Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1857-09-17
Original 4o&ttg.
For the Yorkville Enquirer.
MINNEHAHA.

For the Yorkville Enquirer.
M1NNEHAHA.
A HIAwATHIAN-MYTH.
Dedicated to her ,cho piH best understand ii.
BT aREYcowLE.
Mid the garden of my fancy.
Mid its flowers, mid its fairies,
Mid the wild creations springing
From the brain of the mad poet
Mid the realms of false Oneiros,
Mid the realms of golden phantoms,
Mid the gorgeous worlds of dreaming,
Mid the dreamer's crimson sunsets,
Mid their violet hues and purple,
Mid their palaces and turrets
Blazing in their aurean fulgence,
Mid their panoramic wonders,
Mid the cloud-laud of my slumbers,
Saw thus a glorious vision:
In forest deep and shady
Meath the leafy oaks of ages,
And the pines so dark and gloomy,
And the hemlock trees so gloomy,
Hung with moss, their tresses hoary,-
In cool outrageous valley,
In fresh and sylvan valley,
In fair and yerdant valley,
Ran stream of clearest crystal,
Ran stream of purest silver,
Ran stream all bright aud limpid,
Till it lost itself in winding
Through the oaks and pine-trees sombre.
Into it adown the valley
Fell cascade wild, fantastic,
Dashing, leaping, lisping, laughing,
As it glided bounding over
Both the rocks and little pebbles
Of the stream that bore its waters
Mid the leafy oaks and pine trees,
or the dark and shady Forest
As it fell, mist arising,
In the golden sunbeams rising,
Shone with splendour- -tints, prismatic,
Making there bow-a rainbow,
While the silvery spray-clouds floating
Down the stream amid the forest,
Took the form and semblsnce graceful
Of bright and lovely maiden,-
Ola ssrare and radiant maiden,"
OF q water-nymph or SPIRIT
In her beauty all transcending,
In her light ETHEREAL beauty,
En- the angels fair of heaven
Rising from the crystal streamlet,
Like naiad of the streamlet,
,Robedi in white, and pure and holy,
Slept she on the earth Of emerald,
On the grass, the verdurous velvet;
And beneath her feet, up-spriuging
Bloom6d flowers fragrant, beauteous-
violets and golden crocus,
Roses blushing in their dew-tears,
Meek anemones and privets,
Lilies, hyacinths, and daisies,
Decking earth as 'twere garden,
Shedding perfume rich and grateful,
Loading zephyrs with their odours.
Thus she passed and earth was bless'd,
Where she trod and where she fingered,
Where this water-spirit fingered,
Where this Aiden-angel fingered
And they called her, Minnehaha,
Named her from the falls and streamlet
Minnehaha, laughing-water,
Minnehaha, "rare aud radiant"
Born of mist, and sent by Heaven,
Sent BY Heaven as blessing
Unto all to praise and cherish,
Unto me to love and-worship!
Thus my vision, thus my fancy,
Thus tell and thus write it,
Write this bright and wondrous vision
Write this glorious, golden vision,-
Of my life the star and beacon.
OF my life the key and secret
COLUMBIA, s. c., Sept. 1857.
In December 1856, while spending my schot
alton in the old. revolutionary town Offs
c., there found all the "ladyes fayre" in
feet furorere regarding the then.recent producti
Iiawa,ha, which had been published som
e in the fall. Before my arrival, the book hi
n received, read aud re read; and in their pla
ness, one day, from the similarity Of the nan
certain one of their rnumber-Miss MINNIE =
hey had given her the appellation Of .fmnehah
IS suggested TO my muse to take advantage
poet, and perpetrate n psnddnt-ifl may
IN ito that portion of Hawai- relating
anehoha and it was accordingly commenc
ly in 1856. A year glded by, however, a
nd it still in All embryo statc-put away in
't-folio and half.forgotten. In the spring
i, again met the suhjec: of it, and inadve
tly mentioned what had proposed and par,
nmenced: whereupon she Immediately reque:
me to finish it, which after some months | la
,c. However unworthy of the public eye.
Y ne, care not; have striysn to please m
alone, and shall, perhaps, offend the lady
if so unfortunate, l hope that | have her ft
eness.