, 1879-01-19
THE HOUSE ON THE HILL

WuEu luEt 44A pd1ns UIL HClt uOG.
THE HOUSE ON THE HILL
Poem read BY Eugene j. Hall at the Reunion Of
tAt :. sons Of Vermont" at the Grand Pacific
Hotel, Friday erenina, Jan. IT, 1871
From the weather~worn house Oh tie brow OF the
We are dwelling afar, in our manhood. to-day;
But we see the old gables ana ho1lyhocks still,
As they looked long ago. ere we wandered away;
We can sec the tai! well~sweep that stands BY the
And the sunshine that CLEANS On the old oaken
floor.
We can ssss hesr the low hum of the hard d-w0rktns
At their toll in our fathers old orchard, once
D1ore,
In the broad, trembling tops Of the bright bloom
As they busily gather their sweet Winters store;
And the murnuring brock, the delightful old horn,
And the cawing black crows that are pulling tho
We can hear the sharp creak Of the fasm-Gate
And he loud, eackltng hens in the gray barn near
With is brosd. saggng floor, and its scatolds of
And It's rafters that once seemed to reach to the
We behold the great beaus' aud the bottom1ess
Where ,hc farm-boys once joyful1y jumped on the
hay
We can see the low hog-pen, Just over the vny.
and the long ruined shed, By the side OF the
Where the s1eds in the Summer were hidden away
And the wagons and plows in the winter were
And the cidcr~niIl, down in The hollow below.
With o long, crcaking sweep, the old horse used
Where We learned, by the homely old tub long
What world Of sweet rapture there was in q
From the cider-casks there, loosely lying aronnd,
More leaked from, the nung-ho}es than dripped on
the ground
We behold the bleak hi}1sides, still bristing with
Where the mountain streams nurmured with
musical sound,
Where we hunted and hsheo, where re chased the
With lazy old house dog or loud bsyine hound;
And the cold, cherries woods we delighted to
For lie shy, whirrins partridge, in snow to our
Where, with neck yoke and pals, in the old sugar
We gathered the sap from the tall maple trees;
And the fields where our plo"a danced furious
JIG. ....,
Where we stumbled and bounced o'ef oon'oe's 60
That It took twenty oxen to draw them away.
Where we sowcd. where we hoed. where we Graded
Where We scattered the swsths that were heavy
with dew,
Where We tambled, we pitched, and behind the tall
The broken old bull-1akc reluctantly drew.
How We graeped the old shccp*kin with feeling of
As We stradd,ed the back OF the old sorrel mare.
And rode up and down through the green rows OF
Like Din on clothes line that sways in the air.
We can hear o1r stern fathers :eproving US still.
AS the careless old creature "coines Gown On
We are far from The home OF our boyhood o-day.
In Tic battle Of lite we arc struggling alone
The weather. worn farm house has .onc TO decay,
But Fancy yet brings, on her bright golden wings,
Her beautiful pictures again from the past,
And Memory fend!y and tcnderly cings ,.
To pleasures and pastinaes too lovely 10 last.
We sit in tho school, room, o'erhowine With fun,
We whisper, VIC play, and VIC scampcr away
When our lessons are learned and The speIllne 1s
We sec tic old cellar where apples we're kent,
The garret where all the old rubbish was 1hro"n'
The lor1cly old kitchen. the broad hearth OF
Where apples were roasted in many row,
Wbere our grandmotbers nodded and kult long ago
Our rraudnlothers long have rcposed IN the tomoi
With strong. healthy race they have peopled the
land: .o,,.. - +ho
Nor Iazily brought up their babies by hand.
The old flint lock musket. whose awful recoll
Made MANY Nimrod with agony cry+
Once hung on the chimney, part OF the spot
Our gallant old erandfathers captured at III.
Brave men were our Grandiathers' sturdy and
The kinSs OF the forest they p'ucked from their
They were stern in their virtues, they hated all
And 1hey fought for the right With their hearts
and their hands.
Down, down from the li1lsides they swept in their
And n6 from the valleys they went on their way.
To fight and to fall upon Hubbardton's g height,
To struggle and conquer in Denn1nrtons ray
Oh! fresh be their memory, cherished tae 500
That long has grown green 0 ef tlelf sacted H.
And graterll on: hearts to generous God
For the blood md the spirit that ho"s in our
Our Aliens, our Starks, and our Warmers arc gone,
Eut t,ur green crested mountains still stand III
The souls Of our bcroes are get marching on.
The structure they founded shall never decay.
From the weather worn house on the brow Of the
We are dwelling arar. in our manhood. to-day;
But We see the did gables and holl yhocks STILL
AZ they looked when we left them to wander
But the dear ones we loved in the sweet long ago
In the old village church yard sleep under the
snow.
Farewell to the friends Of our bright boyhood days,
To the beautiful yh!cs once delightful to roam.
To the fathers, the mothers. now gone from our
From Tie wcatner-wotn house to their heavenly
" here they wait; where they watch. and will vel
, +hav 1ra;tet and watched in the house On the