414
famitg
CHRISTMAS HYMN.
Sing, children, sing,
Sing a merry Christmas
Jeeue Christ was born to-day— •
He, the Life, the Truth, the Way!
Sing, children, sing:
Look, children, look,
See o'er Syria's plains afar,
How that brightly beaming star,
Shines where Babe and Mother are'.
Look, children, look
Hark, children, hark
Do you hear the angels sing—
" List the tidings that we bring,
Christ is born, your God, your King "
Hark, children, hark!
Pray, children, pray - ,
Christ the, Saviour lives o!thigh,
lie
But ffe ari the fittuddest cry t
Ever loving, ever nigh.
Pray, children, Tray !
SANTA °LAU' GIFT.
Ib was ' the 'first day of becembe'r, and
Christmas would soon ta Claus
sat in his big arm-chair, with his pipe in his
mouth—thinking, thinking irhe could not
contrive some way to - make the little chil
dren try very hard 'to be good, so that he
could give them more presents this year than
ever before.
At last he laid down his pipe; and took off
his queer cap, and rubbed his head very
hard. Then he said : "Ah; I have thought
of a plan. is the President does—
issue a Proclamation."
. So he called one of
his little printers, who print the pretty little
books whioh Santa Claus gives to good chil
dren, and said to him : " Get a big sheet of
cardboard, and print upon it - these words, in
the gayest colors and largest type you have :
PROCLAMATION . .
SANTA CLAUS PROMISES TO ALL THE LITTLE
CHILDREN WHO WILL TRY TO BE VERY GOOD
FROM NOW UNTIL CHRISTMAS, A NEW AND
BEAUTIFUL GIFT.
SANTA CLAES' CAVE, Dec. Ist."
In a little while it was finished, and very
gay it looked, with its bright border, and
red and yellow and green letters.
Old Santa Claus took it in his hand,
waved it in the air, and then jumped into
his queer little, sleigh, with his funny rein
deer horses, and away he went, bounding
over the frozen ground.
Now, the little printers had made a great
many copies of the Proclamation, and they
wore all in a bundle at the bottom of the
sleigh. I cannot stop to tell you what
Santa Claus did with them all. You know
ho can go wherever little children live.
Some of them he left at the book-stores and
toy shops, but I must tell you of one that
he hung on the Great Elm, on Boston Com
mon.
The moon was shining very bright, when
he jumped out of his eloigh, topic a little
hammer from the big pocket of his shaggy
coat, and nailed it up where the little Chil
dren could easily read it.
• Then he gave a merry little laugh, and
went whirling away as fast as he came.
Very early next morning, people were
stopping to read the Proclamation.
First, in the early dawn, would conie,
shop-keepers, and the poor seamstress, hur
rying along, and going across the Commons
to shorten the way. .
Sometimes they would be in too great a
hurry to notice anything—even the white,
crisp grass, or the beautiful pond, with its
thin covering of ice.
But by-and-by the children themselves
began to come, to walk in the fresh morn
ing air, and.play among the old trees. You
may bo sure they soon spied the Proclama
tion fluttering in the air, and all ran to read
it. They were all very much pleased, and
stood around the old tree, talking and diS
cussing the matter. There was quite a hub
bub of little voices, and many merry peals
of laughter.
Almost all of them said they meant to try
and get the new Gift—all but one naughty
boy, who "did not believe there was any
such person as Santa Claus."
The children were quite provoked when
they heard him say this, and some of the
boys proposed pelting him with snow balls,
or rolling him into the pond, for daring to
speak so disrespectfully of their kind old
friend. They did, indeed, run after him,
and drove him from the Common.
I do not know what became of him, but I
am afraid he found nothing but pebble stones
and nut-shells in his stocking that Christrims.
Now, it would take quite too long if
were to tell you about all these little folks—
how some of them tried very hard to be
good, and others forgot all about it in a lit
tle while. But I would like to tell you
something about three of them—two little
sisters and a brother. Their names wore
Paul, Emily and Jennie.
They had come to walk on the Common
with Nurse, who drew Baby Willie in his
little carriage.
Paul had his bow and arrow, which he
kept pointing ap into the trees, threatning
to shoot the beds and squirrels, while little
Jennie begged him not to do so, though
Norse told her she need not worry, " there
was no danger of Master Paul hitting them."
At last his bright eye spied the Proclama
tion. " Hush, girls," he said, " there's a
splendid bird; I'll have him," aud, before .
sister could stop him, his arrow went whiz
zing through the air, and right through the
centre of the gtiy letters.
All ran to the tree—Paul very proud of
his exploit.
" It is not a bird, only an advertisement ;
and it's against the law to-put them upon
the Common," said he, very much disap
pointed.
" Well, read it, Paul," said Emily., " Pm
sure Pm glad, it's not a bird." So Paul read
it aloud. "14 . 0 w, tbat's good," said be, wlien
he had finished. " Santa Claus is a jolly - old
follow. But what does he mean ? I sup
pose we must do something grand—some
thing that will show."
"To be sure," said Emily. "Of course
he means that. Now, if we were only big
folks, there would be plenty of grand things
we could do. You might save somebody's
life, you know, and I—"
" Well, any way,. I'll try,"- said Paul.—
" Perhaps I'll think of something."
" And so will I," said Emily. As for little
Jennie ' she did not say .anything; she
thought if great things were to be done, it
was-of no use for her to try. Stie.e.ould only
be what her Mother often called her—" a
little sunbeam ;" always willing to help
others, always pleasant and Cheerful. She
hoped Santa Claus would not_forget her, if
she tried to be a kind and-gentle little girl.
As for Paul, he walked home in quite a
brown study. He went to school, but he
was more fbnd of play than of books and
study. Above all, he hated writing.; and
such ugly-looking marks -as he made for
letters ! You would think a whole flock of
henS and chickens'had walked, with muddy
feet, all o i verthe paper. This waEi a,great
trouble to his Father, and he often talked
to him about it, and tried to make him take
more pains with his 'writing. '
Yaw, Paul resolVed he would ; and he was
a resobite little fellow. He was determin:d,
before Christmas, he would learn to write,
and write well, too. .
House on Me Hill
As for Emily, she thought and• thought
what she could do. She often heard ladies
talk, when they came to visit her Mother;
about the poor, and of woman's mission be
ing to visit the sick.and miserable.
Now, Miss Emily was quite a little wo
man, and she liked to sit in the parlor and
listen to the conversation of older people,
though she did not understand half she
heard, better than to play with Jennie and
the dolls.
Well this wise little lady thought of a great
many plans—one was to ask her Mother to
let her fill a basket with food and clothes,
and go around and distribute them among
the poor people. But then she was sure her
Mother would not let her go alone, in the
dirty, dismal streets, where the poor people
live;
and she recollected reading the story
of a little girl, who went without her parents
knowing it, and what trouble she met. So
she concluded to give up this plan, and think
of something else.
Perhaps she might take care of the. sick.
How nice to be a nurse in the hospital, and
have the soldiers all so grateful, and every
body praising her, and saying she was like
Florence Nightingale.
Then she remembered how, one day, her
Mother asked her to take care of little Wil
lie, who was sick, a little while. She did
not find it pleasant, and - was soon tired.
No, she must think of something pleas
anter than waiting upon 'sick .people. At
last she remembered poor Mrs. Watson,
whose husband was a soldier, and had been
killed in the great battle of the Wilderness.
She had four little children, and worked
very hard to take care of them. Emily's
Mother
.often gave them things—food and
clothes. Ah ! she would make thos%poor
little children some
_clothes for a Christmas
present.
She ran to ask leave of her Mother, who
was much pleased that she should think of
so kind and useful a plan, and gave her some
pretty calico, and nice red and blue flannel,
forflocks and sacks.
Well,-.a -very busy =little girl was Emily
for the next few weeks, and a very indus
trious boy was Paul. He wrote a long while
every day, and though his fingers felt stiff,
and his back ached, he would not give it up.
The boys wondered what had happened
to Paul, that he did not play with them as
he used to do. Indeed, Paul and Emily were
just as busy as two such little folks could be;
and, lam sorry to say, so busy that they
forgot to be kind and obliging to others ;
and sometimes, indeed, were quite cross and
unkind. Baby Willie did not put up his
little hand to go to Paul, as he used to do,
when he came home from school; and Jen
nie never asked Emily to play with her,
and help her dress her dolls.
Alas ! in trying to do some great good
thing, they- forgot the little good actions that
ought to be performed 'eXery day.
But Christthas came sit last They were
to have a Christmas Tree, and itleir Aunts
and Cousins were coming to" visit ' ' them.
But the evening before, they hung , aptheir
stcecings by the'fire-place in their Mother's
reOin, as though they thought Sdnta Matte
did sometimes give his presents to fathers
and mothers, to hang on the Christmas Tree,
yet they would rather he would put them in
thuir : stockings this time.
Emily had finished a nice little suit of
clothes for each of the children, and brought
them to her Mother, who praised them much,
and promised to go with her the next day
to Mrs. Watson.
Paul had brought his writing hoicks, and
a nice long page he had written besides, for
his Father to see.
He was very much surprised,' but very.
glad and happy, and. praised. Paul a great
deal. . ,
As for little Jennie, she had "`'nothing to
show. All these weeks she had been very
busy—helping Paul and Emily,—taking
care of Baby—her little feet running up
stairs and down-stairs, to bring things for
the busy ones. She never complained nor
fretted, but went on her own pleasant way,
without thinking of reward.
Very early Christmas morning, Paul came
knocking at the door of his sisters' room—
so
,early that only a little bit of gray dawn
was peeping into the windows, and the chil
dren looked like little shadows moving along
the passage to
,their Mother's room.
Very softly they opened the door—very
softly, for they did not wish to waken their
Mother so early. They crept up to the
fire-place. Yes, there were the stockings,
stuffed full, sticking out in all shapes;
and, over them hung a large bundle besides.
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1867.
One more look to be certain—and then what
little feet could help dancing up and down;
what little hands could refrain from clap
ping; what little voices could keep from
shouting
Certainly, Papa and Mamma could sleep
no longer.
Then down on the floor,.each with a stock
ing, they sat. First, Paul 'untied' his large
parcel. It was a beautiful writing desk,
containing paper, pens pentils, wafers, en
velopes, sealing-wax and seals, even a tiny
wax candle and matches—everything that
one could need to write or draw.
On the outside, in golden letters, was his
name, and "A- reward for learning to write."
Then, in the stocking he found a beautfal
book, a knife with many blades, a fine ball,
and every - corner, to the very toe, was stuf
fed with candies and, goodies. Happy. Paull
it was just what he wanted. .
Emily's big parcel was examined next.—
It was a work-box, complete with every ar
ticle needed by, a little seamstress, from the
tiny silver thimble, and set of shining scis
sors, to the rows of glittering needles. There
were 'knitting- needles, too, -and crochet,
and on the cover her name, and A Reward
for Industry!' In her stocking, too, was a
book, and a prettY coral necklace and brace ! -
lets, and as many bon-bons as could be
crowded in so small'iiiipa*ce: Emily was as
delighted with her viorkboi as Paul had been
with his desk.
And now they all turned to, little Jennie
and her stocking. First there was.a doll,
for its pretty head- was peeping above the
stocking—and a beautiful little lady it was,
dressed in the latest style, with pretty blue
eyes, and long ringlets, •and rosy cheeks,
and on her sleeve was pinned a paper, with,
"My name is Grace," written upon it. '
There, too, was a aleckla.cevd . brAcelets
*
like her sister and Olt° many goodies."
But far down in the toe, they felt a paper.
Sennie's little band bade Soon pulled it out.
It was a letter to:" Miss Jennie.. ` . Mamma
read it for her: "Santa Claus to his little
friend, and to her brother and-sister, sends
love. He hopes they ar9 pleased with their
presents. But' if they will look in little Jen
nie's face, they will , see she has the best gift
of all.
" There is no present so beautiful as a
sweet and gentle face. To have this, chil
dren must be always pleasant, good and
kind."
A - pretty little ring was in the letter, and
on it were written 'these words : " It is bet
ter to be good than to be.great."— The . House
on the Hill.
[COMMUNICATED.]
THE HYMN - OF WILLIAM ALARD.
(1572-1645.)
When I beholcir'sn-1 *erred blood,
Thy body broken for my good;
0 blessed Jesus, may they be
As flame and as a light to me.
So may this flame consume away
The sins which in my bosom stay,
Destroying fully from my sight
All vanity of wrong delight.
So may this light Which shines from Thee
Break through my darkness utterly,
That I may seek with fervent prayer,
Thine own dear guidance everywhere.
From the Latin
THE WORD OF GOD NOT BOUND.
In the Itamertine prison at Rome, two
stories under ground in the solid rock, there
stood a few years ago, and is probably
standing still, a granite column, where, tra
dition says, the heathen Romans chained
the Apostle Paul, and on the top of that
column is the inscription in Latin, "The
Word of God is not bound." Above ground
was heard, but a few days ago, the tread of
French troops who had hastened on from
their own France to prop up for a little
longer the waning power of that spiritual
despotism whose chief work in the earth for
many centuries has been to bind the Word
of God. The hired troops of the Papacy
and the minions of France have availed to
scatter the suddenly gathered bands of the
brave Garibaldt; - but the end is not yet, and
that voice that a few years ago rang through
Europe, and across the ocean, and around
the world, saying, "The hope of free Italy
is a free - Bible.," will continue to stir the
heart of Italy " till God's Word there has
"free course and is glorified."
" The Word of God is not bound." No
matter what any human power may say or
may do, it is the mandate of God that his
wonderful Book shall be unloosed for the
freest circulation in all the world. It his
decree that copies of his Word shall be mul
tiplied as drops of dew, until every home on
the wide earth is blessed with the Bible,
and every heart is made better by its doc
trine's.
Behold how God is carrying forward his
design of unbinding his Word and sending it
over the earth. The first book ever printed
in movable type was the Bible in Latin. It
was not known to the people whence the
wonderful volume came. Many believed it
the work , of the Devil. Faust, who sold . a
few copies of this first edition in Paris, was
arrested for magic. God seemed to lay his
hands on the first types, and say, " I conse
crate this art of printing to my glory, in
the publication of my Word to men."
The first English Bible was issued by
Tyndale from the banks of the Rhone. Per
secution had driven him forth from his own
country. England did not want the Bible,
and Tyndale dared not unloose the chains
with which God's Word was bound in his
own land. And when it was known in Bri
tain that God's Word was unbound, that it
was coming in their mother and common
tongue to speak to the English nation, the
Government sent out a warning, arrayed it
self against the intruder, ordered all the
ports to ba closed against it. Bat in vain.
The Bible ran the blockade, and from that
day to this, more than three hundred years,
God has been speaking to men in our Eng
lish tongue. The Romish bishop of London,
determined still that God's Word should be
bound, bought the whole of Tyndale's first
edition of the Bible, and burnt it publicly
at St. Paul's Cross; but God, who " taketh
the wise in their own craftiness," overruled
his folly and madness. The money derived
from this sale of the first edition brought
out a new and larger edition. No power on
earth can bind God's Word. •
In 1802, a Welch minister, moved by the
great destitution of his countrymen in re
gard to the Bible, came up to London with
the sad tale to ask for help. Meeting some
friends, he urged that a Bible Society should
be formed to print and circulate Bibles
among the Welch. " Certainly,' was the
response; " and if for WaleS, why not for
the world ?" From this sprang all our
modern Bible. Spcieties. Foy, more than
half a century they . have been busy in the
blessed work of unbinding the• Bible: In
the first fifty years, the work of this Bri
tish and Foreign Bible Society was the cir
culation of forty-six millions of God's Word
in one hundred and forty-eight languages
and dialects. With the earliest Puritans
the Bible came, to the New World, and was
translated into the Indian tongues. In 1816
the American Bible Society was formed. It
has issued over twenty million topies of the
Bible, sending forth more during three years
of our late war than during the :first twenty
eight years of its existence altogether. In
addition to these two great Societies that
are publishing and circulating the Word of
God, there are numberless private publish
ing houses and other societies in this coun
try, in Europe, and other partsof, the. globe,
that are doing . the same work,breaking
the bonds of the`Bible, and settink, it free
to go-forth among all men of every clime.
And now, over all the:earth, in all lands, on
all continents and islands, on board of
steamers, men-of-war, merchant vessels and
whalers, every tiliere, will you find the,Word
of God. It cannot be bound.
A traveller in Egypt, asked his guide to
buy for him' a copy of the Koran. "Ah !"
said he, " No Mohammedan would sell it if
he knew it was for an infidel." Through
the-secret influence of God on the minds of
gohammedans, tbey have been led to keep
the Koran to themselves, and thus narrow
the influence of its false teachings. They
count it a profanity_to print, it. It can be
found among them only in manuscript.
This traveller succeeded at last in getting a
manuscript copy for eleven dollars. How
differently do we regard the Bible. We
give it to the world. We hasten to put it
into print, and into every language. We
desire to see it in the hands of all men—of
infidels, atheists, scorners, philosophers, and
peasants ; in the hands of the Mohammedan,
by the side of his Koran ; in the hands of
the Hindoo, by the side of his Vedas. We
count it no profanity to print our sacred
Book, nor to expose it to any eye. We world
have all mankind see, read, understand and
believe. And we give it to men, not for a
few dollars, but for a few cents, for no
thing; yea, we press it upon them as a free
gift.
.The Bible is the Book for the world. All
need it. All can understand it. It is suited
to every man. It is the best foundation for
governments. It is the noblest advocate
for civil and religious liberty. It is the
great foe of all oppression. It is dreaded by
all tyrants, who would keep men in ignor
ance and slavery. It is the enemy of all
formalists and bigots. It lays its axe at the
root of all the errors and evils of society. It
is the best and greatest educator. And
above all, it is the great Book for the soul
of man. It is God speaking to him. It
lirngs man face to face with the eternal re
alities. It takes the-human heart, marred
and dimmed by earthliness, blackened,, and
blasted by the curse of sin, and makes it a
fit diadem for the Crown of Jesus. It
reaches down to the lowest and vilest and
lifts them up, and creates them anew in the
image of God. It is,a book for the sorrow
ful, for the guilty, for the dying. —Report of
Dauphin Co. Bible Society.
S. W. D
NECK-TWISTING IN OHTTROH.
The following is old but it will bear read
ing again, and the hint may do some good :
A curious story is told of an eccentric old
minister, who was annoyed by a habit his
people had; acquired (and which prevails, by
the way, in all other churches, even now
and hereabouts, to some extent)`of twisting
their necks around every time anybody en
tered the door and passed up the aisle of the
church, to see what manner of person it
might be. Wearied with the annoyance the
old man exclaimed one Sunday: "Brethren if
you will only cease turning your heads round
whenever the doo'r opens, and you will keep
your attention on me, I will promise to tell
you, as I preach, who it is that comes in."
Accordingly he went on with the services,
and presently made a stop as one of the dea
cons entered, saying, " That is Deacon—
who keeps the grocery opposite." And
then ho announced in turn the advent of
each individual, proceeding the while with
his sermon as composedly as the circum
cumstances would admit, when, at last a
stranger came in, and he cried out : " A lit
tle old man with green spectacles and a drab
overcoat—don't know him—you can all look
for yourselves." 'lt is hardly necessary to
add that the good man carried his point; and
there was but little neck twisting seen in
his congregation after that day.
THE London:" . Saturday Review" contains
the following on intemperance among Eng
lish women : " The most remarkable thing
about the spread of a taste for stimulants•is
its extension to ladies. If one's own obser
vation did not serve to discover the fact,
'The Lancet' assures us that women are
falling into `habits of drinking . not less fatal
ly than men. But we might very well have
found this out without reading a medical
newspaper. Any philosopher who chooses
to go to a ball, and take his stand near the
buffet, or survey the supper-table with an
observant eye, will see that the old-fashion
ed beverages which cooled but not inebri
ated are indeed supplied, just for form's
sake, but that they.have entirely lost their
ancient, popularity. He will see young wo.
men dash off as much champagne and claret
cup, in the course of a single lively evening
as would have more than sufficed their
grandmothers for a month. The ease and familiarity with which they drink is worthy
of the most accomplished frequenter of a
New :York bar. That the results are not
more astonishing than they are is in itself
a most satisfactory proof of a seasoned
head. At dinner, one may notice the same
taste for stimulants. The afternoon tea is
beginning to be tea and something else."
A PROTEST AGAINST DANCING
Religious objections to dancing have little
weight with many who are coveting a
worldly .position, but possibly the opinion of
a sensible man who does not look at the
matter in its 'religious bearings, may carry
greater influence. The editor of the New
York Eveniog Gazette, which has a higher
literary spirit than any, of the other New
dailies, says :
We have no'. objection to dancing. For
young - peOple - if is a very delightful and sen
sible recreation. It is a better thing for
children than the stupid games which range
from " loto" to " blind man's buff." it is a
beautiful and cheerful, exercise, and in many
ways a beneficial pastime. But for mixed
coinpanies of grown people, we abominate
it. Ladies may. like it—some of them evi
dently do like it. And yet, even they must
at times pine for the higher enjoyment of
pleasant conversation, .which is now so com
pletelk exiled from New York society.
Gentlemen who go to their home at eve
ning for, rest and home quiet, are not always
made happy by spending half or two-thirds
of the night in dancing. Sensible ladies, who
enjoy good conversation, are not especially
delighted with a night of tiresome dancing.
But be or she who keeps up with latter-day
society and, customs must join the ranks of
tb'e dancers or be blanks. Dancing is the
order—and the n uisance--of the day. There
is too much of it. All sensible men and wo
men are tired of it. We want conversation
in. its place If this cannot be, gentlemen
will seek the olubs, and ladies will form
themselves into little circles of their own, in
which they can find the real enjoyment they
desire.
CLASSICAL FRENCH AND ENGLISH SCHOOL
Young lien and Boys,
17kirteenth. and Locust Sts.,
The Course of Study in this School
as its name might indicate, is quite comprehensive;
but a
Sullleient, Number of the Hest Teachers
is employed to
Secure Thorough Instruction in Every
Department,
The Principal's long experience and extensive ac
quaintance with the best schools in the country, both
public and private, have familiarized him with the
Best Methods of Teaching.
The discipline of the School, therefore, and all its
appointments are such as have been proved to be best
adapted to promote the great object and end of true
education, the highest moral, mental, and physical de
velopment of the pupil.
TES CHARON FOR TUITION,
which has heretofore been same for all .pnpils, with
without regard to the number, and class of studies pur
sued, varies now according to the following
For English studies,
For Drawing, Latin, and Greek, $5 extra
For French, German, and Spanish, .$!0 extra
IN THE PRIMARY DEPARTMENT
which is under the direction of an efficient Instruct
ress, the charge is $l5 Ter session.
BENJ. KENDAIL, A. N., Principal.
FREDERICK FEMALE SEMINARY ,
W.. FREDERICK, MD.,
Possessing fall Collegiate Power, will commence its
TWENTY-FIFTH SCHOLASTIC YEAR
The First Monday in September.
For Catalogues, An.. address
joly 25-Iyr Rev. THOMAS M. CANN, A. M., President.
WYERS' BOAR - DING SCHOOL
FOR YOUNG MEN AND BOYS•
FORMERLY A. BOLMAR'S, . -
AT WEST CHESTER, PA.
♦ Classical, English, Mathematical and Commercial School, de
signed to fit its pupils thoroughly for College or Busine , s.
• The Corps of Instructors is large, able and experienced ; the curse
of Instruction systematic, thorough and extensive. Modern Lem
guages--Elorman, French and Spanish, taught by native resident
teachers. Instrumental and Vocal Music, Drawing and Painting.
The x tiolustic year of ten months begins on Wedn sday, the
sth of September mext.
- Circulars con be obtained at the office of this paper, or by appli
cation to
WILLIAM F. WYERS, A. M.,
• 'Principal and Prorriet
THE OHEAI'EST AND BEST IN THE CITY..
PHILADELPHIA
$3O per session