St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-03-09

OF all the valleys that mine eye hath seen,
OF all the sunny dells that beauty boast,
OF all the gentle slopes.
OF all the woody cOpse,
OF all the swelling hillOcks draped in green
Thine charm me most
No bluer skies o'erArch the circling hills;
No gladder bird-song trills upon the air.
No sleeker kline repay the herder's care;
No scent of early flowers
Perfume the May born hours;
No music half so sweet
Mine ear did ever greet,
AS the free laughter Of thy jocund rills,
By the soft iowings of mellow stream,
Passumpsic, river of my bOyish prsnks!
How oft upon thy banks,
I've dropped the hook
In many an eddying nook,
Where the cold waters Of some upland brook
Brought the coy trout;
And in glee and pride,
No manly deed outvied;
Twixt eager hope and doubt,
With many a faunt and hout,
And many a stout
And lusty bout,
With brave hallOo and shout,
Have hauled the dainty nibbler out
Long years have passed since then,
Nigh two-score years and ten
And once again
1 stand on the same ground
The ample swell of hill and gaze around;
Now up the right now down the left hand dale
There towers Burke Mountain glory crowned
And Willoughbys cleft face.
By distance sOftened into grace
Here sleeps the hamlet in the strong embrace
OF shsltering hills that frame the heightened
vale;
And sound of schOOl-bells mellOwing the air;
And distant lift of churoh-spires moving
thoughts OF prayer.
And memories come from half an hundred
years
And bring asatchelled schOol-boy to my sight
A little, slender lad, distranght with fears
OF bigger rutfians spelling" for fight
Myself the lad Il stand alone tonight
SchOol-house and master, boys and girls all
gonei
Another and another generation comel
saunter down and meet an aged man,
With STOPPING form and visage scanned and
wan;
Kind sir, - ask, is this your home and can
You tell me anything of Dan. -F
a light beams in his eye from out his soul
A sudden youthful flash,
AS when one blows the gray ash
From the living COAL
And T." he said, ''am Dan. -"
..,5 ...o,o. ., ~,
:, -
~ -
The years dissolve we silver-headed men
Are boys again,
And wide awake for play -
Hi spy" OF "gool" burly ''pull-away."
.,a H., n
Tau e ,.o,, -
-rba hao,+;f,i a., -. -.
of bl,a., CO., -, -. -
g III, =, -, - - -
Raon,in, So ',,. t,o. - -
MI
,I ~
Not old and wrinkled grown with earthly
care
But in the May
And game of immortality,
The angels loved her so"
Unon viIIaga o,rsan
The aoVing hills otusar
Which ancient trees With ,,rotef,, shadow.
al
rara and ,,,,,,,;,,,, .,,,-,,
Of MD ,a,,,,,
And fa;rast fa
(, Iohnah,,r,, -, NAM,
sits oraor
Whose annie viu.. croyn
The graceful crrvatura of many hill
Have come the spoil
OF open handed wealth,
of robust health
Here art has reared shrine
Science fame.
Here taste and skill combine,
And holy ministries OF flowers
Make glad and glorious all the summer hours
Here generous cultures OF the heart and braiI
In LOVING Sisterhoods their greenest iaurel'
Itno u' 'nlsl .ne s.Anu anu Silpie man
Unbent Of YEAR. who.a Iao,,s of o .nou
And mipple with his boskv heard
And so befit his four seo1e wears and seven.
To whom the insight has been given
In natures hidden laws eOniOint
The chi,T ~ Of Iust;oa aD IN tbe ara..
Wide world of Commerce Arbiter o f right
And Truth, on which are reared
nt Isn ,ka " anu t,E gUls T' .ns ''e
True as the level eQuipOise of his own beam
-
Oncs more the mn.is Of tbv rirs