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Christmas in Poetry - Carols and Poems

<SPAN name="startofbook"></SPAN> <div class="transnote"> <p>Transcriber's Note:</p> <p>Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible.</p> </div> <h1>Christmas in Poetry</h1> <div class="center"> <ANTIMG id="coverpage" src="images/titlepage.jpg" width-obs="383" height-obs="600" alt="" /></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p class="center">Printed in the United States of America</p> <hr class="chap" /> <h2>CONTENTS</h2> <table summary="contents"> <tr><td class="tdh">As Joseph Was A-Walking<br/> From The Cherry Tree Carol</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_31">31</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Boots and Saddles<br/> Provençal Noël of Nicholas Saboly</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_7">7</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella!<br/> Provençal Noël of Nicholas Saboly</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_29">29</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Carol<br/> William Canton</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_34">34</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Carol<br/> Kenneth Grahame</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_9">9</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Carol in Praise of the Holly and Ivy<br/> Fifteenth Century Carol</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_45">45</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Carol of the Birds<br/> Bas-Quercy</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_23">23</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Carol of the Russian Children<br/> Russian Folk Song</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_11">11</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Ceremonies for Christmas<br/> Robert Herrick</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_46">46</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Child’s Present to His Child-Saviour<br/> Robert Herrick</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_35">35</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas<br/> Nahum Tate</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_16">16</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas Carol<br/> Old English Carol</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_1">1</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas Carol<br/> Translated from the Neapolitan</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_19">19</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas Carol<br/> Josiah Gilbert Holland</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_36">36</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas Carol<br/> Christine G. Rossetti</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_33">33</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas Eve<br/> John Davidson</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_21">21</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas Eve—Another Ceremony<br/> Robert Herrick</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_47">47</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas Eve—Another Ceremony to the Maids<br/> Robert Herrick</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_47">47</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas Folksong<br/> Lisette Woodworth Reese</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_30">30</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas Hymn<br/> C. Frances Alexander</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_14">14</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Christmas Silence<br/> Margaret Deland</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_28">28</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Cradle Hymn<br/> Martin Luther</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_32">32</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">From Far Away<br/> William Morris</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_2">2</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen<br/> Dinah Maria Mulock</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_42">42</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Golden Carol<br/> Old Carol</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_20">20</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Good King Wenceslas<br/> Translated from the Latin by J. M. Neale</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_38">38</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Least of Carols<br/> Sophie Jewett</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_26">26</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Lordings, Listen to Our Lay<br/> Old Carol</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_4">4</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Nativity Song<br/> Sophie Jewett</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_27">27</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Neighbors of Bethlehem<br/> Thirteenth Century French Carol</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_10">10</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Our Joyful Feast<br/> George Wither</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_48">48</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Shepherd Who Stayed<br/> Theodosia Garrison</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_37">37</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Shepherds Had an Angel<br/> Christina G. Rossetti</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_24">24</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Signs of Christmas<br/> Edwin Lees</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_12">12</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Song of a Shepherd Boy at Bethlehem<br/> Josephine Preston Peabody</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_25">25</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Story of the Shepherd<br/> Translated from the Spanish</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_17">17</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">’Twas Jolly, Jolly Wat<br/> C. W. Stubbs</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_5">5</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Wassail Song<br/> Old Devonshire Carol</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_43">43</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">Wassailer’s Song<br/> Robert Southwell</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_44">44</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td class="tdh">We Three Kings<br/> J. H. Hopkins, jr.</td> <td class="tdp"><SPAN href="#Page_40">40</SPAN></td></tr> </table> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>A CHRISTMAS CAROL</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">God bless the master of this house,<br/></span> <span class="i10">The mistress also,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And all the little children,<br/></span> <span class="i10">That round the table go.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And all your kin and folk,<br/></span> <span class="i10">That dwell both far and near;<br/></span> <span class="i0">I wish you a merry Christmas,<br/></span> <span class="i10">And a happy New Year.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Old English Carol</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>FROM FAR AWAY</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">From far away we come to you.<br/></span> <span class="i2">The snow in the street, and the wind on the door,<br/></span> <span class="i0">To tell of great tidings, strange and true.<br/></span> <span class="i2">Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor.<br/></span> <span class="i4">From far away we come to you,<br/></span> <span class="i4">To tell of great tidings, strange and true.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">For as we wandered far and wide,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The snow in the street, and the wind on the door,<br/></span> <span class="i0">What hap do you deem there should us betide?<br/></span> <span class="i2">Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Under a bent when the night was deep,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The snow in the street, and the wind on the door,<br/></span> <span class="i0">There lay three shepherds, tending their sheep.<br/></span> <span class="i2">Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“O ye shepherds, what have ye seen,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The snow in the street, and the wind on the door,<br/></span> <span class="i0">To stay your sorrow and heal your teen?”<br/></span> <span class="i2">Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“In an ox stall this night we saw,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The snow in the street, and the wind on the door,<br/></span> <span class="i0">A Babe and a maid without a flaw.<br/></span> <span class="i2">Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“There was an old man there beside;<br/></span> <span class="i2">The snow in the street, and the wind on the door,<br/></span> <span class="i0">His hair was white, and his hood was wide.<br/></span> <span class="i2">Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“And as we gazed this thing upon,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The snow in the street, and the wind on the door,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Those twain knelt down to the little one.<br/></span> <span class="i2">Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor.<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“And a marvellous song we straight did hear,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The snow in the street, and the wind on the door.<br/></span> <span class="i0">That slew our sorrow and healed our care.”<br/></span> <span class="i2">Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">News of a fair and marvellous thing,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The snow in the street, and the wind on the door,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, we sing.<br/></span> <span class="i2">Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor.<br/></span> <span class="i4">From far away we come to you,<br/></span> <span class="i4">To tell of great tidings, strange and true.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>William Morris</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>LORDINGS, LISTEN TO OUR LAY</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Lordings, listen to our lay—<br/></span> <span class="i0">We have come from far away<br/></span> <span class="i4">To seek Christmas;<br/></span> <span class="i0">In this mansion we are told<br/></span> <span class="i0">He His yearly feast doth hold:<br/></span> <span class="i4">’Tis to-day!<br/></span> <span class="i0">May joy come from God above,<br/></span> <span class="i0">To all those who Christmas love.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Old Carol</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>’TWAS JOLLY, JOLLY WAT</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">’Twas jolly, jolly Wat, my foy,<br/></span> <span class="i0">He was a goodman’s shepherd boy,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And he sat by his sheep<br/></span> <span class="i2">On the hill-side so steep,<br/></span> <span class="i4">And piped this song,<br/></span> <span class="i6">Ut hoy! Ut hoy!<br/></span> <span class="i2">O merry, merry sing for joy,<br/></span> <span class="i6">Ut hoy!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">A’down from Heav’n that is so high<br/></span> <span class="i0">There came an angel companye,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And on Bethlehem hill<br/></span> <span class="i2">Thro’ the night-tide so still<br/></span> <span class="i4">Their song out-rang:<br/></span> <span class="i6">On high, On high,<br/></span> <span class="i2">O glory be to God on high,<br/></span> <span class="i6">On high!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Now must Wat go where Christ is born,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Yea, go and come again to-morn.<br/></span> <span class="i2">And my pipe it shall play,<br/></span> <span class="i2">All my heart it doth say<br/></span> <span class="i4">To Shepherd King:<br/></span> <span class="i6">Ut hoy! Ut hoy!<br/></span> <span class="i2">O merry, merry sing for joy,<br/></span> <span class="i6">Ut hoy!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">O peace on earth, good will to men,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The angels sang again, again,<br/></span> <span class="i2">For to you was He born<br/></span> <span class="i2">On this Christmas morn,<br/></span> <span class="i4">So sing we all:<br/></span> <span class="i6">On high, On high,<br/></span> <span class="i2">O glory be to God on high,<br/></span> <span class="i6">On high!<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Jesu my King, it’s naught for Thee,<br/></span> <span class="i0">A bob of cherries, one, two, three,<br/></span> <span class="i2">But my tar-box and ball,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And my pipe, I give all<br/></span> <span class="i4">To Thee, my King.<br/></span> <span class="i6">Ut hoy! Ut hoy!<br/></span> <span class="i2">O merry, merry sing for joy,<br/></span> <span class="i6">Ut hoy!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Farewell, herd-boy, saith Mary mild.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Thanks, jolly Wat, smiled Mary’s child,<br/></span> <span class="i2">For fit gift for a king<br/></span> <span class="i2">Is your heart in the thing.<br/></span> <span class="i4">So pipe you well,<br/></span> <span class="i6">For joy, for joy!<br/></span> <span class="i2">O merry, merry sing for joy,<br/></span> <span class="i6">Ut hoy!<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>C. W. Stubbs</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>BOOTS AND SADDLES</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Our shepherds all<br/></span> <span class="i2">As pilgrims have departed,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Our shepherds all<br/></span> <span class="i2">Have gone to Bethlehem.<br/></span> <span class="i0">They gladly go<br/></span> <span class="i2">For they are all stout-hearted,<br/></span> <span class="i0">They gladly go—<br/></span> <span class="i2">Ah, could I go with them!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i2">I am too lame to walk,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Boots and saddles, boots and saddles,<br/></span> <span class="i2">I am too lame to walk,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Boots and saddles, mount and ride.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">A shepherd stout<br/></span> <span class="i2">Who sang a catamiaulo,<br/></span> <span class="i0">A shepherd stout<br/></span> <span class="i2">Was walking lazily.<br/></span> <span class="i0">He heard me speak<br/></span> <span class="i2">And saw me hobbling after,<br/></span> <span class="i0">He turned and said<br/></span> <span class="i2">He would give help to me.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Here is my horse<br/></span> <span class="i2">That flies along the high-road,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Here is my horse,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The best in all the towns.<br/></span> <span class="i0">I bought him from<br/></span> <span class="i2">A soldier in the army,<br/></span> <span class="i0">I got my horse<br/></span> <span class="i2">By payment of five crowns.”<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When I have seen<br/></span> <span class="i2">The Child, the King of Heaven,<br/></span> <span class="i0">When I have seen<br/></span> <span class="i2">The Child who is God’s son,<br/></span> <span class="i0">When to the mother,<br/></span> <span class="i2">I my praise have given,<br/></span> <span class="i0">When I have finished,<br/></span> <span class="i2">All I should have done:<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i2">No more shall I be lame,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Boots and saddles, boots and saddles,<br/></span> <span class="i2">No more shall I be lame,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Boots and saddles, mount and ride.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Provençal Noël of Nicholas Saboly</i></div> <p class="p2"><i>Included by permission of The H. W. Gray Company.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CAROL</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Villagers all, this frosty tide,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Let your doors swing open wide,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Though wind may follow, and snow beside,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Yet draw us in by your fire to bide;<br/></span> <span class="i2">Joy shall be yours in the morning!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Here we stand in the cold and the sleet,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Blowing fingers and stamping feet,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Come from far away you to greet—<br/></span> <span class="i0">You by the fire and we in the street—<br/></span> <span class="i2">Bidding you joy in the morning!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">For ere one half of the night was gone,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Sudden a star has led us on,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Raining bliss and benison—<br/></span> <span class="i0">Bliss to-morrow and more anon,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Joy for every morning!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Goodman Joseph toiled through the snow—<br/></span> <span class="i0">Saw the star o’er a stable low;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Mary she might not further go—<br/></span> <span class="i0">Welcome thatch, and litter below!<br/></span> <span class="i2">Joy was hers in the morning!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And then they heard the angels tell<br/></span> <span class="i0">“Who were the first to cry NOWELL?<br/></span> <span class="i0">Animals all, as it befell,<br/></span> <span class="i0">In the stable where they did dwell!<br/></span> <span class="i2">Joy shall be theirs in the morning!”<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Kenneth Grahame</i></div> <p class="p2"> <i>From “The Wind in the Willows”;<br/> Copyright, 1908, by Charles Scribner’s Sons.<br/> Included by permission of the publishers.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>THE NEIGHBORS OF BETHLEHEM</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Good neighbor, tell me why that sound,<br/></span> <span class="i0">That noisy tumult rising round,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Awaking all in slumber lying?<br/></span> <span class="i0">Truly disturbing are these cries,<br/></span> <span class="i0">All through the quiet village flying,<br/></span> <span class="i0">O come ye shepherds, wake, arise!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">What, neighbor, then do ye not know<br/></span> <span class="i0">God hath appeared on earth below<br/></span> <span class="i0">And now is born in manger lowly!<br/></span> <span class="i0">In humble guise he came this night,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Simple and meek, this infant holy,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Yet how divine in beauty bright.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Good neighbor, I must make amend,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Forthwith to bring Him will I send,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And Joseph with the gentle Mother.<br/></span> <span class="i0">When to my home these three I bring,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Then will it far outshine all other,<br/></span> <span class="i0">A palace fair for greatest king!<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Thirteenth Century French Carol</i></div> <p class="p2"><i>Included by permission of The H. W. Gray Company.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CAROL OF THE RUSSIAN CHILDREN</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Snow-bound mountains, snow-bound valleys,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Snow-bound plateaus, clad in white,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Fur-robed moujiks, fur-robed nobles,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Fur-robed children, see the light.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Shaggy pony, shaggy oxen,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Gentle shepherds wait the light;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Little Jesus, little Mother,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Good St. Joseph, come this night.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Russian Folk Song</i></div> <p class="p2"><i>Included by permission of The H. W. Gray Company.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>SIGNS OF CHRISTMAS</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When on the barn’s thatch’d roof is seen<br/></span> <span class="i0">The moss in tufts of liveliest green;<br/></span> <span class="i0">When Roger to the wood pile goes,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And, as he turns, his fingers blows;<br/></span> <span class="i0">When all around is cold and drear,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Be sure that Christmas-tide is near.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When up the garden walk in vain<br/></span> <span class="i0">We seek for Flora’s lovely train;<br/></span> <span class="i0">When the sweet hawthorn bower is bare,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And bleak and cheerless is the air;<br/></span> <span class="i0">When all seems desolate around,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Christmas advances o’er the ground.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When Tom at eve comes home from plough,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And brings the mistletoe’s green bough,<br/></span> <span class="i0">With milk-white berries spotted o’er,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And shakes it the sly maids before,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Then hangs the trophy up on high,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Be sure that Christmas-tide is nigh.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When Hal, the woodman, in his clogs,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Bears home the huge unwieldy logs,<br/></span> <span class="i0">That, hissing on the smouldering fire,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Flame out at last a quiv’ring spire;<br/></span> <span class="i0">When in his hat the holly stands,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Old Christmas musters up his bands.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When cluster’d round the fire at night,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Old William talks of ghost and sprite,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And, as a distant out-house gate<br/></span> <span class="i0">Slams by the wind, they fearful wait,<br/></span> <span class="i0">While some each shadowy nook explore,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Then Christmas pauses at the door.<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When Dick comes shiv’ring from the yard,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And says the pond is frozen hard,<br/></span> <span class="i0">While from his hat, all white with snow,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The moisture, trickling, drops below,<br/></span> <span class="i0">While carols sound, the night to cheer,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Then Christmas and his train are here.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Edwin Lees</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>A CHRISTMAS HYMN</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Once in royal David’s city<br/></span> <span class="i2">Stood a lowly cattle-shed<br/></span> <span class="i0">Where a mother laid her Baby,<br/></span> <span class="i2">In a manger for His bed.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Mary was that mother mild,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Jesus Christ her little Child.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">He came down to earth from heaven,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Who is God and Lord of all,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And His shelter was a stable,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And His cradle was a stall.<br/></span> <span class="i0">With the poor, and mean, and lowly<br/></span> <span class="i0">Lived on earth our Saviour holy.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And through all His wondrous childhood,<br/></span> <span class="i2">He would honour and obey.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Love and watch the lowly mother<br/></span> <span class="i2">In whose gentle arms He lay.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Christian children, all must be<br/></span> <span class="i0">Mild, obedient, good as He.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">For He is our childhood’s Pattern,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Day by day like us He grew;<br/></span> <span class="i0">He was little, weak, and helpless,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Tears and smiles like us He knew:<br/></span> <span class="i0">And He feeleth for our sadness,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And He shareth in our gladness.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And our eyes at last shall see Him,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Through His own redeeming love,<br/></span> <span class="i0">For that Child so dear and gentle<br/></span> <span class="i2">Is our Lord in Heaven above;<br/></span> <span class="i0">And He leads His children on<br/></span> <span class="i0">To the place where He is gone.<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Not in that poor lowly stable,<br/></span> <span class="i2">With the oxen standing by,<br/></span> <span class="i0">We shall see Him; but in Heaven,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Set at God’s right hand on high;<br/></span> <span class="i0">When like stars His children crowned,<br/></span> <span class="i0">All in white shall wait around.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>C. Frances Alexander</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CHRISTMAS</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">While shepherds watch’d their flocks by night,<br/></span> <span class="i2">All seated on the ground,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The angel of the Lord came down,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And glory shone around.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Fear not,” said he (for mighty dread<br/></span> <span class="i2">Had seized their troubled mind);<br/></span> <span class="i0">“Glad tidings of great joy I bring<br/></span> <span class="i2">To you and all mankind.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“To you, in David’s town, this day<br/></span> <span class="i2">Is born of David’s line<br/></span> <span class="i0">The Saviour who is Christ the Lord;<br/></span> <span class="i2">And this shall be the sign:<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“The heavenly Babe you there shall find<br/></span> <span class="i2">To human view display’d,<br/></span> <span class="i0">All meanly wrapt in swathing bands,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And in a manger laid.”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Thus spake the Seraph; and forthwith<br/></span> <span class="i2">Appear’d a shining throng<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of angels, praising God, and thus<br/></span> <span class="i2">Address’d their joyful song:<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“All glory be to God on high,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And to the earth be peace;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Good-will henceforth from heaven to men<br/></span> <span class="i2">Begin, and never cease!”<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Nahum Tate</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>THE STORY OF THE SHEPHERD</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">It was the very noon of night: the stars above the fold,<br/></span> <span class="i0">More sure than clock or chiming bell, the hour of midnight told:<br/></span> <span class="i0">When from the heav’ns there came a voice, and forms were seen to shine<br/></span> <span class="i0">Still bright’ning as the music rose with light and love divine.<br/></span> <span class="i0">With love divine, the song began; there shone a light serene:<br/></span> <span class="i0">O, who hath heard what I have heard, or seen what I have seen?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">O ne’er could nightingale at dawn salute the rising day<br/></span> <span class="i0">With sweetness like that bird of song in his immortal lay:<br/></span> <span class="i0">O ne’er were woodnotes heard at eve by banks with poplar shade<br/></span> <span class="i0">So thrilling as the concert sweet by heav’nly harpings made;<br/></span> <span class="i0">For love divine was in each chord, and filled each pause between:<br/></span> <span class="i0">O, who hath heard what I have heard, or seen what I have seen?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">I roused me at the piercing strain, but shrunk as from the ray<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of summer lightning: all around so bright the splendour lay.<br/></span> <span class="i0">For oh, it mastered sight and sense, to see that glory shine,<br/></span> <span class="i0">To hear that minstrel in the clouds, who sang of Love Divine,<br/></span> <span class="i0">To see that form with bird-like wings, of more than mortal mien:<br/></span> <span class="i0">O, who hath heard what I have heard, or seen what I have seen?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When once the rapturous trance was past, that so my sense could bind,<br/></span> <span class="i0">I left my sheep to Him whose care breathed in the western wind:<br/></span> <span class="i0">I left them, for instead of snow, I trod on blade and flower,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And ice dissolved in starry rays at morning’s gracious hour,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Revealing where on earth the steps of Love Divine had been:<br/></span> <span class="i0">O, who hath heard what I have heard, or seen what I have seen?<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">I hasted to a low-roofed shed, for so the Angel bade;<br/></span> <span class="i0">And bowed before the lowly rack where Love Divine was laid:<br/></span> <span class="i0">A new-born Babe, like tender Lamb, with Lion’s strength there smiled;<br/></span> <span class="i0">For Lion’s strength immortal might, was in that new-born Child;<br/></span> <span class="i0">That Love Divine in child-like form had God for ever been:<br/></span> <span class="i0">O, who hath heard what I have heard, or seen what I have seen?<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Translated from the Spanish</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>A CHRISTMAS CAROL</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When Christ was born in Bethlehem,<br/></span> <span class="i0">’Twas night but seemed the noon of day:<br/></span> <span class="i4">The star whose light<br/></span> <span class="i4">Was pure and bright,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Shone with unwav’ring ray;<br/></span> <span class="i4">But one bright star,<br/></span> <span class="i4">One glorious star<br/></span> <span class="i0">Guided the Eastern Magi from afar.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Then peace was spread throughout the land;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The lion fed beside the lamb;<br/></span> <span class="i4">And with the kid,<br/></span> <span class="i4">To pastures led,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The spotted leopard fed<br/></span> <span class="i4">In peace, in peace<br/></span> <span class="i4">The calf and bear,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The wolf and lamb reposed together there.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">As shepherds watched their flocks by night,<br/></span> <span class="i0">An angel brighter than the sun<br/></span> <span class="i4">Appeared in air,<br/></span> <span class="i4">And gently said,<br/></span> <span class="i0">“Fear not, be not afraid,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Behold, behold,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Beneath your eyes,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Earth has become a smiling Paradise.”<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Translated from the Neapolitan</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>THE GOLDEN CAROL<br/> (<i>Of Melchior, Balthazar, and Caspar, the Three Kings</i>)</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">We saw the light shine out a-far,<br/></span> <span class="i2">On Christmas in the morning.<br/></span> <span class="i0">And straight we knew Christ’s Star it was,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Bright beaming in the morning.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Then did we fall on bended knee,<br/></span> <span class="i0">On Christmas in the morning,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And prais’d the Lord, who’d let us see<br/></span> <span class="i0">His glory at its dawning.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Oh! every thought be of His Name,<br/></span> <span class="i2">On Christmas in the morning,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Who bore for us both grief and shame,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Afflictions sharpest scorning.<br/></span> <span class="i0">And may we die (when death shall come),<br/></span> <span class="i2">On Christmas in the morning,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And see in heav’n, our glorious home,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The Star of Christmas morning.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Old Carol</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CHRISTMAS EVE</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">In holly hedges starving birds<br/></span> <span class="i4">Silently mourn the setting year;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Upright like silver-plated swords<br/></span> <span class="i4">The flags stand in the frozen mere.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The mistletoe we still adore<br/></span> <span class="i4">Upon the twisted hawthorn grows:<br/></span> <span class="i0">In antique gardens hellebore<br/></span> <span class="i4">Puts forth its blushing Christmas rose.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Shrivell’d and purple, cheek by jowl,<br/></span> <span class="i4">The hips and haws hang drearily;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Roll’d in a ball the sulky owl<br/></span> <span class="i4">Creeps far into his hollow tree.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">In abbeys and cathedrals dim<br/></span> <span class="i4">The birth of Christ is acted o’er;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The kings of Cologne worship him,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Balthazar, Jasper, Melchior.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The shepherds in the field at night<br/></span> <span class="i4">Beheld an angel glory-clad.<br/></span> <span class="i0">And shrank away with sore afright.<br/></span> <span class="i4">“Be not afraid,” the angel bade.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“I bring good news to king and clown,<br/></span> <span class="i4">To you here crouching on the sward;<br/></span> <span class="i0">For there is born in David’s town<br/></span> <span class="i4">A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Behold the babe is swathed, and laid<br/></span> <span class="i4">Within a manger.” Straight there stood<br/></span> <span class="i0">Beside the angel all arrayed<br/></span> <span class="i4">A heavenly multitude.<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Glory to God,” they sang; “and peace,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Good pleasure among men.”<br/></span> <span class="i0">The wondrous message of release!<br/></span> <span class="i4">Glory to God again!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Hush! Hark! the waits, far up the street!<br/></span> <span class="i4">A distant, ghostly charm unfolds,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of magic music wild and sweet,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Anemones and clarigolds.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>John Davidson</i></div> <p class="p2"><i>From “Fleet Street Eclogues.” Included by permission of Dodd, Mead and Company.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CAROL OF THE BIRDS</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Whence comes this rush of wings afar.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Following straight the Noël star?<br/></span> <span class="i0">Birds from the woods in wondrous flight,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Bethlehem seek this Holy Night.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Tell us, ye birds, why come ye here.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Into this stable, poor and drear?”<br/></span> <span class="i0">“Hast’ning we seek the new-born King,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And all our sweetest music bring.”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Hark how the green-finch bears his part,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Philomel, too, with tender heart,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Chants from her leafy dark retreat<br/></span> <span class="i0">Re, mi, fa, sol, in accents sweet.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Angels and shepherds, birds of the sky,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Come where the Son of God doth lie;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Christ on the earth with man doth dwell.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Join in the shout, Noël, Noël.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Bas-Quercy</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>THE SHEPHERDS HAD AN ANGEL</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The shepherds had an angel,<br/></span> <span class="i2">The wise men had a star;<br/></span> <span class="i0">But what have I, a little child,<br/></span> <span class="i2">To guide me home from far,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Where glad stars sing together,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And singing angels are?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Lord Jesus is my Guardian,<br/></span> <span class="i2">So I can nothing lack;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The lambs lie in His bosom<br/></span> <span class="i2">Along life’s dangerous track:<br/></span> <span class="i0">The wilful lambs that go astray<br/></span> <span class="i2">He, bleeding, brings them back.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Those shepherds thro’ the lonely night<br/></span> <span class="i2">Sat watching by their sheep,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Until they saw the heav’nly host<br/></span> <span class="i2">Who neither tire nor sleep,<br/></span> <span class="i0">All singing Glory, glory,<br/></span> <span class="i2">In festival they keep.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Christ watches me, His little lamb,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Cares for me day and night,<br/></span> <span class="i0">That I may be His own in heav’n;<br/></span> <span class="i2">So angels clad in white<br/></span> <span class="i0">Shall sing their Glory, glory,<br/></span> <span class="i2">For my sake in the height.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Lord, bring me nearer day by day,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Till I my voice unite,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And sing my Glory, glory,<br/></span> <span class="i2">With angels clad in white.<br/></span> <span class="i0">All Glory, glory, giv’n to Thee,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Thro’ all the heav’nly height.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Christina G. Rossetti</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>SONG OF A SHEPHERD BOY AT BETHLEHEM</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Sleep, Thou little Child of Mary,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Rest Thee now.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Though these hands be rough from shearing<br/></span> <span class="i4">And the plow,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Yet they shall not ever fail Thee,<br/></span> <span class="i0">When the waiting nations hail Thee,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Bringing palms unto their King.<br/></span> <span class="i4">Now—I sing.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Sleep, Thou little Child of Mary,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Hope divine.<br/></span> <span class="i0">If Thou wilt but smile upon me,<br/></span> <span class="i4">I will twine<br/></span> <span class="i0">Blossoms for Thy garlanding.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Thou’rt so little to be King,<br/></span> <span class="i4">God’s Desire!<br/></span> <span class="i4">Not a brier<br/></span> <span class="i0">Shall be left to grieve Thy brow;<br/></span> <span class="i4">Rest Thee now.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Sleep, Thou little Child of Mary,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Some fair day<br/></span> <span class="i0">Wilt Thou, as Thou wert a brother,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Come away<br/></span> <span class="i0">Over hills and over hollow?<br/></span> <span class="i0">All the lambs will up and follow.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Follow but for love of Thee.<br/></span> <span class="i4">Lov’st Thou me?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Sleep, Thou little Child of Mary,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Rest Thee now.<br/></span> <span class="i0">I that watch am come from sheep-stead<br/></span> <span class="i4">And from plough.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Thou wilt have disdain of me<br/></span> <span class="i0">When Thou’rt lifted, royally,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Very high for all to see:<br/></span> <span class="i4">Smilest Thou?<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Josephine Preston Peabody</i></div> <p class="p2"><i>Included by permission of the author.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>THE LEAST OF CAROLS</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Loveliest dawn of gold and rose<br/></span> <span class="i0">Steals across undrifted snows;<br/></span> <span class="i0">In brown, rustling oak leaves stir<br/></span> <span class="i0">Squirrel, nuthatch, woodpecker;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Brief their matins, but, by noon,<br/></span> <span class="i0">All the sunny wood’s a-tune:<br/></span> <span class="i0">Jays, forgetting their harsh cries,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Pipe a spring note, clear and true;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Wheel on angel wings of blue,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Trumpeters of Paradise;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Then the tiniest feathered thing,<br/></span> <span class="i0">All a-flutter, tail and wing,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Gives himself to caroling:<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Chick-a-dee-dee, chick-a-dee!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Jesulino, hail to thee!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Lowliest baby born to-day,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Pillowed on a wisp of hay;<br/></span> <span class="i0">King no less of sky and earth,<br/></span> <span class="i12">And singing sea;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Jesu! Jesu! most and least!<br/></span> <span class="i0">For the sweetness of thy birth<br/></span> <span class="i0">Every little bird and beast,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Wind and wave and forest tree,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Praises God exceedingly,<br/></span> <span class="i24">Exceedingly.”<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Sophie Jewett</i></div> <p class="p2"><i>From “The Poems of Sophie Jewett.” Included by permission of the Thomas Y. Crowell Company.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>NATIVITY SONG</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The beautiful mother is bending<br/></span> <span class="i2">Low where her baby lies,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Helpless and frail, for her tending;<br/></span> <span class="i2">But she knows the glorious eyes.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The mother smiles and rejoices<br/></span> <span class="i2">While the baby laughs in the hay;<br/></span> <span class="i0">She listens to heavenly voices:<br/></span> <span class="i2">“The child shall be king, one day.”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">O dear little Christ in the manger,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Let me make merry with thee.<br/></span> <span class="i0">O King, in my hour of danger,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Wilt thou be strong for me?<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"> <div class="ilb center"> <i>Adapted from the Latin of Jacopone da Todi<br/> by Sophie Jewett</i></div> </div> <p class="p2"><i>From “The Poems of Sophie Jewett.” Included by permission of the Thomas Y. Crowell Company.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>THE CHRISTMAS SILENCE</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Hushed are the pigeons cooing low,<br/></span> <span class="i2">On dusty rafters of the loft;<br/></span> <span class="i2">And mild-eyed oxen, breathing soft,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Sleep on the fragrant hay below.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Dim shadows in the corner hide;<br/></span> <span class="i2">The glimmering lantern’s rays are shed<br/></span> <span class="i2">Where one young lamb just lifts his head,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Then huddles ’gainst his mother’s side.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Strange silence tingles in the air;<br/></span> <span class="i2">Through the half-open door a bar<br/></span> <span class="i2">Of light from one low hanging star<br/></span> <span class="i0">Touches a baby’s radiant hair—<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">No sound—the mother, kneeling, lays<br/></span> <span class="i2">Her cheek against the little face.<br/></span> <span class="i2">Oh human love! Oh heavenly grace!<br/></span> <span class="i0">’Tis yet in silence that she prays!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Ages of silence end to-night;<br/></span> <span class="i2">Then to the long-expectant earth<br/></span> <span class="i2">Glad angels come to greet His birth<br/></span> <span class="i0">In burst of music, love, and light!<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Margaret Deland</i></div> <p class="p2"><i>Included by permission of the author.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>BRING A TORCH, JEANETTE, ISABELLA!</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Bring a torch, to the cradle run!<br/></span> <span class="i0">It is Jesus, good folk of the village;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Christ is born, and Mary’s calling;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Ah! Ah! beautiful is the mother;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Ah! Ah! beautiful is her son.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">It is wrong when the Child is sleeping,<br/></span> <span class="i0">It is wrong to talk so loud;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Silence, all, as you gather around,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Lest your noise should waken Jesus:<br/></span> <span class="i0">Hush! Hush! see how fast He slumbers;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Hush! Hush! see how fast He sleeps.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Who goes there a-knocking so loudly?<br/></span> <span class="i0">Who goes there a-knocking like that?<br/></span> <span class="i0">Ope your doors, I have here on a plate<br/></span> <span class="i0">Some very good cakes which I am bringing:<br/></span> <span class="i0">Toc! Toc! quickly your doors now open;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Toc! Toc! come let us make good cheer.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Softly to the little stable,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Softly for a moment come;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Look and see how charming is Jesus,<br/></span> <span class="i0">How He is white, His cheeks are rosy.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Hush! Hush! see how the Child is sleeping;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Hush! Hush! see how He smiles in dreams.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Provençal Noël of Nicholas Saboly</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CHRISTMAS FOLKSONG</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The little Jesus came to town;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The wind blew up, the wind blew down;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Out in the street the wind was bold.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Now who would house Him from the cold?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Then opened wide a stable door<br/></span> <span class="i0">Fain were the rushes on the floor;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The Ox put forth a horned head:<br/></span> <span class="i0">“Come, little Lord, here make Thy bed.”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Uprose the Sheep were folded near:<br/></span> <span class="i0">“Thou Lamb of God, come, enter here.”<br/></span> <span class="i0">He entered there to rush and reed,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Who was the Lamb of God indeed.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The little Jesus came to town;<br/></span> <span class="i0">With ox and sheep He laid Him down.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Peace to the byre, peace to the fold,<br/></span> <span class="i0">For that they housed Him from the cold.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Lisette Woodworth Reese</i></div> <p class="p2"><i>Included by permission of Thomas B. Mosher.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>AS JOSEPH WAS A-WALKING</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">As Joseph was a-walking<br/></span> <span class="i2">He heard an angel sing:—<br/></span> <span class="i0">“This night there shall be born<br/></span> <span class="i2">Our heavenly King.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“He neither shall be born<br/></span> <span class="i2">In housen, nor in hall,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Nor in the place of Paradise,<br/></span> <span class="i2">But in an ox’s stall.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“He neither shall be clothéd<br/></span> <span class="i2">In purple nor in pall;<br/></span> <span class="i0">But in the fair, white linen,<br/></span> <span class="i2">That usen babies all.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“He neither shall be rockéd<br/></span> <span class="i2">In silver nor in gold,<br/></span> <span class="i0">But in a wooden cradle<br/></span> <span class="i2">That rocks on the mould.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“He neither shall be christened<br/></span> <span class="i2">In white wine nor in red,<br/></span> <span class="i0">But with fair spring water<br/></span> <span class="i2">With which we were christenéd.”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Mary took her baby,<br/></span> <span class="i2">She dressed Him so sweet,<br/></span> <span class="i0">She laid Him in a manger,<br/></span> <span class="i2">All there for to sleep.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">As she stood over Him<br/></span> <span class="i2">She heard angels sing,<br/></span> <span class="i0">“O bless our dear Saviour,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Our heavenly King.”<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>From the Cherry Tree Carol</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CRADLE HYMN</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.<br/></span> <span class="i0">The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay—<br/></span> <span class="i0">The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,<br/></span> <span class="i0">But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.<br/></span> <span class="i0">I love thee, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Martin Luther</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>A CHRISTMAS CAROL</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">In the bleak mid-winter<br/></span> <span class="i4">Frosty wind made moan,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Earth stood hard as iron,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Water like a stone;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Snow had fallen, snow on snow,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Snow on snow,<br/></span> <span class="i0">In the bleak mid-winter<br/></span> <span class="i4">Long ago.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him<br/></span> <span class="i4">Nor earth sustain;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Heaven and earth shall flee away<br/></span> <span class="i4">When He comes to reign.<br/></span> <span class="i0">In the bleak mid-winter<br/></span> <span class="i4">A stable-place sufficed<br/></span> <span class="i0">The Lord God Almighty<br/></span> <span class="i4">Jesus Christ.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Angels and archangels<br/></span> <span class="i4">May have gathered there,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Cherubim and seraphim<br/></span> <span class="i4">Thronged the air;<br/></span> <span class="i0">But only His Mother<br/></span> <span class="i4">In her maiden bliss<br/></span> <span class="i0">Worshipped her Beloved<br/></span> <span class="i4">With a kiss.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">What can I give Him,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Poor as I am?<br/></span> <span class="i0">If I were a shepherd<br/></span> <span class="i4">I would bring a lamb,<br/></span> <span class="i0">If I were a Wise Man,<br/></span> <span class="i4">I would do my part,—<br/></span> <span class="i0">Yet what I can I give Him,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Give my heart.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Christina G. Rossetti</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CAROL</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When the herds were watching<br/></span> <span class="i2">In the midnight chill,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Came a spotless lambkin<br/></span> <span class="i2">From the heavenly hill.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Snow was on the mountains,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And the wind was cold,<br/></span> <span class="i0">When from God’s own garden<br/></span> <span class="i2">Dropped a rose of gold.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When ’twas bitter winter,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Houseless and forlorn<br/></span> <span class="i0">In a star-lit stable<br/></span> <span class="i2">Christ the Babe was born.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Welcome, heavenly lambkin;<br/></span> <span class="i2">Welcome, golden rose;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Alleluia, Baby,<br/></span> <span class="i2">In the swaddling clothes!<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>William Canton</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>A CHILD’S PRESENT TO HIS CHILD-SAVIOUR</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Go, pretty child, and bear this flower<br/></span> <span class="i0">Unto thy little Saviour;<br/></span> <span class="i0">And tell Him, by that bud now blown,<br/></span> <span class="i0">He is the Rose of Sharon known.<br/></span> <span class="i0">When thou hast said so, stick it there<br/></span> <span class="i0">Upon His bib, or stomacher;<br/></span> <span class="i0">And tell Him, for good handsel<SPAN name="FNanchor_1" id="FNanchor_1"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</SPAN> too,<br/></span> <span class="i0">That thou hast brought a whistle new,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Made of a clean straight oaten reed,<br/></span> <span class="i0">To charm his cries at time of need.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Tell Him, for coral thou hast none,<br/></span> <span class="i0">But if thou hadst, He should have one;<br/></span> <span class="i0">But poor thou art, and known to be<br/></span> <span class="i0">Even as moneyless as He.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Lastly, if thou canst win a kiss<br/></span> <span class="i0">From those mellifluous lips of His,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Then never take a second on,<br/></span> <span class="i0">To spoil the first impression.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Robert Herrick</i></div> <div class="footnote"> <p><SPAN name="Footnote_1" id="Footnote_1"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></SPAN> handsel: a gift for good luck.</p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</SPAN></span></p> </div> <h2>A CHRISTMAS CAROL</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">There’s a song in the air!<br/></span> <span class="i0">There’s a star in the sky!<br/></span> <span class="i0">There’s a mother’s deep prayer<br/></span> <span class="i0">And a baby’s low cry!<br/></span> <span class="i4">And the star rains its fire while the Beautiful sing,<br/></span> <span class="i4">For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a king.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">There’s a tumult of joy<br/></span> <span class="i0">O’er the wonderful birth,<br/></span> <span class="i0">For the virgin’s sweet boy<br/></span> <span class="i0">Is the Lord of the earth,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Ay! the star rains its fire and the Beautiful sing,<br/></span> <span class="i4">For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a king.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">In the light of that star<br/></span> <span class="i0">Lie the ages impearled;<br/></span> <span class="i0">And that song from afar<br/></span> <span class="i0">Has swept over the world.<br/></span> <span class="i4">Every hearth is aflame, and the Beautiful sing<br/></span> <span class="i4">In the homes of the nations that Jesus is King.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">We rejoice in the light,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And we echo the song<br/></span> <span class="i0">That comes down through the night<br/></span> <span class="i0">From the heavenly throng.<br/></span> <span class="i4">Ay! we shout to the lovely evangel they bring,<br/></span> <span class="i4">And we greet in His cradle our Saviour and King.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Josiah Gilbert Holland</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>THE SHEPHERD WHO STAYED</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <i><span class="i4">There are in Paradise<br/></span> <span class="i4">Souls neither great nor wise,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Yet souls who wear no less<br/></span> <span class="i4">The crown of faithfulness.<br/></span></i></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">My master bade me watch the flock by night;<br/></span> <span class="i0">My duty was to stay. I do not know<br/></span> <span class="i0">What thing my comrades saw in that great light,<br/></span> <span class="i0">I did not heed the words that bade them go,<br/></span> <span class="i0">I know not were they maddened or afraid;<br/></span> <span class="i4">I only know I stayed.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The hillside seemed on fire; I felt the sweep<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of wings above my head; I ran to see<br/></span> <span class="i0">If any danger threatened these my sheep.<br/></span> <span class="i0">What though I found them folded quietly,<br/></span> <span class="i0">What though my brother wept and plucked my sleeve,<br/></span> <span class="i4">They were not mine to leave.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Thieves in the wood and wolves upon the hill,<br/></span> <span class="i0">My duty was to stay. Strange though it be,<br/></span> <span class="i0">I had no thought to hold my mates, no will<br/></span> <span class="i0">To bid them wait and keep the watch with me.<br/></span> <span class="i0">I had not heard that summons they obeyed;<br/></span> <span class="i4">I only know I stayed.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Perchance they will return upon the dawn<br/></span> <span class="i0">With word of Bethlehem and why they went.<br/></span> <span class="i0">I only know that watching here alone,<br/></span> <span class="i0">I know a strange content.<br/></span> <span class="i0">I have not failed that trust upon me laid;<br/></span> <span class="i4">I ask no more—I stayed.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Theodosia Garrison</i></div> <p class="p2"><i>Included by permission of the author and of The Century Company.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>GOOD KING WENCESLAS</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Good King Wenceslas looked out<br/></span> <span class="i2">On the Feast of Stephen,<br/></span> <span class="i0">When the snow lay round about,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Deep, and crisp, and even.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Brightly shone the moon that night<br/></span> <span class="i2">Though the frost was cruel,<br/></span> <span class="i0">When a poor man came in sight,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Gath’ring winter fuel.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Hither, page, and stand by me,<br/></span> <span class="i2">If thou know’st it, telling.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Yonder peasant, who is he?<br/></span> <span class="i2">Where and what his dwelling?”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Sire, he lives a good league hence,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Underneath the mountain;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Right against the forest fence,<br/></span> <span class="i2">By Saint Agnes’ fountain.”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Bring me flesh, and bring me wine,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Bring me pine-logs hither;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Thou and I shall see him dine,<br/></span> <span class="i2">When we bear them thither.”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Page and monarch, forth they went,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Forth they went together;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Through the rude wind’s wild lament<br/></span> <span class="i2">And the bitter weather.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Sire, the night is darker now,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And the wind blows stronger;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Fails my heart, I know not how,<br/></span> <span class="i2">I can go no longer.”<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">“Mark my footsteps, good my page;<br/></span> <span class="i2">Tread thou in them boldly:<br/></span> <span class="i0">Thou shalt find the winter rage<br/></span> <span class="i2">Freeze thy blood less coldly.”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">In his master’s steps he trod,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Where the snow lay dinted;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Heat was in the very sod<br/></span> <span class="i2">Where the saint has printed.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Therefore, Christian men, be sure,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Wealth or rank possessing,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Ye who now will bless the poor,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Shall yourselves find blessing.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Translated from the Latin by J. M. Neale</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>WE THREE KINGS</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i4">We Three Kings of Orient are,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Bearing gifts we traverse afar,<br/></span> <span class="i6">Field and fountain,<br/></span> <span class="i6">Moor and mountain,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Following yonder star.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0"><i>Chorus</i><br/></span> <span class="i4">O Star of wonder, Star of night,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Star with Royal Beauty bright,<br/></span> <span class="i6">Westward leading.<br/></span> <span class="i6">Still proceeding,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Guide us to Thy perfect Light.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Gaspard: Born a king on Bethlehem plain,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Gold I bring to crown Him again;<br/></span> <span class="i6">King forever,<br/></span> <span class="i6">Ceasing never<br/></span> <span class="i4">Over us all to reign.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Chorus: O Star of wonder....<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Melchior: Frankincense to offer have I,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Incense owns a deity nigh;<br/></span> <span class="i6">Prayer and praising<br/></span> <span class="i6">All men raising,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Worship Him God on high.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Chorus: O Star of wonder....<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Balthazar: Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume<br/></span> <span class="i4">Breathes a life of gathering gloom;<br/></span> <span class="i6">Sorrowing, sighing,<br/></span> <span class="i6">Bleeding, dying,<br/></span> <span class="i4">Sealed in a stone-cold tomb.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Chorus: O Star of wonder....<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i4">Glorious now behold Him arise,<br/></span> <span class="i4">King and God, and Sacrifice;<br/></span> <span class="i6">Heav’n sings Allelujah:<br/></span> <span class="i6">Allelujah,<br/></span> <span class="i4">The earth replies.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>J. H. Hopkins, Jr.</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>GOD REST YE, MERRY GENTLEMEN</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">God rest ye, merry gentlemen; let nothing you dismay,<br/></span> <span class="i0">For Jesus Christ, our Saviour, was born on Christmas-day.<br/></span> <span class="i0">The dawn rose red o’er Bethlehem, the stars shone through the gray,<br/></span> <span class="i0">When Jesus Christ, our Saviour, was born on Christmas-day.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">God rest ye, little children; let nothing you affright,<br/></span> <span class="i0">For Jesus Christ, your Saviour, was born this happy night;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Along the hills of Galilee the white flocks sleeping lay,<br/></span> <span class="i0">When Christ, the child of Nazareth, was born on Christmas-day.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">God rest ye, all good Christians; upon this blessed morn<br/></span> <span class="i0">The Lord of all good Christians was of a woman born:<br/></span> <span class="i0">Now all your sorrows He doth heal, your sins He takes away;<br/></span> <span class="i0">For Jesus Christ, our Saviour, was born on Christmas-day.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Dinah Maria Mulock</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>THE WASSAIL SONG</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Here we come a-wassailing<br/></span> <span class="i2">Among the leaves so green,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Here we come a-wandering<br/></span> <span class="i2">So fair to be seen.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Love and joy come to you<br/></span> <span class="i2">And to your wassail too,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And God bless you, and send you<br/></span> <span class="i2">A happy New Year.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">We are not daily beggars<br/></span> <span class="i2">That beg from door to door,<br/></span> <span class="i0">But we are neighbours’ children<br/></span> <span class="i2">That you have seen before.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Good Master and good Mistress,<br/></span> <span class="i2">As you sit by the fire,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Pray think of us poor children<br/></span> <span class="i2">Who are wandering in the mire.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Bring us out a table<br/></span> <span class="i2">And spread it with a cloth;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Bring us out a mouldy cheese<br/></span> <span class="i2">And some of your Christmas loaf.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">God bless the master of this house,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Likewise the mistress too;<br/></span> <span class="i0">And all the little children<br/></span> <span class="i2">That round the table go.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Old Devonshire Carol</i></div> <p class="p2"><i>Included by permission of The H. W. Gray Company.</i></p> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>WASSAILER’S SONG</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Wassail! Wassail! all over the town,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Our bread it is white, our ale it is brown;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Our bowl is made of a maplin tree;<br/></span> <span class="i0">We be good fellows all;—I drink to thee.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Here’s to our horse, and to his right ear,<br/></span> <span class="i0">God send master a happy new year;<br/></span> <span class="i0">A happy new year as ever he did see,—<br/></span> <span class="i0">With my wassail bowl I drink to thee.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Here’s to our mare, and to her right eye,<br/></span> <span class="i0">God send our mistress a good Christmas pie;<br/></span> <span class="i0">A good Christmas pie as e’er I did see,—<br/></span> <span class="i0">With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Here’s to our cow, and to her long tail,<br/></span> <span class="i0">God send our master us never may fail<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of a cup of good beer: I pray you draw near,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And our jolly wassail it’s then you shall hear.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Be here any maids? I suppose here be some;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Sure they will not let young men stand on the cold stone!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Sing hey, O, maids! come trole back the pin,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And the fairest maid in the house let us all in.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Come, butler, come, bring us a bowl of the best;<br/></span> <span class="i0">I hope your souls in heaven will rest;<br/></span> <span class="i0">But if you do bring us a bowl of the small,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Then, down fall butler, and bowl and all.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Robert Southwell</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CAROL IN PRAISE OF THE HOLLY AND IVY<br/> (<i>Holly and Ivy Made a Great Party</i>)</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Holly and Ivy made a great party,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Who should have the mastery<br/></span> <span class="i4">In lands where they go.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Then spake Holly, “I am fierce and jolly,<br/></span> <span class="i0">I will have the mastery<br/></span> <span class="i4">In lands where we go.”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Then spake Ivy, “I am loud and proud,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And I will have the mastery<br/></span> <span class="i4">In lands where we go.”<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Then spake Holly, and bent him down on his knee,<br/></span> <span class="i0">“I pray thee, gentle Ivy,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Essay me no villany<br/></span> <span class="i4">In the lands where we go.”<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Fifteenth Century Carol</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CEREMONIES FOR CHRISTMAS</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i2">Come, bring with a noise,<br/></span> <span class="i2">My merry, merry boys,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The Christmas log to the firing,<br/></span> <span class="i2">While my good dame, she<br/></span> <span class="i2">Bids ye all be free,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And drink to your heart’s desiring.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i2">With the last year’s brand<br/></span> <span class="i2">Light the new block, and<br/></span> <span class="i0">For good success in his spending,<br/></span> <span class="i2">On your psalteries play,<br/></span> <span class="i2">That sweet luck may<br/></span> <span class="i0">Come while the log is a-tending.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i2">Drink now the strong beer,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Cut the white loaf here,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The while the meat is a-shredding;<br/></span> <span class="i2">For the rare mince-pie<br/></span> <span class="i2">And the plums stand by<br/></span> <span class="i0">To fill the paste that’s a-kneading.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Robert Herrick</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>CHRISTMAS EVE—ANOTHER CEREMONY</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Come, guard this night the Christmas-pie,<br/></span> <span class="i0">That the thief, though ne’er so sly,<br/></span> <span class="i0">With his flesh-hooks, don’t come nigh<br/></span> <span class="i20">To catch it.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">From him, who alone sits there,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Having his eyes still in his ear,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And a deal of nightly fear<br/></span> <span class="i20">To watch it.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <hr class="chap" /> <h2>ANOTHER TO THE MAIDS</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Wash your hands, or else the fire<br/></span> <span class="i0">Will not tend to your desire;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Unwashed hands, ye maidens, know,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Dead the fire, though ye blow.<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>Robert Herrick</i></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>OUR JOYFUL FEAST</h2> <div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">So, now is come our joyful feast,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Let every soul be jolly!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Each room with ivy leaves is drest,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And every post with holly.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Though some churls at our mirth repine,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Round your brows let garlands twine,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Drown sorrow in a cup of wine,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And let us all be merry!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Now all our neighbours’ chimneys smoke,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And Christmas logs are burning;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Their ovens with baked meats do choke,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And all their spits are turning.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Without the door let sorrow lie,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And if for cold it hap to die,<br/></span> <span class="i0">We’ll bury it in Christmas pie,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And evermore be merry!<br/></span></div> </div></div> <div class="author"><i>George Wither</i></div> <SPAN name="endofbook"></SPAN> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />

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