mind, they fasten. They were not born to die.

Isaac Watts.

Little Things.

Ebenezer Cobham Brewer.

He Prayeth Best.

These two stanzas, the very heart of that great poem, “The Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), sum up the lesson of this masterpiece—“Insensibility is a crime.”

Samuel T. Coleridge.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

Pippa.

“Spring’s at the Morn,” from “Pippa Passes,” by Robert Browning (1812-89), has become a very popular stanza with little folks. “All’s right with the world” is a cheerful motto for the nursery and schoolroom.

Robert Browning.

The Days of the Month.

“The Days of the Month” is a useful bit of doggerel that we need all through life. It is anonymous.

Old Song.

True Royalty.

“True Royalty” and “Playing Robinson Crusoe” are pleasing stanzas from “The Just So Stories” of Rudyard Kipling (1865-).

Rudyard Kipling.

(In “The Just So Stories.”)

Playing Robinson Crusoe.

Rudyard Kipling.

(In “The Just So Stories.”)

My Shadow.

“My Shadow,” by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94), is one of the most popular short poems extant. I have taught it to a great many very young boys, and not one has ever tried to evade learning it. Older pupils like it equally well.

Robert Louis Stevenson.

Little White Lily.

This poem (George Macdonald, 1828-) finds a place in this volume because, as a child, I loved it. It completely filled my heart, and has made every member of the lily family dear to me. George Macdonald’s charming book, “At the Back of the North Wind,” also was my wonder and delight.

George Macdonald.

How the Leaves Came Down.

“How the Leaves Came Down,” by Susan Coolidge (1845-), appeals to children because it helps to reconcile them to going to bed. “I go to bed by day” is one of the crosses of childhood.

Susan Coolidge.

Willie Winkie.

“Wee Willie Winkie,” by William Miller (1810-72), is included in this volume out of respect to an eight-year-old child who chose it from among hundreds. We had one poetry hour every week, and he studied and recited it with unabated interest to the end of the year.

William Miller.

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat.

“The Owl and the Pussy-Cat,” by Edward Lear (1812-88), is placed here because I once found that a timid child was much strengthened and developed by learning it. It is a song that appeals to the imagination of children, and they like to sing it.

Edward Lear.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

“Wynken, Blynken, and Nod,” by Eugene Field (1850-95), pleases children, who are all by nature sailors and adventurers.

Eugene Field.

The Duel.

“The Duel,” by Eugene Field (1850-95), is almost the most popular humorous poem that has come under my notice. In making such a collection as this it is not easy to find poems at once delicate, witty, and graphic. I have taught “The Duel” hundreds of times, and children invariably love it.

Eugene Field.

The Boy Who Never Told a Lie.

“The Boy Who Never Told a Lie” (anonymous), as well as “Whatever Brawls Disturb the Street,” by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), are real gems. A few years ago they were more in favour than the poorer verse that has been put forward. But they are sure to be revived.

Love Between Brothers and Sisters.

Isaac Watts.

The Bluebell of Scotland.

If I Had But Two Little Wings.

“If I Had But Two Little Wings,” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), is recommended by a number of teachers and school-girls.

Samuel T. Coleridge.

A Farewell.

“A Farewell,” by Charles Kingsley (1819-75), makes it seem worth while to be good.

Charles Kingsley.

Casabianca.

“Casabianca,” by Felicia Hemans (1793-1835), is the portrait of a faithful heart, an example of unreasoning obedience. It is right that a child should obey even to the death the commands of a loving parent.

Felicia Hemans.

The Captain’s Daughter.

“The Captain’s Daughter,” by James T. Fields (1816-81), carries weight with every young audience. It is pointed to an end that children love—viz., trust in a higher power.

James T. Fields.

[“The 'village smithy’ stood in Brattle Street, Cambridge. There came a time when the chestnut-tree that shaded it was cut down, and then the children of the place put their pence together and had a chair made for the poet from its wood.”]

The Village Blacksmith.

Longfellow (1807-82) is truly the children’s poet. His poems are as simple, pathetic, artistic, and philosophical as if they were intended to tell the plain everyday story of life to older people. “The Village Blacksmith” has been learned by thousands of children, and there is no criticism to be put upon it. The age of the child has nothing whatever to do with his learning it. Age does not grade children nor is poetry wholly to be so graded. “Time is the false reply.”

Henry W. Longfellow.

Sweet and Low.

Alfred Tennyson.

The Violet.

“The Violet,” by Jane Taylor (1783-1824), is another of those dear old-fashioned poems, pure poetry and pure violet. It is included in this volume out of respect to my own love for it when I was a child.

Jane Taylor.

The Rainbow.(A FRAGMENT.)

“The Rainbow,” by William Wordsworth (1770-1850), accords with every child’s feelings. It voices the spirit of all ages that would love to imagine it “a bridge to heaven.”

William Wordsworth.

A Visit From St. Nicholas.

“A Visit From St. Nicholas,” by Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) is the most popular Christmas poem ever written. It carries Santa Claus on from year to year and the spirit of Santa Claus.

Clement Clarke Moore.

The Star-Spangled Banner.

Francis Scott Key.

Father William.

“Father William” a parody by Lewis Carroll (1833-), is even more clever than the original. Harmless fun brightens the world. It takes a real genius to create wit that carries no sting.

Lewis Carroll.

(“Alice in Wonderland.”)

The Nightingale and the Glow-worm.

“The Nightingale,” by William Cowper (1731-1800), is a favourite with a teacher of good taste, and I include it at her request.

William Cowper.

PART II. The Little Child

The Frost.

“Jack Frost,” by Hannah Flagg Gould (1789-1865), is perhaps a hundred years old, but he is the same rollicking fellow to-day as of yore. The poem puts his merry pranks to the front and prepares the way for science to give him a true analysis.

Hannah Flagg Gould.

The Owl.

Alfred Tennyson.

Little Billee.

“Little Billee,” by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-63), finds a place here because it carries a good lesson good-naturedly rendered. An accomplished teacher recommends it, and I recollect two young children in Chicago who sang it frequently for years without getting tired of it.

William Makepeace Thackeray.

The Butterfly and the Bee.

“The Butterfly and the Bee,” by William Lisle Bowles (1762-1850), is recommended by some school-girls. It carries a lesson in favour of the worker.

William Lisle Bowles.

An Incident of the French Camp.

“An Incident of the French Camp,” by Robert Browning (1812-89), is included in this volume out of regard to a boy of eight years who did not care for many poems, but this one stirred his heart to its depths.

Robert Browning.

Robert of Lincoln.

“Robert of Lincoln,” by William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), is one of the finest bird poems ever written. It finds a place here because I have seen it used effectively as a memory gem in the Cook County Normal School (Colonel Parker’s school), year after year, and because my own pupils invariably like to commit it to memory. With the child of six to the student of twenty years it stands a source of delight.

William Cullen Bryant.

Old Grimes.

“Old Grimes” is an heirloom, an antique gem. We learn it as a matter of course for its sparkle and glow.

Albert Gorton Greene.

Song of Life.

Charles Mackay.

Fairy Song.

John Keats.

A Boy’s Song

“A Boy’s Song,” by James Hogg (1770-1835), is a sparkling poem, very attractive to children.

James Hogg.

Buttercups and Daisies.

Mary Howitt.

The Rainbow.

Thomas Campbell.

Old Ironsides.

“Old Ironsides,” by Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-94), is learned readily. Children are untouched by the commercial spirit which is the reproach of this age. “Ingratitude is the vice of republics,” and this poem puts to shame the love of money and the spirit of ingratitude that could let a national servant become a wreck.

Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Little Orphant Annie.

“Little Orphant Annie” certainly earns her “board and keep” when she has “washed the dishes,” “swept up the crumbs,” “driven the chickens from the porch,” and done all the other odds and ends of work on a farm. The poet, James Whitcomb Riley (1853-), has shown how truly a little child may be overtaxed and yet preserve a brave spirit and keen imagination. Children invariably love to learn this poem.

James Whitcomb Riley.

O Captain! My Captain!

“O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman (1819-92), is placed here out of compliment to a little boy aged ten who wanted to recite it once a week for a year. This song and Edwin Markham’s poem on Lincoln are two of the greatest tributes ever paid to that hero.

Walt Whitman.

Ingratitude.

“Ingratitude,” by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), is an incisive thrust at a refined vice. It is a part of education to learn to be grateful.

William Shakespeare.

The Ivy Green.

“The Ivy Green,” by Charles Dickens (1812-70), is a hardy poem in honour of a hardy plant. There is a wonderful ivy growing at Rhudlan, in northern Wales. Its roots are so large and strong that they form a comfortable seat for many persons, and no one can remember when they were smaller. This ivy envelops a great castle in ruins. Every child in that locality loves the old ivy. It is typical of the ivy as seen all through Wales and England.

Charles Dickens.

The Noble Nature.

“The Noble Nature,” by Ben Jonson (1574-1637), needs no plea. A small virtue well polished is better than none.

Ben Jonson.

The Flying Squirrel.

“The Flying Squirrel” is an honest account of a live creature that won his way into scores of hearts by his mad pranks and affectionate ways. It is enough that John Burroughs has commended the poem.

Mary E. Burt.

Warren’s Address to the American Soldiers.

There is never a boy who objects to learning “Warren’s Address,” by John Pierpont (1785-1866). To stand by one’s own rights is inherent in every true American. This poem is doubtless developed from Robert Burns’s “Bannockburn.” (1785-1866.)

John Pierpont.

The Song in Camp.

“The Song in Camp” is Bayard Taylor’s best effort as far as young boys and girls are concerned. It is a most valuable poem. I once heard a clergyman in Chicago use it as a text for his sermon. Since then “Annie Laurie” has become the song of the Labour party. “The Song in Camp” voices a universal feeling. (1825-78.)

Bayard Taylor.

The Bugle Song.