The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1881-01-21
POetical.
THE SLEET STORM.

The following gem was published In 1860. It is
supposed TO have been written by st. Leger L. Car
ter, deceased, Of King George county, Va:
Awakel the sun is up, arise and sally forth;
We've had rain of Jewelry from OUT OF the frozen
North;
The earth is roDed In dazzling whlte each tree is
hung with gems,
And diamonds, In ten thousand shapes are hanging
from their stems.
Each bush and every humble shrub with precious
stones is strung,
And all the purest, brightest things. In handfuls
round are flung;
The emerald, and the amethyst, the topazes behold,
And here and there a ruby red is sparkling in the
cold.
The chrystalIte and topaz see and that bright sa-
cred stone,
The holy Patmos prophet saw upon the heavenly
throne;
Here all the gold of ophir Shines with all eolcon.
das store,
And who could ever number up the countless myrl.
ads more2
The holly is the darkest green, with crimson fruits
looks gay,
Enoased in solid silver too, how rich is It's display
In green and gold the shaggy pine seems almost in
a blaze
With all the suns reflected light, yet softened tc
the gaze.
The cedars, ah thou favord tree, in Scripture it is
told.
They laid thee In the house Of God and coyerd the,
with gold
But greet as was King Solomon, he, nor the house
he made,
Were dressed in such magnlncence as thou hast her,
dlsplay'd
The beach tree stands in rich array of long ant
shining threads,
Its brittle boughs all bending low to ear,h theiI
And now and then broken limb comes from OIL
high,
And showering down world Of gems that sparkle
as they ny.
The lofty oak, the hsndred-llmbed branches Of th
trees,
Spreads out his pondrous icy arms, loud crack
ling In the breeze,
And as the reused lion shakes the dewdrops from hi
name
so does the Woodland Monarch shake his crystals
DER the plain.
But time would fail 10 tell of all the bright AM
starry host
The North wind brings to witch the world out of TIN
realms of frost;
The meanest thing, the most deformed, the dry AM
sapless bough,
The bramble and the rugged thorn are pure AM
spotess now.
fe counsellors of earth come forth, ye princes VIII
have gold,
Your diadems We kings bring here, the iewerc
crowns ye hold,
Come woman In thy ornaments In AL their costl,
sheen,
And let them be the ovellest ones that ever grace
queen;
This grass that's trodden under foot, this weed wit
branching arms,
This glitterng In the morning sun hath fifty-fo
your charms
Then cast your baubles vile away, and bend In sol
emn thought
To Him who hath this gorgeous scene from storr
tempest wrought.
Yet this fair pageant soon must fade before tn
breath Of noon,
And by the fat from on high your wealth will fad
as soon;
Oh! lay not worthless riches UP which moth and rus
assail,
But those which at the Judgment Day throug
Christ will then avail.
What though the sun so soon must melt thi
frost work and its forms,
He speaks thee into life again, who rides amid til
storms;
so in the twinkling of an eye at his last trumpe
dread,
Our bodies fashioned gloriously shall rise up frol
the dead.
The sun, goes up his destined way; how few do hee
my calls
In tears the vision mets away, the baseless fabr
falls;
too could shed some tears, alas that this swe,
| scene is past,
| For scene is sweet, 1t brings to mind which fle
away as fast.