The Christmas Carol
Words: Romaine Joseph Thorn
London: T. N. Longman, 1795
Source: Henry Vizetelly, Christmas With The Poets (London: David Bogue, 1851).
Now too is heard
The hapless cripple, tuning through the streets
His Carol new; and oft, amid the gloom
Of midnight hours, prevailed th' accustomed sounds
Of wakeful Waits, whose melody (composed
Of hautboy, organ, violin and flute,
And various other instruments of mirth,)
Is meant to celebrate the coming time.
Note from Vizetelly:
The annexed descriptions of the various features of the Christmas season are extracted from a poem of considerable length, entitled "Christmas," written by Romaine Joseph Thorn, and published towards the close of the eighteenth century. We have been unable to meet with a copy of this poem; our extracts have therefore been made from Brand's "Popular Antiquities," vol. i., and comprise, of course, only such passages as have been selected for that work.
Editor's Note:
An electronic copy is available at the University of Arizona Library, but subject to licensing agreements and therefore not publicly available. No copies appeared in WorldCat as of September 28, 2006.
The six poem segments reproduced by Vizetelly are:
Excerpts from "Christmas," Romaine Joseph Thorne
Evergreen-Decking At Christmas
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