Christmas Eve 2020 is a fitting day to look back to a Christmas poem published in the Maryland Gazette 250 years ago. The verses penned by “P. K_N___DY” (perhaps a Mr. Kennedy?) were dedicated to Robert Eden, the last appointed proprietary governor of Maryland.
I must admit right up front to not having a great appreciation for 18th-century poetry. I find much of it to be pretty heavy going, and this piece is no exception to the rule. Unsurprisingly for a Christmas poem of 1770, this one starts out as a paean to the birth of the Christ Child. But after a somewhat curious middle section in which the newborn babe delivers a 24-line soliloquy of rhyming couplets (don’t take my word for it—you can read it all here: https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc4800/sc4872/001281/html/m1281-1194.html), things get more interesting.
The poet goes on to consider how “Ye People of the Earth” should respond to the arrival of the “Infant Lord.” Instead of bringing the standard biblical gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, 18th-century worshipers might bear “rich Presents” from the “fragrant Coast of India” (then part of Great Britain’s flourishing global trade network) or “Peru’s glowing Fields” (then part of Spain’s declining colonial empire). A coming golden age of worldwide peace would witness not only the “lordly Lion” playing with “frisking Lambs” but also the “tim’rous Stag” getting along famously with “friendly Hounds,” probably much to the consternation of aristocratic deer hunters.
The poet follows up with a dressing down of those who see this joyous season merely as a time for conspicuous consumption. Remember, the colonial boycott of certain English imports was still in effect, and Governor Eden had failed to keep Maryland legislators from passing resolutions in support of the partial economic shutdown. Those who “reclin’d at Ease on Beds of Down, Amid th’ Enjoyments of a giddy Town” should put aside “Soft Lux’ry, Wealth and empty Pride” and forswear their “ill-got Treasures.” Considering the humble setting of the first Christmas would teach “vain Mortals, to be truly wise, And all the Vanities of Life despise!”
During this holiday season at the end of a challenging year, we at Historic Annapolis join with the poet of 1770 in wishing you “rising Joys” to cheer your Eye and gladden your Soul!
Glenn E. Campbell
HA Senior Historian
