 | The book of the East |  |
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A NEW CHRISTMAS CAROL.
I.
I walked the streets on Christmas eve,
Between the darkness and the light;
It was a dull and lonesome night,
The very houses seemed to grieve!
Between the darkness and the light;
It was a dull and lonesome night,
The very houses seemed to grieve!
“Two thousand years ago,” I said,
“A Child was born at dead of night;
No monarch saw the beauteous sight,
The Child was born where beasts were fed.
“A Child was born at dead of night;
No monarch saw the beauteous sight,
The Child was born where beasts were fed.
“No purple robe inwrapped his limbs,
He was but lapped in swaddling-bands;
No trump was blown about the lands,
Only the angels sang their hymns.
He was but lapped in swaddling-bands;
No trump was blown about the lands,
Only the angels sang their hymns.
“A single star, a torch of light,
Guided the wise men to the spot;
Few saw the light, and soon forgot
The wandering meteor of the night.
Guided the wise men to the spot;
Few saw the light, and soon forgot
The wandering meteor of the night.
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“This little Child, so meanly born,
Was Prince, was King, was King of kings,
The Lord of all created things,
Who came to men, a man forlorn!
Was Prince, was King, was King of kings,
The Lord of all created things,
Who came to men, a man forlorn!
“‘Good-will on earth, and peace to men,’
His angels sung: he taught the same.
‘Good-will and peace,’—what better claim
To be a God was needed then?
His angels sung: he taught the same.
‘Good-will and peace,’—what better claim
To be a God was needed then?
“‘Good-will and peace!’ the godlike words
Are now the jargon of the day:
We mouth them when we preach and pray,
And when we whet our battle swords!”
Are now the jargon of the day:
We mouth them when we preach and pray,
And when we whet our battle swords!”
II.
My thoughts grew sad, and bitter too;
For while I walked the dreary town
The deepening night came darker down,
The moon was hid, and stars were few.
For while I walked the dreary town
The deepening night came darker down,
The moon was hid, and stars were few.
The cold winds blew, and round and round
The sear leaves eddied; trees were bare;
And men moved slowly here and there,
Trailing their shadows on the ground.
The sear leaves eddied; trees were bare;
And men moved slowly here and there,
Trailing their shadows on the ground.
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“Behold!” I sneered, “the world without,
An emblem of the world within:
The darkness is the night of sin,
And we the fools who grope about.
An emblem of the world within:
The darkness is the night of sin,
And we the fools who grope about.
“How royally we keep his birth,
Who came to-night to save mankind!
Without, dead leaves and frosty wind;
Within, the cold, unlighted hearth.
Who came to-night to save mankind!
Without, dead leaves and frosty wind;
Within, the cold, unlighted hearth.
“It was not thus in days of yore;
In brave and merry England's prime,
Our fathers kept the Christmas time,
The merry Yule that is no more.
In brave and merry England's prime,
Our fathers kept the Christmas time,
The merry Yule that is no more.
“The walls of hall and hut were hung
With ivy and with holly boughs;
And minstrels went from house to house,
And all night long their carols sung.
With ivy and with holly boughs;
And minstrels went from house to house,
And all night long their carols sung.
“The jolly dancers shook the floor
With country reels, which fiddlers played,
And many a little man and maid
At blind-man's-buff and battledoor.
With country reels, which fiddlers played,
And many a little man and maid
At blind-man's-buff and battledoor.
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“Peopled the corners with delight;
The old folks sat at fox-and-goose,
And let their tongues and fancies loose
In tales of lords and ladies bright.
The old folks sat at fox-and-goose,
And let their tongues and fancies loose
In tales of lords and ladies bright.
“And then the world of solid cheer
In meats and drinks, for rich and poor;—
The meanest kept an open door,
For Christmas came but once a year.
In meats and drinks, for rich and poor;—
The meanest kept an open door,
For Christmas came but once a year.
“Turkeys and capons roasted brown,
Dishes of brawn, boar's heads, and, chief,
The never-failing loin of beef,
With jugs of ale to wash it down.
Dishes of brawn, boar's heads, and, chief,
The never-failing loin of beef,
With jugs of ale to wash it down.
“They feast until the tapers shine,
And day is dead, and curfews toll;
At last they take the wassail-bowl,
And drain the spiced and sugared wine!
And day is dead, and curfews toll;
At last they take the wassail-bowl,
And drain the spiced and sugared wine!
“The merry Christmas days are past,
The antique plenty is no more;
We feast alone, we bar the door,
We make our blinds and windows fast.
The antique plenty is no more;
We feast alone, we bar the door,
We make our blinds and windows fast.
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“This very night, when Christ was born,
And when, if ever, men should be
Touched with the sweetest sympathy
For all the needy and forlorn,
And when, if ever, men should be
Touched with the sweetest sympathy
For all the needy and forlorn,
“The streets are full of want and woe,
Of hollow cheeks and haggard eyes;
Even now, perchance, some beggar dies
Of famine, in the falling snow!”
Of hollow cheeks and haggard eyes;
Even now, perchance, some beggar dies
Of famine, in the falling snow!”
III.
The stars were gone, the sky was low,
The roof of night had settled down;
It crushed the melancholy town
Until it crumbled into snow.
The roof of night had settled down;
It crushed the melancholy town
Until it crumbled into snow.
I drew my cloak about my breast,
And plodded on, I knew not where,
In sickly sorrow and despair,
Breathing a silent prayer for rest.
And plodded on, I knew not where,
In sickly sorrow and despair,
Breathing a silent prayer for rest.
I thought of all my bygone years,
Of what I was, and might have been;
The calm without, the strife within
Until my eyes were dim with tears.
Of what I was, and might have been;
The calm without, the strife within
Until my eyes were dim with tears.
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“'T is not for me,” I said, “to sneer
At others for the sins I see;
My own should hush and humble me,—
Behold! the sinner, Lord, is here!
At others for the sins I see;
My own should hush and humble me,—
Behold! the sinner, Lord, is here!
“I have no mission to mankind;
It tasks the wisest and the best
To rule the world within his breast,
The wayward heart, the wandering mind.
It tasks the wisest and the best
To rule the world within his breast,
The wayward heart, the wandering mind.
“God rules the world, and moulds at will
Its tribes of men, and moulds to good;
The evil Past, when understood,
Is good, the Present better still.”
Its tribes of men, and moulds to good;
The evil Past, when understood,
Is good, the Present better still.”
IV.
My heart grew lighter as the night
Wore on; the winds had ceased to blow,
The withered leaves were laid in snow,
And all the long dark streets were white.
Wore on; the winds had ceased to blow,
The withered leaves were laid in snow,
And all the long dark streets were white.
I saw the young, I saw the fair,
Where window squares were touched with flame;
Through opening doors their laughter came,
And mellow music charmed the air.
Where window squares were touched with flame;
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And mellow music charmed the air.
“The past,” I said, “is dead and cold,
And better so; 't is wrong to grieve;
I would not change this Christmas eve
For all the merry Yules of old.
And better so; 't is wrong to grieve;
I would not change this Christmas eve
For all the merry Yules of old.
“The Yule log and the wassail-bowl,
The mistletoe, may pass away;
We keep a better holiday,
The perfect Christmas of the soul!
The mistletoe, may pass away;
We keep a better holiday,
The perfect Christmas of the soul!
“I celebrate thy birth to-night,
Here in the darkness and the snow,
And thou art with me as I go,
Dear Christ! a presence and a light.
Here in the darkness and the snow,
And thou art with me as I go,
Dear Christ! a presence and a light.
“Thy mission was a double one,
For God, and man; with thee began
The law of God, the law of man,
The sovereign Will that will be done.
For God, and man; with thee began
The law of God, the law of man,
The sovereign Will that will be done.
“Before thou cam'st the world was blind,
For what was false, or what was true,
They did but guess, they never knew;
Thou wert the Saviour of mankind.
For what was false, or what was true,
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Thou wert the Saviour of mankind.
“Thou wert the truth ordained above
To slay the falsehoods of the past,
The fraud of priests, the crime of caste,
And usher in the reign of love.
To slay the falsehoods of the past,
The fraud of priests, the crime of caste,
And usher in the reign of love.
“The rights of man began with thee,
Incarnate Love! For where love reigns
Farewell to servitude and chains;
The law of Christ is liberty.
Incarnate Love! For where love reigns
Farewell to servitude and chains;
The law of Christ is liberty.
“And Liberty her dwelling-place
Hath made with us; and I can see
The vast Republics yet to be,
The freedom of the human race!”
Hath made with us; and I can see
The vast Republics yet to be,
The freedom of the human race!”
The stars were out, the moon was bright,
For now the sky was clear of snow;
No cloud above, no stain below,
It was a pure and blessed night.
For now the sky was clear of snow;
No cloud above, no stain below,
It was a pure and blessed night.
The quiet of the earth and skies
Had settled on my troubled heart;
I seemed to walk with Christ apart,
I walked the streets of Paradise!
Had settled on my troubled heart;
I seemed to walk with Christ apart,
I walked the streets of Paradise!
| The book of the East | |