New Walks in Old Ways 



cushions of the swinging-seat out on 

 the porch. I have known them to 

 gather upon the moulding of a magic 

 oval mirror that hangs in the hallway 

 at the foot of the stairs; and here, 

 with just a little bit of help, they will 

 draw for you real portraits of loved 

 ones far away. 



I might sell you the place. You 

 have not wealth enough to buy my 

 phantoms; and, if you had, I could 

 not deed them to you. They are ours 

 alone, and as truly non-transferable 

 as they are intangible. You have 

 only my word for the truth of what I 

 write, but in every land, in every 

 clime, wherever human minds and 

 human hearts hold fast to all that is 

 near and dear, I will find you witnesses 

 to prove that such things be. 

 Just a little retreat in By-Way Land 

 In the edge of a burr-oak wood. 

 It is not very wide, it is not very high; 

 You may not even see it in passing by, 

 But it's there in the arms of the sheltering 



trees, 



[18] 



