Palmer Cox

“ Said one: "Thus Science works its way
Through old remains from day to day;
And those who during life could find
No time, perhaps, to aid mankind,
May, after all, in some such place
For years assist the human race
By giving students, as you see,
Some knowledge of Anatomy." ”

“ The feet, my friends, may glide with grace
As well as trudge from place to place.
And in the parlor or without
They best can stand or walk about
Who found in early life a chance
To mingle in the sprightly dance. ”

“ As hardy sailors call the gale
That from that quarter strikes the sail."
A third replied: "No doubt you're smart
And understand the pilot's art,
But more than one a hand should take,
For all our lives will be at stake. ”

“ The fact was plain, as plain could be—
The whale was working out to sea!
A creeping fear will seize the mind
As one is leaving shores behind,
And knows the bark whereon he sails
Is hardly fit to weather gales. ”

“ We simply have to reach and take
And choose a place to boil and bake.
With meal and flour at our feet,
And wells of water pure and sweet,
That Brownie must be dull indeed
Who lacks the gumption to proceed. ”

“ I've watched them when they little knew
From every move I knowledge drew;
We'll not be seen till under way,
And then, my friends, here let me say,
The man or beast will something lack
Who strives to stop us on the track. ”

“ Some hats were crushed, some heads were sore,
Some backs were blue, ere work was o'er;
For hands will slip and feet will slide,
And boughs will break and forks divide,
And hours that promise sport sublime
May introduce a limping time. ”

“ That all would take an active part,
And be prepared to pull and haul
If trouble came in shape of squall.
For in the cunning Brownie crowd
No domineering is allowed;
All stand alike with equal power,
And friendly feeling rules the hour. ”

“ For Brownies seldom idle stand
When there is fun or work on hand.
At night when darkness wraps us round
They come from secret haunts profound,
With brushes, pots of paint, and all,
They clamber over fence and wall ”

“ Our smiles so broad and staring eyes;
'Tis well it draws us all aright,
Or we might bear it off to-night.
But glad are we to have our name
In every region known to fame,
To know that children lisp our praise,
And on our faces love to gaze. ”

“ But little time they stood to stare
Or smile upon the strange affair.
As many hands make labor light,
And active fingers win the fight,
Each busy Brownie played his part,
And soon 't was ready for the start. ”

“ The youngsters' kites with streaming tails
Are riding out the strongest gales.
The doves in steeples hide away
Or keep their houses through the day,
Mistaking every kite that flies
For bird of prey of wondrous size. ”

“ And soon on objects here and there
That hold positions high in air,
And most attract the human eye,
The marks of Brownie fingers lie.
Sometimes with feet that never tire
They climb the tall cathedral spire ”

“ And then those pippins, ripe and fair,
From some fine orchard picked with care, [129]
Should not to rot and ruin go,
Though work is hard or wages low,
When thousands would be glad to stew
The smallest apples there in view. ”

“ Then up and down the spacious hall
We'll imitate the steps of all.
We'll show that not in Frenchmen's bones
Lies all the grace that nature owns;
That others at the waltz can shine
As well as Germans from the Rhine ”

“ While cans of syrup may be found
In every grocer's store around.
The Brownie must be dull and tame,
And scarce deserves to bear the name,
Who will not join with heart and hand
To carry out a scheme so grand. ”

“ We'll peel the pumpkins, ripened well,
And scoop them hollow, like a shell,
Then slice them up the proper size
To make at length those famous pies,
For which the people, small and great,
Are ever quick to reach a plate. ”

“ So let us now, while winds are high,
Our hands at once to work apply;
And from the hill that lifts its crown
So far above the neighboring town, [58]
We'll send our kites aloft in crowds,
To lose themselves among the clouds. ”

“ The Brownies once with capers spry
To an Academy drew nigh,
Which, founded by a generous hand,
Spread light and learning through the land.
The students, by ambition fired,
And men of science had retired ”

“ But Brownies, notwithstanding all
The hardships that may them befall,
Still persevere in every case
Till morning drives them from the place.
And then with happy hearts they fly
To hide away from human eye. ”

“ Our time is up; we've done our best;
The ebbing tide must do the rest;
Now drifting downward to their pier
Let barges unassisted steer,
While we make haste, with nimble feet,
To find in woods a safe retreat. ”

“ They danced in twos with skip and bound,
They danced in circles, round and round;
They danced in lines that coiled about
As runs the serpent in and out,
Some moving slow, some standing still—
More cutting capers with a will. ”

“ Of horses often show their speed;
Here, neck and neck, and nose and nose,
Beneath the jockeys' urging blows,
They sweep around the level mile
The people shouting all the while;
And climbing up or crowding through
To gain a better point of view,
So they can see beyond a doubt
How favorites are holding out. ”

“ And these upon the green were placed
By willing hands with proper haste.
Said one, who board and bench combined:
"All art is not to cooks confined,
And some expertness we can show
As well as those who mix the dough." ”

“ Our doings have been plainly told
From month to month, through heat and cold.
And there's the ink, I apprehend,
On which our very lives depend.
Be careful, moving to and fro,
Lest we upset it as we go. ”

“ Some tumbled headlong down the hold;
And some from heaping cargoes rolled.
But what care Brownies for a bruise,
Or garments wet, from hat to shoes,
When enterprises bold and new
Must ere the dawn be carried through? ”

“ And bring the figures plain in sight
That all may note Time's rapid flight.
And accidents they often know
While through the heavy works they go,
Where slowly turning wheels at last
In bad position hold them fast. ”

“ In halves before their arrows true,
But even plums and cherries too.
For Brownies, as we often find,
Can soon excel the human kind,
And carry off with effort slight
The highest praise and honors bright. ”

“ Is not too high above the base
If fancy leads them to the place.
'Tis said the very fleecy clouds
They can bestride in eager crowds,
Around the world their way to find,
And leave the lagging winds behind. ”

“ The startled birds of night came out
And watched them as they moved about;
Concluding thieves were out in force
They cawed around the place till hoarse.
But birds, like people, should be slow
To judge before the facts they know ”

“ Had smarting hands and faces red
Before the table-cloth was spread; [113]
But what cared they at such an hour
For singeing flame or scalding shower?
Such ills are always reckoned slight
When great successes are in sight. ”

“ At times across the level mead,
Some proved their special claims to speed, [121] [122]
And as reward of merit wore
A wreath of green till sport was o'er.
The hours flew past as hours will
When joys do every moment fill ”

“ Uncommon pleasures must abound
Where so much laughter can be found."
Another said: "Now, by your leave,
I'll tell you 't is All-Hallow-eve,
When people meet to have their sport
At curious games of every sort ”

“ For all the guests on every side
With full equipments were supplied.
When people find a carver hacked,
A saucer chipped, or platter cracked,
They should be somewhat slow to claim
That servants are the ones to blame ”

“ If frost should paint his orchard white."
"It matters not who owns the place,
Or why neglect thus shows its face,"
A third replied; "the fact is clear
That fruit should hang no longer here.
If worthy people here reside
Then will our hands be well applied ”

“ But, on the road, the reins I'll draw;
I know the way to 'gee' and 'haw,'
And how to turn a corner round,
And still keep wheels upon the ground."
Another answered: "No, my friend,
We'll not on one alone depend ”

“ Which here shall stand at morning prime,
To be the wonder of the time."
Another cried, "That suits us all.
To work let every member fall.
When once the task we undertake
Be sure no dwarfish man we'll make ”