Then the Old Year gives but a sad account Of the race that has been run, Of hearts that fainted in the fight Of wrong triumphant over right, And duty left undone. But the New Year's record is white and clean, Unstained by sorrow or sin : He bears a prize for all to seek, And laurels for all to win, A time for the weakest to strive once more, Then we'll lay the Old Year gently down, And the wrongs and errors of the past We'll bury at his side; But the good that he has left behind And we'll grasp the New Year by the hand, And we'll make his stay a happy one, "A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR." HERE'S an old and time-worn custom, THE Old yet ever new, That our fathers loved to honour, And we will honour too; Which bids us every winter, When the old year's end is near, Wish to all "A Merry Christmas When the days are dark and dreary, Whistles down the hill, What happy faces gather Round the cheerful fireside, And greet each other's well-known looks, At the welcome Christmas-tide! How many hearts must gladden, And how many poor and suff'ring ones And wish it could be Christmas-time Throughout the live-long year! The year is flying from us- And, with his many memories, While from our hearts we'll banish All that will not tend To guide his failing footsteps To a calm and peaceful end; And, as we grasp each other's hand, Each other's heart we'll cheer, Wishing all "A Merry Christmas And a Happy New Year." H THE NEW YEAR'S BELLS. ARK! 'tis the sudden shout of busy bells, On the still slumber of the midnight breaking, As, borne upon the winter wind, it tells A new year's waking. High o'er the house-tops of the sleeping town, Come softly stealing. Now wide around their merry notes they fling, In soothing sadness. Ye welcome bells that welcome in the year, What though your sound be not an unmixed pleasure ? Far distant be the day that will not hear Your tuneful measure! G THE ATLANTIC CABLE.* B ENEATH the heaving breast Where the deep waters rest Free from commotion; Amid its unknown caves, Far, far below the waves, There lies a slender cord. Under the broad, blue sea, While ebbs and flows the tide, And o'er its billows free The fleets of nations ride; Swift as the lightnings run, Words flash along the line That links two worlds in one. All honour to the men Who thus have spanned the main, And strove with courage when Their efforts seemed in vain ; By whose unwearied zeal, The sea no longer parts The sympathies that dwell In two great peoples' hearts! * These lines were written to commemorate the successful expedition of 1866, and were composed before the cable of 1865 had been recovered fro its ocean bed and completed. |