Oh, the snow, the

beautiful snow, Filling the sky and

earth below, Over. the housetops, ovtr

the street, Over the heads of the people

you meet ; Dancing— Flirting— Skimming

along, Beautiful snow ! it can do no

wrong ; Flying to kiss a fair lady's

cheek, Clinging to lips in frolicsome

freak . Beautiful snow from heaven

above,1 Pure as an angel, gentle as love

! Oh ! the snow, the beautiful snow, How

the flakes gather and laugh as'they go,|

Whirling about in maddening fun ;

Chasing — Laughing — Hurrying by, It

lights on the face, and it sparkles the

eye ; And the dogs with a bark and a

bound Snap at the crystals as they eddy

around ; Tho town is alive and its heart

in a glow, To welcome'thc. coming of

beautiful snow ! How wild the crowd goes

swaying along, Hailing each other with

humour and song ; How the gay sleighs

like meteors flash by, Bright for the

moment, then lost to the eye ; Ringing—

Swinging — Dashing they go, Over the

crust of tho beautiful snow ; Snow so

pure when it falls from the sky, To be

trampled and tracked by thousands of

feet. Till it blends with tho filth in

thfi hnrrihln ntrefit. Once I^was pure

as the snow, but I fell, Felljlike the

snow flakes from heaven to hell ; Fell

to be trampled as filth on the street.

Fell to,be scoffed, to be spit on, and

beat ; Pleading— Cursing — Dreading to

die, Selling my so.ul to whoever would

buy ; Dealing in shame for a morsel of

bread, Hating the living, and fearing

the dead. * Meiciful God, have I fallen

so low ? And yet I was once like tho

beautiful snow. Once I was fair as the

beautiful snow. With an eye like a

crystal, a heart liko Jits glow ; Once I

was loved for my innocent graceFlattered

and sought for the charms of my face !

Fathers — Mothers— Sisters, all, God uud

myself I have lost by my fall ; The

veriest wretch that goes shivering by

Will make a wide sweep lest I wander too

nigh ; , For all that is on or above me

I know, There is nothing so pure as the

beautiful snow. How strange it should be

that this beautiful snow Should fall on

a sinner with nowhere to go ! How

strange it should be when the night

comes again, If the snow and the ice

struck my desperate brain, Fainting —

Freezing— Dying alone, Too wicked for

prayer, too weak for a moan To be heard

in the streets of the crazy town, Gone

mad in the joy of snow coming down ; To

be and to die in my terrible woe, With a

bed and a shroud of the beautiful snow.

Helpless and foul as the trampled snow,

Sinner, despair not ! Christ stoopeth

low To rescuu the soul that is lost in

sin, And raise it to life and enjoyment

again. Groaning — Bleeding Dying for

thee, The Crucified hung on the cursed

tree ! His accents of mercy /ell soft on

thine ear, ' Is there mercy for me ?

Will He heed my weak prayer.?' O God !

in the stream that for sinners did flow,

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow