‘ To guide

Sometimes in the evening. when harsh noises die away, And happy, laughing children in the street commence to play. I sit down by my fireside while the clock upon the stair Is ringing out 91x solemn chimes u-pon the silent air. So upon the eve of Christmas from the world I now retire, ‘And think upon the good old times before my cosy fire; I put aside my pen awhile _ 1 have no wish to write, I lay my head back on a chair, and muse instead tonight.

Fond, sable-clothed Memory guides Fancys fragile barque Along the boundless sea oi Thought.

Each well-known place 1 mark- 'l‘he old home. and the schoolhouse, the sweetshop of Miss Maher, That narrow lane where many a lad received a boxing scar. From out the shadowland of Death those friends long laid to rest Come trooping round my lonely heart -- the truest and the best. Dear faces rise before me now which have a beauty rare, For they are beautiful by love, though wrinkled deep by care. The Present is not with me, for I live within the Past- Those dear, delightful joyous days too beautiful to last.

Frail hands -that long have fallen to dust are clasped in mine tonight.

Arid voices speak in dulcet tones of days when hearts were

light,

When life was gay as rairyhniri. and we knew naught but fun.

And laughter. joy. and happiness when our school work was done,

Pure, loving friends whose kimli; hearts, devoid of worldly wiles,

brightened up life's dreary path with their brave, cheery smi"

Sit down beside me once agalr, and whisper words of love That seem to be an echo of the angel choir above.

Hid

Christmas. dear old Christmas, it is here with us once more. ‘But not the Christmas that wt’ knew in golden days oi‘ yore A: round a. blazing fire we sat. anrl heard strange stories told DI laprechauns with earthern crooks filled to the brim with

gold.

Then on the eve o! Christmas

how each heart began to thrill When we tied stockings to each bed for Santa Claus to fill: What a dreadful din o! voices, of shrill bugle, or of horn. As stockings were all opened n each merry Christmas morn.

There's not a sound within my room, the fire is burning low. The night winds sigh a. piteous cry like tortured souls in woe, And I steal unto my window. watch the twinkling stars on high Vigil keeping. never sleeping in a calm and cloudless sky.

While cut upon the midnight sir the bells ring loud. and

clear. Wildly swinging, gladly ringing. telling Christmas Day is near. And within my heart's a yearning that I cannot now restrain For the happiness of boyhood and its Christmas joys again.

IOUIS A. HERNEY

Christmas Hymn

‘the day has come, the glorious

day. As the prophet said: The typpes and shadows pans away. , And light and knowledge spread.

llall glorious day! High jubilee. Oi joyous heaven and earth, in blissful strains We ivelcomv thee, Day of our Sailuurs birth.

'l‘hough but a. lonely herald star. Once posted to the place, the Wise Men from afar To find the Prince of Grace, Yet lo! how wide-spread now the blaze Which does the pathway shoiv; b0 bright that children hall its rays. And unto Jesus go. — Phoebe Palmer

Yule Log

Burning of the Yule log was a symbol of the return of the sun. The log was dragged ceremonious- l_v to the family hearth, where it was drenched with wine and kind-

Md momma in her kerchlef, and I in my cop, Had settled our bgoms for o long wearers my, when out on rm lawn lmre 1 . "°‘:’:'“' “ “ti”... n, rom my psrge what are; in: mailer. Away +0 the window I flew like a ﬂash» Tore open the sill and threw up

must be Shhllck»

More rapid than eagles his cour$¢r$ may come, lie Whi$ﬂ¢d and shouted, _ and oalltl illemrby name- “llownvaslierlnowﬂolgeerlnow. on C? H“: c lg: W o“! a 9 ‘ . 1:22.“: Pi;'.*""“-r'.. o e p o pore n, {lee lop of the wall! Nomdash owayaloslfnloway; _ , dash away all‘.

m, .

AS dry leaves lnql belore the wild hurricane ﬂy, Wlron lllev wool will: an ob- Sféﬂﬂlllﬂlllll lo line sky Some lo "line Monte-lop {he

course He! Hem Willi me Mo? lo to lo! toys

and 3t. icholas loo. And men in a lmnlilln I

heard on llleroo »

if 4v z ‘mmv ms W45 ‘hlrlllng Downlleeclvim

"

‘fuel shook when no lo

‘ﬁves the niqlil before Chislmas. when oil lhrouqh llle house

Nol a creoliwe was sllrrinqi not even o mouse:

The slockinqs were lmnq by the Chimney willrcore,

In hopes lhol StNichoIos soon would be there;

The children were neslled all snuq in their beds,

While visions of suqowplums danced lhrouqh their hoods.

5¢0l1 Bespoke no a word a

And lillod all l

“‘”‘.."El,’? And g: I c

' i “.;'l"22‘¢l$‘ll»°'i‘¢"a’83l=."'

ondloolloiood-

his lscocl like o lval

A winlg of ha! 4,22% oucl a lwast oF lu heed»

gave m +0 know I had

noimn 1 lo dread.

l went slml ht lo hi; work stockings;

ago do the my he itouge. And gm‘ lug”? lué the olownivoeo lli let Bull heard him exclaluum lac drove out of alglrl- WPPrOW-lslms lo

__ .. ' l . His eves how may lwintled! mrrrssrizlsrrsslf ,.~w~<»»»=~-wr~i Gave a Iusjre or mid-day I-l s clyzeks were lllscnnéosos. {o obﬁcps bwzow; l W3 WI§¢ iIkQ Q c“ Frye when; who? lo my wondzr- “'5 f?" ' m¢ kg‘: mgﬂcyes should, savour, Md ‘mtg; "Ii? If“ ca. ' Eula Mll1l0ﬂlr¢ surge and e m“ we m“ eight llnv rem er, “W” " ¢ ‘l’ 5” ' With a lillle old driver so 11w ﬁlm" .0? “if Pifv M givew and quick, lééld If“? ll‘! H 5 ‘lj¢¢l41v I knew ‘m a molzeenf it And llae smokiml encircled

h.

l Flo cl a brood lace and o lillle round belly“ a limo bowl mil ol‘ oily.

lien lurncd will: a Jerk

J0

r ll" ll

led with a brand saved from the proceeding year. When flames crackled forth it portended gorci luck for the coming year. if the lcg did nolrilglit it was believed to be an omen of ill luck, The "Feast of the Returning Sun” was an an- i-ient pagan festival, observed by many peoples.

The Christmas tracker

As in Canada. no Christmas party in Britain is complete with- out a box of "crackers." Christmas crackers were first made in Brit- ain about '70 years ago. It was a onfectloner and make! of orna- ments for wedding cakes with the typical English name of Torn Smith who brought be& from a holiday on the Continent, the idea which evolved into the cracker. He. saw that a French eonfactloner made m; aweetmaata more ttractlve b; mapping them in tissue r. A hw weeks before Chi-lam he It! hll MD!" VTWMU lilirﬂd almonds in this way. The cracker came a little nearer when he thought o! making the package

more entartalning by placing a

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Gufagazoseveiﬁgenclea ﬁimiteo commas mom

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Refrigeration

SALES and SERVICE Repairs To All Makes

MOTORS

Rewinding and Repairs ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE Repairs

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A MAKE it? l A MERRY CHRBTMAS

. ,/ lU/l /7

nmA R9814: p

.~ ’ .

PAGE TEN THE GUARDIAN. CHARLQTTETQWN _ ___ __ _ __ _ __ __ DECEMBER 17, 1949 chmmas Eve ‘ Belhlehem's Grollo _ ‘Ext. _ The grotto _oT_—Bethlehem, 1,,

which Jesus was born, still exist.» It has been enclosed within u“, precincts of a great ChU\‘Cll—l.hu large Church of the Nativity. You descend to it by a flight o! sixteen stops. It has a natural c.» vern, part of which has been cov- ered with masonry, and the vaull and ceiling have been coated wizii marble by the piety of the Faith- ful. The pavement is itself com» posed of while marble, with ill- orustations in jasper and porphyigv In the cenire is seen a silver stair laid Ln l7l7, on which have been inscribed in Latin these words a! once so simple and so touching: "On this very spot Jesus Christ was burn of the Blessed Virgin" Many sovereigns desired to have in the grotto of Bethlehem a per- petual mark of their piety; hence there are numerous magniﬁcent lamps continually burning their, which were given by the Republic of Venice, Emperors of Austria Kings of Spain and Naples, and by King Louis XIII, of France. etc.

IfOOO

Children of Provence, Franc‘ reverently recite the following prayer before the Christmas crib! in the vicinity:

Little Jesus of the Crib"-

Glve us the virtues o! those \\.‘l surround you.

Make us as philosophical as in: fisherman.

Carefree as the drummer,

Merry for exploring lhc \\‘\’l.’.'l as the troubadour,

Eager for work as the bugici.

Patient as the spinner,

Kind as the ass.

Strong as the ox which kcmi you warm.

Give us the sacred leisure o! tin hunter.

Give us also the desire of ti": shepherd for earthly things,

The pride of the trade of llu knife grinder and tho w-eavcr.

The song of the miller.

Give us the knowledge n! iht Magi,

The cheerfulness of the pigeon. The impulsiveness of the coca. The discretion of the snail.

The meekness of the lamb.

Give us the goodness of bread

The tenderness of the wild no.1:

The salt of the haddock,

Tho good humor of old wine.

The ardor of the candle.

The purity of a star.

Propriety o.’ r. few of the meta- phors may be disputed, ncverti1c~ less. nostalgia promwls speculation regarding a world of humanli: endowed with the vlrturs so earn estly and innocently enumerate:

by the little ones. I Christmas Lullaby Hush now, my little one. and sieei

Beyond the fringe of candlelight. As faintly air far-off ihe hells Fling out their music of nciiszhi There is aiz-nther child “ho WHY‘ His radiance like a dladnm I And kings are kneeling by ills cr\ In the sweet. straw at Bvihlenf" So hush. my little one. and drmm That stars are singing in the slit Flor Jesus. too. is fast asicrn

And Mary hums a. lullaby.

-Ulrlr‘h Troubc take)? Science Monitor.

Clll'l'~l .1?

Radiant Moon

o'er white expanses IPaYKl-“l

pure The Radiant Mom unfolds;

The solemn splendor oi in‘ cold:

mfg mounts in eve-ry tllribrivii vein,

move deepens round iii‘ hearth,

Am clearer sounds the ans") hymn.

“Good will to men on earth"

Was ll A Slar Or A Comet?

me Halley‘! Com" "" m,‘ bright light which guided "if ‘f5: lien to Christa birthpiacea IR i” guggestion mad! by DT- R" ' b“,._ ‘mum o! Mount Wilson O i“ vatory, though many aatronon- dune" new» vine-at

The Christmas one. a: We 1"?“ it, was not celebrated uni" fourth century, and owing ton-l" changes on the calendar l (h impossible to ray exactly 0" W‘ u day, and in what year Jest: Vi“ born. It is Generally “F” h‘, the date is between 1i BC. a .~ i

8.0. . Halley's Comet is one of the celestial bodies which have n" l” within sight of the earth at Y6K" ; intervals as far back as history pa; it has been seen, and its visitsAfb corded, between B’! 8.0» ""1 HM i010. And one o! these apllmltauwl was, says Dr. Richardson. b: ‘ m ‘ll BC. and B 8.0. There 511-? evidence that in Auluﬂ- nlhfun] the comet was in the oonste i 5.0 ‘O-emlnl. a little north of the ‘rm bright stars Castor aml Pollux 11:" these stars. in their daill‘ W“ |'_.__ across the heavens, M5!” m" ' the zenith at Bethlehem. ' In ll B.C.

', ict u-as i-""' loadﬁvforuahécloiiffriwn Hui A115?” night in ii no. it "““‘° “molly directly over Bethlehem. Orin”, the gpearance in thy Sill’ CM“, bright a body as Hit-IQ?’ rm“. could not have failed w B wonder amour the twill’-