,
pious man, the whole extent of his life from boyhood until now, full of
charity and kindly deeds, as autumn fields with heavy wheaten ears; the
clergyman, I say--for the sentence is becoming unwieldy on my hands, and
one must double back to secure connexion--read out in that silvery voice
of his, which is sweeter than any music to my ear, those chapters of the
New Testament that deal with the birth of the Saviour. And the red-faced
rustic congregation hung on the good man's voice as he spoke of the
Infant brought forth in a manger, of the shining angels that appeared in
the mid-air to the shepherds, of the miraculous star that took its
station in the sky, and of the wise men who came from afar and laid
their gifts of frankincense and myrrh at the feet of the child. With the
story every one was familiar, but on that day, and backed by the
persuasive melody of the reader's voice, it seemed to all quite new--at
least, they listened attentively as if it were. The discourse that
followed possessed no remarkable thoughts; it dealt simply with the
goodness of the Maker of heaven and earth, and the shortness of time,
with the duties of thankfulness and charity to the poor; and I am
persuaded that every one who heard returned to his house in a better
frame of mind. And so the service remitted us all to our own homes, to
what roast-beef and plum-pudding slender means permitted, to gatherings
around cheerful fires, to half-pleasant, half-sad remembrances of the
dead and the absent.

From sermon I have returned like the others, and it is my purpose to
hold Christmas alone. I have no one with me at table, and my own
thoughts must be my Christmas guests. Sitting here, it is pleasant to
think how much kindly feeling exists this present night in England. By
imagination I can taste of every table, pledge every toast, silently
join in every roar of merriment. I become a sort of universal guest.
With what propriety is this jovial season, placed amid dismal December
rains and snows! How one pities the unhappy Australians, with whom
everything is turned topsy-turvy, and who holds Christmas at midsummer!
The face of Christmas glows all the brighter for the cold. The heart
warms as the frost increases. Estrangements which have embittered the
whole year, melt in to-night's hospitable smile. There are warmer
handshakings on this night than during the by-past twelve months. Friend
lives in the mind of friend. There is more charity at this time