“ To spurn or to thrill with an ecstasy sweet;”
(And he reverently took her white hand,)
“That hand is his, Archie, and so is my heart
To have and to keep until death do us part
To meet in the Heavenly land.”
Good friends new and old, should you journey that way
And should anything happen, to cause a delay,
And you call upon Valentine Brown:
In the coziest nook, you’ll see Archibald Gray,
Awaiting with patience the dallying day,
Till the sickle of Time mows him down.
And Fortune still favors her Valentine dear,
She winters and summers there year after year ”

“ While treading childhood’s dreamy maze,
Peruse this book with care:
Peruse it by the rising sun;
Peruse it when the day is done,
Peruse it oft with prayer.
Search it for counsel in thy youth,
For every page is bright with truth
And wisdom from on high.
Consult it in thy riper years,
When foes without and inward fears
Thy utmost powers defy.
And when life’s sands are well nigh run
And all thy work on earth is done,
In patience wait and trust,
That He whose promises are sure
Will number you among the pure,
The righteous and the just. ”

“ T. Jefferson Scott, upon the occasion of the 24th anniversary of their wedding, March 2nd, 1882.
Kind gentlemen and ladies fair,
I have a word or two to say,
If you have got the time to spare,
Sit down, and hear my humble lay.
No tiresome homily, I bring,
To chill your joys and make you sad,
I’d rather hear you laugh or sing,
Than see you solemn, dull or mad,
A bow that’s always bent, they say,
Will lose its force and wonted spring,
And Jack’s all work and never play,
Makes him a dull and stupid thing. ”

“ What effect, if any, the pure atmosphere and picturesque scenery of the country along the banks and romantic hills of the Susquehanna and Octoraro may have had to do with producing or developing poetical genius, cannot be told; but nevertheless it is a fact, that William P., and Edwin E. Ewing, Emma Alice Browne, Alice Coale Simpers, John M. Cooley and Rachel E. Patterson were born and wrote much of their poetry, as did also Mrs. Caroline Hall, in that beautifully diversified and lovely section of the county. ”

“ He was appointed School Commissioner in 1882, which office he filled with great acceptability to the public until incapacitated by the disease which terminated his life.
Mr. Scott, though one of the most amiable of men, was fond of argument when properly conducted, and from the time he was twenty years of age until nearly the close of his life was always ready to participate in a debate if he could find any person to oppose him; and thought it no hardship to walk any where within a radius of four or five miles, in the coldest weather, in order to attend a debating society. ”

“ And now he’s playing on the harp
Upon the other side
Of death’s dark river, safe and free,
Among the glorified.
Advice to an Ambitious Youth. You look with joy to-day along life’s vista clear,
And great will be your deeds through many a happy year,
And smiling friends will come to crown with glad acclaim
A hero, when you reach the glittering heights of fame. ”

“ She leads a busy life, yet is rarely hurried; and, although she enjoys the companionship of many people noted in literature, it is powerless to weaken her attachment for friends who have no inclination in that way. All have a warm place in her heart, and a cordial welcome to her cheerful and happy home.
Mrs. Ireland, contrary to the experience of most writers, never wrote any poetry until she had attained distinction as a writer of prose. ”

“ He roars, ’tis true, but scan him well
Whene’er you see him pass;
Look at his ears and you can tell
He’s but a braying ass.
Lines On the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Scott. Ransom’d spirit, spread thy wings,
Leave thy broken house of clay;
Soar from earth and earthly things,
To the realms of endless day.
Weary pilgrim, take thy rest,
Thine has been a tiresome road ”

“ If you don’t believe it, try it.
’Tis easy quite to do the right,
And in it there is beauty,
What e’er you do, do with your might,
But always do your duty.
Be true unto yourself, and then—
Wise counsel—don’t decry it,
You can’t be false to other men—
If you don’t believe it, try it.
Bye and Bye. Shadowy, dreamy phantoms ever rising
Up before wild Fancy’s eyes,
With their untold and beauteous splendor,
Make us present things despise. ”

“ He has a keen relish for the beautiful, and a deep sympathy with the truthful and the good. His taste, formed on the finest models, has been ripened and chastened by a patient study of the great monuments of antiquity. His thoughts seem to be the natural development of his mind; and his words the unstudied expression of his thoughts. The music of his verse reminds us sometimes of the soft cadences of Hemans, and not unfrequently of the mournful harp of Byron.”
In his eighteenth year he was a contributor of prose and poetry to the Minerva and Emerald, and Saturday Post, of Baltimore ”

“ And, Cleo, my daughter, don’t mind if it’s true,
But I reckon I’ve guessed about Archie and you!
And the Lord knows our burdens are grievous to bear,
But there’s still a bright edge to my cloud of despair,
And somehow I hear, like a tune in my head:
“The boys are coming! The boys aren’t dead!”
So to-morrow, for dear father’s sake, we will try
To make the day seem like Thanksgivings gone by;
And tho’ we mayn’t see where Thanksgiving comes in,
Things were never so bad yet as things might a-been. ”

“ When they lay their darling down to rest,
’Neath the willows bending low.
“Only a baby!” how cold it seemed
To speak of the angel near,—
My heart went after the snowy form.
For its parents I breathed a prayer:
“Only a baby!” ah, the weary day
And the sleepless night,
The feverish longing—the aching heart—
For the baby gone from sight!
“Only a baby!” the heart sobs out,
What hopes lie shatter’d here,
The broken bud—the tiny frame,
An angel hovering near.
“Only a baby!”—the years creep by—
’Twill ever be, tho’ locks be gray;
Growing no older—only their babe ”

“ Alas! that things so beautiful,
So soon must pass away,
And all of earth that’s loveliest
Must moulder in the clay;
But well we know those charms so bright,
Which Heaven hath form’d in love,
Tho’ ravaged by death’s icy hand,
Shall bloom again above!
Take the Harp. To Kate.
’Tis supposed the muses hang a harp by every stream, where it remains till some lady arises to take it and sing the “loves and joys, the rural scenes and pleasures,” the beauty and grandeur of the place. ”

“ And treat grown people with respect, and they the same will show,
And use those “open eyes” of yours, John A. Calhoun, my Joe.
John A. Calhoun, my Joe John, the trustees of our schools
Are not so smart as you, John, but then they’re not all fools;
And you have made yourself, John, appear a little low,
By your abuse of these poor men, John A. Calhoun, my Joe.
John A. Calhoun, my Joe John, now let us part in peace,
And may your honest name, John, so mightily increase,
That half a score of sons, John, may like their father grow—
But just a little modester, John A. Calhoun, my Joe. ”

“ Footnote A: The Pantheon that was built to all the gods was transformed into a Christian temple. The Infant St. John, the Baptist. O sweeter than the breath of southern wind
With all its perfumes is the whisper’d prayer
From infant lips, and gentler than the hind,
The feet that bear
The heaven-directed youth in wisdom’s pathway fair.
And thou, the early consecrate, like flowers
Didst shed thy incense breath to heaven abroad ”

“ The voice of some sweet psalmist, thus—
“’Tis so God wills, ’tis so God wills.”
The Eternal Life. I care not for the life that is,
I think not of the things that are;
I live, oh! soul of tenderness,
Beneath an angel blessedness
That draws its light from one small star. ”

“ On the 22d of February, 1879, the subject of this sketch married Captain John G. Simpers, who served with distinction in the Second Regiment Delaware Volunteers in the war of the rebellion. They, at the time of writing this sketch, reside near the summit of Mount Pleasant, and within a short distance of the birth-place of Emma Alice Browne.
The Miller’s Romance. The miller leaned o’er the oaken door,
Quaint shadows swung on the dusty floor,
The spider toiled in the dust o’erhead,
With restless haste, and noiseless speed,
Like one who toils for sorest need—
Like one who toils for bread. ”

“ But may be you will fail, ’tis ten to one you will,
And men will laugh, to see your lack of pluck and skill,
Perhaps you will not have one mighty thing to do;
But many little things will prove if you are true.
To carry brick and stone for someone else’s wall,
To do the hardest part and get no praise at all,
To see a weaker man upheld by circumstance,
And find the path hedged high, just when you would advance ”

“ Mr. Scott began to write poetry when about twenty-one years of age, and continued to do so, though sometimes at long intervals, until a short time before his death. His early poems were printed in “The Cecil Whig,” but being published anonymously cannot be identified. Like many others, he did not preserve his writings, and a few of his best poems have been lost. Of his poetic ability and religious belief, we do not care to speak, but prefer that the reader should form his own judgment of them from the data derived from a perusal of his poems. ”

“ Callander Patterson was born near Perryville, Cecil county, May 6, 1820. His education was obtained at the common schools of the neighborhood. Many years ago he went to Philadelphia, where he studied dentistry, which he has since practiced in that city. Mr. Patterson commenced writing poetry when quite young, but published nothing until upwards of forty years of age. His poetry—of which he has written much—seems to have been of a religious character.
Owing to causes beyond our control, the following poem is the only one, adapted to this book, that we have been able to obtain.
God Is Great. ”

“ The educational advantages of a half century ago were not such as are enjoyed by the youth of to-day; but such as the neighborhood provided and his uncle’s means afforded, were placed at the disposal of the boy, who soon manifested an aptitude to learn. When but five years of age he was sent to what was then called a “Subscription School,” kept in the neighborhood. This he attended during the next seven years, and in the Winter time until the year 1849, when he took charge as teacher of a school, in the Center School House, situated near Fair Hill, in Cecil county. ”

“ In his literary career he has won three prizes that will be cherished as heirlooms in the family, a silver pitcher, for the best prose tale, entitled “The Power of Truth,” and two silver goblets, one a prize for the poem entitled “The Fall of Superstition,” the other a prize for a poem, “The South-sea Islander,” for which fifteen of our leading poets were competitors.
Though in his leisure moments Dr. Brooks has achieved so much in literature, his profession has been that of an educator, in which he has had the mental training of males and females to the number of five or six thousand. ”

“ Then once more hope to reach the goal,
For faith with works will save a soul,
Though hostile billows round it roll.
Thus tempest-tost, we struggle on;
Now sad, now cheered, till life is gone,
And trust to hear the bless’d, well done!
George Johnston. [The editor is indebted to his friend, George A. Blake, Esq., of the Elkton Bar, for the following sketch of his life.]
George Johnston, the editor and compiler of this book, was born in Philadelphia, May 15, 1829, the place of his birth being on Penn street, one door south of the southeast corner of Penn and Lombard streets. ”

“ Evans married Isabell R. Southgate, since deceased, of Christiana, Delaware.
For some years Mr. Evans has been engaged in business in Philadelphia, but occasionally finds time to cultivate his acquaintance with the Muses.
Influences. Drop follows drop and swells,
With rain, the sweeping river;
Word follows word, and tells
A truth that lasts forever.
Flake follows flake, like sprites,
Whose wings the winds dissever;
Thought follows thought, and lights
The realms of mind forever. ”

“ Within whose walls no sadness lives,
No broken hearts, no simple strife,
For that I live, oh soul of faith,
For that whereof the Master saith
“Here find eternal love and life.”
Mrs. Rosaliene Romula Murphy. Mrs. Rosaliene Romula Murphy, daughter of John and Hannah Mooney, was born in Philadelphia, May, 1, 1838, and married Thomas H.P. Murphy, son of John C. and Ann Rothwell Murphy, and grandson of Hyland Price, of Cecil county, on the 18th of May, 1858. Her education was obtained at a school taught by the Sisters of Mercy, and at the public schools of her native city. ”

“ He’s the stranger that’s buying the Sunnyside place,
We all thought was willed to poor Archibald Grace,
Along with the mortgage that’s jest falling due,
And that father allowed Archie Grace would renew;
And, Cleo, I reckon that father will sell
The Croft, and the little real Alderney, Bel.
You raised her, I know; and it’s hard she must go;
But father will pay every dollar we owe;
It’s his way, to be honest and fair as the day;
And he always was dreadfully set in his way.
I try to find comfort in thinking, my dear,
That things would be different if Robert was here ”

“ Mrs. Sallie Williams Hardcastle. Mrs. Hardcastle’s maiden name was Sallie Williams Minter. She was born in Bedford county, Virginia, June 19, 1841.
Reared in the shadow of the Peaks of Otter, whose lofty summits tower in magnificent grandeur far above the wooded heights and billowy green hills of the surrounding country, it is little wonder that the subject of this sketch should have been early imbued with the spirit of poesy, and led to the cultivation of tastes and the selection of themes which the grand and picturesque in nature are apt to suggest. ”

“ Ewing became the proprietor and editor of the Cecil Whig, which was the Union organ of the county. Being a man of decided convictions, and unflinching courage, he never lost an opportunity to advocate the cause of the Union, to which he adhered with great devotion, through evil and through good report.
In 1876 he disposed of the Whig and the next year bought an interest in the Kansas Farmer and the Juvenile Magazine, published in Topeka, Kansas. He subsequently became connected with the Daily Capital, and eventually became sole proprietor of the Kansas Farmer. ”