Dear Friends,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose life spanned most of the 19th century was born in Portland, Maine. He was an educator who became the most popular American poet of his day. He penned such classics as Paul Revere's Ride, The Song of Hiawatha and Evangeline. One of his lesser-known works was entitled, The Three Kings. Here are several of the stanzas:
Three Kings came riding from far away,
Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar;
Three Wise Men out of the East were they,
And they travelled by night and they slept by day,
For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star.
And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard,
Through the silent street, till their horses turned
And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;
But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,
And only a light in the stable burned.
And cradled there in the scented hay,
In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,
The little child in the manger lay,
The child, that would be king one day
Of a kingdom not human but divine.
They laid their offerings at his feet:
The gold was their tribute to a King,
The frankincense, with its odor sweet,
Was for the Priest, the Paraclete,
The myrrh for the body's burying.
The most important journey we can make, especially during these hectic holidays, is to seek the Saviour with the gift of our hearts. I trust you will personally experience the good news of the true meaning of Christmas. On behalf of the employees of Jos. T. Fewkes & Co., I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your valued business this past year. May you and yours continue to enjoy God's blessings this holiday season and in the New Year ahead.
Raymond E. Gillin
President
