Middletown transcript., 1883-11-09
THE RA1I,AD OF Babe BELL
BY T. B. ALDRICH.

Have YOU not heard the poets tel
How came the dainty Bahte Ben
Into this world OF oufsE
The gates of heaven were LEFT aJar
With folded hands and dreamy eyes
Wandering out of Paradise,
She saw this planet III q staT; - .,,o,,-
Hung in the glistening depths oil even
Its bridges running to ana IN, ,,,,oIs yo
Der which the white-w1nged ahSels go
Rearing the holy dead to heaven; -.
she touched "a bridge of tiowers-those IeeI
So light they did not bend the bells
Of the celestial asphodels!
They fell like dew upon the flowers,
And thus came dainty Babie Bell
Into this world of ours
She came and brought dellclous May.
The swallows bent beneath the caves;
Like sunlight in and out the leaves
The robins went the livelong DAY
The lily swung its nolseless Den; ,,i,,a
And DER the porch the tremDllhg Hliie
Seemed bursting with its VEINS OF Wlhe'
How sweetly, softly, twilight IeI!
Oh, earth was full of swinging BIRDS
And opening spring-t1me MOVERS
When the dainty Bab1e Bell
Came to this world OF ours
o Babie, dainty Babie Bell,
How fair she grew from day 70 uay
What woman nature filled her eyes,
What poetry within them lay
Those deep and tender twilight eyes,
So full of meaning pure ana Drlght,
As if she yet stood in the l1ght
OF those open gates OF Paradlse.
And so we loved her more and more;
All. never in our hearts before
Was love so lovely born;
We felt we had link between
This real world and that unseen
The land beyond the morn.
And for the love OF those dear eyes,
For love of her whom God led forth
(The mothers being ceased on eartn
when Babie came from Paradise)-
For love of Him who smote our lives,
And woke the chords of Joy and PAIN
We said dear Christ !-our hearts bent down
Like violets after rain.
And red with blossoms when she came,
Were rich in autumn's mellow prime,
The clustered apples burnt like name,
The soft-cheeked peaches blushed and fell,
The ivory chestnut burst its shell,
The grapes hung purpling IN the grange;
And time wrought Just as rich change
In little Babie Bell.
Her lissome form more perfect grew,
And in her features we could trace,
In S0ftened curves, her mothefS lace
Her angel nature ripened too.
We thought her lovely when she came
But she was holy, sanity now
Around her pale, angelic brow
We saw a slender ring of flame.
Gods hand had taken away the sea!
That held the portals of her speech;
And oft she said few strange words
Whose meaning lay beyond our reach.
She never was child to US,
We never held her beings key,
We could not touch her holy things;
She was Christ's self in purity.
1t came upon us by degrees;
We saw its shadow ere it fell,
The knowledge that our God had sent
His messenger for Babie Bell.
We shuddered with unlanguaged pain,
And all our hopes were changed to fears
And all our thoughts ran into tears
Like sunshine into rain.
We cried aloud in our belief,
so smite us gently, gently, God
Teach us to bend and kiss the rod,
And perfect grow through grief"
All, how we loved her, God can tell;
Her heart was folded deep in ours.
Our hearts are broken, Babie Bell!
At last he came, the messenger,
The messenger from unseen lands;
And what did dainty Babie Bell?
She only crossed her little hands,
She only looked more meek and fair!
We parted back her silken hair,
We wove the roses round her brow
White buds. the summers drifted snow
Wrapt her from head to foot in flowers
And then went dainty Babie Bell
Out of this world of ours