Christmas (final)

Around the glowing hearth at night
The harmless laugh & winter tale 
Go round while parting friends delight 
To toast each other oer their ale
The cotter oft with quiet zeal 
Will musing oer his Bible lean
While in the dark the lovers steal 
To kiss & toy behind the screen
Old customs O I love the sound
However simple they may be
Whateer with time hath sanction found
Is welcome & is dear to me
Pride grows above simplicity
& spurns them from her haughty mind
& soon the poets song will be 
The only refuge they can find

(lines 113-128)

'December'

The Shepherd's Calendar (1827)

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