The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1869-10-13
Tlle South agDr5terll,
SHREVEPORT:
WEDNESDAY. ......
OCTOBER 10, 1869.


WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 10, 1856
Editors South Western:
A portion of the following poem has been going til
rounds Of the press for several years, and has bee
generally credited to fallen woman that died in Gil
cinnati. Such, however, is not the case. The write
knows the author and the circumstances under whic
it written. William A. Sigourney, nephew
the late Mrs L. r. Sigournev, the poetess compose
it on the death of his wife She was young lady {
great beauty, wealth and accomplishments when h
married her. and belonged to of the best familie
in New York. They married in 1850 and de
parted at once for Europe, where they remained tw
years. Before they came back it rumored tina
she was inconstan: and their return it became s
notorious that her parents drove her out of the hous
and would not suffer her to She then grew
perfectly reckless and plunged into all sorts of vic
and dissipation, and became one of the wors
prostitutes the streets. Mr.. Sgourney, who
kindhearted christian man, did all in his power to in
duce her to quit her course of sin. He had elegan
home, and when her father and mother, brother
and sisters all had refused to forgive her.
her, he cluug TO her with singular consancy ard de
votion. Time and again she sent to Jail and thu
workbouse aud often would he pay her fines ant
get her In 1853 she went back to his house ant
promised to be different woman. For few months
she kept her word but one day in December of tina
year, she of her old companions in sin she
had plenty of money, and the entire party became
beastly drunk, and the following morning her heart
broken husband found her lying dead in White street
covered with snow He had her tenderly buried ID
Greenwood cemetery and the only mourner at her
funeral The following is the entire poem as he orig
naly wrote it, and he the real author of it. know
whereof speak: NJ.
Shreveport, L. Oct. 4, 1869.
,s<#asz 8 Beautiful Snow.
Beautiful snow beautiful snow!
Falling so lightly,
&E Daily and nightly, &%&
Alike round the dwellings Of the lofty and low:
Cheerily dancing 5*g-I
Stirred with the spirit that comes with the snow,
Beautiful snow beautiful snow
Up at day dawning,
In the cold morning
Children exult, though the winds iercely blow,
Hang the snow fakes,
Falling day breaks
Joyful they welcome the beautiful snow.
Beautifulsnow beautiful snow
Childhoods quick glances
See the bright tances
Decking the window panes softly and slow
Forest and city,
Figure pretty .-. .~.--
Left by the magical fngres of snow
Beautiful snow! beautiful snow!
Atmosphere chilling,
Carriage wheels sitting
Warming the cold earth, and kindling the glow
Of Christian pity,
For the great city
OF wretched creatures who starre mid the snow
Beautiful snow! beautiful snowl
Fierce winds blowing
Thickly tits showing:
Night gathers round us--how warm then the glow
OF the fire so bright,
On the cold winter night,
Aswe draw in the curtains to shut out the snow
Beautiful snow! beautiful snow
Round the dear freside
In the sweet eventide,
Closely we gather, though keen the winds blow;
Safely defended,
Kindly befriended,
Pity the homeless, exposed to the snow
Beautiful snow beautiful snow
Filling the sky and the earth below
Over the house tops, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet,
Dancing. flirting and skimming along;
Peautlfu snow it can never do wrong
Flying to kiss the fair lady's cheek
Clnglng to lips in frolicscme freak
Beautiful snow from the heaven above,
Pure as an angel, gentle as love!
Beautiful snow beautiful snow!
How Hoy the fakes gather and laugh as they go
Whirng about in their maddening fun;
1t plays in its gee with every one
Chasing laugling-hurrying by;
flights on the face and it sparkes the eye,
And the troicsome dogs with bark and a bound
Snap at the crystal that eddy around
The town is alive and its heart is aglow
10 welcome the coming of the beautiful snow.
How the wild crowd goes swaying along,
Hailing each other with humGr and song!
How the gay seighs, like meteors flash by,
Bright for the moment, then lost to the eyel
Ringing, swinging, dancing they go
Over the crest of the beautiful snow
Snow pure, when it falls from the sky
To be tramped in mud by the crowd passing by
TO be tramped and tracked by thousands Of feet.
Till blends with the filth ofthe horrible street.
Once she was as pure as the snow, but she fell!
Fell like the snow flakes from heaven to hell;
Fell to be trampled as filth in the street;
Fell TO be scofed at, spit on and beat;
Pleading and misunderstanding to die;
Selling her soul to whoever would buy;
Dealing in shame for morsel of bread
Hating the living and fearing the dead
Mercifu God has she fallen so low?
And yet she was once like the beautiful snow!
Once she was fair as the beautiful snow,
With an eye like its crystal a heart like its glow:
Fiattered and sought for the charms of her face!
Father and mother, brother, sister and all
God and herself, she lost by her fall :
The rllest wretch that goes shivering by,
Makes wide swoop, lest she wander too nigh ;
For all there was on or about her, she knew
There was nothing so pure as the beautiful snow :
How strange it is that the beautiful snow i
Should fall on sinner with nowhere to go!
Strange 1t would be- when the night comes again
Ii the snow and the ice strike her desperate brain
Painting and freezing-dying alone \
Too wicked for prayer, too weak for moan j
TO be heard in the streets of the busting town /
Gone mad in the joy Of the coming down. \
10 lie there and die in her terrible woe, !
With her bed and her shroud of the beautiful snow
December, 1853. #-..