In Vigilia Nativitatis, December 1913

The December 1913 edition of The Vineyard included the following poem by James Archibald Campbell, a writer I am still keen to discover more about.

The Flight Into Egypt by Arthur Hughes
Frontispiece, The Vineyard, December 1913

A young pine stood there, gaunt, on high,

Against the leaden northern sky;

Cold as abstractions, made abstruse,

Sharp as an argument's abuse.

Just then a little boy went past,

And clasped his hands around its mast.

"How strong it is, and brave !" said he,

"God meant it for a Christmas Tree,

To scare with lights dark night's alarms,

And carry gifts on all its arms.

Father, do young tree's fingers too

Get nipped by frost, as children's do

We'll dress it in the warm fire's glow

Where Santa Claus goes to and fro,

Then plant it, sheltered from the snow,

Till the dear Christ Child makes it grow!"