this time they are limited to that of Christmas. After the turn of midnight, at Christmas eve, service is performed in the Churches, followed by singing of carols to the harp. Whilst the Christmas holydays continue, they are sung in like manner in the houses; and there are carols especially adapted to be sung at the doors of the houses by visitors before they enter. Lffyr Carolan, or the Book of Carols, contains sixtysix for Christmas, and five summer carols; Blodeugerdd Cymrii, or the Anthology of Wales, contains forty-eight Christmas carols, nine summer carols, three May carols, one winter carol, one nightingale carol, and a carol to Cupid." The following Christmas Carol was written expressly for "Time's Telescope," by the Editor of these volumes: 66 IT IS THE DAY! THE HOLY DAY! I. It is the Day! the Holy Day! on which Our LORD was born, And sweetly doth the sun-beam gild the dew-besprinkled thorn; The birds sing thro' the heavens, aud the breezes gently play, And song and sunshine lovelily begin this Holy Day. II. "Twas in a humble manger, a little lowly shed, III. He came to save the perishing-to waft the sighs to heav'n Of guilty men, who truly sought to weep and be forgiv'n: An Intercessor still he shines, and Man to him should pray At his Altar's feet for meekness upon this Holy Day. IV. As flowers still bloom fair again, though all their life seems shed, Thus we shall rise with life once more, tho' number'd with the dead: Then may our stations be near Him to whom we worship pay, And praise, with heartfelt gratitude, upon this Holy Day!" WACHTER, AND FREDERIC, KING OF PRUSSIA. AMONGST the anti-poetical, may be placed the father of the great monarch of Prussia. Frederic would not suffer the Prince to read verses; and when he was desirous of study, or of the conversation of literary men, he was obliged to do it secretly. Every Poet was odious to his Majesty. One day, having observed some lines written on one of the doors of the palace, he asked a courtier their signification. They were explained to him. They were Latin verses, composed by Wachter, a man of letters, then resident in Berlin. The King immediately sent for the Bard, who came warm with the hope of receiving a reward for his ingenuity. He was astonished, however, to hear the King accost him, "I order you immediately to quit this city, and my kingdom." Wachter accordingly took refuge in Hanover. This want of taste in the father was amply compensated by the distinguished patronage extended, by the son, to Poets, and men of genius, of all countries. VOL. III. ABBOTSFORD, THE RESIDENCE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. THE following description of the dwelling of this celebrated northern Bard elicits our admiration so strongly, that, without further preface, we introduce it to the notice of our readers. It is to that talented work, "Peter's Letters to his Kinfolks," that we are indebted for it. Speaking of "the Tweed," the writer of the Epistle says, "I saw this far-famed river for the first time, with the turrets of its Poet's mansion immediately beyond it, and the bright foliage of his young larches reflected half way over in its mirror. "You cannot imagine a more lovely river; it is as clear as the purest brook you ever saw, for I could count the white pebbles as I passed, and yet it is broad and deep, and, above all, extremely rapid; and although it rises sometimes to a much greater height, it seems to fill the whole of its bed magnificently. The Ford (of which I made use) is the same from which the House takes its name, and a few minutes brought me to its gates. "Ere I came to it, however, I had time to |
