Christmas.

CHRISTMAS .

By Walter Spencer .

Now , in remotest Northern land . Where pine trees shade the snow ; On tropic islets' glistening sand Where coral ridges grow ; In East , in West , in every part

Throughout Earth ' s peopled sphere , With holy day for hand and . heart Men feast the dying year .

Hither he comes—the Winter s King—Will he enter in ? He shall ! Hark , how his voice has a jovial ring ! " Waes hael "— " Trink had . old carle !"

The reeking puddings leap and roll , Pies steam and caldrons fizz , All hail of mirth the life and soul—Old Christmas—here ho is !

Let be the pen , the loom , the mill , And tools be laid aside That hand and heart rejoice , until We ' ve spent this Christmas tide .

Whether to grace the Church ' s feast Or keep up Saxon Yule , For this time every year , at least , Must Caro forego its dule .

Christmas.

Our lightened hearts will not forget Upon a Christmas Day , The tribute due , where friends are met To friends who ' re far away .

And those who ' ve left the chequered floor To journey farther on—Oh ! can our thoughts forbear to soar Where so much Love is gone ?

Eor to the realm where they abide , Prom toil and sorrow free ; That we may enter by their side To that sublime Degree

Where colours of all sects unite ; Leads onward openly To the Grand Master ' s pure white Light , The Pass-Word Charity .

So turn again , from our good cheer To those less blest than we : To those—there may be thousands near ,

Borne down by poverty . Seek out and aid the sons of want , With kindly smiles and food : Wider than Earth and high as Heav ' n Is human Brotherhood !

A Few Words In Season.

A FEW WORDS IN SEASON .

WE have but little sympathy with those who can view the near approach of the present season of festivit y without a strong sense of satisfaction that now , if at no other time of the year , there will be something like enjoyment among all classes . The not ill-natured cynic will

probably remark that feasting and merry-making are oftentimes the cause of grave disturbance in the regions of the stomach , that Christmas pudding and mince-pies not unseldom create an excess of bile , that many a sharp cold and much wheeziness

in the throat result from frequent exposure to the night air by those who are addicted to balls and parties and theatres . Thus , when the hours of feasting are gone , the

services of the general practitioner or chemist are commonly needed in order to put us once more in train for the active business of life , and our children in a sufficiently sober frame of mind to resume their studies at school or

with the governess or tutor at home . We acknowledge with all humility that just as every poison is said to have its antidote , so it is quite possible for every pleasure to have its resultant pain . It follows then that , if the

wellknown dynamic law that action and reaction are equal is applicable in the present instance , then the greater the amount of festivity we indulge in , the heavier will be the penalty we

shall pay for such indulgence . Yet to err is human , to forgive divine ; and even if we suffer for our merry-making , we are quite ready to forgive our cynical friend for haying a

A Few Words In Season.

quiet laugh at the folly which prompts us to risk a few days feverish unrest for a few hours enjoyment . We must further acknowledge that the season of Christmas has its array of sorrows as well as of joys . Paterfamilias , genial good fellow as he is , will certainly draw a very rueful countenance

when the day of reckoning comes ; and then there are those horrid little bills which the civil trader is sure to present just now , when money is most needed , and also most scarce . We have not the courage to resist the appeal of that most obliging purveyor , Mr . Jones , when he invites us to buy a

few more boxes of bon-bons and preserved fruits , a few more pounds of muscatel raisins , a few more pots of jam and jelly , and to speak generally , almost enough in the way of " goodies " to make a large army of famished Osmanlis full to repletion for a whole month . We take them meekly ,

though we know his little account will havo to be settled just when the " Goodies " are all consumed , and there is nothing to show for our expenditure but a sharp attack of bile and a general irritation of the digestive organs . But somehow we submit to this kind of martyrdom with a

tolerable grace . We know it will not be allowed to occur again till the sun has revolved upon its own axis once in every twenty-four hours for a fresh period of three hundred and sixty-five days ; and we know we should look savage

and glum , and all around us would look savage and glum , if we did not so submit ourselves , with or without resignation , to the inevitable . We know too , the bilious disorders would be as certain to overtake us , only they would then arise from a distempered mind acting on an overworked body ,