When the bright lamp is carried in,
The sunless hours again begin;
O'er all without, in field and lane,
The haunted night returns again.
Now we behold the embers flee
About the firelit hearth; and see
Our faces painted as we pass,
Like pictures, on the window-glass.
Must we to bed, indeed? Well then,
Let us arise and go like men,
And face with an undaunted tread
The long, black passage up to bed.
Farewell, O brother, sister, sire!
O pleasant party round the fire?
The songs you sing, the tales you tell,
Till far to-morrow, fare ye well!
[Illustration]