Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — A Christmas Carol

I hear along our street        &nbsp Pass the minstrel throngs;        &nbsp Hark! they play so sweet, On their hautboys, Christmas songs!       &nbsp Let us by the fire       &nbsp Ever higher Sing them till the night expire!        &nbsp In December ring        &nbsp Every day the chimes;        &nbsp Loud the gleemen sing In the streets their merry rhymes.       &nbsp Let us by the fire       &nbsp Ever higher Sing them till the night expire.        &nbsp Shepherds at the grange,        &nbsp Where the Babe was born,        &nbsp Sang, with many a change, Christmas carols until morn.       &nbsp Let us by the fire       &nbsp Ever higher Sing them till the night expire!        &nbsp These good people sang        &nbsp Songs devout and sweet;        &nbsp While the rafters rang, There they stood with freezing feet.       &nbsp Let us by the fire       &nbsp Ever higher Sing them till the night expire.        &nbsp Nuns in frigid veils        &nbsp At this holy tide,        &nbsp For want of something else, Christmas songs at times have tried.       &nbsp Let us by the fire       &nbsp Ever higher Sing them fill the night expire!        &nbsp Washerwomen old,        &nbsp To the sound they beat,        &nbsp Sing by rivers cold, With uncovered heads and feet.       &nbsp Let us by the fire       &nbsp Ever higher Sing them till the night expire.        &nbsp Who by the fireside stands        &nbsp Stamps his feet and sings;        &nbsp But he who blows his hands Not so gay a carol brings.       &nbsp Let us by the fire       &nbsp Ever higher Sing them till the night expire!