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Read Ebook: Self-Help Mechanical Drawing: An Educational Treatise by Hawkins N Nehemiah
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Ebook has 746 lines and 91535 words, and 15 pages
MARY. Our last hope gone! Now, what shall we do? My strength is leaving!
JOSEPH. Would I could succor you. I'll wrap thee warm. Now rest thee here a while. We've traveled far, full many a weary mile.
JOSEPH. Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
RUTH. That inn is crowded. There's one upon the hill.
JOSEPH. I've tried them all, my wife is very ill.
RUTH. That little stable there upon the loe,
'Tis snug and warm. 'Twill shield thee from the snow.
MARY . God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child! Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.
JOSEPH.
O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.
WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED THEIR FLOCKS.
While shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground. The angel of the Lord came down, And glory shone around, And glory shone around.
"Fear not," said he,--for mighty dread Had seized their troubled mind, "Glad tidings of great joy I bring, To you and all mankind, To you and all mankind."
"To you in David's town this day, Is born of David's line, The Saviour, who is Christ, the Lord, And this shall be the sign, And this shall be the sign."
"The heav'nly babe you there shall find To human view displayed, All meanly wrapped in swathing bands, And in a manger laid, And in a manger laid."
Thus spake the seraph--and forthwith Appeared a shining throng Of angels, praising God, who thus Addressed their joyful song, Addressed their joyful song:--
"All glory be to God on high, And to the earth be peace; Good will henceforth, from heav'n to men, Begin and never cease, Begin and never cease."
There's scarlet holly on the streets, and silver mistletoe; The surging, jeweled, ragged crowds forever come and go. And here a silken woman laughs, and there a beggar asks-- And, oh, the faces, tense of lip, like mad and mocking masks. Who thinks of Bethlehem today, and one lone winter night? Who knows that in a manger-bed there breathed a Child of Light?
There's fragrant scent of evergreen upon the chilling air; There's tinsel tawdriness revealed beneath the sunlight's glare; There's Want and Plenty, Greed and Pride--a hundred thousand souls, And, oh, the weary eyes of them, like dull and sullen coals. Who knows the town of Bethlehem, once gleamed beneath the star, Whose wondrous light the shepherds saw watching their flocks afar?
And yet above the city streets, above the noise and whir, There seems to come a fragrant breath of frankincense and myrrh. I saw a woman, bent and wan, and on her face a light The look that Mary might have worn that other Christmas night. And as the little children passed, and one lad turned and smiled, I saw within his wistful eyes the spirit of the Child.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, 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.
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, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT
Lead, kindly Light, amid th' encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on! The night is dark and I am far from home; Lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet, I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me.
So long Thy pow'r hath blest me, sure it still Will lead me on O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till The night is gone, And with the morn those angel faces smile Which I have loved long since, and lost a-while.
SIMEON. Methought I heard a whir of wings on high.
TIMOTHY. I see naught save the snow and starry sky.
ISAAC. We've come a long and mighty step today, From o'er the frosty hills and far away.
THOMAS . Look, father, dost thou see that shining star That seems to stand above the town so far? 'Tis like a wondrous blossom on a stem, And see, it ever shines o'er Bethlehem!
TIMOTHY. A brighter star, I'm sure I never saw-- And perfect form, without a speck or flaw.
SIMEON. A stranger star! It never shone before, It standeth still above that stable door.
ANNA . Look ye, I've found a little lamb new-born.
TIMOTHY. Poor little beastie! Wrap him well and warm.
SIMEON. An ill night to be born in, frost and snow, Naught but cold skies above, cold earth below. I marvel any little creature should be born On such a night.
ANNA. I found it all forlorn, Crying beside its mother in the storm.
SIMEON . Hark, I thought I heard a sound of mighty wings! Listen! Is it the winter sky that sings?
ISAAC . Nay, gran'ther, I heard naught. You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
SIMEON. At noon I met a man who tarried in the shade, He led a mule, and riding it a maid-- A maiden with a face I'll ne'er forget, A wondrous face, I seem to see it yet Lit with an inward shining, as if God Had set a lighted lamp within her soul. Many have passed all day, but none like these, And no face have I ever seen like hers.
TIMOTHY. Belike the man and maid were strangers here, And come to Bethlehem at the king's command.
RUTH . Methinks I met that very man and maid-- A maiden with such wondrous dove-like eyes, I saw them near this place, all tired and worn, Trudging about the town, seeking an inn.
SIMEON. And did they find one?
RUTH. Nay, not so! For every inn was crowded to its doors. Hard by Deborah's inn there is a little barn, All full of cattle, oxen, cooing doves-- I showed it to them, and they went therein.
THOMAS . Mother, that star! That wondrous, wondrous light,
It turns the night to day, it shines so bright I am afraid! It cannot be that any star, Only a star, can give so great a light. It frightens me.
ANNA. All things are strange tonight. The very sheep are restless in their fold, They watch the star and do not mind the cold.
SIMEON . Again I heard a singing in the sky!
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