39 Household Christmas Carols (1850)
Richard Horne
Household Christmas Carols
by Richard H. Horne
HOUSEHOLD CHRISTMAS CAROLS.
“Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy-laden,and I will give you rest.”[1]
Chorus.
BRIGHT thoughts and hopes are now awake,As constant as the circling years;They penetrate each grief, and makeA golden radiance of our tears.5In that confused, yet heavenly shrine,The soul unearthly music hears;The Eastern Star sheds rays divineOn our afflictions and our fears;And now amidst a gleaming halo stands10The Infant Christ—and stretches forth his hands!THE LAME CHILD’S CAROL.
To the chords of the harp,And the warbling of the flute,The merry tambourine,And the beat of shoe and boot—5In the drawing-room, the parlour,The alms-house, or the street,Oh, what joy it always is to meTo see those dancing feet!The ball-room is all brightness!10I sit and watch the throng;My spirit, with their lightness,Bounds happily along:The village school-room[2] strives to shineWith candles prim and small!15But oh, what beaming facesLight up the whitewashed wall!Then dance, my loving playmates,Like birds upon the wing,Flit by me—whirl around me—20While I sit here, and sing.Chorus.
Bright sunny hopes are now awake,As constant as the circling years;They penetrate each grief, and makeA golden radiance of our tears,THE DEAF CHILD’S CAROL.
SING, happy children, standing in a row,With smiling rosy cheeks, and hand in hand;When the voice answers to the full heart’s flow,Mine sings within—and I can understand.5‘Tis now three Christmas Eves since I have lostAll sense of sound—in constant silence dwelling;But in my soul I hear, in tones august,The wonders that the earth and heavens are telling.Suns, stars, and moons, and oceans fathomless;10Man’s generations—seed, and grass, and corn;All these are hymned; but in its happiness,The heart hears angels sing, that ” Christ was born!”So, will I gaze upon each emblem holy,And at the festive board, or merry game,15In sympathy absorb all melancholy,And loving thoughts to joyful visions frame.Chorus.
Bright sunny hopes are now awake,As constant as the circling years;They penetrate each grief, and make20A golden radiance of our tears.THE DEFORMED CHILD’S CAROL
THERE was a gentle steadfast gleamUpon the morning sky,Which shone across a stable door,With shepherds standing by.5And wise old men were also there,With beards that downward bowed,And folded turbans on their heads,And staves, o’er which they bowed.The shepherds were of manly grace,10Their limbs of finest mould,And noble were those field-born fronts,Sun-brent to swarthy gold.The stable-door was open wide,—Within ’twas dusky dim,15Save that a circle of soft raysGlowed to a low-breathed hymn.It shone around an Infant’s head;And to its Mother’s voiceThe glory seemed to palpitate,20And tell me to rejoice.I turned unto those shepherd men,Of matchless thews and bone,So lordly in their grace and strength—And they were kneeling down!25I turned to see those old, wise men,The wisest of the land;And all of them were kneeling, too—Bowed head and upraised hand!Another, and a greater strength30To cope with earth’s sad storms—Another, and a wiser lore,Smiled in that Mother’s arms.And shall not I, with these frail limbs,This framework of poor earth,[3]35Rejoice with inward grace and strengthAt my great Teacher’s birth?Chorus.
Bright sunny hopes are now awake,As constant as the circling years;They penetrate each grief, and make40A golden radiance of our tears.THE DEAF AND DUMB CHILD’S CAROL.
I CANNOT speak, I cannot hear,But I can feel and think,And mine eyes are filled with the joyfulnessThat hand to hand doth link,—5While round and roundThe dancers bound,And laugh and shout—and I see the sound,Though silent to meAll the noise and the glee10Of the dance, the round-game, and revelry.Something within me struggles oftMy happiness to tell in sounds;Words—words—I strive to shout, or waft,Along the room across the grounds15And o’er the snowAs my playmates go;But though ’tis in vain since the day of my birth,The voice of my mindIs ne’er left behind,20And cries welcome Christmas and all its good mirth!The faces laugh in the red fire light!Fingers, looks, actions, all speak to me;Antics and fun make a merry night,Till I fancy I hear the low hum of a sea,—25A murmur and rush—Though it ends in a hush,All tell me there’s something outside of my ears;But my life’s in my eyes,—Oh, thank God for the prize!30Which I carol at Christmas as year rolls on years!Chorus.
Bright sunny hopes are now awake,As constant as the circling years;They penetrate each grief, and makeA golden radiance of our tears.THE BLIND CHILD’S CAROL.
MY life is in the night—The never-ending night—But my soul is not in darkness,And hath a starry flight.5My nights are like my days—All never ending days—And to me a constant morningOf heaven-enfolding rays.To me the sun and shade10Are of one substance made,And one eternal glory,Which ne’er can fail or fade,For on my close-seal’d eyesHath Christ, in all things wise,15Reversed the common miracle—And given me inward skies.Therein His form I trace,In all it’s Infant grace! —And pictures of His sufferings20For all the human race!Therein, I recogniseEarth’s littleness of size, —And all the planet-nationsWhom Love will Christianise.Chorus.
25Bright thoughts and hopes are now awake,As constant as the circling years;They penetrate each grief, and makeA golden radiance of our tears.THE SICK CHILD’S CAROL.
YOU say I do not look so pale to-day,But in my cheekA rose-leaf tint begins to bloom and play,And I am not so weak.5It is because I see you allSo happy at the feast—the ball—The merry-making in the hall.And Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, to meAre very dear;10They bring a bright and wondering memoryOf one delightful year.I look back through my little span,And thinking how its joys beganForget how thin and changed I am.15They led—me I was then a little child—Through a dark door,Into a room all hung with branches wild,With lights upon the floor;And lights above—in front—behind—20So bright they almost made me blind,While other sights confused my mind.It was the splendour of a Christmas Tree!With fruits thick hung,And glittering pictures, lights, and spanglery,25The dark fir boughs among.While soft-toned music came—and went—I cried in joy’s bewilderment,“This Tree I ‘m sure from heaven was sent!”Chorus.
Bright sunny hopes are now awake,30As constant as the circling years;They penetrate each grief, and makeA golden radiance of our tears.THE HEALTHY CHILD’S CAROL.
Come hither, dear playmates,Let’s rove hand in hand,And some shall be carried,And others be led.5You can speak with eyes—fingers—We all understand,And away we will goTo the frosty upland,Where the sun shines like gold10On the roof of the shed.There, the long row of slidersGo down the keen slide!There, others are buildingA huge man of snow!15While yonder a crowd,Half-way down the hill side,A great snow-ball battleAre now to decide,And all the fresh faces20Are sharp and a-glow.Now come home—draw the curtains,More coals, and a log!—Clear the room for the forfeits,The dance, and the game;25Horace promised to gallopThrice round like a dog,And Virgil will showHis proud feat of “the frog,”While we all look like ghosts30In the snap-dragon’s frame.The green holly-boughs,With their berries so red,Adorn the bright roomWhere the feast is set out;35Ah, this is a nightWhen we can’t go to bed,For no one could sleepWhile such mirth fills his head,With troops of gay fancies40All dancing about.Now all clasp your handsAt the treasure all find,That He whose NativityAngels now quire,45Gave help to the weak,In the strength of the mind,Bidding those who are strongTo be loving and kind,When the holly-boughs sparkle50And blaze in the fire!Chorus.
Bright thoughts and hopes are now awake,As constant as the circling years;They penetrate each grief, and makeA golden radiance of our tears.55In that confused, yet heavenly shrine,The soul unearthly music hears;The Eastern Star sheds rays divineOn our afflictions and our fears;And now amidst a gleaming halo stands60The Infant Christ—and stretches forth his hands!
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- Jesus is the speaker here, and the quotation is from Matthew 11:28 KJV. ↵
- Here, we get a clear indication that the celebration is one of charity. Nineteenth-century village schools were typically for teaching the poor children of the community. In Jane Eyre, for example, the heroine briefly teaches at such a school. ↵
- That is, their body. This terminology, "poor earth," refers to how in Genesis, the first human, Adam, was made from dirt. ↵