E

Oh, hush thee, little Dear-my-Soul,
The evening shades are falling,--
Hush thee, my dear, dost thou not hear
The voice of the Master calling?

Deep lies the snow upon the earth,
But all the sky is ringing
With joyous song, and all night long
The stars shall dance, with singing.

Oh, hush thee, little Dear-my-Soul,
And close thine eyes in dreaming,
And angels fair shall lead thee where
The singing stars are beaming.

A shepherd calls his little lambs,
And he longeth to caress them;
He bids them rest upon his breast,
That his tender love may bless them.

So, hush thee, little Dear-my-Soul,
Whilst evening shades are falling,
And above the song of the heavenly throng
Thou shalt hear the Master calling.

JOEL'S TALK WITH SANTA CLAUS

One Christmas eve Joel Baker was in a most unhappy mood. He was
lonesome and miserable; the chimes making merry Christmas music
outside disturbed rather than soothed him, the jingle of the
sleigh-bells fretted him, and the shrill whistling of the wind around
the corners of the house and up and down the chimney seemed to grate
harshly on his ears.

"Humph," said Joel, wearily, "Christmas is nothin' to me; there _was_
a time when it meant a great deal, but that was long ago--fifty years
is a long stretch to look back over. There is nothin' in Christmas
now, nothin' for _me_ at least; it is so long since Santa Claus
remembered me that I venture to say he has forgotten that there ever
was such a person as Joel Baker in all the world. It used to be
different; Santa Claus _used_ to think a great deal of me when I was
a boy. Ah! Christmas nowadays ain't what it was in the good old
time--no, not what it used to be."

As Joel was absorbed in his distressing thoughts he became aware very
suddenly that somebody was entering or trying to enter the room. First
came a draught of cold air, then a scraping, grating sound, then a
strange shuffling, and then,--yes, then, all at once, Joel saw a pair
of fat legs and a still fatter body dangle down the chimney, followed
presently by a long white beard, above which appeared a jolly red nose
and two bright twinkling eyes, while over the head and forehead was
drawn a fur cap, white with snowflakes.

"Ha, ha," chuckled the fat, jolly stranger, emerging from the chimney
and standing well to one side of the hearth-stone; "ha, ha, they don't