aid. And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid;
for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to
all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of David
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this is the sign unto you; Ye
shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men in whom He is well pleased.

And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made
known unto us. And they came with haste, and found both Mary and
Joseph, and the Babe lying in the manger. And when they saw it, they
made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this
child. And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken
unto them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering
them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising
God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was
spoken unto them.

(_Luke_ ii. 8-20.)

THE PLACE OF THE NATIVITY.

The evangelist Matthew tells us that "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judaea in the days of Herod the king;" and Justin Martyr, who was born
at Shechem and lived less than a century after the time of Christ,
places the scene of the Nativity in a cave. Over this cave has risen
the Church and Convent of the Nativity, and there is a stone slab with
a star cut in it to mark the spot where the Saviour was born. Dean
Farrar, who has been at the place, says: "It is impossible to stand in
the little Chapel of the Nativity, and to look without emotion on the
silver star let into the white marble, encircled by its sixteen
everburning lamps, and surrounded by the inscription, '_Hic de Virgine
Maria Jesus Christus natus est_.'"

To visit such a scene is to have the thoughts carried back to the
greatest event in the world's history, for it has been truly said that
the birth of Christ was the world's second birthday.

Now, death is life! and grief is turn'd to joy!
Since glory shone on that auspicious morn,
When God incarnate came, not to destroy,
But man to save and manhood's state adorn!

W. F. D.

[Illustration: The Nativity by Sandro Botticelli
Centr