On Sunday he breaks loose like all possessed.

At least we’re here and safe, therefore rejoice,

But I shall sing no more, I’ve strained my voice!”

“I thought ’twould break,” they heard the pastor say,

“It has been cracked for many, many a day.”

—Copyright by Forbes & Co., Chicago, and used by kind permission of author and publisher.

THE CHRISTMAS RING

By Fred Emerson Brooks

May was pretty, plump and pretty, and with such a lovely soul

That a smile lit up her features like a mental aureole.