The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley :: :: University of Virginia Library

I'm a-feelin' ruther sad,
Fer a father proud and glad
As I am—my only child
Home, and all so rickonciled!
Feel so strange-like, and don't know
What the mischief ails me so!
'Stid o' bad, I ort to be
Feelin' good pertickerly—
Yes, and extry thankful, too,
'Cause my nearest kith-and-kin,
My Elviry's schoolin' 's through,
And I' got her home ag'in—
Home ag'in with me!

Same as ef her mother'd been
Livin', I have done my best
By the girl, and watchfulest;
Nussed her—keerful' as I could—

1595

From a baby, day and night,—
Drawin' on the neighberhood
And the women-folks as light
As needsessity 'ud 'low—
'Cept in “teethin',” onc't, and fight
Through black-measles. Don't know now
How we ever saved the child!
Doc he'd give her up, and said,
As I stood there by the bed
Sort o' foolin' with her hair
On the hot, wet pillar there,
“Wuz no use!”—And at them-air
Very words she waked and smiled—
Yes, and knowed me. And that's where
I broke down, and simply jes'
Bellered like a boy—I guess!—
Women claim I did, but I
Allus helt I didn't cry,
But wuz laughin',—and I wuz,—
Men don't cry like women does!
Well, right then and there I felt
'T'uz her mother's doin's, and,
Jes' like to myse'f, I knelt
Whisperin', “I understand.” ...
So I've raised her, you might say,
Stric'ly in the narrer way
'At her mother walked therein—
Not so quite religiously,

1596

Yit still strivin'-like to do
Ever'thing a father could
Do he knowed the mother would
Ef she'd lived—And now all's through
And I' got her home ag'in—
Home ag'in with me!

And I' been so lonesome, too,
Here o' late, especially,—
“Old Aunt Abigail,” you know,
Ain't no company;—and so
Jes' the hired hand, you see—
Jonas—like a relative
More—sence he come here to live
With us, nigh ten year' ago.
Still he don't count much, you know,
In the way o' company—
Lonesome, 'peared-like, 'most as me!
So, as I say, I' been so
Special lonesome-like and blue,
With Elviry, like she's been,
'Way so much, last two or three
Year'—But now she's home ag'in—
Home ag'in with me!

Driv in fer her yisterday,
Me and Jonas—gay and spry,—
We jes' cut up, all the way!—
Yes, and sung!—tel, blame it! I
Keyed my voice up 'bout as high

1597

As when—days 'at I wuz young—
“Buckwheat-notes” wuz all they sung.
Jonas bantered me, and 'greed
To sing one 'at town-folks sing
Down at Split Stump 'er High-Low—
Some new “ballet,” said, 'at he'd
Learnt—about “The Grape-vine Swing.”
And when he quit, I begun
To chune up my voice and run
Through the what's-called “scales” and “do-
Sol-me-fa's” I ust to know—
Then let loose old favorite one,
“Hunters o' Kentucky!” My!
Tel I thought the boy would die!
And we both laughed—Yes, and still
Heerd more laughin', top the hill;
Fer we'd missed Elviry's train,
And she'd lit out 'crost the fields,—
Dewdrops dancin' at her heels,
And cut up old Smoots's lane
So's to meet us. And there in
Shadder o' the chinkypin,
With a danglin' dogwood-bough
Bloomin' 'bove her—See her now!—
Sunshine sort o' flickerin' down
And a kind o' laughin' all
Round her new red parasol,
Tryin' to git at her!—well—like
I jumped out and showed 'em how—
Yes, and jes' the place to strike

1598

That-air mouth o' hern—as sweet
As the blossoms breshed her brow
Er sweet-williams round her feet—
White and blushy, too, as she
“Howdied” up to Jonas, and
Jieuked her head, and waved her hand.
“Hey!” says I, as she bounced in
The spring-wagon, reachin' back
To give me a lift, “whoop-ee!”
I-says-ee, “you're home ag'in—
Home ag'in with me!”

Lord! how wild she wuz, and glad,
Gittin' home!—and things she had
To inquire about, and talk—
Plowin', plantin' and the stock—
News o' neighberhood; and how
Wuz the Deem-girls doin' now,
Sence that-air young chicken-hawk
They was “tamin'” soared away
With their settin'-hen, one day?—
(Said she'd got Mame's postal-card
'Bout it, very day 'at she
Started home from Bethany.)
How wuz produce—eggs, and lard?—
Er wuz stores still claimin' “hard
Times,” as usual? And, says she,
Troubled-like, “How's Deedie—say?
Sence pore child e-loped away
And got back, and goin' to 'ply
Fer school-license by and by—

1599

And where's 'Lijy workin' at?
And how's ‘Aunt’ and ‘Uncle Jake’?
How wuz ‘Old Maje’—and the cat?
And wuz Marthy's baby fat
As his ‘Humpty-Dumpty’ ma?—
Sweetest thing she ever saw!—
Must run 'crost and see her, too,
Soon as she turned in and got
Supper fer us—smokin'-hot—
And the ‘dishes’ all wuz through.—”
Sich a supper! W'y, I set
There and et, and et, and et!—
Jes' et on, tel Jonas he
Pushed his chair back, laughed, and says,
“I could walk his log!” and we
All laughed then, tel 'Viry she
Lit the lamp—and I give in!—
Riz and kissed her: “Heaven bless
You!” says I—“you're home ag'in—
Same old dimple in your chin,
Same white apern,” I-says-ee,
“Same sweet girl, and good to see
As your mother ust to be,—
And I' got you home ag'in—
Home ag'in with me!”

I turns then to go on by her
Through the door—and see her eyes
Both wuz swimmin', and she tries
To say somepin'—can't—and so
Grabs and hugs and lets me go.

1600

Noticed Aunty'd made a fire
In the settin'-room and gone
Back where her p'serves wuz on
Bilin' in the kitchen. I
Went out on the porch and set,
Thinkin'-like. And by and by
Heerd Elviry, soft and low,
At the organ, kind o' go
A mi-anderin' up and down
With her fingers 'mongst the keys—
“Vacant Chair” and “Old Camp-Groun'.” ..
Dusk was moist-like, with a breeze
Lazin' round the locus' trees—
Heerd the hosses champin', and
Jonas feedin', and the hogs—
Yes, and katydids and frogs—
And a tree-toad, somers. Heerd
Also whipperwills.—My land!—
All so mournful ever'where—
Them out here, and her in there,—
'Most like 'tendin' services!
Anyway, I must 'a' jes'
Kind o' drapped asleep, I guess;
'Cause when Jonas must 'a' passed
Me, a-comin' in, I knowed
Nothin' of it—yit it seemed
Sort o' like I kind o' dreamed
'Bout him, too, a-slippin' in,
And a-watchin' back to see
Ef I wuz asleep, and then

1601

Passin' in where 'Viry wuz;
And where I declare it does
'Pear to me I heerd him say,
Wild and glad and whisperin'—
'Peared-like heerd him say, says-ee,
“Ah! I' got you home ag'in—
Home ag'in with me!”