A CHRISTMAS CAROL.

HE moon that now is shining

In skies so blue and bright,

Shone ages since on Shepherds

Who watched their flocks by night.

There was no sound upon the earth,
The azure air was still,
The sheep in quiet clusters lay,
Upon the grassy hill.

When lo! a white-winged Angel

The watchers stood before,

And told how Christ was born on earth,
For mortals to adore;
He bade the trembling Shepherds

Listen, nor be afraid,

And told how in a manger

The glorious Child was laid.

When suddenly in the Heavens
Appeared an Angel band,
(The while in reverent wonder

The Syrian Shepherds stand,)
And all the bright host chanted

Words that shall never cease, Glory to God in the highest,

On earth good-will and peace !

The vision in the heavens

Faded, and all was still,

And the wondering shepherds left their flocks,

To feed upon the hill:

Towards the blessed city

Quickly their course they held,

And in a lowly stable

Virgin and Child beheld.

Beside a humble manger

Was the Maiden Mother mild.
And in her arms her Son divine,
A new-born Infant, smiled.
No shade of future sorrow

From Calvary then was cast;
Only the glory was revealed,

The suffering was not passed.

The Eastern kings before him knelt,
And rarest offerings brought;
The shepherds worshipped and adored
The wonders God had wrought:
They saw the crown for Israel's King,
The future's glorious part:-
But all these things the Mother kept
And pondered in her heart.

Now we that Maiden Mother

The Queen of Heaven call;
And the Child we call our Jesus,
Saviour and Judge of all.

But the star that shone in Bethlehem
Shines still, and shall not cease,

And we listen still to the tidings,

Of Glory and of Peace.

OUR TITLES.

RE we not Nobles? we who trace
Our pedigree so high

That God for us and for our race
Created Earth and Sky,

And Light and Air and Time and Space,
To serve us and then die.

Are we not Princes? we who stand
As heirs beside the Throne;
We who can call the promised Land
Our Heritage, our own;

And answer to no less command
Than God's, and His alone.

Are we not Kings? both night and day,

From early until late,

About our bed, about our way,

A guard of Angels wait;

And so we watch and work and pray

In more than royal state.

Are we not holy? Do not start:

It is God's sacred will

To call us Temples set apart

His Holy Ghost may fill:

Our very food. . . . O hush, my Heart,

Adore IT and be still!

Are we not more? our Life shall be

Immortal and divine.

The nature Mary gave to Thee,

Dear Jesus, still is Thine; Adoring in Thy Heart, I see Such blood as beats in mine.

O God, that we can dare to fail,
And dare to say we must!
O God, that we can ever trail
Such banners in the dust,
Can let such starry honors pale,
And such a Blazon rust!

Shall we upon such Titles bring
The taint of sin and shame?
Shall we, the children of the King
Who hold so grand a claim,
Tarnish by any meaner thing
The glory of our name?

MINISTERING ANGELS.

ANGELS of light, spread your bright wings and keep

Near me at morn:

Nor in the starry eve, nor midnight deep,
Leave me forlorn.

From all dark spirits of unholy power
Guard my weak heart

Circle around me in each perilous hour,

And take my part.

From all foreboding thoughts and dangerous fears, Keep me secure ;

Teach me to hope, and through the bitterest tears Still to endure.

If lonely in the road so fair and wide

My feet should stray,

Then through a rougher, safer pathway guide
Me day by day.

Should my heart faint at its unequal strife,
O still be near!

Shadow the perilous sweetness of this life
With holy fear.

Then leave me not alone in this bleak world,
Where'er I roam,

And at the end, with your bright wings unfurled,
O take me home!

THE SHRINES OF MARY.

HERE are many shrines of Our Lady,
In different lands and climes,
Where I can remember kneeling
In old and beloved times.

They arise now like stars before me,
Through the long, long night of years;
Some are bright with a heavenly radiance,
And others shine out through tears.