The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-10-12
A new VOLUME BY RILEY
1T BEARS THE HAPPY TITLE, "THE
BOOK OF JOYOUS CHILDREN,
Verses for and About Little Folks
written i'm the Poets Best Vein
Pictures by Vawter.

lection of the fetching title for Mr. James
Whitcomb Riley's latest volume, THE
Book of Joyous Children" advance sheets
Of which have just been received from his
New York publishers, Charles Scribner's
Sons. 1t is an appropriate title, for the
children who appear in the pages, like all
Of their kind of whom this author has writ
ten, are real Observation-Disclosures full of
life, wondering, fanciful, light-hearted and,
therefore. joyous Some of the poems are
for them especially. some are of a remin-
iscent order, but all have a charm to the
older readers, to whom the author ad-
dresses this inscription:
You who to the rounded prime
OF life of toll and stress.
Still have Kept the mornng-time
or glad youth In heart and spirit,
So your laugh. as children hear it.
Seems their own, no less
Take this book or childish rhyme
The Book of Joyous Children.
In the proenl he thus disarms the critics
who are disturbed by the realism OF the
childish speech:
AS their laughter needs no rule
SO accept their language, pray
Touch it not with any tool:
Surely We may understand it
AS the heart has parsed or scanned 1t
Is worthy way
Though found not in any School
The Book of Joyous Children.
Some of the tales are told by the young
sters themselves. One of them is especially
outraged by the naughty behavior of Elmer
Brown:
Awf'lest boy in this-here town
Er anywheres is Elmer Brown,
Hell mock you-yes, an strangers too.
iT Here i sbe W an y you az I6o yg@-
Another, happy with his family of cats,
relates the astonishing tale of the doings
of the Maltese:
bet Mowg's the smartest cat
In the worldi He's not
White but mousy- plush, with that
Smoky gloss he's got!
list ,spect t. sometimes he hate
He won't hardly ISOLATE
With 'em, lots o days!
He has his views on picnics:
Picnics is fun ats purity hard to bear.
purt, nigh ruthe er go to them than eat.
With our Charlotty to the Trick-dog Show.
He is impressed by the stories told by
older people of the good old times:''
When we hear Uncle Sidney tell
An old. old friends he loved so well
When he was young-My -ohi-
Us Children all wish we'd'a' bin
Alvin then with Uncle-so
We could a-kindo' happened in
On them old friends he used to know!-
The hale. hard working people
The kindly country people
AT Uncle used to know!
Here is a joyous "reminiscences of the time
when We First Played Show" to appeal
to readers all along the line:
Wasn't it a good time,
Long Time Ago
And first played 'Show!'-
When every newer day
Wore as bright glow
AS the ones we laughed away
irna ACnf
Calf was In the back-lot;
Clover in the red
Bluebird in the pear tree;
Pigeons on the shed;
Tom a-chargin twenty pins
AT the barn; and Dan
Spraddled out just like The
'Injarubber Mani
Me and Bub and Rusty,
Eek and Dunk and Sid.
'Tumblin' the sawdust
Like the Arabs did:
Jamesy on the slack-rope
In wild retreat,
When he chaiked his feet,
Wasn't Eek a wonder
In his stocking-tights.
Wasn't Dunk-his leaping lion
Yes and wasn't Little Mack"
Boss of all the SHOW
Both Old Clown and Candy-Butcher-
Long Time Ago.
Sic the Barebaek-Rider;
And-oh- me oh-my!-
Bub, the spruce Ringmaster,
Stepping round spryi-
In his little waist d-trousers
All made in one,
Was there pr0uGer youngster
Under the SUM-
And now-who will tell me
Where are they all?
Dunks a sanatorium doctor,
Up at Waterfall;
Sid's city street contractor;
Tom has fifty clerks:
And Jamesy he's the Iron Magnate'
or THE Hecla Works"
And Bulbs old and bald now,
Yet still he hangs
Dan and Eek and Little Mack
Long. long gone!