The Republican journal., 1872-12-19
A Christmas Sermon.

Each room with ivy leaves is drest,
And every post with holly.
though some churls at mrth renine
Round your foreheads garlands twine
Drown sorrow in a cup of wine,
And let us all be merry"
Christmas is indeed our joyful'st feast.
1t means more by many fold to every weak
human soul of us than all other HOLIDAYS
IN the calendar OF the year. At this time
there seems to be subtle joyful essence
in the very wintry air which thrills us and
makes it u delight to be. And how fresh
this time brings before us the picture in
that story, that story so old, so very old
| now, yet for all that forever new, forever
strange. First we see the angel holding
startling converse with amazed shepherds.
Then again at night bright star shining
with the light of intelligent human eyes
and travelling across the heavens on it's
important errand as guide to Wise Men.
linen mOther.-once one of the lowly of
the lowliest, but now in Importance the
most transcendant female figure in all the
ages-a mother fondling a new born babe
IN manager. Then the wise men of the
east entering and falling down before the
young child, so mighty in his very weak
ness. and offering unto him alteration,
gifts, gold frankincense and myrrh. Wlerd
scenes these are. but are they not burnt
INTO the soul OF every one of us, as in
| etfacably as the memory of our own
| mothers face
Christmas How the magic word
! quickens memory, and how strangely are
brought back to US our own childhoods
days.
Sweet memory, waited by thy gentle gale
| Oft up the stream of time turn my SAIL
| All, years ago when Christmas Eve
came we began to live in romancel Every
thing around and about us took on en-
| chantment then. No persons or objects
| wore their common aspect. The fire burnt
brighter on that evening; and we Won
dered il old Santa Claus were not clad
| in tire-proot armor. else how could he
| come down the hot and smoking chimney ?
! And when we went to bed 1--WE went early
as all children did on that night. so that it
| might seem SHORTY our mothers voice as
| she bid us goodnight was transformed to
| the voice of the Queen of the Christmas
| fairies, marshalling her hosts. Then we
| lay all through the night in that strange
| state between sleeping and waking, be-
twaap tai lap nd n Il,
and then our eyes would open and we
| would watch the great yellow moon as
| she took her long slow journey across the
| sky. Our pulse beat quick as now and
| then we thought we heard the Jingle of
the sleigh-bells on good Santa Claus
| magic little raindeer team But the sly
old fellow, took his time to come during
| one of our maps, aud in the morning our
stockings full to overlooking with treas
| ures proved conclusively that he had really
been his rounds. And the Christmas trees
of our childhood! We never have seen such
| beauties since. No never But the great
green tree which is set up to-day in a
| million homes looks as bright to millions
Of childish eyes, as did ours years agone.
1t would be q wonderfully cheering
sight to see all the Christmas trees of one
large city, brought together, making one
great grove. With the merry children
playing among the trees, and turning up
| then bright young faces to look at these
towering monarchs of the forest with their
multitude OF little tapers brightly burning
among the branches beside the wonderful
toy fruit. This sight would make us think
that the millennium had come Let us all
respect and foster the harmless illusions
Of childhood, for these make them better.
and make us better too. We are only
grown up children
We will not dwell at length on the
grand lessons of selttorgettul generosity
towards our friends and charity for the
poor. which the season teaches US We
all know our duty. Another lesson be-
side that Of broad charity for our suffer-
ing humankind is taught by Christmas 1t
is the duty we all neglect, that of putting
ourselves to the trouble of being agree
able and sociable toward those persons
who are not especially attractive to u.s.
We daily meet those who are at anti-po
larities with us. Instead of codly in
trenching ourselves behind our pride and
letting such people severely alone,' we
owe it to ourselves, if not to a higher
power, to meet them in Il free and social
spirit, and to bring into use that natural
unguent of manner which smooths off the
uncongenial knobs and knots which such
are unlucky enough to daily carry about
with them. Should we not be kinder to
each other think you, if we could only
read each others hearts if we could on
ly know the secret trials and may be
physical sutferings OF our sour-taced
neighbors? We all need to cultivate
truly social spirit. This is self-loyalty
ITO thine ownself be true
And it must follow, as the night the day.
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
With this principle of sociality in practice
your bitterest antagonist may become your
sweetest friend
After the Master Himself our greatest
Christmas preacher was noble-hearted
Charles Dickens. Untrammeed by theo-
logical creeds. Charles Dickens was able
to speak to the soul, to the Man within US
all, and to the heart. Beside, he helped
us to celebrate this time with most hearty
cheer. Were there ever more touching or
more effective sermons preached on Chair
ty than his christmas Carol" and his
"Chimes"2 The secret of their power
lies not in the interest Of the plots, but in
the sweetness, charity and good will to-
ward humankind which permeate their
every page as the leaven rermeates the
loaf. And he helps us now just as before,
though dead,to celebrate our holiday and
he is now, through his works, as he was