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Show nrms'" said t,ie Quiet vice f Vi the young minister to his waiting audience, "might be called 'A Christmas Meditation.' We shall try to give you merely a reverent Impression of the spirit of the season. A bit of carol singing . . . some lighted candles ... a reading from the Bible and one tableau." There was a soft rustle of expectation expecta-tion throughout the church. The lights snapped off. All was dark and still. Like the slow uprising of a far wind came the sweet, subdued voices of a hidden choir. The beautiful notes floated over the heads of the people like a benediction. Noiselessly candle after candle sprang into (lame at the windows, each taper lighted by the hand of a small boy. Then the screens about the stags undor the pulpit were removed. And there was the dear . and treasured scene so loved and so cherished at this season. The manger . . . Mary bendtng over It . . . Joseph standing near by. A soft glow from the rude cradle suffused, the faces about it. Mary all iu spotless white . . . Joseph bearded and dressed in blue, with a scarlet manlle over his shoulders, a striped headdress and a broad sash about his waist. The music slid soflly into "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night." From the front of the church came a tall figure Willi a crook. A shepherd from the hills, who knelt in front of Ihe manger and then stood near. Then another and another, rough men with kindly, invkward manners. man-ners. Two little fellows followed, their eyes round with awe. Again the music changed. "We Three Kings of (he Orient Are." A thrill passed through the. church. The strange notes of this music ushered in an impressive figure who advanced toward the manger with royal dignity. |