several of the poems are noted as having been written
> while Tay served in the 20th US infantry in the Philippines. Unfortunately,
> none deal with the war directly and are mostly concerned with the scenery of
> the U.S. en route to Manila, the majesty of the Pacific, or the local
> color of Manila.

First edition. A late example of a sweet singer of the local-doggerel variety, here in a presentation copy inscribed in ink to local worthies, "Presented: -- by the author, To Mr. & Mrs. Wayne C. Townley. Sept. 22nd, 1936." Amateur poems from a Central Illinois man who was evidently involved in the annual (and still ongoing) Bloomington Passion Play; a number of his verses celebrate recent productions and the local figures involved. He also writes with some feeling about the prairie, his service in the Spanish-American War, and at times looses his poetic inspiration on such figures as the Milk Man: "So as we travel our path in life, / And each one his part does play; / With the milk-man must be no strife, / For from his work he does not stray." A little worn; cloth a trifle damp-spotted; a very good copy. OCLC notes two locations, each local to the poet.