Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1869-05-22

OutCasts and Fallen.
"BEAUTFUL SNOW" "


We do not know who wrote the following ntroduc-
' CArisfian at Work
How many Thousands have let their tears
fall over these beautiful lines as the touching
pathos called into recollection their sad story
of other and similar victims to mans wanton
cruelty In point Of smooth versifcation,
easy flowing rhythm, through which Is almost
heard the plaintve wall of woman's ruined
honor, our knowledge of English literature
brings to mind no single poem of such thrill
ing sentiment as this.
We have seen an article floating the rounds
of the press. purporting to give the authorship
of this remarkable effort; but the writer of the
statement, who INDUCED his inspiration "amid
the cool breezcs of Lake Erie" seems really to
know nothing about the true history. The
writer gives Miss Dora SHAW, an actress and
author of "Out in the RAIN" the credit and
honor of this poem. This is mistake. Dora
Shaw has written some pleasant lines, but her
brain never flashed that sparkling gem, "The
Beautiful Snow"
In the early part of the war, one dark Sat
urday morning in the dead of winter, there
|
young woman over whose head only two
and-twenty summers had passed. She bad
once been possessed Of an enviabe share of
beauty-had been, as she herself says, "fiat-
tered and sought for the charms of her face" !"
but alasl upon her fair brow had long been
written that terrible word-Drostitute! Once
the pride OF respectable parentage, her first
wrong step was the small beginning of the
same old story over again" which has been
the only life-history of thousands Highly
educated and accomplished in manners, she
might have shone in the best society. But
the evil hour that proved her rum was but the
door from childhood; having spent young
life in disgrace and shame, the poor friendless
one died the melancholy death Of a broken
hearted outcast
Among her personal effects was found in
manuscript "The Beautiful Snow" which was
immt diately carried to ENos B. REED, gentle
man of culture and literary tastes, who was
at that time editor of the NdtScnH Union. In
the columns of that paper, on the morning OF
the day following the girls death, the poem
appeared i'll print for the first time. When
the paper containing the poem came out on
Sunday morning, the body of the victim had
not vet received burial. The attention OF
THOMAS BUCHANAN REED, one OF the frs
American poets, was directed to the newly
published lines, who was so taken with then
stirring pathos that he Immediately followed
the corpse to its final rcsting-placc.
Such are the plain facts concerning hel
whose Beautiful Snow" will long be regarded
as one Of the brightest gems in American
literature.
Oh the snow, the beautiful snow,
Filling the sky and the earth below!
: Over the house-t0ps, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet
Dancing,
Swimming along;
Beautiful snow it can do no wrong
Flying to kiss a fair lady's check,
Clinging to lips in a froicsOme freak
Beautiful snow from the Heaven above,
Pure as an angel, gentle as love
on the snow, the beautiful snow!
How the flakes gather and laugh as they go!
Whiripg about in their maddening fun,
1t plays in its glee with every one
Chasing,
Laughing,
--.... Hurrying byl
1t lights on the face and it sparklts the eye,
And the dogs, with bark and q bound,
Snap at the crystals that eddy around
The town is alive and its heart in glow,
To welcome the coming of beautiful snow!
II How wild the crowd goes Swaying along,
!: Hailing each other with humor and song!
+. How gay the sledges, like mcteors flash by,
Bright for a moment, then lost to the eye!
3 Ringing,
, Swinging,
Dancing they go,
y Over the crust of the beautiful snow;
!. Snow so pure, when it falls from the sky,
y To be trampled in mud by the crowd rushin
by
l. To be trampled and tracked by the thousand
of feet.
s. Till it blends with the filth in the horribl
street.
n Once was pure as the snow--but l fell
h Fell like the snow flakes from heaven to hel
d Fell to be trampled as filth in the street,
j. Fell to bo scoffed 10 be spit on and beat;
W Pleading,
Dreuding to die,
D. Selling my soul to whoever would buy;
J, Dealing in shame for morsel of bread,
4 Hating the living and fearing the dead;
N :; Mercilul God have fallen so low?
" And vet was once like the beautiful snow.
Once was fair as the beautiful snow,
<. With an eye like its crystal, heart like i
" glow,
Of Flattered and sought for the charms of M
IN face!
al al Father,
Sister, all
o, God and myself I've lost by my fall;
The veriest wretch that goes shivering by,
On Will make u wide swoop, lest wander tC
nigh:
n For ali that is on or about me, know
r. There is nothing SO pure as the beautiful sno'
on 80
How strange it should be that the beautif
- snow
1r, Should fall on sinner with nowhere to go !
nd How strange it would be, when the mig
at comes again,
If the snow and the ice strike my dcspera
at brain,
4 Painting,
no Freezing
az Dying-alone;
es Toe wicked for prayer, too weak for my mo-
To be heard in the streets of the crazy tow
=. Gone mad in the Joy of the snow coming dow
ew To lie and to die in my terrible woe,
for With bed and shroud of the beautiful sno
on
for