Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse | Page 2

where'er they
be
This Christmas morn;
For Christ is born,
That saveth them and
saveth me!

Sing, sons of earth!
O ransomed seed of Adam, sing!
God liveth,
and we have a king!
The curse is gone, the bond are free--
By Bethlehem's star that
brightly beamed,
By all the heavenly signs that be,
We know that Israel is redeemed;
That on this morn
The Christ is born
That saveth you and saveth
me!
Sing, O my heart!
Sing thou in rapture this dear morn
Whereon the
blessed Prince is born!
And as thy songs shall be of love,
So let my deeds be charity
By the dear Lord that reigns above,
By Him that died upon the tree,
By this fair morn
Whereon is born
The Christ that saveth all and
me!
THE SYMBOL AND THE SAINT
Once upon a time a young man made ready for a voyage. His name was
Norss; broad were his shoulders, his cheeks were ruddy, his hair was
fair and long, his body betokened strength, and good-nature shone from
his blue eyes and lurked about the corners of his mouth.
"Where are you going?" asked his neighbor Jans, the forge-master.
"I am going sailing for a wife," said Norss.
"For a wife, indeed!" cried Jans. "And why go you to seek her in
foreign lands? Are not our maidens good enough and fair enough, that
you must need search for a wife elsewhere? For shame, Norss! for
shame!"
But Norss said: "A spirit came to me in my dreams last night and said,

'Launch the boat and set sail to-morrow. Have no fear; for I will guide
you to the bride that awaits you.' Then, standing there, all white and
beautiful, the spirit held forth a symbol--such as I had never before
seen--in the figure of a cross, and the spirit said: 'By this symbol shall
she be known to you.'"
"If this be so, you must need go," said Jans. "But are you well
victualled? Come to my cabin, and let me give you venison and bear's
meat."
Norss shook his head. "The spirit will provide," said he. "I have no fear,
and I shall take no care, trusting in the spirit."
So Norss pushed his boat down the beach into the sea, and leaped into
the boat, and unfurled the sail to the wind. Jans stood wondering on the
beach, and watched the boat speed out of sight.
On, on, many days on sailed Norss--so many leagues that he thought he
must have compassed the earth. In all this time he knew no hunger nor
thirst; it was as the spirit had told him in his dream--no cares nor
dangers beset him. By day the dolphins and the other creatures of the
sea gambolled about his boat; by night a beauteous Star seemed to
direct his course; and when he slept and dreamed, he saw ever the spirit
clad in white, and holding forth to him the symbol in the similitude of a
cross.
At last he came to a strange country--a country so very different from
his own that he could scarcely trust his senses. Instead of the rugged
mountains of the North, he saw a gentle landscape of velvety green; the
trees were not pines and firs, but cypresses, cedars, and palms; instead
of the cold, crisp air of his native land, he scented the perfumed zephyrs
of the Orient; and the wind that filled the sail of his boat and smote his
tanned cheeks was heavy and hot with the odor of cinnamon and spices.
The waters were calm and blue--very different from the white and
angry waves of Norss's native fiord.
As if guided by an unseen hand, the boat pointed straight for the beach
of this strangely beautiful land; and ere its prow cleaved the shallower

waters, Norss saw a maiden standing on the shore, shading her eyes
with her right hand, and gazing intently at him. She was the most
beautiful maiden he had ever looked upon. As Norss was fair, so was
this maiden dark; her black hair fell loosely about her shoulders in
charming contrast with the white raiment in which her slender, graceful
form was clad. Around her neck she wore a golden chain, and
therefrom was suspended a small symbol, which Norss did not
immediately recognize.
"Hast thou come sailing out of the North into the East?" asked the
maiden.
"Yes," said Norss.
"And thou art Norss?" she asked.
"I am Norss; and I come seeking my bride," he answered.
"I am she," said the maiden. "My name is Faia. An angel came to me in
my dreams last night, and the angel said: 'Stand upon the beach to-day,
and Norss shall come out of the North to bear thee home a bride.' So,
coming here, I found thee sailing to our shore."
Remembering then the spirit's words,