Just hark to the Christmas bells!
Gay mirth is around each social hearth,
With rapture each bosom swells,
And each soul owns the mystical power
Of this ancient music’s spells—
“Ting-Ting-a-Tong-Tong,” &c.
The gay dance runs through the laurell’d hall,
Where youth and fair beauty dwells;
But o’er the brisk sounds that time their steps,
A deep-toned sound excels—