New-York daily tribune., 1856-01-16
Nep9lprk DAILY Gribm,rs
CHRISTMAS At LONDON.

From Oar Special Correspondent.
LONDON, Chrstmas-day, 1850.
From the bobbery which the children have been
making for several hours past up stairs, conclude
that st. Nicholas the merry old elf crossed
the water TO us last night and that we are in for
at least FIVE stockings full Of oyerfowing jOfca-
tion. European countries are full of traditional
customs at Christmas, which indicate sort OF
instructive popular Apprehension of the great mys-
tery of Redemption. At Dewsburg, in this cOun-
try, they toll the bell at midnight to celebrate the
death of the der and in many other localities sim
liar customs exist with similar intensity OF mean
ing. A beautiful custom prevails at IOnneins IN
France, which consists in multtudes of peasants,
men and women, gayy securing the helds the
night before Christmas with lighted torches on
high poles, "tO announce to the earth the coming
of the day of UNIVERSAL rejoicing" You will
see a very spirited illustration of this custom in
the dlmanaeh de ILLUSTRATION for 1856, worth
dozen ordinary sermons.
The sermons, in fact are ordinarily very far
below the theme. The Church has faithfully pre-
served TO some extent the memory OF the great
service which Christ rendered 10 the private or
individual soul; but il has utterly neglected the
equally memorable work He accomplished in and
for our common nature. Ii is too absurd to sup
pose that the Divine Incarnation should leave our
nature IN statu ouO The sole motive 10 that great
humiliation was that man had lapsed out OF the
Divine reach; not this that, or the other man, but
all mankind alike, so that human freedom, which
depends upon the exact balance OF good and evh,
was threatened with total overthrow. WhatW we
call the fall was no incident OF individual history
merely; il was the development ofhuman nature; It
was nothing more nor less in fact than the gradual
growth of the natural sefhood. In STOPPING, ac-
cordingly, to the dimensions of this natural self
hood, in order subsequently 10 enlarge IT 10 the
dimensions of His own infinite love, the Divine re-
gains His hold upon man; nay, not only regans 1t,
but improres it, For His primal hold allowed man
to slip, inevitably and almost fatally. But the
new hold forever forbids such a catastrophe. IL
does nothing. indeed in dimnuton or derOgaton OF
individual character but on the contrary perfectly
guarantees its illimitabe expansion. That Is 10
saw il allows A. h, or & 10 be interiorly good
evil man NJ his own pleasure, or 10 bring himself
spiritually under the paramount sway eltner o
brotherly or selflove; but il utterly dlsaIlows
him TO be an sus1GrAy evil man. AND
il disallows this-how By WORKING euch
change in the relation of these two loves; ,hat s
bv So utterly suborduatne in the spiritual world
oI the mind of man the evil love to the good-selt
10 the peiehbor or hell TO heayen-as that they ssa!
preoticaiiy beeet the same issue, and compete as
were TO bring forth blessing 10 the earthiy ne
The devil is not dead, then, as the Dewsoury pens
would have il heis much better tnan desd-he
utilized Ii has often been said that the worst use
YOU can put rogue to is to hang him. Certainly
10 put him in harness and make bln worA ioi you
were far better. Now this il precisely what Christ
has done. He has put selflOve, which is the devil
and the love Of the world which is Satan, into har
ness, or subOrdiDated them henceiortb to the love
of God and the neighbor, 50 that under such guid
apce we cannot fail 10 get from such servants an
;ncalculable amount of eenedicton 10 our ordinary
life | remember very well when the farmers on
tho NobaWk used to sell their exhausted farms for
new one, even whet their ta-oe aud tarn e