The Project Gutenberg EBook of Watch Yourself Go By, by Al. G. Field

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Watch Yourself Go By

Author: Al. G. Field

Illustrator: Ben W. Warden

Release Date: January 15, 2007 [EBook #20375]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATCH YOURSELF GO BY ***

Produced by Jacqueline Jeremy, Suzanne Shell and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

[Illustration: AL. G. FIELD, COURT AND SCOTT]

WATCH
YOURSELF
GO BY

A BOOK BY
AL. G. FIELD

COLUMBUS, OHIO

1912

Copyrighted by Al. G. Field, 1912

Illustrated by Ben W. Warden

Introductory

WATCH YOURSELF GO BY

Just stand aside and watch yourself go by;
Think of yourself as "he" instead of "I."
Note closely, as in other men you note,
The bag-kneed trousers and the seedy coat.
Pick the flaws; find fault; forget the man is you,
And strive to make your estimate ring true;
Confront yourself and look you in the eye--
Just stand aside and watch yourself go by.

Interpret all your motives just as though
You looked on one whose aims you did not know.
Let undisguised contempt surge through you when
You see you shirk, O commonest of men!
Despise your cowardice; condemn whate'er
You note of falseness in you anywhere.
Defend not one defect that shames your eye--
Just stand aside and watch yourself go by.

And then, with eyes unveiled to what you loathe--
To sins that with sweet charity you'd clothe--
Back to your self-walled tenements you'll go
With tolerance for all who dwell below.
The faults of others then will dwarf and shrink,
Love's chain grow stronger by one mighty link--
When you, with "he" as substitute for "I,"
Have stood aside and watched yourself go by.

S. W. GILLILAND, in _Penberthy Engineer_.

"To whom will you dedicate your book?" inquired George Spahr.

Well, I hinted to my wife and Pearl that I desired to bestow that honor
upon them. They did not exactly demur, but both intimated that I had
best dedicate it to some friend in the far distance who would probabl