And should the river of our happy laughter
Flow 'neath a sky no cloud yet overcasts,
We will not fear the shadows coming after,
But make the most of sunshine while it lasts.

A good New Year! Oh, let us all begin it
With cheerful faces turning to the light!
A good New Year, which will have blessings in it
If we but persevere and do aright.

--_E. Matheson._




CHAPTER III.

[Illustration]

YULE-TIDE IN GERMANY

"Feed the wood and have a joyful minute,
For the seeds of earthly suns are in it."

--_Goethe._


It was away back in the time of Alexander the Great that Germany was
made known to the civilized world by an adventurous sailor named