Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1860-11-30
The Old Pine Tree.

In late number q tie Farmets closnet puhlished
Amherst, n H. acnrrespohdent announces that the oil
pine tree which for time whereof the memory Of me
upon the summit Of Nhhtenore Hin inNew Ipswich, ha
At last succumbed and fallen, never to rise again.
To many whose chldhood homes the old tree overlooked
or who later years when rcvisiting their native tow
have sat on the stone wall by its barkless trunk an
picdred IN beauty below The news 81 its pros,raton Ia
like evil tdngs and has saruck sad chord in thei
hearts, II it had been the death Of grandathe
or great nncle.
Old age and lightning and the winds Of heaven = -
Have conquered thee at last and thou art faeni - -
Thou who hast stood alone upon she hilLtop,
with althc elements; laughed at the storm,
Dehed the tempest. struggled with decay;
Thou who hast stood faithful sentinel;
And daily watched the comings and the gongs
Ofthree whole generations of town
Spread out below thee as a panorama;
'rhouwhose erect aud solitary fbrm. EgFE7 d 90
Earn, patjent, Hardy, and unconauerabie, ~ All "
Hath cheered the eye and nerved the soul
or many fatering youth gazing upon thee
Like all the joys OF life which have their roots
Only In earth, thou too at last art fallen
The proud old hill that wore thee for plume ~-
Hath los. the badge which in the smosy distance q
Singled it out from all the other hills ~ %@ ="
County surveyors ss ntss hsish i,s towns
Shall never sightegain to thy straight trunk
~ tat their compasses; and the full moon
70 boyfsh eyes never shall rise again
Looking so wonirous large thro thy big branches.
Low clouds at morn no more shall get entanged
Among thy crooked limbs; nor the bright sunbeams
Luser e. eye nRop ih rs stately form. -,
Rest frssa isSoricas tecr Sa sS'''' - " ~
BeneashthY tsfyaxnins. Never more EY
And talk of hopes which like myself, too soon
May perish and their place be desoate.
Thy shape and figure may appear in dreams
But never more the waking eve behold thee.
F Fsas sTn hs s s. n s sss H. :.
And they shall climb the steep and rugged hill ~ 3
Aud walk In sadness where thy shadow rested, al
And shall g Here stood the Old Pine Tree =. !
Here its long branches waved hundred wears, KY
Through rain and sunshine and through heat and cold
1t looked upon the same meandering streams
The same bold hills and the modest valleys
Which greet our vision now. wachusett stood
Wstaxie aiist benisnant nearer by,
nHa sd sSs s9lspSss r y. pnnsre hill,
saasssab s'Ssf H.. e ss a'1y morn
Ana the broad eastern landscape stretched affair
Almost tn the brink Of the great ocean,
Upon all these the Old Pine Tree hath looked
But now, alas! alas IL looks no more.
Nothing Is left ofits former greatness,
N is gone-all gone!
And So, Old Tree farewell!
! cannot trust my heart its full lament
Lest strangers should rebuk- my honest grief
Too many old associations cling
Arddpd thy ever cherished memory; s1rgRE q 3
Tooansny happy years o. voath'ri up II A&2s&
AT every mention Of thy For though
Far of from native haunts I've strayed, thy shape
Is written on my recollection now,
1naelibly as are the ln.aments 49,
OF my own rn6ther: thy nfguraton
Set up againstsf,e distant clear blue sky
is az familiar TO mental
As are the seven stars Of the Great Dipper,
For thou kept watch over my boyhood years
The roadside where PLAYED the broad green lawn
When with my palm. leaf hat in hand.I chased
Great butterflies in June !; the treesL cliubesi;
The meadows where fshed; the tangled woods
Where set snares for hares and patrdges;
Aai last not least the old brick school house, where
learned the alphabet and thought myself
at once amaa of letters ;-tl,ou Old Tree rgF 4 "
looked down perpetually on All these sceres.
Then whvmis notsshed one tear forsthee?
Fareyelf!N falf who for long wears have lived
Within the circle Of thy watchful care
When they depart shall leave to history
AS brave record and pure fame
As thou hast earned, the lesson of thy life
Hath not been lpst, and thou mayest ws be named
a PUBIC i'''s f'o'of Y3 fI1h,E mi