ST. vIATEURs COLLEGE JOURNAL. LECTIO OERTA PROD ES T, VARIA DELECTAT. Seneca.
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VOL. II
No. 16
BOURBONNAIS GROVE. ILL. SATURDAY, DEC. 20 1884.
And thi Clu·istmas eve om mem'ries cleave
CHRI Tll
To the olden day long :fled, To our only Hope,who first did ope Let joy~beUs ring, their mo ic sing
Bright portals tor the de.'td;
O,er earth decked out in wllite, ·whilst tlazzli ng flake on ev'ry brake
Let us revere that Infant dear, Whose love, like oce.'ln vast,
-Fall with iootstep light: Like milk- white cloud, or funeral shroud, Rich clusters droop each limb, Whilst chilly breeze 'mid topmost trees Proclaims our new-bor!l king.
·without cessation fills creation,
The night is bright, our hearts are light, !::it:.u·s dot the azure deep, And Joy aod Glee, like waves of sea, In sportive measures leap: The welcome cry of the passer-by Resounds from valley and hill, \Vith fancy's cr.r we
sc~::m
to heur-
''Peace to men of good will." \ Y!Jen back to-night, we wing our flight, To the dim, ta int, twilight years, The sn.me bright star is
~een
afar,
That led our E m;tern seers, Its mellow rays illume our ways To a stc'l.ble drear and lone, ·within a babe to nothing cmvcN Or s;gh, nor tear, nor moan. As the sceptre wand in Moses' hand Caused wat-er once to flow From rocky ledge, a heavenly pledge His power divine to show, So the love of him-at Bethlehem, A love both tender and pure, Flows on forever, with respite never, Our ills :md sores to cure.
! I
Our shelter when 'tis
p a~t.
J.P. M.
HOME SWEET HOME. There are few who are insen ible to the fond and pleasing recollections which the mention of that simple word, Home, naturally excites. It is difficult to conceive a heart so hard and cold, or a soul so utt€rly void of sensibility, as not to be d eeply affected, when looking back through the dim distance, it beholds once more the scenes of its early years, the beautiful home of it;:s chi ldhood. There is no place so dear, as the p lace where we were born and reared; no scenes so beautiful, as the scenes of our youthful days; no grove' or fields or me.<tdows so- lovely and enchanting, as those where in childish innocence we whiled away the spring-time of life. It has been said that the sweetest words in our language are, "Mother, Home and H eaven" and can we not almost say that the word Home includes them all; for who can think of home without rcmem bering the gentle mother who sancti fies it by her presence, or without picturing to himself that better la ud as ahome where joy will be everlasting, where brightness will never end in r..ight. Home happiness is a type of the eternal happiness of H eaven; home joys are the purest joys of the heart: home memories are the fondest and dearest memories that linger round the portals of the soul. Thete are no more pleasing recollections than those of the "smiles an<! tears of boyhood's years." There is no picture so indelibly .stamped upon the soul as that of our father's fireside; and there is no love so tender and so deep as that which we bear to tho e who are near and dear to us at home. Th ~ugh we may wander abroad among strangers and live with them happy and contented, though we seek homes in