49. Christmas without Christ
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{98}
HOW can I keep my Christmas feast |
| In its due festive show, |
| Reft of the sight of the High Priest |
| From whom its glories flow? |
I hear the tuneful bells around, |
| The blessèd towers I see; |
| A stranger on a foreign ground, |
| They peal a fast for me. |
O Britons! now so brave and high, |
| How will ye weep the day |
| When Christ in judgment passes by, |
| And calls the Bride away! {99} |
Your Christmas then will lose its mirth, |
| Your Easter lose its bloom: |
| Abroad, a scene of strife and dearth; |
| Within, a cheerless home! |
Malta.
December 25, 1832. |