The weekly American banner. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1855-18??, 1856-01-04
[Republished by request,
BABIE BELL.
BY T. B. ALDRIcH.

She saw this planet ike star,
Hung in the depths of purple even-
lis bridges running to and fro, 81
0'er which the whte-wnged seraphs go,
Bearing the holy dead to Heaven!
She touched a bridge of howers--those feet,
So light they did not bend tAs bslis
OF the celestial asphodels!
They fell like dew uponthe fowers
Aud all the air grew strongly sweet!
And thus came dainty babie Bell
into this world of ours
She came and brought delicious Mayl
The eswallows built beneath the caves;
Like sdnbeams in and out of leaves,
The robins went the live long day;
The lily swung its noiseless bell:
And DER the porch tie trembling vine
Seemed bursting with its veins of wine
0, earth was full of pleasant smell,
When came the dainty babie Bell
Into this world of oursl
Obabie, dainty babie Bell,
How fair she grew from day to day;
What woman nature filed her eyes,
Whatpoetry within them lay!
These deep and tender twilight eyes,
So full Of meaning, pure and blight,
AZ If she yet stood in the light
9ae 0ped gates of Paradise!
f7&1 baby more and more
e. keafts before
We felt we h. : between
This real world and that unseens
| The land of deathless morn!
| And for the love of those dear eyes,
For love of her whom G cd led forth
The mothers being ceased on earth
When babie came from Paradise!
For love of him who smote our lives
And woke the chords of joy and pain,
We SAID, sweet Christ-our hearts bent down
| Like violets after rain.
| And now the orchards which were once
| 8 All white and rosy in their bloom
Filling the crystal heart Of air
/ With gentle pulses of perfume,
! Were thick with yellow, juicy fruit;
/ The plums were globes Of honey rare, 8
The soft-cheetsad peaches blushed and felh
/ Tie grapes were purphng in the grange,
i Aud time wrou ght just as rich a change
/ In little Babie Bell
Her petit form more perfect grew,
.l And ia her features we could trace.
). Insofter curves her mothers face;
Her angel nature ripened too.
, We thought her lovely when she came,
But she was holy, sanity now,
Around her pale and lofty brow
We thought we saw ring of fame.
Sometimes she said few strange words
Whose meaning lay beyond our reach,
$ Gods hand had ia en- away the seal
I Which held the portals of her speech,
She never was child to us;
= We never held her beings key!
We could not teach her holy things,
:, She was Christ's itself in purity.
n tcania upon US by degrees,
= We saw its shadow ere it fell,
re THE knowledge that our God hath sent
Is His messenger for Babie Bell
II We shuddered with unlanguaged pain,
IS And all cur thoughts rar into tears,
to Aud ali our hopes are changed to fears
The sunshine into dismal rain.
70 Aloud we cried IN our belief;
Id O, srnite us gently, gently God!
m Teach us to bend and kiss the rod,
Ii And perfect grow through grief"
as All, how we lovei her God can tell;
lliHer little heart was cased in ours
re-. They're broken caskets >babie Bell
ul Atlast he came the messenger
h The messenger from unseen lands
nd And what. did dainty Babie Bells
i'd She only crossed her little hands,
10 She looked more meek ard fair!
of We parted back her silken hair;
IL We laid some buds upon her brow,
en- a nd thus went dainty Babie Ben,
1r, Dat OF this worldsof ours.