The lovely town was white with apple-blooms,

And the great elms o'erhead

Dark shadows wove on their aerial looms,

Shot through with golden thread.

Across the meadows, by the gray old manse,

For the one face I looked for was not there,

The one low voice was mute ;

Only an unseen presence filled the air,

And baffled my pursuit.

Now I look back, and meadow, manse, and stream

Which at its topmost speed let fall the pen,

And left the tale half told.

Ah! who shall lift that wand of magic power,

And the lost clew regain ?

The unfinished window in Aladdin's tower

Unfinished must remain !

Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men !