Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1853-03-03

For the Freeman
WINTER.
BY WALTER WILD WOOD

,r;s cha .eamp of Winter. Al bnary and gray,
Are the mountains. that soar up alatt To the SKY,
And the spruces and heml cks attire IN n"fk gree"
Th... old giants WIN. bearded with frost, ever stand,
Patiently stand, with tibet, arms heavy laden with
The cold slert Of III cloud.
Dre.r and cold are these mount ins. And nooday is like
The dull twilight If eve, indistinct IN its light.
And The winds which are weeping the hemlocks so old,
As the, wall So di.cunsoaIe the dirges of Sping,
Like the harpers of old, sad aud prophetic remind
Us OF beauty depar led, and Summer that's gone.
This is Winter. And woodlands and fnrests Of beech,
And If maple, are desh tie gone Is the leaf,
Save the faded snd blnnched, which are sp ,ringly lef,
But TO Hnttrr aud sigh in the wind. Aud the dower
That so wantonly grew in the woodl md in spring,
Has departed Away i, the w%ooihine, the bath
And the spring beauty viuletS, roses, and all
The fair train have decayed us the Frost King arrived.
And the meadows where grasses were waving, and fields
Where the maize and the wheat in the harvest were slean,d
In the vesture If Winter are clad. The cold wind
Sweeps along the highways and hedges, and piles
OF the bleachen snow. flake interrupt rs We pass.
Tired aad W, AIRY, the itaveI'r plois Ia his home,
Or o'eraken at night, on his perilous way,
His dear home, and his babes, he fotgets as he sleeps.
The duh rive, Il, at winds on SO limpid and clear
Through the valley the elm tree md willow doth shade,
is encased by the frost and the icicle hangs
On the willow the rime on the elm tree aud drear
Is the bluff and the crag clad in hoRr frost that stand
As the sentinels Neptune has placed by the wave,
And the tount, in the mountains aud valleys. The wood
By the pond and the lakes have n costume of white,
Aud a foliage OF silver fantastieally wove
Into garlands and claplels. quaint frescoes and spars.
1t is Winner. The murmuring brooks, and the groves
That were vocal with birds, now are silent, or wall
But a dirge, as the wind sweeps remo's' less the boughs,
Where the leafet Is wIthered, the twig lone and bare.
Gone the bird, and the brook by the frost is fast sealed,
And the %pabbing and warhling together hath left us.
And the pastures 30 fresh where the kline and the lamb
In the Summer were grazing, are swept by the gale,
And the norhers are whinins the snow fakes nlot
In the ali. and the sheep and the kline to the barn
Have coll, cted where turner's in Summer have stored
The herdsgrass and tn clover TO wintt their f"cks.
And the orchards that Autumn saw red with the fruit
Of the peach, and the apple and plum, are all nude.
The ripe fui. 10 long gathered, aud the leaves are sown
BY the wind, far, far over the mt adj WIS. nor long
Did they nestle before the cold sleet swept Ger Them,
And they lie meath the shrond that he winter has made.
This is Winter, and dreary and cold is the hearth
Where the embers are smoking upon the hearth stone
of the widow who t, es her last stick IN The coal,
And knows not where the next will be borrowed or bonght
It IL cold in the hovtl wherr famine and want
ntC tN hiu'N ubt tNh'y ''' ''S ~--
And the aged, around the dull fire as it serthes, t
As il smokes the green wood on the lrarth-stnne avail
1t is cold in the cottage where whistles the wind
Through the crevice-and open by windows aud doors,
The Ice-Rine makes his entry aud bearded and grey,
Makes familiar acquaintance by hearth side aud fire.
And how feeble the ray in the socket If life,
Where existence hut fickers 81 faint and so DIM,
Aud the temples are whine with the winter of age.
Blows N. wind in the grave yard, where j. walls a lon'
dirge
Of the bcfied and dead. How remorSeless the grave
Fast encluses the clay of the faded aud gone!
How disconsulale the brerz- and the zephy d tn sigh,
And The blasts If the North moan aloud round the tomb!
BIl the dead undisturbed in their gri lives sleep, sleep on,
MIR the sleet which Is f,ing DER sods Of the vile,
Nor the grass that il waiting On turf DER IN, If heads,
Can nbate Of the siumbcr whirh hit hes the grave.
1t is v inter, ami foweie are gone aud the buds
Aad the leaves d the forest are faded and How'll
And the song Of he cuckoo, the n,te If the thrush,
Are uDheard. Yes, the iwitter Of martins, the cry
or the %catbird, The MARBLE If hue brd., Inc clIirp
Of the pr,unibird, the sh lex Of The king i,l,er, and
The sweet robin gay ~ruundeiay is heard "a more.
All the beauty If Spring lnd the verlnrt of June,
All tue riss,tof Autumn in f,rcst aud field
Have depart ID. rne icicit htngs On the twig,
And tie boar frost with mantle envelopes the woods,
And afar on the mountuns his white cap is seen.
Wide, wide over he meadows the snow in the wind
is fast d'iven-nnl chill comes the breath from the realm
Where the glaciers and iceberss build ici;Ie homes.
All! while greeting ou' fretldes, our wives. and our babes
Let u. think of the many who perish by cold
And the man, half clad N their tatterrd old rags,
Who have neiih-r u ~firesidr, MIR friends in their need,
This is winter The emblem of death aud decay!
As the long nights 81 gloom'll pass, and thr days
With such heetness depart, it is well tn survey
Our life chart, aud t." know what our lot in The land
Where our fathers and muthers are 6 m tho DARK LAND !
And as winter Games stealing o, over our locks,
And our temples grow h"ary and gray, and The brow
And the cheek all be wrinkled aud wan, may we wrap
Our night vesture a,ound us, and 60 IL our rest
As becomes him who goes 10 sweet slceu AN A Ia dreams.