filX 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 4 ! 
 
 5! 
 
 THE 
 
 .THE
 
 UNIVERSE* OF 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
 SAN OIEQC
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 CHRISTMAS FIRE
 
 "THERE IS THE SIGN OF THE WISE MEN,
 
 CHRISTMAS Fl 
 
 WILLIAM ALLEN KNIGHT 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 THE SONG OF OUR SYRIAN GUEST 
 
 THE PILGRIM PRESS 
 
 BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO
 
 COPYRIGHT, MCMVII 
 BY WILLIAM ALLEN KNIGHT 
 
 ENTERED AT STATIONBBs' HALL, LONDOM 
 
 ALL EIGHTS EE3EEVED 
 
 THE PII.CRTM PRESS 
 BOSTON
 
 The dear father and mutl er 
 Whojirat taught me to love 
 The story of the wise men 
 And the star
 
 PROLOGUE 
 
 NOW when Jesus was born in 
 Bethlehem of Judea in the days 
 of Herod the king, behold, there 
 came wise men from the east to 
 Jerusalem, saying, Where is he 
 that is born King of the Jews ? 
 for we have seen his star in the 
 east, and are come to worship 
 
 him 
 
 Then Herod, when he had 
 privily called the wise men, in 
 quired of them diligently what 
 time the star appeared. And 
 he sent them to Bethlehem. 
 
 'When they had heard the king, 
 they departed ; and, lo, the star 
 which they saw in the east, 
 went before them, till it came 
 'and stood over where the young 
 child was. When they saw the 
 jstar, they rejoiced with exceed- 
 iing great joy. 
 
 MATTHEW II.
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 CHRISTMAS FIRE 
 
 VvATCH, still watch, Christina ; 
 we shall see them here also, my 
 daughter.' 1 
 
 The old Greek's face was turned 
 to the fireglow and between the 
 masses of hair and beard his wide 
 forehead shone in its light. The 
 words were for the girl at his side 
 alone, for his voice was low and 
 fatherly. Yet who will blame me 
 for hearing what he said as we sat 
 that Christmas Eve with no lights 
 save our fire in the room, while a 
 snowfall muffled all sounds out in 
 the dark and lifted white arms at 
 the windows? If you could have 
 seen them there in the firelight, the 
 somewhat shaggy yet altogether 
 genial old man and the girl with 
 her smiling quietness, you would 
 have listened too. 
 
 One summer night in an Oxford 
 inn I had talked with this stranger 
 until the wakeful bells of that 
 towered town had joined clamor 
 ously to warn us of the hour. That 
 very day we had chanced to meet in 
 the church long known as St. Mary- 
 the- Virgin's. It is a storied old
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 building and he was standing near 
 the altar looking down at the little 
 gravestone which, sheltered in a holy 
 place, bears the name Amy Robsart. 
 He seemed to be musing on the story 
 of that ill-fated young wife. As I 
 stood near him he turned, pointed 
 to the stone and shook his head, 
 gazing at me out of misty eyes. 
 
 That night while a rain was fall 
 ing we settled in a snug corner at 
 the inn, and so fell to talking as 
 even strangers will do at such times. 
 What he said before we parted 
 would make a story good to tell; 
 but it is enough now that I listened 
 until the bells of Oxford broke the 
 stillness with long pealing, and then, 
 far up the rambling stairs, lay won 
 dering who this stranger could be, 
 until the sound of the rain on the 
 roofs was lost in sleep. 
 
 It happened that I did not see 
 him again till a day when I spied 
 him walking slowly in a crowded 
 street of my own city in America. 
 He was quickly alert and guarded 
 at first, but was hearty enough after 
 he had placed me in his memory. 
 We strolled, chatting as we went, 
 until we came into the quaint en 
 closure of a once fashionable square 
 whose elms and dwellings are left 
 now to a fading gentility. " Here 
 ai*e my lodgings, sir," he said, stop 
 ping abruptly. " Will you not give
 
 CHRISTMAS FIRE 
 
 me the pleasure of receiving you 
 within?" 
 
 The old-time knocker brought 
 a speedy response. It was a girl 
 who stood in the door with beam 
 ing face and lifted arms a girl 
 maidenly, though molded like a 
 little woman as is the way with 
 daughters of the East, glowing in 
 her joyousness, and by every token 
 of feature, voice and bearing, well- 
 bred. At sight of me she quickly 
 quieted her welcome. For my part 
 I stood perplexed. To that moment 
 I had known the old man at my side 
 as a lone traveler only ! 
 
 ** My daughter, sir," he said, smil 
 ing with a pride which lighted up his 
 eyes. "Christina your father's 
 friend." 
 
 So was it, as men see ways past 
 finding out, that among the guests 
 in our home on the approaching 
 Christmas Eve were Dr. Melisander 
 and his daughter. 
 
 Would that you could have seen 
 the picture Christina made in the 
 brightness of our fire when I over 
 heard those words, "Watch, still 
 watch, Christina ; we shall see them 
 here also, my daughter." Outlined 
 in the ruddy light her form moved 
 not at all. The small hands folded 
 in her lap did not stir. So eager 
 was her gaze into the fireplace that 
 the waves of lustrous clack hair on 

 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 her shoulders were not disquieted 
 by the turning of her head. The 
 only token that she heard her father 
 was the smile that came and lingered. 
 Sweet with childlikeness it gleamed 
 above the shining of the firelight in 
 her eyes. So Christina sat in silence 
 watching our Christmas fire. 
 
 "As I was saying, sir," and Dr. 
 Melisander now took the tone of 
 voice in which he had been talking 
 to us, " our Bethlehem is a wee 
 place a strangely small town in 
 deed to draw the hearts of your 
 far-away cities as it does to-night. 
 I was thinking of this as we came 
 hither through your shopping streets 
 all ablaze this Christmas Eve. Ah, 
 sir, the throng that pushed by the 
 slow old man with a broad back and 
 a cloak that flapped and was often 
 in the way of their armfuls of gifts 
 they knew not how he was musing 
 of his little Bethlehem among the 
 far, silent hills ! Of a truth those 
 many people could not imagine how 
 empty, notwithstanding their loads 
 of things, the multitude seemed to 
 him in their big, shining city across 
 the seas, but for the memories of 
 that small town." 
 
 He paused, shaking his head. 
 And there was a motion in his thick 
 beard as of laughter. He was re 
 joicing for little Bethlehem. Then 
 he seemed to give himself to ponder-
 
 CHRISTMAS FIRE 
 
 ing. Quickly he glanced at the fire 
 with grave eyes. 
 
 "The signs will yet appear, my 
 child." He spoke with the same 
 softened voice which had made me 
 listen before. 
 
 Christina's hands moved now in 
 a girl's eager way. She lifted her 
 eyes to her father's, and I watched 
 to see the smile once more. It 
 came he uttered a word which I 
 am sure meant darling to a Greek 
 girl it lingered as her gaze re 
 turned to the fire. Then I knew 
 that Christina's smile was story- 
 laden. 
 
 A burst of song was heard across 
 the hall. Dr. Melisander turned to 
 listen. 
 
 " How good it is to have them 
 at home again ! " said a motherly 
 voice. 
 
 " What carol is that, madam ? 
 Are not your daughters singing a 
 Christmas carol ? I seem to re 
 member hearing it somewhere in 
 London it was, if my memory be 
 true." Still listening he sat in silence. 
 No answer was needed. For above 
 the merry babel in another room 
 arose the refrain once and again, 
 until the company of student friends 
 broke into full chorus singing : 
 
 " Carol, brothers, carol, carol joyfully, 
 Carol the good tidings, carol merrily ; 
 And pray a gladsome Christmas 
 
 , 

 
 
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 For all good Christian men, 
 Carol, brothers, carol, Christmas day 
 again." 
 
 The swell of happy voices laden 
 with that pathos which older hearts 
 are apt to hear when young men 
 and maidens sing together, answered 
 the question by the fire, and no 
 words were spoken. The old Greek 
 leaned toward the blaze with an 
 elbow on his knee and an agitated 
 hand in his beard. There was tear- 
 mist in his great eyes. For the 
 moment he seemed to have for 
 gotten us. 
 
 " And they are singing such songs 
 in a thousand cities to-night, my 
 Bethlehem ! " we heard him saying. 
 
 He was still sitting so when the 
 piano sounded new chords. I 
 thrilled with expectancy, recogniz 
 ing the music and wondering that 
 the singers had hit upon it at such 
 a moment; for soon their voices 
 glided into this melody of words : 
 
 " O little town of Bethlehem, 
 
 How still we see thee lie ! 
 Above thy deep and dreamless sleep 
 
 The silent stars go by ; 
 Yet in thy dark streets shineth 
 
 The everlasting Light ; 
 The hopes and fears of all the years 
 
 Are met in thee to-night." 
 
 Dr. Melisander's face was beam 
 ing. He raised himself to listen. 
 His eyes were brimming with tears. 

 
 When the song ended he exclaimed 
 in a hushed voice : 
 
 " Oh, sir, the man who wrote those 
 words whoever he was, I know not 
 he understood! He must have 
 seen it, sir; he must have seen our 
 Bethlehem ! It lies there in a wide 
 silence with the hills of Judea around 
 it where shepherds wander with 
 flocks, and fields of wheat and barley 
 are in the valleys and vineyards on 
 the slopes. You see it, sir, as you 
 follow the road from Jerusalem 
 you see it lifted on the shoulders of 
 a great hill, that you may greet it 
 lovingly. You find it shabby enough, 
 sir, the dear little town ! And dark 
 are its streets by night, as that song 
 says. But the joy of many nations 
 shines there you will never forget 
 that never. And the beauty of 
 our women, sir, will often bring to 
 your memory the young mother who 
 there held Him in her arms !" 
 
 The old man was near to sobbing 
 in the fulness of his emotion. Yet 
 so radiant was his countenance that I 
 laughed with delight at his joy over 
 Bethlehem. But one who listened 
 with me glanced up quickly as he 
 spoke of Bethlehem women, and I 
 followed her eyes to his daughter. 
 The girPs rich beauty haloed in the 
 firelight interpreted his words anew 
 and stilled my mirth. For I saw 
 now that grief was mingled with
 
 Jf 
 
 17. ; 
 
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 For all good Christian men, 
 Carol, brothers, carol, Christmas day 
 again." 
 
 The swell of happy voices laden 
 with that pathos which older hearts 
 are apt to hear when young men 
 and maidens sing together, answered 
 the question by the fire, and no 
 words were spoken. The old Greek 
 leaned toward the blaze with an 
 elbow on his knee and an agitated 
 hand in his beard. There was tear- 
 mist in his great eyes. For the 
 moment he seemed to have for 
 gotten us. 
 
 " And they are singing such songs 
 in a thousand cities to-night, my 
 Bethlehem ! " we heard him saying. 
 
 He was still sitting so when the 
 piano sounded new chords. I 
 thrilled with expectancy, recogniz 
 ing the music and wondering that 
 the singers had hit upon it at such 
 a moment; for soon their voices 
 glided into this melody of words : 
 
 " O little town of Bethlehem, 
 
 How still we see thee lie ! 
 Above thy deep and dreamless sleep 
 
 The silent stars go by ; 
 Yet in thy dark streets shineth 
 
 The everlasting Light ; 
 The hopes and fears of all the years 
 
 Are met in thee to-night." 
 
 Dr. Melisander's face was beam 
 ing. He raised himself to listen. 
 His eyes were brimming with tears.
 
 
 ft 
 
 When the song ended he exclaimed 
 in a hushed voice : 
 
 " Oh, sir, the man who wrote those 
 words whoever he was, I know not 
 he understood! He must have 
 seen it, sir; he must have seen our 
 Bethlehem ! It lies there in a wide 
 silence with the hills of Judea around 
 it where shepherds wander with 
 flocks, and fields of wheat and barley 
 are in the valleys and vineyards on 
 the slopes. You see it, sir, as you 
 follow the road from Jerusalem 
 you see it lifted on the shoulders of 
 a great hill, that you may greet it 
 lovingly. You find it shabby enough, 
 sir, the dear little town ! And dark 
 are its streets by night, as that song 
 says. But the joy of many nations 
 shines there you will never forget 
 that never. And the beauty of 
 our women, sir, will often bring to 
 your memory the young mother who 
 there held Him in her arms !" 
 
 The old man was near to sobbing 
 in the fulness of his emotion. Yet 
 so radiant was his countenance that I 
 laughed with delight at his joy over 
 Bethlehem. But one who listened 
 with me glanced up quickly as he 
 spoke of Bethlehem women, and I 
 followed her eyes to his daughter. 
 The giiTs rich beauty haloed in the 
 firelight interpreted his words anew 
 and stilled my mirth. For I saw 
 now that grief was mingled with 

 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 gladness in his tears for little Beth 
 lehem with its beautiful women. 
 
 Dr. Melisander turned to his 
 daughter also. Soon they were talk 
 ing together and I caught words not 
 of our tongue. Suddenly Christina 
 reached forth her bared arm point 
 ing into the fireplace. Looking up 
 at her father she said softly, " There 
 is the sign of the wise men, my 
 father! 11 The bearded face drew 
 near her shoulder with watching 
 eyes. 
 
 They were sitting thus when a 
 moment later the singers stood in 
 the doorway. Their voices were 
 hushed at the sight. 
 
 " What is it ? ^ whispered one of 
 them, tiptoeing into the room. 
 
 Dr. Melisander noticed their pres 
 ence. " Have vou never watched for 
 the signs in the Christmas fire ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 "What signs?" exclaimed one 
 and another, coming nearer. 
 
 " The signs that first came true in 
 our Bethlehem. 11 
 
 " What signs ? w they repeated. 
 " Well, well ! Can it be that you 
 know not the signs for which we 
 watch the old, old signs you 
 may see them everywhere in Beth 
 lehem and in all the world wherever 
 a fire is burning in a Christian home 
 on Christmas Eve have you never 
 watched for them ?"
 
 Then there came a scene which 
 will linger in memory as long as 
 Christmastide shall come for me, 
 when those young faces were gathered 
 about us in the wavering firelight to 
 hear and see what the old Greek and 
 his daughter were about to make 
 known this tale of the signs in ( 
 the Christmas fire. 
 
 " Have you never heard the story 
 how three signs were given before 
 that first Christmas day, and how 
 watching by a Christmas fire you 
 may see them everywhere still ? " 
 
 The voice was low ; his counte 
 nance glowed with zest. 
 
 "Each sign was suited to the 
 hearts of those that received it, and 
 the three groups that came to Beth 
 lehem were such as to stand for all 
 that is good in the whole world. 
 Have you never heard of this? 
 Listen. 1 ' 
 
 Leaning toward his daughter he 
 spoke a word or two in undertone. 
 We saw her face brighten anew. 
 
 "Each group received its own 
 sign," he said turning to us. 
 
 Then he laid his hand on Chris 
 tina's shoulder. Joyously she pointed 
 to a spark glowing in the black wall 
 of the fireplace. 
 
 "There is the sign of the star in 
 the east," he said. "Watch it 
 watch it, here in your Christmas 
 fire!" 

 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 The old Greek^s earnest manner 
 made the quaint symbol very real as 
 the spark for the moment mounted 
 in the dark expanse. Presently, in 
 a voice touched by the low, chanting 
 tone of the Oriental story-teller, he 
 said : " Far to the east, far across 
 the waste of the desert, beyond the 
 silence and the loneliness and the 
 pale distances, there were ancient 
 cities and peoples. And among them 
 were learned men whom they called 
 Magi. Companions and teachers of 
 kings were they, keepers of knowl 
 edge dear to the East, above all 
 watchers of the stars. Such was the 
 Magi's calling." 
 
 He sat a moment in quietness 
 stroking his beard and looking at 
 the listeners as if questioning how 
 to lead them on. Then his counte 
 nance lightened afresh and he raised 
 his hand with the palm toward the 
 fireglow. 
 
 "Could you but look on those skies 
 those sparkling silences above our 
 ancient lands could you but pass 
 one night with nothing between you 
 and their pure, wide heights you 
 would not wonder that men of old 
 saw signs in such stars. Was a great 
 man born ? They watched for the 
 stars to make it known. Was a 
 kingdom rising or falling? Surely 
 the stars w ould reveal this also. So 
 did men feel after God in those days."
 
 Then he leaned toward us with 
 awakening directness. " Those Magi 
 knew the .sacred books of the peoples 
 round about ! They would surely 
 hear how in Jerusalem men were 
 looking for the birth of a kingly 
 deliverer promised by ancient Jew 
 ish prophets ! Do you not see ? 
 They would be watching the stars 
 for a sign that this king of the 
 Jews was born ! " 
 
 lie paused, looking about as if to 
 say, "Is that all clear?" 
 
 " But what made them take a 
 certain star for a sign?" broke in 
 a tall youth who was peering over 
 a cluster of girlish heads; "the sky 
 was full of stars night after night 
 what happened, I wonder?" 
 
 Dr. Melisander looked up at the 
 lad, raising his brows and half play 
 fully lifting a finger. 
 
 " Ah, that pleases me much, it 
 makes glad my heart that you 
 should ask me of this. Shall I tell 
 you I who have studied these 
 things many years shall I try to 
 tell you somewhat of this?" 
 
 All made ready to listen, bright 
 eyes glancing meanwhile at the 
 youth's earnest face in a way that 
 maidens have. The smile that 
 marked the story-teller's pleasure 
 lingered, then faded. 
 
 *' It troubles me, my friends, that 
 so many should think it must have
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 been some strange star a star 
 shining out of place and moving 
 above their heads near enough to 
 show them their way. Ah that 
 is to forget what manner of men 
 those old star watchers were ! Shall 
 I try to tell you how I think of the 
 star they saw ? " 
 
 The ripple of pleasure in our 
 group left no room for misgiving. 
 The old man sat rubbing his palms 
 together. He laughed quietly, 
 watching the flurry of expectancy 
 and peering into one and another 
 of the faces around him. 
 
 " Well, let me see let me see ! " 
 Then his eyes grew grave. Would 
 that I could cause the mellow tones 
 of his voice to be heard as I tell 
 how he went on. 
 
 " I used to think upon these things 
 when our home was first in Bethle 
 hem. Many an evening I would go 
 out on the hillsides or walk along the 
 road that leads down from Jerusalem 
 and watch the stars above our little 
 town. And I would say to myself, 
 ' Here those Magi stood, and they 
 looked on those stars as I do now. 1 
 Then I would ponder on the words 
 about the star that went before 
 them. ' How could a star go be 
 fore them ? ' I would ask alone in 
 the dark. 
 
 " I knew well what learned men 
 had written of these things; above
 
 all, I had read many times what one 
 of the greatest among them had left 
 on record how he had seen Jupiter 
 and Saturn shining together as never 
 before in his time and somehow had 
 thought of the star the Magi saw 
 how he had reckoned the times when 
 they had so met before and found 
 that of a truth the same shining 
 wonder was in the sky three times in 
 a single year just before that birth 
 in Bethlehem-" 
 
 "And was that the star the wise 
 men saw ? " Some one was too eager 
 to wait. It was the voice of a girl. 
 Dr. Melisander shook his head, smil 
 ing at this token of success, but he 
 did not look at the questioner. 
 
 "I cannot say that cannot 
 quite say that, though this great 
 man believed it was indeed the very 
 star. There was a skyful of stars, 
 you know, and those old Magi were 
 watching them all with their own 
 way of thinking. Yet with such 
 wonder-bearing skies do you not 
 see? It is most beautiful to think 
 of it all as they did ! This is what 
 I tried to do as I watched the stars 
 over Bethlehem. 
 
 " One night ah, how well do I 
 remember it ! I had strolled along 
 the road as far as the Tomb of 
 Rachel, a mile or more toward 
 Jerusalem, and had turned home 
 ward. Bethlehem was lifted before 

 
 A 
 
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 me on the hillside. Its flat-roofed 
 houses were spread in the starlight 
 from the high ridge of the hill rising 
 against the west down the slope lead 
 ing to the fields and sheep pastures 
 eastward. The air was sweet and 
 cleai\ I could see where the orchards 
 and gardens were on the terraces 
 about the hill and even the fields 
 below where shepherds were keeping 
 watch over their flocks. I remem 
 ber that I heard a man's voice call 
 ing somewhere in the valley and 
 knew it was a shepherd's outcry to 
 drive off some prowling wild beast. 
 But this only made me feel more 
 than before how still it was. 
 
 " The stars that night had thrown 
 a deep spell upon me. I lingered 
 long. So it was that I fell to watch 
 ing hour by hour what I had never 
 thought of before. The stars in the 
 southern sky appeared to be moving 
 before me right over our small 
 town there on the hill. I watched 
 them far into the night, until one and 
 another went down. And as their 
 beautiful procession moved on and 
 on, I noticed that the hill raised 
 itself against the western sky so 
 that as I looked up the stars seemed 
 at last to hover over its top. Then 
 I thought of the words, 'And the 
 star, which they saw in the east, went 
 before them, till it came and stood 
 over where the young child was.'
 
 CHRISTMAS FIRE 
 
 "This filled me with joyful ques 
 tioning. ' Can it be, 1 I said, ' that 
 this was the very sight which the 
 Magi saw ? ' 
 
 " While I thought upon this a 
 star strangely bright and sparkling 
 was shining low in the west. I had 
 been watching its beauty, knowing 
 that two of the brightest stars in 
 the sky were shining there as one. 
 So I came to the spot where the 
 road divides as it nears Bethlehem. 
 I was about to follow its way west 
 ward around the hill. But suddenly 
 I know not how I turned and 
 followed the road to the low eastern 
 slope where the traveler faces the 
 west as he climbs the hill into Beth 
 lehem. And lo ! I tell you what 
 I saw that gleaming star seemed 
 to stand of a truth above the high, 
 dark top of the hill ! 
 
 " ' Can it be," 1 1 said, being amazed, 
 * can it be that I have seen what the 
 Magi saw as they, too, came by this 
 road into Bethlehem ?' 
 
 "So I climbed the hill-road and 
 entered our home, thinking of the 
 Magi and the young child, and 
 wondering ! " 
 
 He ceased speaking. Was it the 
 memory of that star over the hilltop 
 or yearning for his Bethlehem home 
 which gave him pause ? His brood 
 ing face was overcast with pensive 
 light. He startled when one of our
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 company said, " Oh, if we could only 
 know whether that star also was 
 there when the wise men came ! " 
 
 " But we do know," he answered, 
 " we do know ! With what joy 
 have I learned that an astronomer 
 here in your own country watched 
 that very conjunction of Jupiter and 
 Venus and thought of the star of 
 the Magi and made reckonings 
 which leave no doubt ! That star 
 which I myself watched above the 
 Bethlehem hill was there indeed 
 near the time when Mary's son was 
 born!" 
 
 He quickly lifted his arms and 
 sat thus a moment, making a noble 
 picture in the firelight. Then speak 
 ing under his breath and with an 
 old man's trembling, he exclaimed, 
 " Oh, do you wonder that I, who 
 have been deep into the desert 
 who have sat beside a little tent 
 watching the glories of night in that 
 clear silence I, who have gazed 
 on the stars over Bethlehem, stand 
 ing in the very road along which 
 the Magi came do you wonder 
 that I would have you cease think 
 ing of some passing miracle-star and 
 remember what the Magi surely saw ? 
 In them the learning of the ancient 
 world was finding its way to our 
 Christ ! " 
 
 The manner of the man was so 
 kindled by his earnestness, his person 
 
 ,
 
 CHRISTMAS FIRE 
 
 so patriarchal, his voice so sweet and 
 touched with the pathos of the East, 
 that a hush never to be forgotten 
 followed these words. No one spoke. 
 Lowering his hands to his knees he 
 sat looking at us. 
 
 "They knew not where to find 
 the Babe at first ! " he said at length. 
 "They only understood that he was 
 born somewhere among the Jews. 
 Not until they had come to the 
 Jewish capital asking, ' Where is he 
 that is born King of the Jews ? ' 
 not until they had heard the 
 scholars of the holy city saying, * In 
 Bethlehem of Judea ' not until 
 they had taken the six-mile road 
 southward to our little town, did 
 that star which they had seen in the 
 east and taken for a sign appear to 
 go before them. Then they rejoiced 
 with exceeding great joy ! " 
 
 He raised his hand and silently 
 scanned the faces about him. Then 
 he said slowly, " So learning 1 was on 
 the way to Bethlehem" 
 
 Our Christmas fire was burning 
 low when Dr. Melisander reached 
 this point in his narrative. The 
 light of flames was gone and our 
 company was covered with the glow 
 of red embers. 
 
 . So intent had we been that none 
 had noticed Christina since she 
 pointed to the sign of the star. 
 But now the father suddenly be-
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 thought himself and turned to his 
 daughter. She had dropped to her 
 knees at the hearth. Like a wor 
 shiper we saw her in the radiance, 
 her face pure as the ruddy light. 
 
 "Have you seen it, my child 
 have you seen it?" 
 
 "Yes, my father." She looked 
 up, but only for a moment. 
 
 The girPs young grace touched 
 the father's heart ; he uttered words 
 which, if I mistake not, meant 
 " Favor of God " ; and the old man 
 smiled, looking at his daughter the 
 while. 
 
 Then with quietness, yet as if in 
 haste, he went on : 
 
 " Down that same road not long 
 before, I know not how long two 
 travelers had passed before those 
 Magi, a man and a young woman. 
 I Slowly, gently he led her on. In 
 their hearts was a strange joy. For 
 they, too, had received a sign. When 
 they came in sight of Bethlehem the 
 man was glad ; for the journey had 
 been long for her and the roads 
 rough. But when they reached the 
 town on the hill, there was no room 
 for them in the inn ! All the lodg 
 ing stalls around the court where 
 travelers tied up their beasts for the 
 night were filled by those who had 
 come before them. Then the man 
 made ready a resting-place for the 
 weary woman in one of the hillside 
 
 l\
 
 CHRISTMAS FIRE 
 
 caves, which were often used in this 
 way by the poor." 
 
 Dr. Melisander stopped. In the 
 hush that was upon us he said, "*Sb 
 love had come to Bethlehem.' 1 '' 
 
 Then speaking in low tones as of 
 a mystery, he went on : 
 
 "Before long it was night, and 
 the shepherds who tended the Temple 
 sheep were keeping watch over their 
 flocks in the pastures around Beth 
 lehem a strange thing happened! 
 These working men knew how the 
 teachers of their religion up at the 
 Temple were looking for a Saviour 
 to come ! They could not forget 
 how men said that he was to be 
 born in Bethlehem there on the hill ! 
 And as they kept watch that night, 
 alone, under the bright stars, they 
 had a vision a heavenly messenger 
 and a light shining round them 
 a voice saying that a Saviour was 
 even then born in Bethlehem. And 
 these frightened shepherds heard the 
 voice saying, ' This is the sign unto 
 you : Ye shall find a babe wrapped 
 in swaddling clothes, and lying in 
 a manger.' 1 
 
 " When all was silent and they 
 were standing alone in the starry 
 pastures, they soon started for Beth 
 lehem. And when they had found 
 the cave, the sign came true ! There 
 was a babe and it was wrapped 
 in bands just as the little ones of
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 shepherds were and of a truth it 
 was lying in a common manger ! " 
 
 Once more he lifted his hand, 
 smiling as he said, "So labor had 
 come to Bethlehem!' 1 '' 
 
 Presently he glanced at Christina, 
 who had remained on her knees be 
 fore the fire. 
 
 " How gladly do we watch for this 
 sign," he exclaimed, " the sign given 
 to those working men ! "' Quickly 
 he leaned toward his daughter. 
 And the girl, her countenance beam 
 ing with delight in a custom of her 
 childhood, pointed into the bank 
 of coals pointed to a little hollow 
 all aglow with light. 
 
 "Do you not see it?" he cried, 
 bending over the embers. " Do you 
 not see it the sign of the cave 
 with the manger?" 
 
 The waning firelight lent its 
 witchery, making the quaint fancy 
 the more vivid, and for my part I 
 could almost see the dim outline 
 of the manger! 
 
 The old man's voice was in keep 
 ing with the soft light and the 
 tenderness of the moment as he 
 raised himself and said : " How the 
 shepherd children would listen when 
 their fathers told at home of the 
 babe they had seen in the manger 
 in the cave ! There is a little 
 song of what they would say a 
 song which Christina has often sung 
 
 I
 
 CHEISTMAS FIRE 
 
 for me when we have looked upon 
 this sign in Christmas fires. Sing 
 it for us to-night, my daughter ; let 
 your father hear once more the song 
 you learned when when you were 
 a little child." 
 
 Then the girl, still kneeling in 
 the red glow, sang in a voice gentle 
 as a child's at prayer this Song of 
 the Shepherd Children. 
 
 " Know you the hillside ? 
 
 Know you where the cave is ? 
 Heard you there a baby voice where cattle 
 
 lowed before ? 
 Oh, may we children go ? 
 Soft shall be our footsteps 
 Softly will we sing to him, kneeling at the 
 door : 
 
 ' Kyrie ! * Kyrie ! Dear little stranger ! 
 Dark is the cave and rough is the manger 
 Well do the children of shepherds know. 
 Is a soft arm around you pressed ? 
 Are you held close to a warm, sweet 
 
 breast ? 
 How gently you slumber with naught to 
 
 molest ; 
 
 Oh, well do we children know! we 
 know! 
 
 II 
 
 " Heard you an angel ? 
 
 Heard you voices singing ? 
 Saw you light upon the hill around the 
 
 frightened sheep? 
 Oh, truly did they say, 
 Christ and Lord and Saviour ? 
 This shall be our song to him while he 
 lies asleep : 
 
 The Greek word for Lord.
 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 " Kyrie ! Kyrie ! Angels may name you 
 Saviour of all, yet still can we claim you 
 
 Well do we Bethlehem children know. 
 Over yon hill a great city lies 
 Kingdoms are far away under the skies ; 
 Your manger will some day be dear in 
 
 their eyes ! 
 
 For you are a King we know ! we 
 know ! " 
 
 Who of us that sat in the dim 
 radiance of that Christmas fire and 
 listened to the Greek girl's singing 
 can ever forget it ! No one was 
 willing to break the hush which 
 Christina's voice had made. Her 
 father sat gazing upon the coals 
 with the light of far memories in 
 
 At length I ventured to say : 
 " You have not told us, sir. of the 
 sign given before love came to Beth 
 lehem. Is that to be seen here also?" 
 
 " Oh," he answered gently, " that 
 is in your hearts in your hearts ! 
 Do you not remember ? When the 
 promise of a son was given to Mary 
 in Nazareth and she asked for a sign 
 do you not remember? 'That 
 which is to be born shall be called 
 holy, the Son of God.' Has not 
 that sign come true at this fireside 
 to-night ? " 
 
 Presently Christina rose, seated 
 herself close to her father and laid 
 her hand on his knee. Together 
 they bat, still looking into the fire 
 place as if loath to turn away. 
 
 V/ 
 
 i
 
 After a time the father said : 
 "So love and labor and learning 
 came to Bethlehem. And these 
 three stand for all that is good in 
 the whole world."" 
 
 Half playfully he took his daugh 
 ter's hand in his own and drew it to 
 his breast as he added, " And the 
 greatest of these is love ! " 
 
 Then the girl, leaning toward 
 him, looked up into his face with 
 a sweet rapture in her eyes and said 
 softly, " Merry Christmas, my good 
 father ! " 
 
 We heard the bells in neighbor 
 ing spires pealing through the dark. 
 We listened while they sounded over 
 the snow-whitened city the joy of 
 Christmas Eve. 
 
 " Yes," said Dr. Melisander, rising 
 when their music ceased for a time, 
 "Yes, a Merry Christmas to you I 
 all!" 
 
 When I had placed his cloak on 
 his broad shoulders and we stood 
 for the moment alone in the hall, 
 he said in undertone : " Ah, sir, she 
 does not 'know, my daughter must 
 never know the memories which 
 come to me when I look on her 
 beauty in the light of a Christmas 
 fire. But you are a father, sir 
 may I not speak of this to you 
 will you not share my burden ? " 
 
 He has laid down his burden now ; 
 and the years have let his daughter 

 
 THE SIGNS IN THE 
 
 know how heavy it was from other 
 lips than mine. Therefore none 
 can blame me for telling what he 
 said that night ere we parted. 
 
 "When she was a babe in Beth 
 lehem, her mother and I used to 
 watch for those signs, rejoicing to- 
 g^her and saying, ' So will we teach 
 our child the Bethlehem story 
 soon, very soon now.' But, sir, 
 before our little one knew words, 
 my wife was taken from me ! " 
 
 " Taken from you ! " I repeated. 
 
 "Ah, you cannot understand 
 you know not the lot of villagers in 
 that sacred land, what feuds break 
 out, what uprisings of allies seeking 
 revenge ! Then come the Moslem 
 soldiers many are carried away to 
 prisons, it matters not who and 
 money, much money must be paid. 
 At such a time was my gentle wife 
 taken. My hands were helpless. It 
 was more than she could endure ; 
 and soon my beautiful Miladeh 
 daughter of Christmastide was 
 no more! And I to save her 
 daughter I am a sojourner in far 
 lands; even to your America have 
 I come. For I am growing old, sir, 
 and I would leave her when I 
 must leave her in a Christian 
 land." 
 
 The old man drew his cloak about 
 him and fastened it under his beard. 
 
 "Yours is a Christian land is
 
 CHRISTMAS FIRE 
 
 it not, sir? a Christian land in 
 deed. Hear those great bells once 
 more filling your city with the music 
 of Christmas Eve ! " 
 
 Then he turned to the group of 
 girls talking in the happiness of the 
 time around his daughter. 
 
 "Come, Christina!" he called 
 cheerily, "we must go our way be 
 fore the bells cease ringing." 
 
 But none of them knew what 
 bravery was in that tone of cheer ! 
 
 Out in the falling snow we saw 
 Christina place her arm in his. 
 Once more we called, " Merry Christ 
 mas." And as they went their way 
 the great bells were ringing still.