Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1873-11-22
OVER THE HILL FROM TIE POOR HoUsR


I.who was always counted, they say,
Rather a bad stick anyway,
Splintered all over with dodgeH and tricks
Known As"the worst Of the Deacon's six -
l, the truAnt, sauoy and bold,
The one black sheep In my fathers fold, .
"Onoe on timen as the stories say,
Went over the hill on q winters day
Oref ne hiH 10 The pgor-hoHae
Tom could save what twenty could earn
But. giViH was somethin' he meier would
Isaac could half o. the Seriptur's |speak-
Committed hundred verses a week
Never forgot, au never clipped;
But Honor thy father aud mother he
50 over the hill to the poorhouse.
AZ for Susan. her heart was Kind
An good-what there wac Ol It, mind
Nothin too big, an nOthin too nice, .
NOthln' she wouldn't sacrifice
For one she lovedi an that ere one
Was herself when all was said an' done.
An Charley an 'Beeea meant well, no
Bu; any one could pull em about.
An all o. our foilss ranked well. you see,
Save Que poor fellow. and that was me;
An when one dark an rainy night.
a nelghbor's horse went ut,o' sight,
They hitohed on roe. a. the guilty chap
That carried one end o the halter strap.
An tulnks myself TEhf view OF tNt AAsc
Wasn't altogether ont o place;
My mother denied IT. as mothers DO.
But am inclined 10 believe twas true
Though Tor me one thing might be said
That ], 49, well es the horse, was led.
And the worst OF whisky spuried me on,
Or else the deed would have never been
done.
Rut the keenest grief 1 ever felt
Was when ny mother beside me kuelt.
ii uuf I
As wouldn't Tor half the horses ia town.
/ kisse 1 hef fondly, then aud there.
An swOre henceforth to be honest and
square. ru
| served my sentence--a bitter pill
some fellows should take who never Will
Aud then l decided 10 go out West"
lloncludin' 'twould suit my health the best
Where, how l prospered. | never could tell.
But fortune seemed to like me well,
An somehow every vein struck
Was always bubblin' over with luck.
An, better than that, l was steady au' true,
An put nv good resolutions through.
But wrote 10 trusty old neighbor and
"You tell 'em. old fellow. thasI am dead,
I An' died a christian; twill please 'en
Than il had lived the same as before"
But when this neighbor he wrote TO me,
" Your mothers in the poor-house,' says he
had resurrection straightway,
An started for her that very day.
I And when I arrived where I was grown,
/ ] took good care that shouldn't be known
But bought the old cottage, through aud
through, -
/ or some one Charley had sold Il too
! And held back neither work nor gold,
/ 10 dix II up as 1t WAS Of old,
/ The same big fire place wide an high,
Flung up It's cinders toward the sky
The old clock licked on the corner-shslf-
! wound 1t an set 1t agoin' myself;
! An itevery thing wasn't just the same
: Neither nor money was 70 blame
Then-orer MchH.o Me Poor-ioess
One blowni, blusterin winters day.
With team an cutter l started away:
My iery nags was as black IS coal
(Ihey sotne'at resembled the horse | stolel
l hitched, an entered the poor house door
: a poor Old woman WAS scrubhtn' the nOOr
She rose to her feet in great surprise,
And looked, quite startled into my eyes;
! saw the whole OF her troubles trace
In the lines that married her dear old face
Mother " shouted, your sorrOws Is done
You're adopted along o your horse-thie
Come orsr me hm Jro's ne poor.houssr'
She didn't faint she knelt by my side,
Au' thanked The Lord. til fairly cried.
An, maybe our ride wasn't pleasant an gay
An maybe she wasn't wrapped up that day
An maybe our cottage wasn't warm al
bright,
An maybe It wasn't pleasant sight,
To see her a-gettin' the eyenin's tea.
An frequently HtOppin' and kissin' me;
An maybe we didn't live happy for years,
In spite OF my bfotheFs' and sisters' sueeri
Who oite gaid, AS 1 have heard,
That they wouldn't own prison-bird
= Though they're gettin' over that, guesl
fot all OF 'em owe me more or lessl;
But I've learned one things an 1t cheers
man