The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1869-10-02
Beautiful Snow.

herself saws, hattered and sought for the |
charms of her face: but alasi upon her fair |
brow had long been written tn It terrible |
word. prostitntei Once the pride ofrespeet. |
able parentage, her first wrong step was the !
small beginning ofthe "salne old story over |
again" which has been the only life history
Of thousands Highly educated and accom- |
plished in manners, she might have shone in
the best society. But the evil hour that
proved her ruin was but the door from child.
hood; having spent Young life in disgrace
and shame, the poor friendless one died the
melancholy death Of a broken-hearted out.
cast
Among her personal effects was found in
manuscript the Beautiful Snow" which
was immediately carried to EnOs A. Reed, a
gentleman OF culture and literary tastes tho
was at thar time editor of the National Tn.
ion. In the columns Of that paper, on the
morning Of the day following the girls death,
the poem appeared in print for the first
time. When the paper containing the poem
came out on Sunday morning, the body of
the victim had not yet received burial The
attention of Thomas Buchanan Reed, one of
the first American poets, was directed to the
newly published lines, who was 80 taken with
their stirring pathos that he Immediately
followed the corpse to its final resting piace.
Such are the plain facts concerning her
whose Beautiful Snow will long be re-
garded as one ofthe brightest gems in Ameri
can literature.l
OH the snow, the beautiful snow,
Filling the sky and the earth belowl
Over the house tops, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet,
Dancing;
Flirting,
Swimming along
Beautiful snow it can do no wrong;
FLYING TO kiss a fair ladys cheek
Chnging to lips III a frolicksome freak,
Beautiful snow from the heaven above,
Pure as an angel, gentle as love.
OH the snow, the beautiful snow!
How the fakes gather and laugh as they go!
Whirling about in their maddening fun,
Itplays IN its glee with every one,
Chasing,
Laughing,
Hurrying By;
1t lights on the face and it sparkles the eye,
And the dogs, with bark and bound,
Snap at the crystals that eddy around
The town is alive and its heart aglow,
Tc welcome the coming OF beautiful snowi
How Wild the crowd goes swaying along,
Hailing each other with humor and song!
How the gay sledges like meteors flash by,
Bright for the moment, then lost to the eye!
Ringing,
Swinging,
Dancing they go,
Over the crust Of the beautiful snow;
Snow so pure, when it falls from the sky,
TO be trampled in the mud by the crowd
rushing by,
To be tranpied and tracked by the thousands
of feet.
TIL it blends with the filth in the horrible
street.
Once was pure as the snow--but fell!
Fell like the snow-hakes from heaven to hell
Fell to be trampled as filth III the street,
Fell to be seotfed to be spit on and beat;
Pleading,
Cursing,
Dreading to die,
Selling my soul to whoever would buy,
Dealing IN shame for q morSel Of bread,
Hating the living and fearing the dead
Mercitul God! have fallen so low?
And yet was once like the beautiful snow
Once ] was fair as the beautiful snow,
With an eye like its crystal, q heart like it
glow;
Flattered and sought for the charms Of m.
facet
Father,
Mother,
Sister, all,
goa ana myself I've lost by my fall
Ihe veriest wretch that goes shivering by
VIII make wide swoop, lest wander to-
nigh;
For all that is on or about me- know
There is nothing as pure as the beautiful
How strange it should be that the beautiful
snow
Should fall on a sinner with nowhere to gC
How strange it would be when night come
again
If the snow and the ice strike my desperat
brair,
Painting,
Freezing,
Dying-alone,
Too wicked for prayer, too weak for N
moan
Iobe heard in the street of the crazy towr
Gone mad in the joy of the snow comin
down:
10 lie and to die in my terrible woe,
Witha bed and o shroud of the beautifu
snow.
Shoes that will compare fla