Arthur Conan Doyle

“ RAGTIME ! Ragtime ! Keep it going still ! Let them hear the ragtime ! Play it with a will | Women in the lifeboats, men upon the wreck, Take heart to hear the ragtime lilting down the deck.
Ragtime ! Ragtime ! Yet another tune !
Now the " Darkey Dandy," now " The Yellow Coon ! "
Brace against the bulwarks if the stand's askew,
Find your footing as you can, but keep the music true !
There's glowing hell beneath us where the shattered
boilers roar. The ship is listing and awash, the boats will hold no
more ! There's nothing more that you can do, and nothing you
can mend. ”

“ He tried to nuzzle against my cheek. He looked the grief he could not speak. But no caress came back again, For harder times make harder men.
My thoughts were set on stable rent, On money saved and money spent, On weekly bills for forage lost. And all the old bay hunter cost.
For though a flier in the past, His days of service long were past, His gait was stiff, his eyes were dim, And I could find no use for him.
I turned away with heart of gloom, And sent for Will, my father's groom. The old, old groom, whose worn-out face Was like the fortune of our race. ”

“ But the tinkle of the ragtime may help to see them through.
Shut off, shut off the ragtime! The lights are falling low!
The deck is buckling under us! She's sinking by the bow!
One hymn of hope from dying hands on dying ears to fall—
Gently the music fades away—and so, God rest us all! CHRISTMAS IN WARTIME 1916
Cheer oh, comrades, we can bide the blast
And face the gloom until it shall grow lighter.
What though one Christmas should be overcast,
If duty done makes all the others brighter. ”

“ Little Billy heard it from the window.
And that's how the new brother came,
While little Billy waited at the window. " Who would have thought that Brother Jack Would yell like that ! They ought to pack Him into the bag and send him back," Said angry little Billy at the window.
Take Heart
WHEN our souls are filled with fear, When the path is dull and drear, When the wind is chill and strong, When the way is rough and long. Take heart !
When vague terror fills our breast. When forebodings break our rest, When we search for any light In the black encircling night,
Take heart ! ”

“ And now the leaves are turning and you stand in mid- September Still staring at the Belfry in the distance.
Can you recall the fateful day — a day of drifting skies,
When you started on the famous Calais onset ? Can it be the War-Lord blundered when he urged the
enterprise ? For surely it's a weary while since first before your eyes That old Belfry rose against the sunset. ”

“ He is moving, he is gaining, And the whole hushed world is straining, Straining, yearning, for the vision Of the doom and the decision —
Haig is moving !
The Guns in Sussex
LIGHT green of grass and richer green of bush Slope upwards to the darkest green of fir. How still ! How deathly still ! And yet the hush
Shivers and trembles with some subtle stir, Some far-off throbbing like a muffled drum,
Beaten in broken rhythm oversea, To play the last funereal march of some Who die to-day that Europe may be free. ”

“ What you imagine to be the quagmire of Superstition is really the pleasant Valley of Tradition. You can't go wrong, for you can guide yourself by the church steeple, which can always be seen. Somewhere on the hills beyond lies the City. ”

“ The Guards Came Through
And other Poems
The Guards Came Through
MEN of the Twenty-first, Up by the Chalk Pit Wood, Weak from our wounds and our thirst.
Wanting our sleep and our food After a day and a night. ”

“ That, if the babe upon her breast Untimely died, the gods were good,
And the child's welfare manifest. With tender guides the soul would go
And there, in some Elysian bower, The tiny bud plucked here below
Would ripen to the perfect flower. Poor simpleton ! Our faith makes plain
That, if no blest baptismal word Has cleared the babe, it bears the stain
Which faithless Adam had incurred. How philosophical an aim ! ”

“ Such were the four who sailed that day. To the Highlands each a stranger ;
Sunlit and calm the wide loch lay. With not a hint of coming danger.
Drifting they watched the heather hue. The waters and the cliffs that bound them
The air was still, the sky was blue. Deceitful peace lay all around them.
McFarlane pondered on the stocks, John Waters on his own perfection,
Bob Ainslie's thoughts were on his socks, And Mrs. Wild's on her complexion. ”

“ For as he lies in hell to-day So when ten thousand years have run
Still shall he lie in endless night. O God of Love ! Holy One !
Have we not read Thy ways aright ?
The godly man in heaven shall dwell. ”

“ A little apart sits Reason, a stern greybeard. Aloof from them all sits Science, working with a battery and some wires. The Faith family are clad in various garbs, all with a suspicion of sacerdotalism, either Mahometan, Buddhist, or Christian. Faith i. What a blessing it is that we are appointed guides upon the journey ! What would the poor people do without us ! ”

“ HAIG is moving ! Three plain words are all that matter, Mid the gossip and the chatter, Hopes in speeches, fears in papers. Pessimistic froth and vapours —
Haig is moving !
Haig is moving ! We can turn from German scheming, From humanitarian dreaming. From assertions, contradictions. Twisted facts and solemn fictions —
Haig is moving !
Haig is moving ! All the weary idle phrases. Empty blamings, empty praises. Here's an end to their recital. There is only one thing vital —
Haig is moving 1
Haig is moving ! ”

“ Such a touchy person, she is. Then they all take her side. I am cold-shouldered by them all. But the fact is, my dear Reason, I am so useful to them all that they can't get on without me. The travellers all say, whatever difference there may be about our path, it is certainly made very much more convenient and comfortable by this hard-working old fellow. I don't give them promises only. They actually see and feel what I do
When old Faith tries to read his guide book in the dark, it is I who give him his electric torch. ”

“ If it were not for us, who would guide the travellers ?
Reason. But you all guide them in different direc- tions, and spend most of your time abusing each other.
Faith 2. At least we all point them upwards.
Reason. Exactly. You all point them upwards. There is your merit. But I would point them upwards also, without pretending that only one path can lead to the City. All upward paths will take you equally to the high places. Inspiration has been no help to you. She has only set you all by the ears. ”

“ That millions yet unborn may come and curse you as they gaze
At this token of your impotence and spite.
For shame, my Lord of Würtemberg! Across the Flemish Fen
See where the little army calls you.
It's just the old familiar line of fifty thousand men,
They've beat you once or twice, my Lord, but venture it again,
Come, try your luck, whatever fate befalls you. GROUSING
“The army swore terribly in Flanders.” ”

“ You would break the British line, You would smash a road to westward with your host, The howitzers should thunder and the Uhlan lances shine Till Calais heard the blaring of the distant " Wacht am Rhein," As you topped the grassy uplands of the coast. Said the Graf von Feuer-Essen, " It's a fact beyond dis- cussion, That man to man we can outfight the foe. ”

“ Or be starved in the Jungle of Disbelief, or fall over the Precipice of Schism.
Faith 4. Well, it depends upon what you call Schism. Faith i. Hush ! we need not go into that. Perhaps
we had best agree to drop the subject as it has led to so much trouble in the past. We all know in our own hearts what we mean by Schism.
All. [Glaring at each other] Yes, we know that.
Faith 2. Allow me to tell you what Schism is
Faith i. No, no, let us change the subject! The road is very quiet to-day. We have not had many to guide. ”

“ Conan Doyle writes a good song and a good ballad. He has the requisite amount of pathos, and his humour is spontaneous.”
SONGS OF THE ROAD
The Morning Post.—“A troop of rollicking tales, of fervid exhortations and straightforward arguments ... sound sentiments, hearty humour.... The creator of Sherlock Holmes is able to construct vivid and pungent verse.”
The Spectator.—“He can tell a good story as well in verse as in prose: and the fetters of rhyme in no way weaken the merits of the swift tale ... humour as well as spirit.” ”

“ When his eyes give way — and they are all getting a bit senile, you know — it is I who correct them with glasses. So they don't pay too much attention to the cries of Inspiration, and they actually admit that they mistook her meaning and that there is no real difference of opinion. ”

“ Don't forget that you are rather limited yourself. Here are some travellers coming. Where's that voltmeter ? And the induction coil ? Thank you. Well, if you like to travel with me, come along ! [Exeunt.
[Enter a man and a woman.']
The Man. Thank heaven that we have shaken off the guides. They make my head ache with their chatter.
The Woman. And yet, dear, they all point us upwards.
The Man. Some of them seemed to me to be going downwards themselves.
The Woman. We must go as they point.
The Man. Yes, woman seems to need a guide.
The Woman. We are lost without one. ”

“ With whispered words and straining eyes. One hush of awe, and then once more
The vision fades for them and me, And there is laughter on the shore,
And silent duty on the sea.
The Bugles of Canada
[In war time a Canadian Division was encamped near my house. I used to fashion their bugle calls into the names of their distant land. Hence these verses.]
THE Farmer in the morning Stood with slanted head, In the wintry dawning
By the milking-shed ; From the camp behind the hill He could hear the bugles shrill,
" We are here ! We are here !
Soldiers all ! Good cheer ! We are near ! Ontario ! ”

“ I am not sure that she is not the best guide of all. We seem to have risen higher always when she has been our companion.
The Woman. It is true. I shudder when I think of her, and yet she has surely helped us upon our way. How pale and weary the poor child is ! ”

“ No, no, my friend, you can do the climbing and hunt for something which is up in the clouds of dreamland. Give us something solid.
2ND Roisterer. That's the idea. Something solid. What's the use of talking about things that are far away. We want to enjoy ourselves here and now. One City of pleasure down in the plain is worth many City Beautifuls up on the hill-top. Come on, my lads !
3RD Roisterer. You look tired out. No wonder, when you are climbing all the time. It's much easier! to go down hill with us. ”

“ To strike harder as a fighter,
That the heavy might be lighter,
And the gloomy might be brighter
At the sign?
Great Guide, I ask you still,
“Wherefore I?”
But if it be thy will
That I try,
Trace my pathway among men,
Show me how to strike, and when,
Take me to the fight—and then,
Oh, be nigh! Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury, England.
BY ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
SONGS OF ACTION
SEVENTH IMPRESSION.
Punch.—“Dr. Conan Doyle has well named his verse ‘Songs of Action.’ It pulsates with life and movement, whether the scenes be laid on sea or land, on ship or horseback.” ”

“ My luck was turning too. If you have nothing else to do. Run down some day to Lindisfaire, You'll find the old bay hunter there.
A Parable
HIGH-BROW HOUSE was furnished well With many a goblet fair ; So when they brought the Holy Grail, There was never a space to spare. Simple Cottage was clear and clean,
With room to store at will ; So there they laid the Holy Grail, And there you'll find it still.
Fate
1KN0W not how I know, And yet I know. I do not plan to go,
And yet I go. There is some dim force propelling, Gently guiding and compelling, And a faint voice ever telling " This is so." ”

“ We should be simple travellers like the rest if he had his way.
Faith 4. And Mecca like any other town. May
Allah confound you and guide you down the Valley of
Gehenna. [Exeunt,
[J II this time Science has been absorbed in his work^
Reason. Hullo, Science ! \No answer, 1 Hullo, old Science ! [No answer.'] Bless the fellow, he is always absorbed in his own dreams. ”

“ SOME REMINISCENCES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES THE ADVENTURES OF BRIGADIER GERARD THE SIGN OF FOUR SIR NIGEL CAPTAIN OF THE POLESTAR ROUND THE RED LAMP THE STARK MUNRO LETTERS THE TRAGEDY OF THE “KOROSKO” A DUET, WITH AN OCCASIONAL CHORUS THE GREEN FLAG, AND OTHER STORIES THE ADVENTURES OF GERARD THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES THROUGH THE MAGIC DOOR ROUND THE FIRE STORIES THE LAST GALLEY THE LOST WORLD THE VALLEY OF FEAR DANGER! ”