"A Christmas Carol"

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge 
 
I
 
The shepherds went their hasty way,
And found the lowly stable-shed
Where the Virgin-Mother lay:
And now they checked their eager tread,
For to the Babe, that at her bosom clung,
A Mother's song the Virgin-Mother sung.

II

They told her how a glorious light,
Streaming from a heavenly throng.
Around them shone, suspending night!
While sweeter than a mother's song,
Blest Angels heralded the Savior's birth,
Glory to God on high! and Peace on Earth.

III

She listened to the tale divine,
And closer still the Babe she pressed:
And while she cried, the Babe is mine!
The milk rushed faster to her breast:
Joy rose within her, like a summer's morn;
Peace, Peace on Earth! the Prince of Peace is born.

IV

Thou Mother of the Prince of Peace,
Poor, simple, and of low estate!
That strife should vanish, battle cease,
O why should this thy soul elate?
Sweet Music's loudest note, the Poet's story,
Didst thou ne'er love to hear of fame and glory?

V

And is not War a youthful king,
A stately Hero clad in mail?
Beneath his footsteps laurels spring;
Him Earth's majestic monarchs hail
Their friends, their playmate! and his bold bright eye
Compels the maiden's love-confessing sigh.

VI

Tell this in some more courtly scene,
To maids and youths in robes of state!
I am a woman poor and mean,
And wherefore is my soul elate.
War is a ruffian, all with guilt defiled,
That from the aged father's tears his child!

VII

A murderous fiend, by fiends adored,
He kills the sire and starves the son;
The husband kills, and from her board
Steals all his widow's toil had won;
Plunders God's world of beauty; rends away
All safety from the night, all comfort from the day.

VIII

Then wisely is my soul elate,
That strife should vanish, battle cease:
I'm poor and of low estate,
The Mother of the Prince of Peace.
Joy rises in me, like a summer's morn:
Peace, Peace on Earth! The Prince of Peace is born!

December Events at the Manassas Museum

During the month of December, the Manassas Museum will host a free book talk, a Holiday Ornament and Dollhouse Exhibit, an Open House, and tours at Liberia Plantation.

On Sunday, Dec. 1, at 2 p.m. join author John Muller for his free book talk on Mark Twain in Washington, D.C., The Adventures of a Capital Correspondent. Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, first visited the nation’s capital in 1854. By 1867 he returned to cover the capital for several newspapers and enjoyed the company of fellow hard drinking, irreverent correspondents. It was while he was in Washington that Twain received a publishing offer from the American Publishing Company that began his literary career.

For the month of December, with the price of admission to the Museum, step back in time and get into the holiday spirit at this exhibit of hand crafted Holiday Ornaments and Antique Dollhouses on display at the Manassas Museum.

On Dec. 6, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., the Manassas Museum will host a Holiday Open House.  The Open House is being held in conjunction with the Annual Tree Lighting program in Old Town Manassas.  The Museum will have cookies and cider.  Visits with Santa will be available after the tree lighting.  Echoes, The Manassas Museum Store, will offer a 10% discount on all merchandise during the Open House.

On Dec. 14, at 5:00, 5:45, 6:30 and 7:15 p.m., the Museum will offer Holiday Tours at Liberia Plantation.  Visitors will experience a glimpse into Christmas during the Civil War era.  Costumed interpreters will portray the Weir family, the original owners of Liberia Plantation.  The program also features soldiers encamped on the property and how slaves observed Christmas at the start of the Civil War.  Tickets are available at the Manassas Museum for $15 for adults and $7.50 for children 12 and under. The house and grounds are not handicap accessible.

For more information on any of these programs, visit www.manassasmuseum.org.