A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol.

by J. R. Lowell

"What means this glory round our feet?"

The Magi mused, "more bright than morn?"

And voices chanted clear and sweet,

" To-day the Prince of Peace is born!"

"What means that star?" the shepherd said,

"That brightens through the rocky glen ?"

And angels answering overhead,

Sang, "Peace on earth, good will to men!"

'Tis eighteen hundred years and more

Since those sweet oracles were dumb;

We wait for Him, like them of yore;

Alas, He seems so slow to come!

But it was said, in words of gold,

No time or sorrow e'er shall dim,

That little children might be bold

In perfect trust to come to Him.

All round about our feet shall shine

A light like that the wise men saw,

If we our loving wills incline

To that sweet Life which is the Law.

So shall we learn to understand

The simple faith of shepherds then,

And clasping kindly hand in hand,

Sing, "Peace on earth, good will to men!"

And they who do their souls no wrong,

But keep at eve the faith of morn,

Shall daily hear the angel-song,

"To-day the Prince of Peace is born!"

Old English Christmases

Old English Christmases.

       The court celebrations of Christmas were observed with great splendor during the reign of King Charles the First. The royal family, with the lords and ladies, often took part themselves in the performances, and the cost to prepare costumes and sceneries for one occasion often amounted to ten thousand dollars. During Charles's reign, and preceding his, Ben Jonson wrote the plays, or masques, for Christmas. The court doings were, of course, copied outside by the people, and up to the twelfth night after Christmas, sports and feastings held high carnival.

       So important were these Christmas court celebrations held by our ancestors, and of such moment were the preparations, that a special officer was appointed to take them in charge. To him were accorded large privileges, very considerable appointments, and a retinue equal to a prince's, counting in a chancellor, treasurer, comptroller, vice-chamberlain, divine, philosopher, astronomer, poet, physician, master of requests, clown, civilian, ushers, pages, footmen, messengers, jugglers, herald, orator, hunters, tumblers, friar, and fools. Over this mock court the mock monarch presided during the holidays with a reign as absolute as the actual monarch.

The Power of Christmas

The Power of Christmas.

       Even under the pressure of battle the influence of the Christmas season has exerted a powerful effect. In 1428, during the war of the roses, while Orleans was under siege, the English lords, history tells us, requested the French commanders to suspend hostilities, and let the usual celebration of Christmas eye take their place. This was agreed to, and the air was filled with the song of the minstrels and the music of trumpets, instead of the discordant sounds of battle.

The Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree.

(Recitation for a boy to give before a Christmas tree is dismantled.)

Of all the trees in the woods and fields

There's none like the Christmas tree;

Tho' rich and rare is the fruit he yields,

The strangest of trees is he.

Some drink their fill from the shower or rill;

No cooling draught needs he;

Some bend and break when the storms awake,

But they reach not the Christmas tree.

When wintry winds thro' the forests sweep,

And snow robes the leafless limb;

When cold and still is the ice-bound deep,

O this is the time for him.

Beneath the dome of the sunny home,

He stands with all his charms;

'Mid laugh and song from the youthful throng,

As they gaze on his fruitful arms.

There's golden fruit on the Christmas tree,

And gems for the fair and gay;

The lettered page for the mind bears he,

And robes for the wintry day.

And there are toys for the girls and boys;

And eyes that years bedim

Grow strangely bright, with a youthful light,

As they pluck from the pendant limb.

Peace on Earth

Peace on Earth.

by S. T. Coleridge

(Recitation for a high-school pupil.)

The shepherds went their hasty way,

And found the lowly stable shed

Where the Virgin-Mother lay;

And now they checked their eager tread,

For to the Babe that at her bosom clung

A mother's song the Virgin-Mother sung.

They told her how a glorious light,

Streaming from a heavenly throng,

Around them shone suspending night,

While, sweeter than a mother's song,

Blest angels heralded the Savior's birth,

Glory to God on high and Peace on Earth.

She listened to the tale divine,

And closer still the Babe she prest;

And while she cried, The Babe is mine!

The milk rushed faster to her breast;

Joy rose within her like a summer's morn;

Peace, Peace on Earth ! the Prince of Peace is born

Thou Mother of the. Prince of Peace,

Poor, simple, and of low estate !

That strife should vanish, battle cease,

O why should this thy soul elate?

Sweet music's loudest note, the poet' story --

Didst thou ne'er love to hear of fame and glory?

And is not War a youthful king,

A stately hero clad in mail?

Beneath his footsteps laurels spring;

Him Earth's majestic monarch's hail

Their friend, their playmate! and his bold bright eye

Compels the maiden's love-confessing sigh.

" Tell this in some more courtly scene,

To maids and youths in robes of state!

I am a woman poor and mean,

And therefore is my soul elate.

War is a ruffian, all with guilt denied,

That from the aged father tears his child!

"A murderous fiend, by fiends adored,

He kills the sire and starves the son;

The husband kills, and from her hoard

Steals all his widow's toil had won;

Plunders God's world of beauty ; rends away

All safety from the night, all comfort from the day.

"Then wisely is my soul elate,

That strife should vanish, battle cease;

I'm poor and of a low estate,

The Mother of the Prince of Peace.

Joy rises in me like a summer's morn;

Peace, Peace on Earth ! the Prince of Peace is born."