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Tales of a Wayside Inn

Tales of a Wayside Inn is a collection of poems by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The book, published in 1863, depicts a group of people at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts as each tells a story in the form of a poem.

“Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing,
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness;
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tales of a Wayside Inn

Pt. III, The Theologian's Tale: Elizabeth, sec. IV.
Source: Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863-1874)

“All things come round to him who will but wait.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tales of a Wayside Inn

Pt. I, The Student's Tale.
Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863-1874)

“Stronger than steel is the sword of the Spirit;
Swifter than arrows, the light of the truth;
Greater than anger is love that subdueth.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tales of a Wayside Inn

The Nun of Nidaros, st. 9.
Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863-1874)

“Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tales of a Wayside Inn

Pt. I, The Landlord's Tale: Paul Revere's Ride, st. 1.
Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863-1874)

“And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tales of a Wayside Inn

Pt. I, The Landlord's Tale: Paul Revere's Ride, st. 8.
Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863-1874)

“One, if by land, and two, if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm
For the country folk to be up and to arm.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tales of a Wayside Inn

Pt. I, The Landlord's Tale: Paul Revere's Ride, st. 2.
Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863-1874)

“And suddenly through the drifting brume
The blare of the horns began to ring.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tales of a Wayside Inn

King Olaf's War-Horns, st. 2.
Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863-1874)

“His form was ponderous, and his step was slow;
There never was so wise a man before;
He seemed the incarnate "Well, I told you so!"”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tales of a Wayside Inn

Pt. I, The Poet's Tale: The Birds of Killingworth, st. 9.
Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863-1874)

“A town that boasts inhabitants like me
Can have no lack of good society.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tales of a Wayside Inn

Pt. I, The Poet's Tale: The Birds of Killingworth.
Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863-1874)

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