The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1858-09-08
Bable Bell.

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BY THOMAS BAILEY ALpRICH-
Have you not heard the poet tell
How came the dainty Baby Bell
Into this world Of ours2
The gates of Heaven were left aiar;
With folded hands and dreamy eyer
Wandering out from Paradise
She saw this planet, Ikea star.
Flung in the purple depths Of even
Its bridges, running to and fro, +,
Der which the white winged angels gos
Bearing the holy dead to Heayenl
She touched bridge of fiowers-those feet,
So light, they did not bend the bells
OF the.celestial asphodels
They fell like dew upon the flowers nv
And all the air grew strangely sweet. !
And thus came dainty Babie Bell I 4
Into this world Of oursl
She came, and brought delicious Nav.
The swallows built beneath the caves
Like sunlight, in and. out the leaves,
The robins went the livelong day.
The lily swung its noiseless bell,
And DER the porch the trembling vine
Seemed bursting with its veins Of wine
o, earth was full Of pleasant smell, H.
When came the dainty baby Bell
Into this world of ours >
o, baby, dainty baby Bell
How fair she grew, from day to day!
What woman,s nature filled her eyes,
What poetry within them lay
Those deep and tender twilight eyes,
So full Of meaning, pure and bright, +
As she yet stood in the light
Of those ope'd gates of Paradisel
And we loved babie more and more,
o, never in our hearts before,
Such holy love was born;
We felt we had link between
This real world, and that unseen
The land beyond the morn!
And for the love Of those dear eyes,
For love of her whom God led forth
The mothers being ceased on earth,
When babe came from Paradise!
For love of Him who smote our lives,
And woke the chords ofioy and pain
We said, Sweet Christ-opr hearts bert 30
Like violets after rain
And now the orchards, which were once
All white and rosy in their bloom
Filling the crystal heart Of air
With gentle pulses Of perfume,
Were rich in Autumn's mellow prime
The plums were globes of honied vine
The soft-cheek'd peaches blushtand fell,
The grapes were purp'ling in the grange;
And Time wrought Just as rich change
In little baby Bell.
Her tiny form more perfect grew,
And in her features We could trace,
In softened curves, the mothers fnce.
Her angel nature ripened too; #
We thought her lovely, when she cames
But she was holy, sanity now;
Around her pale and lofty brow
We saw slender ring offiamel
Sometimes she said few strange words .
Whose meaning lay beyond our reach;
Gods hand had ta'en away the seal 1
Which held the portals of her speech,
She never was a child to us;
We never held her beings key +.
We could not teach her holy things:
She was Christ's self in purity.
It came upon us by degrees; I !
We saw its shadow ere it FELL
The knowledge that our God had sent
His messenger for babie Bell!
We shuddered with unlanguaged pain,'
And all our thoughts ran into tears,
And all our hopes were changed to fe:rs,
The sunshine into dismal raint
Aloud we cried in our belief
q, 8mite us gently, gently, Cod
Teach us to bend and kiss the rod,
And perfect grow, through grief
All, how we loved her, God can tell
Her little heart was cased in ours
They're broken caskets-baby Bell!
At laat he came, the messenger,
The messenger from unseen lands;
And what did dainty baby Bell?
She enly crossed her little hands,
She eHly looked more meek and fair
We parted back her silken hair
VI lid some buds upon her brow
Deaths bride arrayed in fowersl
And thus went dainty baby Bell
Out of this world Of ours!