Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-09-13

are:
'The birds can fly,
An why can't L?
Must we give in,"
Says he with a grin
"'T the bluebird an Phoebe
Are smarter'n we be?
Jest fold our hands an see the swaller
An blackbird an catbird beat us
holler?
Does the leetle chatterin' sassy wren,
No bigger'n my thumb, know more
than men?
| Jest show me that!
Err prove t the bat
Hez got more brains than's in my hat,
An I'll back down, an not till then!"
He argued further: "Ner / can't see
What's tn use o. wings to a humble
bee,
Fer to git livin' with more'n to me-
Amt my business
Importanter n his'n is?
The eyes of J. T. Trowbridge lit up
and his face beamed in his home on
Pleasant street, Arlington. when, few
days ago he received the invitation to
the meet, and he said:
81 never dreamed when wrote that
poem that such a thing as a flying ma
chine was even possibility in my life
time. Yes, it would afford me the
greatest pleasure to see these won
derful flying machines. have been
reading about them with interest and
have long wanted to see one. / can
scarcely believed it now, but l have
seen so many wonderful inventions
in my lifetime that / am ready to be-
lieve almost anything.
when 1 wrote Darius Green,"
continued Mr.. Trowbridge, with a
twinkle in his eyes, 81 am afraid
took advantage of my poetic license
when I made what little of prophecy
did make in the poem, for, frankly,
1 had no idea then that men would
ever fly through the air-at least in
my time"
do you consider it is any more
wonderful than some of the other
things you have lived to see?"
mo. suppose 1t isn't any more
wonderful than the wireless telegraph,
or the talking machine, or the tele-
phone. l knew Bell when he was ex-
perimenting with the telephone. I
I looked on 1t as a sort of toy-a Gu
was all. l never had any
idea it would become the great COM
mercial success ii is And when / see
these moving pictures / am more and
more astonished. II is wonderful age,
and this latest thing-the flying ma
chine. is truly one of the wonders of
his wonderful age"
Mr. Trowbridge is a splendidly pre- !
served man at SO. His mind is clear. {
his memory faultless and his interest {
n the activities Of the world is as keen l
,s IL was thirty years ago. He laughs Z
IS he recalls his own experiences with I
iis famous poem. I
I used to read Il before gatherings {
II various kinds a good deal at one I
ime. That was in the years following {
Is publication. In fact, rather liked e
o read Il until one time I saw II. c. / Z
}arnabee recite Il. Then / decided to 7
top reading Darius Green You see, Z
sarnabee could act and couldn't and Z
Is a poem that requires some act +
ng. Barnabee recited Il as I would like d
o recite it. He gave IL a spirit and a
Ife that I couldn't II was all in his Y
facial expression and his
estures.
For years I didn't recite It after =
hat But a few years ago was called
n and urged TO read Il again. and I
ave several times since then When ]
-as abroad last year and the year be-
Dre 7 read q IN various hotel parlors Of
nd On the steamboats, and people ei
ugh over il very much as they used -
}. and they seemed to enjoy a. But I ol
m afraid the humor OF the poem "
ont be 20 keenly relished after peo- "
'e become accustomed 20 seeing Dar- 81
u Greens fyinE through the air"
Mr. Trowhridge then told over again er
me Of the wonders Of science he had W
en- realized IN hts lifetime. and he se
-ifted into a chat about his own work. e
hen be said he would surely be ready c,
80 20 the aero meet a. Atlantic on M