Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1846-09-10
Fror ne rh,lAds lpha s,tpre,, Cour-t.
THE FOOTSTEP IN THE SNOW.
4 i,g,na cfnr R,roisnoa.
lar Gtrpcf iiFrAUn1
itt etoret tirriEb J

Il was dark ani drsary night, sixty
moe years ago, ~hco IN an ancient farm
house that rr,s along yondcr shore, an old .
msn and his children he'd gathered around
thcf Christmas hearth
Il was lovely picture.
That old man, ,Nung here m the broad .
hearth IN the toll glow OF the famo-hls /
dame. a sne old mntfon by his s.dc-hs 7
children. band Of red hoped maldens,-
some with slender forms, Just trembling on \
the verge OF glrhood, Others warming and .
fusLing into the summer morn OF woman
hood And the warm glow Of tho fire was
upon the white locks Of tho poor old man,
and on the mild face Of bis wife, and the
young bloom Of those Ar daughters.
Had you, on ,ha, DARK nigbt--ior il wos
dark and eold-while The December sky
gloomcd above, and the slice, swep, over the
hills OF the Delawafe--, drawa near
tina, farm house window, and looked in upon
that Christmas hearth, and drank 10 the foil
beauty or tina, sccne-you would confess
with me that though this world has many
beautiful scenes, much ollhc strangely beau.
uiul poetry--yo there, by that hearth, cen
tired and burned that poetry, which is most
like Heaven TuE PorrRy or lloNr.
lou have all heard the story Of the con
ylcr, who stood on the GALLONS, embtuIed
IN crime - stepped TO the lips IN blood stood
there, hooking ut the preachers prayer,
knocking even the hang man When,
suddenly, with the ropo about his neck
his h, al sunk--a single, burning, scnlding
ioar rolled down his check.
Il was thinking" sad he, in a broken
voice, i was thinking Of the Christmas
lfcln
Yes, ut lha, moment, when the preacher
failed 70 warn, when even the hang.mnn
could not awc--a thought came over the
conycts heart, Of that time, when father
and his children, in a far land, gathered
round their Christmas FIRE.
That thought melted his iron heart
IL care not for your ropes and your glb.
bets" he said But now, in ,ha, far land
there, over the waters my father, my
brothers, my SISTERS, are sizing around their
Christians fire They are waiting for me-
And am hcrc-here upon the scafioId y
Is there no, deep poetry in the scene,
that could thus touch "A murdetcr's soul,
and melt II into tenrs}
And now, as the old man, his wife, his
daughters cluster around their fire, tell me,
why does that Old mans head droop slowly
down, his eyes fill, his head remble ?
All, there is one absent from that Christ
mas hearth
He is thinking oflhc abscn, one-hls
lu hn has n RI m
the farm house Tor year.
But hatk Even as the thought comes
over hun tho sicncc Of the frcslde is broken
by a faint cry faint moan, heard over
the wastes OF snow from niar.
The old man graspcd a lantern, and with
that young girl by his eide, goes out upon
that dark night
Look there, us following the sound OF thai
= moan-lhcy 60 softly over the frozen path
how the lantern flashes over their forms
over few white PAGES OF frozen snow,
while beyond all Is ddrkne"i
Sull that moan, SO !o~' so faint, so deep
toned, Quivers on the air
Something arrcsls the old mans eye
there in The snow-they bend down, he anl
his daughtes-thcy gaze upon that sight
Il tSa hNmaR JOotfter panied tn M
5nO'C, p,IHiei IN HUMAN BLOOD
Only chlId," whispers the old man, ucm
ulously, "now pray to Heaven for Wash
lagton' For by this foots,ep, stamped ii
blood Judge that his army is passing neal
this place
SttlI that moan quivers on the air
Then the old man, and the young girl
following those footsteps stained in blood
wo-,hrcc-iour-lo how the red
tokens crimson the white snow following
these bloody footsteps SO on until they
reach that rock beeling over the river
:horc
There the lautcun light flashes over TN
form OF a hall-naked man, crouchlng dowr
10 the snow-ireezing and bleeding to death
The old man looks upon that form clad II
the ragged uniform OF the Continental arm
the suffered fingers grssPIng The 6al'eFe'
nluskst
Ii was his onl7 son
lie called 10 him, the young gh kuolt
and--you may he sure there were tears II
her eyes, chafed her brothers hands-al
they were stiff and cold And when sh
y could not warm them, gathered them 10 he
young bosom. and wept her tears upon hI
. dyng lace.
ID Suddenly that brother raised his head
J he eI,ended bis hands towards the Tivet
h LOOK THAI, TATHIR'" he said 10 hi
), husky voice.
H. And bending Gown over the rock, the Of
Il man looked far over the riyer
y There under tie dafs sky, a feet Of boat
At were tossing amid p'les Of floating ICE.
'e deet o. boals bsaung saca and arms, and eI
tending in irregular .!aes from shore I
shore.
j. And the las, boat Of he feet, that boa
,d JuN leaving the western shore Of the Drl'
ware the old man saw tina, too, and saw
even through the darkness, yon tall form
half n.ufIled IN warriors CLOAK, with gre
warehouse nv hIs eide.
Wss not that strange sight TO see at dea
Of night, on a dafA rvef, under darker sly
Tie OLD man TUNED TO bis dyng ION
be- ASK tie meaning OF this mystery.