Attempt > Volume 1 and Select writings

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THE ATTEMPT
parents, children, and guests in general, sat down to an early dinner, and drank the
health of the host with cheers and hearty good wishes. Being cautioned in a mys¬
terious manner to keep where he was, he wisely took the hint, leaving us to fasten up
curtains, stretch gauze, 'arrange lights, and commence the business of the evening.
This took some time, hut by eight o’clock we were ready to begin. Our stage, or
frame, as it might more correctly he called, was on an elevation above the lower hall,
facing the door. One young lady personated a fairy, dressed in white, holding a silver
wand, armed with which she stood before the curtain, and recited some verses
appropriate to each piece, after which the screen was drawn hack, and the group
appeared. We shall now set before our readers these lines and their subjects, hoping
for a lenient judgment on a performance got up in a hurry, and without many of the
appliances, so easily found in town, so difficult to procure in the country. Our rhymes
may sometimes sound rather lame, but judicious accentuation will, in most cases, put
them right, and he an exercise of ingenuity on the part of the readers. Bell tinkles,
fairy appears, waves the magic wand, and begins as follows—
“ From this day will burn bright and free,
And steadily burn to the ground,
In health and vigour, straight and sound,
The lamp of life that lives in thee.
’Twill be a guiding star to many,
’Twill light the path of those in darkness,
’Twill warm the hearts of those in heaviness,
And make the house cheerful and sunny.
And when, like ashes to the urn,
You to your native soil return,
Which be deferred, still many a year,
Leave no dark trace behind, but cheer !
“ Now turn from future times away
Your eye, let it on present stay—
My magic wand will change blank air
To cheerful visions bright and fair.
There crowd on my reflecting mind,
And rise in front, and from behind,
A group of figures, eager all
To do you homage in this hall.
From these, I do select a few,
Which you will take, as they are meant,
These, at a moment’s notice sent
Before you, I explain to you.”