Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-11-27

-. s1eip. and she songs We useo q
s is'9 s sss asovins IN favor.
,..,,os sina the old songs
y 80 Iouo years ago,
S.sst md voice voclo lei me nos
re- - tears would nsw;
Mt& hours come c'er my neart
Ecs sssh familiar strain;
VIZ VIZ sinc the cid songs,
J s 4, dream thoss dreams aesls ~ !; d..
..,s AGO there was Q demand
Az Ssscolumns Of the pewspapers
y sssny q the old sopes , xn, CO. ns e
81 81 PRINT, ana eouIe onIy q
J a 81 good memory OF some e.
90, co. .ersons Who had sung them N
oey IA response TO the cal, verses
yosss u frsem<nts came fiosfinR IN fren
go .. snd another; old music books
oos ssrsseked, and soon the entire
vess - civen 70 the public. Then eI-
eong ssdsn found a moisture In their
oeIy = 49, rad them, and memory
S9 - Ksok 10 the elsd, unconscious
;oo. = ~oufh and hsppinsss, willis the
oay se1lhfui portion Of the community
moIs 49, vhat there vas In those fool
60 sonos 70 make any one care 70
sn - shsm again. But % these grew
d. 49, srd came to have past, and the
~ s.. ~ a eiuoinQ the old songs wAsre-
fI.S sssv learned that songs of senti-
W. o. ases heard are forever remsmbsr-
y ~ lbsir sweets pathstse strains sink
80 ~ hsart, and there lie dormant
-. srf;I fond memory touches the chords
- mseie fingers.
~ - thsss same songs can b had
:. ~ r,usic shelves Of any dealer IN
~ soasod AZ sweet sounds- The poet
1000 sinoer are dust: the ears they
- 80. thrill "a with their melancholy mu-
"a 800 Iistsned 20 the diviner melodies
~ kssyeu. bat tina songs ring In other
- sttuned to the minstreisy Of earth,
80 hrino tears TO other eyes and sad
aaa - 10 other hearts. Il is not the
100 alone that has this charm Of i'm
.,scrtsIitv-the words of the old songs
hsss lived as the words of songs of to-
49, uevsr will. They we're not written
- All. They were the swan songs Ct
peatluQ hearts In many GASES, and IN
their burden of sadness revealed the Sc
srst Of q troubled life. Take the old
ana once familiar song OF " Lorena,"
vristen by the Rev. II. ID. L. Webster, q
souno clergyman who was In bis youth
dinruoiutsd In love. Il was the popn-
iar org half century ago. Since the
ssres e not sven good poetry, 10 must
asv1 han the sentiment which endeaYed
a a he heArta of the young people of
~ peat. Il can be found in many an
Old scrap book, or In the fne Italian
handwriting of those days, on sheet Of
eiIt-edQed paper laid away among locks
q faded hair and other relics Of memo
rial valus only.
ave loved each other then, Lorena,
More than we ever dared tell,
And what We might have been, Lorena,
Had bat our loving prospered we'll.
Bat then 'tis past, the years are gone;
III NOT call mp their shadowy forms;
m say TO them, lost years, sleep on,
Slesp on. nor heed LIES peitinR
storms
II matters little now, Lorena,
The past Ia in the eternal past;
Our heads will soon be low, Lorena,
Life's tide h ebbing out 50 fast.
There Ia future-oh. thank God!
OF life this Ia so small part;
It's dust to dust beneath the sod,
But then up there tits heart TO heart"
There waa not the finished culture,
nov 90 necessary In music, when the
singers Of the past sang tho songs Of
sentiment. In any gathering there would
be one girl who could accompany herself
on the spindle-legged piano or the melo-
deon, and keep the company spellbound
while she sang. One or two might leave
The room, not because they criticised
Ihs music. but 10 rush away and wipe
of the tears, as some clear voice rang
put:
Do they miss me at hsne, do they miss
mef
Twould be an assurance most dear
TO know that this moment some loved
one
We're saying ! wish he were here
Then there was Ben Bolt. How wild
verybody went over that song. How
many are there of the present generation
Who can sing that through who know
sither the tune or the werdsf
. oh, don't you remember sweet Alice,
Ben Bolt?
Sweet Alice, with hair 30 brown,
Who wept with delight when You gave
her q smile,
And trembled with fear at your frown.
the old church yard In the valley,
Ben Bolt,
In q corner obscure and alone,
They've fitted a slab Of granite 90 gray,
And sweet Alice lies under the stone"
"The Watcher " was great favorite |
about the same time that Mrs. Stevens |
wrote her novel OF "The Lamplighter."
The query among young ladies of that
period was first, Have you read The |
Lamplighterr" One copy often sup
piled neiRhborhood. Next, Have |
you heard The watcherr Ny cousin |
sings IL beautifully Everybody's ecu
ain sang ii. II was ballad OF lachry-
nose order.
"The night was dark and fearful.
The wind went sailing by,
Awatcher, pale and fearful,
Looked forth with anxious eve.
How wistfully abe gazeth;
No CLEAN OF morn appears;
Her eye TO heaven she raiseth
In agony OF tears.
A hundred lights are elancing
In sonder mansion fair,
And merry feet are dancing
They heed not darkness there.
Oh, young and Joyous creas1res.
One light from out your store I
Would give the dear bey's features
To his mothers gaze once more.
The morning sun Ia shining,
She heedesh NOT its ray;
Beside her babe reclining
The pale. dead mother lay.
Asnile her lips was wrcathing,
A smile of hope and love,
As II abe still were breathing
There's light for rs above
II used 10 be question among the
grave old deacons of those days whether
.aess sones were fit TO be sung on Sun
gay. The young people argued that
.0ey were, because they wanted 10 sing
'asm, but they were regarded by the
veefs as too worldly. But these same
elders liked 10 hear them on week days,
ans sept time vigorously while the pretty
Nis With spit-curls sang them.
Joys that we've Tasted" is another
song With spark Of immortal FIRE In it:
JOYS that we've tasted
May some time return.