The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1888-03-21
THAT GENTLE Man FROM BOSTON
TOWN
AN IDYL OF OREGON.

Two webfoot brothers loved fair
Young lady, rich and good TO see;
And OH her black and abundant hairl
And oh, her wonderous witcheryl
Her father kept cattle farm;
These brothers kept her safe from harm;
From harm of cattle ON the hill,
From thick necked bulls, loud believing
The livelong morning, loud and shrill,
And lashing sides Ike anything.
From roaring bulls that tossed the sand
And paved the lilies from the land.
There came third young man. He came
From far and famous Boston town.
He was not handsome, was not game,
But he could "cook goosen as brown
AS any man that set foot on
The sunlt shores of Oregon.
This Boston man he taught the school,
Taught gentleness and love alway;
Said love and kindness, as a rule,
Would ultimately make IL pay
He was so gentle, kind that he
Could make noun and verb agree.
So when one day the brothers grew
All Jealous and did strip to fight,
He gently stood between the two
And meekly told them twas not right
VI have higher, better plan,"
Outspoke this gentle Boston man.
"My plan is this: Forget this fray
About that lily hand of hers;
Go take your guns and hunt all day
High up yon lofty hill of frs,
And while you hunt, my loving doves,
"Why, will learn which one she loves"
The brothers sat the windy hill,
Their hair shone yellow, like spun gold,
Their rifles crossed their laps, but still
They sat and sighed and shook with cold,
Their hearts lay bleeding far below:
Above them CLEANED white peaks of snow.
Their hounds lay crouching, slim and neat;
A spotted circle in the grass,
Their valley lay beneath their feet:
They heard the wide-winged eagles pass;
The eagle cleft the clouds above,
Yet what could they but sigh and love.
"lf could die" the elder sighed,
MY dear young brother here might wed. "
"Oh, would to heaven l had diedl'
The younger sighed with bended head,
Then each looked each full in the face
And each sprang up and stood in place
"If could die, the elder spake.
"Die by your hand, the world would say
Twas accident; and for her sake,
Dear brother, be it so, | pray"
Not that the younger nobly said:
Then tossed his gun and turned his head.
And fifty PAGES back he paced,
And as he paced he drew the ball;
Then sudden stopped and wheeled and faced
His brother to the death and fall.
Two shots ran wild upon the air,
But 10, the two stood harmless there.
The eagle poised high in the air;
Far, far below the believing
OF bullocks ceased, and everywhere
Vast silence sat all questioning.
The spotted hounds ran circling round,
! Their red, wet noses to the ground.
And now each brother came to know
That each had drawn the deadly ball;
And for that fair girl far below
Had sought in vain TO silent fall.
And then the two did gladly shake,
And thus the elder bravely spake:
snow let us run right hastily
And tell the kind dschoolmaster all,
Yea, yea, and if she choose not me,
But all on you her favors fall,
This valiant scene, till all life ends,
Dear brother, binds us best of friends"
The hounds sped down, a spotted line,
The bulls in tall, abundant grass
Shook back their horns from bloom and vine
And trumpeted TO see them pass;
They were so fair, they loved so true,
These brothers scarce knew what to do.
They sought the kind schoolmaster out
As swift as sweeps the light of morn;
They could but love, they conld not doubt
This man so gentle, in horn,
They cried: Now, whose the lily hand,
That ladys of this webfoot landih
They bowed before the big nosed man,
That long nosed man from Boston town;
They talked as only lovers can,
They talked, but he could only frown;
And still they talked, and still they plead;
IL was as pleading with the dead.
At last the Boston man did speak:
" Her father has thousand cows,
An hundred bulls all fat and slick;
He also has this ample house,
The brothers eyes stick out thereat
So far you might have hung your hat
" ! liked the looks of this big house
NY lovely boys won't you come inl
Her father has thousand cows,
He also has heap of tin
The girli oh yes, the girl, you see,
The girl just now she married me-
joaquin Miller