The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1874-01-27
" BEAUTIFUL SNOW
puBLIsHEp BY REQUEST.

II has been pronounced So the finest
American poem ever written" and has
been attributed to quite number of au-
thors, among others Major Sigourney the
author of "My Beautiful Child" and Miss
Dora Shaw.
The origin and publication of this beau
tiful poem, is as follows:
"In the early part of the late Rebellion,
on a dark Saturday morning, in the dead
of winter there died at the Commercial
Hospital in Cincinnati, young woman
over whose head ouly two and twenty sum-
mers had passed. She had once been
possessed of an enviable share of beauty,
and had been, as she herself says, "flat-
tered and sought for the charms of her
face," but alas upon her fair brow had
long been written that terrible word
prostitute ! 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 ruin now was but the
door from childhood and having spent
young life in disgrace and shame, the poor
friendless one died the melancholy death of
the broken-hearted outcast.
Among her personal effects was found
the 4" Beautiful Snos0" in manuscript
which was carried, Immediately to Enos
B. Reed, gentleman of culture and lit
erary tastes who was at that time, editor
of the National Union. In that paper ON
the morning of the following day, the girls
death and the poem appeared for the first
time in print. When the paper containing
the poem come out on Sunday morning the
body of the poor victim had not yet re-
ceived burial. The attention Of Thomas
Buchanan Reed, one of the first of our
American poets was soon directed to the
newly published lines, who was so taken
with their stirring pathOs that he imme
diately proceeded to the hospital from
whence he followed the corpse to its final
resting place.
Query: On the hypothesis that the
manuscript without signature was found
in her possession and that it appeared
for the first time in the National Union,
how can the several aspirants claim the
honor of its production. Let them rise
and explain.
Below we publish the exquisite poem.
The Beautiful Snow.
!
o the snow, the beautiful snow
Filling the sky and earth below
Over the house-tops, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet,
Dancing,
Flirting,
Skimming along,
Beautiful snow 1t can do no wrong;
Flying to kiss fair lady's cheek,
Clinging to lips in frolicsome freak,
Beautiful snow from the heaven above,
Pure as the angel, but tickle as love
the snow, the beautiful snow
How the fakes gather and laugh as they gol
Whirling about in their maddening fun,
They play in their glee with every one.
Chasing,
Laughing,
Hurrying by,
1t lights on the face and it sparkles the eye;
And even the dogs, with bark and 4
bound,
Snap at the crystals that eddy around;
The town is alive and It's heart in a glow,
To welcome the comm G of beautiful snow
How the wild crowd goes swayIng along,
Hailing each other with humor and song
How the gay sledges, like meteors, flash by,
Bright for a moment, then lost to the eye
Ringing,
p Swinging
Dashing they go,
Over the crust of the beautiful snow;
Snow SO pure when 1t falls from the sky,
To be tramPled in mud by the crowd rush
ing by;
To be trampled and tracked by the thousands
of feet,
Till 1t blends with the filth in the horrible
street.
Once was pure as the snow-but fell
Fell, like the snow flakes, from heaven to
hell 3f
Fell to be trampled as filth in the street
Fell to be scofed, to be spit on and beat
! Pleading,
Cursing,
Dreading to die,
Selling my soul to whoever will buys
Dealing In shame for a morsel Of bread,
Hating the living and fearing the dead
Merclful God have fallen so low
And yet was once like the beautiful snow.
! Once I was fair aa the baautiful snow