Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-07-28
Seba Smith.

Seba Smith.
DOES HIS POEM ON THE sNowsToRM con-
FORM TO THE FACTS?
In the Democrat of May 26, your
Greenwood correspondent, In giving the
poem by Seba Smith, which is to be
found in Rev. John Pierpont's "Intro-
duction to the National Reader" omit |
ted to state that the poem and its pre-
lusive explanatory prose statement are
credited to the Portland Argus, both in
the heading Of the articls and In the
books "Table of Contents" (By the
way, isn't that article also reproduced in
Salem Towns Third Readerp) Seba
Smith was for several years connected
with the Argus, and undoubtedly it was
while he was connected with that news
paper that the article appeared therein.
The poem is reproduced on page SO of
William Cullen Bryant's "a New Ii
brary of Poetry and Song. land both there
and In the volumes "lndex of Authors
and Titles is credited to Seba Smith.
The title of the poem as given in this
compilation by Bryant is 1.-THE Mothers
Sacrifice" Thepoem is also reproduced
with this same title of 1.-THE Mothers
Sacrifice" on pages 1915 of "No. 8" of
1.-THE Speakers Garland and Literary
Bouquet. Vol. III Combining 100
Choice Selections, Nos. 8, 10, II and 12''
philadelphia, 1922, the poem being
there and in the volumes Contents"
credited to Seba Smith. The versions OF
the poem as it appears in Pierpont's "In.
PRODUCTION to the National Reader" in
Bryant's compilation and in"The Speak
er's Garland and Literary Bouquet"
show several verbal variations from one
another, the following being the lines
which show variations from the CORE
spending lines as given in the "Introduc-
ton to the National Reader"
"The cold wind swept the mountain height"
"As through the drifting snow she pressed"
"And colder yet the winds did blow,
and deeper grew the drifting snow"
Then round the child she wrapped the vest"
"And smiled to think the babe was warm"
"And sunk upon her snowy bed"
"And sank upon q snowy bed"
"And saw her meath snowy veil;"
1.-THE frost of death was on her eye"
"Her check was hard and cold and pale"
On pages 284-266 of Rev. Hosea Beck
ley's History of Vermont Is an account
of a tragical occurrence, which undoubt-
eddy is the same as that Of which the
poem treats, and, il Mr.. Beckley's &C
count is correct, it seems that MIR.
Smiths poem does not correctly narrate
the facts. The following is Mr.. Beck
ley's account of the Occurrences: g" >
A man by the name of Blake, with his
wife and infant, crossing the mountain
from Manchester, was impeded by the
drifting snow. The path was so blocked
up that his horse, struggling slowly
awhile, at length gave out, and night
overlook them with no dwelling In sight.
To avoid perishing in the cold, piercing
wind, the only alternative seemed to him
to 90 forward himself and find help to
rescue them from their perilous condi-
ton. But his wife demonstrated against
it, fearing that fatigue and discourage
ment and cold might overcome him and
he sink down exhausted and she and her
child lose even his assistance. She final
ly consented to his going forward, but
not beyond the hearing of each others
voices. Their voices often responded to
each other in melancholy tones, but
fainter and fainter till his no longer
reached her ears. He made the woods
resound with the cry of distress, but no
human voice answered the signal. The
cry, indeed, fell upon the ears of one who
was returning from his barn about the
time of retiring to rest, and who yet
could sleep till morning before he sought
the cause. But not so with the wife of
the traveller, for she rose with her child
and followed the footsteps of her hus-
band, whose voice she could no more
hear She went till fatigued and could
carry no longer her precious burden, but,
Unfolding the little one in the thickest
clothing about her, deposited it care
fully in the snowbank. To overtake her
husband, she made her last but feeble
effort. She went but short distance
before nature gave way and she breathed
her last, her heart reaching forward, so
to speak, toward her husband and drawn
back to her child, unable to reach either
lof them. The husband, unable to catch
a glimpse of light or obtain an answer to
his calls, the chillness of death coming
over him, lay down in the snow, but lin
gered till he was found in the morning
frostbitten and crippled for life. Retrac-
ing his track, the man who heard, the
night before, the lamentation of the
traveller, tghose feet had stumbled on the
dark mountains, found the stiffened
corpse of his wife, and, guided by faint
footsteps, he finds the child. 1t had
slept sweetly and soundly amid the DESC
latons of that wntry night, and smiled
as 1t was uncovered and its eyes met the
light of morning, unconscious of the
throbbing anguish of which it had been
the occasion"
In the Democrat of June 30, "John,"
in speaking of Seba Smiths Major
Jack Downing" letters, says that with
out doubt they have gone with the forest
leaves of fifty years ago. Yes, sup
pose 1t is correct to speak of those letters
as having "gone with the forest leaves of
fifty years ago." but many, II not all, of
them are to be found reproduced in COL
lective form in volume published in
Boston in 1888 and having this title:
"The Life and Writings of Major Jack
Downing of Downingville, away down
east in the State of Maine. Written by
himself" This volume, which was
''res pectfully inscribed" "tO General An
drew Jackson, President of the United
States" contains 20 of the "Major Jack
Downing" letters.
4 Seba Smith was voluminous writer
of both prose and verse, as was also his
wife, Elizabeth Cakes Smith. One of
"Major Jack Downing's" books, pub
lished in 1859, bears the title, "My
Thirty Years out of the Senate" which,
of course, is humorous play upou the
title of Thomas Il. Benton's work, in
two volumes. entitled "Thirty Years
View; or, History of the Working of
the American Government for Thirty
Years, from 1920 to 1885," the first vol
ume of which was published in 1854 and
the second in 1856.
On page As of the Century Magazine
for November, 1901, is picture of Mr..
Smith (being one of the many illustra-
tions which accompany the letterpress
of an article, by Prof. W. P. Trent, en-
titled, "a Retrospect Of American
Humor.'D and a picture of his wife,
Elizabeth Cakes Smith, ia to be found in
Evert A. and George L. Duyckinck's