DECEMBER. 559 



mas, he is entitled to participate in that annual rejoic- 

 ing, which he has been taught angelic bands once 

 proclaimed to shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem, 

 and which, he, for his part, has no wish to forego. 



"Glad Christmas comes, and every hearth 



Makes room to give him welcome now; 

 E'en want will dry its tears hi mirth, 

 And crown him with a holly bough. 



* 



Each house is swept the day before, 



And windows stuck with evergreens ; 

 The snow is besom'd from the door, 



And comfort crowns the cottage scenes. 



Gilt holly with its thorny pricks, 



And yew, and box, with berries small, 



These deck the unus'd candlesticks, 

 And pictures hanging by the wall." * 



After all our looking-out, then, we must now look 

 in ; there the festal board, the cheerful fire, and the 

 recollections of past enjoyments in the fields and 

 woods, may reconcile us to our curtained pavilion ; 

 and the roar of the external storm, and the fierce 

 patter of the rain, shall only heighten the luxurious 

 felicity of our easy chair for now, after many a 

 thoughtful pace of wood and lawn, and many a strug- 

 gle with the winds and clouds, by earliest dawn, at 

 noon, and dusky eve, our "web is wove," and nought 

 remains of leaf or flower, to tempt our further 

 movements ; 



" The fields that lately bloom'd and smil'd, 

 Are flowerless, desolate, and wild ; 

 Cold as Despair's unceasing tears, 

 And silent as departed years." 



Here, then, we pause, in accordance with the plans 



* CLARK. 



