human
Can you continue this poem for me?
  Dear Friends of our youth, should you happen to look
At the curious things in this curious book,
And should you, with quizzical countenance, ask
The how and the why of our curious task--
We could truly reply
To the query of "why--"
To the smile on your lip, and your questioning eye,
That the work was begun
In a spirit of fun,
To amuse when the work of the daylight was done;
And continued, because we believed it would be
Amusement to such as were weary as we
To drift for awhile among goblins and elves,
Or haply make shadows and rhymes for themselves.
For though years have passed since we drifted apart,
We're all of us more or less children at heart.
And maybe yourselves and the youngsters 't will please
To dwell for an hour with such creatures as these.
Now, some one has said, in a moment of spleen,
We cannot make pictures of what we've not seen;
But such an assertion deserves only scorn,
For the shape of the Gobolink never was born.
He comes like the marvelous mimes of our dreams,
When one has been supping on salads and creams,
And curious changes of vision take place--
The horse may appear with an elephant face--
The goat with a cane, and the goose with a hat--
Six legs on the dog, and two tails on the cat;
We never can tell, though we're sorely perplexed,
What shape will be shown us, or what will come next;
And these are the things that our Gobolinks do--
Dear friends, and dear children, we give them to you.
In fact the most unexpected and startling results will often
Persons of all ages may obtain amusement out of Gobolinks, or
Shadow-Pictures, as they are also called.
The following is a very good method for playing the game:
specified in the beginning.
The three judges then in office now select one of the company as
separately. Pictures should be signed or otherwise identified.
No game could be more productive of amusement than Gobolink.
Jack-o-my-Goblin
Red Riding-Hood's Wolf
Sheet-and-Pillow Party
What-is-it
Frontier Coat-of-Arms
T' other and Which
A jolly little major of the drum,
Behind him all the shadow people come,
As he bravely leads the way
For the Gobolink array
With a bearing most important, and his uniform so gay;
Oh, it's very plain to see that he's the hero of the day,
This jolly little major of the drum.
In the mists of Shadowland.
They ran against each other,
And came quickly to a stand.
"And who are you?" said Something One.
And Something Two, said he,
"That's just the very question that
At once occurred to me."
These boys have just returned from school,
And now forget their troubles--
They both are sitting on a stool,
And blowing crooked bubbles.
A terrible creature of Ink-bottle Land,
A Jack-o-my-goblin is he.
The sea-urchins made him to place on the sand,
And frighten the monsters that dwell on the land.
They took a sea-pumpkin and carved it by hand,
And lighted it up in their glee
With a phosphorus fish from the sea;
Now all the day long on the shore doth he stand,
While Land-loodles terrified flee,
The terrified Land-loodles flee.
These chicks have been out in all weathers,
They have little to show but pin-feathers;
But their friendship is strong,
And they sing us a song
Regardless of wherefores or whethers.
These chickens long debated
On a costume for a ball,
And became so much elated
That they didn't go at all.
The saucy chicks which here you see
assistant
Sure, a continuation for this poem could be:
  Know neither wrong nor right--
They can't be good like you and me,
Who sometimes really do agree--
So all day long they fight.
How gaily flits the Butterfly
Across the seas of clover.
How blue the arching summer sky
That hangs the country over.
On wings of purple, brown, and gold
He drifts across the meadow.
His harmless flight you may behold
This is little Dipsey Doodle,
Sometimes called the great Kioodle.
This is Dipsey Doodle's brother--
They have ears like one another.
Two Widgelums went for a walk one day
By the shores of a shimmering sea;
And one of them said to the other, "I pray,
Now what's your opinion of me?"
Then the Widgelum looked at his widgelous mate:
"My charming companion," said he,
"The things that I think I am loath to relate,
You look so exactly like me."
Here is a curious mask--
I don't know of whom or of what--
I've never had courage to ask;
A saint's I am sure it is not.
Two rival Woojums did declare
That they must surely sever,
But lo! that day, they found that they
Were better friends than ever.
Oh, this is the wolf that Red Riding-hood found
When she came to her grandmother's bed,
Her ears were so long and her eyes big and round,
While her voice had a strange and a terrible sound
When she answered what Riding-hood said,
For alas, the grandmother was dead.
And Little Red Riding-hood sprang with a bound
Through the doorway and hastily fled,
In terror she hastily fled.
Witches, witches in a tree,
Brew your broth of mystery.
Snail and toad and lizard in it--
Tail of cat and tongue of linnet,
Rabbit's foot and wing of bee--
Witches, witches, none for me.
Two little Gobolinks one day
Were sent to do the dishes,
Instead of which they ran away
And fished for shadow-fishes.
They fished and fished and fished and fished,
And but a leaf they caught, O,
And then they wished and wished and wished
They'd done the thing they ought to.
So, by and by they homeward crept
With plumage drooping sadly,
And there they bowed their heads and wept
Because they felt so badly.
Two beautiful sponges one day
Joined hands with a haughty sting-ray,
And away danced the three
Through the depths of the sea
In a most irresponsible way.
These ducks have voices sweet to hear,
And frequently before us
They stretch their mouths from ear to ear,
And sing to us in chorus.
Upon the quivering wire,
As hearkening to a lyre,
The sparrows gather at the break of day.
Perhaps that vibrant string
Is tuned that they may sing
An anthem to the glories of the May.
Here are two pairs of funny beasts,
I hardly know their habits--
Perhaps they may be elephants--
Perhaps they may be rabbits.
In conversation they appear
Withdrawn from one another,
As if attempting to decide
What name to give the other.
Two shadow-colts one summer night did try
To dance a jig because the moon was high:
But the moon obscured its face,
For she thought 't was a disgrace.
While the little stars were laughing in the sky.
Many creatures such as these,
Ere the dawn of history,
On the land, and in the seas
Manufactured mystery.
Mystery for mighty men
Who, like Doctor Dry-bone
Bring them into form again
From a scale or thigh-bone.
Oh, the polly-wog waltzes with wonderful grace,
And he skates with a radiant smile on his face,
Has the curve, I declare,
Of some beautiful creature's of Thrace.
There lives an old god in the isles of the West,
And a wonderful god is he,
With a star on his brow, and a star on his breast,
While at left and at right,
In their armor drest,
A dragon and knight
On his shoulders rest,
And he dwells in the great South Sea.
These squirrels have paused to consider
The fact that 't is late in the fall,
And time to lay nuts up for winter
If they would have any at all.
The red squirrel hoards like a miser,
But, alas, the improvident gray,
He's only a pauper of winter
Who scampers the summer away.
Adown the beach at Rockaway,
Three bathers one hot summer day
Retired to while the hours away.
Their minds were free, their hearts were light.
The August sun was fierce and bright,
They dived and swam from morn till night.
This little fellow misbehaved,
And gave the people shocks,
Until at last they were compelled
To put him in the stocks.
A Thingamy-bob
Got out of a job,
And went to consult with his brother:
Said his brother to him,
"Your chances are slim
Unless you go hunt up another."
A very gay fellow was he--
As gay as a mortal could be.
And he fluttered about
Till at last he turned out
A Butterfly man, as you see.
Two little snails did smile and smile,
The summer day beguiling.
Two birds espied them from afar,
And now the birds are smiling.
A king and a queen in a grotto
Are kissing as kings and queens ought to
If you'll look you will find
Two attendants behind,--
"To watch and to guard," is their motto.
Two kangaroos upon a pole
Were talking softly to each other.
One whispered: "Dear, upon the whole,
I think you'd better ask my mother."
A gargoyle here you see.
I've heard it said that he
Was found in France
By strangest chance--
But what is that to me?
I only know that we
An imp of ink;
And so I think
He's ours, as you'll agree.
These four little two-horned elves
Are seated on coraline shelves.
The spot where they be
Is down under the sea,
And they've got the whole reef to themselves.
Here are two Wriggles from Wriggelum-town--
Their legs are sky-blue and their bodies are brown;
Their tails are a wonderful changeable hue;
I don't care to have them for playmates, do you?
A soldierly fellow is he,
With swords as erect as can be.
His attendants are queer,
And so small, they appear
To barely reach up to his knee.
Jesters from the courts of kings
Tell their secret whisperings.
Just a fleeting moment, then
They must hurry back again.
Ever making monarchs gay,
Happy-hearted jesters they.
A jolly old octopus lived in the sea,
With a hey-diddle hi-diddle dum;
And the funniest sort of a fellow was he,
This jolly old octopus under the sea,
With a mouth where the top of his head ought to be,
To swallow the divers that come--
This jolly old octopus under the sea,
With a hey-diddle hi-diddle dum.
Two pious little nymphs are kneeling here--
Two double-headed ostriches above them;
And on their backs two gallant knights appear--
Perhaps they'll see the little nymphs and love them.
The shadow-rack stands in the Shadow-man's hall;
It holds shadow-canes and umbrellas, and all
The various things that the Gobolinks use
When they go for a walk to get rid of the blues.
These are some insects that dwell in the grass
And nip at the gobolinks' toes as they pass.
Their legs are uneven, their bodies are queer.
Their habits are very uncertain, I fear.
Two foxes stole two geese one night,
When the air was warm and the moon was bright:
One started west--one started east--
Their hearts intent on a glorious feast.
But alas! for the things that we hope to do!
A funny old man, with pistols two,
Came running out, where the moon was bright,
And they dropped their plunder and took to flight.
There was a little Polliwog--
His name was Taddy Pole.
He lived within a little bog,
Beside a crawfish hole.
And all the day did Taddy play
Around a sunken log,
Until he lost his tail one day,
And then he was a frog.
Oh, here are two doves in a bower,
Or a wonderful arabesque flower;
Or a nobby design
For a sweet valentine;
Or, reversed, 't is a beast with a glower.
Tins is the mirror the gobolinks use
To do up their tresses in style if they choose.
To do up their tresses,
And look at their dresses,
And maybe to button their shoes.
Here are two maids of the wind
Whose dresses are strangely designed.
They appear to be made
Without buttons or braid,
And fastened together behind.
The pugilistic craze is such
That e'en the gobolinks absorb it.
These pictures don't amount to much,
But they were made for Fitz and Corbett.
Oh, here's to the poet that sings
The song of the gobolink kings
Who left silhouettes
With their kindest regrets,
And other quite wonderful things.
These are the steeds that the gobolinks use;
They love them and pet them and never abuse.
Their backs are not pleasant to sit on, they say,
So they ride them erect in the hippodrome way.
This is a damsel who dresses in style.
Her name is Miss Fannie Magruder De Lisle.
She loves to look pretty--as most of us do--
That's why she's so stylish, and dignified, too.
These are the irons with which Fannie crimps
Her fair auburn tresses whenever she primps.
She curls and arranges her locks with great care,
Because she is proud of her radiant hair.
Gay harlequins dancing--beribboned are they
And carry two poles in the air;
That rest on their heads in a curious way,
And top of each pole is a bear,
I declare,
A wonderful, long-tailed bear.
An old guitar once broke its strings,
And all the musical notes took wings;
They harried away to lands afar.
But two of them stayed with the old guitar.
Very polite colly-wobbles are these--
They hang by their feet to the branches of trees,
While a hand they extend
To a wobbledy friend,
And often they say, "If you please."
Two Indian warriors got frightened one day,
And fled from the midst of alarms;
And later they met in a curious way,
Each bearing a goat in his arms.
Two funny old three-legged gnomes
Came out of their shadowy domes:
They made their salute
With a hand and a foot,
And then hurried back to their homes.
A pillow-case party the Gobolinks gave,
And it proved a right merry carouse:
But I'm sure you'd have laughed at their attitudes grave
As they made their ridiculous bows.
Here are two scraggle-de-racks
With moss on their beautiful backs--
The sort that you'll find
On such of mankind
As fail to keep up with the facts.
There was an old man of high feather,
Who said, "I can't really tell whether
I'm a man or a mouse,
Or the roof of a house,
So much may depend on the weather."
Within the caverns of the sea
Two Water-weedles stay.
Their hearts are happy as can be,
Within the caverns of the sea
They sing and frolic in their glee
Throughout the livelong day.
Within the caverns of the sea
Two water-weedles stay.
Two piggies went to market
All on a market day,
But when the butcher caught them
They wished they'd stayed away.
"Oh, Piggy-wiggy, fare you well,
Our ribs will soon be spare."
And they quickly ran away,
And now they don't go there.
Pray tell us, if you please,
What sort of things are these:
A shadow-ghost has captured them,
And holds them fast with ease.
Here are two Golly-pops
Looking for lollypops
Such as grow under the sea.
Their ways are ambitious,
Their faces are vicious.
I'm glad they're not looking for me.
Two divers, one sweet summer day,
Went down into the ocean,
They saw the fishes all at play,
The sea-flowers all in motion.
They danced a jig and sang a song,
And gathered water-roses,
When, lo, two lobsters came along,
And bit them on their toeses.
This is the harp of which nobody sings--
Where is the keyboard and where are the strings?
The strings are undone and the keys thrown away,
For this is the harp on which shadow-folk play.
Two little maids just home from school
Have been so long asunder--
They first embrace, then face to face
They stand and look and wonder.
Very funny creatures these--
Can't tell what they are.
Men or birds or beasts or bees--
Very funny creatures these--
Turn them either way you please--
View them near or far.
Very funny creatures these--
Can't tell what they are.
These are designs of heraldry
That shadow-folk affect,
Though some are no less shadowy
Than those that men select.
For many men have bought a crest
Although they come quite dear,
And such of those as can't invest
May find an emblem here.
This is a crest
That came out of the West,
For the family was founded
Where hunters abounded,
So the head of a deer
And two hunters appear.
This is the head of an elk, as you see.
His horns are as tall as a sycamore tree.
They are strangely designed,
And I think you will find
He has horns where his ears ought to be.
Ink-bottle imps turn up their noses
When they meet each other:
And the reason, I suppose, is--
Can't tell which from t' other.
And here we have a lot of things
Defying nomenclature.
The bones of Gobolinks are they,
Revealing in the cathode ray
Their anatomic nature.
Cathode fairy,
Light and airy,
Sunny weather,
Two together,
Caring nothing why or whether
Flesh or blood or bone or feather
Shows on such a summer day
'Neath the Cathode's magic ray.
The beetles gave a party,
And all their friends were there.
The welcome was so hearty
To join the beetles' party,
Came flying through the air.
Oh, the beetles gave a party,
And all their friends were there.
A Lady queen of Beetle-land--
Attendants small on either hand.
They walk or fly with equal skill--
They fetch and carry at her will.
I'm glad, I'm sure, that we have seen
The beetles and their lady queen.
This is a beetle that came from Metuchen--
The plan of his house is likewise his escutcheon.
Oh, a marvelous mind has the old beetle king,
And he rules in a marvelous way;
For he rolls up his eyes and commences to sing
When his subjects go glittering by on the wing;
And 'tis said that his notes have a powerful ring
When he chants at the breaking of day--
They say--
His anthem at breaking of day.
The head of a Gobolink tiger--
With smellers arranged as you see
He used to reside on the Niger;
But now he is living with me.
Most Shadow-people are polite.
And bow whene'er they meet;
For us to do the same is right,
At home or in the street.
There were some old ladies of Dundee
Who did all their washing on Mondee.
Then they shook out their clothes
Till they dried, I suppose,
To have them all ready for Sundee.
Two lobsters and two sea-horses
One day came out of the wet;
They heard a mermaid sing her song,
And danced a minuet.
Ridiculous mollusks are we,
And dwell in the depths of the sea.
Our bodies are jelly,
And we haven't a belly
In the place where our bellies should be.
Within the garden of the sea
Are gems of beauty rare--
The Star-wort and Anemone
And Ocean pinks are there.
Oh, these are dainty things indeed
The Mermaids keep in store;
But fairer still, to me, the weed
That decks the ocean's floor.
Whatever flower of earth we win,
Howe'er so fair it be,
'T will not surpass those weeds within
The garden of the sea.
There was a gay Gobolink known as Maginnis,
But now he is dead and we use him for Finis;
Or, if you prefer to pronounce it Fin-nee,
We'll say that this Gobolink's name was Magee.