CHRISTMAS MORNING. By J. Maclennan.

Otago Witness, Issue 2651, 4 January 1905, Page 73

CHRISTMAS MORNING. By J. Maclennan.

' Santa has, come anS g.one again — .- -bleiss- hin'i! l^ "The" little" oiiea'Tiaye' emptied - their sflccknlgs.-wiih 'gla^ess^and'be^lder'metttj wondering, pern.ips, how he of the' , winter t robes ' and' big* "bundle managed to '*g?t* dojsvn,;their Kttte .bHiifiney with dolls i and. ,bari?o.wS' nn& all ,thp paraphernalia of ' pleasurjs-that tends, to make' the days of. chiidncjod the ihemory of a life time. .The i carols have 'leased;' long .sine©/ their music ' -woke Ijhe. sleepers J 1 . The anthem has been ' carried! on from street" to street, till now I? the sun is over the 'mountain tops, and the ' i birds audi^ovrexs^hayaf taken xip the/ever>,lasting J strain ot peaceibclf good- will. There is a- blackbird p'ocring out its morning song j among < the '-firaitilfcden'-* boughs * in- the orchard, and' the wee- la<idie t has left Ms 'broken, drum to 'seek 'it. .' :" . . Oh, you i atheists," that camp-on "the dusty road* of i njaterialism F a " did -as -you/are, you cannot [-understand!, the mystery J©f ..thef 'Young' as- yon once- were; . you' -understood ths ; ecstricy- .there" vfas- in th,e. thought that F one'SumtaTClaiis, from parts unknown, out | -'o£ the fondness .of "his heart and the- great- ' ress of his. store, filled. your>tocking with- \ good . things. How much wiser are you kow than then? - [' Unborn, to-xnorrdw, and dead yestercfay, ._' T^by fret abou^ them^if to-3ay be sweet. I wrote -the arcMnfidel of the East ; so he fntade his. Me a palace- of wine and. rose*. [' But you> are- robbing, yotirselyes of even one I sweet |day. Youf roses are weeds, with [ a perfume of -mockery.. ' You have no I micsic ; what music can there be in an. unj planned,, undest-jned universe-, where every form -of life is born to .tear each other or be torn? .You liave left.the! green fields [ cf Faith and Hop«v-f6r ; •what?--and every 1 vault of hallow reasonings echoes "for i-what?"i -what?" Science, you say, proves this, or i, disproves that; but science after all is only 'a truthseeker, and were its sjjued accele- j , rated, in. years it "would still be l-aii infant- truth -seeker. , Truth is the mystery of ithe at£e&— it is God; and in deny- i ing* the- -existence- of God 1 you undermine the foundations of science. With all your j arrogance- the wee laddie knows more than j you. He has gone-, on this beautiful Christmas morning, to listen to* the music in th& orchard-, pi ticking- dandelion flowers by the v ay, whilst you stand deaf .and "blind in tho surly "shadow' hugging your broken drum.' There is no music for" you in the glad voices "thai swell and fail o'er mead and moor." There is no gladness in your breast; to pray with Tennyson— . Oh, -Father, touch* the easi and light The light that shone when Hope was born. Because you liave bartered your lamp you deny the existence of the palace of Aladdin. Away with the sophistry that disaims Love,; away with the learning that robs you of your peace of mind. Hang up your stockings with the little ones, and be sure" of the blessing that comes with every 'glad Christmas morning. Let science pile Tip its store, but if its shadow dares to rob the humblest mountain daisy of God's light, then fire the pile : a heap of ashes tSrere better than a world of darkness. Thb; Imperial Brass Sprax Pump: Witk i Stream and Fine Spray Nozzle. — Made by I American noted manufacturers. Are obtainable from Nimmo akd Blaik, Duncdic. Fruitgrowers and Qrchar4istß should use tt?za,