Section 2 of 8 - Table of Contents
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS ROSES
ADAPTED FROM AN OLD LEGEND
The sun had dropped below the western hills of Judea, and the stillness of
night had covered the earth. The heavens were illumined only by numberless
stars, which shone the brighter for the darkness of the sky. No sound was
heard but the occasional howl of a jackal or the bleat of a lamb in the
sheepfold. Inside a tent on the hillside slept the shepherd, Berachah, and
his daughter, Madelon. The little girl lay restless,--sleeping, waking,
dreaming, until at last she roused herself and looked about her.
"Father," she whispered, "oh, my father, awake. I fear for the sheep."
The shepherd turned himself and reached for his staff. "What nearest thou,
daughter! The dogs are asleep. Hast thou been burdened by an evil dream?"
"Nay, but father," she answered, "seest thou not the light? Hearest thou
not the voice?"
Berachah gathered his mantle about him, rose, looked over the hills toward
Bethlehem, and listened. The olive trees on yonder slope were casting
their shadows in a marvellous light, unlike daybreak or sunset, or even
the light of the moon. By the camp-fire below on the hillside the
shepherds on watch were rousing themselves. Berachah waited and wondered,
while Madelon clung to his side. Suddenly a sound rang out in the
stillness. Madelon pressed still closer.
"It is the voice of an angel, my daughter. What it means I know not.
Neither understand I this light." Berachah fell on his knees and prayed.
"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall
be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
The voice of the angel died away, and the air was filled with music.
Berachah raised Madelon to her feet. "Ah, daughter," said he, "It is the
wonder night so long expected. To us hath it been given to see the sign.
It is the Messiah who hath come, the Messiah, whose name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. He it is who shall reign on the throne of David, he it is who
shall redeem Israel."
Slowly up the hillside toiled the shepherds to the tent of Berachah, their
chief, who rose to greet them eagerly.
"What think you of the wonder night and of the sign?" he queried. "Are we
not above all others honored, thus to learn of the Messiah's coming!"
"Yea, and Berachah," replied their spokesman, Simon, "believest thou not
that we should worship the infant King! Let us now go to Bethlehem, and
see this thing which has come to pass."
A murmur of protest came from the edge of the circle, and one or two
turned impatiently away, whispering of duty toward flocks, and the folly
of searching for a new-born baby in the city of Bethlehem. Hardheaded,
practical men were these, whose hearts had not been touched by vision or
by song.
The others, however, turned expectantly toward Berachah, awaiting his
decision. "Truly," said Jude, "the angel of the Lord hath given us the
sign in order that we might go to worship Him. How can we then do
otherwise? We shall find Him, as we have heard, lying in a manger. Let us
not tarry, but let us gather our choicest treasures to lay at His feet,
and set out without delay across the hills toward Bethlehem."
"Oh, my father," whispered Madelon, "permit me to go with thee." Berachah
did not hear her, but turned and bade the men gather together their gifts.
"I, too, father?" asked Madelon. Still Berachah said nothing. Madelon
slipped back into the tent, and throwing her arms around Melampo, her
shepherd dog, whispered in his ear.
Soon the shepherds returned with their gifts. Simple treasures they
were,--a pair of doves, a fine wool blanket, some eggs, some honey, some
late autumn fruits. Berachah had searched for the finest of his flock,--a
snow-white lamb. Across the hills toward Bethlehem in the quiet, star-lit
night they journeyed. As they moved silently along, the snow beneath their
feet was changed to grass and flowers, and the icicles which had dropped
from the trees covered their pathway like stars in the Milky Way.
Following at a distance, yet close enough to see them, came Madelon with
Melampo at her heels. Over the hills they travelled on until Madelon lost
sight of their own hillside. Farther and farther the shepherds went until
they passed David's well, and entered the city. Berachah led the way.
"How shall we know?" whispered Simon. And the others answered, "Hush, we
must await the sign."
When at last they had compassed the crescent of Bethlehem's hills, they
halted by an open doorway at a signal from their leader. "The manger,"
they joyfully murmured, "the manger! We have found the new-born King!"
One by one the shepherds entered. One by one they fell on their knees.
Away in the shadow stood the little girl, her hand on Melampo's head. In
wonder she gazed while the shepherds presented their gifts, and were
permitted each to hold for a moment the newborn Saviour.
Melampo, the shepherd dog, crouched on the ground, as if he too, like the
ox and the ass within, would worship the Child. Madelon turned toward the
darkness weeping. Then, lifting her face to heaven, she prayed that God
would bless Mother and Baby. Melampo moved closer to her, dumbly offering
his companionship, and, raising his head, seemed to join in her petition.
Once more she looked at the worshipping circle.
"Alas," she grieved, "no gift have I for the infant Saviour. Would that I
had but a flower to place in His hand."
Suddenly Melampo stirred by her side, and as she turned again from the
manger she saw before her an angel, the light from whose face illumined
the darkness, and whose look of tenderness rested on her tear-stained
eyes.
"Why grievest thou, maiden?" asked the angel.
"That I come empty-handed to the cradle of the Saviour, that I bring no
gift to greet Him," she murmured.
"The gift of thine heart, that is the best of all," answered the angel.
"But that thou mayst carry something to the manger, see, I will strike
with my staff upon the ground."
Wonderingly Madelon waited. From the dry earth wherever the angel's staff
had touched sprang fair, white roses. Timidly she stretched out her hand
toward the nearest ones. In the light of the angel's smile she gathered
them, until her arms were filled with flowers. Again she turned toward the
manger, and quietly slipped to the circle of kneeling shepherds.
Closer she crept to the Child, longing, yet fearing, to offer her gift.
"How shall I know," she pondered, "whether He will receive this my gift as
His own?"
Berachah gazed in amazement at Madelon and the roses which she held. How
came his child there, his child whom he had left safe on the hillside? And
whence came such flowers! Truly this was a wonder night.
Step by step she neared the manger, knelt, and placed a rose in the Baby's
hand. As the shepherds watched in silence, Mary bent over her Child, and
Madelon waited for a sign. "Will He accept them?" she questioned. "How,
oh, how shall I know?" As she prayed in humble silence, the Baby's eyes
opened slowly, and over His face spread a smile.
THE LITTLE GRAY LAMB
ARCHIBALD BERESFORD SULLIVAN
Out on the endless purple hills, deep in the
clasp of somber night,
The shepherds guarded their weary ones--
guarded their flocks of cloudy white,
That like a snowdrift in silence lay,
Save one little lamb with its fleece of gray.
Out on the hillside all alone, gazing afar with
sleepless eyes,
The little gray lamb prayed soft and low, its
weary face to the starry skies:
"O moon of the heavens so fair, so bright,
Give me--oh, give me--a fleece of white!"
No answer came from the dome of blue, nor
comfort lurked in the cypress-trees;
But faint came a whisper borne along on the
scented wings of the passing breeze:
"Little gray lamb that prays this night,
I cannot give thee a fleece of white."
Then the little gray lamb of the sleepless eyes
prayed to the clouds for a coat of snow,
Asked of the roses, besought the woods; but
each gave answer sad and low:
"Little gray lamb that prays this night,
We cannot give thee a fleece of white."
Like a gem unlocked from a casket dark, like
an ocean pearl from its bed of blue,
Came, softly stealing the clouds between, a
wonderful star which brighter grew
Until it flamed like the sun by day
Over the place where Jesus lay.
Ere hushed were the angels' notes of praise
the joyful shepherds had quickly sped
Past rock and shadow, adown the hill, to kneel
at the Saviour's lowly bed;
While, like the spirits of phantom night,
Followed their flocks--their flocks of white.
And patiently, longingly, out of the night,
apart from the others,--far apart,--
Came limping and sorrowful, all alone, the
little gray lamb of the weary heart,
Murmuring, "I must bide far away:
I am not worthy--my fleece is gray."
And the Christ Child looked upon humbled
pride, at kings bent low on the earthen floor,
But gazed beyond at the saddened heart of the
little gray lamb at the open door;
And he called it up to his manger low and laid
his hand on its wrinkled face,
While the kings drew golden robes aside to
give to the weary one a place.
And the fleece of the little gray lamb was blest:
For, lo! it was whiter than all the rest!
* * * * *
In many cathedrals grand and dim, whose windows
glimmer with pane and lens,
Mid the odor of incense raised in prayer, hallowed
about with last amens,
The infant Saviour is pictured fair, with
kneeling Magi wise and old,
But his baby-hand rests--not on the gifts, the
myrrh, the frankincense, the gold--
But on the head, with a heavenly light,
Of the little gray lamb that was changed to white.
THE HOLY NIGHT
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING
We sate among the stalls at Bethlehem;
The dumb kine from their fodder turning them,
Softened their horned faces
To almost human gazes
Toward the newly Born:
The simple shepherds from the star-lit brooks
Brought visionary looks,
As yet in their astonied hearing rung
The strange sweet angel-tongue:
The magi of the East, in sandals worn,
Knelt reverent, sweeping round,
With long pale beards, their gifts upon the ground,
The incense, myrrh, and gold
These baby hands were impotent to hold:
So let all earthlies and celestials wait
Upon thy royal state.
Sleep, sleep, my kingly One!
THE STAR BEARER
EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN
There were seven angels erst that spanned
Heaven's roadway out through space,
Lighting with stars, by God's command,
The fringe of that high place
Whence plumed beings in their joy,
The servitors His thoughts employ,
Fly ceaselessly. No goodlier band
Looked upward to His face.
There, on bright hovering wings that tire
Never, they rested mute,
Nor of far journeys had desire,
Nor of the deathless fruit;
For in and through each angel soul
All waves of life and knowledge roll,
Even as to nadir streamed the fire
Of their torches resolute.
They lighted Michael's outpost through
Where fly the armored brood,
And the wintry Earth their omens knew
Of Spring's beatitude;
Rude folk, ere yet the promise came,
Gave to their orbs a heathen name,
Saying how steadfast in men's view
The watchful Pleiads stood.
All in the solstice of the year,
When the sun apace must turn,
The seven bright angels 'gan to hear
Heaven's twin gates outward yearn:
Forth with its light and minstrelsy
A lordly troop came speeding by,
And joyed to see each cresset sphere
So gloriously burn.
Staying his fearless passage then
The Captain of that host
Spake with strong voice: "We bear to men
God's gift the uttermost,
Whereof the oracle and sign
Sibyl and sages may divine:
A star shall blazon in their ken,
Borne with us from your post.
"This night the Heir of Heaven's throne
A new-born mortal lies!
Since Earth's first morning hath not shone
Such joy in seraph eyes."
He spake. The least in honor there
Answered with longing like a prayer,--
"My star, albeit thenceforth unknown,
Shall light for you Earth's skies."
Onward the blessed legion swept,
That angel at the head;
(Where seven of old their station kept
There are six that shine instead.)
Straight hitherward came troop and star;
Like some celestial bird afar
Into Earth's night the cohort leapt
With beauteous wings outspread.
Dazzling the East beneath it there,
The Star gave out its rays:
Right through the still Judean air
The shepherds see it blaze,--
They see the plume-borne heavenly throng,
And hear a burst of that high song
Of which in Paradise aware
Saints count their years but days.
For they sang such music as, I deem,
In God's chief court of joys,
Had stayed the flow of the crystal stream
And made souls in mid-flight poise;
They sang of Glory to Him most High,
Of Peace on Earth abidingly,
And of all delights the which, men dream,
Nor sin nor grief alloys.
Breathless the kneeling shepherds heard,
Charmed from their first rude fear,
Nor while that music dwelt had stirred
Were it a month or year:
And Mary Mother drank its flow,
Couched with her Babe divine,--and, lo!
Ere falls the last ecstatic word
Three Holy Kings draw near.
Whenas the star-led shining train
Wheeled from their task complete,
Skyward from over Bethlehem's plain
They sped with rapture fleet;
And the angel of that orient star,
Thenceforth where Heaven's lordliest are,
Stands with a harp, while Christ doth reign,
A seraph near His feet.
THE VISIT OF THE WISE MEN
ST. MATTHEW, II, 1-12
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the
king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his
star in the east, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by
the prophet,
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the
princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule
my people Israel.
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them
diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the
young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may
come and worship him also.
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they
saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the
young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary
his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened
their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense,
and myrrh.
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod,
they departed into their own country another way.
THE THREE KINGS
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
Three Kings came riding from far away,
Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar;
Three Wise Men out of the East were they,
And they travelled by night and they slept by day,
For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star.
The star was so beautiful, large, and clear,
That all the other stars of the sky
Became a white mist in the atmosphere,
And by this they knew that the coming was near
Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy.
Three caskets they bore on their saddle-bows,
Three caskets of gold with golden keys;
Their robes were of crimson silk with rows
Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows,
Their turbans like blossoming almond-trees.
And so the Three Kings rode into the West,
Through the dusk of night, over hill and dell,
And sometimes they nodded with beard on breast,
And sometimes talked, as they paused to rest,
With the people they met at some wayside well.
"Of the child that is born," said Baltasar,
"Good people, I pray you, tell us the news;
For we in the East have seen his star,
And have ridden fast, and have ridden far,
To find and worship the King of the Jews."
And the people answered, "You ask in vain;
We know of no king but Herod the Great!"
They thought the Wise Men were men insane,
As they spurred their horses across the plain,
Like riders in haste, and who cannot wait.
And when they came to Jerusalem,
Herod the Great, who had heard this thing,
Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them;
And said, "Go down unto Bethlehem,
And bring me tidings of this new king."
So they rode away; and the star stood still,
The only one in the gray of morn;
Yes, it stopped,--it stood still of its own free will,
Right over Bethlehem on the hill,
The city of David, where Christ was born.
And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard,
Through the silent street, till their horses turned
And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;
But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,
And only a light in the stable burned.
And cradled there in the scented hay,
In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,
The little child in the manger lay,
The child, that would be king one day
Of a kingdom not human but divine.
His mother Mary of Nazareth
Sat watching beside his place of rest,
Watching the even flow of his breath,
For the joy of life and the terror of death
Were mingled together in her breast.
They laid their offerings at his feet:
The gold was their tribute to a King,
The frankincense, with its odor sweet,
Was for the Priest, the Paraclete,
The myrrh for the body's burying.
And the mother wondered and bowed her head,
And sat as still as a statue of stone;
Her heart was troubled yet comforted,
Remembering what the Angel had said
Of an endless reign and of David's throne.
Then the Kings rode out of the city gate,
With a clatter of hoofs in proud array;
But they went not back to Herod the Great,
For they knew his malice and feared his hate,
And returned to their homes by another way.
THE THREE HOLY KINGS
ADAPTED FROM THE GOLDEN LEGEND, AND OTHER
SOURCES
In a far country, in the days before Jesus was born in Judea, there were
great astrologers who studied the heavens by night and by day, for they
knew of the prophecy which said that a star shall be born or spring out of
Jacob, and a man shall arise of the lineage of Israel. And twelve of them
were chosen to take heed, who every year ascended upon a mountain which
was called the Hill of Victory. Three days they abode there, and prayed
our Lord that He would show to them the star that Balaam had said and
prophesied.
Now it happened on a time, that they were there on the day of the Nativity
of Jesus Christ, and a star came over them upon this mountain, which had
the form of a right fair child, and under his head was a shining cross,
and from this cross came a voice saying: "To-day is there born a King in
Judea."
Now in Arabia, the land in which the soil is red with gold, there reigned
a king called Melchior. And in Saba, where frankincense flows from the
trees, the king Balthasar ruled. And in the land where myrrh hangs from
the bushes, the kingdom of Tharsis, reigned a third king, called Caspar.
These three kings also saw the star and heard the voice, and they each
made ready to go on a journey. And no one of the three knew that the
others intended thus to make a pilgrimage. And they gathered together
their treasures to present to the king whom they should seek, and summoned
those who should attend them. So each set out with a great company and
great estate. And as they journeyed they found the mountains made level as
the plains, while the swollen rivers became as dry land. And never did
they lose sight of the star, which shined upon them as the sun, always
moving before them to guide them on their way.
But when they were come within two miles of Jerusalem, the star
disappeared, a heavy fog arose, and each party halted; Melchior, as it
fell out, taking his stand on Mount Calvary, Balthasar on the Mount of
Olives, and Caspar just between them. And when the fog cleared away, each
was astonished to see two other great companies besides his own, and then
the kings first discovered that all had come upon the same errand, and
they embraced with great joy, and rode together into Jerusalem.
And when they came into the city, Herod and all the people were troubled,
because of their so great company like unto an army. Then they demanded in
what place the King of the Jews was born, for, said they, "We have seen
His star in the Orient, and therefore we come to worship Him." And when
Herod had heard this, he was much troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Then Herod called all the priests of the law, and the doctors, and
demanded of them where Jesus Christ should be born. And when he had
understood them that He should be born in Bethlehem, he called the three
kings apart and demanded of them diligently the time that the star
appeared to them. And he said to them that as soon as they should have
found the Child and have worshipped Him, that they should return and show
it to him, feigning that he would worship Him also, though he thought that
he would go to slay Him.
And as soon as the kings were entered into Jerusalem, the sight of the
star was taken from them. But when they were issued out of the city, the
star appeared again and went before them, until it came above the place in
Bethlehem where the Child was. And they had journeyed now full thirteen
days.
And when they had entered into the place they worshipped the young Child,
and Mary, His mother. Now the kings had brought great treasures with them,
for it must be known that all that Alexander the Great left at his death,
and all that the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon, and all that Solomon
collected for the temple, had descended to the three kings from their
ancestors; and all this they had now brought with them. But when they had
bowed down before the Child, they were filled with fear and amazement
because of the so great light which was in the place. And they each
offered quickly the first thing that came to their hands, and forgot all
their other gifts. Melchior offered thirty golden pennies, Balthasar gave
frankincense, and Caspar myrrh; but all else they quite forgot, and only
remembered that they bowed before the Child, and said "Thanks be to God."
And when they would have stayed to do honor to the Holy Child, an angel
came to them in a dream, to warn them against Herod, who would do them
harm. So they departed each to his own country, journeying for two years.
And they preached unto the people, telling them of the new-born King, and
everywhere upon the temples men placed the figures of a star, the Child,
and a cross.
Now it happened years later that St. Thomas the Apostle journeyed to the
far country to preach, and that he wondered why the star was placed upon
the temples. Then the priests in those temples told him about the three
kings and how they had journeyed to Bethlehem and had seen the young
Child.
And the three kings were very old and feeble, but when they heard about
St. Thomas, each set out from his own place to go to meet him. And when
they had come together they builded them a city, and lived together there
for two years, worshipping God and preaching. Then Melchior died, and was
buried in a large and costly tomb. And when Balthasar died, he, too, was
buried there. And at last Caspar was placed beside his companions.
Now in the days of Constantine the Great, his mother Helena determined to
find the bodies of the three kings, and for this she made a journey to the
far country. And when she had found them, she brought them to
Constantinople to the Church of St. Sophia, where they were held in much
honor. And from Constantinople they were taken to Milan, where again many
pilgrims came. Now when Frederick Barbarossa laid siege to the city of
Milan, he rejoiced above all else to find them there. And by him they were
taken to Cologne, and there a golden shrine was built in which the bones
of the three holy kings were placed that there they might remain until the
Judgment day.
THE THREE KINGS OF COLOGNE
EUGENE FIELD
From out Cologne there came three kings
To worship Jesus Christ, their King.
To Him they sought fine herbs they brought,
And many a beauteous golden thing;
They brought their gifts to Bethlehem town,
And in that manger set them down.
Then spake the first king, and he said:
"O Child, most heavenly, bright, and fair!
I bring this crown to Bethlehem town.
For Thee, and only Thee, to wear;
So give a heavenly crown to me
When I shall come at last to Thee!"
The second, then. "I bring Thee here
This royal robe, O Child!" he cried;
"Of silk 'tis spun, and such an one
There is not in the world beside;
So in the day of doom requite
Me with a heavenly robe of white!"
The third king gave his gift, and quoth:
"Spikenard and myrrh to Thee I bring,
And with these twain would I most fain
Anoint the body of my King;
So may their incense sometime rise
To plead for me in yonder skies!"
Thus spake the three kings of Cologne,
That gave their gifts and went their way;
And now kneel I in prayer hard by
The cradle of the Child to-day;
Nor crown, nor robe, nor spice I bring
As offering unto Christ, my King.
Yet have I brought a gift the Child
May not despise, however small;
For here I lay my heart to-day,
And it is full of love to all.
Take Thou the poor but loyal thing,
My only tribute, Christ, my King!
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