Explore "Bewildering Emotions" by James Whitcomb Riley on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
The merriment that followed was subdued -- / As though the story-teller's attitude / Were dual, in a sense, appealing quite / As much to sorrow as to mere delight, / According, haply, to the listener's bent / Either of sad or merry temperament. -- / "And of your two appeals I much prefer / The pathos," said "The Noted Traveler," -- / "For should I live to twice my present years, / I know I could not quite forget the tears / That child-eyes bleed, the little palms nailed wide, / And quivering soul and body crucified.
But, bless 'em! there are no such children here / To-night, thank God! -- Come here to me, my dear!"