The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-10-18
A Queer Old Preacher and His
Queer Book,

A correspondent of the Springfield
Republican writes from New Hamp-
shire:
Not many years ago, a preacher,
whom the Elder Randall" but those
who are less devout dub as odd Tom
Randall went to the top of Mount
Chocorua, with q party, and while
there was seized with a poetic spasm
"a malady which often Unframed him
to utterance-and there composed and
sang a hymn, with such devout unc-
ton that the sonorous words rolled
along the crags and down the gorges
and were heard in the adjacent valleys
several miles distant. 1 have heard
many queer stories about this pious
old cove, who went the way OF all
flesh two years ago, aged ninety. In
1888 he published a book For the
enlightenment and Salvation of the
Rising Generations entitled, The
Farmers meditations ; or, Shepherds
Songs q volume of poems the preface
informs us, which cannot fail to please
both the aged and the youth. and lead
the candid reader 10 admire the pro-
auctions of the Etonian farmers I'M
polished pen.' The book did amuse
and at one time vas very popular
Some of the old folks even nov be-
lieve his hymns to be the incarnation
of sanity grace and poetic beauty. L
think many of the verses were spun
out to the time and rhythm of a spin
ming wheel or the clack of an old
fashioned loom. He reels off fifty
seven verses, giving a description of
a horse, with an account of Alexander
and Bonaparte,' which commences
thus:
God of wisdom and of might,
1 view thy wonders with delight;
Each insect thou completely drew,
And fowl that wings the airy blue
This is the best of the fifty-seven
verses. In fourteen verses concerning
the subtle merchant he cries.
Here Jane and Sue, and Bet and
He e your n and pence to
take
He indites fourteen verses to his alb:
sent daughter, which may not be call
ed exactly Byronic. He says:
'My child, you've left Etonian hills,
The purling streams and gurgling
rills;
In Haverhill you now reside,
Hard by the seas old rolling tide
He gives her lots of advice, and tells
her about the people who 'ip crowds
do throng the street with glossy shoes
upon their feet He gives his view
of man from his origin to the close OF
life, beginning:
MAN is an active lump of clay,
His point, q space; his time a days
Sprung from the earth, his ancient
root
A lively twig or active shoot
He rehearses from youth to old age,
and then
The eyes grow dim, the grinders
cease;
The voice untuned, for lack of teeths
The lettering knee, the feeble hand,
For lack of strength, they lose COM
nand.
The bowels are all out of tune;
The breath it gives a poor perfume;
fhe head once crowned with golden
locks
Requires the wool of fieecy focks.'
And so on. He writes sixteen
verses about The OK Analysing its
services and the various designs of its
body. This is the funniest of all
tells us in the Introductory remark
that he has penned his little book ito
improve the beauties of the mind and
:hopes none will expell it from his
door, until he's read its pages GER
In the closing, and one hundred and
eigth poem, he dedicates the book to
his Heavenly Father and asks:
Keep itsafe, through squally wealth
Free from every soul look
He thinks the critic, who's annul-
Ter, (this rhymes. with COLOR best to
let his book alone and so WI obey.
is like the orator who misquoted
the poets lines, this wise: There's &
divinity which rough-hews u ends
L.ao tbor nc ua moyp