midnight
`` Thou art a little saint , '' rejoined the stranger hopefully , `` and thou shalt gladden many . '' Wonderful boy of long ago ! Come now and tell -- As aged man , with beard of snow And hair all white , what gave thy name , Adown the years , the glow of fame ? Explain thy spell O'er countless children waiting thee In varied home , -- Afar inland , beside the sea , In lonely cot , and crowded town , -- Awatching oft in midnight gown , For thee to come . Wert thou a selfish , cunning boy ? Ah no , ah no ! Tradition findeth no alloy In thy make-up , but giveth thee A generous heart , from baseness free , Alike the snow .