Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1874-12-30
HOME CIRCLE.
From the Baltim ore Sun.
CHRISTMAS MEMORIES.

ny w.R ABELL.
There Is no day in an the by-gonc years
More glad in smiles, or dimmed with fewer
tears
Ana none to which the memory iondly
lies
WIKI keonerjoys and laughing pleasant
~ies-
That drags the selfish from his worshipped
self,
The coming miser from his boarded pelf,
Than that bright day 90 whose propiuOus
morn
The angels heraldei loving Savior born.
Bsci through the years on oft-repcated
trips
Ofplessure, too, the memory softly slips
Taxing us with it to that happy day
Where many bright and golden hours may
Be .pent in Joy that knows Of no allay.
Where brightest faces, forms and figures
fair
Arc met of those we hold most truly dear,
Some, it is true, who proudly then
Had upright figures of much younger men,
Now stagger meath the heavy load of life
About retiring from all mortal strife
Others, whose toddling limbs refused 10 bear
Now in full vigor battle with the world
once raised aloft. again are downward
hurled.
Others sgain-bless bless their faces kind
Are seen alone now by the journeying mind
That hastens back their days in life to find.
We see again the large, old-fashioned fire.
Blazing and cracking, and with JOY or ire
Tossing its sparks up-up the widc-mouth-
ed fue,
That our then young imaginations knew
As fairy sprites let loose IRON out the spell
OF wooden shsckles-how, we could not
tell.
And how upon that eve Of Nmss night
We begged that these warm flames and
cheerful light
N sht be allowed this once to die away,
30 when Kris-Kringle, in his crystal sleigh,
Reached our houselop the chimney might
be clear
OF all obstruction, heat and smoky air
And when twas out-we slept without
fear
And how, with a peculiar childish care.
We chose those stockings, free from wear
and tear
Our largest, too-and then along the string
THAT bemmed the mantel, let them lazy
swing.
OF bow we watched away the early night
Till sleep, with fingers trained to action
>rr:nkled his sands, and closed our eyelid.
tight
Weakening with the bu1zing of the town,
We rose to take the unknown treasure,
down.
And found, with JOY, our stockings fairly
stuffed
Those oalye, before were never 50 well
pulled
Even with flesh. And then, with blast of
announced to al ceiow. we rose to Xmss
morn.
Oar hurried dressing and more hurried
flight
Down The wide s,airvr; and with faces
bright
E.l-hyi with ez,itemcn.-wo scattered
wide
Our Merry Chri.tm-s then on every
side
Dorseed our parents. and IN their warm
embrace
Eel, all the love that pas kled in the face
'l-N IL tl4H "iliA "a All ulE present IINr-
ow Christmas tree. our rich and simpler
toys
SAW, too, perhaps, family quivering tear
That told the story Of one missing there,
one who was loved. and that love, 100, re-
turned
With all the fervor that within her burned
Now loving in a new life richly earned
Amid orr Joys, too, have we not a thought
proud one, too--thst has SO kindly
brought
To mind the figure Of some little one,
saivering 17i:E cold upon that old door
stone,
That framed the entrance to our home of
Joy
Taken it in, clothed, fed. and with a toy
sent forth again with grateful face and
heart
Into the worlds, alas, too selfish mart
Can we bat find a memory such as this,
Where mid the rush Of earthly Joys aud
bliss,
We've turned from Pleasures Turing path
aside
To aid the poor, the weak or sorely tri-d,
Then has been doub'y blessed our Christ
mas tide.