A friend has objected to the title of this book
on the ground that, as many of the characters
and scenes described are to be found in almost
any coast village of the United States, the title might,
with equal fitness, be "New Jersey Ballads," or "Long
Island Ballads," or something similar.

The answer to this is, simply, that while "School-committee
Men" and "Village Oracles" are, doubtless,
pretty much alike throughout Yankeedom, the
particular specimens here dealt with were individuals
whom the author knew in his boyhood "down on the
Cape." So, "Cape Cod Ballads" it is.

The verses in this collection originally appeared in
_Harper's Weekly, The Youth's Companion, The Saturday
Evening Post, Puck, Types, The League of American
Wheelmen Bulletin_, and the publications of the American
Press Association. Thanks are due to the editors
of these periodicals for their courteous permission
to reprint.

J.C.L.




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