us a most sermon the rites and ceremonies of christmas and propriety of it not merely as a day of but of rejoicing supporting of his opinions by the earliest of the and them by the authorities of of st st t and a cloud more of saints christmas day aad fathers from whom he made copious i was a little at a loss to perceive the of such a mighty array of forces to maintain a point which no one present seemed inclined to dispute but i soon found that the good man had a of ideal to contend with having in the course of his on the subject of christmas got completely in the of the revolution the made such a fierce assault upon the of the church and poor old christmas was driven out of the land by of ment the worthy parson lived but with times past and knew but a little of the present shut up among worm in the retirement of his little study the pages of old times were to him as the of the day while th from the flying eagle a small published december th � the house spent much tone day about the of the navy for settling the lit nod mate they rose were presented with a terrible remonstrance ag christmas day upon divine v xv and in honour of the lord s day upon these john xx rev i xvi a in which is called s and those and who observe it c in consequence of which parliament spent some time in consultation about the of christmas day passed orders to that effect and resolved to sit on the following day which was commonly called christmas day christmas day q era of the revolution was mere modem he foi ot that nearly two centuries had elapsed since the fiery persecution of poor pie throughout the land when was as mere and roast beef as and that christmas had been brought in again triumphantly the merry court of king charles at the restoration he kindled into warmth the of his contest and the host of imaginary foes with whom he had to combat had a stubborn conflict with old and two or three other forgotten of the round heads the subject of christmas and concluded by urging his hearers in the most solemn and af manner to stand to the customs of their fathers and feast and make merry on this joyful of the church i have seldom known a sermon attended apparently with more immediate for on leaving the church the congregation seemed one and all with the of spirit so earnestly by their the elder folks gathered in knots in the church yard greeting and shaking hands and the children ran about crying and repeating some uncouth � three in a crack nuts and cry christmas day the parson who had joined us informed me had been handed down from days of the villagers their hats to the squire as he passed giving him the good wishes of the with every appearance of sincerity and were invited by him to the hall to take something to keep out the cold of the weather and i heard blessings uttered by several of the poor which con me that in the midst of his the worthy old had not forgotten the true christmas virtue of charity on our way homeward his heart seemed overflowing with generous and happy feelings as we passed over a rising ground which commanded something of a prospect the sounds of rustic merriment no v and then reached our ears the squire paused for a few moments and looked around with an air of the beauty of the day was of itself sufficient to inspire notwithstanding the of the morning the sun in his journey had ac sufficient power to melt away the thin covering of snow from every and to bring out the living green which an english landscape even in mid winter large tracts of smiling contrasted with the dazzling whiteness of the sha ed slopes and hollows every bank on which the broad rays rested i its silver of cold and through the dripping grass and sent up slight to contribute to the thin that hung just above the surface of the earth there something truly cheering in this triumph of warmth and over the frosty of winter it was as the squire observed an of christmas hospitality breaking through the of ceremony and selfishness and every heart into a flow he pointed with to the indications of good cheer from the of the houses and low cottages i love said he to see this day well kept by rich and poor it is a great thing to have one day in the year at least when you are sure of being welcome wherever you go and of having as it were the all thrown open to you and i am almost disposed to join with robin in his on every enemy to this honest festival � those at christmas do and would hence him may they with old duke dine or else may squire catch m the squire went on to lament the deplorable decay of the games and amusements which were once at this season among the lower christmas bay orders and bj the higher when the old halls of castles and houses were thrown open at daylight when the tables were covered with and beef and humming ale when the harp and the all day long and when rich and poor were alike welcome to enter and make merry our old games and local customs said he had a great effect in making the peasant fond of his home and the promotion of them by the gentry made him fond of his lord they made the times and kinder and better and i can truly say with one of our old poets i like them well � the curious 