The Portland daily press., 1872-11-09
POETRY.
Rp.,utifuI Snow,


In the early part of the late war, one dark
Saturday morning in the dead OF winter,
there died at the Commercial Hospital III
Cincinnati young woman twenty-five years
of age She was very beautiful and had once
been as she saws, ''fattered and sought Tor
the charms of her face but alas upon her
fair brow had long been written That terrible
word ''fallen."
Among her personal effects was found in
manuscript the Beautiful Snow" which was
at once recognized as literary gem.
OH the snow, the beautiful snow
Filling the sky and earth below,
over the housetops, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet;
Dancng-Flirting Swimming along,
Beautiful snow! it can do no wrong:
Fying to kiss a fair laty's cheek,
Clineing to lips in frolicsome freak:
Beautiful snow from Heaven above,
Pure as an angel gentle as love!
Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow,
How the fakes gather and laugh as they CO.
Whirling about in maddening fun!
1t plays in il glee with every one
Chasing-Laughng- Hurryng by.
1t lights on the face, and it spalkles the eye'
And the dogs, with bark and bound,
Snap at the CRYSTALS as they eddy around
The town is alive and its heart Is aIgow
To welcome the coming of beautiful snow!
How wild the crowd Oes sWaylDS aiohs,
Hailing oh other with humor anu song,
How the CAV sleighs like meteors Hash by,
Bright f, r the moment, then lost to the eye;
Rlngng-Swingng-Da they go
Over the crust of tie beautiful snow;
snow so pure when it falls from the sky,
10 be trampled and tracked by thousands OF feet
Till II blends with the filth in the horrible street,
Once was pure as the snow, but fell,
Fell like the snow fakes from heaven to hell;
Fell to be trampled as filth on the street.
Fell to be scofed, to be spit on and beat;
misunderstanding to die,
Selling my soul to whoever would buy:
Dealing in shame for morsel OF bread,
Hating the living and fearing the dead.
Mercifu God, have fallen so low?
And yet was once like the beautiful snow
Once was fair as the beautiful snow,
With an eye like crystal heart like its glow;
Once was loved for my innocent grace
Flattered and sought for the charms Of my face.
Observation-Disclosures, ALL
God and myself | have lost by my fall?
The veriest wretch that goes shivering by
Will make a wide sweep lest l wander too nigh,
For all that is on or above me know,
There is nothing 80 pure as the beautiful snow.
How strange it should be that this beautiful snow
Should fall on sinner with nowhere to go!
How strange it should be when the night comes
If the snow and the ice struck my desperate BRAIN
Flinting-Freezing- alone,
Too wicked for prayer, too weak for a moan
To be heard in the streets OF the brazen town
Gone mad in the joy of the snow coming down;
To be and to die in my terrible woe,
With bed and shroud of beautiful snow.
Helpless and foul as the trampled snow,
Sinner, despair not! Christ stoopeth low
To rescue the sanl that is lost in sin,
And raise it to life and enjoyment again.
Grooming Bleeding-Dying for thee,
The crucified hung on the cursed tree!
His accents of mercy fall soft on thine ear,
SIS there mercy for me! Will he heed my weak
prayer?"
o God in ths stream that for sinners did flow
Wash me, and shall be whittier than snow.