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He stood before the image of Christ， and on his right hand and on his left were the marvellous vessels of gold， the chalice with the yellow wine， and the vial with the holy oil。 He knelt before the image of Christ， and the great candles burned brightly by the jewelled shrine， and the smoke of the incense curled in thin blue wreaths through the dome。 He bowed his head in prayer， and the priests in their stiff copes crept away from the altar。
And suddenly a wild tumult came from the street outside， and in entered the nobles with drawn swords and nodding plumes， and shields of polished steel。 “Where is this dreamer of dreams？” they cried。 “Where is this King who is apparelled like a beggar—this boy who brings shame upon our state？ Surely we will slay him， for he is unworthy to rule over us。 ”
And the young King bowed his head again， and prayed， and when he had finished his prayer he rose up， and turning round he looked at them sadly。
And lo！ through the painted windows came the sunlight streaming upon him， and the sun…beams wove round him a tissued robe that was fairer than the robe that had been fashioned for his pleasure。 The dead staff blossomed， and bare lilies that were whiter than pearls。 The dry thorn blossomed， and bare roses that were redder than rubies。 Whiter than fine pearls were the lilies， and their stems were of bright silver。 Redder than male rubies were the roses， and their leaves were of beaten gold。
He stood there in the raiment of a king， and the gates of the jewelled shrine flew open， and from the crystal of the many…rayed monstrance shone a marvellous and mystical light。 He stood there in a king’s raiment， and the Glory of God filled the place， and the saints in their carven niches seemed to move。 In the fair raiment of a king he stood before them， and the organ pealed out its music， and the trumpeters blew upon their trumpets， and the singing boys sang。
And the people fell upon their knees in awe， and the nobles sheathed their swords and did homage， and the Bishop’s face grew pale， and his hands trembled。 “A greater than I hath crowned thee，” he cried， and he knelt before him。
And the young King came down from the high altar， and passed home through the midst of the people。 But no man dared look upon his face， for it was like the face of an angel。
★、The Star…Child
Once upon a time two poor Woodcutters were making their way home through a great pine…forest。 It was winter， and a night of bitter cold。 The snow lay thick upon the ground， and upon the branches of the trees： the frost kept snapping the little twigs on either side of them， as they passed： and when they came to the Mountain…Torrent she was hanging motionless in air， for the Ice…King had kissed her。
So cold was it that even the animals and the birds did not know what to make of it。
“Ugh！” snarled the Wolf， as he limped through the brushwood with his tail between his legs， “this is perfectly monstrous weather。 Why doesn’t the Government look to it？”
“Weet！ weet！ weet！” twittered the green Lins， “the old Earth is dead and they have laid her out in her white shroud。”
“The Earth is going to be married， and this is her bridal dress，” whispered the Turtle…doves to each other。 Their little pink feet were quite frost…bitten， but they felt that it was their duty to take a romantic view of the situation。
“Nonsense！” growled the Wolf。 “I tell you that it is all the fault of the Government， and if you don’t believe me I shall eat you。” The Wolf had a thoroughly practical mind， and was never at a loss for a good argument。
“Well， for my own part， ” said the Woodpecker， who was a born philosopher， “I don’t care an atomic theory for explan…ations。 If a thing is so， it is so， and at present it is terribly cold。”
Terribly cold it certainly was。 The little Squirrels， who lived inside the tall fir…tree， kept rubbing each other’s noses to keep themselves warm， and the Rabbits curled themselves up in their holes， and did not venture even to look out of doors。 The only people who seemed to enjoy it were the great horned Owls。 Their feathers were quite stiff with rime， but they did not mind， and they rolled their large yellow eyes， and called out to each other across the forest， “Tu…whit！ Tu…whoo！ Tu…whit！ Tu…whoo！ what delightful weather we are having！”
On and on went the two Woodcutters， blowing lustily upon their fingers， and stamping with their huge iron…shod boots upon the caked snow。 Once they sank into a deep drift， and came out as white as millers are， when the stones are grinding； and once they slipped on the hard smooth ice where the marsh…water was frozen， and their faggots fell out of their bundles， and they had to pick them up and bind them together again； and once they thought that they had lost their way， and a great terror seized on them， for they knew that the Snow is cruel to those who sleep in her arms。 But they put their trust in the good Saint Martin， who watches over all travellers， and retraced their steps， and went warily， and at last they reached the outskirts of the forest， and saw， far down in the valley beneath them， the lights of the village in which they dwelt。
So overjoyed were they at their deliverance that they laughed aloud， and the Earth seemed to them like a flower of silver， and the Moon like a flower of gold。
Yet， after that they had laughed they became sad， for they remembered their poverty， and one of them said to the other， “Why did we make merry， seeing that life is for the rich， and not for such as we are？ Better that we had died of cold in the forest， or that some wild beast had fallen upon us and slain us。”
“Truly， ” answered his panion， “much is given to some， and little is given to others。 Injustice has parcelled out the world， nor is there equal division of aught save of sorrow。”
But as they were bewailing their misery to each other this strange thing happened。 There fell from heaven a very bright and beautiful star。 It slipped down the side of the sky， passing by the other stars in its course， and， as they watched it wondering， it seemed to them to sink behind a cl