Bristol - 1941

[dhermann1]

Digging through some old family stuff, I found this. It's a poem written by my great aunt, Rachel Lewis Dithridge, in January 1941. This was a full year before Pearl Harbor. My great aunt was a REAL Anglophile, as you can tell from this. She was born in Pittsburgh in 1873, and died in New York in 1956. Her mother, Harriet Lewis Dithridge, was born in Bristol, England in 1841, and came to America in 1850.
Anyhow, here it is.

In Bristol

There's a little house in Bristol,-
It stands in a modest street;
To it in happier hours
I have gone on pilgrim's feet.

Oh, Bristol has her beauty,
For travelers to admire,-
Lovely St. Mary Radcliffe's
With its heaven-reaching spire!

And Bristol has traditions,
Of enterprise and power,-
From its hill rising strong and sturdy
Is the old grey Cabot tower.

But beyond all power and beauty,
A sacred spot of earth,-
Is the little house near Christmas steps,
The place on my Mother's birth.

Oh, little house in Bristol!
Perhaps it is there no more.

Jan. '41
R.L.D.

News item: Bristol, England, Jan. 4th"" 41 ... The twelve hour fire-bomb attack carried out by German raiders ... took severe toll of damage in this British port.

 

[Smithy]

Lovely poem and a wonderful little piece of family history. Thanks for posting that.

 

[dhermann1]

There's another one somewhere about cathedrals. It starts out, "I envy you each dim cathedral, aisle, where one may stop and linger for a while." Very sweet.

 

[Smithy]

If you find it do post it. These little gems are a great look at attitudes, thoughts and feelings from the past. But one of the nice things with them often, is they remind us that regardless of time of the little common threads of humanity which bind us down through the ages.

Sorry to wax lyrical and hope you know what I mean by that.

Thanks once again for posting that.