A poem by Alice Cary

Found in “Heart Throbs, The Old Scrapbook” – published in 1905

Nobility

True worth is in being, not seeming;
In doing, each day that goes by,
Some little good–not in the dreaming
Of great things to do by and by.
For whatever men say in blindness,
And spite of the fancies of youth,
There’s nothing so kingly as kindness,
And nothing so royal as truth.

We get back our mete as we measure;
We cannot do wrong and feel right;
Nor can we give pain and gain pleasure,
For justice avenges each slight.
The air for the wing of the sparrow,
The bush for the robin and wren,
But always the path that is narrow
And straight for the children of men.

We cannot make bargains for blisses,
Nor catch them like fishes in nets,
And sometimes the thing our life misses
Helps more that the thing which it gets.
For good lieth not in pursing,
Nor gaining of great nor of small;
But just in the doing–and doing
As we would be done by, is all.

Through envy, through malice, through hating
Against the world early and late,
No jot of our courage abating,
Our part is to work and to wait.
And slight is the stick of his trouble
Whose winnings are less than his worth;
For he who is honest is noble,
Whatever his fortunes or birth.

A little more about the poem and its author:

Though the book where I found this poem was published in 1905, it seems this poem was written quite a bit earlier (~1849). Alice Cary, its author, was born on April 26th 1820 and died February 12th 1871.

A little more about the book, from it’s forward, by Joe Chapple:

“In the NATIONAL MAGAZINE for September 1904, the following announcement was first published: ‘I WILL GIVE $10,000 FOR HEART THROBS.’ I am Editing the NATIONAL MAGAZINE for what Lincoln loved to call us, ‘The plain people of America.’ President McKinley told me I could do it, and the magazine has been a success beyond all expectations…What I want is real heart throbs–those things that make us all kin; those things that endure–the classics of our own lives. Send me a clipping, a story, an anecdote, or a selection that as touched your heart. It is in the American homes that I am searching for the literature that endures, those things that touch and pulsate wit the best and noblest emotions and sentiment…Wholesome good cheer, humor, comfort, hope–those things that make dark days endurable and sunny days enduring….Heart throbs–yes, heart throbs of happiness, heart throbs of courage, heart throbs that make us feel better.”

How did the prize money get doled out? According to the book’s forwards, “to the ten persons sending in the best clippings, I will give each one A PILE OF SILVER DOLLARS AS HIGH AS EACH SUCCESSFUL CONTESTANT. That is, if you secure one of the first ten awards, and measure six feet high, or four feet five, I will send by express as many silver dollars as will measure your exact height, one silver dollar placed flat upon the other.”

The copy that I found at the Goodwill Outlet in Greenwood, IN yesterday was inscribed “A Happy Birthday, Doris from Grandma Stowe, Nov. 8th 1917.”