AN AUSTRAL CHRISTMAS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 383, 10 July 1889, Page 6

AN AUSTRAL CHRISTMAS.

ainbow tints of pink and amber. " \ RMauve and yellow, rose and red, „.. With God's blue and boundless Bplcndour Jewel'd vastness— overhead. , Thus the red sun pasaeth onward, > Royal robes around him thrown, Like a loyal guard* on duty, To and fro oefore the, throne. Morning breaks above the cloud-lands, 'See the mountains bathed in blue, ■ * Hark ! God's messengers of duty Singing carols in the dew ! Bright eyes of the flowers open. Waves the field, and laughs the plain ; Floats the cool and gentle zephyrs, From the ripple's of the main. Hark ! the bells ring gentle message On this summer Christmas morn, Holy anthems to each other, Telling now a Christ is born ! Speed the tidings through each valley, Let the mountains join the lay. Shout abroad the joyful message Love is crowned this happy day. ftoble sons and beauteous daughters Wander by thy pleasant fields ; Orange bloom around them falleth, ■Rich the blessings-Nature yields, Shout aloud the great Hosannas, Safely guided by His rod, Favour'd realm o£ summer treasure, Empire of a smiling ,God. Temples rise -with Eastern splendour, Palace domes with w«alth of grace, Pleasant cots with ftower-garlands, Starlike, gem each lowly place : , Teeming thousands throng thy cities, Living poems of the land Set to music grand and glorious By the great Eternal's hand. Smite the bells ! ring out the anthem, "Peace on earth, goodwill," they ring, Shout the chorus ! speed the message! 'Tis a password from the King ; Peaco, to crown the toiler's labour, Gods-w ill, o'er the land beseen ( Man to be a working monarch, And fair woman— to be queen. W. R. Wills. Otahuhu, New Zealand.