with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring--
Oh, hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing."--E. H. Sears.

It does not matter very much where Christmas is kept, so long as all
the family can get together, and all hearts be filled with His love,
who came as a Babe in Bethlehem to bring blessings to the world. Under
such circumstances, Christmas is a joyous time everywhere, and dear
friends, meeting together for a few days of social intercourse, may
well bless the season, and retain their old love for it.

It is interesting to think of the various scenes into which the grey
head and kindly face of old Father Christmas are brought with shouts of
welcome. He comes to the palace, where flowers and perfumes give him a
taste of summer's months of gladness, and where men who occupy elevated
positions are glad to rest them in his genial smile. He goes to the
farm-house, in the country round which the bare fields lie, and the
ground is as hard as if it never meant to be fruitful again; and the
farmer feels the winter which has a Christmas in it is almost as good
as a spring-time of promise. He goes to the tradesmen in the town, and
the carol singers make even the busy streets melodious and suggestive
of peace and good-will; and the shopkeeper blesses the prosperity of
trade, that enables him to welcome the festive time with well-filled
tables and good cheer. And best of all, he goes to ships at sea, and
lonely lighthouses, and places where he is really needed, to cheer sad
hearts and raise depressed spirits; and as to most places he brings the
children with him, he is generally able very successfully to accomplish
his kind mission.

At the Longstone lighthouse they kept Christmas most joyfully, and all
the children, now growing to manhood and womanhood, came home to assist.

Great preparations were made beforehand by Mrs. Darling and Grace, that
nothing might be wanting to add to the festivities of the happy
re-union. If they could not deck the walls with holly and mistletoe
grown on the island, they could have it brought from the mainland by
the boys and girls when they came. Pictures, curtains, and books, were
all made the most of; and to crown the whole, or rather, as the
foundation of the whole, the house was made spotlessly clean--cleaner
than usual, if that could be, for the joyous occasion.

But there was always one source of anxiety to trouble the Darlings
during Decembe