CHRISTMAS. 
449 
" good-will to man." The poor must ever, on this day, put in a 
silent but eloquent appeal for succor, in their Master's name ; and 
those who have the means of giving, open more freely a helpful 
hand to their afflicted brethren. The hungry are fed, the naked 
are clothed, the cold are cheered and warmed with fuel, the deso- 
late and houseless are provided for, the needy debtor is forgiven, 
an hour of ease and relief is managed for the weary and care- 
worn, innocent gratifications are contrived by the liberal for those 
whose pleasures are few and rare. Doubtless there is no one 
community within the broad borders of Christendom, where the 
poor and needy receive, even on this day, a moiety of what should 
be given them, if we bore more faithfully in mind the precepts of 
our Master ; nevertheless, were the whole amount of the charities 
of this festival told and numbered, it would assuredly prove larger 
than that of any other day of the year ; and the heart rejoices that 
it is so ; we love to remember how many sad spirits have been 
cheered, how many cares lightened, how many fears allayed by 
the blessed hand of Christian Charity moving in the name of her 
Lord. 
Merry Christmas ! What a throng of happy children there are 
in the world, to-day ! It is delightful to recollect how many little 
hearts are beating with pleasure, how many childish lips are prat- 
tling cheerfully, lisping their Christmas hymns in many a different 
dialect, according to the speech the little creatures have inherited. 
These ten thousand childish groups scattered over Christendom, 
are in themselves a right pleasant vision, and enough to make one 
merry in remembering them. Many are gathered in the crowded 
dwellings of towns, others under the rustic roof of tlie peasant ; 
some in the cabins of the poor, others within royal walls ; these 
