Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Literary
June 25, 1846
Vermont Watchman And State Journal
Montpelier, Washington County, Vermont
What is this article about?
A narrative poem about a mother's sacrifice in 1821 on Vermont's Green Mountains: Mrs. Blake, lost in a blizzard, wraps her infant in her mantle, exposes herself to the cold, and dies, but the child survives, smiling when found by a traveler. Sung by the Hutchinson Family, music by Mr. Heath.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
POETRY.
HUTCHINSON FAMILY'S SONG.
The incident related in the following lines occurred in 1821, on one of the Green Mountains in Vermont. The mother was Mrs. Blake, whose child was preserved in the manner described. This is one of the popular songs sung by the Hutchinson Family, set to music by Mr. Heath.
The cold wind swept the mountain height,
And pathless was the dreary wild—
And 'mid the cheerless hours of night
A mother wandered with her child.
As through the drifting snow she pressed.
The babe was sleeping on her breast.
And colder still the winds did blow,
And darker hours of night came on,
And deeper grew the drifting snow,
Her limbs were chilled, her strength was gone:
"Oh, God!" she cried, in accents wild,
"If I must perish, save my child."
She stripped her mantle from her breast,
And bared her bosom to the storm,
And round her child she wrapped the vest,
And smiled to think her babe was warm.
With one cold kiss a tear she shed,
And sunk upon a snowy bed.
At dawn a traveller came by,
And saw her 'neath a snowy veil—
The frost of death was in her eye,
Her cheek was cold, and hard, and pale:
He moved the robe that wrapped the child—
The babe looked up, and sweetly smiled!
HUTCHINSON FAMILY'S SONG.
The incident related in the following lines occurred in 1821, on one of the Green Mountains in Vermont. The mother was Mrs. Blake, whose child was preserved in the manner described. This is one of the popular songs sung by the Hutchinson Family, set to music by Mr. Heath.
The cold wind swept the mountain height,
And pathless was the dreary wild—
And 'mid the cheerless hours of night
A mother wandered with her child.
As through the drifting snow she pressed.
The babe was sleeping on her breast.
And colder still the winds did blow,
And darker hours of night came on,
And deeper grew the drifting snow,
Her limbs were chilled, her strength was gone:
"Oh, God!" she cried, in accents wild,
"If I must perish, save my child."
She stripped her mantle from her breast,
And bared her bosom to the storm,
And round her child she wrapped the vest,
And smiled to think her babe was warm.
With one cold kiss a tear she shed,
And sunk upon a snowy bed.
At dawn a traveller came by,
And saw her 'neath a snowy veil—
The frost of death was in her eye,
Her cheek was cold, and hard, and pale:
He moved the robe that wrapped the child—
The babe looked up, and sweetly smiled!
What sub-type of article is it?
Poem
What themes does it cover?
Death Mortality
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Mother Sacrifice
Blizzard Survival
Vermont Mountains
Hutchinson Family Song
Maternal Love
Death In Snow
What entities or persons were involved?
Hutchinson Family
Literary Details
Title
Hutchinson Family's Song.
Author
Hutchinson Family
Subject
Incident In 1821 On The Green Mountains In Vermont Involving Mrs. Blake And Her Child
Key Lines
"Oh, God!" She Cried, In Accents Wild,
"If I Must Perish, Save My Child."
She Stripped Her Mantle From Her Breast,
And Bared Her Bosom To The Storm,
The Babe Looked Up, And Sweetly Smiled!