Chapter D: Appleton and Company

NEW YORK MCMXXIII

COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

_ACKNOWLEDGMENTS_

_The Compiler expresses her thanks to Authors and Publishers for the use of poems in this volume and acknowledges her indebtedness._

_The woodcut on the Cover of this book is reproduced by kind permission of the artist, Mr. C. T. Nightingale._

INDEX OF AUTHORS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

PAGE

ANONYMOUS
Old Carol 11
Shepherd’s Song 19
The Cherry-Tree Carol 20
The Holly and the Ivy 41
I Saw Three Ships 60
When Christ Was Born 47
Yule-Tide Fires 51

BAIN, C.
In the Night 30

BELLOC, HILAIRE
The Birds 23
Noël 62

BLAKE, WILLIAM
A Cradle Song 22
The Lamb 15

CANTON, WILLIAM
Carol 18

CHESTERTON, G. K.
A Christmas Carol 37

COLE, CHARLOTTE DRUITT
Christmas Eve 24

CRASHAW, RICHARD
Verses from The Shepherd’s Hymn 65

DE LA MARE, WALTER
Before Dawn 43

FIELD, EUGENE From _The Complete Poems of
Eugene Field_ (Copyright, 1910, by Julia S.
Field. Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons)
Song 16
Star of the East 49

FARJEON, ELEANOR
Six Green Singers 52

GALES, R. L.
Three Christmas Songs 26
I. The Guests
II. Cockadoodledoo
III. A Childermas Rhyme
Waiting for the Kings 34
In Præsepio 46

HARDY, THOMAS
The Oxen 59

HERRICK, ROBERT
A Christmas Carol 58
An Ode of the Birth of Our Saviour 57
To His Saviour, A Child; A Present from a Child 56

KING, EDITH
The Holly 17

LUTHER, MARTIN
Cradle Hymn 28

MACDONALD, GEORGE
A Christmas Prayer 25
Christmas Day and Every Day 13
The Christmas Child 14
That Holy King 54

MEYNELL, ALICE
Unto Us a Son Is Given 64

MIDDLETON, RICHARD
The Carol of the Poor Children 48

MILTON, JOHN
From the “Hymn on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” 66

NIGHTINGALE, M.
Mary Had a Little Lamb 32
The Waits 44

ROSSETTI, CHRISTINA
A Christmas Carol 50

SOUTHWELL, ROBERT
Behold a Silly Tender Babe 36

TABB, JOHN BANISTER
The Lamb-Child 12

TENNYSON, ALFRED From _In Memoriam_
The Bells 68

THOMPSON, FRANCIS
Ex Ore Infantium 38

TYNAN, KATHARINE
A Song of Christmas 40
Bethlehem 33

WATTS, ISAAC
A Cradle Hymn 42

YOUNG, E. HILTON
Christmas 55

OLD CAROL

He came all so still
Where His mother was,
As dew in April
That falleth on the grass.

He came all so still
To His mother’s bower,
As dew in April
That falleth on the flower.

He came all so still
Where His mother lay,
As dew in April
That falleth on the spray.

Mother and maiden
Was never none but she;
Well may such a lady
God’s mother be.

ANONYMOUS

THE LAMB CHILD

When Christ the Babe was born,
Full many a little lamb
Upon the wintry hills forlorn
Was nestled near its dam:

And, waking or asleep,
Upon His Mother’s breast,
For love of her, each mother-sheep
And baby-lamb He blessed.

JOHN BANISTER TABB

CHRISTMAS DAY AND EVERY DAY

Star high
Baby low:
’Twixt the two
Wise men go;
Find the baby,
Grasp the star—
Heirs of all things
Near and far!

GEORGE MACDONALD

THE CHRISTMAS CHILD

“Little one, who straight hast come
Down the heavenly stair,
Tell us all about your home,
And the father there.”

“He is such a one as I
Like as like can be.
Do his will, and, by and by,
Home and him you’ll see.”

GEORGE MACDONALD

THE LAMB

Little lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee,
Gave thee life, and bade thee feed
By the stream and o’er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?

Little lamb, I’ll tell thee;
Little lamb, I’ll tell thee;
He is callèd by thy name,
For He calls Himself a lamb;
He is meek and He is mild,
He became a little child.
I a child and thou a lamb,
We are callèd by His name.
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Little lamb, God bless thee!

WILLIAM BLAKE

SONG

Why do the bells of Christmas ring?
Why do little children sing?

Once a lovely shining star,
Seen by shepherds from afar,
Gently moved until its light
Made a manger’s cradle bright.

There a darling baby lay,
Pillowed soft upon the hay;
And its mother sung and smiled:
“This is Christ, the holy Child!”

Therefore bells for Christmas ring,
Therefore little children sing.

EUGENE FIELD

THE HOLLY

How happy the holly-tree looks, and how strong,
Where he stands like a sentinel all the year long.

Neither dry summer heat nor cold winter hail
Can make that gay warrior tremble or quail.

He has beamed all the year, but bright scarlet he’ll glow
When the ground glitters white with the fresh fallen snow.

EDITH KING

CAROL

When the herds were watching
In the midnight chill,
Came a spotless lambkin
From the heavenly hill.

Snow was on the mountains,
And the wind was cold,
When from God’s own garden
Dropped a rose of gold.

When ’twas bitter winter,
Houseless and forlorn
In a star-lit stable
Christ the Babe was born.

Welcome, heavenly lambkin,
Welcome, golden rose;
Alleluia, Baby
In the swaddling clothes!

WILLIAM CANTON

SHEPHERD’S SONG

As I rode out this enderes’ night,
Of three jolly shepherds I saw a sight
And all about their fold a star shone bright;
They sang, Terli, terlow;
So merrily the shepherds their pipes can blow.

Down from heaven, from heaven so high,
Of angels there came a great company.
With mirth, and joy, and great solemnity
They sang, Terli, terlow;
So merrily the shepherds their pipes can blow.

OLD SONG

VERSES FROM “THE CHERRY-TREE CAROL”

As Joseph was a walking
He heard an angel sing:
“This night shall be born
Our heavenly king.

“He neither shall be born
In housen nor in hall,
Nor in the place of Paradise,
But in an ox’s stall.

“He neither shall be clothed
In purple nor in pall,
But all in fair linen,
As were babies all.

“He neither shall be rocked
In silver nor in gold,
But in a wooden cradle,
That rocks on the mould.

“He neither shall be christened
In white wine nor red,
But with fair spring water,
With which we were christened.”

Then Mary took her young son,
And set him on her knee:
“I pray thee now, dear child,
Tell how this world shall be.”

“O I shall be as dead, mother,
As the stones in the wall;
O the stones in the street, mother,
Shall mourn for me all.

“And upon a Wednesday
My vow I will make,
And upon Good Friday
My death I will take.

“Upon Easter-day, mother,
My rising shall be;
O the sun and the moon
Shall uprise with me.

“The people shall rejoice,
And the birds they shall sing,
To see the uprising
Of the heavenly king.”

TRADITIONAL

A CRADLE SONG

Sweet dreams, form a shade
O’er my lovely infant’s head!
Sweet dreams of pleasant streams
By happy, silent, moony beams!

Sweet sleep, with soft down
Weave thy brows an infant crown!
Sweet sleep, angel mild,
Hover o’er my happy child!

* * * * *

Sleep, sleep, happy child!
All creation slept and smiled.
Sleep, sleep, happy sleep,
While o’er thee doth mother weep.

Sweet babe, in thy face
Holy image I can trace;
Sweet babe, once like thee
Thy Maker lay, and wept for me:

Wept for me, for thee, for all,
When He was an infant small.
Thou His image ever see,
Heavenly face that smiles on thee!

Smiles on thee, on me, on all,
Who became an infant small;
Infant smiles are His own smiles:
Heaven and earth to peace beguiles.

WILLIAM BLAKE

THE BIRDS

When Jesus Christ was four years old,
The angels brought Him toys of gold,
Which no man ever had bought or sold.

And yet with these He would not play,
He made Him small fowl out of clay,
And blessed them till they flew away:
_Tu Creasti Domine_.

Jesus Christ, Thou child so wise,
Bless mine hands and fill mine eyes,
And bring my soul to Paradise.

HILAIRE BELLOC

CHRISTMAS EVE

In Christmas Eve the little stars
Sparkle and glisten with delight,
Like strings of glitt’ring diamonds,
Across the darkness of the night.

On Christmas Eve the little stars
Dance in their places in the sky;
Ah! I would go and trip with them
If I could only climb as high.

On Christmas Eve the little stars
Sing merry carols all night long;
But O! I am so far away
I cannot even hear their song.

On Christmas Eve the little stars
Sparkle, and dance, and sing till dawn;
And I am singing too, because
To-morrow will be Christmas Morn.

CHARLOTTE DRUITT COLE

A CHRISTMAS PRAYER

Loving looks the large-eyed cow,
Loving stares the long-eared ass
At Heaven’s glory in the grass!
Child, with added human birth
Come to bring the child of earth
Glad repentance, tearful mirth,
And a seat beside the hearth
At the Father’s knee—
Make us peaceful as thy cow;
Make us patient as thine ass;
Make us quiet as thou art now;
Make us strong as thou wilt be.
Make us always know and see
We are his, as well as thou.

GEORGE MACDONALD

THREE CHRISTMAS SONGS

I. THE GUESTS

Why is there such a dancing din
About the stable of the inn?
“An old man, winter white, is here
A wayfarer he doth appear.”

“If this be all, why is the night
Lit up with this unearthly light?”
“A maid, the fairest maid, is here,
Some great Lady she doth appear.”

“But even so, why do there fly
Such flocks of Angels from the sky?”
“A Babe, a most sweet flower, is here,
A Child from Heaven He doth appear.”