The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-07-22
BEAUTIFUL SNOW.

BEAUTIFUL SNOW.
TAs originally written, December, 1881
Beautiful snow beautiful snow
Falling so lightly,
Daily and nightly,
Alike around the dwellings of the lofty and low;
Horses are pranCing,
Cheerily dancing,
Stirred with the spirit that comes with the snow.
Beautiful snow! beautiful snow
Up at the day dawning,
In the cold morning,
Children eXult, though the winds ferccly blow
Hailing the snow flakes,
Falling as day breaks
Joyful they welcome the beautiful snow
Beautiful snow beautiful snow!
Childhood quick glanCes,
See the bright faICies,
Decking the window-panes softly and slow
Forest and city,
Figure so pretty,
Left by the magical fingers of snow!
Beautiful snow beautiful snow!
Atmosphere chilling,
Carriage wheels stilling,
Warming the cold earth, and bindling the glow
OF Christian pity,
For the great city
OF wretched creatures who starve mid the snow!
Beautiful snow beautiful snow
Fierce winds blowing,
Tricky it's showing,
Night gathers round us-how warm then the glow
Of the fire so bright
On the cold winter night
AS we draw in the curtains to shut out the snow.
Beautiful snow! beautiful snow!
| Round the dear fresde,
In the sweet eventide,
| Closely we gather, though the keen winds blow;
| Safely defended,
Kindly befrended,
Pity the homeless exposed to the cold icy snow
| Beautiful snow! beautiful snow!
| Filling the sky and earth below:
| Over the house tops, over the street,
| Over the heads of the people we meet,
Dancing, flirting and skimming along;
Beautiful snow! oh, it can do no wrong
FLYING to kiss the fair ladys cheek,
Clinging to lips in froliCsOme freak;
| Beautiful snow, from the heavens above,
Pure as an angel, gentle as love!
Beautiful snow beautiful snow!
How the flakes gather and laugh as they 90!
Whrling about in their maddening fun;
1t plays In its gee with every one
Chasing Notwithstanding all by;
| 1t lights on the face, and it sparkles the eye,
And the dogs with bark and bound,
Snap at the crystals that eddy around
The town is alive and its heart aglow,
To welcome the coming of the beautiful snow
How wild the crowd goes swaying along,
Hailing each other with humor and song!
How the gay sleighs, like meteors pass by
Bright for the moment, then lost to the eye!
Ringing swinging, dancing they go
over the lev crest of the beautiful snow;
Snow so pure. when it falls from the sky,
To be transplanted in mud by the crowd pass
| ing by,
To be trampled and tracked by thousands o
feet,
Till it blends with the filth in the horribl
| street
Once she was as pure as the snow, but she fell
Fell like the snow flakes from heaven to hell
Fell to be trampled as filth in the street;
Fell to be scOffed at, to be spit on and beat,
Pleading and cursing-dreading to die
Selling her soul TO whoever would buy:
Dealing in shame for mOrsel of bread,
Hating the living, and fearing the dead;
Merciful God! has she fallen so low!
And vet she was once like the beautiful snow
Once she was fair as the beautiful snow,
/ With an eye like its crystal heart like it
glow:
Flattered and sought for the charms of hel
face.
Father and mother, brother, sister and all
God and herself, she lost by her fall.
The vilest wretch that goes shiyering by,
Makes wide swoop, lest she wander to-
nigh:
For ali there was on or about her, she knew
t There was nothing 80 pure as the beautiful
snow!
, How strange it is that the beautiful snow
, Should fall on a sinner with nowhere to go!
Strange it would be, when the night come
l again, ,..
brain;
Painting and freezing-dying all alone
Too wicked for prayer, too weak for moan
To be heard in the streets of the crazy town;
Gone mad in the joy of the snow comm
i To lie there and die in her terrible woe,
, With her bed and shroud of the beaut1fu
WIN ANDREW sIGoUENEY.
Ivy GLEN, December, 1853