Read "The Ballad of Calnan's Christmas" by Helen Gray Cone online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
When you hear the fire-gongs beat fierce along the startled street, / See the great-limbed horses bound, and the gleaming engine sway, / And the driver in his place, with his fixed, heroic face, / Say a prayer for Calnan's sake -- he that died on Christmas day!
Cling! Cling! Each to his station! / Clang! Clang! Quick to clear the way! / (Christ keep the soldiers of salvation, / Fighting nameless battles in the war of every day! )