s, where the daisies blow;
Near them Dinah, and old Isham's
Dreaming of the long ago;--
Thinking of the days when Dinah
Won old Missus' heart and praise,
By her wondrous dainty cooking,
And her charming well-bred ways:--
When his own black arm was brawny--
Swift the step that now is slow--
When he stole the heart of Dinah,
In the happy long ago.
What care they for big corn shuckings?--
Negroes versed in modern lore--
"What a fool is poor old Isham
Dozing by his cabin door!"
Ah! I know why Isham's dreaming
Where the gourd-vines twine and grow;
He is living still with Dinah,
In the happy long ago!
THE OLD DRINKING GOURD
A deep alcove where clambering vine
Enfashioned wreathes of green festoon,
Where through the long, long afternoon
No ray of summer's sultry shine
E'er kissed the rustic grape-vine swing:
High up the purpling muscadine
Clung close to where the waters poured,
