Sleighing

With never a plume of the wind set humming,
The snow has come, and still is coming.
Yonder, and hither, and everywhere,
Its silent feet in the pathless air
Trip down, and around, and over the ground, 
With a visible hush there is nothing glum in, 
Nothing but beauty and peace profound.

Ho, now for the fun! never wait for the sun!
The girls are dancing, the steeds are prancing, 
The boys are glancing, and sigh for a run
In the glimmering, shimmering, hovering covering,
Like flaky moonlight dropped on a lover in 
Shadowy glens that a lover knows, 
With their foliage clouds and moonbeam snows.

Now verily, merrily, cheerily go 
Over, and under, and through the snow, 
Willie, and Lillie, and Nellie, and Joe,
Black-eyed Nellie, and blue-eyed Willie, 
Hazel-eyed Lillie, and berry of sloe 
Twinkling under the brow of Joe, 
With the mischief in him as big as a crow!

Ho, with a shout! we are out and away!
Tangling, mingling, jangling, jingling, 
Laughing, chaffing, twingling, tingling;
Bells on the horses, and belles in the sleigh, 
Merrily, cheerily measure the way,
Shouting up echoes with "Caw, caw!" 
To frighten the crows from thicket and haw.

Shuffle toes, muffle nose under the buffaloes!
Smothering, feathering, gathering snow,
Over and under, around and below,
Yet nobody cares but the whitening crow!
Fast through the dingle we follow the jingle, 
And a fig for the fellows who doze by the ingle
When life goes leaping along the snow!