THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES V CHRISTMASTIDE CONTAINING FOUR FAMOUS POEMS BY FAVORITE AMERICAN POETS BOSTON JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY LATE TICKNOR & FIELDS, AND FIELDS, OSGOOD, & Co. 1878 ' COPYRIGHT, 1877. BY JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO. THE RIVER PATH . BY JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. EXCELSIOR .... BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW. THE ROSE BY JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. BABY BELL . BY THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH. 759404 of Illustrations. ENGRAVED BY A. V. S. ANTHONY. THE RIVER PATH. " The tangled bank below was still " . . . . T. MORAN. " No rustle from the birchen stem " .... WM. HART. " The dusk of twilight round us grew " . . . J. A. BROWN, " We saw the hill-tops glorified " S. COLMAN. " A tender glow, exceeding fair " J. A. BROWN. " A dream of day without its glare " . . . . A. V. S. ANTHONY. " While dark, through willowy vistas seen " . . J. McENTEE. " We gazed upon those hills of God " . . . . A. R. WAUD. " Beckoned our dear ones gone before "... JESSIE CURTIS. Group of Cherubs JESSIE CURTIS. " The voices lost to mortal ear " JESSIE CURTIS, " The hills swung open to the light " . . . . S. COLMAN. " Down glade and glen and bank it rolled " . . W. HART. " When our feet draw near The river dark " T. MORAN. List of Illustrations. " On thy eternal hills look forth " Tail-Piece Vignette Violets A. R. WAUD. A. V. S. ANTHONY. H. V. ANTHONY. EXCELSIOR. " The shades of night were falling fast " . . " A youth, who bore, mid snow and ice " . . " His brow was sad ; his eye beneath Flashed like a falchion from its sheath " . . " In happy homes he saw the light " . . . . " ' Try not the Pass ! ' the old man said " . . " The roaring torrent 's deep and wide " . . "' O stay,' the maiden said " " Beware the pine-tree's withered branch " " A voice replied far up the height " . . . . " The pious Monks of St. Bernard " . . . . " A voice cried through the startled air " . . Convent of St. Bernard " Lifeless, but beautiful he lay " Tail-Piece Vignette Alpine Flowers A. R. WAUD. W. HOMER. W. HOMER. T. MORAN. A. R. WAUD. T. MORAN. W. HOMER. J. MCENTEE. T. MORAN. CHARLES KENDRICK. A. R. WAUD. A. R. WAUD. W. HOMER. A. V. S. ANTHONY. F. T. MERRILL. List of Illustrations. THE ROSE. " In his tower sat the poet " " On the rock the billow bursteth "... " Take, O sea ! the tender blossom " . . " Forth into the night he hurled it " v V " Foam and spray drive back to leeward " " Stands a maiden, on the morrow " . . " Touch not, sea, the blessed letters " . . " Brings a little rose, and throws it " . . ".Full of bliss she takes the token "... " The ocean's fierce unrest " " In his tower sits the poet " " U v p the beach the ocean slideth "... " Maiden lips, with love grown bolder " . Tail-Piece Vignette Rose C. S. REINHART. R. SWAIN GIFFORD. C. S. REINHART. A. V. S. ANTHONY. A. R. WAUD. MARY HALLOCK FOOTE. A. V. S. ANTHONY. C. S. REINHART. MARY HALLOCK FOOTE. R. SWAIN GIFFORD. C. S. REINHART. A. V. S. ANTHONY. C. S. REINHART. A. V. S. ANTHONY. F. T. MERRILL. BABY BELL. " How came the dainty Baby Bell " JESSIE CURTIS. " O'er which the white-winged angels go " . . JESSIE CURTIS. List of Illustrations. " The celestial asphodels " A. V. S. ANTHONY. Lilies of the Valley A. V. S. ANTHONY. " The swallows built beneath the eaves " . . . T. MORAN. " O'er the porch the trembling vine " .... A. R. WAUD. " Baby, dainty Baby Bell " JESSIE CURTIS. " The light Of those oped gates of Paradise " JESSIE CURTIS. " The mother's being ceased on earth "... JESSIE CURTIS. " And now the orchards, which were white " . . J. A. BROWN. " The grapes hung purpling in the grange " . . F. T. MERRILL. " Her lissome form more perfect grew "... JESSIE CURTIS. " Around her pale angelic brow We saw a slender ring of flame " JESSIE CURTIS. " God's hand had taken away the seal That held the portals of her speech "... JESSIE CURTIS. " We never held her being's key " JESSIE CURTIS. " We saw its shadow ere it fell " JESSIE CURTIS. " All our hopes were changed to fears "... JESSIE CURTIS. The Reaper Angel . JESSIE CURTIS. " At last he came, the messenger " JESSIE CURTIS. Tail-Piece A. V. S. ANTHONY. THE RIVER PATH. No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still ; The River Path. No ripple from the water's hem. The River Path. The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew; For, from us, ere the day was done, The wooded hills shut out the sun. The River Path. But on the river's farthest side We saw the hilltops glorified, The River Path. A tender glow, exceeding fair, A dream of day without its glare. The River Path. With us the damp, the chill, the gloom : With them the sunset's rosy bloom ; While dark, through willowy vistas seen, The river rolled in shade between. The River Path. From out the darkness where we trod, We gazed upon those hills of God, Whose liorht seemed not of moon or sun. We spake not, but our thought was one. The River Path. We paused, as if from that bright shore Beckoned our dear ones gone before; The River Path. And stilled our beating The voices lost to mortal ear! The River Path. Sudden our pathway turned from night ; The hills swung open to the light; Through their green gates the sunshine showed, A long, slant splendor downward flowed. The River Path, Down glade and glen and bank it rolled ; It bridged the shaded And, borne on piers of mist, allied The shadowy with the sunlit side ! The River Path. " So," prayed we, " when our feet draw near The river dark, with mortal fear, " And the night cometh chill with dew, O Father! let thy light break through! The River Path. " So let the hills of doubt divide, So bridge with faith the sunless tide " So let the eyes that fail on earth On thy eternal hills look forth ; The River Path. " And in thy beckoning angels know The dear ones whom we loved below ! " EXCELSIOR. THE shades of night were falling fast, As through an Alpine village passed Excelsior. A youth, who bore, mid snow and ice, A banner with the strange device, Excelsior! Excelsior. His brow was sad; his eye beneath Plashed like a falchion from, its sheath, And like a silver clarion rung The accents of that unknown tongue, Excelsior! Excelsior. In happy homes he saw the light Of household fires gleam warm and bright Above, the spectral glaciers shone, And from his lips escaped a groan, Excelsior! Excelsior. " Try not the Pass ! " the old man said ; " Dark lowers the tempest overhead, Excelsior. The roaring torrent 's deep and wide ! " And loud that clarion voice replied, Excelsior! Excelsior. " O stay," the maiden said, " and rest Thy weary head upon this breast ! " A tear stood in his bright blue eye, But still he answered, with a sigh, Excelsior ! Excelsior. " Beware the pine-tree's withered branch ! Beware the awful avalanche ! " Excelsior. This was the peasant's last Good-night, A voice replied far up the height, Excelsior ! Excelsior. At break of day, as heavenward The pious monks of Saint Bernard Uttered the oft-repeated prayer, Excelsior. A voice cried through the startled air, Excelsior ! Excelsior. A traveller, by the faithful hound, Half-buried in the snow was found, Still grasping in his hand of ice That banner with the strange device, Excelsior ! Excelsior. There in the twilight cold and gray, Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay, Excelsior. And from the sky, serene and far, A voice fell, like a falling star, Excelsior ! TH E ROS E A BALLAD. IN his tower sat the poet Gazing on the roaring sea, The Rose. " Take this rose," he sighed, " and throw it Where there 's none that loveth me. On the rock the billow bursteth And sinks back into the seas, The Rose. But in vain my spirit thirsteth So to burst and be at ease. Take, O sea! the tender blossom That hath lain against my breast ; The Rose. On thy black and angry bosom It will find a surer rest. Life is vain, and love is hollow, Ugly death stands there behind, Hate and scorn and hunger follow Him that toileth for his kind." Forth into the night he hurled it, The Rose. And with bitter smile did mark How the surly tempest whirled it Swift into the hungry dark. Foam and spray drive back to leeward, And the gale, with dreary moan, Drifts the helpless blossom seaward, Through the breakers all alone. II. Stands a maiden, on the morrow, Musing by the wave-beat strand, The Rose. Half in hope and half in sorrow Tracing words upon the sand: " Shall I ever then behold him Who hath been my life so long, - Ever to this sick heart fold him, Be the spirit of his song ? Touch not, sea, the blessed letters I have traced- upon thy shore, The Rose. Spare his name whose spirit fetters Mine with love forevermore ! " Swells the tide and overflows it, But, with omen pure and meet, Brings a little rose, and throws it Humbly at the maiden's feet. The Rose, Full of bliss she takes the token, And, upon her snowy breast, The Rose. Soothes the ruffled petals broken With the ocean's fierce unrest " Love is thine, O heart ! and surely Peace shall also be thine own, For the heart that trusteth purely Never long can pine alone." III. In his tower sits the poet, Blisses new and strange to him The Rose. Fill his heart and overflow it With a wonder sweet and dim. Up the beach the ocean slideth With a whisper of delight, And the moon in silence glideth Through the peaceful blue of night. Rippling o'er the poet's shoulder The Rose. Flows a maiden's golden hair, Maiden lips, with love grown bolder, Kiss his moonlit forehead bare. " Life is joy, and love is power, Death all fetters doth unbind, The Rose. Strength and wisdom only flower When we toil for all our kind. Hope is truth, the future giveth More than present takes away, And the soul forever liveth Nearer God from day to day." Not a word the maiden uttered, Fullest hearts are slow to speak, But a withered rose-leaf fluttered Down upon the poet's cheek. VV-.v-'V-H. ;' -:-.-. . ; -'.-. ': - - -'..'- -,,;'' BABY BELL i. HAVE you not heard the poets tell How came the dainty Baby Bell Into this world of ours ? The gates of heaven were left ajar: Baby Bell. With folded hands and dreamy eyes, Wandering out of Paradise, She saw this planet, like a star, Hung in the glistening depths of even, Its bridges, running to and fro, O'er which the white-winged Angels go, Baby Bell. Bearing the holy Dead to heaven. She touched a bridge of flowers, those feet, So light they did not bend the bells Of the celestial asphodels, They fell like dew upon the flowers: > Then all the air grew strangely sweet And thus came dainty Baby Bell Into this world of ours. II. She came and brought delicious May. The swallows built beneath the eaves ; Like sunlight, in and out the leaves The robins went, the livelong day; Baby Bell. The lily swung its noiseless bell ; And o'er the porch the trembling vine Seemed bursting with its veins of wine. How sweetly, softly, twilight fell! O, earth was full of smgtng-birds And opening springtide flowers, When the dainty Baby Bell Came to this world of ours ! III. O Baby, dainty Baby Bell, How fair she grew from day to day! What woman-nature filled her eyes, What poetry within them lay, Those deep and tender twilight eyes, Baby Bell. So full of meaning, pure and bright As if she yet stood in the light Of those oped gates of Paradise. And so we loved her more and more : Ah, never in our hearts before Was love so lovely born ! We felt we had a link between This real world and that unseen, Baby Bell. The land beyond the morn ; And for the love of those dear eyes, For love of her whom God led forth, (The mother's being ceased on earth When Baby came from Paradise,) For love of Him who smote our lives, And woke the chords of joy and pain, We said, Dear Christ! our hearts bent down Like violets after rain. IV. And now the orchards, which were white And red with blossoms when she came, Were rich in autumn's mellow prime; Baby BelL The clustered apples burnt like flame, The soft-cheeked peaches blushed and fell, The ivory chestnut The grapes hung purpling in the grange: And time wrought just as rich a change In little Baby Bell. Baby Bell. Her lissome form more perfect grew, And in her features we could trace, In softened curves, her mother's face. Baby Bell. Her angel-nature ripened too: We thought her lovely when she came, But she was holy, saintly now . . . Around her pale angelic brow We saw a slender ring of flame! V. God's hand had taken away the seal That held the portals of her speech ; And oft she said a few strange words Baby Bell. Whose meaning lay beyond our reach. She never was a child to us, We never held her being's key; We could not teach her holy things: She was Christ's self in purity. VI. It came upon us by degrees, We saw its shadow ere it fell, The knowledge that our God had sent His messenger for Baby Bell. We shuddered with unlanguaged pain, Baby Bell. And all our hopes were changed to fears, And all our thoughts ran into tears Like sunshine into rain. We cried aloud in our belief, Baby Bell. " O, smite us gently, gently, God ! Teach us to bend and kiss the rod, And perfect grow through grief." Ah! how we loved her, God can tell; Her heart was folded deep in ours. Our hearts are broken, Baby Bell! VII. At last he came, the messenger, The messenger from unseen lands And what did dainty Baby Bell? Baby Bell. She only crossed her little hands, She only looked more meek and fair! We parted back her silken hair, We wove the roses round her brow, White buds, the summer's drifted snow, Wrapt her from head to foot in flowers And thus went dainty Baby Bell Out of this world of ours ! UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9-100m-9,'52(A3105)444 . i - '