Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-12-19
THE MIsTLEToE BoUGH.

The mistletOe hung IN the castle hall.
The holly bOugh shone on the old oak wall,
The Baron's retainers were bright and gay
While keeping their Christmas holiday,
The Baron beheld with fathers pride
His beautiful chlld, young LovelPs BRIDE.
And she, with her bright eyes, seemed to bA
The star of that goodly company,
o, the mistletoe bough! o, the mistletoe
bough!
"Pm weary Of dancing, now she cried.
Here, tarrv a moment, I'll hide, Pll hide.
And, Lowell, be sure thou'rt the first TO trace
The clue to my secret lurking place."
Away she ran. and her friends began
Each tower TO search, each nook to scan,
And young Lowell cried, ION. where dost
thou hide!
Pm lonesome without thee my own dear
BRIDE"
o, the mistletoe bough! o, the mistletoe
bough!
They sought her that night, they sought her
They sought her in vain till a week p assed
away;
The highest the lowest, the loneliest spot,
Young Lowell sought wildly, but found her
And years flew by, and their grief at last
Was tolu as sorrowful tale long past.
When Lowell appeared the children cried.
"See, the old man weeps for his fairy BRIDE"
0, the mistletoe bough! o, the miNletoe
bought
AT length an old chest, which had long lam
hid,
Was found in the castle; they raised the lid,
A skeleton form lay molderlng there
In the bridal wreath of the lady fair.
o, sad was her fate where In sportIve Jest
She hid from her lord in the old oak chest,
1t clused with spring, and her bridal bleo m
Lay whitening there IN lonely tomb.
o, the mlstletoe bough! D! the mistletoe
bough!
The plaintive music, more chant than
song, OF this ancient ballad may no doubt
be procured Of any dealer. 1t should, of
course, be enumerated distinctly when the
detached stanzas are thus used to &C.
company tablesux and sung with sim
plicity and pathos. Any attempt to
make a snowy musical effect out of it
would be ridiculous. As for the dressing
it would be appropriate to costume it in
a more remote period of English history
than | have designated. But we found
the powder and patch dresses so easy to
cOntrive, and so becoming when con-
trived, that there was a general vote in
their favor. For Ginevra's chest nothing
could be more effective than one of the
old dover chests now so commonly used
in halls. But where this is lacking a lit
tile ingenuity in painting, defacing ana
ornamenting with antique hinges of sig
yer paper any old trunk or box will an
swer every purpose. l hope nobody at
tempting to give these tableaux will be
deluded into selecting Ginevra who is
otherwise than slight and youthful. - A
mature Ginevra, however exalted her
capabilities as an actress, looks out Of
place when peeping from a chest. The
airy, fairy Lillian Of our opening tableau
was our bride OF the Mistletoe B0ugh, ana
| never saw the part 50 exquisitely filled
as by this little creature, then not quite
IS. The part Of "LOvell," which was
originally created by Mr.. John MckIm, of
Baltimore, in the pantomine pageant, af
terward so superbly given in New York
at the Academy OF Music by the Mount
Vernon Endowment Fund, is, of course,
less eXactIng in tableauu. Mr.. McKim's
rendering Of the old man was especially
artistic and touching,