It all happened a very long time ago and much water has run in the brooks of the world under the bridges thereof since that time, but the mangers of the world are never empty.  They are always full.  In one sense, Christ is being born everywhere at this very hour and at all hours.

Let us give the Child the best we have, the best we can.  Let us even now go down unto Bethlehem, laden with what we have for the use of the King, and let us see in every child of man that lacks anything this Christmas morning the image of Him who in that manger lay in Bethlehem and let us minister to their needs in love.

  “The little Christ is coming down[1]
    Across the fields of snow;
  The pine trees greet Him where they stand,
  The willows bend to kiss His hand,
  The mountain laurel is ablush
  In hidden nooks; the wind, ahush
  And tiptoe, lest the violets wake
  Before their time for His sweet sake;
  The stars, down dropping, form a crown
    Upon the waiting hills below—–­
  The little Christ is coming down
    Across the fields of snow.

  “The little Christ is coming down
    Across the city streets;
  The wind blows coldly from the north,
  His dimpled hands are stretching forth,
  And no one knows and no one cares,
  The priests are busy with their prayers,
  The jostling crowd hastes on apace,
  And no one sees the pleading face,
  None hears the cry as through the town
    He wanders with His small cold feet—­
  The little Christ is coming down
    Across the city streets.”

What welcome shall we have for Him, my friends?

[Illustration]

CHRISTMAS IN THE SNOWS

Being Some Personal Adventures in the Far West[2]

The love of Christmas is as strong in the West as it is in any section of the country—­perhaps, indeed, stronger, for people who have few pleasures cherish holidays more highly than those for whom many cheap amusements are provided.  But when the manifestation of the Christmas spirit is considered, there is a great difference between the West and the East.  There are vast sections of country in which evergreens do not grow and to which it would not pay to ship them; consequently Christmas trees are not common, and therefore they are the more prized when they may be had.  There are no great rows nor small clusters of inviting shops filled with suggestive and fascinating contents at attractive prices.  The distances from centres of trade are so great that the things which may be purchased even in the smallest towns in more favourable localities for a few cents have there almost a prohibitive price put upon them.  The efforts of the people to give their children a merry Christmas in the popular sense, however, are strong and sometimes pitiful.