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[Illustration: When the shadows are long]

POEMS

Every Child Should Know

EDITED BY
Mary E. Burt

[Illustration]

THE WHAT-EVERY-CHILD-
SHOULD-KNOW-LIBRARY

Published by
DOUBLEDAY, DORAN & CO., INC., for
THE PARENTS' INSTITUTE, INC.
Publishers of "The Parents' Magazine"
9 EAST 40th STREET, NEW YORK

COPYRIGHT. 1904, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY,
N.Y.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO PUBLISHERS AND AUTHORS

It sometimes happens that there are people who do not know that authors
are protected by copyright laws. A publisher once cited to me an
instance of a teacher who innocently put forth a little volume of poems
that she loved and admired, without asking permission of any one. Her
annoyance was boundless when she found that she had no right to the
poems.

Special permission has been obtained for each copyrighted poem in this
volume, and the right to publish has been purchased of the author or
publisher, except in those cases where the author or the publisher has,
for reasons of courtesy and friendship, given the permission.

In addition to the business arrangements which have been made, we wish
to extend our thanks and acknowledgments to those firms which have so
kindly allowed us to use their material.

To HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY, of Boston, we are indebted for
the use of the following poems: From the copyrighted works of
Longfellow--"The Arrow and the Song," "A Fragment of Hiawatha's
Childhood," "The Skeleton in Armour," "The Wreck of the
_Hesperus_," "The Ship of State," "The Psalm of Life," "The
Village Blacksmith." From Whittier--"Barbara Frietchie" and "The
_Three Bells_ of Glasgow." From Emerson--"The Problem." From
Burroughs--"My Own Shall Come to Me." From Lowell--"The Finding of
the Lyre," "The Shepherd of King Admetus," and a fragment of "The
Vision of Sir Launfal," From Holmes--"The Chambered Nautilus" and
"Old Ironsides." From James T. Fields--"The Captain's Daughter."
From Bayard Taylor--"The Song in Camp," From Celia Thaxter--"The
Sandpiper." From J.T. Trowbridge--"Farm-Yard Song." From Edith M.
Thomas--"The God of Music" and Hermes' "Moly."

To CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS we are indebted for the use of the
following poems: From the copyrighted works of Eugene
Field--"Wynken Blynken, and Nod," "Krinken," and "The Duel." From
Robert Louis Stevenson--"My Shadow." From James Whitcomb Riley's
poems--"Little Orphant Annie." From the poems of Sidney
Lanier--"Barnacles" and "The Tournament." From "The Poems of
Patriotism"--"Sheridan's Ride."

We are further indebted to CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, as well as
to MR. GEORGE W. CABLE, for "The New Arrival," taken from
"The Cable Story Book," and to MRS. KATHERINE MILLER and
_Scribner's Magazine_ for "Stevenson's Birthday."

To J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY we are indebted for the use of
"Sheridan's Ride," from the complete works of T. Buchanan Read.

To HARPER & BROTHERS for the use of "Driving Home the Cows,"
by Kate Putnam Osgood.

To LITTLE, BROWN & COMPANY, of Boston, "How the Leaves Came
Down," by Susan Coolidge.

To the WHITAKER & RAY COMPANY, of San Francisco, "Columbus,"
by Joaquin Miller, from his complete works published and
copyrighted by that company.

To D. APPLETON & COMPANY for "The Planting of the Apple-Tree"
and "Robert of Lincoln," from the complete works of William Cullen
Bryant; also for "Marco Bozzaris," from the works of Fitz-Greene
Halleck.

To the MACMILLAN COMPANY for "The Forsaken Merman," by Matthew
Arnold, from the complete volume of his poems published by that
company.

To the HOWARD UNIVERSITY PRINT, Washington, D.C., for Jeremiah
Rankin's little poem, "The Babie," from "Ingleside Rhaims."

To the heirs of MARY EMILY BRADLEY for "A Chrysalis."

To HENRY HOLCOMB BENNETT for "The Flag Goes By."

PREFACE

Is this another collection of stupid poems that children cannot use?
Will they look hopelessly through this volume for poems that suit them?
Will they say despairingly, "This is too long," and "That is too hard,"
and "I don't like that because it is not interesting"?

Are there three or four pleasing poems and are all the rest put in to
fill up the book? Nay, verily! The poems in this collection are those
that children love. With the exception of seven, they are short enough
for children to commit to memory without wearying themselves or losing
interest in the poem. If one boy learns "The Overland Mail," or "The
Recruit," or "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," or "The Song in Camp," or "Old
Ironsides," or "I Have a Little Shadow," or "The Tournament," or "The
Duel," nine boys out of ten will be eager to follow him. I know because
I have tried it a dozen times. Every boy loves "Paul Revere's Ride"
(alas! I have not been able to include it), and is ambitious to learn
it, but only boys having a quick memory will persevere to the end. Shall
the slower boy be deprived of the pleasure of reading the whole poem and
getting its inspiring sentiment and learning as many stanzas as his mind
will take? No, indeed. Half of such a poem is better than none. Let the
slow boy learn and recite as many stanzas as he can and the boy of quick
memory follow him up with the rest. It does not help the slow boy's
memory to keep it down entirely or deprive it of its smaller activity
because he cannot learn the whole. Some people will invariably give the
slow child a very short poem. It is often better to divide a long poem
among the children, letting each child learn a part. The sustained
interest of a long poem is worth while. "The Merman," "The Battle of
Ivry," "Horatius at the Bridge," "Krinken," "The Skeleton in Armour,"
"The Raven" and "Herve Riel" may all profitably be learned that way.
Nevertheless, the child enjoys most the poem that is just long enough,
and there is much to be said in favour of the selection that is adapted,
in length, to the average mind; for the child hesitates in the presence
of quantity rather than in the presence of subtle thought. I make claim
for this collection that it is made up of poems that the majority of
children will learn of their own free will. There are people who believe
that in the matter of learning poetry there is no "_ought_," but this is
a false belief. There is a _duty_, even there; for every American
citizen _ought_ to know the great national songs that keep alive the
spirit of patriotism. Children should build for their future--and get,
while they are children, what only the fresh imagination of the child
can assimilate.

They should store up an untold wealth of heroic sentiment; they should
acquire the habit of carrying a literary quality in their conversation;
they should carry a heart full of the fresh and delightful associations
and memories, connected with poetry hours to brighten mature years. They
should develop their memories while they have memories to develop.

Will the boy who took every poetry hour for a whole school year to learn
"Henry of Navarre" ever regret it, or will the children who listened to
it? No. It was fresh every week and they brought fresh interest in
listening. The boy will always love it because he used to love it. There
were boys who scrambled for the right to recite "The Tournament," "The
Charge of the Light Brigade," "The Star-Spangled Banner," and so on. The
boy who was first to reach the front had the privilege. The triumph of
getting the chance to recite added to the zest of it. Will they ever
forget it?

I know Lowell's "The Finding of the Lyre." Attention, Sir Knights! See
who can learn it first as I say it to you. But I find that I have
forgotten a line of it, so you may open your books and teach it to me.
Now, I can recite every word of it. How much of it can you repeat from
memory? One boy can say it all. Nearly every child has learned the most
of it. Now, it will be easy for you to learn it alone. And Memory, the
Goddess Beautiful, will henceforth go with you to recall this happy
hour.

MARY E. BURT.

The John A. Browning School, 1904.

POEMS

CONTENTS

PART I

1. The Arrow and the Song 3
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW

2. The Babie 4
JEREMIAH EAMES RANKIN

3. Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite 4
ISAAC WATTS

4. Little Things 5
EBENEZER COBHAM BREWER

5. He Prayeth Best 5
SAMUEL T. COLERIDGE

6. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star 6
ANONYMOUS

7. Pippa 6
ROBERT BROWNING

8. The Days of the Month 7
AN OLD SONG

9. True Royalty 7
RUDYARD KIPLING

10. Playing Robinson Crusoe 8
RUDYARD KIPLING

11. My Shadow 9
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

12. Little White Lily 10
GEORGE MACDONALD

13. How the Leaves Came Down 12
SUSAN COOLIDGE

14. Willie Winkie 13
WILLIAM MILLER

15. The Owl and the Pussy-Cat 15
EDWARD LEAR

16. Wynken, Blynken, and Nod 16
EUGENE FIELD

17. The Duel 18
EUGENE FIELD

18. The Boy Who Never Told a Lie 19
ANONYMOUS

19. Love Between Brothers and Sisters 20
ISAAC WATTS

20. The Bluebell of Scotland 20
ANONYMOUS

21. If I Had But Two Little Wings 21
SAMUEL T. COLERIDGE

22. A Farewell 21
CHARLES KINGSLEY

23. Casabianca 22
FELICIA HEMANS

24. The Captain's Daughter 23
JAMES T. FIELDS

25. The Village Blacksmith 25
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW

26. Sweet and Low 27
ALFRED TENNYSON

27. The Violet 27
JANE TAYLOR

28. The Rainbow (a fragment) 28
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

29. A Visit From St. Nicholas 29
CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE

30. The Star-Spangled Banner 31
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY

31. Father William 33
LEWIS CARROLL

32. The Nightingale and the Glow-worm 34
WILLIAM COWPER

PART II

33. The Frost 39
HANNAH FLAGG GOULD

34. The Owl 40
ALFRED TENNYSON

35. Little Billee 41
WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY

36. The Butterfly and the Bee 42
WILLIAM LISLE BOWLES

37. An Incident of the French Camp 43
ROBERT BROWNING

38. Robert of Lincoln 44
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT

39. Old Grimes 47
ALBERT GORTON GREENE

40. Song of Life 48
CHARLES MACKAY

41. Fairy Song 50
JOHN KEATS

42. A Boy's Song 50
JAMES HOGG

43. Buttercups and Daisies 51
MARY HOWITT

44. The Rainbow 53
THOMAS CAMPBELL

45. Old Ironsides 53
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES

46. Little Orphant Annie 54
JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

47. O Captain! My Captain! 57
WALT WHITMAN

48. Ingratitude 58
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

49. The Ivy Green 59
CHARLES DICKENS

50. The Noble Nature 60
BEN JONSON

51. The Flying Squirrel 60
MARY E. BURT

52. Warren's Address 63
JOHN PIERPONT

53. The Song in Camp 64
BAYARD TAYLOR

54. The Bugle Song 66
ALFRED TENNYSON

55. The _Three Bells_ of Glasgow 67
JOHN G. WHITTIER

56. Sheridan's Ride 68
THOMAS BUCHANAN READ

57. The Sandpiper 71
CELIA THAXTER

58. Lady Clare 72
ALFRED TENNYSON

59. The Lord of Burleigh 75
ALFRED TENNYSON

60. Hiawatha's Childhood 79
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW

61. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud 82
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

62. John Barleycorn 83
ROBERT BURNS

63. A Life on the Ocean Wave 85
EPES SARGENT

64. The Death of the Old Year 86
ALFRED TENNYSON

65. Abou Ben Adhem 89
LEIGH HUNT

66. Farm-Yard Song 90
J.T. TROWBRIDGE

67. To a Mouse 92
ROBERT BURNS

68. To a Mountain Daisy 94
ROBERT BURNS

69. Barbara Frietchie 96
JOHN G. WHITTIER

PART III

70. Lochinvar 103
SIR WALTER SCOTT

71. Lord Ullin's Daughter 105
THOMAS CAMPBELL

72. The Charge of the Light Brigade 107
ALFRED TENNYSON

73. The Tournament 110
SIDNEY LANIER

74. The Wind and the Moon 111
GEORGE MACDONALD

75. Jesus the Carpenter 114
CATHERINE C. LIDDELL

76. Letty's Globe 115
CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER

77. A Dream 116
WILLIAM BLAKE

78. Heaven Is Not Reached at a Single Bound 117
J.G. HOLLAND

79. The Battle of Blenheim 117
ROBERT SOUTHEY

80. Fidelity 120
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

81. The Chambered Nautilus 122
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES

82. Crossing the Bar 124
ALFRED TENNYSON

83. The Overland-Mail 125
RUDYARD KIPLING

84. Gathering Song of Donald Dhu 126
SIR WALTER SCOTT

85. Marco Bozzaris 128
FITZ-GREENE HALLECK

86. The Death of Napoleon 131
ISAAC MCCLELLAN

87. How Sleep the Brave 133
WILLIAM COLLINS

88. The Flag Goes By 133
HENRY HOLCOMB BENNETT

89. Hohenlinden 134
THOMAS CAMPBELL

90. My Old Kentucky Home 136
STEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER

91. Old Folks at Home 137
STEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER

92. The Wreck of the _Hesperus_ 138
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW

93. Bannockburn 142
ROBERT BURNS

PART IV

94. The Inchcape Rock 145
ROBERT SOUTHEY

95. The Finding of the Lyre 148
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

96. A Chrysalis 149
MARY EMILY BRADLEY

97. For a' That 151
ROBERT BURNS

98. The New Arrival 152
GEORGE W. CABLE

99. The Brook 153
ALFRED TENNYSON

100. The Ballad of the _Clampherdown_ 154
RUDYARD KIPLING

101. The Destruction of Sennacherib 158
LORD BYRON

102. I Remember, I Remember 159
THOMAS HOOD

103. Driving Home the Cows 160
KATE PUTNAM OSGOOD

104. Krinken 162
EUGENE FIELD

105. Stevenson's Birthday 164
KATHERINE MILLER

106. A Modest Wit 165
SELLECK OSBORNE

107. The Legend of Bishop Hatto 166
ROBERT SOUTHEY

108. Columbus 160
JOAQUIN MILLER

109. The Shepherd of King Admetus 171
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

110. How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to 173
Aix
ROBERT BROWNING

111. The Burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna 176
C. WOLFE

112. The Eve of Waterloo 177
LORD BYRON

113. Ivry 179
THOMAS B. MACAULAY

114. The Glove and the Lions 184
LEIGH HUNT

115. The Well of St. Keyne 186
ROBERT SOUTHEY

116. The Nautilus and the Ammonite 188
ANONYMOUS

117. The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk 190
WILLIAM COWPER

118. The Homes of England 192
FELICIA HEMANS

119. Horatius at the Bridge 193
THOMAS B. MACAULAY

120. The Planting of the Apple-Tree 211
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT

PART V

121. June 217
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

122. A Psalm of Life 218
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW

123. Barnacles 219
SIDNEY LANIER

124. A Happy Life 220
SIR HENRY WOTTON

125. Home, Sweet Home 220
JOHN HOWARD PAYNE

126. From Casa Guidi Windows 222
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

127. Woodman, Spare That Tree! 222
GEORGE POPE MORRIS

128. Abide With Me 223
HENRY FRANCIS LYTE

129. Lead, Kindly Light 224
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN

130. The Last Rose of Summer 225
THOMAS MOORE

131. Annie Laurie 226
WILLIAM DOUGLAS

132. The Ship of State 227
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW

133. America 228
SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH

134. The Landing of the Pilgrims 229
FELICIA HEMANS

135. The Lotos-Eaters 231
ALFRED TENNYSON

136. Moly 233
EDITH M. THOMAS

137. Cupid Drowned 234
LEIGH HUNT

138. Cupid Stung 234
THOMAS MOORE

139. Cupid and My Campasbe 235
JOHN LYLY

140. A Ballad for a Boy 236
ANONYMOUS

141. The Skeleton in Armour 240
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW

142. The _Revenge_ 246
ALFRED TENNYSON

143. Sir Galahad 253
ALFRED TENNYSON

144. A Name in the Sand 256
HANNAH FLAGG GOULD

PART VI

145. The Voice of Spring 259
FELICIA HEMANS

146. The Forsaken Merman 260
MATTHEW ARNOLD

147. The Banks o' Doon 265
ROBERT BURNS

148. The Light of Other Days 266
THOMAS MOORE

149. My Own Shall Come to Me 267
JOHN BURROUGHS

150. Ode to a Skylark 268
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

151. The Sands of Dee 271
CHARLES KINGSLEY

152. A Wish 272
SAMUEL ROGERS

153. Lucy 272
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

154. Solitude 273
ALEXANDER POPE

155. John Anderson 274
ROBERT BURNS

156. The God of Music 275
EDITH M. THOMAS

157. A Musical Instrument 275
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

158. The Brides of Enderby 277
JEAN INGELOW

159. The Lye 283
SIR WALTER RALEIGH

160. L'Envoi 285
RUDYARD KIPLING

161. Contentment 286
EDWARD DYER

162. The Harp That Once Through Tara's Halls 287
THOMAS MOORE

163. The Old Oaken Bucket 288
SAMUEL WOODWORTH

164. The Raven 289
EDGAR ALLAN POE

165. Arnold von Winkleried 296
JAMES MONTGOMERY

166. Life, I Know Not What Thou Art 299
A.L. BARBAULD

167. Mercy 300
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

168. Polonius' Advice 301
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

169. A Fragment from "Julius Caesar" 301
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

170. The Skylark 302
THOMAS HOGG

171. The Choir Invisible 303
GEORGE ELIOT

172. The World Is Too Much With Us 304
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

173. On His Blindness 304
JOHN MILTON

174. She Was a Phantom of Delight 305
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

175. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard 306
THOMAS GRAY

176. Rabbi Ben Ezra 312
ROBERT BROWNING

177. Prospice 320
ROBERT BROWNING

178. Recessional 321
RUDYARD KIPLING

179. Ozymandias of Egypt 322
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

180. Mortality 323
WILLIAM KNOX

181. On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer 326
JOHN KEATS

182. Herve Riel 326
ROBERT BROWNING

183. The Problem 333
RALPH WALDO EMERSON

184. To America 335
ALFRED AUSTIN

185. The English Flag 337
RUDYARD KIPLING

186. The Man With the Hoe 342
EDWIN MARKHAM

187. Song of Myself 344
WALT WHITMAN

Index 350

INDEX OF AUTHORS

ANONYMOUS
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, 6
The Days of the Month, 7
The Boy who Never Told a Lie, 19
The Bluebell of Scotland, 20
The Nautilus and the Ammonite, 188
A Ballad for a Boy, 236
ARNOLD, MATTHEW
The Forsaken Merman, 260
AUSTIN, ALFRED
To America, 335

BARBAULD, A.L.
Life, I Know Not What Thou Art, 299
BENNETT, HENRY HOLCOMB
The Flag Goes By, 133
BLAKE, WILLIAM
A Dream, 116
BOWLES, WILLIAM LISLE
The Butterfly and the Bee, 42
BRADLEY, MARY EMILY
A Chrysalis, 149
BREWER, EBENEZER COBHAM
Little Things, 5
BROWNING, ELIZABETH BARRETT
From Casa Guidi Windows, 222
A Musical Instrument, 275
BROWNING, ROBERT
Pippa, 6
An Incident of the French Camp, 43
How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix, 173
Rabbi Ben Ezra, 312
Prospice, 320
Herve Riel, 326
BRYANT, WILLIAM CULLEN
Robert of Lincoln, 44
The Planting of the Apple Tree, 211
BURNS, ROBERT
John Barleycorn, 83
To a Mouse, 92
To a Mountain Daisy, 94
Bannockburn, 142
For a' That, 151
The Banks o' Doon, 265
John Anderson, 274
BURROUGHS, JOHN
My Own Shall Come to Me, 267
BURT, MARY E.
The Flying Squirrel, 60
BYRON, LORD
The Destruction of Sennacherib, 158
The Eve of Waterloo, 177

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