It deck'd the boar's head, tusk'd and grim, His jaded steed the armed knight From humble monk to abbot great. They placed his lance behind the door, His armour on the rush-strewn floor; And then brought out the best of cheer, For Christmas came but once a year. The maiden then, in quaint attire, Loosed from her head the silken hood, And danced before the yule-clog fire The crackling monarch of the wood. Helmet and shield flash'd back the blaze, In lines of light, like summer rays, While music sounded loud and clear; For Christmas came but once a year. What though upon his hoary head As 'twas a thousand years ago. For Christmas comes but once a year.. ! CHRISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE A YEAR. 243 No marvel Christmas lives so long, His nights were spent with mirth and song, For those old times are dead and gone, And still around these good old times Which somehow sink into the heart, At early day the youthful voice, Heard singing on from door to door, 244 CHRISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE A YEAR. For once are happy all day long; We smile and listen to their song, Upon a gayer, happier scene On brighter forms than there are here, THE END. la GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST JOHN'S SQUARE, LONDON. Gra f E LAMBERT AND CO.'S POPULAR WORKS-continued. 4 Romantic Tales of Great Men: Art- | Tales of the City and the Plain. 1s. 6d. ists, Poets, Scholars, Statesmen, &c. 2s. Contents.-1. The Bell of Rouen : George d'Amboise, Minister of Louis XII.-2. The Poet of Sorrento: Torquato Tasso.-3. The Woodman's Son: the Story of Corregio.-4. The Painters of Maaseyk: the Secret of the Brothers Van Eyck.-5. The Young Musician: Mozart.-6. An Artist's Vocation: Michael Angelo.-7. The Little Picard: Galland, the Orientalist. This volume will be found to convey information as well as amusement, all the tales being founded on historical facts. It is charmingly written, and forms an excellent prize or gift-book. This attractive volume will be found to answer fully to its title, being a choice collection of mirthful stories, free from all exceptionable matter. Contents.-1. St. Julien; or, the Relays: a Tale of the Forest.-2. The Gascon and the Prime Minister; or, Fortunes at Court.-3. The Remarkable Adventures of Dr. Peperkouk and his Companions.-4. The Present of the Emperor: a Story of Charles V.-5. The Shooting Excursion; or, the Adventures of an Artist.-6. Fortunes and Misfortunes of a Saxon Schoolmaster.-7. Alice of Burgundy; or, the Cloth Merchant of the Olden Time.-8. Uncle Scipio and Brother Paul; or, the March of Improvement.-9. The Interview; or, the Mystery unravelled -10. Baldwin the Ninth and the Farmer.-11. A Royal Hunt of the Sixteenth Century; the King outwitted. With Frontispiece. "Spirited and well-selected tales of most inviting dimensions; will be a favourite on the 'line.""-Brighton Herald. "The skill with which the plot of 'Grantley Manor is constructed, the exquisite truth of delineation which the characters exhibit, and the intensity of passion which warms and dignifies the subject, are alike admirable. The depth of passion which surrounds the story of Genevra is the result of unquestionable genius. No heroine that we can remember excels this lovely creation in purity, deep affection, a solemn sense of the sanctity of duty, and a profound feeling of the beauty and holiness of religion."-Times. cl. 2s. Clever, amusing, and well told; admirably adapted for short railway or steamboat trips, and leisure half-hours. The story of "Candelaria," by the Marquis de Foudras, is charmingly told. The "Tyrolese Adventure" is also extremely spirited and humorous. Contents.-1. Madeleine the Rosiere.2. The Return of the Soldier.-3. Stephen Krismer: an Adventure in the Tyrol.4. The Conscript of Bagnolet.-5. The Saurimonde: a Tale of the Black Mountain.-6. The Chapel of Winkelried: a Story of Switzerland.-7. Francis Douville; or, the Warning: a Tale of the Forest.-8. Candelaria; or, the Dumb Girl and the Blind General. "To seek the destruction of the romantic element in human nature were cruel and vain, if not something worse; and if it is to be healthily developed, a judicious employment of means is requisite. To implant in youth a taste for such healthful works is the surest way of creating a distaste for those vicious fictions which disgrace so large a portion of the cheap literature of the day."-Hastings News. Tales and Traditions of the Netherlands. 1s. 6d. cl. 2s. *.* A most attractive and picturesque volume; interesting not only to the readers of mere stories, but to those who wish to gain a vivid glimpse of the events, manners, and customs, &c. of past times by means of historical episodes. It will also form an amusing and useful companion for travellers in Belgium, as it furnishes many interesting memorials and traditions of those old towns so famed in his. tory-Antwerp, Ghent, Tournai, Namur, Ypres, Bruges, Liege, &c. &c. Many of the tales are historically authentic; others are of that class termed "legendary,"-for the truth of which no one vouches, but which, nevertheless, every one reads with interest and avidity. Contents.-1. The Archduke's Necklace. 2. The Sword-dance.-3. Gerhard, the Headsman's Son-4. The Crusade of the Netherlands.-5 The Two Combats.-6. The Stilts of Namur.-7. The Bridge of Judgment.-8. Long Nail.-9 The Fugitive Slave.-10. The Chapel of the Brigands.-11. The Three Judgments of the Count of Flanders.-12 The Intercession of the Princesses.-13. The Dinner of the Merchants.-14. An AdvoIcate of the Old Time.-15. The Champion of the Sorceress. "A most varied, interesting, and readable volume." Caledonian Mercury. "Wrought up with great skill, and xtremely interesting."-Daily Express. SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS, AND AT THE RAILWAY STATIONS. 5 Legends of Mount Leinster: Irish Popular Tales and Sketches, by Mrs. Tales and Sketches. Is. 6d. cl. 28. 6d. "A pleasanter little book I have not read for many a day."-W. M. Thackeray, Esq. "I have read your Legends of Mount Leinster with a degree of pleasure which I have not experienced in the perusal of a work on Irish life and manners for years. You brought me back again to the scenes of my early life with a force of truth and a graphic power of description which both surprised and delighted me. Truth of Irish life is there-true as the image in the mirror."-From a Note of William Carleton, Esq. Sea-Stories: Tales of Discovery, Adventure, and Escape. A new and choice Collection, containing several striking Narratives, mostly unknown to English readers; also a complete and graphic Sketch of the Adventures of Columbus. 2s. cl. 2s. 6d. Contents.-1. The Loss of the "Wood- "A capital volume."-Daily Express. Romantic Tales of Spain: the Rivals, *. This attractive volume contains one of &c. &c S. C. Hall. 2s. cl. 2s. 6d. Contents.-A Story of Old Chelsea.The Old Emigré.-The Irish Washerwoman.-The Forgotten Friend. - The Home-Deserter.-The Newspaper Boy.The Blind Artist.-The Poor Scholars.The Gold-Thirst. The Young Hoppicker. The Last in the Lease.-Old Madelaine. Paddy the Tinker. - The Lost Ship.-The Wild Rose of Rosstrevor. Never heed it.-The Master of Winter's Court. The Village Dressmaker. *. The works of this accomplished and popular writer have acquired so great and extended a celebrity both in England and abroad, and are distinguished by such fidelity to nature, such genuine humour, and such acute observation of character, that the Editors confidently anticipate that the present volume-whether for Home or Railway Reading, Lending-Libraries, or Prizes-will be found one of the most attractive of the Series. The beauty of its typography, embellishment, and binding, will, moreover, render it an admirable "gift-book" for old or young. ENTERTAINING LIBRARY. A New Series of Choice Books of Recreation for the Young, fully illustrated. Vol. I., now ready, THE HISTORY of JEAN PAUL CHOPpart; or, the Surprising Adventures of a Runaway. Cloth, with 22 Engravings, 2s. 6d. "Jean Paul Choppart' is a translation of a work which has become very popular on the Continent, and is destined to receive a like share of favour in this country, shouid parents and instructors of children become aware of the excellent moral which its pages convey through the medium of a story which is most piquant and catching for the youthful mind." -Court Journal. Vol. II. THE THOUSAND AND ONE DAYS; or ARABIAN TALES: a sequel to the "Thousand and One Nights." With nuCloth, 3s. 6d.; merous Illustrations. extra, for presents, 4s. This beautiful volume will be found an appropriate companion to the well-known "Arabian Nights," the Tales being quite of equal interest. SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS, AND AT THE RAILWAY STATIONS. |
