River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-01-16
Old Robin.

SCH Oiu fsODAD, 40 YOU lCitt A~SRCA
not to-day
have let you have your way with the land
With the meadows and the fallows, draining
Z. swamps andfilling holloGs;
And you're mighty deep, Dan Alyordl but the
sea itself has shadows,
And there are things thai YOU don't under
stand.
You are L OF so green, of course, as to feed /.
wornout horse,
Out Of pity or remorse, very longl
But as sure as | am master OF a shed and bi
of pasture,
Not for all the wealth, ] warn you, Of Wander
bilt or Aston,
VIII do old robin there such wrong.
He is old and lame, alas! Don't disturb hin
Il as you pass!
Let him lie Their on the grass, while he may
And enjoy the summer weather, free foreVel
from his tether.
Sober veteran as you see him, we were young
and gay together:
It was who rode him irst-ah, the day.
| was just little chap, in iirst pantaloons and
cap,
And left my mothers lap at the door;
! And the reins hung loose and idle, as We lei
him prance and side
For my father walked beside me with his hand
| upon the bride:
| Yearling colt and boy of five, hardly more.
See him start and prick his earsl see how
knowingly he leers!
| I believe he oyerhears every word;
And once more. It may be, faneies that he car
| ries me and Frances,
/ While my mother from the DOORWAY follows
us with happy glances.
You may laugh, but-well, of course, it's al
| suFdl
| Poor old Robini does he know how used to
cling and crow,
| As rode him to and fro and around?
Every day as we grew older, he grew gentler,
| / grew bolder
| Till, hand upon the bride and touch upon
his shoulder,
/ could vault into my seat at bound.
| All, the nag you so dlsdain, with his scanty
| tail and name.
And that ridge pole to shed,rain, called back,
Then was taper-limbed and glossy-so superb
creature was hel
And he arehed his neck, so graceful, and he
tossed his tail, so saucy,
Like proudly waving plume, long and black
He was light of hoof and fleet. was supple,
firm in seat,
And no sort of thing with feet, anywhere
In the country, eoul. come nigh us; scarce
the swallows could outfy us;
But the planet spun beneath us, and the sky
went whizzing by us,
In hurricane We made of the air.
Then rode away to the school in the morn
ings fresh and cool;
TIL, one day, beside the pool where he drank,
leaning on my handsome trotter, glancing up
across the water
To the Judges terraced orchard, there l saw
the Judges daughter
In frame of sunny boughs on the bank
Looking down on horse and boy, smiling
down so sweet and coy,
That thrilled with bashful joy, when she
said
Voice as sweet as canary's-" Would you
like to get some cherries?-
You are We come as the birds are;-there are
nice ones on this terrace;
These are white-hearts in the tree overhead"
Was it Robin more than |, that had pleased
her girlish eye
As sic saw us prancing by? half, fear
Of she ran, hut not great way: white hearts
black hearts, sweet hearts straightway!
Bow and horse were soon familiar with the
hospitable gateway,
And happy fool was for a wear.
Lord forgive an only childl All the blessings
on me piled
Had but helped to make me wild and per-
verse.
What is there in honest horses that should
lead to vicious courses?
Racing, betting, idling, tipping, wasted soon
my best resources;
Small beginning led to more-and to worse
Father? happy in his gravel Praying mothers
cannot save
Mine? aatterer and slave to her son!
Often Mary urged and pleaded, and the good
Judge interceded,
COunseled blamed, insisted, threatened; tears
and threats were all UNDECIDED,
And answered him ia wrath; it was done!
Valnlv Mary sobbed and chung; in fury out
flungs
No repentance. no compassion; on plunged
in heaclong fashion,
In a night Of rain and tempest with herce
desparing passion
Through the blind and raving gusts, mad as
they.
Bad to worse was still my game: my poor
mother, still the same
Tried to shield me, to reclaim-did her best;
Creditors began to clamor; | could only lie
and stamme@;
All we had was pledged for payment, all was
so d beneath the hammer,
My old Robin there, along with the rest.
Laughing, jeering, Istood by, wi n devil in
my eve
Watching those who came 10 buy, what was
done
| had then no power to alter; looked on and
would not falter,
Till the last man had departed, leading Robin
by the halter;
Then flew into the loft for my gun.
1 would shoot him! no, / said, would kill
myself instead
To a lonely wood fed, on hill.
Hating Heaven and all its mercies Tor my tol-
lies and reYerses,
Then plunged in establishment, there l
burrowed in self-curses;
But the dying put off-as men will.
AS wandered back at night, something, far
off caught my sight,
| Dark against the western light in the lane;
| Coming to the bars to meet me-some Illusion
sent to cheat mel
| No, twas Robin, my own Robin, dancing
whinnying to greet me-
| With small white billet sewed to his name.
The small missiye unstrung-op old Robins
back hung,
There | cried and there I chung! while read,
| In hand knew was Mary's-"One whose
kindness never varies
Sends this cift:' no name was written, bat
painted bunch of cherries,
| On dainty little note, smiled, instead
There he lies nowl lauk and lame, stiff of limb
| and gaunt of frame,
But to her ana me the same dear old boy!
Never steed think was fairer! still see him
the proud bea-e r
| OF my portion and salvation; and he yet shall
be shaTer-
As poor dumb be asst may share-in my joy.
is strange that by the time, l, man, am in
my prime,
He is guilty of the crime of old age!
Bntno kind of circumvention can deprive him
| of his pension:
| He shall have his rack and pasture, with a
little kind attention,
And some years OF comfort yet, I'll engage.
BY long service and goodwill he has earned
them, and he still
Has a humble place to fill, as you know.
Now ny little sAavers ride him, sometimes
two or three astride him;
Mary watches from the doorway while lead
or walk beside him
But his dancing all was done long ago.
See that merry, toddling lass tripping to and
fro, 20 pass
Little handfuls of green grass. which he
chews,
And the two small urchins trying to climb up
and ride him lying;
And hard he arted as YOU are, Dan-eh? you
don't ssyl you are crying?
Well an old herse, after alt, has his usel
y T.. Trotebride in SeribBnea's Mont r.
Decorating Their Dead Foes.
The respect paid to courage by the
warlike tribes of the AngloIn Indian border
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