C. J. Dennis

Name: Jim of the Hills
Author: C. J. Dennis

Jim of the Hills (1919)

Summary

“Jim of the Hills”, published in 1919, is a work by C. J. Dennis. It explores elements such as bloke, man and widow.

Quotes from Jim of the Hills (C. J. Dennis)

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ The hope for man is honest work, an' out-o'-doors his place,
The good brown earth beneath him an' the clean breeze in his face;
The work for man is with his hands, his muscles strong as steel,
When health an' strength within him make him feel as he should
feel. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ Good luck for me, the near-by world that day.
⁠When I ran sobbin' thro' the scorchin' fern.
Held few to hear the foolish things I say:
⁠No one was there my secret thought to learn.
As I went shoutin' down the mountain spur.
Only the scared birds, an' the trees, an' Her.
In fancy, many men have been thro' Hell,
⁠Tortured by fear, when hope has almost died;
But few have gone thro' that, an' fire as well
⁠To come on Heaven at the other side
With just one angel in it, safe an' well—
A cool, calm angel by the name of Nell. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ I was thinkin' of the widow while I gets me clobber on—
Like a feller will start thinkin' of the times that's past an' gone.
⁠An', while my thoughts is runnin' so, that bird chips in again :
⁠"Dear, it's a pity that poor Jenny is so plain."
Now, the widow's name is Jenny, an' it strikes me sort of queer
That my thoughts should be upon her when that robin's song I hear.
⁠She ain't so homely neither; but she never could compare
⁠With a certain bonzer vision with the sunlight in her hair. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ The Vision
OF things that roam about the bush I ain't got many fears,
⁠For I knows their ways an' habits, an' I've chummed with them for years.
⁠For man or beast or gully ghost I've pluck enough to spare;
⁠But I draws the line at visions with the sunlight in their hair.
When a man has fought an' conquered it is good in many ways:
There's the pride in havin' done it, an' the other fellows' praise;
⁠There's the glory an' the standin' that you get among the men—
⁠All their looks are more respectful since I socked it into Ben. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ Red stains were on the wooden track an' on the sunlit ground;
A wagtail twittered by the creek, an' hopped an' fussed around;
⁠The Laughin' Jacks were wild with mirth; but very still he lay,
⁠As we took poor Ben Murray up an' carried him away. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ An' a man don't look for dreamin' when there's work for him to do.
⁠But he can't be ever toilin', an' at times he gets to spoilin'
All the joy the day has brought him — when he lets the black thoughts through.
⁠I suppose it's livin' lonely, as a fellow never should;
⁠For a lonely man gets broodin', an' the broodin' isn't good.
It's never good, the sayin' is, for man to live alone.
But 'tain't because I like it that I'm batchin' on my own.
⁠For a bloke must take what's goin', an' my life ain't all been growin'
Daffodils an' hummin' dance tunes just to give my soul a tone. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ A Lonely Man
WHEN I'm out among the fellows, with the work to hold my mind.
Then there's heaps of joy in livin' an' the world seems awful kind—
⁠Awful kind an' awful jolly, with no trace of melancholy.
An' I tell myself the bloke that don't enjoy it must be blind—
⁠When I'm out among the fellows; but, when I am sittin' here,
⁠Dreamin' by my lonely fireside, then the world gets kind of queer.
I suppose it's how you take it: what they call the point of view ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ An' never man was friendless yet who stayed his own good friend.
Ben Murray, he's no friend of mine, an' well I know the same;
But why should I be thinkin' hate, an' nursin' thoughts of blame?
⁠Last evenin' I'd no friend within, but troubles all around,
⁠An' madly thought to fight a man for ten or twenty pound.
But it's Mornin'! Mornin'! my friend within's alive. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ The talk was done, the numbers up, the boss had won the day.
An' we were ready to get back an' earn our bit of pay;
⁠When Murray, in a mad black rage, goes on to rave an' shout.
⁠"You're sacked," the old man tells him plain. "I've had enough. Get out!"
For close on half a minute I expected Hell to pay;
But Murray glares around the mill—then turns an' walks away.
⁠He stops beside the loaded truck; an' each man in the mill
⁠Watched Murray with a sidelong look; an' each man wished him ill. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ But keep on sayin', "Make the splitter's hut,
⁠The splitter's hut! Get to the clearin' there.
She's at the splitter's hut; an' if she ain't ..."
My heart turns over, an' I feel dead faint.
An', as I plug along, I hear some fool
⁠Repeatin' words till they sound like a spell.
"I'm goin' mad," I thinks. "Keep cool! Keep cool!"
⁠But still that voice goes on: "My Nell! My Nell!"
I whips round quick to see who he can be.
This yappin' fool — then realize it's me.
They say I must have gone thro' blazin' ferns. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ You're doin' well,"
⁠Says the little Dusty, Dick. . . .
⁠Murray's eye is closin' quick.
It was Spring, sweet Spring, an' a man must have his fling:
Healthy men must be respondin' to the moods the seasons bring.
⁠That sweet air, with scrub scents laden, all my body was invadin',
Till each breath I drew within me made me feel I was a king.
⁠ 'Twas the season to be doin' — fondlin' maids, or fightin' men—
⁠An' I felt my spirit yearnin' for another crack at Ben. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ Flat out I was with fightin' all day long—
⁠ (We saved the mill-shed, but the huts were done) —
When some bloke, weak with sprintin', comes along—
⁠ (Comic, it seemed to me, the way he run) —
Shoutin' that someone's missin' from "The Height,"
An' all the forest at the back's alight. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ About injustice in the world, an' boiled up good an' hot.
⁠I spouts of wrongs of workin' men an' how our rulers fail.
⁠His eyes are shut, but he just seconds motions with his tail.
All beauty's only for the rich, all times, an' every way.
The toilers just take what is left, as I've heard Murray say
⁠When he's been talkin' to the boys about the workers' rights. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ An' every little job becomes a joy I wouldn't miss:
⁠When the labour seems like playin', an' I catch myself a-sayin',
"Why, it's grand to think a man gets paid for doin' things like this!"
⁠But, after, came the lonely night, when I've looked back an' said,
⁠"To think I have to slave like that to earn a bit of bread!"
When I'm out among the fellows, oh, the world's a place to prize ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ She fondles my old dog a bit;
I wait to make a bolt for it.
⁠ (There ain't no call to stand an' talk
⁠With one who'd be too proud to walk'
A half-a-yard with such as me.)
"The wind seems workin' up," says she. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ He's callin' to his little wife, an' don't care who should hear
⁠In the great bush, the fresh bush, washed again with dew.
⁠An' my axe is on my shoulder, an' there's work ahead to do.
Oh, it's Mornin'! Singin' Mornin'! in the land I count the best. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ HE was lyin' on his bunk,
⁠In the hut behind the mill,
Ravin' like a man wild drunk.
⁠Never silent, never still.
"Best go in an' say Good bye,"
Says old Blair. "He's got to die."
God! I never want to see
⁠Any face so wrung with pain. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ For where's your progress of the heart?
"Great wisdom lived long years ago,
⁠An' yet we say that we progress.
The paint an' tinsel of our show
⁠Are more than at the old address.
Are men more generous, or kind? ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ I never thought I'd dare,
⁠But I holds out my arms to her, an' says, as I come near—
⁠Not one word of that speech of mine—but, "Oh, you pretty dear !"
It was enough. Lord save a man! It's simple if he knew.
There's one way with a woman if she loves you good an' true. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ The thrush was in the wattle-tree, an' I was underneath.
I'd put a clean white collar on, I'd picked a bunch of heath;
⁠For I was cleaned an' clobbered up to meet my Nell that day.
⁠But now my awful trouble comes: What is a man to say?
I mean to tell her all I've thought since first I saw her there.
On the bark-heap by the mill-shed, with the sunlight in her hair.
⁠I mean to tell her all I've done an' what I'll do with life ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ I says. Then she looks up—an' that's the end of me. ...
⁠"O man!" she cries. "O modest man, if you go on like this—"
⁠But I interrupt a lady, an' I do it with a kiss.
"Jim, do you know what heroes are?" says she, when I'd "behaved."
"Why, yes," says I. "They're blokes that save fair maids that won't be saved."
⁠"You're mine," says she, an' smiles at me, "an' will be all my life—
⁠That is, if it occurs to you to ask me for your wife."
•⁠•⁠•⁠•⁠•⁠•
Grey thrush is in the wattle-tree when I get home that day—
Back to my silent, lonely house—an' still he sings away. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ An' how the widow took it all—the way she stared an' gaped.
⁠She looked her plainest at that time; but that don't matter now;
⁠For, plain or fair, I know of one who's fairer, anyhow.
I tells meself that beauty ain't a thing to count with man.
An' I would never choose a wife on that unthinkin' plan.
⁠No robin was awake, I swear; but still I heard that strain:
⁠"Dear, it's a pity that poor Jenny is so plain." ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ It was Spring, gay Spring. Still were swallows on the wing.
An', on a sudden, once again I heard the thrushes sing.
⁠There was gold upon the wattle, an' my recent wish to throttle
Murray, as he lay there groanin', was a far-forgotten thing.
⁠In the soft blue sky were sailin' little clouds as fine as fluff.
⁠"Wantin' more?" I asked him gently; but Ben Murray said,
⁠"Enough."
"Well done, Jim," says old Bob Blair.
"'Tis the brave deserves the fair." ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ I was feelin' fine this mornin' when I started out to work;
An' I caught myself high-steppin' with a boastful sort of jerk;
⁠With my head a trifle higher an' my eye a little stern.
⁠I thought the world was mine for keeps; but I'd a lot to learn. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ On the fight; an' Ben loosed curse-words in a never-endin' string.
⁠Oh, I glimpsed the soft sky shinin' an' I smelled the fresh-cut wood;
⁠An' as we rolled I pummelled him, an' knew the world was good.
" 'Tain't a dog-fight!" shouts Bob Blair.
"Stand up straight an' fight it fair." ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ We have fed her logs in dozens, but she's shriekin' for 'em still.
When you test the strength that's in you, oh, it's good to be alive
In the green bush, the clean bush, an' with your fellows strive ... ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ I don't know how I got right home.
The wonder was I didn't roam
⁠Off in the scrub, an' dream on there
⁠Of her with sunlight in her hair.
At home I looks around the place.
An' sees the dirt's a fair disgrace ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ Shootin' sneers into his smilin', slingin' spite into his chaff.
⁠Tho' a fight I'm never shirkin', when I'm with the fellows, workin',
I can give him good as he does, an' just take it with a laugh. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ Look with mixed feelin's, sour an' sad.
⁠Upon a fool in love with love.
Go, find her, lad, an' be again.
Fit to associate with men.
"Don't leave yourself upon the shelf:
⁠It's bad for man to live alone." ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ She starts to talk about the mill, an' then about the strike,
An' then she digs Ben Murray up an' treats him nasty-like;
⁠She treats him crool an' cattish, as them soft, sweet women can.
⁠But I ups an' tells her plainly that I think Ben is a man. ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ Nay, dear laddie, while you've breath.
Live in hope, an' smile on death."
With a hard hand, woman-kind.
⁠He pushed back the sweaty hair.
"Now then, laddie, ease your mind.
⁠Pain will end for you out There. . ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ He says to me as plain as plain.
"First have some food, an' then explain."
⁠ (I don't know how she came to tell.
⁠But I found out her name is Nell.)
We gets our bit to eat at last.
(An', just for spite, he et his fast) ... ”

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Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Jim of the Hills (1919)

“ The men were actin' friendly-like, but I kept kind of cold
⁠An' distant, as becomes a bloke who's scored a knock-out thump—
⁠Till just approachin' dinner time; an' then I got my bump.
It's fine to see your cobbers lookin' at you like they know
You're not a man to trifle with ”

C. J. Dennis

Summary

Quotes from Jim of the Hills (C. J. Dennis)

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