Middletown Valley in Song and Story (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1910. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... marked the spot where for years had stood the shack of Witch Margery; the mountain streams were still torrents and lightning-riven trees stood or lay everywhere. A horse lay dead in the vicinity of the mountain hut, and a hideous-looking cat sat amid the heap of ruins and scowled. The storm had tumbled great rocks from the upper slopes of the mountain and many of these formed a gigantic pile near the cabin. No one ever looked to see what might be under this mountain sepulchre, but one day, a few years later, during the battle of South Mountain, a Union soldier stooped and picked up a plain gold engagement ring, and while he gazed at the bauble whose date went back almost a century, he could not read the story we have tried to tell, nor imagine the wild ending of two lives in the cabin of Witch Margery. THE BELLS OF MIDDLETOWN. Let me, a rhymster, weave a crown For thee, O bells of Mlddletown, That ring above the sod and snows Where nferrily Catoctln flows, Towards the river dashing far Beneath the beams of Maryland's star. Bearing out to seas of sun The consciousness of deeds well done. How often doth each holy chime Breathe calm and peace at eventlme, When out upon the scented air They call the worshipers to pray'r; How often, too, the sacred knell Proclaims some passing soul's farewell, And says in notes that e'er abide: "There shall be light at eventide." I heard thee in the long ago, O, bells that ring so soft and low--When childhood was a golden dream And youth with joys was all agleam; Upon my mother's ears there fell The cadence of thy holy swell, And friends who rest beneath the sod Heard in thy tones the voice of God. i i The mountain walls in blue and brown Hark to the bells of Middletown, And far and wide their notes of peace Bid suffering and sorrow ...