He ceased , and all the spirits reverently uncovered their gray heads as a strain of music floated up from the sleeping city and died among the stars . `` Like yours , my report is not satisfactory in all respects , '' began the second spirit , who wore a very pointed cap and a finely ornamented cloak . But , though his dress was fresh and youthful , his face was old , and he had nodded several times during his brother 's speech . `` My greatest affliction during the past year has been the terrible extravagance which prevails . My post , as you know , is at the court end of the city , and I see all the fashionable vices and follies . It is a marvel to me how so many of these immortal creatures , with such opportunities for usefulness , self-improvement and genuine happiness can be content to go round and round in one narrow circle of unprofitable and unsatisfactory pursuits . I do my best to warn them ; Sunday after Sunday I chime in their ears the beautiful old hymns that sweetly chide or cheer the hearts that truly listen and believe ; Sunday after Sunday I look down on them as they pass in , hoping to see that my words have not fallen upon deaf ears ; and Sunday after Sunday they listen to words that should teach them much , yet seem to go by them like the wind . They are told to love their neighbor , yet too many hate him because he possesses more of this world 's goods or honors than they : they are told that a rich man can not enter the kingdom of heaven , yet they go on laying up perishable wealth , and though often warned that moth and rust will corrupt , they fail to believe it till the worm that destroys enters and mars their own chapel of ease . Being a spirit , I see below external splendor and find much poverty of heart and soul under the velvet and the ermine which should cover rich and royal natures . Our city saints walk abroad in threadbare suits , and under quiet bonnets shine the eyes that make sunshine in the shady places . Often as I watch the glittering procession passing to and fro below me . I wonder if , with all our progress , there is to-day as much real piety as in the times when our fathers , poorly clad , with weapon in one hand and Bible in the other , came weary distances to worship in the wilderness with fervent faith unquenched by danger , suffering and solitude . `` Yet in spite of my fault-finding I love my children , as I call them , for all are not butterflies . Many find wealth no temptation to forgetfulness of duty or hardness of heart . Many give freely of their abundance , pity the poor , comfort the afflicted , and make our city loved and honored in other lands as in our own . They have their cares , losses , and heartaches as well as the poor ; it is n't all sunshine with them , and they learn , poor souls , that '' ` Into each life some rain must fall , Some days must be dark and dreary . ' `` But I 've hopes of them , and lately they have had a teacher so genial , so gifted , so well-beloved that all who listen to him must be better for the lessons of charity , good-will and cheerfulness which he brings home to them by the magic of tears and smiles . We know him , we love him , we always remember him as the year comes round , and the blithest song our brazen tongues utter is a Christmas carol to the Father of ` The Chimes ! ' '' As the spirit spoke his voice grew cheery , his old face shone , and in a burst of hearty enthusiasm he flung up his cap and cheered like a boy . So did the others , and as the fairy shout echoed through the belfry a troop of shadowy figures , with faces lovely or grotesque , tragical or gay , sailed by on the wings of the wintry wind and waved their hands to the spirits of the bells .
As the excitement subsided and the XXXXX reseated themselves , looking ten years younger for that burst , another spoke .
butterflies dress honors lands neighbor others post spirits sunshine weapon