e brooklets, when they talked.

And their faces were like lilies, and their eyes like purest dew,
And their tresses like the shadows that the shine is woven through;
And they each had little burdens, and a little tale to tell
Of fairy lore, and giants, and delights delectable.

And they mixed and intermingled, weaving melody with joy.
Till the magic circle clustered round a blooming baby-boy;
And they threw aside their treasures in an ecstasy of glee,
And bent, with dazzled faces, and with parted lips, to see.

'Twas a wondrous little fellow, with a dainty double chin,
And chubby cheeks, and dimples for the smiles to blossom in;
And he looked as ripe and rosy, on his bed of straw and reeds;
As a mellow little pippin that had tumbled in the weeds.

And I saw the happy mother, and a group surrounding her,
That knelt with costly presents of frankincense and myrrh;
And I thrilled with awe and wonder, as a murmur on the air
Came drifting o'er the hearing in a melody of prayer:--

_By the splendor in the heavens, and the hush upon the sea,
And the majesty of silence reigning o'er Galilee,--
We feel Thy kingly presence, and we humbly bow the knee
And lift our hearts and voices in gratefulness to Thee._

_Thy messenger has spoken, and our doubts have fled and gone
As the dark and spectral shadows of the night before the dawn,
And, in the kindly shelter of the light around us drawn,
We would nestle down forever in the breast we lean upon._

_You have given us a shepherd, you have given us a guide,
And the light of Heaven grew dimmer when you sent Him from your side,--
But He comes to lead Thy children where the gates will open wide
To welcome His returning when His works are glorified._

_By the splendor in the Heavens, and the hush upon the sea,
And the majesty of silence reigning over Galilee,--
We feel Thy kingly presence, and we humbly bow the knee
And lift our hearts and voices in gratefulness to Thee._

Then the vision, slowly failing, with the words of the refrain,
Fell swooning in the moonlight through the frosty windowpane;
And I heard the clock proclaiming, like an eager sentinel
Who brings the world good tidings,--"It is Christmas--all is well!"

[H] From "Afterwhiles." Copyright, 1898. By special permission of the
publishers, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.

Hiram Foster's Thanksgiving Turkey

BY S. E. KISER.

[Of the many