The Tree of Life is the real Christmas Tree. Its underwoven roots support the cradle; its branches, overarching with many a blossom and many a cluster, form the canopy of the Heavenly Babe, the Darling of God and of man. 'The fruit thereof is for meat, the leaf thereof for medicine;' mindful of which the holy Evangelists speak of the crib as a '_manger_,' that is the _feeding place_. 'Lo! we heard of the same at (Bethlehem) Ephrata, and found it in the Wood.' The Gospel songs express the joy with which by the humble and simple and pure-hearted this Plant of Renown is discovered; this House of Bread visited. They come from the lips of a maiden who is a mother, of an ancient who is a child, of a priest who is a prophet. When such fountains of song are unsealed, the music belongs rather to heaven than to earth. FOOTNOTES: [9] _See_ Isaiah xix. 19-25. [10] Psalm cix. 4: 'I am prayer' is the literal translation.--KAY. LONDON: PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET