A Wonderful Night By JAMES H. SNOWDEN Decorations by Maud and Miska Petersham * * * * * Nights differ as much as days. Some nights have witnessed great events and been charged with ethical significance in the history of the world. One such night stands forth crowned with supreme distinction, the night that heard angels sing, and was starred with the Birth of Bethlehem. This book treats the various events and steps that led to the central wonder and interprets the story in terms of its significance today and invests it with poetic light. * * * * * THE MACMILLAN COMPANY PUBLISHERS :: NEW YORK [Transcriber's note: The above text is taken from the front flap of the dust jacket.] A Wonderful Night THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICHAGO · DALLAS ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO [Illustration] A Wonderful Night An Interpretation of Christmas By James H. Snowden Decorations by Maud and Miska Petersham [Illustration] The Macmillan Company Publishers MCMXIX Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1919. Contents CHAPTER I. An Age of Wonders II. Preparation for the Event III. A Wonderful Fulfillment of Prophecy IV. An Historical Event V. Simplicity of the Narrative VI. The Town of Bethlehem VII. The Wonderful Night Draws Near VIII. The Birth IX. No Room in the Inn X. Angel Ministry XI. Angels and Shepherds XII. The Concert in a Sheep Pasture XIII. The First Visitors to Bethlehem XIV. The Star and the Wise Men XV. A Frightened King XVI. An Impotent Destroyer XVII. Splendid Gifts XVIII. Was a Child the Best Christmas Gift to the World? XIX. A World Without Christmas XX. Has the Christmas Song Survived the World War? XXI. The Light of the World O Little town of Bethleham, 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. --Phillips Brooks. [Illustration: A Wonderful Night] [Illustration: A Wonderful Night] I. An Age of Wonders [Transcriber's note: The first letter of each chapter is in the form of an illustrated dropped capital.] We live in an age of wonders. Great discoveries and startling events crowd upon us so fast that we have scarcely recovered from the bewildering effects of one before another comes, and we are thus kept in a constant whirl of excitement. The heavens are full of shooting stars, and while watching one we are distracted by another. So frequent is this experience that our nerves almost refuse to respond to the shock of a new sensation. We are no longer surprised at surprises. The marvelous has become the commonplace, and the unexpected is what we now expect.