, 1864-12-26

bIapce Of the Sayior's birth. In oldcn times th
pesaod for sacrifice; througha longIapse Of sub
sequcnt ages the epoch marked by dancing, NJ.
eaii bowls, blazing 5u]e loes, aud general baccha
milan revelzJ; IN later daye the time for genera
enjoyment for presents for family gatherings, ant
the renewal Of tics temporarily severed; the on
festival which amid tho long night Of the dark age
vas continuously observed, the primary object o
ita Institution never lost eight Of; Christnsa ere
gladsome, ever welcome, as brought round to II
once more On the eternal whIrl Of the Zodiac.
waltz, and loi as we near The corner, there stsud
santa Claus IN bis snowy robes, and fc1c1e dtadem
laughing out the merry nots Of welcome, AMI
shaking his pack alott till its envelope breaks
| scattering Its contents all around
Christmas is a natural epoch; the bright p,rtcu
Lar star Of hope In the solar pathway, the opentur
door Of promise. For months the sun has beeI
descending lower and lower in the axure vnu1t
each successive day Diminishing his meridfons
altitude, and the effective strength of his lifecly
Ing beams. Slowly he has SINK into the deoths NJ
darkness, and the icy grasp Of the frost king hae
seemed to be fixed more and more firmly into gu,
Fa@ls VILE each dturnst dccrcment when, behold
the depth is reached; the solar orb p,uses In his
down" ard career, and after little hesitation be-
gins to ascend, giving audible promise of yet an
other ioyoua, bounding spring, aud ;lorious surn
.mer- Fancy the sensations experienced bF the
first man on making The discovery Think Of him
en on The ne ea,h A. G9t IN spring and s5psd from
cr1ng blight on the leaves In the world outside its
boundaries, marked By the flaming sword. For a
few weeks he wandcrs obout unconscious Of the
approaching winter, hut soon the decreasing
temperature adnonIshes him that Lis
fig leaf apron ia, not a sufficient
protection, He assumes the sSin Of slaughtered
pcrcrpttbly shortened with each dIurual p:riod.
he has no clock,not even the first invented clep.
sytEa43but he views WIT, alarm his lcnsthenIns
stick the changing direction Of the Solar settings
md risings, lie sees that thcse two points grad
ana tc sloo,.. drcpcns, and The wtnter Wills WaEG
the solitary ,choes Of the foreet He secs in all
these The si:ns Of IN approaching eternal night,
pronounced: against him on his expulsion from
Paradise. 11t sec the descent Is Iess rapid now
T ceeecs aud the lowest point in tho meridian Ii
sun .cenlipgs the points of rising and setting re-
Of hope is Strengthened into absolute certainly;
Lord hath not cast him Of. forever. He secs open
ing before him new earth. and thoush'1t be get
the depth Of winter, he is intensely happy in he
anticipation Of the coming spring.
Pass we now along the stream OF time, till IRE
rest the mental vision on bend In the rirer four
Thousand years rrmovcd1and the physical .type
coun1cnancc ha1 long ceased to shfne the glory Of
the Temple Lad Decn for ages dimmed, the eful-
gent brightaef? from the throne Of the Lord Of
Hosts no NOR hoycred amid the cheTubfc wings
over the mercy sent, and the whole world WIS IN
,he 1 condition once complained Of BY the son Of
kieh, who could get 70 answeF either by Urim or
by Thummim. All the nnhous-Jewish and Gen
tiae-had been. during several centuries, laps1ng
into moral night and not even the advancing civ.
tlizatfon Of the Romsn power presented N e1cep-
shipped their gode and adopted the new found
vices. But there is final pause IN the descent,
the Sun Of Righteousness begins to arise with heal
In EF1f
healing hand arc once more heard and felt That
for which the paHiarchs prophets and apostles SO
long watched and waited Is berg, even the Sign
hnits OF the glorious universal rising.
Then WIS there great rejoicing. The new crea-
ton WIG begun, and as ut the first, the morning
aloud for joy, Kings came to the brightness Of
his rising, and the song first written hundreds Of
years ago was now cbanted through the spheres,
md formed the burden Of the celestial symphonies,
The night Of centuries had not then passed. The
Winter q imTesaltty ~as yet at the depths, and
sp1ine was @ only only put ierth 1t lie Reiosmaon % and
tie full warmth Of the genuine Christian Summer
has not get Been felt; still less have we yet passed
Whole world conserted and E gathersd ~ into he gar
ner Of God-brt then IS now, mankind joyfully ac-
knowledgcd the ''best greatest gift to mn" and
on The day in which we celebrate Saviour born.
On this day Tfngs out from every cline on this
p1anet the anthem whispered By the celestial host
oi Bethlehem, ~Peacc on earth, good will t,wlrds
men,"
But the epoch we'll we admit that there is good
ground for believing thai the Sayior's advent did
nnt occur In mi1W1ntcr, as the early Christian
Church certainly did not celebrate the festival at
hesan the attempt to i1 The precise date md had
lei back on he anaoeies aud close 1hc 1ou;th az
alter tho period when the sun attains his greatest
southern declination, The earliest moment Of time
preciatle to them Ibey may not hare been in
epired in making The selection. tut II Wus hapnv
choice and worthy og in nspIration itself as re-
cognizing In all liz fu1tness the harmonics which
rule IN every page OF the two great all-com-
prehcnsiye cospeis;-tbose OF nature and reyela.
Hon.
In America our observance of the day will follow
ont the one broad idea vet widely different in The
specIal u1anuer. being made M Of the necu1iar
rral Enynn~an natinns which Inve cnntr;hntad n
fn,Tn nrr r,enn1es 3,nr ,nost u,;Sa-as1 fnst;,"' ~
i'm Sanf, t,tansNha f-.Tcfel ali thc ~,v fro,n
s IKE e M is tosa mas ouna
Njsernhie IA the hnusehnId with yGbnse chinnner IL
has nGt acknowledgements 1ite-an aeons,ntance.
fe11s storx n ffa fnhahItents frnrssir recou
mixed as discreditable. lie tempers his ei{ia
10 The condition of bis yisifees :. In the
1,rsnreir mansion he t4rons 3ian and nc roia
nd IN ~ 1nIrss mn he ,sTcns.s ~ icsst r6fi ~
non rom like Puck- hc t,1,fs = cirdie round thr
ffsTth IN fortT Tni1ntes and Whcn ne morninc an,
Ina ,be - shn3o,ra ram the honaetn,a ne ns,riv
rems G az rsSealed WHICH have dropped rom % his
tSe ii,i ,,1,ca ~ ~ ,ade t,sd a,d sro,
chi,a.cn sto-o -, th Ge7ers, ~. rsn.eJ X tha
need sraIrsiv inform onr readers hat GEica-
m nn thc whole Stais Of Illinois are included in
Eis tIsit1no i;st Thnnsantis nf hcar.s viii haye
been made glad by his smile ere this paragraph is