The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-02-22
For the National Era.
SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE.
BY LYDIA A. CALDWELL.

SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE.
| BY LYDIA A. CALDWELL.
In the spring deeper crimson upon the robins
In tho spring the apwing gets himself another
| CREST
In the spring livelier iris glow. upon the FURNISHED
| dove
In the spring. young mans fancy lightly turns 10 thoughts
| OF love- TennySon.
Once it was winter A chill, frozen globe.
the earth swung on in its infinite course The
fine hbres of the twisted roots dreamed of no
| summers bloom. The.sapS were frozen in the
VEINS OF all the forest trees. 1t was as if the
world were dea!. Only the sea dashed dismally
its icy coasts, and the winds howled until the
brave mountain pines looked aghast, and threw
| up their frozen arms in the sight of Heaven
Each day the sun, sad and yelled, came forth
for little while, looking down mournfully, and
then retired; and each day he looked yet
shorter space, and, disheartened, drew back
INTO the pleasant south. Every night, too, the
moon came sorrowfully, with black and broken
clouds hurrying after her, like sad and fright
ened ghosts. But every night the moon grow
more thin and pale, and fastened with wan
despair down behind the western waters. For
| no hight of any stars, nor of sun, nor of moon,
could thaw the frost of that terrible winter
Winter wove a vast shroud, chill and dainty
white. Therein Nature wrapped herself, and
laid down, and the heavens drew over her their
black pail, and decently hid her in But one
day Spring came, like young girl fresh ava
kened from her dreams, sweet-breathed and
very beautiful. Spring came, and at his com
ing the great world laughed and rose up
straightway, and shook from it its chill grave
garments. She came; and at her coming was
repeated, in infinite and wondrous repetition,
| "a hoo utif, nj oIo oc IL ID
| For Spring smote the hills, and a thousand
brooks leaped up, singing, into the fair sun
| light-singing sweetcr songs than any human
tongue could ever learn.
| They sang, "Spring is coming, coming, COM
ing, and the deep heart of the great world
thrills at her sweet coming" And so, singing
merriy, and wondrous sweet they ran on to the
rivers in the valley, and all the way singing
the same song "Spring is coming, coming,
| coming" AS soon as ever the brooks sang
this, the fragrant mint sprang up to hear it, all
along the way. In among the willows, too,
the boughs sprouted their delicate green. All
along the valley and in about the hedges,
where no one would ever think to look the
small grass came up to hear, and from the stalk
of the sweet brier the leaves came ont and list
ened. "Spring is coming, coming, coming;
and in fair triumphal arches rise the white and
azure vapQrs up, to span his coming" So sang
they, and the white and purple clover sprang
| up at hearing it, and the wondering dandelon
buds came out and stood on tip-toe all along
the valley. Through the trunks of the great
| old oaks the saps pulsated with soft thrill,
which told Of the beautiful presence in the
land. The maple and the beechen boughs
fringed forth their delicate green with a silken
sound. The violets looked surprised, as they
sprang up among the grass; and farther
down the valley the astOnished daisies be-
gan to blow. The ivy and the virgins bower
wreathed out their coils of heightened green
| ness, and the pale fringe of the squirrel-corn
| came out. The great pines, stark and stiff as
| they had been all winter cast their cones, and
put on greener coat; and in among their
| branches there was motion and a murmur,
and then the first sweet, shrill brd-notes pierced
| the happy air.
| Then, all together, the brooks sang, Spring
is coming, coming, coming, and all the frozen
hills thaw in her smile, and all the world grows
beautiful at her sweet coming"
When this was heard through the long colon
nades of forest trees which swept maiestically
aslant the hills, there was a sound and a gentle
vibration of the branches, which were an init
nation of fairer and dearer beauty, walking
with invisible feet through their green silences,
and winning everything to itself by the sole ell
winning all things, whether they breathe or
blow. AS if loosened by the music, the sun
shine burst forth and flowed through all the
land, shaping itself into many and various
forms of loneliness.
| cannot tell whether it was the sunshine
stealing so into the hearts of men, or whether
Spring made to their souls a revelation of an
other and higher beauty than that in which
she vested the material world. / know not
how 1t was, but warmer grew mems hearts to-
| ward one another, and purcr and truer; and
tenderness, like the breath of the sweet south,
breathed over humanity; and as the mists fill
the valley and overflow the hills, so a 10y
which was born of this tenderness filled mems
hearts, and overfowed in music and sweet
words Every man clasped his brothers hand.
and they two were better and gentler hearted
Through all the land, the sweet church bells
called, Come up hither, hither, hither," and
in crowds the people went up thither, and fell
upon their faces, and blessed God for the sun
light in the world, and for the heaven-light in
their hearts. The glorious organ pealed It's
solemn Joy, and chorus of many voices went
up to Heaven.
And then it was, while the song of the brooks
was most jubilant, when new life was quick
ened in every delicate root and fibre, and when
a mystic influence brooded over the world, that
a strange anu sweet mOVeu the nearL
of every youth. Then it was, too, when the
small birds answered to each other, when the
red rose unfolded her loneliness to the south
wind, blushing yet deeper crimson in her
beautiful shame, that in the heart of every
maiden there trembled an answering thrill
and so there budded fairer flower than any
that grew upon the hills, or in any valley in the
world. Each became conscious of a divine
want, and sought vainly over all the earth, and
was still unsatisfed, until, searching thus, he
discovered, in two eyes which looked up to his,
the answer to his spirits questionings. Each
discovered in each the key to the mystery of
his own being, each answering to each, like
two notes of music, separate, yet the same
And, lol from this harmony, Love was born
Love, fairer than any other earthly birth.
Then dawned earth's fairer beauty. Richer
hues were inwoven into the purple twilight, and
cleaned through the rosy dawn, and like Wis.,
ion arose the rainbow, and spanned the hills
The stars leaned from heaven at night, and
looked with gentle meaning into human
hearts, and with a tender recognition of some
celestial sympathy. Rare scents crept up from
the earth, and infolded within every odor was
some delicate suggestion of a dear and infinite
JOY. All night, through the starry brush, the
tell-tale winds went repeating signs and words
which none but they ever heard. They wills
pered their beautiful secret to the pinetops, and
straightway every green finger was uplifted
reverently to Heaven. The leaves of the beech
and maple, and Of the smooth, willowy birch,