.~\ O! the

snow, the beaut.fui snow, Filliug the

shy and the earth below; Over ihe

housetops, over the street, Over the

beads of the people you meet; Dancing,

Flirting:, Skimming along, Beautiful

snow! it c m do nothing wrong, Flying to

kis- a fair lady's cheek;* Clinging to

lips in a frolicsome freak; Beautiful

snow from the heavens above, Pure as an

angel and fickle as love ! O! thesnotr,

the beautiful snow J Ho*t the flakes

gather and laugh as they go; "Whirling

about in its maddcuiug fun, It plays in

its glee with every one. Chasing,

Laughing, Hurrying by, It lights up the

face, and it sparkles the eye ; And even

the dogs, with a bark and a bound, Snap

at JJie crystals that eddy around; The

town is alive, and its heart iu a glow.

To welcome the coming 01 the beautiful

sn077. How the wild crowd goes swaying

along, Hailing each other with humour

and song! How the gay sledges like

meteors fl\sb by, Bright for the moment,

then lost to the eye; Kinging, Swinging,

Dashing they go Over the crust of the

beautiful smv; Snow so pure when it

fulls from the sky. To he trampled in

raud by the crowd rushing by; To be

trampled and tracked by the thousands of

feet, Till it blends with the honiblc

filth of the street Once I was pure as

the snow—but I fell— Fell. 1 kethe snow-

flake from Heaven to HellFell, to be

trampled as filth in the streetFell, t>

be scoffed. to be spit on and beat ;

Pleading, Cursing, Dreading to die,

Selling my soul to whoever would bny,

Dealing in sb*me for a morsel of bread,

Hating the living, ami fearing the dead.

Merciful flod! have i fallen so low ?

And yet I was once like this beautiful

snow! Once I was fair as the beautiful

snow, "With an eye like its crystals, a

heart like its glow; Once I was loved

for my innocent grace— Flattered and

sought for the charms of my face.

Father, Mother, Sister, and all, God,

and myself, I have lost by my fall; The

veriest wretch that uoes shivering by

Will take a wide sweep lest I wauder too

nigh; For of all that is on or about me,

I know There is nothing that's pure but

the beautiful snow. How strange it

should be that this beautiful snow

Should fall on a sinner with nowhere to

go; If the snow and the ice struck my

desperate brain! How strange it would be

when the night conies again Fainting, f

Freezing, Dying a'on a*. Too wicked for

prayer, too weak for my moan To be heard

in the crash of the crazy town. Gone mad

in tbeir j.»y at the snow's coming down;

To lie and to die in my terrible woe,

With a bed aud a shroud of the beautiful

snow!