to attack; in this way he
teaches them the envied art of bull-fighting. The Yule-tide
festivities end at Twelfth Day,--Epiphany,--when crowds of young
folks go from gate to gate in the cities to meet the Magi, and after
much merriment they come to the conclusion that the Magi will not
appear until the following year.

NIGHT OF MARVELS

In such a marvelous night; so fair
And full of wonder, strange and new,
Ye shepherds of the vale, declare--
Who saw the greatest wonder?
Who?

(_First Shepherd_)

I saw the trembling fire look wan;

(_Second Shepherd_)

I saw the sun shed tears of blood;

(_Third Shepherd_)

I saw a God become a man;

(_Fourth Shepherd_)

I saw a man become a God.

O, wondrous marvels! at the thought,
The bosom's awe and reverence move;
But who such prodigies hath wrought?
What gave such wondrous birth?
'Twas love!

What called from heaven the flame divine,
Which streams in glory far above,
And bid it o'er earth's bosom shine,
And bless us with its brightness?
Love!

Who bid the glorious sun arrest
His course, and o'er heaven's concave move
In tears,--the saddest, loneliest,
Of the celestial orbs?
'Twas love!

Who raised the human race so high,
E'en to the starry seats above,
That, for our mortal progeny,
A man became a God?
'Twas love!

Who humbled from the seats of light
Their Lord, all human woes to prove,
Led the great Source of day to night,
And made of God a man?
'Twas love!

Yes! love has wrought, and love alone,
The victories all,--beneath, above:
And heaven and earth shall shout as one,
The all-triumphant song
Of love.

The song through all heaven's arches ran,
And told the wondrous tales aloud,
The trembling fire that looked so wan,
The weeping sun behind the cloud,
A God, a God become a man!
A mortal man become a God.

--_Violante Do Ceo._

CHAPTER IX.

[Illustration]

YULE-TIDE IN AMERICA

"And they who do their souls no wrong,
But keep, at eve, the faith of morn.
Shall daily hear the angel-song,
'To-day the Prince of Peace is born.'"

--_James Russell Lowell._

To people who go into a new