The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1911-04-23

Jest show me thatl
Er prove t the bat
Hez got more brains than's In my hat,
An Ill back down, an not till thenP'
He argued further: "Ner I can't see
What's tn use O. wings to q humble bee
Fer to git q liyin' with. more'n to me-
Amt my business
Imporanter n hisn isi'
Away he goes, Jimmy What Jump!
Flop-hop-an plump
To the ground with q thump!
Flutt'riD an found'rin'. all n a lumpI
As demon is hurled by an angels spear.
Heels over head, to his proper sphere
Heels over head. and head over heels,
Dizzily down the abyss he wheels
So fell Darius upon his crown,
In the midst of ~ bamyard ho came down
In wonderful whiri Of tangled strings.
Broken braces and broken springs,
Broken tail and broken wings.
Shooting stars. and various things
Barnyard litter Of straw and chah
And much that wasn't so sweet by half.
Away with below the calf,
And what was that? Did the gesing laughi
lis merry
From the old barn door
And he hears the voice of Gotham crying,
Say. D'rius. how de yeou like fyin'i'
Slowly. ruefuly. where he lay
Darius just turned and looked that way
As he stanched his sorrowful nose with his cut.
Wal like flynn well enough"
He said, but the amt such q thupderiu' sirht
o fun N Z when re come TO light"
MORAL
just have room for the moral here
And this is the moral: Stick to your sphere,
On if you insist, you have the right
On spreading your wings for a loftier fight
The moral is: Take care bow you light.
number. think March. 1867 It was i'm.
mediately taken up by elocutionists and
read and recited by them all over the
country. l may almost say all over the
world, for-I soon hear of 1t in England
and Australia 1t has been reprinted
many times not, only in my own. volumes
The Vagabond and Other Poems an6
'Poetical Works. but in Collections an6
lately in a separate booklet. I am offer
asked If I foresaw what has actually
been accomplished in aviation, and have
been obliged to confess that I was only
story-teller and no prophet"
Mr.. Trowbridge is a splendldly pre-.
served man at eighty-four. His mind 1.
clear. his memory faultless, and his In.
terest in the activities of the world is as
keen as It was thirty years ago. He
laughs as he recalls his own experiences
with his famous poem.
Il used to read it before gatherings OF
various kinds good deal at one time
That was in the years following It's pub.
LEGATION. In fact, I rather liked to read
1t, until one time I saw H. c. Barnabee
recite it. Then ! decided to stop reading
Darius Green. You see, Barnabee could
act and I couldn't, and it is a poem that
requires some acting. ,Barnabee recited
it as would like to recite it. He gave
IL a spirit and life that couldn't II
xxyoe a tn y &c onffv 70 81
sion and his gestures.
For years I didn't recite 1t after that
But few years ago was called on and
urged to read 1t again. and have several
times since then. When / was abroad
several years ago I read 1t in various
hotel parlors and on the steamboats,, and
people laughed over 1t very much as
they used to and they seemed to enjoy
1t. But am afraid the humor Of the
poem won't be so keenly relished after
people become accustomed to seems
Darius Green flying through the air."
John T. Trowbridge at present lives al
Arlington, Mass. He began his literary
life in 1916. He first contributed to maya
zines and later was an editor of several
of the most prominent periodicals in the
country. From 1870 to 1873 he was man
aging editor Of Our Young Folks, and
was connected with that magazine for
the young from the time it was started
In 1850.
Mr.. Trowbridge's popularity as writer
of fiction has temporarily obscured his
reputation as poet Meritorious as are
Mr.. Trowbridges stories. his poetry con-
tains ais best work. and upon 1t his en-
during reputation will depend. His first
collected volume OF poems, entitled ."The
vagabonds and Other Poems" appeared
In 1853. and has been followed by -four
others THE Emigrant's Story and Other
Poems" 1875: The Book OF Gold" 1871;
"A Home Idyl. 1851, and The Lost
Earl" 1Saa