The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1855-09-05
p o { I.
The Barefoot Boy.


BY JOHN G. WHITTIER.
Blessings on thee, little man
Barefoot Boy, with check of tan
With thy turncd-up pantaloons,
And thy merry whistlcd tunes
With Thy rcd lip rcddcr still,
Kissed by Strawberries on the hill
With the sunshine on thy face,
Through thy torn brln's iaunty grace
From my heart | give thee joy
was once a barefoot boy
Prince thou art-the grown-up man
Only is republican.
Let the milion-dollarcd ride
Barefoot, trudging at his side,
Thou hast more than he can luy,
In the reach Of ear and eve
Outward sunshine, inward joy;
blessings or thee, barefoot boy
Oh for boyhoods painless play,
Sleep that wakes in laughing day;
Health that mocks the doctors rules;
fNhoh iNhENi HtN'i VI 'NhNNlHf
OF the wild bees morning chase,
OF the wild flowers time and place.
Flight of fowl and habitudc
or the tenants Of the wood,
How the tortoise bears lis she'll,
How the woodchuck digs his cell,
And the ground mole sinks lis well
How the robin feeds her young
How the orioles nest is Lung:
Where the whitcSt lilies blow,
Whcsc the freshest berries grow,
Where the ground nut trails its vine,
Who're the wood grapes clusters shinc
or the black wasp's cunning way,
Mason Of his walls Of clay,
And the architectural plans
OF grey hornet artisans -
For, eschcwiug books and tasks,
Nature answers all he asks;
Hand in hand with her lie walks,
Face TO face with her he talks,
Part and parcel Of her joy
Blessings on the bare foot boy
Oh for boyhood 5 time Of June,
Crowding years in one brief moon,
When all the things heard or saw,
Me, their master, waited for
l was rich in flowers and trees,
Humming birds and honey bees;
For my sport the squirrel played,
Piled the shouted mole his spade;
For my taste the blackberry cone
Pnrplcd over hedge and stone
Laughed the book for my delight
Through the day and through the night
Whispering at the garden wall,
Talked with me from fall to fall
Mine the sand-rimmed pickcrcl pond,
Mine the walnut slopes beyond,
Mine the bending orchard trees,
Apples of Hcsperidcs!
Still, as my horizon grew,
All the world saw or knew,
Seemed a complex Chinese toy,
Fashioned for a barefoot boy
Oh for festal daintcs spread,
Like my bowl of milk and bread,-
Pewter spoons and bowl of wood,
On the doer-stonc, grey and rudcl
Der me like regal tent,
Cloudy-ribbcd the sunset bent,
Purple-curtained, fringcd with gold,
Looped in many wind-swung fold
While for music came the play
OF the pied frogs orchestra;
And to light the noisy choir,
Lit the fy his lamp of fire.
was monarch pomp and joy
Waited on the barefoot boy
Cheerily, then, my little man,
Live and laugh as boyhood can
Though the 1nty slopes be hard,
Stubble-spread the new-mown sward,
Every morn shall lead thee through
Fresh baptisms of the dew
Every evening from thy feet
Shall the cool winds kiss the heat
All too soon these feet mnst hide
In the prison cells of pride
Lost the freedom Of the sod,
Like colts for work bcshod,
Made 10 tread the mills of toll,
Up and down in ceaseless moil-
Happy if their track be found
Never on forbidden ground
Happy if they sink not in
Quick and treacherous sand of sin.
All! that thou couldst know the joy,
Ere it passes, barefoot boy.