| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | January 18 | | To Austin Dobson | | By Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909) |
| | (Born Jan. 18, 1840)
LAUREATE of the Gentle Heart! | |
| Only art like your art, | |
| Limpid, gracious, happy-phrased, | |
| Could praise you as you should be praised, | |
| Many a lyric you have writ, | 5 |
| Grave with pathos, gay with wit, | |
| Or conceived in larger mood, | |
| Shall outlast the clattering brood | |
| That usurp our noisy day; | |
| Shall, that all that’s noble, stay | 10 |
| In our well-loved English tongue | |
| Till the ending song is sung; | |
| For no purer tone was heard | |
| Since men sought Beauty and the Word. | | | | |
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