CHRISTMAS CAROLS.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 82, 27 December 1884, Page 6

CHRISTMAS CAROLS.

(Bv John Blaukman.)

1.-ICN GLAND.

Welcome, -welcome, merry Christmas. "VVith thy bweet and solemn chime. With thy cold > ct healthful garments, And thy minstrelsy sublime. Break in Winter's .sullen .season, Puuso in Labour's hard career ; ]jike an angel guest, thou coiucat At i he sunset of the year. Comest. up the frost-bound valleys, Like a sage with sandalled feet, Calling at the hall and cottage, Wilti Uiy music soft and sweet. Breathing hope m all thy carols, Kinging peace in all thy bongo. Aud U'oin lown and \ illume btoeplas Hinging. ioy o'er earthly wrongs ; Waking feelings high and holy, Chasing sorrow's brooding fears ; Walling gentle thoughts to heaven, To Ihe " nnibic of the spheres." Oh, 'tis thine to bring, blest Christmas, Be' tor feelings into play. Anrt the virtues which are cherished, 'iVcath tlie holly and the bay. 'Tis thine the smile to bioadcn. Under berries red and white. With good wishes, happy greetings, Tn thy wonder-working 1 light. Oh. anud thy social pleasures, May the glooms of winter pass ; Chime in friendship, lichcr purer, Drawing nearer, class to cla^s, Spread thy sunshine through the city, Cheer the paths of life obscure, That men may fool tho presence Of tho Saviour of the poor, And may blcs3 the light thou bringest In thy frost and tempest moans, In thy sympathetic hymnings, And thy festive clavion tones. Welcome welcome, happy Christmas ; While thy story o'er wo road, May wo learn the law of kindness, And thy hnllowed teachings heed. With thy mistletoe and holly. Ever welcome shalt thou be. Spreading cheer without distinction, With a purpose grand and free. Thou turn st our faces, Christmas. To the now year and tho flowers, To young Beauty's golden birth-time, And the Spring's enlivening showers. To the violets in the woodlands, To Ihe thrushes in the grove ; To a thousand vernal splendours— To a thousand forms of love. To tho season when the snowdrop And the primrose shall be seen In the green and tranquil by-ways— Where thy snowy feet have boon. 11.-NEW ZEALAND. Welcome, welcome, genial Christmas, In this sunny southern clime. 'Een though unlike the picture Of old Chaucer's Christmas rhyme. Felt a.v& thy f orvid breathings, And thy mantling gems are gay, Like those which gentlo Shakespeare Wreathed around the brow of May. I lovo thy brimming rivers, And thy cooling evening breeze, And pleasant picnic parties Under pleasant Christmas treos. Thy merry, merry children, Sportive, free from clouded hours, Underneath tho blue of Heaven, Out among tho golden flowers. The snow lights not theso valleys, Yet I love them none the loss ; With thy wreaths of pinks and roses, And thy fragrant summer dress. Welcome, welcome, healthful Christmas, On the mountain and the Bhoro, With thy sweet, redeoming message. To the spirits of tho poor. Still Hove thy cheerful carolsCarols of tho long ago, Whioh were sung in dear old England, All among the fleecy snow, With all their rugged sweetness, WJbioh in memory lingers yet,

And those time-honoured customs Which the heart can ne'er forget. The festive games of Christmas, And tho bonnie English la&s: Ttie eves when toasts were spoken, Over horn and social glass. Such wero the set amusemonfc Of those far-back, merry days When dames told old weird stories OP still older ghosts and fays. Still, welcome, bright-akied Christmas, Tn this Britain yet to be, With hopes that young hearts cherish, And tho music of tho free. Where vessels sail tho waters, And where churches dot the hills, And cattle in tho gloaming Seek tho pasture by the rills. Where tho lassies, buds of promiseLike young kittens, full of play, Come forth in newest fashions, On each merry Christmas dn.y ; And where those gallant soldiers. Our young, active Volunteers, March forth in bright regimentals, While thoy cause no wiiow'B tears ; And where in shady nh el tors, The bright rays of Christinas gleam, Our blithe colonial lovors Eat their strawberries and cream.