& oft for pence and spicy ale
With winter nosegays pinnd before
The wassail-singer tells her tale
& drawls her Christmas carols oer
While prentice boy with ruddy face
& rime-bepowderd dancing locks
From door to door with happy pace
Runs round to claim his ‘Christmas box’
The block upon the fire is put
To sanction customs old desires
And many a faggot's bands are cut
For the old farmers' Christmas fires;
Where loud-tongued Gladness joins the throng
& Winter meets the warmth of May
Till feeling soon the heat too strong
He rubs his shins & draws away
The wassail-singer tells her tale
& drawls her Christmas carols oer
While prentice boy with ruddy face
& rime-bepowderd dancing locks
From door to door with happy pace
Runs round to claim his ‘Christmas box’
The block upon the fire is put
To sanction customs old desires
And many a faggot's bands are cut
For the old farmers' Christmas fires;
Where loud-tongued Gladness joins the throng
& Winter meets the warmth of May
Till feeling soon the heat too strong
He rubs his shins & draws away
(lines 49 - 64)
'December'
The Shepherd's Calendar (1827)
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