,illustration ,a little boy in ,miss ,harrison's kindergarten heard the story of the legend of the ,christ ,child1 told just prior to his going to ,europe for a three months trip with his father and mother4 ,while there his mother took him one day with her to see a collection of art photographs4 ,he looked at them quietly and thoughtfully for a time1 and then picking up a copy of the above picture he said1 ,mamma1 you told me ,i might take a present home to ,miss ,harrison1 and ,i would like to take her this picture1 because it looks just as ,i think the little ,christ ,child that she read us about must have looked4 ,so beautiful was the thought embodied in the story that it left the same impression upon the mind of the child that the great artist ,murillo had left upon canvas4 ,this is but one instance that great thoughts do make impressions upon the mind of the child4 ,,christmas-,,tide ,,by ,,elizabeth ,,harrison ,,co-,,principal ,,of ,,the ,,chicago ,,kindergarten ,,college ,,published ,,by ,,chicago ,,kindergarten ,,college #aj ,,van ,,buren ,,street ,,chicago ,,copyrighted #aijb ,,by ,,elizabeth ,,harrison ,,dedicated ,,to ,,my ,,father ,,from ,,whose ,,heart ,,and ,,life ,,age ,,cannot ,,banish ,,the ,,perpetual ,,christmas-,,tide --,e4 ,h4 ,,contents ,,page ,i4 ,,christmas ,,presents #i ,,ii4 ,,the ,,place ,,of ,,toys ,,in ,,the ,,education ,,of ,a ,,child #be ,,iii4 ,,how ,,to ,,celebrate ,,christmas #da ,,iv4 ,,santa ,,claus #di ,v4 ,a ,,christmas ,,experience #ee ,,vi4 ,a ,,christmas ,,carol #ha ,,vii4 ,,christmas ,,stories ,,for ,,the ,,children #bai ,,viii4 ,a ,,christmas ,,story ,,for ,,grown-,,ups #bcg ,,ix4 ,a ,,christmas ,,song #bdg ,x4 ,,bible ,,story ,,of ,,christmas #bea ,i4 ,,christmas ,,presents4 ,many mothers are sorely perplexed as the ,christmas-tide approaches by the problem of how to select such presents for their children as will help them rather than hinder them in their much-needed self-activity4 ,let the toys be simple1 strong1 and durable1 that your child may not gain habits of reckless extravagance and destruction which flimsy toys always engender4 ,remember a few good toys1 like a few good books1 are far better than many poor toys4 ,toys in which the child's own creative power has full play are far better than the finished toys from the ,french manufacturers4 ,in fact1 too complex a toy is like too highly seasoned food1 too elaborately written books1 too old society1 or any other mature thing forced upon the immature mind4 ,your choice should be based1 not so much on what the toy is1 as on what the child can do with it4 ,the instinctive delight of putting their own thought into their play-things instead of accepting the thought of the manufacturer explains why simple toys are often more pleasing to children than expensive ones4 ,the following list has been compiled from such toys as have delighted as well as have helped the children of kindergarten-trained mothers4 ,,toys ,,for ,,children ,,from ,,one ,,to ,,two ,,years ,,of ,,age4 ,linen picture-books1 rubber animals1 cotton-flannel animals1 rubber rings1 worsted balls1 strings of spools1 knit dolls1 rag dolls1 rubber dolls1 wooden animals 7unpainted71 new silver dollars4 ,the kindergarten materials helpful at this period of the child's development are the soft worsted balls of the first gift4 ,when the child begins to listen to sounds and to attempt to articulate1 the sphere1 cube1 and cylinder of the second gift may be given to him4 ,these two gifts1 when rightly used1 assist the clear1 distinct1 and normal growth of the powers of observation and aid the little one in expressing himself1 even before he has language at his command4 ,songs and games illustrative of the various ways in which these gifts can be used with a young child1 are to be found in the ,kindergarten ,guides now published4 ,some very good ones are included in the first year's course of study for mothers of the ,kindergarten ,college4 ,however1 almost any mother can invent plays with them for her child4 ,the kindergarten materials found most helpful for this period of the average child's growth are the second gift and the divided cubes of the third gift4 ,with the latter the child can early be trained into habits of constructive play1 rather than destructive play4 ,as all children like to transform and rearrange their toys1 this gift is particularly adapted to that purpose4 ,it is simple and easy to handle4 ,much logical training can be given the child by teaching him to change one form made with his blocks into another1 without scattering1 or entirely destroying the first form4 ,many suggestive forms may also be found in the various ,kindergarten ,guides already published4 ,a series of these are now being prepared by the ,college for general sale4 ,however1 the child himself will oftentimes name the forms made by some name of his own1 which should be accepted by the mother4 ,the wooden tablets1 sticks1 rings1 and points of the kindergarten can also be used with a child from three to four years of age though they are1 as a rule1 less satisfactory than the blocks4 ,the second gift beads furnish an almost exhaustless amusement for some children at this stage of their growth4 ,a long linen shoe-string with a firm knot tied at one end has been found to be the most serviceable kind of a string on which to string the beads4 ,knowledge of color1 form1 and number are also incidentally taught the child by these beads4 ,low sand tables are an almost endless pleasure to small children1 as sand is one of the most easily mastered of the materials of nature1 and can serve as a surface for the first efforts at drawing1 or can be the beginning of the childish attempts to mold the solid forms about him4 ,when lightly dampened it serves as an excellent substance on which to leave the impress of various objects of interest4 ,in fact1 there is scarcely any play in which the sand may not take part4 ,the child should be taught from the very beginning that he must not spill the sand upon the floor nor throw it at any one4 ,in case he violates these laws of neatness and safety1 the sand table may be removed for a time4 ,a blackboard and chalk are usually a source of much keen and innocent enjoyment to three and four year old children1 especially if the mother sometimes enters into the making of pictures1 or story-telling by means of pictures1 no matter how crudely drawn4 ,various other kindergarten occupations may be used by the trained mother--but the untrained mother often finds them confusing and of little use4 ,whenever it is possible the back yard should have a sand pile1 a load of kindling1 and a swing in it1 that the child in his instinctive desire to master material1 to construct1 and to be free1 may find these convenient friends to help him in his laudable aspirations4 ,the street has less temptations for children thus provided for4 ,,toys ,,for ,,children ,,from ,,three ,,to ,,five ,,years ,,of ,,age4 ,blackboard and crayon1 building blocks1 balls1 train of cars1 doll and cradle1 wooden beads to string1 small glass beads to string1 rocking-chair1 doll's carriage1 books with pictures of trade life1 flowers1 vegetables1 etc41 tracing cards and paper dolls1 toy poultry yard with fences1 trees1 a woman1 and a dozen ducks and chickens4 ,the more advanced gifts of the kindergarten now interest the child4 ,clay modeling and paper folding can easily be taught him1 and many of the simpler formulas for the mat weaving1 also some of the sewing4 ,a good kindergarten is the best play ground for a child at this stage of his development1 as he needs comrades of his own age and ability4 ,if a kindergarten cannot be had the mother must be as nearly a child herself as she knows how to be4 ,good1 simple1 wholesome stories now become a part of the child's life4 ,they form the door by which he is later to be led into the great world of literature4 ,therefore1 story-books may be numbered among the suitable toys for four and five year old children1 though stories told to the child are better4 ,almost any mother who has her child's best interests at heart can simplify the old ,greek myths as retold by ,hawthorne in his ,wonder ,book1 or the ,norse legends as given us by ,hamilton ,mabie in ,norse ,stories1 or the rich1 pithy experience of the ,teutonic peoples as collected in ,grimm's ,fairy ,tales4 ,all of these contain the seeds of wisdom which the early child races stored away in childish forms1 and therefore1 they delight the heart of the child of to-day and aid materially in cultivating his imagination in the right way4 ,,toys ,,for ,,children ,,from ,,five ,,to ,,six ,,years ,,of ,,age4 ,kitchen1 laundry and baking sets1 balls1 building blocks1 picture puzzles1 dissecting maps1 historical story-books1 outline picture-books to color with paint or crayon1 trumpet1 music-box1 desk1 blackboard1 wagon1 whip1 sled1 kite1 pipe for soap bubbles1 train of cars1 carpenter tools1 jackstraws1 hobby-horses1 substantial cook-stove1 sand table1 skates1 rubber boots1 broom1 ,richter's stone blocks1 shovel1 spade1 rake and hoe1 marbles1 tops1 swing and see-saw1 strong milk-wagon equipped with cylinder cans1 substantial churn1 a few bottles filled with water1 spices1 coffee1 sugar1 etc41 for a drug store4 ,ordinarily children of this age still love their kindergarten tools1 and can be led to do really pretty work with their mats1 folding1 pasting1 etc4 ,the fifth and sixth gifts#a now come into use and aid the child in more definite expression of his ideas4 ,more stories should be told1 and the beginning made of collections of pictures for scrap-books1 also collections of stones1 leaves1 curios for his own little cabinet4 ,many references may from time to time be made to the books to be read by and by1 which will tell him wonderful things about these treasures4 ,in this way a desire to learn to read is awakened1 and soon the world of nature and of books takes the place of toys1 except of course1 those by means of which bodily skill is gained and tested4 ,these later belong in general to the period of boyhood and girlhood4 #a ,see ,the ,kindergarten ,building ,gifts by ,elizabeth ,harrison and ,belle ,woodson4 ,to this list of ,christmas toys is added a list of books suitable for ,christmas gifts4 ,very handsome books are to be avoided1 as the child delights in handling his own books almost as much as his own toys4 ,the value of the right kind of books cannot be too much emphasized4 ,is not the food which you give to your child's mind of as much importance as that which you give to his body8 ,when your boy stops questioning you1 he has not stopped questioning concerning life and its problems2 he has turned to those silent companions which you have placed upon his bookshelf or on the library table4 ,shall heroes and prophets be his counselors1 or shall ,peck's ,bad ,boy and the villain of the dime novel teach him how to look at life8 ,it rests with you4 ,there is a great difference between books which are to be read to children1 those which are to be read with children1 and those which are to be read by children4 ,the second kind1 which are more profitable than the first1 require the mother's sympathetic and genuine interest in the subject-matter in hand2 and frequent stops for little talks about what has been read are necessary4 ,the third class are books for older children who can read well enough to peruse them alone2 but1 if the mother will take time to read them before giving them to the child1 she will strengthen the bonds of intellectual sympathy between herself and him4 ,,list ,no4 #a4 ,,for ,,children ,,under ,,six ,,years ,,of ,,age4 ,mother-play and ,nursery ,song1 by ,frederick ,froebel4 ,nursery ,finger ,plays1 by ,emile ,poulsson4 ,mother ,goose1 in one syllable4 ,songs for ,little ,ones1 by ,eleanor ,smith4 sop's ,fables1 in one syllable1 by ,mary ,mapes ,dodge4 ,boley's ,own sop2 illustrated by ,walter ,crane4 ,baby ,world1 by ,mary ,mapes ,dodge4 ,rhymes and ,jingles4 ,little ,people of the ,air1 by ,olive ,thorne ,miller4 ,nonsense ,book1 by ,edward ,sears4 ,,list ,no4 #b4 ,,for ,,children ,,from ,,six ,,to ,,eight ,,years ,,of ,,age4 ,doll ,world1 by ,mrs4 ,o4 ,reilly4 ,sparrow the ,tramp1 by ,wesselhoeft4 ,the ,joyous ,story of ,toto1 by ,l4 ,e4 ,richards4 ,doings of the ,bodley ,family1 by ,h4 ,e4 ,scudder4 ,bodleys ,telling ,stories1 by ,h4 ,e4 ,scudder4 ,the ,bird's ,christmas ,carol1 by ,k4 ,d4 ,wiggin4 ,hans ,andersen's ,fairy ,tales1 translated by ,h4 ,s4 ,brackstad4 ,alice's ,adventures in ,wonderland1 by ,lewis ,carroll4 ,bible ,stories from the ,old ,testament1 by ,richard ,g4 ,moulton4 ,moon ,folks1 by ,jane ,austin4 ,mopsa the ,fairy1 by ,ingelow4 ,evenings at ,home1 by ,barbould and ,aiken4 ,posies for ,children1 by ,anna ,lowell4 ,shanny and ,light ,house4 ,,list ,no4 #c4 ,,story-,,books4--,,for ,,children ,,between ,,the ,,ages ,,of ,,eight ,,and ,,fourteen4 ,seven ,little ,sisters1 by ,miss ,jane ,andrews4 ,each and ,all1 by ,miss ,jane ,andrews4 ,ten ,little ,boys on the ,way from ,long ,ago to ,now1 by ,miss ,jane ,andrews4 ,story of a ,short ,life1 by ,mrs4 ,juliana ,horatia ,ewing4 ,mary's ,meadow1 by ,mrs4 ,juliana ,horatia ,ewing4 ,jackanapes1 by ,mrs4 ,juliana ,horatia ,ewing4 ,dandelion ,clocks1 by ,mrs4 ,juliana ,horatia ,ewing4 ,the ,wonder ,book1 by ,nathaniel ,hawthorne2 illustrated by ,howard ,pyle4 ,tanglewood ,tales1 by ,nathaniel ,hawthorne2 illustrated by ,howard ,pyle4 ,true ,tales1 by ,nathaniel ,hawthorne4 ,fairy ,tales1 by ,jean ,mac4 ,grimm's ,household ,tales4 ,fairy ,tales1 by ,hans ,christian ,andersen4 ,two ,grey ,girls1 by ,ellen ,haile4 ,three ,brown ,boys1 by ,ellen ,haile4 ,chivalric ,days4 ,robinson ,crusoe1 by ,de ,foe4 ,hans ,brinker1 by ,mary ,mapes ,dodge4 ,arabian ,nights2 illustrated by ,a4 ,h4 ,houghton4 ,homer's ,iliad and ,odyssey2 illustrated by ,john ,flaxman4 ,shakespeare's ,tempest and ,two ,gentlemen of ,verona2 illustrated by ,walter ,crane4 ,gulliver's ,travels1 by ,dean ,swift2 illustrated by ,gordon ,browne4 ,legends of ,sleepy ,hollow1 by ,washington ,irving2 illustrated by ,a4 ,h4 ,houghton4 ,christmas ,stories1 by ,dickens2 illustrated by ,e4 ,a4 ,abbey4 ,child's ,dream of a ,star1 by ,dickens4 ,water ,babies1 by ,charles ,kingsley4 ,a ,child ,garden of ,verse1 by ,robert ,louis ,stevenson2 illustrated by ,charles ,robinson4 ,the ,boy with an ,idea1 ,putnam ,sons1 publishers4 ,young ,merchants1 ,putnam ,sons1 publishers4 ,boy ,engineer1 ,putnam ,sons1 publishers4 ,story of the ,nations 7#h vols471 ,putnam ,sons1 publishers4 ,adventures of ,ulysses1 by ,charles ,lamb4 ,tales from ,shakespeare1 by ,charles ,lamb4 ,stories from ,greek ,tragedians1 by ,rev4 ,a4 ,j4 ,church4 ,the ,golden ,age1 by ,james ,baldwin4 ,the ,vision of ,dante1 by ,elizabeth ,harrison2 illustrated by ,walter ,crane4 sop's ,fables 7without the moral explanations attached74 ,swiss ,family ,robinson4 ,the ,lame ,prince1 by ,miss ,mulock4 ,parables from ,nature1 by ,margaret ,gattey4 ,child ,life1 by ,j4 ,g4 ,whittier4 ,child's ,history of ,england1 by ,charles ,dickens4 ,in ,storyland1 by ,elizabeth ,harrison4 ,bible ,stories from the ,new ,testament1 by ,richard ,g4 ,moulton4 ,nonsense ,books1 by ,edward ,lear4 ,the ,monkey that ,would ,not ,kill1 by ,henry ,drummond4 ,the ,heroes1 by ,charles ,kingsley4 ,at the ,back of the ,north ,wind1 by ,george ,mac,donald4 ,uncle ,remus1 by ,joel ,chandler ,harris4 ,tom ,brown at ,rugby1 by ,thomas ,hughes4 ,nehe1 by ,anna ,pierpont ,siviter2 illustrated by ,chase ,emerson4 ,the ,princess ,story ,book4 ,the ,cruise of the ,cachalot1 by ,frank ,bullen4 ,the ,american ,boys' ,handy ,book1 by ,d4 ,c4 ,beard4 ,the ,jungle ,book1 by ,rudyard ,kipling4 ,boyhood is pre-eminently the period of perception4 ,hence all books on scientific subjects are helpful1 if they are simple enough to aid the child in seeing nature and her marvels4 ,the mother should be careful that the child does not rest in mere perception of the objects of nature1 but that he compares and classifies them1 and above all1 that he is led to trace a purpose in created things1 in order that he may learn to look through nature up to nature's ,god4 ,,list ,,of ,,children',s ,,books ,,on ,,scientific ,,subjects4 ,the ,story ,mother ,nature ,told1 by ,jane ,andrews4 ,child's ,book of ,nature 7#c vols471 by ,worthington ,hooper4 ,among the ,stars1 by ,agnes ,giberne4 ,history of a ,mouthful of ,bread1 by ,jean ,mac4 ,overhead1 by ,laura and ,anna ,moore4 ,life and ,her ,children1 by ,arabella ,buckley4 ,winners in ,life's ,race1 by ,arabella ,buckley4 ,fairyland of ,science1 by ,arabella ,buckley4 ,little ,folks in ,feathers and ,furs1 by ,olive ,thorne ,miller4 ,queer ,pets4 ,little ,lucy's ,wonderful ,globe1 by ,charlotte ,m4 ,yonge4 ,four ,feet1 ,two ,feet1 and ,no ,feet4 ,odd ,folks at ,home1 by ,c4 ,l4 ,mateaux4 ,tenants of an ,old ,farm ,yard1 by ,mc,cook4 ,home ,studies in ,nature1 by ,mary ,treat4 ,many other valuable books might be added to this list4 ,however1 a few good books are better than many less good ones4 ,it is well to lead a child to the world's great books as soon as possible4 ,enough have been given to show the kinds of books which are not hurtful to children4 ,each book on the above list has been personally inspected4 ,after all1 it is not so important what your child reads as what you read4 ,if the father reads nothing but the newspapers and the mother nothing but novels1 what then8 ,children are taught as much by the general tone of conversation of their parents as by the books they are given to read4 ,a ,,list ,,of ,,books ,,helpful ,,to ,,mothers ,,and ,,teachers ,,in ,,their ,,study ,,of ,,child ,,nature4 ,mother-play and ,nursery ,song1 by ,frederick ,froebel4 ,letters to a ,mother1 by ,susan ,e4 ,blow4 ,symbolic ,education1 by ,susan ,e4 ,blow4 ,commentaries of ,froebel's ,mother-play ,songs1 by ,denton ,j4 ,snider4 ,a ,study of ,child ,nature1 by ,elizabeth ,harrison4 ,the ,child1 by ,madam ,marenholtz von ,bulow4 ,household ,education1 by ,harriet ,martineau4 ,levana1 by ,jean ,paul ,richter4 ,christian ,nurture1 by ,horace ,bushnell4 ,conscious ,motherhood1 by ,emma ,marwedel4 ,bits of ,talk about ,home ,matters1 by ,h4 ,h4 ,reminiscences of ,froebel1 by ,madam ,marenholtz von ,bulow4 ,the ,children for ,christ1 by ,rev4 ,andrew ,murray4 ,from the ,cradle to the ,school1 by ,bertha ,meyer4 ,gentle ,measures in ,training the ,young1 by ,jacob ,abbott4 ,emil1 by ,jean ,paul ,rousseau4 ,leonard and ,gertrude1 by ,pestalozzi4 ,hints on ,early ,education1 ,anonymous4 ,for ,boys1 a ,special ,physiology1 by ,mrs4 ,e4 ,r4 ,shepherd4 ,for ,girls1 a ,special ,physiology1 by ,mrs4 ,e4 ,r4 ,shepherd4 ,,list ,,of ,,books ,,helpful ,,to ,,mothers ,,and ,,teachers ,,in ,,science4 ,steps in ,scientific ,knowledge1 by ,paul ,bert4 ,history of a ,mouthful of ,bread1 by ,jean ,mac4 ,ministry of ,nature1 by ,hugh ,macmillan4 ,bible ,teachings in ,nature1 by ,hugh ,macmillan4 ,sabbath in the ,fields1 by ,hugh ,macmillan4 ,elementary ,book of ,zology1 by ,packard4 ,little ,folks in ,feathers and ,furs1 by ,olive ,thorne ,miller4 ,the ,geological ,story ,briefly ,told1 by ,dana4 ,science ,primer--,geology1 by ,archibald ,geikie4 ,science ,primer--,botany1 by ,f4 ,d4 ,hooker4 ,science ,primer--,chemistry1 by ,h4 ,e4 ,roscoe4 ,madam ,how and ,lady ,why1 by ,charles ,kingsley4 ,principles of ,geology1 by ,lyell4 ,how ,plants ,grow1 by ,gray4 ,how ,plants ,behave1 by ,gray4 ,child's ,book of ,nature1 by ,hooker4 ,elementary ,botany1 by ,bessey4 ,revised ,manual of ,botany1 by ,gray4 ,plant ,relations1 by ,john ,m4 ,coulter4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,place ,,of ,,toys ,,in ,,the ,,education ,,of ,a ,,child4 ,as ,christmas is peculiarly the season for toy-giving and toy-receiving1 it may be well for the mother to consider this subject4 ,old ,homer1 back in the past ages1 shows us a charming picture of ,nausicaa and her maidens1 after a hard day's washing1 resting themselves with a game of ball4 ,thus we see this most free and graceful plaything connected with that free and beautifully developed nation which has been the admiration of the world ever since4 ,plato has said1 ,the plays of children have the mightiest influence on the maintenance or non-maintenance of laws2 and again1 ,during earliest childhood1 the soul of the nursling should be made cheerful and kind1 by keeping away from him sorrow and fear and pain1 by soothing him with sound of the pipe and of rhythmical movement4 ,he still further advised that the children should be brought to the temples1 and allowed to play under the supervision of nurses1 presumably trained for that purpose4 ,here we see plainly foreshadowed the ,kindergarten1 whose foundation is education by play2 as the study of the ,kindergarten system leads to the earnest1 thoughtful consideration of the office of play1 and the exact value which the plaything or toy has in the development of the child1 when this is once understood1 the choice of what toys to give to children is easily made4 ,in the world of nature1 we find the blossom comes before the fruit2 in history1 art arose long before science was possible2 in the human race1 the emotions are developed sooner than the reason4 ,with the individual child it is the same2 the childish heart opens spontaneously in play1 the barriers are down1 and the loving mother or the wise teacher can find entrance into the inner court as in no other way4 ,the child's sympathies can be attracted towards an object1 person1 or line of conduct much earlier than his reason can grasp any one of them4 ,his emotional nature can and does receive impressions long before his intellectual nature is ready for them2 in other words1 he can love before he can understand4 ,one of the mistakes of our age is1 that we begin by educating our children's intellects rather than their emotions4 ,we leave these all-powerful factors1 which give to life its coloring of light or darkness1 to the oftentimes insufficient training of the ordinary family life--insufficient1 owing to its thousand interruptions and pre-occupations4 ,the results are1 that many children grow up cold1 hard1 matter-of-fact1 with little of poetry1 sympathy1 or ideality to enrich their lives--mere ,gradgrinds in ,god's world of beauty4 ,we starve the healthful emotions of children in order that we may overfeed their intellects4 ,is not this doing them a great wrong8 ,when the sneering tone is heard1 and the question ,will it pay8 is the all-important one1 do we not see the result of such training8 ,possibly the unwise training of the emotional nature may give it undue preponderance1 producing morbid sentimentalists1 who think that the ,new ,testament would be greatly improved if the account of ,christ driving the money-changers from the temple1 or his denunciation of the ,pharisees1 could be omitted4 ,such people feed every able-bodied tramp brought by chance to their doors1 and yet make no effort to lighten the burden of the poor sewing-woman of our great cities1 who is working at almost starvation prices4 ,this is a minor danger1 however4 ,the education of the heart must advance along with that of the head1 if well-balanced character is to be developed4 ,pedagogy tells us that the science of education is the science of interesting2 and yet1 but few pedagogues have realized the importance of educating the interest of the child4 ,in other words1 little or no value has been attached to the likes and dislikes of children2 but in reality they are very important4 ,a child can be given any quantity of information1 he can be made to get his lessons1 he can even be crowded through a series of examinations1 but that is not educating him4 ,unless his interest in the subject has been awakened1 the process has been a failure4 ,once get him thoroughly interested and he can educate himself1 along that line1 at least4 ,hence the value of toys2 they are not only promoters of play1 but they appeal to the sympathies and give exercise to the emotions2 in this way a hold is gotten upon the child1 by interesting him before more intellectual training can make much impression4 ,the two next great obstacles to the exercise of the right emotions are fear and pity2 these do not come into the toy-world1 hence we can see how toys1 according to their own tendencies1 help in the healthful education of the child's emotions1 through his emotions the education of his thoughts1 through his thoughts the education of his will1 and hence his character4 ,one can readily see how this is so4 ,by means of their dolls1 wagons1 drums1 or other toys1 children's thoughts are turned in certain directions4 ,they play that they are mothers and fathers1 or shop-keepers1 or soldiers1 as the case may be4 ,through their dramatic play1 they become interested more and more in those phases of life which they have imitated1 and that which they watch and imitate they become like4 ,the toy-shops of any great city are to him who can read the signs of the times1 prophecies of the future of that city4 ,they not only predict the future career of a people1 but they tell us of national tendencies4 ,seguin1 in his report on the educational exhibit at ,vienna a few years ago1 said3 ,the nations which had the most toys had1 too1 more individuality1 ideality1 and heroism4 ,and again3 ,the nations which have been made famous by their artists1 artisans1 and idealists supplied their infants with toys4 ,it needs but a moment's thought to recognize the truth of this statement4 ,children who have toys exercise their own imagination1 put into action their own ideals4 ,ah me1 how much that means6 ,what ideals have been strangled in the breasts of most of us because others did not think as we did6 ,with the toy1 an outline only is drawn2 the child must fill in the details4 ,on the other hand1 in story-books the details are given4 ,both kinds of training are needed3 individual development1 and participation in the development of others--of the world1 of the past1 of the ,all4 ,with this thought of the influence of toys upon the life of nations1 a visit to any large toy-shop becomes an interesting and curious study4 ,the following is the testimony1 unconsciously given1 by the shelves and counters in one of the large importing establishments which gather together and send out the playthings of the world4 ,the ,french toys include nearly all the pewter soldiers1 all guns and swords2 surely1 such would be the toys of the nation which produced a ,napoleon4 ,all ,punch and ,judy shows are of ,french manufacture2 almost all miniature theaters2 all doll tea-sets which have wine-glasses and finger-bowls attached4 ,the ,french dolls mirror the fashionable world1 with all its finery and unneeded luxury1 and hand it down to the little child4 ,no wonder ,frances ,willard made a protest against dolls1 if she had in mind the ,french doll4 ,you see1 said the guileless saleswoman1 as she handed me first one and then another of these dolls1 thinking doubtless that she had a slow purchaser whom she had to assist in making a selection1 you can dress one of these dolls as a lady1 or as a little girl1 just as you like4 ,and sure enough1 the very baby dolls had upon their faces the smile of the society flirt1 or the deep1 passionate look of the woman who had seen the world4 ,i beheld the ,french ,salons of the eighteenth century still lingering in the nineteenth-century dolls4 ,all their toys are dainty1 artistic1 exquisitely put together1 but lack strength and power of endurance1 are low or shallow in aim1 and are oftentimes inappropriate in the extreme4 ,for instance1 ,i was shown a ,noah's ,ark with a rose-window of stained glass in one end of it4 ,do we not see the same thing in ,french literature8 ,racine's ,orestes1 bowing and complimenting his ,iphigenia1 is the same ,french adornment of the strong1 simple1 ,greek story that the pretty window was of the ,hebrew ,ark4 ,the ,german toys take another tone4 ,they are heavier1 stronger1 and not so artistic1 and largely represent the home and the more primitive forms of trade-life4 ,from ,germany we get all our ready-made doll-houses1 with their clean tile floors and clumsy porcelain stoves1 their parlors with round iron center-tables1 and stiff1 ugly chairs with the inevitable lace tidies4 ,here and there in these miniature houses we see a tiny pot of artificial flowers4 ,all such playthings tend to draw the child's thoughts to the home life4 ,next come the countless number of toy butcher shops1 bakers1 blacksmiths1 and other representations of the small1 thrifty1 healthful trade-life which one sees all over ,germany4 ,nor is the child's love attracted toward the home and the shops alone4 ,almost all of the better class of toy horses and carts are of ,german manufacture4 ,the woolly sheep1 so dear to childish heart1 is of the same origin4 ,thus a love for simple1 wholesome out-of-door activities is instilled4 ,and then the ,german dolls6 ,one would know from the dolls alone that ,germany was the land of ,froebel and the birthplace of the ,kindergarten1 that it was the country where even the beer-gardens are softened and refined by the family presence4 ,all the regulation ornaments for ,christmas trees come from this nation1 bringing with them memories of ,luther2 of his breaking away from the celibacy enjoined by the church2 of his entering into the joyous family life1 and trying to bring with him into the home life all that was sacred in the church--,christmas festivals along with the rest4 ,very few firearms come from this nation1 but among them ,i saw some strong cast-iron cannons from ,berlin2 they looked as if ,bismarck himself might have ordered their manufacture4 ,the ,swiss toys are largely the bluntly carved wooden cattle1 sheep and goats1 with equally blunt shepherds and shepherdesses1 reminding one forcibly of the dull faces of those much-enduring beasts of burden called ,swiss peasants4 ,i once saw a ,swiss girl who had sold to an ,american woman1 for a few francs1 three handkerchiefs1 the embroidering of which had occupied the evenings of her entire winter2 there was no look of discontent or disgust as the ,american tossed them into her trunk with a lot of other trinkets1 utterly oblivious of the amount of human life which had been patiently worked into them4 ,what kind of toys could come from a people among whom such scenes are accepted as a matter of course8 ,the ,english rag doll is particularly national in its placidity of countenance4 ,the ,british people stand pre-eminent in the matter of story-books for children1 but1 so far as ,i have been able to observe1 are somewhat lacking in originality as to toys2 possibly this is due to the out-of-door life encouraged among them4 ,when ,i asked to see the ,american toys1 my guide turned1 and with a sweep of her hand1 said3 ,these trunks are ,american4 ,all doll-trunks are manufactured in this country4 ,surely our ,emerson was right when he said that the tape-worm of travel was in every ,american4 ,here we see the beginning of the restless1 migratory spirit of our people2 even these children's toys suggest1 ,how nice it would be to pack up and go somewhere6 ,all tool-chests are of domestic origin4 ,seemingly1 all the inventions of the ,yankee mind are reproduced in miniature form to stimulate the young genius of our country4 ,the ,japanese and ,chinese toys are a curious study1 telling of national traits as clearly as do their laws or their religion4 ,they are endurable1 made to last unchanged a long time2 no flimsy tinsel is used which can be admired for the hour1 then cast aside4 ,if the hand of ,confucius reaches down through twenty-four centuries of time still governing his people1 so1 too1 can the carved ivory or inlaid wooden toy be used without injury or change by at least one or two successive generations of children4 ,let us turn to the study of the development of the race as a whole1 that we may the better grasp this thought4 ,the toy not only directs the emotional activity of the child1 but also forms a bridge between the great realities of life and his small capacities4 ,to man was given the dominion over the earth1 but it was a potential dominion4 ,he had to conquer the beasts of the field2 to develop the resources of the earth2 by his own effort to subordinate all things else unto himself4 ,we see the faint foreshadowing1 or presentiment1 of this in the myths and legends of the race4 ,the famous wooden horse of ,troy1 accounts of which have come down to us in a dozen different channels of literature and history1 seems to have been the forerunner of the nineteenth-century bomb1 which defies walls and leaps into the enemy's camp1 scattering death and destruction in every direction4 ,at least1 the two have the same effect2 they speedily put an end to physical resistance1 and bring about consultation and settlement by arbitration4 ,the labors of ,hercules tell the same story in another form--man's power to make nature perform the labors appointed to him2 the winged sandals of ,hermes1 ,perseus' cloak of invisibility1 the armor of ,achilles1 and a hundred other charming myths1 all tell us of man's sense of his sovereignty over nature4 ,the old ,oriental stories of the enchanted carpet tell us that the sultan and his court had but to step upon it1 ere it rose majestically and sailed unimpeded through the air1 and landed its precious freight at the desired destination4 ,is not this the dim feeling in the breasts of the childish race that man ought to have power to transcend space1 and by his intelligence contrive to convey himself from place to place8 ,are not our luxurious palace cars almost fulfilling these early dreams8 ,what are the fairy tales of the ,teutonic people1 which ,grimm has so laboriously collected for us8 ,they have lived through centuries of time1 because they have told of genii and giant1 governed by the will of puny man and made to do his bidding4 ,eagerly the race has read them1 pleased to see symbolically pictured forth man's power over elements stronger than himself4 ,in fact1 the study of the race development is much like the study of those huge1 almost obliterated outlines upon the walls of ,egyptian temples--dim1 vague1 fragmentary1 yet giving us glimpses of insight and flashes of light1 which aid much in the understanding of the meaning of to-day4 ,we find the instincts of the race renewed in each new-born infant4 ,each individual child desires to master his surroundings4 ,he cannot yet drive a real horse and wagon1 but his very soul delights in the three-inch horse and the gayly painted wagon attached2 he cannot tame real tigers and lions1 but his eyes dance with pleasure as he places and replaces the animals of his toy menagerie2 he cannot at present run engines or direct railways1 but he can control for a whole half-hour the movement of his miniature train2 he is not yet ready for real fatherhood1 but he can pet and play with1 and rock to sleep1 and tenderly guard the doll baby4 ,dr4 ,seguin also calls attention to the fact that a handsomely dressed lady will be passed by unnoticed by a child1 whereas her counterpart in a foot-long doll will call forth his most rapt attention2 the one is too much for the small brain1 the other is just enough4 ,the boy who has a toy gun marches and drills and camps and fights many a battle before the real battle comes4 ,the little girl who has a toy stove plays at building a fire and putting on a kettle long before these real responsibilities come to her4 ,a young mother1 whose daughter had been for some time in a ,kindergarten1 came to me and said1 ,i have been surprised to see how my little ,katherine handles the baby1 and how sweetly and gently she talks to him4 ,i said to the daughter1 ,katherine1 where did you learn how to talk to baby1 and to take care of one so nicely8 ,why1 that's the way we talk to the dolly at ,kindergarten6 she replied4 ,her powers of baby-loving had been developed definitely by the toy baby1 so that when the real baby came1 she was ready to transfer her tenderness to the larger sphere4 ,thus1 as ,i said before1 toys form a bridge between the great realities and possibilities of life1 and the small capacities of the child4 ,if wisely selected1 they lead him on from conquering yet to conquer4 ,thus he enters ever widening and increasing fields of activity1 until he stands as ,god intended he should stand1 the master of all the elements and forces about him1 until he can bid the solid earth1 ,bring forth thy treasures2 until he can say unto the great ocean1 ,thus far shalt thou go and no farther2 until he can call unto the quick lightning1 ,speak thou my words across a continent2 until he can command the fierce fire1 ,do thou my bidding2 and earth1 and air1 and fire1 and water1 become the servants of the divine intelligence which is within him4 ,,iii4 ,,how ,,to ,,celebrate ,,christmas4 ,,suggestions ,,for ,,mothers ,,and ,,kindergartners4 ,all festival occasions1 when rightly used1 have a unifying effect upon the family1 neighborhood1 ,sunday-school1 church1 state1 or nation1 in that they direct all minds1 for the time being1 away from self1 and in one direction1 toward one central thought4 ,the family festivals are an enormous power in the hands of the mother who knows how to use them aright4 ,by means of the birthday anniversaries1 ,fourth of ,july1 ,thanksgiving1 and above all1 ,christmas1 she can direct her children's activities into channels of unselfish endeavor4 ,of all festivals of the year the ,christmas festival is perhaps the least understood1 that is1 if one is to judge by the manner in which the day is generally observed4 ,why do we celebrate ,christmas8 ,what are we celebrating8 ,is it not the greatest manifestation of love1 unselfish love1 that has ever been revealed to man8 ,and how1 as a rule1 are children taught to observe it8 ,usually by expecting an undue amount of attention1 an unlimited amount of injudicious feeding1 and a selfish exaction of unneeded presents2 thus egotism1 greed1 and selfishness are fostered1 where love1 generosity1 and self-denial should be exercised4 ,the ,christmas season is the season in which the joy of giving should be so much greater than that of receiving1 that the child1 through his own experiences1 is prepared somewhat to comprehend that great truth1 ,god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten ,son4 ,for weeks beforehand the mother can lay her plans by means of which each child in the family may be led to make something1 or may do without something1 or may earn money for the purchase of something1 which is to add to his ,christmas joy by enabling him to give to those he loves1 and also to some less fortunate child who1 but for his thoughtfulness1 would be without any ,christmas cheer4 ,in this endeavor1 of course1 the mother must join with heart and soul1 else the giving is liable to become a mere formal fulfillment of a taxing obligation4 ,little children1 when rightly dealt with1 enjoy putting themselves into the preparations with which they are to surprise and please others fully as much1 if not more1 than they enjoy receiving presents4 ,so near as yet are they to the hand of ,god that unselfish love is an easy thing to inculcate4 ,let me contrast two preparations for ,christmas which have passed under my own eye4 ,in the first case ,i chanced to be in one of those crowded toy-shops where hurried1 tired women are trying to fill out their lists of supposed obligations for the ,christmas season4 ,all was confusion and haste1 impatience1 and more or less ill-humor4 ,my attention was directed towards a handsomely dressed mother1 leading by the hand an over-dressed little girl of about eight years of age4 ,the tones of the woman's voice struck like a discord through my soul4 ,come on6 said she petulantly to the child who had stopped for a moment to admire some new toy4 ,come on1 we have to give her something and we may as well buy her a couple of dolls4 ,they'll be broken to pieces in three weeks' time1 but that's no matter to us4 ,come on1 ,i've no time to wait4 ,this last was accompanied by an impatient jerk of the loitering child's arm4 ,thus what should have been the joy of ,christmas-giving was made to that child a disagreeable1 unwilling and useless expenditure of money4 ,what part of the real ,christmas spirit1 the ,god spirit which so loved the world1 could possibly come to a child from such a preparation for ,christmas as this8 ,nor is it an unusual occurrence4 ,go into any of our large stores and shops just before ,christmas and you will see scores of women checking off their lists in a way which shows the relief of having one more present settled4 ,all the great1 true1 and beautiful spirit of ,christmas joy is gone and a mere commercial transaction1 oftentimes a vulgar display of wealth1 has taken its place4 ,on the other hand1 go with me into one of our quiet ,kindergartens1 where the sunshine without is rivaled by the sunshine within4 ,see the white-aproned teacher seat herself and gather around her the group of eager children4 ,listen to the tones of her voice when she says1 ,oh1 children1 children6 ,you don't know what a happy time ,i am going to let you have this ,christmas6 ,just guess1 each one of you1 what we are going to do to make this the gladdest1 brightest1 happiest ,christmas that ever was6 ,look into the eager little faces anticipating a new joy1 knowing from past experience that the joy means effort1 endeavor1 self-control1 and self-denial2 nevertheless1 that it means happiness too4 ,listen to the eager questions and plans of the children4 ,some of them1 alas1 are showing their past training in selfishness1 by their ,you're going to give each of us a present1 or ,you're going to have a party6 ,then hear her gleeful answer1 ,no1 guess again1 it is better than that6--better even than that6 ,then1 after a pause1 during which expectation stands on tiptoe1 ,i am going to let each one of you be a little ,santa ,claus4 ,we are going to make not only mamma and papa happy1 but also some dear little child who might not have a happy ,christmas unless we gave one to him6 ,listen1 as ,i have listened1 to the clapping of hands after such an announcement4 ,look at the light which comes into the eyes4 ,notice the eager look of interest upon each childish face as all seat themselves at the work-table and the plan of work is more definitely laid out4 ,go1 as ,i have gone1 morning after morning1 and see these same children working patiently1 earnestly1 and continuously upon the little gifts which are to make ,christmas happier for some one else4 ,will you then need to ask the question as to which is the truer way of celebrating the holy ,christmas time8 ,not that ,i would have any mother deprived of the pleasure of giving to her children1 any more than ,i would have her children robbed of their pleasure of giving to others4 ,let us be careful that our gifts are not gifts of useless profusion1 of such articles as cultivate self-indulgence1 vanity1 or indolence4 ,gifts for children should be few and simple1 such as are suggestive and will aid them in the future drawing out of their own inner thoughts or ideals4 ,above all let the joy of having given of his best to some one else be the chief thought of the glad ,christmas time4 ,,iv4 ,,santa ,,claus4 ,all little children are poets if not marred by the prosaic parent or teacher who unintentionally dulls the imaginative faculties by insisting upon their minds dwelling exclusively on facts which can be verified by the five senses4 ,much innocent pleasure as well as much development of intellectual power is lost by this misapprehension of a child's needs4 ,all great truth must come to the immature mind in an embodied form or by means of a symbol4 ,in fact1 we of more mature culture still cling to the sacred symbols of the church by means of which communion with the ,divine and the regenerating power of the spirit of ,god are expressed4 ,the spire of a church1 the flag of our nation1 the medal with which we decorate the breast of a hero1 are but a few of the symbols with which we are all familiar4 ,indeed1 if symbols were banished from our daily lives much of pleasure and beauty would be lost4 ,again1 when we insist upon mere facts being presented to our children we rob them of the great heirloom which has come down to them from the past in the form of those inexhaustible mythical stories by means of which the race has learned its most beautiful lessons of the true nobility and grandeur of life2 stories so rich and full and significant that two or three thousand years have not dimmed their luster1 nor lessened their power to hold and impress the childish mind4 ,as the ,christmas season approaches many honest1 earnest parents are perplexed as to what to do with the time-honored legend of ,santa ,claus4 ,they do not realize that he is but the poetic embodiment of the ,christian thought of great love manifesting itself through giving4 ,the joyous loving nature of the innocent ,santa ,claus brings closer to the childish heart the realization of the willingness with which the ,divine ,father gave to his children--mankind4 ,the traditional fireplace through which the beloved ,santa ,claus gains entrance into the house is but a symbol of that center of light and warmth and cheer which love lights in every true home4 ,the mystery of the coming and going of this great-hearted lover of good little children is but the embodied way of expressing that mystery of love which makes labor light and sacrifice a pleasure4 ,the whole legend of ,santa ,claus1 when rightly understood1 is but the necessarily crude--and therefore more easily grasped--foreshadowing of the sacred thought of ,god's infinite love which lies at the very center of the ,christmas thought4 ,no one can deplore more than we ,kindergartners do the coarse and oftentimes grotesque representations of ,santa ,claus which are to be seen in many advertisements and shop windows at this season of the year4 ,almost all children gradually outgrow the idea of ,santa ,claus as they do other childish conceptions after they have served their purpose of training the emotional nature in the right direction4 ,the transition is the more easily made if the child is gradually led to make and to give ,christmas gifts to those he loves4 ,thus1 as ,i have tried to show in a previous article1 the mere material thought of ,christmas as a time for a jolly lot of fun is gradually changed into the higher thought of a joyful festival1 through the child's own deeds4 ,no mother need expect her child to understand the ,christian ,christmas by one celebration4 ,his own experiences of the joy which arises from unselfish giving must be repeated many times before he can enter into the thought that ,god1 in whose image he has been made1 must have shown his love to mankind by some such manifestation as that which the celebration of ,christmas commemorates4 ,v4 ,,christmas ,,time4#b ,a memory which will always remain with me comes up as ,i approach the end of these chronicles4 ,and although it did not arise from any one picture or song of the ,mother-,play-,book1 it was caused by the ,kindergarten study which had become part of our inmost life4 #b ,reprinted1 by request1 from ,two ,children of the ,foothills4 ,the long1 dry season was over4 ,half a dozen rains had refreshed the land and caused it to blossom like a garden4 ,it was hard to realize1 midst the roses and lilies1 tender green foliage and fragrant orange-blossoms1 rippling streams and songs of mocking-birds1 that ,christmas was approaching2 our northern minds had always associated the season with sleigh-bells and ice and snow1 and yet it was amidst just such semitropical surroundings as these1 that in the faraway ,palestine was born the ,babe1 the celebration of whose returning birthday each year fills all ,christendom with the spirit of self-sacrifice1 love1 and joy1 and binds1 as does no other festal day1 a multitude of the human race into one common brotherhood4 ,margaret and ,i decided that whatever else we did or did not do1 during the remainder of our sojourn among the hills1 the children should have a real ,christmas4 ,in order that we might make it an inner ,christmas as well as an outer one1 we began at the approach of ,advent to show them how to make ,christmas presents4 ,it took no small amount of patience to pin down to definite work1 which must be neatly and daintily done1 the two little mortals who had lived almost as free from tasks as the lilies of the field4 ,however1 we both realized that the children must make a real effort to give genuinely to others something which they themselves had made1 if they were to have the real joy which ought to come with the receiving of presents4 ,far too often children accept ,christmas presents as so many added1 material possessions1 not as expressions of love and service from others4 ,we had both long ago learned that only he who gives can truly1 spiritually receive1 and that a gift without this comprehension of its inner meaning is no gift at all1 but merely something gained which oftentimes awakens greed and selfishness4 ,therefore1 by dint of raising up visions of how surprised grossmutter would be when ,christmas morning came and she received two presents made by four little hands she loved1 by enacting in dramatic detail the astonishment which their father would show when he too should receive a present made by them1 we succeeded in awakening in them sufficient ambition to attempt what was to both of them a disagreeable task4 ,they had been willing enough to draw1 cut1 fold1 mold1 or paste anything which would serve as an illustration of a story in which they were interested1 or which would revivify some pleasant personal experience2 but to sit down and deliberately draw1 or paint1 or sew an object for somebody else1 with the thought of making it pleasant to that person rather than to themselves1 was a new idea4 ,first one and then the other of us would occasionally sew a flower upon a picture-frame when the little untrained fingers grew too tired2 or we would adroitly exchange work1 letting them bring in a pail of water from the spring while we put a strip or two in a gay gold-and-scarlet mat which was to be worked over into a ,christmas present1 thus bringing the end of the little task somewhat nearer4 ,occasionally1 of course1 a story would be told of some loving little child about whom even the fairies sang1 because he or she worked hard to make ,christmas gifts for loved ones4 ,sometimes ,margaret would exclaim3 ,what do you suppose the knights would say if they should come riding up the road and see two dear children working away as hard as they could on their ,christmas presents8 ,the first two presents1 for grossmutter and father1 their two nearest relatives1 were finished and daintily folded away in colored tissue paper1 when ,margaret had a whispered conversation with them and suggested that they should surprise me also with a ,christmas present1 and ,i1 on a like occasion1 proposed to them that they should surprise her with something at ,christmas time4 ,then followed days of whispered talk2 of sudden hiding of work1 or of gleeful shouting3 ,go away6 ,you mustn't come here now6 ,often there would be delighted covering up of the hands and lap at my approach1 or at that of ,margaret--scenes so common in the homes of ,kindergarten-trained children1 but so delightfully new to these little ,arabs of the desert who had never1 in all their short lives before1 felt the dignity of individual1 personal possessions which they could give away4 ,our presents finished and mysteriously laid away1 the next step was to lead to the thought of making presents for our next neighbor and his good wife1 whose ranch was about half a mile away4 ,this1 of course1 soon led on to the idea of having a ,christmas present ready for everybody4 ,there were only about five families in all on the foothills1 but they constituted everybody to the children1 whose world1 dear souls1 was bounded by the horizon which had its center in their own home2 saving of course1 that boundless world into which ,margaret and ,i had introduced them through pictures and stories1 where lived the mighty kings and queens1 giants and genii1 fairies and princesses1 prophets and priests1 and above all1 the knights4 ,this latter world of the imagination was such a grand world that it did not need presents4 ,soon the two happy little hearts were overflowing with the true ,christmas love2 and the presents made by their own hands for everybody were laid out upon my bed and examined and exclaimed over4 ,each of these was again folded up in a bright piece of tissue paper and tied with a bit of narrow1 daintily colored ribbon and labeled with the name of the person to whom it was to be given4 ,all these long1 busy days were so full of ,christmas talks and songs and stories that they even yet bring back to me the feeling of having lived them in the midst of a great musical festival4 ,we had frequent occasion to cross the ranches belonging to our different neighbors1 in our daily tramps over the foothills1 and often met the men at their work or stopped to chat for a moment with the women in their doorways4 ,at such times1 ,georgie would look up with a laughing face and sparkling eyes and say3 ,we've got somefin' for you for ,christmas1 but you mustn't know what it is4 ,and then1 if the inquisitive neighbor would question1 he would dance about and clap his hands1 and shake his little head1 saying3 ,no1 no1 no6 ,wait until ,christmas comes1 and then you shall see it2 but we made it all ourselves4 ',cept what they did to help us1 the more conscientious ,lena would add1 as she pointed to ,margaret or me4 ,we had found1 as is not uncommon in sparsely settled districts1 where there must necessarily be a struggle for a livelihood1 that life among our neighbors had somewhat narrowed itself down to the material standpoint1 and consequently1 as always happens when this is the case1 various frictions had occurred among them1 leaving them not always in quite the neighborly attitude toward each other4 ,but no one was able to resist the children's joyful over-flowing ,christmas love4 ,in a short time it was settled among us all that the ,christmas celebration should take place at ,georgie's and ,lena's home1 and that all the neighbors should be present on ,christmas ,eve to see the lighting of the ,christmas tree1 which ,margaret and ,i had decided was to be as gorgeous as our limited resources could make it4 ,in a little while first one and then another neighbor volunteered to help decorate the house2 one offering to saw off and bring to us branches from an unusually beautiful pepper-tree2 another volunteered his services in going to town for anything we might need2 and a good housewife recalled the days when she was young and asked if we would like to have her make some ginger-bread boys and girls and animals to hang on the tree1 and so on4 ,before long the children's spirit of enthusiasm and love for others had spread throughout our small foothill world1 and everywhere we went we were greeted with smiles1 significant nods1 and occasional whispered conversations4 ,a few days before ,christmas came1 one of our foothill neighbors stopped us on the road to suggest that he should go down1 on ,christmas ,eve1 to the mesa below and bring up two little ,english children whose home had been saddened by the death of their father a few weeks before1 and whose mother1 being a stranger in ,california1 had no friends to whom to go4 ,thus was the ,christmas spirit overflowing the foothills and spreading on to the farther districts4 ,then some one else thought of a man and his wife and young baby who lived about six miles up the caon1 and they1 too1 were invited4 ,all small grudges were forgotten and seemingly swallowed up in the coming festivities4 ,the contagion of love is as great as the contagion of disease or crime4 ,each time we finished a bit of trimming for the tree1 which was yet to be selected1 it had now to be taken down to be shown to ,mrs4 ,middlin4 ,as we passed the old wood-chopper he would make some light1 laughing remark1 and we occasionally stopped at his side to sing to him a new ,christmas song which the children had just learned4 ,he would at such times lay down his axe1 and his wrinkled old face would become bright with the light of his far-away youth1 as he looked down into the children's happy1 eager eyes2 and he usually sent us on our way with some such remark as1 ,well1 them children air great ones1 or else it would be1 ,children will be children4 ,i used to be that way myself4 ,the half-invalid woman1 whom pain had made fretful and nervous1 and who had been in the habit of declaring that all children were a nuisance and ought to be kept in their homes1 could not resist ,georgie's roguish shout1 ,i got somefin' for you ,christmas6 ,you must be sure to come up to see the ,christmas tree4 ,on the eventful day she actually did come with all the rest and brought with her some home-made candy1 such as she used to make when she was a girl some forty odd years before4 ,this drawing together round the ,christmas thought1 each and every one making an effort to add something to the joy of the occasion1 proved what every true lover of humanity believes1 that deep down in each human heart is love and a desire to be loved1 is joy in seeing others happy1 and the greater joy of serving others4 ,in return for this unexpected volunteer addition to our plans for the children1 ,margaret and ,i contrived some trifle or joke for each man member of the community4 ,to one it was a bundle of toothpicks done up in fancy tissue paper4 ,to another it was a ,mexican tamale4 ,to a young fellow who worked on one of the ranches it was a candy sweetheart4 ,for each of the women we made some trifle in the way of needle-book1 iron-holder1 or the like1 as we wanted the children to have the pleasure of seeing their elders go up to the tree and receive gifts as well as themselves4 ,three days before the ,christmas ,eve party the two children and their father1 ,margaret and ,i1 went up the caon to let the children select a small fir-tree for the ,christmas tree4 ,as we came triumphantly driving through a neighbor's ranch on our way home with the little tree in the back of the wagon1 the children shouted out with great glee3 ,come out6 ,come out6 and see the tree6 ,see the tree6 ,here it is6 ,here it is6 ,the really1 really ,christmas tree6 ,and out came both gray-haired old neighbors1 almost as much pleased as the children4 ,the tree was fastened between two boards1 and then with great ceremony we marched in a procession into the little best room which their grandmother usually kept shut and unused1 and placed it upon the table in the center of the room4 ,then began the exciting1 and to the children most charming1 work of decorating it with strings of popcorn and cranberries2 and fancy chains made with the scarlet and blue1 gilt and silver paper which loving hearts in the far-away ,chicago had sent1 helped make gorgeous our little tree4 ,some fancy pink and pale blue papers which had come from the drug store had been carefully saved for the occasion4 ,onto these we pasted narrow strips of the gold and silver paper1 and ,chinese lanterns were made1 much to the delight of the children4 ,each afternoon we decorated the tree with the work which had been done in the morning1 and then danced around it and sang songs to it1 and told it stories about other little ,christmas trees which had made other little children happy4 ,one day ,georgie improvised a song1 and like the poet of old1 danced in rhythm to the melody which he himself created to the tune of ,heigh-ho1 the way we go4 ,the words were as follows3 ,miss ,margaret and ,i ,we wish we could fly1 ,heigh-ho1 heigh-ho1 under the ,christmas tree4 ,we sing now for joy1 ,the girl and the boy1 ,heigh-ho1 heigh-ho1 under the ,christmas tree4 ,he had undoubtedly caught the rhythm1 and perhaps the refrain1 from some verses which ,margaret had written about our mountain home1 and whose refrain was ,heigh-ho1 heigh-ho1 under the greenwood-tree4 ,but ,i was much pleased to see his original application of the idea1 and his feeling of the fitness of the festival occasion for improvised verse4 ,it seemed to bubble out of the fullness of his joy just as many a refrain and love song of old was born on festival occasions2 so close is the child akin to the child race4 ,some time before this ,margaret had brought from her mysterious trunk a small and very beautiful copy of the ,mother and ,child which forms the center of ,correggio's great picture1 ,the ,holy ,night1 and ,lena had sewed a round picture frame1 designed by ,margaret1 with a gold star on the upper corner and a modest little violet on the lower1 symbolic1 it seemed to me1 of the exaltation and humility which that picture so marvelously portrays4 ,it was to be a joint gift from ,margaret and ,lena to the dear old grossmutter4 ,the children had both sat and studied the two beautiful faces1 so luminous with light2 and ,margaret had explained to them that the light came from the dear baby's face and shone into that of the mother because this dear little ,christ ,child had just come from ,god and the mother knew it4 ,that is what makes her so happy1 said ,georgie1 and ,margaret answered1 ,yes1 that is what makes every good mother happy when she looks into her baby's face1 and ,georgie had accepted this somewhat broad interpretation of the picture with one of his significant nods4 ,so far as we could ascertain1 the children had as yet no training whatever in biblical lore1 and our plan had been that we would speak only in general terms of the ,bible story of ,christmas until after they had experienced the love and joy of service and giving4 ,then we would tell them why not only their little world1 but the whole great big world of ,christendom celebrated the day with such joy4 ,but suddenly one evening1 as we were returning from our hilltop scramble1 ,lena said1 ,grossmutter knows all about the dear little ,christ ,child1 and she says the angels knew that ,he was coming4 ,let's sit down here by this rock1 said ,georgie1 and then you can tell us all about it4 ,he had implicit faith that ,margaret could tell him all about anything he wished to know1 so he never hesitated to make the demand4 ,we sat down on the ground1 with sky above us radiant and glowing in sunset's splendor1 and ,margaret told1 as ,i had never heard it told before1 of the watching of the shepherds and of the coming of the angels1 and when she came to the part1 and as the shepherds raised their bodies up from the ground and listened and listened1 the far-away music came nearer and nearer1 and then they saw that the music was the singing of countless numbers of beautiful angels1 and that the bright light which had slowly spread over the whole heavens came from the beauty of their faces2 the whole sky seemed full of them1 and they were all singing joyfully the first ,christmas song that was ever heard on earth1 ,georgie rose from his half-reclining position and coming close to ,margaret placed his hands upon her shoulder and said1 eagerly3 ,sing it6 ,sing it6 ,sing it just as the angels sang it6 ,she afterwards told me that she would have given five years of her life to have had ,patti's voice for just that one hour4 ,she quietly replied3 ,i cannot sing it1 ,georgie1 as the angels sang it4 ,no one on earth can sing it as the angels sang it on the first glad ,christmas night1 but we can know what they meant to tell the shepherds4 ,he turned his face away from her with a look of disappointment1 and his eyes wandered far over the hills to the glowing sky1 then quickly turning toward us1 he said1 ,maybe the ,christmas angels will come now4 ,let us listen and see if we can hear them4 ,then we listened silently until the light began to fade out of the evening sky1 and ,margaret said3 ,i can tell you what the words were which the angels sang1 and perhaps we can feel their song down in our hearts4 ,and then slowly and reverently she repeated the old1 yet ever new1 message to mankind3 ,glory to ,god in the highest4 ,peace on earth1 good will to men6 ,and gently added1 by way of explanation1 that good will to men meant that we were all brothers and sisters in ,god's sight1 and that this was one of the great things which the dear ,christ ,child came to teach us4 ,and this1 she added1 is why we celebrate ,his birthday by making gifts for 'everybody4' ,both children nodded assent in a matter-of-course way4 ,they1 dear little hearts1 did not yet know the schisms and discords that sometimes separate brothers and sisters1 and to them it was a matter of course1 that men should accept the angelic message4 ,as we walked home1 ,georgie skipping and dancing along in front1 sang1 ,i love everybody6 ,i love everybody6 ,i am so happy6 ,i am so happy6 ,i love everybody6 ,so do ,i1 ,georgie1 said ,margaret1 earnestly2 and ,i think for the time being1 at least1 all of us felt the true ,christmas spirit4 ,that motto from ,froebel's ,mother-,play-,songs came into my mind with a new meaning3 ,would'st thou unite the child for aye with thee1 ,then let him with the ,highest ,one thy union see ,by every noble thought thy heart is fired1 ,the young child's soul will surely be inspired4 ,and thou can'st no better gift bestow1 ,than union with the ,eternal ,one to know4 ,we quickened our steps as we neared home1 and all four of us sang softly-- ,in another land and clime1 ,long ago and far away4 ,the morning of ,christmas ,eve brought to us our friend1 ,mrs4 ,brown1 who had a ,kindergarten in a neighboring town4 ,her contribution to the festive occasion was a box of fifty small wax candles1 and we proceeded at once to add the final touches for the evening entertainment4 ,a frieze had already been made around the walls of the room with branches of the pepper-tree1 whose feathery green leaves and coral-colored branches of berries made a beautiful decoration4 ,large bunches of the dark green eucalyptus had been sawed off and so arranged that they made frames of the green around the two windows whose white curtains the good grossmutter had washed and ironed the day before4 ,in the center of the room was the ,christmas tree on which hung the treasures worked by little hands4 ,the red1 green1 and yellow candles were fastened in the safer parts of the horizontal branches2 others were placed around the table on candlesticks made of ripe oranges2 and a row of these golden candlesticks was also placed upon the edge of a wooden shelf which had held the grossmutter's ,german ,bible4 ,the ugly woolen cover of the shelf was entirely concealed by soft green ferns4 ,a pound or two of candy had been purchased by the father1 and this the dear old grandmother1 with trembling but eager hands1 showed us how to tie up with strings of worsted and fasten to the tree1 just as they used to do in the faterland1 she explained to the children4 ,her joy over the whole affair was1 if anything1 greater than that of the little ones4 ,she insisted that ,mrs4 ,brown1 ,margaret1 and ,i should be her guests at the noonday dinner2 and her appreciation of our work was shown by the killing of the fatted goose1 and by boiling and baking and stewing1 in true ,german fashion1 about three times the quantity of food which we could possibly consume4 ,during the getting ready of this dinner she bustled in and out of the little parlor1 sometimes throwing her arms around the children and exclaiming1 ,oh1 ,chorgie6 ,chorgie6 ,dis is just like a ,christmas in the old country6 ,just tink of it6 ,just tink of it6 ,mine kinder are to have a ,german ,christmas6 ,a real ,german ,christmas6 ,then1 as if fearing that her emotions should be taken for weakness1 she buffeted them severely with her hand and pushed them to one side with the words1 ,keep out of de way6 ,don't talk so much6 ,you are little nuisances anyhow6 but with so much love in the tone that the rebuking words were unheeded4 ,again1 she would come into the room and stand with her hands resting upon her hips and gaze silently1 with unspeakable satisfaction1 at the busy scene before her4 ,in making our plans for the evening1 ,margaret turned and said in a tone of quiet respect3 ,frau ,zorn1 we will1 of course1 expect you to stand with the children and us1 and receive the guests4 ,it is your party1 you know1 as well as the children's4 ,we are merely helping to get it ready4 ,oh1 mein dear6 ,mein dear6 exclaimed the old lady1 evidently much pleased with the unexpected prominence which was to be given to her4 ,without further words she bustled out of the room1 and in about a half-hour called to ,margaret and me to come up into the little attic above4 ,there we found her on her knees before an old horsehair trunk out of which she had taken a black and gray striped silk gown of the fashion of about twenty years before2 also a soft white silk neck handkerchief4 ,in an embarrassed tone1 looking half-ashamed1 half-proud1 she said3 ,i had laid dem away for my burying clothes1 but ,i can wear dem to-night1 if you tink it best4 ,certainly1 exclaimed ,margaret2 that dress is just the thing1 and the pretty white handkerchief will make you look young again4 ,i am so glad you have them4 ,i will come in time to arrange your hair and ,i have a wee bit of a lace handkerchief which ,i know how to fix into a cap1 just such as my own grandmother used to wear1 and you will be the handsomest part of the whole ,christmas entertainment4 ,then she added in great glee3 ,don't let the children see the dress until after you put it on4 ,it will be such a lovely surprise for them4 ,the old woman's face showed how keen this simple pleasure was to her as she softly patted the dress1 straightening here and there a bit of its old-fashioned trimming1 and then laid it gently into the trunk until the appointed hour should come4 ,the morning work was at last ended1 including our most conscientious endeavors to do justice to the elaborate dinner4 ,we locked the door of the little parlor fearing that the temptation to meddle with the wax candles might be too great to be resisted4 ,handing the key to ,frau ,zorn and giving our ,christmas kiss to each of the children1 somewhat tired we went back to our little cabin to rest until the evening4 ,we had promised to come early so as to be there before the first guests should arrive1 and just before starting out on our return ,margaret quietly gathered a basketful of beautiful ,la ,france roses which were blossoming in bewildering profusion near our doorstep4 ,what are you going to do with those8 ,i asked4 ,make every man and woman who comes to-night feel that he or she is in true festival attire1 she answered1 smiling4 ,and sure enough as each guest came in1 ,lena1 by ,margaret's instructions1 asked the privilege of pinning a ,christmas rose upon the man's coat and the woman's dress4 ,the smile with which the unaccustomed decoration was accepted showed the wisdom of ,margaret's plan4 ,an added festivity came over the scene1 and each individual felt himself or herself duly decorated for the occasion4 ,when the man from the caon beyond arrived with his wife and the little three-months-old baby1 ,georgie's face was a study worthy of ,raphael's brush2 confusion1 surprise1 pleasure1 joy were all commingled1 as looking up to ,margaret1 he exclaimed1 ,why1 ,miss ,marg't6 ,we are going to have a real1 truly baby at our ,christmas time6 ,then1 lowering his voice1 ,perhaps it will be like the ,christ baby and we can see the light shining from it just as the shepherds saw it4 ,the guests had been invited into the little dining-room which was the usual sitting-room of the family1 and the parlor was kept closed4 ,at a signal from ,margaret1 the father of the two children walked forward1 and throwing the door open1 invited the guests to walk in4 ,it was lighted entirely by the wax candles1 which gave that peculiar mellow light suggestive of silent and reverent feeling that the ,roman ,catholic ,church has been wise enough to seize upon and make use of4 ,the hilarious laughter and somewhat awkward jokes which had been going on ceased for the time being4 ,when all were seated on the benches and the improvised seats which had been brought in1 ,margaret and the children sang two or three ,christmas songs4 ,then1 as a surprise to the rest of us1 they clustered around the dear old grossmutter and the four1 bowing1 joined in a ,german hymn of praise and thanksgiving4 ,this was intended as a surprise to the father and to me1 and was indeed a surprise to all of us1 as none of the neighbors had ever heard the dear old woman sing4 ,then came the distribution of presents1 and the laughter and jokes and fun such as happy hearts improvise and enjoy4 ,one neighbor had brought an old-fashioned hat-box labeled ,for ,lena and ,georgie4 ,when opened1 out sprang two frisky little kittens that1 in a frightened fashion1 scampered away under the protecting skirts of some of the women1 but were soon captured and caressed with delight by the little owners4 ,the same thoughtful neighbor had brought two little chickens for the little ,english children from the mesa below4 ,they were less lively1 but were tenderly cared for by the children4 ,finally1 when all the presents had been distributed1 including part of the fruit and candy1 two of the men laughingly disappeared from the room1 and on their return1 brought between them a huge ,california pumpkin1 which measured five and one-half feet around its circumference4 ,this had previously been prepared into what they called a ,christmas box1 the top had been cut smoothly off1 and into it had been fastened the handle of a bucket4 ,the lower part had been hollowed out1 washed1 and dried2 the pumpkin seemed almost large enough to have served as a carriage for ,cinderella4 ,it was placed at ,margaret's feet1 and the top lifted off amidst shouts of laughter and the clapping of hands4 ,each guest present had stored away in it some loving little gift1 of no value whatever so far as the world considers value1 but rich indeed to one who prizes a gift according to the loving thought which it shows4 ,one woman had pasted upon several sheets of writing paper some rare ferns and mosses which she had brought from the mountains of ,new ,mexico years before1 and had sewed them together in the form of a book4 ,another had embroidered ,margaret's initials upon a ,chinese silk scarf1 which had been one of her treasures in the days of greater prosperity4 ,another had rounded off and polished a pin-cushion of ,yoca wood1 sawed from a stalk in the higher mountain districts4 ,the fourth had made her a shell-box1 of shells gathered on some past trip to the ,cataline ,islands4 ,a fifth had heard her express a desire to make a collection of the different kinds of wood which grew in the neighborhood and had brought carefully sawed and neatly polished specimens of a half-dozen varieties1 and so on2 each showing that her taste had been remembered1 some wish expressed at an odd moment had been recalled1 or some pleasant surprise anticipated4 ,margaret's eyes filled with tears as one by one she unfolded these gifts of love2 then1 realizing that such a time as the present needed more joy than anything else1 she laughingly brushed away the unshed tears and proposed that they should all enter into some games together4 ,this was heartily agreed to by the others1 and the evening ended in almost a romp4 ,hands were shaken1 good bys were said1 the last joke uttered1 and wagon and gig and buggy drove away4 ,margaret1 ,mrs4 ,brown1 and ,i remained to help put the children to bed and somewhat straighten up the little house4 ,then bidding the happy-faced old woman ,good by1 we started out1 alone1 for a quiet walk across the hill1 under the ,christmas stars4 ,as we prepared for bed ,margaret exclaimed1 ,what a happy1 happy day we have had6 ,i looked into her radiant face1 and said1 softly1 to myself3 ,blessed be motherhood1 even if it must be the mothering of other women's children6 ,,vi4 ,a ,,christmas ,,carol4 ,,stave ,,one4 ,,marley',s ,,ghost4 ,we hardly know of anything better to recommend than the following exquisite masterpiece of ,dickens1 for hearts that have grown dull to the real joy of ,christmas tide4 ,marley was dead1 to begin with4 ,there is no doubt whatever about that4 ,the register of his burial was signed by the clergyman1 the clerk1 the undertaker1 and the chief mourner4 ,scrooge signed it4 ,and ,scrooge's name was good upon ',change for anything he chose to put his hand to4 ,old ,marley was as dead as a door-nail4 ,mind6 ,i don't mean to say that ,i know1 of my own knowledge1 what there is particularly dead about a door-nail4 ,i might have been inclined1 myself1 to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade4 ,but the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile2 and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it1 or the country's done for4 ,you will therefore permit me to repeat1 emphatically1 that ,marley was as dead as a door-nail4 ,scrooge knew he was dead8 ,of course he did4 ,how could it be otherwise8 ,scrooge and he were partners for ,i don't know how many years4 ,scrooge was his sole executor1 his sole administrator1 his sole assign1 his sole residuary legatee1 his sole friend1 and sole mourner4 ,and even ,scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral1 and solemnized it with an undoubted bargain4 ,the mention of ,marley's funeral brings me back to the point ,i started from4 ,there is no doubt that ,marley was dead4 ,this must be distinctly understood1 or nothing wonderful can come of the story ,i am going to relate4 ,if we were not perfectly convinced that ,hamlet's father died before the play began1 there would be nothing more remarkable in his taking a stroll at night1 in an easterly wind1 upon his own ramparts1 than there would be in any other middle-aged gentleman rashly turning out after dark in a breezy spot--say ,saint ,paul's churchyard1 for instance--literally to astonish his son's weak mind4 ,scrooge never painted out old ,marley's name4 ,there it stood1 years afterwards1 above the warehouse door3 ,scrooge and ,marley4 ,the firm was known as ,scrooge and ,marley4 ,sometimes people new to the business called ,scrooge1 ,scrooge1 and sometimes ,marley1 but he answered to both names4 ,it was all the same to him4 ,oh1 but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone1 ,scrooge6 a squeezing1 wrenching1 grasping1 scraping1 clutching1 covetous1 old sinner6 ,hard and sharp as flint1 from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire2 secret1 and self-contained1 and solitary as an oyster4 ,the cold within him froze his old features1 nipped his pointed nose1 shriveled his cheek1 stiffened his gait2 made his eyes red1 his thin lips blue2 and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice4 ,a frosty rime was on his head1 and on his eyebrows1 and his wiry chin4 ,he carried his own low temperature always about with him2 he iced his office in the dog-days1 and didn't thaw it one degree at ,christmas4 ,external heat and cold had little influence on ,scrooge4 ,no warmth could warm1 no wintry weather chill him4 ,no wind that blew was bitterer than he1 no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose1 no pelting rain less open to entreaty4 ,foul weather didn't know where to have him4 ,the heaviest rain1 and snow1 and hail1 and sleet1 could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect--they often came down handsomely1 and ,scrooge never did4 ,nobody ever stopped him in the street to say1 with gladsome looks1 ,my dear ,scrooge1 how are you8 ,when will you come to see me8 ,no beggars implored him to bestow a trifle1 no children asked him what it was o'clock1 no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place1 of ,scrooge4 ,even the blind men's dogs appeared to know him2 and when they saw him coming on1 would tug their owners into doorways and up courts2 and then would wag their tails as though they said1 ,no eye at all is better than an evil eye1 dark master6 ,but what did ,scrooge care6 ,it was the very thing he liked4 ,to edge his way along the crowded paths of life1 warning all human sympathy to keep its distance1 was what the knowing ones call nuts to ,scrooge4 ,once upon a time--of all the good days in the year1 on ,christmas ,eve--old ,scrooge sat busy in his counting-house4 ,it was cold1 bleak1 biting weather1 foggy withal1 and he could hear the people in the court outside go wheezing up and down1 beating their hands upon their breasts1 and stamping their feet upon the pavement stones to warm them4 ,the city clocks had only just gone three1 but it was quite dark already--it had not been light all day--and candles were flaring in the windows of the neighboring offices1 like ruddy smears upon the palpable brown air4 ,the fog came pouring in at every chink and key-hole1 and was so dense without1 that although the court was of the narrowest1 the houses opposite were mere phantoms4 ,to see the dingy cloud come drooping down1 obscuring everything1 one might have thought that nature lived hard by1 and was brewing on a large scale4 ,the door of ,scrooge's counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk1 who in a dismal little cell beyond1 a sort of tank1 was copying letters4 ,scrooge had a very small fire1 but the clerk's fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal4 ,but he couldn't replenish it1 for ,scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room2 and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel1 the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part4 ,wherefore the clerk put on his white comforter1 and tried to warm himself at the candle2 in which effort1 not being a man of a strong imagination1 he failed4 ,a merry ,christmas1 uncle6 ,god save you6 cried a cheerful voice4 ,it was the voice of ,scrooge's nephew1 who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach4 ,bah6 said ,scrooge1 ,humbug6 ,he had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost1 this nephew of ,scrooge's1 that he was all in a glow2 his face was ruddy and handsome2 his eyes sparkled1 and his breath smoked again4 ,christmas a humbug1 uncle6 said ,scrooge's nephew4 ,you don't mean that1 ,i am sure4 ,i do1 said ,scrooge4 ,merry ,christmas6 ,what right have you to be merry8 ,what reason have you to be merry8 ,you're poor enough4 ,come1 then1 returned the nephew1 gayly4 ,what right have you to be dismal8 ,what reason have you to be morose8 ,you're rich enough4 ,scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment1 said ,bah6 again2 and followed it up with ,humbug6 ,don't be cross1 uncle6 said the nephew4 ,what else can ,i be1 returned the uncle1 when ,i live in such a world of fools as this8 ,merry ,christmas6 ,out upon merry ,christmas6 ,what's ,christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money2 a time for finding yourself a year older1 but not an hour richer2 a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you8 ,if ,i could work my will1 said ,scrooge1 indignantly1 every idiot who goes about with ',merry ,christmas' on his lips1 should be boiled with his own pudding1 and buried with a stake of holly through his heart4 ,he should6 ,uncle6 pleaded the nephew4 ,nephew6 returned the uncle1 sternly1 keep ,christmas in your own way1 and let me keep it in mine4 ,keep it1 repeated ,scrooge's nephew1 but you don't keep it4 ,let me leave it alone1 then1 said ,scrooge4 ,much good may it do you6 ,much good it has ever done you6 ,there are many things from which ,i might have derived good1 by which ,i have not profited1 ,i dare say1 returned the nephew1 ,christmas among the rest4 ,but ,i am sure ,i have always thought of ,christmas time1 when it has come round--apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin1 if anything belonging to it can be apart from that--as a good time2 a kind1 forgiving1 charitable1 pleasant time2 the only time ,i know of1 in the long calendar of the year1 when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely1 and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave1 and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys4 ,and therefore1 uncle1 though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket1 ,i believe that it has done me good1 and will do me good2 and ,i say1 ,god bless it6 ,the clerk in the tank involuntarily applauded4 ,becoming immediately sensible of the impropriety1 he poked the fire1 and extinguished the last frail spark forever4 ,let me hear another sound from you1 said ,scrooge1 and you'll keep your ,christmas by losing your situation6 ,you're quite a powerful speaker1 sir1 he added1 turning to his nephew4 ,i wonder you don't go into ,parliament4 ,don't be angry1 uncle4 ,come dine with us to-morrow4 ,scrooge said that he would see him--yes1 indeed he did4 ,he went the whole length of the expression1 and said that he would see him in that extremity first4 ,but why8 cried ,scrooge's nephew4 ,why8 ,why did you get married8 said ,scrooge4 ,because ,i fell in love4 ,because you fell in love6 growled ,scrooge1 as if that were the only one thing in the world more ridiculous than a merry ,christmas4 ,good afternoon6 ,nay1 uncle1 but you never came to see me before that happened4 ,why give it as a reason for not coming now8 ,good afternoon1 said ,scrooge4 ,i want nothing from you2 ,i ask nothing of you2 why cannot we be friends8 ,good afternoon1 said ,scrooge4 ,i am sorry1 with all my heart1 to find you so resolute4 ,we have never had any quarrel1 to which ,i have been a party4 ,but ,i have made the trial in homage to ,christmas1 and ,i'll keep my ,christmas humor to the last4 ,so1 a merry ,christmas1 uncle6 ,good afternoon6 said ,scrooge4 ,and a happy ,new ,year6 ,his nephew left the room without an angry word1 notwithstanding4 ,he stopped at the outer door to bestow the greetings of the season on the clerk1 who1 cold as he was1 was warmer than ,scrooge2 for he returned them cordially4 ,there's another fellow1 muttered ,scrooge1 who overheard him3 my clerk1 with fifteen shillings a week1 and a wife and family1 talking about a merry ,christmas4 ,i'll retire to ,bedlam4 ,this lunatic1 in letting ,scrooge's nephew out1 had let two other people in4 ,they were portly gentlemen1 pleasant to behold1 and now stood1 with their hats off1 in ,scrooge's office4 ,they had books and papers in their hands1 and bowed to him4 ,scrooge and ,marley's1 ,i believe1 said one of the gentlemen1 referring to his list4 ,have ,i the pleasure of addressing ,mr4 ,scrooge1 or ,mr4 ,marley8 ,mr4 ,marley has been dead these seven years1 ,scrooge replied4 ,he died seven years ago1 this very night4 ,we have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving partner1 said the gentleman1 presenting his credentials4 ,it certainly was2 for they had been two kindred spirits4 ,at the ominous word liberality1 ,scrooge frowned1 and shook his head1 and handed the credentials back4 ,at this festive season of the year1 ,mr4 ,scrooge1 said the gentleman1 taking up a pen1 it is more than usually desirable that we should make some provision for the poor and destitute1 who suffer greatly at the present time4 ,many thousands are in want of common necessaries2 hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts1 sir4 ,are there no prisons8 asked ,scrooge4 ,plenty of prisons1 said the gentleman1 laying down the pen again4 ,and the ,union workhouses8 demanded ,scrooge4 ,are they still in operation8 ,they are4 ,still1 returned the gentleman1 ,i wish ,i could say they were not4 ,the ,treadmill and the ,poor ,law are in full vigor1 then8 said ,scrooge4 ,both very busy1 sir4 ,oh6 ,i was afraid1 from what you said at first1 that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course1 said ,scrooge4 ,i'm very glad to hear it4 ,under the impression that they scarcely furnish ,christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude1 returned the gentleman1 a few of us are endeavoring to raise a fund to buy the poor some meat and drink1 and means of warmth4 ,we choose this time1 because it is a time1 of all others1 when want is keenly felt1 and abundance rejoices4 ,what shall ,i put you down for8 ,nothing6 ,scrooge replied4 ,you wish to be anonymous8 ,i wish to be left alone1 said ,scrooge4 ,since you ask me what ,i wish1 gentlemen1 that is my answer4 ,i don't make merry myself at ,christmas1 and ,i can't afford to make idle people merry4 ,i help to support the establishments ,i have mentioned--they cost enough2 and those who are badly off must go there4 ,many can't go there1 and many would rather die4 ,if they would rather die1 said ,scrooge1 they had better do it1 and decrease the surplus population4 ,besides--excuse me--,i don't know that4 ,but you might know it1 observed the gentleman4 ,it's not my business1 ,scrooge returned4 ,it's enough for a man to understand his own business1 and not to interfere with other people's4 ,mine occupies me constantly4 ,good afternoon1 gentlemen6 ,seeing clearly that it would be useless to pursue their point1 the gentlemen withdrew4 ,scrooge resumed his labors with an improved opinion of himself1 and in a more facetious temper than was usual with him4 ,meanwhile the fog and darkness thickened so that people ran about with flaring links1 proffering their services to go before horses in carriages1 and conduct them on their way4 ,the ancient tower of a church1 whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at ,scrooge out of a gothic window in the wall1 became invisible1 and struck the hours and quarters in the clouds1 with tremulous vibrations afterwards as if its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there4 ,the cold became intense4 ,in the main street1 at the corner of the court1 some laborers were repairing the gas-pipes1 and had lighted a great fire in a brazier1 round which a party of ragged men and boys were gathered1 warming their hands and winking their eyes before the blaze in rapture4 ,the water-plug being left in solitude1 its overflowings sullenly congealed1 and turned to misanthropic ice4 ,the brightness of the shops where holly sprigs and berries crackled in the lamp heat of the windows made pale faces ruddy as they passed4 ,poulterers' and grocers' trades became a splendid joke3 a glorious pageant1 with which it was next to impossible to believe that such dull principles as bargain and sale had anything to do4 ,the ,lord ,mayor1 in the stronghold of the mighty ,mansion ,house1 gave orders to his fifty cooks and butlers to keep ,christmas as a ,lord ,mayor's household should2 and even the little tailor1 whom he had fined five shillings on the previous ,monday for being drunk and bloodthirsty in the streets1 stirred up to-morrow's pudding in his garret1 while his lean wife and the baby sallied out to buy the beef4 ,foggier yet1 and colder6 ,piercing1 searching1 biting cold4 ,if the good ,saint ,dunstan had but nipped the evil spirit's nose with a touch of such weather as that1 instead of using his familiar weapons1 then indeed he would have roared to lusty purpose4 ,the owner of one scant young nose1 gnawed and mumbled by the hungry cold as bones are gnawed by dogs1 stooped down at ,scrooge's keyhole to regale him with a ,christmas carol2 but at the first sound of ,god bless you1 merry gentleman6 ,may nothing you dismay6 ,scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action that the singer fled in terror1 leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost4 ,at length the hour of shutting up the counting-house arrived4 ,with an ill will ,scrooge dismounted from his stool1 and tacitly admitted the fact to the expectant clerk in the tank1 who instantly snuffed his candle out1 and put on his hat4 ,you'll want all day to-morrow1 ,i suppose8 said ,scrooge4 ,if quite convenient1 sir4 ,it's not convenient1 said ,scrooge1 and it's not fair4 ,if ,i was to stop half-a-crown for it1 you'd think yourself ill used1 ,i'll be bound8 ,the clerk smiled faintly4 ,and yet1 said ,scrooge1 you don't think me ill used when ,i pay a day's wages for no work4 ,the clerk observed that it was only once a year4 ,a poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of ,december6 said ,scrooge1 buttoning his greatcoat to the chin4 ,but ,i suppose you must have the whole day4 ,be here all the earlier next morning4 ,the clerk promised that he would2 and ,scrooge walked out with a growl4 ,the office was closed in a twinkling1 and the clerk1 with the long ends of his white comforter dangling below his waist 7for he boasted no greatcoat71 went down a slide on ,cornhill1 at the end of a lane of boys1 twenty times1 in honor of its being ,christmas ,eve1 and then ran home to ,camden ,town as hard as he could pelt1 to play at blindman's-buff4 ,scrooge took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern2 and having read all the newspapers1 and beguiled the rest of the evening with his banker's-book1 went home to bed4 ,he lived in chambers which had once belonged to his deceased partner4 ,they were a gloomy suite of rooms1 in a lowering pile of building up a yard1 where it had so little business to be that one could scarcely help fancying it must have run there when it was a young house1 playing at hide-and-seek with other houses1 and forgotten the way out again4 ,it was old enough now1 and dreary enough1 for nobody lived in it but ,scrooge1 the other rooms being all let out as offices4 ,the yard was so dark that even ,scrooge1 who knew its every stone1 was fain to grope with his hands4 ,the fog and frost so hung about the black old gateway of the house that it seemed as if the ,genius of the ,weather sat in mournful meditation on the threshold4 ,now1 it is a fact that there was nothing at all particular about the knocker on the door1 except that it was very large4 ,it is also a fact that ,scrooge had seen it1 night and morning1 during his whole residence in that place2 also that ,scrooge had as little of what is called fancy about him as any man in the city of ,london1 even including--which is a bold word--the corporation1 aldermen1 and livery4 ,let it also be borne in mind that ,scrooge had not bestowed one thought on ,marley since his last mention of his seven-years' dead partner that afternoon4 ,and then let any man explain to me1 if he can1 how it happened that ,scrooge1 having his key in the lock of the door1 saw in the knocker1 without its undergoing any intermediate process of change--not a knocker1 but ,marley's face4 ,marley's face4 ,it was not in impenetrable shadow as the other objects in the yard were1 but had a dismal light about it1 like a bad lobster in a dark cellar4 ,it was not angry or ferocious1 but looked at ,scrooge as ,marley used to look1 with ghostly spectacles turned up on its ghostly forehead4 ,the hair was curiously stirred1 as if by breath or hot air2 and though the eyes were wide open1 they were perfectly motionless4 ,that1 and its livid color1 made it horrible2 but its horror seemed to be in spite of the face and beyond its control1 rather than a part of its own expression4 ,as ,scrooge looked fixedly at this phenomenon1 it was a knocker again4 ,to say that he was not startled1 or that his blood was not conscious of a terrible sensation to which it had been a stranger from infancy1 would be untrue4 ,but he put his hand upon the key he had relinquished1 turned it sturdily1 walked in1 and lighted his candle4 ,he did pause1 with a moment's irresolution1 before he shut the door2 and he did look cautiously behind at first1 as if he half-expected to be terrified with the sight of ,marley's pigtail sticking out into the hall4 ,but there was nothing on the back of the door1 except the screws and nuts that held the knocker on1 so he said1 ,pooh1 pooh6 and closed it with a bang4 ,the sound resounded through the house like thunder4 ,every room above1 and every cask in the wine-merchant's cellars below1 appeared to have a separate peal of echoes of its own4 ,scrooge was not a man to be frightened by echoes4 ,he fastened the door and walked across the hall1 and up the stairs1 slowly too1 trimming his candle as he went4 ,you may talk vaguely about driving a coach-and-six up a good old flight of stairs1 or through a bad young act of ,parliament2 but ,i mean to say you might have got a hearse up that stair-case1 and taken it broadwise1 with the splinter-bar towards the wall and the door towards the balustrades1 and done it easy4 ,there was plenty of width for that1 and room to spare2 which is perhaps the reason why ,scrooge thought he saw a locomotive hearse going on before him in the gloom4 ,half-a-dozen gas-lamps out of the street wouldn't have lighted the entry too well1 so you may suppose that it was pretty dark with ,scrooge's dip4 ,up ,scrooge went1 not caring a button for that4 ,darkness is cheap1 and ,scrooge liked it4 ,but before he shut his heavy door1 he walked through his rooms to see that all was right4 ,he had just enough recollection of the face to desire to do that4 ,sitting-room1 bedroom1 lumber-room4 ,all as they should be4 ,nobody under the table2 nobody under the sofa2 a small fire in the grate2 spoon and basin ready2 and the little sauce-pan of gruel 7,scrooge had a cold in his head7 upon the hob4 ,nobody under the bed2 nobody in the closet2 nobody in his dressing-gown1 which was hanging up in a suspicious attitude against the wall4 ,lumber-room as usual4 ,old fire-guard1 old shoes1 two fish-baskets1 washing-stand on three legs1 and a poker4 ,quite satisfied1 he closed his door1 and locked himself in2 double-locked himself in1 which was not his custom4 ,thus secured against surprise1 he took off his cravat2 put on his dressing-gown and slippers1 and his night-cap1 and sat down before the fire to take his gruel4 ,it was a very low fire indeed2 nothing on such a bitter night4 ,he was obliged to sit close to it1 and brood over it before he could extract the least sensation of warmth from such a handful of fuel4 ,the fireplace was an old one1 built by some ,dutch merchant long ago1 and paved all round with quaint ,dutch tiles1 designed to illustrate the ,scriptures4 ,there were ,cains and ,abels1 ,pharaoh's daughters1 ,queens of ,sheba1 ,angelic messengers descending through the air on clouds like feather-beds1 ,abrahams1 ,belshazzars1 ,apostles putting off to sea in butter-boats1 hundreds of figures to attract his thoughts2 and yet that face of ,marley1 seven years dead1 came like the ancient ,prophet's rod1 and swallowed up the whole4 ,if each smooth tile had been a blank at first1 with power to shape some picture on its surface from the disjointed fragments of his thoughts1 there would have been a copy of old ,marley's head on every one4 ,humbug6 said ,scrooge1 and walked across the room4 ,after several turns1 he sat down again4 ,as he threw his head back in the chair1 his glance happened to rest upon a bell1 a disused bell that hung in the room1 and communicated1 for some purpose now forgotten1 with a chamber in the highest story of the building4 ,it was with great astonishment1 and with a strange1 inexplicable dread1 that as he looked1 he saw this bell begin to swing4 ,it swung so softly in the outset that it scarcely made a sound1 but soon it rang out loudly1 and so did every bell in the house4 ,this might have lasted half a minute1 or a minute1 but it seemed an hour4 ,the bells ceased as they had begun1 together4 ,they were succeeded by a clanking noise1 deep down below1 as if some person were dragging a heavy chain over the casks in the wine merchant's cellar4 ,scrooge then remembered to have heard that ghosts in haunted houses were described as dragging chains4 ,the cellar door flew open with a booming sound1 and then he heard the noise much louder on the floors below2 then coming up the stairs2 then coming straight towards his door4 ,it's humbug1 still6 said ,scrooge4 ,i won't believe it4 ,his color changed though1 when1 without a pause1 it came on through the heavy door1 and passed into the room before his eyes4 ,upon its coming in the dying flame leaped up1 as though it cried1 ,i know him2 ,marley's ,ghost6 and fell again4 ,the same face2 the very same4 ,marley in his pigtail1 usual waistcoat1 tights1 and boots2 the tassels on the latter bristling1 like his pigtail1 and his coat-skirts1 and the hair upon his head4 ,the chain he drew was clasped about his middle4 ,it was long1 and wound about him like a tail2 and it was made 7for ,scrooge observed it closely7 of cash-boxes1 keys1 padlocks1 ledgers1 deeds1 and heavy purses wrought in steel4 ,his body was transparent3 so that ,scrooge1 observing him1 and looking through his waistcoat1 could see the two buttons on his coat behind4 ,scrooge had often heard it said that ,marley had no bowels1 but he had never believed it until now4 ,no1 nor did he believe it even now4 ,though he looked the phantom through and through1 and saw it standing before him1 though he felt the chilling influence of his death-cold eyes1 and marked the very texture of the folded 'kerchief bound about its head and chin1 which wrapper he had not observed before1 he was still incredulous1 and fought against his senses4 ,how now6 said ,scrooge1 caustic and cold as ever4 ,what do you want with me8 ,much6--,marley's voice1 no doubt about it4 ,who are you8 ,ask me who ,i was4 ,who were you1 then8 said ,scrooge1 raising his voice4 ,you're particular1 for a shade4 ,he was going to say to a shade1 but substituted this1 as more appropriate4 ,in life ,i was your partner1 ,jacob ,marley4 ,can you--can you sit down8 asked ,scrooge1 looking doubtfully at him4 ,i can4 ,do it1 then4 ,scrooge asked the question because he didn't know whether a ghost so transparent might find himself in a condition to take a chair2 and felt that in the event of its being impossible1 it might involve the necessity of an embarrassing explanation4 ,but the ,ghost sat down on the opposite side of the fireplace1 as if he were quite used to it4 ,you don't believe in me1 observed the ,ghost4 ,i don't1 said ,scrooge4 ,what evidence would you have of my reality beyond that of your senses8 ,i don't know1 said ,scrooge4 ,why do you doubt your senses8 ,because1 said ,scrooge1 a little thing affects them4 ,a slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats4 ,you may be an undigested bit of beef1 a blot of mustard1 a crumb of cheese1 a fragment of an underdone potato4 ,there's more of gravy than of grave about you1 whatever you are4 ,scrooge was not much in the habit of cracking jokes1 nor did he feel1 in his heart1 by any means waggish then4 ,the truth is1 that he tried to be smart1 as a means of distracting his own attention and keeping down his terror2 for the ,specter's voice disturbed the very marrow in his bones4 ,to sit staring at those fixed1 glazed eyes in silence for a moment would play1 ,scrooge felt1 the very deuce with him4 ,there was something very awful1 too1 in the ,specter's being provided with an infernal atmosphere of its own4 ,scrooge could not feel it himself1 but this was clearly the case2 for though the ,ghost sat perfectly motionless1 its hair1 and skirts1 and tassels were still agitated as by the hot vapor from an oven4 ,you see this toothpick8 said ,scrooge1 returning quickly to the charge1 for the reason just assigned1 and wishing1 though it were only for a second1 to divert the vision's stony gaze from himself4 ,i do1 replied the ,ghost4 ,you are not looking at it1 said ,scrooge4 ,but ,i see it1 said the ,ghost1 notwithstanding4 ,well1 returned ,scrooge1 ,i have but to swallow this1 and be for the rest of my days persecuted by a legion of goblins1 all of my own creation4 ,humbug1 ,i tell you6 ,humbug6 ,at this the spirit raised a frightful cry1 and shook its chain with such a dismal and appalling noise that ,scrooge held on tight to his chair to save himself from falling in a swoon4 ,but how much greater was his horror when the phantom taking off the bandage round its head1 as if it were too warm to wear indoors1 its lower jaw dropped down upon its breast6 ,scrooge fell upon his knees1 and clasped his hands before his face4 ,mercy6 he said4 ,dreadful apparition1 why do you trouble me8 ,man of the worldly mind1 replied the ,ghost1 do you believe in me or not8 ,i do1 said ,scrooge4 ,i must4 ,but why do spirits walk the earth1 and why do they come to me8 ,it is required of every man1 the ,ghost returned1 that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen1 and travel far and wide2 and if that spirit goes not forth in life1 it is condemned to do so after death4 ,it is doomed to wander through the world--oh1 woe is me6--and witness what it cannot share1 but might have shared on earth1 and turned to happiness6 ,again the ,specter raised a cry and shook its chain and wrung its shadowy hands4 ,you are fettered1 said ,scrooge1 trembling4 ,tell me why8 ,i wear the chain ,i forged in life1 replied the ,ghost4 ,i made it link by link1 and yard by yard2 ,i girded it on of my own free will1 and of my own free will ,i wore it4 ,is its pattern strange to you8 ,scrooge trembled more and more4 ,or would you know1 pursued the ,ghost1 the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself8 ,it was full as heavy and as long as this seven ,christmas ,eves ago4 ,you have labored on it since4 ,it is a ponderous chain6 ,scrooge glanced about him on the floor1 in the expectation of finding himself surrounded by some fifty or sixty fathoms of iron cable2 but he could see nothing4 ,jacob1 he said1 imploringly1 old ,jacob ,marley1 tell me more4 ,speak comfort to me1 ,jacob6 ,i have none to give1 the ,ghost replied4 ,it comes from other regions1 ,ebenezer ,scrooge1 and is conveyed by other ministers1 to other kinds of men4 ,nor can ,i tell you what ,i would4 ,a very little more is all permitted to me4 ,i cannot rest1 ,i cannot stay1 ,i cannot linger anywhere4 ,my spirit never walked beyond our counting-house--mark me6--in life my spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing hole1 and weary journeys lie before me6 ,it was a habit with ,scrooge1 whenever he became thoughtful1 to put his hands in his breeches pockets4 ,pondering on what the ,ghost had said1 he did so now1 but without lifting up his eyes or getting off his knees4 ,you must have been very slow about it1 ,jacob1 ,scrooge observed1 in a business-like manner1 though with humility and deference4 ,slow6 the ,ghost repeated4 ,seven years dead1 mused ,scrooge1 and traveling all the time6 ,the whole time1 said the ,ghost4 ,no rest1 no peace4 ,incessant torture of remorse4 ,you travel fast8 said ,scrooge4 ,on the wings of the wind1 replied the ,ghost4 ,you might have got over a great quantity of ground in seven years1 said ,scrooge4 ,the ,ghost1 on hearing this1 set up another cry1 and clanked its chain so hideously in the dead silence of the night that the ,ward would have been justified in indicting it for a nuisance4 ,oh1 captive1 bound and double-ironed6 cried the phantom1 not to know that ages of incessant labor1 by immortal creatures1 for this earth must pass into eternity before the good of which it is susceptible is all developed4 ,not to know that any ,christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere1 whatever it may be1 will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness4 ,not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused6 ,yet such was ,i6 ,oh1 such was ,i6 ,but you were always a good man of business1 ,jacob1 faltered ,scrooge1 who now began to apply this to himself4 ,business6 cried the ,ghost1 wringing its hands again4 ,mankind was my business4 ,the common welfare was my business2 charity1 mercy1 forbearance1 and benevolence were all my business4 ,the dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business6 ,it held up its chain at arm's-length1 as if that were the cause of all its unavailing grief1 and flung it heavily upon the ground again4 ,at this time of the rolling year1 the ,specter said1 ,i suffer most4 ,why did ,i walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down1 and never raise them to that blessed ,star which led the ,wise ,men to a poor abode6 ,were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me8 ,scrooge was very much dismayed to hear the ,specter going on at this rate1 and began to quake exceedingly4 ,hear me6 cried the ,ghost4 ,my time is nearly gone4 ,i will1 said ,scrooge4 ,but don't be hard upon me6 ,don't be flowery1 ,jacob1 pray6 ,how it is that ,i appear before you in a shape that you can see1 ,i may not tell4 ,i have sat invisible beside you many and many a day4 ,it was not an agreeable idea4 ,scrooge shivered and wiped the perspiration from his brow4 ,that is no light part of my penance1 pursued the ,ghost4 ,i am here to-night to warn you1 that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate4 ,a chance and hope of my procuring1 ,ebenezer4 ,you were always a good friend to me1 said ,scrooge4 ,thank'ee6 ,you will be haunted1 resumed the ,ghost1 by three spirits4 ,scrooge's countenance fell almost as low as the ,ghost's had done4 ,is that the chance and hope you mentioned1 ,jacob8 he demanded1 in a faltering voice4 ,it is4 ,i--,i think ,i'd rather not1 said ,scrooge4 ,without their visits1 said the ,ghost1 you cannot hope to shun the path ,i tread4 ,expect the first to-morrow1 when the bell tolls one4 ,couldn't ,i take 'em all at once and have it over1 ,jacob8 hinted ,scrooge4 ,expect the second on the next night at the same hour4 ,the third upon the next night when the last stroke of twelve has ceased to vibrate4 ,look to see me no more2 and look that1 for your own sake1 you remember what has passed between us6 ,when it had said these words the ,specter took its wrapper from the table and bound it round its head as before4 ,scrooge knew this by the smart sound its teeth made when the jaws were brought together by the bandage4 ,he ventured to raise his eyes again1 and found his supernatural visitor confronting him in an erect attitude1 with its chain wound over and about its arm4 ,the apparition walked backward from him and at every step it took the window raised itself a little1 so that when the ,specter reached it1 it was wide open4 ,it beckoned ,scrooge to approach which he did4 ,when they were within two paces of each other1 ,marley's ,ghost held up its hand1 warning him to come no nearer4 ,scrooge stopped4 ,not so much in obedience as in surprise and fear2 for on the raising of the hand1 he became sensible of confused noises in the air2 incoherent sounds of lamentation and regret2 wailings inexpressibly sorrowful and self-accusatory4 ,the ,specter1 after listening for a moment1 joined in the mournful dirge1 and floated out upon the bleak1 dark night4 ,scrooge followed to the window1 desperate in his curiosity4 ,he looked out4 ,the air was filled with phantoms1 wandering hither and thither in restless haste1 and moaning as they went4 ,every one of them wore chains like ,marley's ,ghost2 some few 7they might be guilty governments7 were linked together2 none were free4 ,many had been personally known to ,scrooge in their lives4 ,he had been quite familiar with one old ghost in a white waistcoat1 with a monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle1 who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant1 whom it saw below1 upon a door-step4 ,the misery with them all was clearly that they sought to interfere1 for good1 in human matters1 and had lost the power forever4 ,whether these creatures faded into mist1 or mist enshrouded them1 he could not tell4 ,but they and their spirit voices faded together1 and the night became as it had been when he walked home4 ,scrooge closed the window1 and examined the door by which the ,ghost had entered4 ,it was double-locked1 as he had locked it with his own hands1 and the bolts were undisturbed4 ,he tried to say ,humbug6 but stopped at the first syllable4 ,and being--from the emotion he had undergone1 or the fatigues of the day1 or his glimpse of the invisible world1 or the dull conversation of the ,ghost1 or the lateness of the hour--much in need of repose1 went straight to bed without undressing1 and fell asleep upon the instant4 ,,stave ,,two4 ,,the ,,first ,,of ,,the ,,three ,,spirits4 ,when ,scrooge awoke it was so dark that1 looking out of bed1 he could scarcely distinguish the transparent window from the opaque walls of his chamber4 ,he was endeavoring to pierce the darkness with his ferret eyes when the chimes of a neighboring church struck the four quarters4 ,so he listened for the hour4 ,to his great astonishment the heavy bell went on from six to seven1 and from seven to eight1 and regularly up to twelve2 then stopped4 ,twelve6 ,it was past two when he went to bed4 ,the clock was wrong4 ,an icicle must have got into the works4 ,twelve6 ,he touched the spring of his repeater to correct this most preposterous clock4 ,its rapid little pulse beat twelve1 and stopped4 ,why1 it isn't possible1 said ,scrooge1 that ,i can have slept through a whole day and far into another night4 ,it isn't possible that anything has happened to the sun1 and this is twelve at noon6 ,the idea being an alarming one1 he scrambled out of bed1 and groped his way to the window4 ,he was obliged to rub the frost off with the sleeve of his dressing-gown before he could see anything2 and could see very little then4 ,all he could make out was1 that it was still very foggy and extremely cold1 and that there was no noise of people running to and fro1 and making a great stir1 as there unquestionably would have been if night had beaten off bright day and taken possession of the world4 ,this was a great relief1 because three days after sight of this ,first of ,exchange pay to ,mr4 ,ebenezer ,scrooge or his order1 and so forth1 would have become a mere ,united ,states' security if there were no days to count by4 ,scrooge went to bed again and thought and thought1 and thought it over and over and over1 and could make nothing of it4 ,the more he thought1 the more perplexed he was2 and the more he endeavored not to think1 the more he thought4 ,marley's ,ghost bothered him exceedingly4 ,every time he resolved within himself1 after mature inquiry1 that it was all a dream1 his mind flew back again1 like a strong spring released to its first position1 and presented the same problem to be worked all through1 ,was it a dream or not8 ,scrooge lay in this state until the chime had gone three-quarters more1 when he remembered1 on a sudden1 that the ,ghost had warned him of a visitation when the bell tolled one4 ,he resolved to lie awake until the hour was passed2 and considering that he could no more go to sleep than go to heaven1 this was perhaps the wisest resolution in his power4 ,the quarter was so long that he was more than once convinced he must have sunk into a doze unconsciously1 and missed the clock4 ,at length it broke upon his listening ear4 ,ding1 dong6 ,a quarter past1 said ,scrooge1 counting4 ,ding1 dong6 ,half-past6 said ,scrooge4 ,ding1 dong6 ,a quarter to it1 said ,scrooge4 ,ding1 dong6 ,the hour itself1 said ,scrooge1 triumphantly1 and nothing else6 ,he spoke before the hour bell sounded1 which it now did with a deep1 dull1 hollow1 melancholy ,,one4 ,light flashed up in the room upon the instant1 and the curtains of his bed were drawn4 ,the curtains of his bed were drawn aside1 ,i tell you1 by a hand4 ,not the curtains at his feet1 nor the curtains at his back1 but those to which his face was addressed4 ,the curtains of his bed were drawn aside2 and ,scrooge1 starting up into a half-recumbent attitude1 found himself face to face with the unearthly visitor who drew them1 as close to it as ,i am now to you1 and ,i am standing in the spirit at your elbow4 ,it was a strange figure--like a child2 yet not so like a child as like an old man1 viewed through some supernatural medium1 which gave him the appearance of having receded from the view1 and being diminished to a child's proportions4 ,its hair1 which hung about its neck and down its back1 was white as if with age2 and yet the face had not a wrinkle in it1 and the tenderest bloom was on the skin4 ,the arms were very long and muscular2 the hands the same1 as if its hold were of uncommon strength4 ,its legs and feet1 most delicately formed1 were1 like those upper members1 bare4 ,it wore a tunic of the purest white2 and round its waist was bound a lustrous belt1 the sheen of which was beautiful4 ,it held a branch of fresh1 green holly in its hand1 and in singular contradiction of that wintry emblem1 had its dress trimmed with summer flowers4 ,but the strangest thing about it was1 that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright1 clear jet of light1 by which all this was visible2 and which was doubtless the occasion of its using1 in its duller moments1 a great extinguisher for a cap1 which it now held under its arm4 ,even this1 though1 when ,scrooge looked at it with increasing steadiness1 was not its strangest quality4 ,for as its belt sparkled and glittered now in one part and now in another1 and what was light one instant1 at another time was dark1 so the figure itself fluctuated in its distinctness2 being now a thing with one arm1 now with one leg1 now with twenty legs1 now a pair of legs without a head1 now a head without a body1 of which dissolving parts no outline would be visible in the dense gloom wherein they melted away4 ,and in the very wonder of this1 it would be itself again2 distinct and clear as ever4 ,are you the ,spirit1 sir1 whose coming was foretold to me8 asked ,scrooge4 ,i am6 ,the voice was soft and gentle4 ,singularly low1 as if1 instead of being so close beside him1 it were at a distance4 ,who and what are you8 ,scrooge demanded4 ,i am the ,ghost of ,christmas ,past4 ,long past8 inquired ,scrooge1 observant of its dwarfish stature4 ,no2 your past4 ,perhaps ,scrooge could not have told anybody why if anybody could have asked him1 but he had a special desire to see the ,spirit in his cap1 and begged him to be covered4 ,what6 exclaimed the ,ghost1 would you so soon put out1 with worldly hands1 the light ,i give8 ,is it not enough that you are one of those whose passions made this cap1 and force me through whole trains of years to wear it low upon my brow6 ,scrooge reverently disclaimed all intention to offend or any knowledge of having willfully bonneted the ,spirit at any period of his life4 ,he then made bold to inquire what business brought him there4 ,your welfare6 said the ,ghost4 ,scrooge expressed himself much obliged1 but could not help thinking that a night of unbroken rest would have been more conducive to that end4 ,the ,spirit must have heard him thinking1 for it said immediately1 ,your reclamation1 then4 ,take heed6 ,it put out its strong hand as it spoke1 and clasped him gently by the arm4 ,rise1 and walk with me6 ,it would have been in vain for ,scrooge to plead that the weather and the hour were not adapted to pedestrian purposes2 that the bed was warm1 and the thermometer a long way below freezing2 that he was clad but lightly in his slippers1 dressing-gown1 and night-cap2 and that he had a cold upon him at that time4 ,the grasp1 though gentle as a woman's hand1 was not to be resisted4 ,he rose2 but finding that the ,spirit made towards the window1 clasped his robe in supplication4 ,i am a mortal1 ,scrooge remonstrated1 and liable to fall4 ,bear but a touch of my hand there1 said the ,spirit1 laying it upon his heart1 and you shall be upheld in more than this6 ,as the words were spoken1 they passed through the wall1 and stood upon an open country road1 with fields on either hand4 ,the city had entirely vanished4 ,not a vestige of it was to be seen4 ,the darkness and the mist had vanished with it1 for it was a clear1 cold1 winter day1 with snow upon the ground4 ,good heaven6 said ,scrooge1 clasping his hands together as he looked about him4 ,i was bred in this place4 ,i was a boy here6 ,the ,spirit gazed upon him mildly4 ,its gentle touch1 though it had been light and instantaneous1 appeared still present to the old man's sense of feeling4 ,he was conscious of a thousand odors floating in the air1 each one connected with a thousand thoughts1 and hopes1 and joys1 and cares1 long1 long forgotten6 ,your lip is trembling1 said the ,ghost4 ,and what is that upon your cheek8 ,scrooge muttered1 with an unusual catching in his voice1 that it was a pimple2 and begged the ,ghost to lead him where he would4 ,you recollect the way8 inquired the ,spirit4 ,remember it6 cried ,scrooge1 with fervor2 ,i could walk it blindfold4 ,strange to have forgotten it for so many years6 observed the ,ghost4 ,let us go on4 ,they walked along the road4 ,scrooge recognizing every gate1 and post1 and tree1 until a little market-town appeared in the distance1 with its bridge1 its church1 and winding river4 ,some shaggy ponies now were seen trotting towards them with boys upon their backs1 who called to other boys in country gigs and carts1 driven by farmers4 ,all these boys were in great spirits1 and shouted to each other1 until the broad fields were so full of merry music that the crisp air laughed to hear it4 ,these are but shadows of the things that have been1 said the ,ghost4 ,they have no consciousness of us4 ,the jocund travelers came on2 and as they came1 ,scrooge knew and named them every one4 ,why was he rejoiced beyond all bounds to see them6 ,why did his cold eye glisten1 and his heart leap up as they went past6 ,why was he filled with gladness when he heard them give each other ,merry ,christmas1 as they parted at cross-roads and by-ways1 for their several homes6 ,what was merry ,christmas to ,scrooge8 ,out upon merry ,christmas6 ,what good had it ever done to him8 ,the school is not quite deserted1 said the ,ghost4 ,a solitary child1 neglected by his friends1 is left there still4 ,scrooge said he knew it4 ,and he sobbed4 ,they left the high-road by a well-remembered lane and soon approached a mansion of dull red brick1 with a little weather-cock-surmounted cupola on the roof1 and a bell hanging in it4 ,it was a large house1 but one of broken fortunes1 for the spacious offices were little used1 their walls were damp and mossy1 their windows broken1 and their gates decayed4 ,fowls clucked and strutted in the stables1 and the coach-houses and sheds were overrun with grass4 ,nor was it more retentive of its ancient state within2 for entering the dreary hall1 and glancing through the open doors of many rooms1 they found them poorly furnished1 cold1 and vast4 ,there was an earthy savor in the air1 a chilly bareness in the place1 which associated itself somehow with too much getting up by candle-light1 and not too much to eat4 ,they went1 the ,ghost and ,scrooge1 across the hall1 to a door at the back of the house4 ,it opened before them1 and disclosed a long1 bare1 melancholy room1 made barer still by lines of plain deal forms and desks4 ,at one of these a lonely boy was reading near a feeble fire1 and ,scrooge sat down upon a form1 and wept to see his poor forgotten self as he used to be4 ,not a latent echo in the house1 not a squeak and scuffle from the mice behind the paneling1 not a drip from the half-thawed water-spout in the dull yard behind1 not a sigh among the leafless boughs of one despondent poplar1 not the idle swinging of an empty store-house door1 no1 not a clicking in the fire1 but fell upon the head of ,scrooge with a softening influence1 and gave a freer passage to his tears4 ,the ,spirit touched him on the arm1 and pointed to his younger self1 intent upon his reading4 ,suddenly a man1 in foreign garments--wonderfully real and distinct to look at--stood outside the window1 with an axe stuck in his belt1 and leading by the bridle an ass laden with wood4 ,why1 it's ,ali ,baba6 ,scrooge exclaimed1 in ecstasy4 ,it's dear old honest ,ali ,baba6 ,yes1 yes1 ,i know6 ,one ,christmas time1 when yonder solitary child was left here all alone1 he did come1 for the first time1 just like that4 ,poor boy6 ,and ,valentine1 said ,scrooge1 and his wild brother1 ,orson2 there they go6 ,and what's his name1 who was put down in his drawers1 asleep1 at the ,gate of ,damascus2 don't you see him8 ,and the ,sultan's ,groom turned upside down by the ,genii2 there he is upon his head6 ,serve him right4 ,i'm glad of it4 ,what business had he to be married to the ,princess6 ,to hear ,scrooge expending all the earnestness of his nature on such subjects1 in a most extraordinary voice between laughing and crying1 and to see his heightened and excited face1 would have been a surprise to his business friends in the city1 indeed4 ,there's the parrot6 cried ,scrooge4 ,green body and yellow tail1 with a thing like a lettuce growing out of the top of his head2 there he is6 ,poor ,robin ,crusoe1 he called him1 when he came home again after sailing round the island4 ',poor ,robin ,crusoe1 where have you been1 ,robin ,crusoe8' ,the man thought he was dreaming1 but he wasn't4 ,it was the parrot1 you know4 ,there goes ,friday1 running for his life to the little creek6 ,halloa6 ,hoop6 ,halloo6 ,then1 with a rapidity of transition very foreign to his usual character1 he said1 in pity for his former self1 ,poor boy6 and cried again4 ,i wish1 ,scrooge muttered1 putting his hand in his pocket1 and looking about him1 after drying his eyes with his cuff1 --but it's too late now4 ,what is the matter8 asked the ,spirit4 ,nothing1 said ,scrooge4 ,nothing4 ,there was a boy singing a ,christmas carol at my door last night4 ,i should like to have given him something2 that's all4 ,the ,ghost smiled1 thoughtfully1 and waved its hand1 saying as it did so1 ,let us see another ,christmas6 ,scrooge's former self grew larger at the words1 and the room became a little darker and more dirty4 ,the panels shrunk1 the windows cracked2 fragments of plaster fell out of the ceiling1 and the naked laths were shown instead2 but how all this was brought about1 ,scrooge knew no more than you do4 ,he only knew that it was quite correct2 that everything had happened so2 that there he was1 alone again1 when all the other boys had gone home for the jolly holidays4 ,he was not reading now1 but walking up and down despairingly4 ,scrooge looked at the ,ghost1 and with a mournful shaking of his head1 glanced anxiously towards the door4 ,it opened1 and a little girl1 much younger than the boy1 came darting in1 and putting her arms about his neck1 and often kissing him1 addressed him as her ,dear1 dear brother4 ,i have come to bring you home1 dear brother6 said the child1 clapping her tiny hands1 and bending down to laugh4 ,to bring you home1 home1 home6 ,home1 little ,fan8 returned the boy4 ,yes6 said the child1 brimful of glee4 ,home for good and all4 ,home1 forever and ever4 ,father is so much kinder than he used to be that home's like heaven6 ,he spoke so gently to me one dear night when ,i was going to bed1 that ,i was not afraid to ask him once more if you might come home2 and he said yes1 you should2 and sent me in a coach to bring you4 ,and you're to be a man1 said the child1 opening her eyes1 and are never to come back here2 but first1 we're to be together all the ,christmas long1 and have the merriest time in all the world4 ,you are quite a woman1 little ,fan6 exclaimed the boy4 ,she clapped her hands and laughed1 and tried to touch his head2 but being too little1 laughed again1 and stood on tiptoe to embrace him4 ,then she began to drag him1 in her childish eagerness1 towards the door2 and he1 nothing loth to go1 accompanied her4 ,a terrible voice in the hall cried1 ,bring down ,master ,scrooge's box1 there6 and in the hall appeared the school-master himself1 who glared on ,master ,scrooge with a ferocious condescension1 and threw him into a dreadful state of mind by shaking hands with him4 ,he then conveyed him and his sister into the veriest old well of a shivering best parlor that ever was seen1 where the maps upon the wall1 and the celestial and terrestrial globes in the windows1 were waxy with cold4 ,here he produced a decanter of curiously light wine and a block of curiously heavy cake1 and administered instalments of those dainties to the young people2 at the same time sending out a meager servant to offer a glass of something to the post-boy1 who answered that he thanked the gentleman1 but if it was the same tap as he had tasted before1 he had rather not4 ,master ,scrooge's trunk being by this time tied onto the top of the chaise1 the children bade the school-master good by right willingly1 and getting into it drove gayly down the garden sweep2 the quick wheels dashing the hoar-frost and snow from off the dark leaves of the evergreens like spray4 ,always a delicate creature1 whom a breath might have withered1 said the ,ghost4 ,but she had a large heart6 ,so she had1 cried ,scrooge4 ,you're right4 ,i will not gainsay it1 ,spirit4 ,god forbid6 ,she died a woman1 said the ,ghost1 and had1 as ,i think1 children4 ,one child1 ,scrooge returned4 ,true1 said the ,ghost4 ,your nephew6 ,scrooge seemed uneasy in his mind1 and answered1 briefly1 ,yes4 ,although they had but that moment left the school behind them1 they were now in the busy thoroughfares of a city1 where shadowy passengers passed and repassed2 where shadowy carts and coaches battled for the way1 and all the strife and tumult of a real city were4 ,it was made plain enough1 by the dressing of the shops1 that here1 too1 it was ,christmas time again2 but it was evening1 and the streets were lighted up4 ,the ,ghost stopped at a certain warehouse door1 and asked ,scrooge if he knew it4 ,know it6 said ,scrooge4 ,was ,i apprenticed here6 ,they went in4 ,at sight of an old gentleman in a ,welsh wig1 sitting behind such a high desk that if he had been two inches taller he must have knocked his head against the ceiling1 ,scrooge cried in great excitement1 ,why1 it's old ,fezziwig6 ,bless his heart2 it's ,fezziwig alive again6 ,old ,fezziwig laid down his pen and looked up at the clock1 which pointed to the hour of seven4 ,he rubbed his hands2 adjusted his capacious waistcoat2 laughed all over himself1 from his shoes to his organ of benevolence2 and called out in a comfortable1 oily1 rich1 fat1 jovial voice1 ,yo ho1 there6 ,ebenezer6 ,dick6 ,scrooge's former self1 now grown a young man1 came briskly in1 accompanied by his fellow-'prentice4 ,dick ,wilkins1 to be sure6 said ,scrooge to the ,ghost4 ,bless me1 yes4 ,there he is4 ,he was very much attached to me1 was ,dick4 ,poor ,dick6 ,dear1 dear6 ,yo ho1 my boys6 said ,fezziwig4 ,no more work to-night4 ,christmas ,eve1 ,dick4 ,christmas1 ,ebenezer6 ,let's have the shutters up1 cried old ,fezziwig1 with a sharp clap of his hands1 before a man can say ,jack ,robinson6 ,you wouldn't believe how those two fellows went at it6 ,they charged into the street with the shutters--one1 two1 three--had 'em up in their places--four1 five1 six--barred 'em and pinned 'em--seven1 eight1 nine--and came back before you could have got to twelve1 panting like race-horses4 ,hilli-ho6 cried old ,fezziwig1 skipping down from the high desk1 with wonderful agility4 ,clear away1 my lads1 and let's have lots of room here6 ,hilli-ho1 ,dick6 ,chirrup1 ,ebenezer6 ,clear away6 ,there was nothing they wouldn't have cleared away1 or couldn't have cleared away1 with old ,fezziwig looking on4 ,it was done in a minute4 ,every movable was packed off1 as if it were dismissed from public life forevermore1 the floor was swept and watered1 the lamps were trimmed1 fuel was heaped upon the fire2 and the warehouse was as snug1 and warm1 and dry1 and bright a ball-room as you would desire to see upon a winter's night4 ,in came a fiddler with a music-book1 and went up to the lofty desk1 and made an orchestra out of it1 and tuned like fifty stomachaches4 ,in came ,mrs4 ,fezziwig1 one vast1 substantial smile4 ,in came the three ,miss ,fezziwigs1 beaming and lovable4 ,in came the six young followers whose hearts they broke4 ,in came all the young men and women employed in the business4 ,in came the housemaid1 with her cousin1 the baker4 ,in came the cook1 with her brother's particular friend1 the milkman4 ,in came the boy from over the way1 who was suspected of not having board enough from his master2 trying to hide himself behind the girl from next door but one1 who was proved to have had her ears pulled by her mistress4 ,in they all came1 one after another2 some shyly1 some boldly1 some gracefully1 some awkwardly1 some pushing1 some pulling2 in they all came1 anyhow and everyhow4 ,away they all went1 twenty couple at once2 hands half round and back again the other way2 down the middle and up again2 round and round in various stages of affectionate grouping2 old top couple always turning up in the wrong place2 new top couple starting off again1 as soon as they got there2 all top couples at last1 and not a bottom one to help them6 ,when this result was brought about1 old ,fezziwig1 clapping his hands to stop the dance1 cried out1 ,well done6 and the fiddler plunged his hot face into a pot of porter especially provided for that purpose4 ,but scorning rest1 upon his reappearance1 he instantly began again--though there were no dancers yet--as if the other fiddler had been carried home1 exhausted1 on a shutter1 and he were a brand-new man1 resolved to beat him out of sight or perish4 ,there were more dances1 and there were forfeits1 and more dances1 and there was cake1 and there was negus1 and there was a great piece of cold roast1 and there was a great piece of cold boiled1 and there were mince-pies1 and plenty of beer4 ,but the great effect of the evening came after the roast and boiled1 when the fiddler 7an artful dog1 mind6 ,the sort of man who knew his business better than you or ,i could have told it him67 struck up ,sir ,roger de ,coverley4 ,then old ,fezziwig stood out to dance with ,mrs4 ,fezziwig4 ,top couple1 too1 with a good1 stiff piece of work cut out for them2 three or four and twenty pair of partners2 people who were not to be trifled with2 people who would dance1 and had no notion of walking4 ,but if they had been twice as many--ah1 four times--old ,fezziwig would have been a match for them1 and so would ,mrs4 ,fezziwig4 ,as to her1 she was worthy to be his partner in every sense of the term4 ,if that's not high praise1 tell me higher and ,i'll use it4 ,a positive light appeared to issue from ,fezziwig's calves4 ,they shone in every part of the dance like moons4 ,you couldn't have predicted1 at any given time1 what would have become of them next4 ,and when old ,fezziwig and ,mrs4 ,fezziwig had gone all through the dance--advance and retire1 both hands to your partner1 bow and curtsey1 cork-screw1 thread-the-needle1 and back again to your place--,fezziwig cut--cut so deftly that he appeared to wink with his legs1 and came up on his feet again without a stagger4 ,when the clock struck eleven1 this domestic ball broke up4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,fezziwig took their stations1 one on either side of the door1 and shaking hands with every person individually as he or she went out1 wished him or her a ,merry ,christmas4 ,when everybody had retired but the two 'prentices1 they did the same to them2 and thus the cheerful voices died away1 and the lads were left to their beds1 which were under a counter in the back shop4 ,during the whole of this time ,scrooge had acted like a man out of his wits4 ,his heart and soul were in the scene1 and with his former self4 ,he corroborated everything1 remembered everything1 enjoyed everything1 and underwent the strangest agitation4 ,it was not until now1 when the bright faces of his former self and ,dick were turned from them1 that he remembered the ,ghost1 and became conscious that it was looking full upon him1 while the light upon its head burnt very clear4 ,a small matter1 said the ,ghost1 to make these silly folks so full of gratitude4 ,small6 echoed ,scrooge4 ,the spirit signed to him to listen to the two apprentices1 who were pouring out their hearts in praise of ,fezziwig2 and when he had done so1 said1 ,why1 is it not8 ,he has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money--three or four1 perhaps4 ,is that so much that he deserves this praise8 ,it isn't that1 said ,scrooge1 heated by the remark1 and speaking unconsciously like his former1 not his latter self4 ,it isn't that1 ,spirit4 ,he has the power to render us happy or unhappy2 to make our service light or burdensome2 a pleasure or a toil4 ,say that his power lies in words and looks2 in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count 'em up3 what then8 ,the happiness he gives is quite as great as if it cost a fortune4 ,he felt the ,spirit's glance1 and stopped4 ,what is the matter8 asked the ,ghost4 ,nothing particular1 said ,scrooge4 ,something1 ,i think8 the ,ghost insisted4 ,no1 said ,scrooge1 ,no4 ,i should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now4 ,that's all4 ,his former self turned down the lamps as he gave utterance to the wish2 and ,scrooge and the ,ghost again stood side by side in the open air4 ,my time grows short1 observed the ,spirit4 ,quick6 ,this was not addressed to ,scrooge1 or to any one whom he could see1 but it produced an immediate effect4 ,for again ,scrooge saw himself4 ,he was older now2 a man in the prime of life4 ,his face had not the harsh and rigid lines of later years1 but it had begun to wear the signs of care and avarice4 ,there was an eager1 greedy1 restless motion in the eye1 which showed the passion that had taken root1 and where the shadow of the growing tree would fall4 ,he was not alone1 but sat by the side of a fair young girl in a mourning dress1 in whose eyes there were tears which sparkled in the light that shone out of the ,ghost of ,christmas ,past4 ,it matters little1 she said1 softly4 ,to you1 very little4 ,another idol has displaced me1 and if it can cheer and comfort you in time to come as ,i would have tried to do1 ,i have no just cause to grieve4 ,what idol has displaced you8 he rejoined4 ,a golden one4 ,this is the even-handed dealing of the world6 he said4 ,there is nothing on which it is so hard as poverty2 and there is nothing it professes to condemn with such severity as the pursuit of wealth6 ,you fear the world too much1 she answered1 gently4 ,all your other hopes have merged into the hope of being beyond the chance of its sordid reproach4 ,i have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one by one1 until the master-passion1 ,gain1 engrosses you4 ,have ,i not8 ,what then8 he retorted4 ,even if ,i have grown so much wiser1 what then8 ,i am not changed towards you4 ,she shook her head4 ,am ,i8 ,our contract is an old one4 ,it was made when we were both poor and content to be so1 until1 in good season1 we could improve our worldly fortune by our patient industry4 ,you are changed4 ,when it was made1 you were another man4 ,i was a boy1 he said1 impatiently4 ,your own feeling tells you that you were not what you are1 she returned4 ,i am4 ,that which promised happiness when we were one in heart1 is fraught with misery now that we are two4 ,how often and how keenly ,i have thought of this1 ,i will not say4 ,it is enough that ,i have thought of it1 and can release you4 ,have ,i ever sought release8 ,in words4 ,no1 never4 ,in what1 then8 ,in a changed nature2 in an altered spirit2 in another atmosphere of life2 another hope as its great end4 ,in everything that made my love of any worth or value in your sight4 ,if this had ever been between us1 said the girl1 looking mildly1 but with steadiness upon him1 tell me1 would you seek me out and try to win me now8 ,ah1 no6 ,he seemed to yield to the justice of this supposition1 in spite of himself4 ,but he said1 with a struggle1 ,you think not4 ,i would gladly think otherwise if ,i could1 she answered1 heaven knows6 ,when ,i have learned a truth like this1 ,i know how strong and irresistible it must be4 ,but if you were free to-day1 to-morrow1 yesterday1 can even ,i believe that you would choose a dowerless girl--you who1 in your very confidence with her1 weigh everything by gain2 or choosing her1 if for a moment you were false enough to your one guiding principle to do so1 do ,i not know that your repentance and regret would surely follow8 ,i do2 and ,i release you1 with a full heart1 for the love of him you once were4 ,he was about to speak2 but with her head turned from him1 she resumed4 ,you may--the memory of what is past half makes me hope you will--have pain in this4 ,a very1 very brief time1 and you will dismiss the recollection of it gladly1 as an unprofitable dream1 from which it happened well that you awoke4 ,may you be happy in the life you have chosen6 ,she left him and they parted4 ,spirit6 said ,scrooge1 show me no more6 ,conduct me home4 ,why do you delight to torture me8 ,one shadow more6 exclaimed the ,ghost4 ,no more6 cried ,scrooge4 ,no more4 ,i don't wish to see it4 ,show me no more6 ,but the relentless ,ghost pinioned him in both his arms1 and forced him to observe what happened next4 ,they were in another scene and place2 a room1 not very large or handsome1 but full of comfort4 ,near to the winter fire sat a beautiful young girl1 so like that last that ,scrooge believed it was the same1 until he saw her1 now a comely matron1 sitting opposite her daughter4 ,the noise in this room was perfectly tumultuous1 for there were more children there than ,scrooge in his agitated state of mind could count2 and unlike the celebrated herd in the poem1 there were not forty children conducting themselves like one1 but every child was conducting itself like forty4 ,the consequences were uproarious beyond belief2 but no one seemed to care2 on the contrary1 the mother and daughter laughed heartily1 and enjoyed it very much2 and the latter1 soon beginning to mingle in the sports1 got pillaged by the young brigands most ruthlessly4 ,what would ,i not have given to be one of them4 ,though ,i never could have been so rude1 no1 no6 ,i wouldn't for the wealth of all the world have crushed that braided hair and torn it down2 and for the precious little shoe1 ,i wouldn't have plucked it off1 ,god bless my soul6 to save my life4 ,as to measuring her waist in sport1 as they did1 bold young brood1 ,i couldn't have done it2 ,i should have expected my arm to have grown round it for a punishment1 and never come straight again4 ,and yet ,i should have dearly liked1 ,i own1 to have touched her lips2 to have questioned her1 that she might have opened them2 to have looked upon the lashes of her downcast eyes1 and never raised a blush2 to have let loose waves of hair1 an inch of which would be a keepsake beyond price2 in short1 ,i should have liked1 ,i do confess1 to have had the lightest license of a child1 and yet to have been man enough to know its value4 ,but now a knocking at the door was heard1 and such a rush immediately ensued that she1 with laughing face and plundered dress1 was borne towards it1 the center of a flushed and boisterous group1 just in time to greet the father1 who came home attended by a man laden with ,christmas toys and presents4 ,then the shouting and the struggling1 and the onslaught that was made on the defenseless porter6 ,the scaling him with chairs for ladders to dive into his pockets1 despoil him of brown paper parcels1 hold on tight by his cravat1 hug him round his neck1 pommel his back1 and kick his legs in irrepressible affection6 ,the shouts of wonder and delight with which the development of every package was received6 ,the terrible announcement that the baby had been taken in the act of putting a doll's frying-pan into his mouth1 and was more than suspected of having swallowed a fictitious turkey glued on a wooden platter6 ,the immense relief of finding this a false alarm6 ,the joy1 and gratitude1 and ecstasy6 ,they are all indescribable alike4 ,it is enough that by degrees the children and their emotions got out of the parlor1 and by one stair at a time1 up to the top of the house1 where they went to bed1 and so subsided4 ,and now ,scrooge looked on more attentively than ever1 when the master of the house1 having his daughter leaning fondly on him1 sat down with her and her mother at his own fireside2 and when he thought that such another creature1 quite as graceful and as full of promise1 might have called him father1 and been a springtime in the haggard winter of his life1 his sight grew very dim indeed4 ,belle1 said the husband1 turning to his wife1 with a smile1 ,i saw an old friend of yours this afternoon4 ,who was it8 ,guess6 ,how can ,i8 ,tut1 don't ,i know1 she added1 in the same breath1 laughing as he laughed4 ,mr4 ,scrooge4 ,mr4 ,scrooge it was4 ,i passed his office window1 and as it was not shut up and he had a candle inside1 ,i could scarcely help seeing him4 ,his partner lies upon the point of death1 ,i hear1 and there he sat alone4 ,quite alone in the world1 ,i do believe4 ,spirit6 said ,scrooge1 in a broken voice1 remove me from this place4 ,i told you these were shadows of the things that have been1 said the ,ghost4 ,that they are what they are1 do not blame me6 ,remove me6 ,scrooge exclaimed1 ,i cannot bear it6 ,he turned upon the ,ghost1 and seeing that it looked upon him with a face1 in which in some strange way there were fragments of all the faces it had shown him1 wrestled with it4 ,leave me6 ,take me back4 ,haunt me no longer6 ,in the struggle1 if that can be called a struggle in which the ,ghost with no visible resistance on its own part was undisturbed by any effort of its adversary1 ,scrooge observed that its light was burning high and bright1 and dimly connecting that with its influence over him1 he seized the extinguisher-cap1 and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head4 ,the ,spirit dropped beneath it1 so that the extinguisher covered its whole form2 but though ,scrooge pressed it down with all his force1 he could not hide the light which streamed from under it in an unbroken flood upon the ground4 ,he was conscious of being exhausted1 and overcome by an irresistible drowsiness2 and further1 of being in his own bedroom4 ,he gave the cap a parting squeeze1 in which his hand relaxed1 and had barely time to reel to bed before he sank into a heavy sleep4 ,,stave ,,three4 ,,the ,,second ,,of ,,the ,,three ,,spirits4 ,awaking in the middle of a prodigiously tough snore1 and sitting up in bed to get his thoughts together1 ,scrooge had no occasion to be told that the bell was again upon the stroke of one4 ,he felt that he was restored to consciousness in the right nick of time1 for the especial purpose of holding a conference with the second messenger despatched to him through ,jacob ,marley's intervention4 ,but finding that he turned uncomfortably cold when he began to wonder which of his curtains this new specter would draw back1 he put them every one aside with his own hands1 and lying down again1 established a sharp lookout all round the bed4 ,for he wished to challenge the ,spirit on the moment of its appearance1 and did not wish to be taken by surprise1 and made nervous4 ,gentlemen of the free-and-easy sort1 who plume themselves on being acquainted with a move or two1 and being usually equal to the time of day1 express the wide range of their capacity for adventure by observing that they are good for anything from pitch-and-toss to manslaughter1 between which opposite extremes1 no doubt1 there lies a tolerably wide and comprehensive range of subjects4 ,without venturing for ,scrooge quite as hardily as this1 ,i don't mind calling on you to believe that he was ready for a good1 broad field of strange appearances1 and that nothing between a baby and rhinoceros would have astonished him very much4 ,now1 being prepared for almost anything1 he was not by any means prepared for nothing2 and consequently1 when the bell struck one1 and no shape appeared1 he was taken with a violent fit of trembling4 ,five minutes1 ten minutes1 a quarter of an hour went by1 yet nothing came4 ,all this time he lay upon his bed1 the very core and center of a blaze of ruddy light which streamed upon it when the clock proclaimed the hour1 and which1 being only light1 was more alarming than a dozen ghosts1 as he was powerless to make out what it meant1 or would be at1 and was sometimes apprehensive that he might be that very moment an interesting case of spontaneous combustion1 without having the consolation of knowing it4 ,at last1 however1 he began to think--as you or ,i would have thought at first1 for it is always the person not in the predicament who knows what ought to have been done in it1 and would unquestionably have done it1 too--at last1 ,i say1 he began to think that the source and secret of this ghostly light might be in the adjoining room1 from whence1 on further tracing it1 it seemed to shine4 ,this idea taking full possession of his mind1 he got up softly and shuffled in his slippers to the door4 ,the moment ,scrooge's hand was on the lock1 a strange voice called him by his name1 and bade him enter4 ,he obeyed4 ,it was his own room4 ,there was no doubt about that4 ,but it had undergone a surprising transformation4 ,the walls and ceiling were so hung with living green that it looked a perfect grove1 from every part of which bright gleaming berries glistened4 ,the crisp leaves of holly1 mistletoe1 and ivy reflected back the light as if so many little mirrors had been scattered there1 and such a mighty blaze went roaring up the chimney as that dull petrifaction of a hearth had never known in ,scrooge's time1 or ,marley's1 or for many and many a winter season gone4 ,heaped up on the floor1 to form a kind of throne1 were turkeys1 geese1 game1 poultry1 brawn1 great joints of meat1 sucking pigs1 long wreaths of sausages1 mince-pies1 plum-puddings1 barrels of oysters1 red-hot chestnuts1 cherry-cheeked apples1 juicy oranges1 luscious pears1 immense twelfth-cakes1 and seething bowls of punch1 that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam4 ,in easy state upon this couch1 there sat a jolly giant1 glorious to see1 who bore a glowing torch1 in shape not unlike ,plenty's horn1 and held it up1 high up1 to shed its light on ,scrooge as he came peeping round the door4 ,come in6 exclaimed the ,ghost4 ,come in6 and know me better1 man6 ,scrooge entered1 timidly1 and hung his head before this ,spirit4 ,he was not the dogged ,scrooge he had been1 and though the ,spirit's eyes were clear and kind1 he did not like to meet them4 ,i am the ,ghost of ,christmas ,present1 said the ,spirit4 ,look upon me6 ,scrooge reverently did so4 ,it was clothed in one simple green robe1 or mantle1 bordered with white fur4 ,this garment hung so loosely on the figure that its capacious breast was bare1 as if disdaining to be warded or concealed by any artifice4 ,its feet1 observable beneath the ample folds of the garment1 were also bare1 and on its head it wore no other covering than a holly wreath1 set here and there with shining icicles4 ,its dark brown curls were long and free--free as its genial face1 its sparkling eye1 its open hand1 its cheery voice1 its unconstrained demeanor1 and its joyful air4 ,girded round its middle was an antique scabbard1 but no sword was in it1 and the ancient sheath was eaten up with rust4 ,you have never seen the like of me before6 exclaimed the ,spirit4 ,never6 ,scrooge made answer to it4 ,have never walked forth with the younger members of my family1 meaning 7for ,i am very young7 my elder brothers born in these later years8 pursued the ,phantom4 ,i don't think ,i have1 said ,scrooge4 ,i am afraid ,i have not4 ,have you had many brothers1 ,spirit8 ,more than eighteen hundred1 said the ,ghost4 ,a tremendous family to provide for6 muttered ,scrooge4 ,the ,ghost of ,christmas ,present rose4 ,spirit1 said ,scrooge1 submissively1 conduct me where you will4 ,i went forth last night on compulsion1 and ,i learnt a lesson which is working now4 ,to-night1 if you have aught to teach me1 let me profit by it4 ,touch my robe6 ,scrooge did as he was told1 and held it fast4 ,holly1 mistletoe1 red berries1 ivy1 turkeys1 geese1 game1 poultry1 brawn1 meat1 pigs1 sausages1 oysters1 pies1 puddings1 fruit1 and punch all vanished instantly4 ,so did the room1 the fire1 the ruddy glow1 the hour of night1 and they stood in the city streets on ,christmas morning1 where 7for the weather was severe7 the people made a rough1 but brisk and not unpleasant kind of music in scraping the snow from the pavement in front of their dwellings1 and from the tops of their houses1 whence it was mad delight to the boys to see it come plumping down into the road below1 and splitting into artificial little snow-storms4 ,the house fronts looked black enough1 and the windows blacker1 contrasting with the smooth1 white sheet of snow upon the roofs1 and with the dirtier snow upon the ground2 which last deposit had been ploughed up in deep furrows by the heavy wheels of carts and wagons--furrows that crossed and re-crossed each other hundreds of times where the great streets branched off1 and made intricate channels hard to trace in the thick1 yellow mud and icy water4 ,the sky was gloomy and the shortest streets were choked up with a dingy mist1 half thawed1 half frozen1 whose heavier particles descended in a shower of sooty atoms1 as if all the chimneys in ,great ,britain had1 by one consent1 caught fire1 and were blazing away to their dear hearts' content4 ,there was nothing very cheerful in the climate of the town1 and yet was there an air of cheerfulness abroad that the clearest summer air and brightest summer sun might have endeavored to diffuse in vain4 ,for the people who were shoveling away on the housetops were jovial and full of glee2 calling out to one another from the parapets1 and now and then exchanging a facetious snowball--better-natured missile far than many a wordy jest--laughing heartily if it went right1 and not less heartily if it went wrong4 ,the poulterers' shops were still half open1 and the fruiterers' were radiant in their glory4 ,there were great1 round1 pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts1 shaped like the waistcoats of jolly old gentlemen1 lolling at the doors1 and tumbling out into the street in their apoplectic opulence4 ,there were ruddy1 brown-faced1 broad-girthed ,spanish onions1 shining in the fatness of their growth like ,spanish friars1 and winking from their shelves in wanton slyness at the girls as they went by1 and glanced demurely at the hung-up mistletoe4 ,there were pears and apples clustered high in blooming pyramids2 there were bunches of grapes made1 in the shopkeepers' benevolence1 to dangle from conspicuous hooks1 that people's mouths might water gratis as they passed2 there were piles of filberts1 mossy and brown1 recalling1 in their fragrance1 ancient walks among the woods1 and pleasant shufflings ankle deep through withered leaves2 there were ,norfolk ,biffins1 squab and swarthy1 setting off the yellow of the oranges and lemons1 and in the great compactness of their juicy persons1 urgently entreating and beseeching to be carried home in paper bags and eaten after dinner4 ,the very gold and silver fish1 set forth among these choice fruits in a bowl1 though members of a dull and stagnant blooded race1 appeared to know that there was something going on1 and to a fish went gasping round and round their little world in slow and passionless excitement4 ,the grocers'6 oh the grocers'6 nearly closed1 with perhaps two shutters down1 or one2 but through those gaps such glimpses6 ,it was not alone that the scales descending on the counter made a merry sound1 or that the twine and roller parted company so briskly1 or that the canisters were rattled up and down like juggling tricks1 or even that the blended scents of tea and coffee were so grateful to the nose1 or even that the raisins were so plentiful and pure1 the almonds so extremely white1 the sticks of cinnamon so long and straight1 the other spices so delicious1 the candied fruits so caked and spotted with molten sugar as to make the coldest lookers-on feel faint and subsequently bilious4 ,nor was it that the figs were moist and pulpy1 or that the ,french plums blushed in modest tartness from their highly decorated boxes1 or that everything was good to eat and in its ,christmas dress2 but the customers were all so hurried and so eager in the hopeful promise of the day1 that they tumbled up against each other at the door1 crashing their wicker baskets wildly1 and left their purchases upon the counter1 and came running back to fetch them1 and committed hundreds of the like mistakes1 in the best humor possible2 while the grocer and his people were so frank and fresh that the polished hearts with which they fastened their aprons behind might have been their own1 worn outside for general inspection1 and for ,christmas daws to peck at if they chose4 ,but soon the steeples called good people all to church and chapel1 and away they came1 flocking through the streets in their best clothes1 and with their gayest faces4 ,at the same time there emerged from scores of by-streets1 lanes1 and nameless turnings1 innumerable people1 carrying their dinners to the bakers' shops4 ,the sight of these poor revelers appeared to interest the ,spirit very much1 for he stood with ,scrooge beside him in a baker's doorway1 and taking off the covers as their bearers passed1 sprinkled incense on their dinners from his torch4 ,and it was a very uncommon kind of torch1 for once or twice when there were angry words between some dinner-carriers who had jostled each other1 he shed a few drops of water on them from it1 and their good humor was restored directly1 for they said1 it was a shame to quarrel upon ,christmas ,day4 ,and so it was6 ,god love it1 so it was6 ,in time the bells ceased and the bakers were shut up2 and yet there was a genial shadowing forth of all these dinners and the progress of their cooking in the thawed blotch of wet above each baker's oven1 where the pavement smoked as if the stones were cooking1 too4 ,is there a peculiar flavor in what you sprinkle from your torch8 asked ,scrooge4 ,there is2 my own4 ,would it apply to any kind of dinner on this day8 asked ,scrooge4 ,to any kindly given4 ,to a poor one most4 ,why to a poor one most8 asked ,scrooge4 ,because it needs it most4 ,spirit1 said ,scrooge1 after a moment's thought1 ,i wonder you1 of all the beings in the many worlds about us1 should desire to cramp these people's opportunities of innocent enjoyment4 ,i6 cried the ,spirit4 ,you would deprive them of their means of dining every seventh day1 often the only day on which they can be said to dine at all1 said ,scrooge1 wouldn't you8 ,i6 cried the ,spirit4 ,you seek to close these places on the seventh day1 said ,scrooge1 and it comes to the same thing4 ,i seek6 exclaimed the ,spirit4 ,forgive me if ,i am wrong4 ,it has been done in your name1 or at least in that of your family1 said ,scrooge4 ,there are some upon this earth of yours1 returned the ,spirit1 who lay claim to know us1 and who do their deeds of passion1 pride1 ill-will1 hatred1 envy1 bigotry1 and selfishness in our name1 who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin as if they had never lived4 ,remember that1 and charge their doings on themselves1 not us4 ,scrooge promised that he would1 and they went on1 invisible1 as they had been before1 into the suburbs of the town4 ,it was a remarkable quality of the ,ghost 7which ,scrooge had observed at the baker's71 that notwithstanding his gigantic size1 he could accommodate himself to any place with ease1 and that he stood beneath a low roof quite as gracefully and like a supernatural creature as it was possible he could have done in any lofty hall4 ,and perhaps it was the pleasure the good ,spirit had in showing off this power of his1 or else it was his own kind1 generous1 hearty nature1 and his sympathy with all poor men1 that led him straight to ,scrooge's clerk's2 for there he went1 and took ,scrooge with him1 holding to his robe2 and on the threshold of the door the ,spirit smiled1 and stopped to bless ,bob ,cratchit's dwelling with the sprinklings of his torch4 ,think of that6 ,bob had but fifteen ,bob a-week himself2 he pocketed on ,saturdays but fifteen copies of his ,christian name2 and yet the ,ghost of ,christmas ,present blessed his four-roomed house6 ,then up rose ,mrs4 ,cratchit1 ,cratchit's wife1 dressed out but poorly in a twice-turned gown1 but brave in ribbons1 which are cheap and make a goodly show for sixpence2 and she laid the cloth1 assisted by ,belinda ,cratchit1 second of her daughters1 also brave in ribbons2 while ,master ,peter ,cratchit plunged a fork into the saucepan of potatoes1 and getting the corners of his monstrous shirt collar 7,bob's private property1 conferred upon his son and heir in honor of the day7 into his mouth1 rejoiced to find himself so gallantly attired1 and yearned to show his linen in the fashionable parks4 ,and now two smaller ,cratchits1 boy and girl1 came tearing in1 screaming that outside the baker's they had smelt the goose and known it for their own1 and basking in luxurious thoughts of sage and onion1 these young ,cratchits danced about the table1 and exalted ,master ,peter ,cratchit to the skies1 while he 7not proud1 although his collars nearly choked him7 blew the fire until the slow potatoes bubbling up knocked loudly at the saucepan lid to be led out and peeled4 ,what has ever got your precious father then8 said ,mrs4 ,cratchit4 ,and your brother1 ,tiny ,tim6 ,and ,martha warn't as late last ,christmas ,day by half an hour4 ,here's ,martha1 mother6 said a girl1 appearing as she spoke4 ,here's ,martha1 mother6 cried the two young ,cratchits4 ,hurrah6 ,there's such a goose1 ,martha6 ,why1 bless your heart alive1 my dear1 how late you are6 said ,mrs4 ,cratchit1 kissing her a dozen times1 and taking off her shawl and bonnet for her with officious zeal4 ,we'd a deal of work to finish up last night1 replied the girl1 and had to clear away this morning1 mother6 ,well1 never mind so long as you are come1 said ,mrs4 ,cratchit4 ,sit ye down before the fire1 my dear1 and have a warm1 ,lord bless ye6 ,no1 no6 ,there's father coming1 cried the two young ,cratchits1 who were everywhere at once4 ,hide1 ,martha1 hide6 ,so ,martha hid herself1 and in came little ,bob1 the father1 with at least three feet of comforter1 exclusive of the fringe1 hanging down before him1 and his threadbare clothes darned up and brushed to look seasonable1 and ,tiny ,tim upon his shoulder4 ,alas for ,tiny ,tim1 he bore a little crutch and had his limbs supported by an iron frame6 ,why1 where's our ,martha8 cried ,bob ,cratchit1 looking round4 ,not coming1 said ,mrs4 ,cratchit4 ,not coming6 said ,bob1 with a sudden declension in his high spirits1 for he had been ,tim's blood horse all the way from church1 and had come home rampant2 not coming upon ,christmas ,day6 ,martha didn't like to see him disappointed1 if it were only a joke1 so she came out prematurely from behind the closet door and ran into his arms1 while the two young ,cratchits hustled ,tiny ,tim and bore him off into the wash-house1 that he might hear the pudding singing in the copper4 ,and how did little ,tim behave8 asked ,mrs4 ,cratchit1 when she had rallied ,bob on his credulity1 and ,bob had hugged his daughter to his heart's content4 ,as good as gold1 said ,bob1 and better4 ,somehow he gets thoughtful1 sitting by himself so much1 and thinks the strangest things you ever heard4 ,he told me coming home that he hoped the people saw him in the church1 because he was a cripple1 and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon ,christmas ,day who made lame beggars walk and blind men see4 ,bob's voice was tremulous when he told them this1 and trembled more when he said that ,tiny ,tim was growing strong and hearty4 ,his active little crutch was heard upon the floor1 and back came ,tiny ,tim before another word was spoken1 escorted by his brother and sister to his stool before the fire1 and while ,bob1 turning up his cuffs--as if1 poor fellow1 they were capable of being made more shabby--compounded some hot mixture in a jug with gin and lemons1 and stirred it round and round and put it on the hob to simmer1 ,master ,peter and the two ubiquitous young ,cratchits went to fetch the goose1 with which they soon returned in high procession4 ,such a bustle ensued that you might have thought a goose the rarest of all birds2 a feathered phenomenon1 to which a black swan was a matter of course--and in truth it was something very like it in that house4 ,mrs4 ,cratchit made the gravy 7ready beforehand in a little saucepan7 hissing hot2 ,master ,peter mashed the potatoes with incredible vigor2 ,miss ,belinda sweetened up the apple sauce2 ,martha dusted the hot plates2 ,bob took ,tiny ,tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table2 the two young ,cratchits set chairs for everybody1 not forgetting themselves1 and mounting guard upon their posts1 crammed spoons into their mouths1 lest they should shriek for goose before their turn came to be helped4 ,at last the dishes were set on1 and grace was said4 ,it was succeeded by a breathless pause1 as ,mrs4 ,cratchit1 looking slowly all along the carving-knife1 prepared to plunge it in the breast2 but when she did1 and when the long-expected gush of stuffing issued forth1 one murmur of delight arose all round the board1 and even ,tiny ,tim1 excited by the two young ,cratchits1 beat on the table with the handle of his knife1 and feebly cried ,hurrah6 ,there never was such a goose4 ,bob said he didn't believe there ever was such a goose cooked4 ,its tenderness and flavor1 size and cheapness1 were the themes of universal admiration4 ,eked out by apple sauce and mashed potatoes it was a sufficient dinner for the whole family2 indeed1 as ,mrs4 ,cratchit said with great delight 7surveying one small atom of a bone upon the dish71 they hadn't ate it all at last6 ,yet every one had had enough1 and the youngest ,cratchits in particular were steeped in sage and onion to the eyebrows6 ,but now1 the plates being changed by ,miss ,belinda1 ,mrs4 ,cratchit left the room alone--too nervous to bear witnesses--to take the pudding up and bring it in4 ,suppose it should not be done enough6 ,suppose it should break in turning out6 ,suppose somebody should have got over the wall of the back yard and stolen it while they were merry with the goose--a supposition at which the two young ,cratchits became livid6 ,all sorts of horrors were supposed4 ,hallo6 ,a great deal of steam6 ,the pudding was out of the copper4 ,a smell like a washing-day6 ,that was the cloth4 ,a smell like an eating-house and a pastry-cook's next door to each other1 with a laundress's next door to that6 ,that was the pudding4 ,in half a minute ,mrs4 ,cratchit entered--flushed1 but smiling proudly--with the pudding1 like a speckled canon-ball1 so hard and firm1 blazing in half of half a-quartern of ignited brandy1 and bedight with ,christmas holly stuck into the top4 ,oh1 a wonderful pudding6 ,bob ,cratchit said1 and calmly1 too1 that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by ,mrs4 ,cratchit since their marriage4 ,mrs4 ,cratchit said that now the weight was off her mind1 she would confess she had had her doubts about the quantity of flour4 ,everybody had something to say about it1 but nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family4 ,it would have been flat heresy to do so4 ,any ,cratchit would have blushed to hint at such a thing4 ,at last the dinner was all done1 the cloth was cleared1 the hearth swept1 and the fire made up4 ,the compound in the jug being tasted and considered perfect1 apples and oranges were put upon the table1 and a shovelful of chestnuts on the fire4 ,then all the ,cratchit family drew round the hearth1 in what ,bob ,cratchit called a circle1 meaning half a one1 and at ,bob ,cratchit's elbow stood the family display of glass3 two tumblers and a custard-cup without a handle4 ,these held the hot stuff from the jug1 however1 as well as golden goblets would have done2 and ,bob served it out with beaming looks1 while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered and cracked noisily4 ,then ,bob proposed3 ,a ,merry ,christmas to us all1 my dears4 ,god bless us6 ,which all the family re-echoed4 ,god bless us every one6 said ,tiny ,tim1 the last of all4 ,he sat very close to his father's side upon his little stool4 ,bob held his withered little hand in his1 as if he loved the child1 and wished to keep him by his side1 and dreaded that he might be taken from him4 ,spirit1 said ,scrooge1 with an interest he had never felt before1 tell me if ,tiny ,tim will live4 ,i see a vacant seat1 replied the ,ghost1 in the poor chimney-corner1 and a crutch without an owner1 carefully preserved4 ,if these shadows remain unaltered by the future1 the child will die4 ,no1 no1 said ,scrooge4 ,oh1 no1 kind ,spirit6 say he will be spared4 ,if these shadows remain unaltered by the future1 none other of my race1 returned the ,ghost1 will find him here4 ,what then8 ,if he be like to die1 he had better do it1 and decrease the surplus population4 ,scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the ,spirit1 and was overcome with penitence and grief4 ,man1 said the ,ghost1 if man you be in heart1 not adamant1 forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered ,what the surplus is1 and ,where is it4 ,will you decide what men shall live1 what men shall die8 ,it may be that1 in the sight of heaven1 you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man's child4 ,oh1 ,god1 to hear the insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust6 ,scrooge bent before the ,ghost's rebuke1 and trembling1 cast his eyes upon the ground4 ,but he raised them speedily on hearing his own name4 ,mr4 ,scrooge6 said ,bob2 ,i'll give you ,mr4 ,scrooge1 the founder of the feast6 ,the founder of the feast1 indeed6 cried ,mrs4 ,cratchit1 reddening4 ,i wish ,i had him here4 ,i'd give him a piece of my mind to feast upon1 and ,i hope he'd have a good appetite for it4 ,my dear1 said ,bob1 the children6 ,christmas ,day4 ,it should be ,christmas ,day1 ,i am sure1 said she1 on which one drinks the health of such an odious1 stingy1 hard1 unfeeling man as ,mr4 ,scrooge4 ,you know he is1 ,robert6 ,nobody knows it better than you do1 poor fellow6 ,my dear1 was ,bob's mild answer1 ,christmas ,day4 ,i'll drink his health for your sake and the day's1 said ,mrs4 ,cratchit1 not for his4 ,long life to him6 ,a ,merry ,christmas and a ,happy ,new ,year6 ,he'll be very merry and very happy1 ,i have no doubt6 ,the children drank the toast after her4 ,it was the first of their proceedings which had no heartiness4 ,tiny ,tim drank it last of all1 but he didn't care twopence for it4 ,scrooge was the ,ogre of the family4 ,the mention of his name cast a dark shadow on the party1 which was not dispelled for full five minutes4 ,after it had passed away1 they were ten times merrier than before1 from the mere relief of ,scrooge the baleful being done with4 ,bob ,cratchit told them how he had a situation in his eye for ,master ,peter1 which would bring in1 if obtained1 full five-and-sixpence weekly4 ,the two young ,cratchits laughed tremendously at the idea of ,peter's being a man of business2 and ,peter himself looked thoughtfully at the fire from between his collars1 as if he were deliberating what particular investments he should favor when he came into the receipt of that bewildering income4 ,martha1 who was a poor apprentice at a milliner's1 then told them what kind of work she had to do1 and how many hours she worked at a stretch1 and how she meant to lie abed to-morrow morning for a good long rest2 to-morrow being a holiday she passed at home4 ,also how she had seen a countess and a lord some days before1 and how the lord was much about as tall as ,peter2 at which ,peter pulled up his collars so high that you couldn't have seen his head if you had been there4 ,all this time the chestnuts and the jug went round and round1 and by and by they had a song1 about a lost child traveling in the snow1 from ,tiny ,tim1 who had a plaintive little voice1 and sang it very well indeed4 ,there was nothing of high mark in this4 ,they were not a handsome family2 they were not well dressed2 their shoes were far from being waterproof2 their clothes were scanty2 and ,peter might have known1 and very likely did1 the inside of a pawnbroker's4 ,but they were happy1 grateful1 pleased with one another1 and contented with the time2 and when they faded and looked happier yet in the bright sprinklings of the ,spirit's torch at parting1 ,scrooge had his eye upon them1 and especially on ,tiny ,tim1 until the last4 ,by this time it was getting dark and snowing pretty heavily1 and as ,scrooge and the ,spirit went along the streets1 the brightness of the roaring fires in kitchens1 parlors1 and all sorts of rooms was wonderful4 ,here the flickering of the blaze showed preparations for a cozy dinner1 with hot plates baking through and through before the fire1 and deep red curtains1 ready to be drawn to shut out cold and darkness4 ,there all the children of the house were running out into the snow to meet their married sisters1 brothers1 cousins1 uncles1 aunts1 and be the first to greet them4 ,here1 again1 were shadows on the windowblind of guests assembling2 and there a group of handsome girls1 all hooded and fur-booted1 and all chattering at once1 tripped lightly off to some near neighbor's house1 where1 woe upon the single man who saw them enter--artful witches1 well they knew it--in a glow6 ,but if you had judged from the numbers of people on their way to friendly gatherings1 you might have thought that no one was at home to give them welcome when they got there1 instead of every house expecting company1 and piling up its fires half-chimney high4 ,blessings on it1 how the ,ghost exulted4 ,how it bared its breadth of breast1 and opened its capacious palm1 and floated on1 outpouring1 with a generous hand1 its bright and harmless mirth on everything within its reach6 ,the very lamplighter1 who ran on before1 dotting the dusky street with specks of light1 and who was dressed to spend the evening somewhere1 laughed out loudly as the ,spirit passed1 though little kenned the lamplighter that he had any company but ,christmas6 ,and now1 without a word of warning from the ,ghost1 they stood upon a bleak and desert moor1 where monstrous masses of rude stone were cast about1 as though it were the burial-place of giants1 and water spread itself wheresoever it listed1 or would have done so1 but for the frost that held it prisoner2 and nothing grew but moss and furze1 and coarse1 rank grass4 ,down in the west the setting sun had left a streak of fiery red1 which glared upon the desolation for an instant like a sullen eye1 and frowning lower1 lower1 lower yet1 was lost in the thick gloom of darkest night4 ,what place is this8 asked ,scrooge4 ,a place where miners live1 who labor in the bowels of the earth1 returned the ,spirit4 ,but they know me4 ,see6 ,a light shone from the window of a hut1 and swiftly they advanced towards it4 ,passing through the wall of mud and stone1 they found a cheerful company assembled round a glowing fire4 ,an old1 old man and woman1 with their children and their children's children1 and another generation beyond that1 all decked out gayly in their holiday attire4 ,the old man1 in a voice that seldom rose above the howling of the wind upon the barren waste1 was singing them a ,christmas song--it had been a very old song when he was a boy--and from time to time they all joined in the chorus4 ,so surely as they raised their voices1 the old man got quite blithe and loud1 and so surely as they stopped1 his vigor sank again4 ,the ,spirit did not tarry here1 but bade ,scrooge hold his robe1 and passing on above the moor1 sped--whither8 ,not to sea8 ,to sea4 ,to ,scrooge's horror1 looking back1 he saw the last of the land1 a frightful range of rocks behind them1 and his ears were deafened by the thundering of water1 as it rolled and roared1 and raged among the dreadful caverns it had worn1 and fiercely tried to undermine the earth4 ,built upon a dismal reef of sunken rocks1 some league or so from shore1 on which the waters chafed and dashed1 the wild year through1 there stood a solitary lighthouse4 ,great heaps of seaweed clung to its base1 and storm birds--born of the wind one might suppose1 as seaweed of the water--rose and fell about it1 like the waves they skimmed4 ,but even here1 two men who watched the light had made a fire1 that through the loophole in the thick stone wall shed out a ray of brightness on the awful sea4 ,joining their horny hands over the rough table at which they sat1 they wished each other ,merry ,christmas in their can of grog2 and one of them--the elder1 too1 with his face all damaged and scarred with hard weather1 as the figurehead of an old ship might be--struck up a sturdy song that was like a gale in itself4 ,again the ,ghost sped on1 above the black and heaving sea--on1 on--until1 being far away1 as he told ,scrooge1 from any shore1 they lighted on a ship4 ,they stood beside the helmsman at the wheel1 the lookout in the bow1 the officers who had the watch--dark1 ghostly figures in their several stations2 but every man among them hummed a ,christmas tune1 or had a ,christmas thought1 or spoke below his breath to his companion of some bygone ,christmas ,day1 with homeward hopes belonging to it4 ,and every man on board1 waking or sleeping1 good or bad1 had had a kinder word for another on that day than on any day in the year2 and had shared to some extent in its festivities2 and had remembered those he cared for at a distance2 and had known that they delighted to remember him4 ,it was a great surprise to ,scrooge1 while listening to the moaning of the wind1 and thinking what a solemn thing it was to move on through the lonely darkness over an unknown abyss1 whose depths were secrets as profound as death1 it was a great surprise to ,scrooge1 while thus engaged to hear a hearty laugh4 ,it was a much greater surprise to ,scrooge to recognize it as his own nephew's and to find himself in a bright1 dry1 gleaming room1 with the ,spirit standing smiling by his side1 and looking at that same nephew with approving affability6 ,ha1 ha6 laughed ,scrooge's nephew4 ,ha1 ha1 ha6 ,if you should happen1 by any unlikely chance1 to know a man more blest in a laugh than ,scrooge's nephew1 all ,i can say is1 ,i should like to know him1 too4 ,introduce him to me1 and ,i'll cultivate his acquaintance4 ,it is a fair1 even-handed1 noble adjustment of things1 that while there is infection in disease and sorrow1 there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor4 ,when ,scrooge's nephew laughed in this way--holding his sides1 rolling his head1 and twisting his face into the most extravagant contortions--,scrooge's niece1 by marriage1 laughed as heartily as he1 and their assembled friends being not a bit behindhand1 roared out lustily4 ,ha1 ha6 ,ha1 ha1 ha1 ha6 ,he said that ,christmas was a humbug1 as ,i live6 cried ,scrooge's nephew4 ,he believed it1 too6 ,more shame for him1 ,fred6 said ,scrooge's niece1 indignantly4 ,bless those women2 they never do anything by halves1 they are always in earnest4 ,she was very pretty1 exceedingly pretty4 ,with a dimpled1 surprised-looking1 capital face2 a ripe little mouth that seemed made to be kissed1 as no doubt it was2 all kinds of good little dots about her chin that melted into one another when she laughed2 and the sunniest pair of eyes you ever saw in any little creature's head4 ,altogether she was what you would have called provoking1 you know2 but satisfactory1 too4 ,oh1 perfectly satisfactory4 ,he's a comical old fellow1 said ,scrooge's nephew1 that's the truth1 and not so pleasant as he might be4 ,however1 his offenses carry their own punishment1 and ,i have nothing to say against him4 ,i'm sure he is very rich1 ,fred1 hinted ,scrooge's niece4 ,at least you always tell me so4 ,what of that1 my dear6 said ,scrooge's nephew4 ,his wealth is of no use to him4 ,he don't do any good with it4 ,he don't make himself comfortable with it4 ,he hasn't the satisfaction of thinking--ha1 ha1 ha6--that he is ever going to benefit us with it4 ,i have no patience with him1 observed ,scrooge's niece4 ,scrooge's niece's sisters and all the other ladies1 expressed the same opinion4 ,oh1 ,i have6 said ,scrooge's nephew4 ,i am sorry for him2 ,i couldn't be angry with him if ,i tried4 ,who suffers by his ill whims6 ,himself1 always4 ,here1 he takes it into his head to dislike us1 and he won't come and dine with us4 ,what's the consequence8 ,he don't lose much of a dinner4 ,indeed1 ,i think he loses a very good dinner1 interrupted ,scrooge's niece4 ,everybody else said the same1 and they must be allowed to have been competent judges1 because they had just had dinner1 and with the dessert upon the table1 were clustered round the fire1 by lamplight4 ,well1 ,i'm very glad to hear it1 said ,scrooge's nephew1 because ,i haven't great faith in these young housekeepers4 ,what do you say1 ,topper8 ,topper had clearly got his eye upon one of ,scrooge's niece's sisters1 for he answered that a bachelor was a wretched outcast1 who had no right to express an opinion on the subject4 ,whereas ,scrooge's niece's sister--the plump one with the lace tucker2 not the one with the roses--blushed4 ,do go on1 ,fred1 said ,scrooge's niece1 clapping her hands4 ,he never finishes what he begins to say2 he is such a ridiculous fellow6 ,scrooge's nephew reveled in another laugh1 and as it was impossible to keep the infection off--though the plump sister tried hard to do it with aromatic vinegar--his example was unanimously followed4 ,i was only going to say1 said ,scrooge's nephew1 that the consequence of his taking a dislike to us1 and not making merry with us1 is1 as ,i think1 that he loses some pleasant moments which could do him no harm4 ,i am sure he loses pleasanter companions than he can find in his own thoughts1 either in his moldy old office or his dusty chambers4 ,i mean to give him the same chance every year1 whether he likes it or not1 for ,i pity him4 ,he may rail at ,christmas till he dies1 but he can't help thinking better of it--,i defy him--if he finds me going there1 in good temper1 year after year1 and saying1 ,uncle ,scrooge1 how are you8 ,if it only puts him in the vein to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds1 that's something1 and ,i think ,i shook him yesterday4 ,it was their turn to laugh now1 at the notion of his shaking ,scrooge4 ,but being thoroughly good-natured1 and not much caring what they laughed at so that they laughed at any rate1 he encouraged them in their merriment and passed the bottle joyously4 ,after tea1 they had some music1 for they were a musical family1 and knew what they were about1 when they sung a ,glee or ,catch1 ,i can assure you1 especially ,topper1 who could growl away in the bass like a good one1 and never swell the large veins in his forehead1 or get red in the face over it4 ,scrooge's niece played well upon the harp1 and played among other tunes a simple little air 7a mere nothing--you might learn to whistle it in two minutes71 which had been familiar to the child who fetched ,scrooge from the boarding-school1 as he had been reminded by the ,ghost of ,christmas ,past4 ,when the strain of music sounded1 all the things that ,ghost had shown him came upon his mind1 he softened more and more1 and thought that if he could have listened to it often years ago1 he might have cultivated the kindness of life for his own happiness with his own hands1 without resorting to the sexton's spade that buried ,jacob ,marley4 ,but they didn't devote the whole evening to music4 ,after a while they played at forfeits1 for it is good to be children sometimes1 and never better than at ,christmas1 when its mighty ,founder was a child himself4 ,stop6 ,there was first a game at blind-man's buff4 ,of course there was4 ,and ,i no more believe that ,topper was really blind than ,i believe he had eyes in his boots4 ,my opinion is that it was a done thing between him and ,scrooge's nephew1 and that the ,ghost of ,christmas ,present knew it4 ,the way he went after that plump sister in the lace tucker was an outrage on the credulity of human nature4 ,knocking down the fire-irons1 tumbling over the chairs1 bumping against the piano1 smothering himself among the curtains1 wherever she went1 there went he6 ,he always knew where the plump sister was4 ,he wouldn't catch anybody else4 ,if you had fallen up against him 7as some of them did on purpose71 he would have made a feint of endeavoring to seize you1 which would have been an affront to your understanding1 and would instantly have sidled off in the direction of the plump sister4 ,she often cried out that it wasn't fair1 and it really was not4 ,but when at last he caught her2 when1 in spite of all her silken rustlings1 and her rapid flutterings past him1 he got her into a corner whence there was no escape2 then his conduct was the most execrable4 ,for his pretending not to know her1 his pretending that it was necessary to touch her head-dress1 and further to assure himself of her identity by pressing a certain ring upon her finger1 and a certain chain about her neck1 was vile1 monstrous6 ,no doubt she told him her opinion of it1 when1 another blind man being in office1 they were so very confidential together behind the curtains4 ,scrooge's niece was not one of the blind-man's buff party1 but was made comfortable with a large chair and a footstool1 in a snug corner1 where the ,ghost and ,scrooge were close behind her4 ,but she joined in the forfeits and loved her love to admiration with all the letters of the alphabet4 ,likewise at the game of ,how1 ,when1 and ,where1 she was very great1 and to the secret joy of ,scrooge's nephew1 beat her sisters hollow1 though they were sharp girls1 too1 as ,topper could have told you4 ,there might have been twenty people there1 young and old1 but they all played1 and so did ,scrooge1 for wholly forgetting1 in the interest he had in what was going on1 that his voice made no sound in their ears1 he sometimes came out with his guess quite loud1 and very often guessed quite right1 too2 for the sharpest needle1 best ,whitechapel1 warranted not to cut in the eye1 was not sharper than ,scrooge2 blunt as he took it in his head to be4 ,the ,ghost was greatly pleased to find him in this mood1 and looked upon him with such favor that he begged like a boy to be allowed to stay until the guests departed4 ,but this the ,spirit said could not be done4 ,here is a new game1 said ,scrooge4 ,one half-hour1 ,spirit1 only one6 ,it was a game called ,yes and ,no1 where ,scrooge's nephew had to think of something1 and the rest must find out what2 he only answering to their questions yes or no1 as the case was4 ,the brisk fire of questioning to which he was exposed elicited from him that he was thinking of an animal1 a live animal1 rather a disagreeable animal1 a savage animal1 an animal that growled and grunted sometimes1 and talked sometimes1 and lived in ,london1 and walked about the streets1 and wasn't made a show of1 and wasn't led by anybody1 and didn't live in a menagerie1 and was never killed in a market1 and was not a horse1 or an ass1 or a cow1 or a bull1 or a tiger1 or a dog1 or a pig1 or a cat1 or a bear4 ,at every fresh question that was put to him1 this nephew burst into a fresh roar of laughter1 and was so inexpressibly tickled that he was obliged to get up off the sofa and stamp4 ,at last the plump sister1 falling into a similar state1 cried out1 ,i have found it out6 ,i know what it is1 ,fred6 ,i know what it is6 ,what is it8 cried ,fred4 ,it's your ,uncle ,scro-o-o-o-oge6 ,which it certainly was4 ,admiration was the universal sentiment1 though some objected that the reply to ,is it a bear8 ought to have been ,yes1 inasmuch as an answer in the negative was sufficient to have diverted their thoughts from ,mr4 ,scrooge1 supposing they had ever had any tendency that way4 ,he has given us plenty of merriment1 ,i am sure1 said ,fred1 and it would be ungrateful not to drink his health4 ,here is a glass of mulled wine ready to our hand at the moment2 and ,i say1 ',uncle ,scrooge6' ,well6 ,uncle ,scrooge6 they cried4 ,a ,merry ,christmas and a ,happy ,new ,year to the old man1 whatever he is6 said ,scrooge's nephew4 ,he wouldn't take it from me1 but may he have it1 nevertheless4 ,uncle ,scrooge6 ,uncle ,scrooge had imperceptibly become so gay and light of heart that he would have pledged the unconscious company in return1 and thanked them in an inaudible speech if the ,ghost had given him time4 ,but the whole scene passed off in the breath of the last word spoken by his nephew1 and he and the ,spirit were again upon their travels4 ,much they saw1 and far they went1 and many homes they visited1 but always with a happy end4 ,the ,spirit stood beside sick beds1 and they were cheerful2 on foreign lands1 and they were close at home2 by struggling men1 and they were patient in their greater hope2 by poverty1 and it was rich4 ,in almshouse1 hospital1 and jail1 in misery's every refuge1 where vain man in his little brief authority had not made fast the door and barred the ,spirit out1 he left his blessing and taught ,scrooge his precepts4 ,it was a long night1 if it were only a night2 but ,scrooge had his doubts of this1 because the ,christmas holidays appeared to be condensed into the space of time they passed together4 ,it was strange1 too1 that while ,scrooge remained unaltered in his outward form1 the ,ghost grew older1 clearly older4 ,scrooge had observed this change1 but never spoke of it until they left a children's ,twelfth-,night party1 when1 looking at the ,spirit as they stood together in an open place1 he noticed that its hair was gray4 ,are spirits' lives so short8 asked ,scrooge4 ,my life upon this globe is very brief1 replied the ,ghost4 ,it ends to-night4 ,to-night6 cried ,scrooge4 ,to-night at midnight4 ,hark6 ,the time is drawing near4 ,the chimes were ringing the three-quarters past eleven at that moment4 ,forgive me if ,i am not justified in what ,i ask1 said ,scrooge1 looking intently at the ,spirit's robe1 but ,i see something strange1 and not belonging to yourself1 protruding from your skirts4 ,is it a foot or a claw8 ,it might be a claw1 for the flesh there is upon it1 was the ,spirit's sorrowful reply4 ,look here4 ,from the foldings of its robe it brought two children1 wretched1 abject1 frightful1 hideous1 miserable4 ,they knelt down at its feet1 and clung upon the outside of its garment4 ,oh1 man6 look here4 ,look1 look down here6 exclaimed the ,ghost4 ,they were a boy and girl4 ,yellow1 meager1 ragged1 scowling1 wolfish1 but prostrate1 too1 in their humility4 ,where graceful youth should have filled their features out and touched them with its freshest tints1 a stale and shriveled hand1 like that of age1 had pinched and twisted them1 and pulled them into shreds4 ,where angels might have sat enthroned1 devils lurked and glared out menacing4 ,no change1 no degradation1 no perversion of humanity in any grade1 through all the mysteries of wonderful creation1 has monsters half so horrible and dread4 ,scrooge started back1 appalled4 ,having them shown to him in this way1 he tried to say they were fine children1 but the words choked themselves rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude4 ,spirit1 are they yours8 ,scrooge could say no more4 ,they are man's1 said the ,spirit1 looking down upon them1 and they cling to me1 appealing from their fathers4 ,this boy is ,ignorance4 ,this girl is ,want4 ,beware them both1 and all of their degree1 but most of all beware this boy1 for on his brow ,i see that written which is ,doom1 unless the writing be erased4 ,deny it6 cried the ,spirit1 stretching out its hand towards the city4 ,slander those who tell it ye6 ,admit it for your factious purposes1 and make it worse4 ,and abide the end6 ,have they no refuge or resource8 cried ,scrooge4 ,are there no prisons8 said the ,spirit1 turning on him for the last time with his own words4 ,are there no workhouses8 ,the bell struck twelve4 ,scrooge looked about him for the ,ghost1 and saw it not4 ,as the last stroke ceased to vibrate1 he remembered the prediction of old ,jacob ,marley1 and lifting up his eyes1 beheld a solemn ,phantom1 draped and hooded1 coming like a mist along the ground towards him4 ,,stave ,,four4 ,,the ,,last ,,of ,,the ,,spirits4 ,the ,phantom slowly1 gravely1 silently approached4 ,when it came near him1 ,scrooge bent down upon his knee2 for in the very air through which this ,spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery4 ,it was shrouded in a deep1 black garment1 which concealed its head1 its face1 its form1 and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand4 ,but for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night1 and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded4 ,he felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him1 and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread4 ,he knew no more1 for the ,spirit neither spoke nor moved4 ,i am in the presence of the ,ghost of ,christmas ,yet to ,come8 said ,scrooge4 ,the ,spirit answered not1 but pointed onward with its hand4 ,you are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened1 but will happen in the time before us1 ,scrooge pursued4 ,is that so1 ,spirit8 ,the upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant in its folds1 as if the ,spirit had inclined its head4 ,that was the only answer he received4 ,although well used to ghostly company by this time1 ,scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him1 and he found that he could hardly stand when he prepared to follow it4 ,the ,spirit paused a moment1 as observing his condition1 and giving him time to recover4 ,but ,scrooge was all the worse for this4 ,it thrilled him with a vague uncertain horror to know that behind the dusky shroud there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him1 while he1 though he stretched his own to the utmost1 could see nothing but a spectral hand and one great heap of black4 ,ghost of the ,future6 he exclaimed1 ,i fear you more than any specter ,i have seen4 ,but as ,i know your purpose is to do me good1 and as ,i hope to live to be another man from what ,i was1 ,i am prepared to bear you company1 and do it with a thankful heart4 ,will you not speak to me8 ,it gave him no reply4 ,the hand was pointed straight before them4 ,lead on6 said ,scrooge4 ,lead on6 ,the night is waning fast1 and it is precious time to me1 ,i know4 ,lead on1 ,spirit6 ,the ,phantom moved away as it had come towards him4 ,scrooge followed in the shadow of its dress1 which bore him up1 he thought1 and carried him along4 ,they scarcely seemed to enter the city1 for the city rather seemed to spring up about them and encompass them of its own act4 ,but there they were in the heart of it1 on ',change1 amongst the merchants1 who hurried up and down1 and chinked the money in their pockets1 and conversed in groups1 and looked at their watches1 and trifled thoughtfully with their great gold seals1 and so forth1 as ,scrooge had seen them often4 ,the ,spirit stopped beside one little knot of business men4 ,observing that the hand was pointed to them1 ,scrooge advanced to listen to their talk4 ,no1 said a great fat man with a monstrous chin1 ,i don't know much about it1 either way4 ,i only know he's dead4 ,when did he die8 inquired another4 ,last night1 ,i believe4 ,why1 what was the matter with him8 asked a third1 taking a vast quantity of snuff out of a very large snuff-box4 ,i thought he'd never die4 ,god knows1 said the first1 with a yawn4 ,what has he done with his money8 asked a red-faced gentleman with a pendulous excrescence on the end of his nose1 that shook like the gills of a turkey-cock4 ,i haven't heard1 said the man with the large chin1 yawning again4 ,left it to his company1 perhaps4 ,he hasn't left it to me4 ,that's all ,i know4 ,this pleasantry was received with a general laugh4 ,it's likely to be a very cheap funeral1 said the same speaker2 for upon my life ,i don't know of anybody to go to it4 ,suppose we make up a party and volunteer8 ,i don't mind going if a lunch is provided1 observed the gentleman with the excrescence on his nose4 ,but ,i must be fed1 if ,i make one4 ,another laugh4 ,well1 ,i am the most disinterested among you1 after all1 said the first speaker1 for ,i never wear black gloves1 and ,i never eat lunch4 ,but ,i'll offer to go1 if anybody else will4 ,when ,i come to think of it1 ,i'm not at all sure that ,i wasn't his most particular friend1 for we used to stop and speak whenever we met4 ,by-by6 ,speakers and listeners strolled away and mixed with other groups4 ,scrooge knew the men1 and looked towards the ,spirit for an explanation4 ,the ,phantom glided on into a street4 ,its finger pointed to two persons meeting4 ,scrooge listened again1 thinking that the explanation might lie here4 ,he knew these men1 also1 perfectly4 ,they were men of business1 very wealthy1 and of great importance4 ,he had made a point always of standing well in their esteem1 in a business point of view2 that is1 strictly in a business point of view4 ,how are you8 said one4 ,how are you8 returned the other4 ,well6 said the first4 ,old ,scratch has got his own at last1 hey8 ,so ,i am told1 returned the second4 ,cold1 isn't it8 ,seasonable for ,christmas time4 ,you're not a skater1 ,i suppose8 ,no1 no4 ,something else to think of4 ,good morning6 ,not another word4 ,that was their meeting1 their conversation1 and their parting4 ,scrooge was at first inclined to be surprised that the ,spirit should attach importance to conversations apparently so trivial1 but feeling assured that they must have some hidden purpose1 he set himself to consider what it was likely to be4 ,they could scarcely be supposed to have any bearing on the death of ,jacob1 his old partner1 for that was ,past1 and this ,ghost's province was the ,future4 ,nor could he think of any one immediately connected with himself to whom he could apply them4 ,but nothing doubting that to whomsoever they applied they had some latent moral for his own improvement1 he resolved to treasure up every word he heard and everything he saw1 and especially to observe the shadow of himself when it appeared4 ,for he had an expectation that the conduct of his future self would give him the clue he missed1 and would render the solution of these riddles easy4 ,he looked about in that very place for his own image1 but another man stood in his accustomed corner1 and though the clock pointed to his usual time of day for being there1 he saw no likeness of himself among the multitudes that poured in through the porch4 ,it gave him little surprise1 however1 for he had been revolving in his mind a change of life1 and thought and hoped he saw his new-born resolutions carried out in this4 ,quiet and dark beside him stood the ,phantom1 with its outstretched hand4 ,when he roused himself from his thoughtful quest1 he fancied from the turn of the hand1 and its situation in reference to himself1 that the unseen eyes were looking at him keenly4 ,it made him shudder and feel very cold4 ,they left the busy scene and went into an obscure part of the town where ,scrooge had never penetrated before1 although he recognized its situation and its bad repute4 ,the ways were foul and narrow1 the shops and houses wretched1 the people half-naked1 drunken1 slipshod1 ugly4 ,alleys and archways1 like so many cesspools1 disgorged their offenses of smell1 and dirt1 and life upon the straggling streets1 and the whole quarter reeked with crime1 with filth1 and misery4 ,far in this den of infamous resort there was a low-browed1 beetling shop below a pent-house roof1 where iron1 old rags1 bottles1 bones1 and greasy offal1 were bought4 ,upon the floor within were piled up heaps of rusty keys1 nails1 chains1 hinges1 files1 scales1 weights1 and refuse iron of all kinds4 ,secrets that few would like to scrutinize were bred and hidden in mountains of unseemly rags1 masses of corrupted fat1 and sepulchers of bones4 ,sitting in among the wares he dealt in1 by a charcoal stove made of old bricks1 was a gray-haired rascal1 nearly seventy years of age1 who had screened himself from the cold air without by a frowsy curtaining of miscellaneous tatters hung upon a line1 and smoked his pipe in all the luxury of calm retirement4 ,scrooge and the ,phantom came into the presence of this man just as a woman with a heavy bundle slunk into the shop4 ,but she had scarcely entered when another woman1 similarly laden1 came in too1 and she was closely followed by a man in faded black1 who was no less startled by the sight of them than they had been upon the recognition of each other4 ,after a short period of blank astonishment1 in which the old man with the pipe had joined them1 they all three burst into a laugh4 ,let the charwoman alone to be the first6 cried she who had entered first4 ,let the laundress alone to be the second1 and let the under-taker's man alone to be the third4 ,look here1 old ,joe1 here's a chance6 ,if we haven't all three met here without meaning it6 ,you couldn't have met in a better place1 said old ,joe1 removing his pipe from his mouth4 ,come into the parlor4 ,you were made free of it long ago1 you know1 and the other two an't strangers4 ,stop till ,i shut the door of the shop4 ,ah6 ,how it skreeks6 ,there an't such a rusty bit of metal in the place as its own hinges1 ,i believe1 and ,i'm sure there's no such old bones here as mine4 ,ha1 ha6 ,we're all suitable to our calling1 we're well matched4 ,come into the parlor4 ,come into the parlor4 ,the parlor was the space behind the screen of rags4 ,the old man raked the fire together with an old stair-rod1 and having trimmed his smoky lamp 7for it was night7 with the stem of his pipe1 put it in his mouth again4 ,while he did this1 the woman who had already spoken threw her bundle on the floor and sat down in a flaunting manner on a stool1 crossing her elbows on her knees1 and looking with a bold defiance at the other two4 ,what odds then6 ,what odds1 ,mrs4 ,dilber8 said the woman4 ,every person has a right to take care of themselves4 ,he always did4 ,that's true1 indeed6 said the laundress4 ,no man more so4 ,why1 then1 don't stand staring as if you was afraid1 woman2 who's the wiser8 ,we're not going to pick holes in each other's coats1 ,i suppose8 ,no1 indeed6 said ,mrs4 ,dilber and the man together4 ,we should hope not4 ,very well1 then6 cried the woman4 ,that's enough4 ,who's the worse for the loss of a few things like these8 ,not a dead man1 ,i suppose4 ,no1 indeed1 said ,mrs4 ,dilber1 laughing4 ,if he wanted to keep 'em after he was dead1 a wicked old screw1 pursued the woman1 why wasn't he natural in his lifetime8 ,if he had been1 he'd have had somebody to look after him when he was struck with death1 instead of lying gasping out his last there1 alone1 by himself4 ,it's the truest word that ever was spoke1 said ,mrs4 ,dilber4 ,it's a judgment on him4 ,i wish it was a little heavier judgment1 replied the woman1 and it should have been1 you depend upon it1 if ,i could have laid my hands on anything else4 ,open that bundle1 old ,joe1 and let me know the value of it4 ,speak out plain4 ,i'm not afraid to be the first nor afraid for them to see it4 ,we knew pretty well that we were helping ourselves before we met here1 ,i believe4 ,it's no sin4 ,open the bundle1 ,joe4 ,but the gallantry of her friends would not allow of this1 and the man in faded black1 mounting the breach first1 produced his plunder4 ,it was not extensive4 ,a seal or two1 a pencil-case1 a pair of sleeve-buttons1 and a brooch of no great value1 were all4 ,they were severally examined and appraised by old ,joe1 who chalked the sums he was disposed to give for each upon the wall1 and added them up into a total when he found there was nothing more to come4 ,that's your account1 said ,joe1 and ,i wouldn't give another sixpence if ,i was to be boiled for not doing it4 ,who's next8 ,mrs4 ,dilber was next4 ,sheets and towels1 a little wearing apparel1 two old-fashioned silver teaspoons1 a pair of sugar-tongs1 a few boots4 ,her account was stated on the wall in the same manner4 ,i always give too much to ladies4 ,it's a weakness of mine1 and that's the way ,i ruin myself1 said old ,joe4 ,that's your account4 ,if you asked me for another penny and made it an open question1 ,i'd repent of being so liberal and knock off half-a-crown4 ,and now undo my bundle1 ,joe1 said the first woman4 ,joe went down on his knees for the greater convenience of opening it1 and having unfastened a great many knots1 dragged out a large and heavy roll of some dark stuff4 ,what do you call this8 said ,joe4 ,bed-curtains6 ,ah1 returned the woman1 laughing and leaning forward on her crossed arms1 bed-curtains6 ,you don't mean to say you took 'em down1 rings an all1 with him lying there8 said ,joe4 ,yes ,i do1 replied the woman4 ,why not8 ,you were born to make your fortune1 said ,joe1 and you'll certainly do it4 ,i certainly sha'n't hold my hand1 when ,i can get anything in it by reaching it out1 for the sake of such a man as he was1 ,i promise you1 ,joe1 returned the woman1 coolly4 ,don't drop that oil upon the blankets1 now4 ,his blankets8 asked ,joe4 ,whose else's do you think8 replied the woman4 ,he isn't likely to take cold without 'em1 ,i dare say4 ,i hope he didn't die of anything catching8 ,eh8 said old ,joe1 stopping in his work and looking up4 ,don't you be afraid of that1 returned the woman4 ,i an't so fond of his company that ,i'd loiter about him for such things if he did4 ,ah6 you may look through that shirt till your eyes ache1 but you won't find a hole in it1 nor a threadbare place4 ,it's the best he had1 and a fine one1 too4 ,they'd have wasted it1 if it hadn't been for me4 ,what do you call wasting of it8 asked old ,joe4 ,putting it on him to be buried in1 to be sure1 replied the woman1 with a laugh4 ,somebody was fool enough to do it1 but ,i took it off again4 ,if calico an't good enough for such a purpose1 it isn't good enough for anything4 ,it's quite as unbecoming to the body4 ,he can't look uglier than he did in that one4 ,scrooge listened to this dialogue in horror4 ,as they sat grouped about their spoil in the scanty light afforded by the old man's lamp1 he viewed them with a detestation and disgust which could hardly have been greater1 though they had been obscene demons1 marketing the corpse itself4 ,ha1 ha6 laughed the same woman1 when old ,joe1 producing a flannel bag with money in it1 told out their several gains upon the ground4 ,this is the end of it1 you see6 ,he frightened every one away from him when he was alive1 to profit us when he was dead6 ,ha1 ha1 ha6 ,spirit6 said ,scrooge1 shuddering from head to foot4 ,i see1 ,i see4 ,the case of this unhappy man might be my own4 ,my life tends that way now4 ,merciful heaven1 what is this6 ,he recoiled in terror1 for the scene had changed1 and now he almost touched a bed--a bare1 uncurtained bed--on which1 beneath a ragged sheet there lay a something covered up1 which1 though it was dumb1 announced itself in awful language4 ,the room was very dark1 too dark to be observed with any accuracy1 though ,scrooge glanced round it1 in obedience to a secret impulse1 anxious to know what kind of room it was4 ,a pale light rising in the outer air1 fell straight upon the bed1 and on it1 plundered and bereft1 unwatched1 unwept1 uncared for1 was the body of this man4 ,scrooge glanced toward the ,phantom4 ,its steady hand was pointed to the head4 ,the cover was so carelessly adjusted that the slightest raising of it1 the motion of a finger upon ,scrooge's part1 would have disclosed the face4 ,he thought of it1 felt how easy it would be to do1 and longed to do it1 but had no more power to withdraw the veil than to dismiss the specter at his side4 ,oh cold1 cold1 rigid1 dreadful ,death1 set up thine altar here1 and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command1 for this is thy dominion6 ,but of the loved1 revered1 and honored head1 thou canst not turn one hair to thy dread purposes1 or make one feature odious4 ,it is not that the hand is heavy and will fall down when released1 it is not that the heart and pulse are still1 but that the hand was open1 generous1 and true2 the heart brave1 warm1 and tender2 and the pulse a man's4 ,strike1 ,shadow1 strike6 ,and see his good deeds springing from the wound1 to sow the world with life immortal6 ,no voice pronounced these words in ,scrooge's ears1 and yet he heard them when he looked upon the bed4 ,he thought if this man could be raised up now1 what would be his foremost thoughts8 ,avarice1 hard-dealing1 griping cares8 ,they have brought him to a rich end1 truly6 ,he lay in the dark1 empty house with not a man1 a woman1 or a child to say that he was kind to me in this or that1 and for the memory of one kind word ,i will be kind to him4 ,a cat was tearing at the door1 and there was a sound of gnawing rats beneath the hearthstone4 ,what they wanted in the room of death1 and why they were so restless and disturbed1 ,scrooge did not dare to think4 ,spirit1 he said1 this is a fearful place4 ,in leaving it1 ,i shall not leave its lesson1 trust me4 ,let us go6 ,still the ,ghost pointed with an unmoved finger to the head4 ,i understand you1 ,scrooge returned1 and ,i would do it1 if ,i could4 ,but ,i have not the power1 ,spirit4 ,i have not the power4 ,again it seemed to look upon him4 ,if there is any person in the town who feels emotion caused by this man's death1 said ,scrooge quite agonized1 show that person to me1 ,spirit1 ,i beseech you6 ,the ,phantom spread its dark robe before him for a moment like a wing1 and withdrawing it1 revealed a room by daylight1 where a mother and her children were4 ,she was expecting some one1 and with anxious eagerness1 for she walked up and down the room1 started at every sound1 looked out from the window1 glanced at the clock1 tried but in vain to work with her needle1 and could hardly bear the voices of the children in their play4 ,at length the long-expected knock was heard4 ,she hurried to the door and met her husband1 a man whose face was careworn and depressed1 though he was young4 ,there was a remarkable expression in it now1 a kind of serious delight1 of which he felt ashamed and which he struggled to repress4 ,he sat down to the dinner that had been hoarding for him by the fire1 and when she asked him faintly what news 7which was not until after a long silence71 he appeared embarrassed how to answer4 ,is it good1 she said1 or bad8--to help him4 ,bad1 he answered4 ,we are quite ruined8 ,no2 there is hope yet1 ,caroline4 ,if he relents1 she said1 amazed1 there is6 ,nothing is past hope1 if such a miracle has happened4 ,he is past relenting1 said her husband4 ,he is dead4 ,she was a mild and patient creature1 if her face spoke truth1 but she was thankful in her soul to hear it1 and she said so1 with clasped hands4 ,she prayed forgiveness the next moment1 and was sorry1 but the first was the emotion of her heart4 ,what the half-drunken woman whom ,i told you of last night said to me when ,i tried to see him and obtain a week's delay1 and what ,i thought was a mere excuse to avoid me1 turns out to have been quite true4 ,he was not only very ill1 but dying then4 ,to whom will our debt be transferred8 ,i don't know4 ,but before that time we shall be ready with the money1 and even though we were not1 it would be a bad fortune indeed to find so merciless a creditor in his successor4 ,we may sleep to-night with light hearts1 ,caroline6 ,yes2 soften it as they would1 their hearts were lighter4 ,the children's faces1 hushed and clustered round to hear what they so little understood1 were brighter1 and it was a happier house for this man's death6 ,the only emotion that the ,ghost could show him1 caused by the event1 was one of pleasure4 ,let me see some tenderness connected with a death1 said ,scrooge2 or that dark chamber1 ,spirit1 which we left just now will be forever present to me4 ,the ,ghost conducted him through several streets familiar to his feet1 and as they went along1 ,scrooge looked here and there to find himself1 but nowhere was he to be seen4 ,they entered poor ,bob ,cratchit's house1 the dwelling he had visited before1 and found the mother and children seated round the fire4 ,quiet2 very quiet4 ,the noisy little ,cratchits were as still as statues in one corner1 and sat looking up at ,peter1 who had a book before him2 the mother and her daughters were engaged in sewing4 ,but surely they were very quiet6 ',and ,he took a child1 and set him in the midst of them4' ,where had ,scrooge heard those words8 ,he had not dreamed them4 ,the boy must have read them out1 as he and the ,spirit crossed the threshold4 ,why did he not go on8 ,the mother laid her work upon the table1 and put her hand up to her face4 ,the color hurts my eyes1 she said4 ,the color8 ,ah1 poor ,tiny ,tim6 ,they're better now again1 said ,cratchit's wife4 ,it makes them weak by candlelight1 and ,i wouldn't show weak eyes to your father when he comes home for the world4 ,it must be near his time4 ,past it rather1 ,peter answered1 shutting up his book4 ,but ,i think he has walked a little slower than he used1 these few last evenings1 mother4 ,they were very quiet again4 ,at last she said1 and in a steady1 cheerful voice1 that only faltered once1 ,i have known him walk with--,i have known him walk with ,tiny ,tim upon his shoulder1 very fast indeed4 ,and so have ,i6 cried ,peter2 often4 ,and so have ,i6 exclaimed another4 ,so had all4 ,but he was very light to carry1 she resumed1 intent upon her work1 and his father loved him so that it was no trouble2 no trouble4 ,and there is your father at the door6 ,she hurried out to meet him1 and little ,bob in his comforter--he had need of it1 poor fellow--came in4 ,his tea was ready for him on the hob1 and they all tried who should help him to it most4 ,then the two young ,cratchits got up on his knees and laid each child a little cheek against his face1 as if they said1 ,don't mind it1 father2 don't be grieved6 ,bob was very cheerful with them1 and spoke pleasantly to all the family4 ,he looked at the work upon the table1 and praised the industry and speed of ,mrs4 ,cratchit and the girls4 ,they would be done long before ,sunday he said4 ,sunday6 ,you went to-day1 then1 ,robert8 said his wife4 ,yes1 my dear1 returned ,bob4 ,i wish you could have gone4 ,it would have done you good to see how green a place it is4 ,but you'll see it often4 ,i promised him that ,i would walk there on a ,sunday4 ,my little1 little child6 cried ,bob4 ,my little child6 ,he broke down all at once4 ,he couldn't help it4 ,if he could have helped it he and his child would have been farther apart perhaps than they were4 ,he left the room and went upstairs into the room above1 which was lighted cheerfully1 and hung with ,christmas4 ,there was a chair set loose beside the child and there were signs of some one having been there lately4 ,poor ,bob sat down in it1 and when he had thought a little and composed himself1 he kissed the little face4 ,he was reconciled to what had happened1 and went down again quite happy4 ,they drew about the fire and talked2 the girls and mother working still4 ,bob told them of the extraordinary kindness of ,mr4 ,scrooge's nephew1 whom he had scarcely seen but once1 and who1 meeting him in the street that day1 and seeing that he looked a little--just a little down you know1 said ,bob1 inquired what had happened to distress him4 ,on which1 said ,bob1 for he is the pleasantest-spoken gentleman you ever heard1 ,i told him4 ',i am heartily sorry for it1 ,mr4 ,cratchit1' he said1 'and heartily sorry for your good wife4' ,by the by1 how he ever knew that1 ,i don't know4 ,knew what1 my dear8 ,why1 that you were a good wife1 replied ,bob4 ,everybody knows that6 said ,peter4 ,very well observed1 my boy6 cried ,bob4 ,i hope they do4 ',heartily sorry1' he said1 'for your good wife4 ,if ,i can be of service to you in any way1' he said1 giving me his card1 'that's where ,i live4 ,pray come to me4' ,now1 it wasn't1 cried ,bob1 for the sake of anything he might be able to do for us1 so much as for his kind way1 that this was quite delightful4 ,it really seemed as if he had known our ,tiny ,tim1 and felt with us4 ,i'm sure he's a good soul6 said ,mrs4 ,cratchit4 ,you would be surer of it1 my dear1 returned ,bob1 if you saw and spoke to him4 ,i shouldn't be at all surprised--mark what ,i say6--if he got ,peter a better situation4 ,only hear that1 ,peter1 said ,mrs4 ,cratchit4 ,and then1 cried one of the girls1 ,peter will be keeping company with some one1 and setting up for himself4 ,get along with you6 retorted ,peter1 grinning4 ,it's just likely as not1 said ,bob1 one of these days2 though there's plenty of time for that1 my dear4 ,but1 however and whenever we part from one another1 ,i am sure we shall none of us forget poor ,tiny ,tim--shall we--or this first parting that there was among us8 ,never1 father6 cried they all4 ,and ,i know1 said ,bob1 ,i know1 my dears1 that when we recollect how patient and how mild he was1 although he was a little1 little child1 we shall not quarrel easily among ourselves and forget poor ,tiny ,tim in doing it4 ,no1 never1 father6 they all cried again4 ,i am very happy1 said little ,bob2 ,i am very happy6 ,mrs4 ,cratchit kissed him1 his daughters kissed him1 the two young ,cratchits kissed him1 and ,peter and himself shook hands4 ,spirit of ,tiny ,tim1 thy childish essence was from ,god4 ,specter1 said ,scrooge1 something informs me that our parting moment is at hand4 ,i know it1 but ,i know not how4 ,tell me what man that was whom we saw lying dead8 ,the ,ghost of ,christmas ,yet to ,come conveyed him1 as before--though at a different time1 he thought1 indeed1 there seemed no order in these latter visions1 save that they were in the future--into the resorts of business men1 but showed him not himself4 ,indeed1 the ,spirit did not stay for anything1 but went straight on1 as to the end just now desired1 until besought by ,scrooge to tarry for a moment4 ,this court1 said ,scrooge1 through which we hurry now1 is where my place of occupation is1 and has been for a length of time4 ,i see the house4 ,let me behold what ,i shall be in days to come6 ,the ,spirit stopped1 the hand was pointed elsewhere4 ,the house is yonder1 ,scrooge exclaimed4 ,why do you point away8 ,the inexorable finger underwent no change4 ,scrooge hastened to the window of his office and looked in4 ,it was an office still1 but not his4 ,the furniture was not the same1 and the figure in the chair was not himself4 ,the ,phantom pointed as before4 ,he joined it once again1 and wondering why and whither he had gone1 accompanied it until they reached an iron gate4 ,he paused to look round before entering4 ,a churchyard4 ,here1 then1 the wretched man whose name he had now to learn lay underneath the ground4 ,it was a worthy place3 walled in by houses2 overrun by grass and weeds1 the growth of vegetation's death1 not life2 choked up with too much burying2 fat with replete appetite4 ,a worthy place6 ,the ,spirit stood among the graves1 and pointed down to one4 ,he advanced towards it1 trembling4 ,the ,phantom was exactly as it had been1 but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its solemn shape4 ,before ,i draw nearer to that stone to which you point1 said ,scrooge1 answer me one question4 ,are these the shadows of the things that will be1 or are they shadows of things that may be only8 ,still the ,ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood4 ,men's courses will foreshadow certain ends1 to which1 if persevered in1 they must lead1 said ,scrooge2 but if the course be departed from1 the ends will change4 ,say it is thus with what you show me6 ,the ,spirit was immovable as ever4 ,scrooge crept towards it1 trembling as he went1 and following the finger1 read upon the stone of the neglected grave his own name1 ,,ebenezer ,,scrooge4 ,am ,i that man who lay upon the bed8 he cried1 upon his knees4 ,the finger pointed from the grave to him1 and back again4 ,no1 ,spirit6 ,oh1 no1 no6 ,the finger still was there4 ,spirit6 he cried1 tight clutching at its robe1 hear me6 ,i am not the man ,i was4 ,i will not be the man ,i must have been but for this intercourse4 ,why show me this1 if ,i am past all hope6 ,for the first time the hand appeared to shake4 ,good ,spirit1 he pursued1 as down upon the ground he fell before it1 your nature intercedes for me1 and pities me4 ,assure me that ,i yet may change these shadows you have shown me1 by an altered life6 ,the kind hand trembled4 ,i will honor ,christmas in my heart1 and try to keep it all the year4 ,i will live in the ,past1 the ,present1 and the ,future4 ,the ,spirits of all three shall strive within me4 ,i will not shut out the lessons that they teach4 ,oh1 tell me ,i may sponge away the writing on this stone6 ,in his agony he caught the spectral hand4 ,it sought to free itself1 but he was strong in his entreaty1 and detained it4 ,the ,spirit1 stronger yet1 repulsed him4 ,holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate reversed1 he saw an alteration in the ,phantom's hood and dress4 ,it shrunk1 collapsed1 and dwindled down into a bedpost4 ,,stave ,,five4 ,,the ,,end ,,of ,,it4 ,yes1 and the bedpost was his own4 ,the bed was his own4 ,the room was his own4 ,best and happiest of all1 the time before him was his own1 to make amends in6 ,i will live in the ,past1 the ,present1 and the ,future6 ,scrooge repeated1 as he scrambled out of bed4 ,the spirits of all three shall strive within me4 ,oh1 ,jacob ,marley6 ,heaven and the ,christmas time be praised for this6 ,i say it on my knees1 old ,jacob1 on my knees6 ,he was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions that his broken voice would scarcely answer to his call4 ,he had been sobbing violently in his conflict with the ,spirit1 and his face was wet with tears4 ,they are not torn down1 cried ,scrooge1 folding one of his bed-curtains in his arms1 they are not torn down1 rings and all4 ,they are here--,i am here--the shadows of the things that would have been may be dispelled4 ,they will be6 ,i know they will6 ,his hands were busy with his garments all this time1 turning them inside out1 putting them on upside down1 tearing them1 mislaying them1 making them parties to every kind of extravagance4 ,i don't know what to do6 cried ,scrooge1 laughing and crying in the same breath1 and making a perfect ,laocon of himself with his stockings4 ,i am as light as a feather1 ,i am as happy as an angel1 ,i am as merry as a school-boy4 ,i am as giddy as a drunken man4 ,a ,merry ,christmas to everybody6 ,a ,happy ,new ,year to all the world4 ,hallo here6 ,whoop6 ,hallo6 ,he had frisked into the sitting-room1 and was now standing there1 perfectly winded4 ,there's the saucepan that the gruel was in6 cried ,scrooge1 starting off again1 and going round the fireplace4 ,there's the door by which the ,ghost of ,jacob ,marley entered6 ,there's the corner where the ,ghost of ,christmas ,present sat6 ,there's the window where ,i saw the wandering ,spirits6 ,it's all right1 it's all true1 it all happened4 ,ha1 ha1 ha6 ,really1 for a man who had been out of practice for so many years1 it was a splendid laugh1 a most illustrious laugh4 ,the father of a long1 long line of brilliant laughs6 ,i don't know what day of the month it is6 said ,scrooge4 ,i don't know how long ,i've been among the spirits4 ,i don't know anything4 ,i'm quite a baby4 ,never mind4 ,i don't care4 ,i'd rather be a baby4 ,hallo6 ,whoop6 ,hallo here6 ,he was checked in his transports by the churches ringing out the lustiest peals he had ever heard4 ,clash1 clang1 hammer2 ding1 dong1 bell4 ,bell1 dong1 ding2 hammer1 clang1 clash6 ,oh1 glorious1 glorious6 ,running to the window1 he opened it and put out his head4 ,no fog1 no mist2 clear1 bright1 jovial1 stirring1 cold2 cold1 piping for the blood to dance to--golden sunlight2 heavenly sky2 sweet fresh air2 merry bells4 ,oh1 glorious6 ,glorious6 ,what's to-day8 cried ,scrooge1 calling downward to a boy in ,sunday clothes1 who perhaps had loitered in to look about him4 ,eh8 returned the boy1 with all his might of wonder4 ,what's to-day1 my fine fellow8 said ,scrooge4 ,to-day6 replied the boy4 ,why1 ,christmas ,day4 ,it's ,christmas ,day6 said ,scrooge to himself4 ,i haven't missed it4 ,the ,spirits have done it all in one night4 ,they can do anything they like4 ,of course they can4 ,of course they can4 ,hallo1 my fine fellow6 ,hallo6 returned the boy4 ,do you know the poulterer's1 in the next street but one1 at the corner8 ,scrooge inquired4 ,i should hope ,i did1 replied the lad4 ,an intelligent boy6 said ,scrooge4 ,a remarkable boy6 ,do you know whether they've sold the prize turkey that was hanging up there8--not the little prize turkey--the big one8 ,what1 the one as big as me8 returned the boy4 ,what a delightful boy6 said ,scrooge4 ,it's a pleasure to talk to him4 ,yes1 my buck6 ,it's hanging there now1 replied the boy4 ,is it8 said ,scrooge4 ,go and buy it4 ,walk-er6 exclaimed the boy4 ,no1 no1 said ,scrooge1 ,i am in earnest4 ,go and buy it1 and tell 'em to bring it here1 that ,i may give them the direction where to take it4 ,come back with the man and ,i'll give you a shilling4 ,come back with him in less than five minutes and ,i'll give you half-a-crown6 ,the boy was off like a shot4 ,he must have had a steady hand at a trigger who could have got a shot off half so fast4 ,i'll send it to ,bob ,cratchit's6 whispered ,scrooge1 rubbing his hands and splitting with a laugh4 ,he sha'n't know who sends it4 ,it's twice the size of ,tiny ,tim4 ,joe ,miller never made such a joke as sending it to ,bob's will be6 ,the hand in which he wrote the address was not a steady one1 but write it he did1 somehow1 and went downstairs to open the street door1 ready for the coming of the poulterer's man4 ,as he stood there waiting his arrival1 the knocker caught his eye4 ,i shall love it as long as ,i live6 cried ,scrooge1 patting it with his hand4 ,i scarcely ever looked at it before4 ,what an honest expression it has in its face6 ,it's a wonderful knocker6 ,here's the turkey4 ,hallo6 ,whoop6 ,how are you6 ,merry ,christmas6 ,it was a turkey6 ,he never could have stood upon his legs1 that bird4 ,he would have snapped 'em short off in a minute1 like sticks of sealing wax4 ,why1 it's impossible to carry that to ,camden ,town1 said ,scrooge4 ,you must have a cab4 ,the chuckle with which he said this1 and the chuckle with which he paid for the turkey1 and the chuckle with which he paid for the cab1 and the chuckle with which he recompensed the boy1 were only to be exceeded by the chuckle with which he sat down breathless in his chair again1 and chuckled till he cried4 ,shaving was not an easy task1 for his hand continued to shake very much1 and shaving requires attention1 even when you don't dance while you are at it4 ,but if he had cut the end of his nose off1 he would have put a piece of sticking-plaster over it1 and been quite satisfied4 ,he dressed himself all in his best1 and at last got out into the streets4 ,the people were by this time pouring forth1 as he had seen them with the ,ghost of ,christmas ,present1 and walking with his hands behind him1 ,scrooge regarded every one with a delighted smile4 ,he looked so irresistibly pleasant1 in a word1 that three or four good-humored fellows said1 ,good morning1 sir6 ,a merry ,christmas to you6 ,and ,scrooge said often afterwards1 that of all the blithe sounds he had ever heard1 those were the blithest in his ears4 ,he had not gone far1 when coming on towards him he beheld a portly gentleman who had walked into his counting-house the day before and said1 ,scrooge and ,marley's ,i believe8 ,it sent a pang across his heart to think how this old gentleman would look upon him when they met1 but he knew what path lay straight before him1 and he took it4 ,my dear sir1 said ,scrooge1 quickening his pace1 and taking the old gentleman by both his hands1 how do you do8 ,i hope you succeeded yesterday4 ,it was very kind of you4 ,a merry ,christmas to you1 sir6 ,mr4 ,scrooge8 ,yes1 said ,scrooge1 that is my name1 and ,i fear it may not be pleasant to you4 ,allow me to ask your pardon4 ,and will you have the goodness--here ,scrooge whispered in his ear4 ,lord bless me6 cried the gentleman1 as if his breath was taken away4 ,my dear ,mr4 ,scrooge1 are you serious8 ,if you please1 said ,scrooge4 ,not a farthing less4 ,a great many back payments are included in it1 ,i assure you4 ,will you do me that favor8 ,my dear sir1 said the other1 shaking hands with him1 ,i don't know what to say to such munifi-- ,don't say anything1 please1 retorted ,scrooge4 ,come and see me4 ,will you come and see me8 ,i will6 cried the old gentleman4 ,and it was clear that he meant to do it4 ,thank'ee1 said ,scrooge4 ,i am much obliged to you4 ,i thank you fifty times4 ,bless you6 ,he went to church1 and walked about the streets1 and watched the people hurrying to and fro1 and patted children on the head1 and questioned beggars1 and looked down into the kitchens of houses1 and up to the windows1 and found that everything could yield him pleasure4 ,he had never dreamed that any walk--that anything--could give him so much happiness4 ,in the afternoon he turned his steps towards his nephew's house4 ,he passed the door a dozen times before he had the courage to go up and knock2 but he made a dash1 and did it4 ,is your master at home1 my dear8 said ,scrooge to the girl4 ,nice girl6 ,very4 ,yes1 sir4 ,where is he1 my love8 said ,scrooge4 ,he's in the dining-room1 sir1 along with mistress4 ,i'll show you upstairs1 if you please4 ,thank'ee4 ,he knows me1 said ,scrooge1 with his hand already on the dining-room lock4 ,i'll go in here1 my dear4 ,he turned it gently1 and sidled his face in1 round the door4 ,they were looking at the table 7which was spread out in great array71 for these young housekeepers are always nervous on such points1 and like to see that everything is right4 ,fred6 said ,scrooge4 ,dear heart alive1 how his niece by marriage started6 ,scrooge had forgotten1 for the moment1 about her sitting in the corner with the footstool1 or he wouldn't have done it on any account4 ,why1 bless my soul6 cried ,fred1 who's that8 ,it's ,i4 ,your ,uncle ,scrooge4 ,i have come to dinner4 ,will you let me in1 ,fred8 ,let him in6 ,it is a mercy he didn't shake his arm off4 ,he was at home in five minutes4 ,nothing could be heartier4 ,his niece looked just the same4 ,so did ,topper when he came4 ,so did the plump sister when she came4 ,so did every one when they came4 ,wonderful party1 wonderful games1 wonderful unanimity1 wonderful happiness6 ,but he was early at the office next morning4 ,oh1 he was early there4 ,if he could only be there first1 and catch ,bob ,cratchit coming late6 ,that was the thing he had set his heart upon4 ,and he did it2 yes1 he did6 ,the clock struck nine4 ,no ,bob4 ,a quarter past4 ,no ,bob4 ,he was full eighteen minutes and a half behind his time4 ,scrooge sat with his door wide open1 that he might see him come into the tank4 ,his hat was off before he opened the door2 his comforter1 too4 ,he was on his stool in a jiffy1 driving away with his pen1 as if he were trying to overtake nine o'clock4 ,hallo6 growled ,scrooge1 in his accustomed voice1 as near as he could feign it4 ,what do you mean by coming here at this time of day8 ,i'm very sorry1 sir1 said ,bob4 ,i am behind my time4 ,you are8 repeated ,scrooge4 ,yes1 ,i think you are4 ,step this way1 sir1 if you please4 ,it's only once a year1 sir1 pleaded ,bob1 appearing from the tank4 ,it shall not be repeated4 ,i was making rather merry yesterday1 sir4 ,now1 ,i'll tell you what1 my friend1 said ,scrooge1 ,i am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer4 ,and therefore1 he continued1 leaping from his stool1 and giving ,bob such a dig in the waistcoat that he staggered back into the tank again1 and therefore ,i am about to raise your salary6 ,bob trembled1 and got a little nearer to the ruler4 ,he had a momentary idea of knocking ,scrooge down with it1 holding him1 and calling to the people in the court for help and a straight-waistcoat4 ,a ,merry ,christmas1 ,bob6 said ,scrooge1 with an earnestness that could not be mistaken1 as he clapped him on the back4 ,a merrier ,christmas1 ,bob1 my good fellow1 than ,i have given you for many a year6 ,i'll raise your salary1 and endeavor to assist your struggling family1 and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon over a ,christmas bowl of smoking bishop1 ,bob6 ,make up the fires and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i1 ,bob ,cratchit6 ,scrooge was better than his word4 ,he did it all1 and infinitely more2 and to ,tiny ,tim1 who did not die1 he was a second father4 ,he became as good a friend1 as good a master1 and as good a man as the good old city knew1 or any other good old city1 town1 or borough in the good old world4 ,some people laughed to see the alteration in him1 but he let them laugh1 and little heeded them1 for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe1 for good1 at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset1 and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway1 he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins1 as have the malady in less attractive forms4 ,his own heart laughed1 and that was quite enough for him4 ,he had no further intercourse with ,spirits1 but lived upon the ,total ,abstinence ,principle ever afterwards1 and it was always said of him1 that he knew how to keep ,christmas well1 if any man alive possessed the knowledge4 ,may that be truly said of us1 and all of us6 ,and so1 as ,tiny ,tim observed1 ,god bless us1 every one6 ,,vii4 ,,little ,,gretchen ,,and ,,the ,,wooden ,,shoe4 ,a ,,christmas ,,story ,,for ,,little ,,children4 ,the following story is one of many which has drifted down to us from the story-loving nurseries and hearthstones of ,germany4 ,i cannot recall when ,i first had it told to me as a child1 varied of course by different tellers1 but always leaving that sweet1 tender impression of ,god's loving care for the least of his children4 ,i have since read different versions of it in at least a half-dozen story books for children4 ,once upon a time1 a long time ago1 far away across the great ocean1 in a country called ,germany1 there could be seen a small log hut on the edge of a great forest1 whose fir-trees extended for miles and miles to the north4 ,this little house1 made of heavy hewn logs1 had but one room in it4 ,a rough pine door gave entrance to this room1 and a small square window admitted the light4 ,at the back of the house was built an old-fashioned stone chimney1 out of which in winter usually curled a thin blue smoke1 showing that there was not very much fire within4 ,small as the house was1 it was large enough for the two people who lived in it4 ,i want to tell you a story to-day about these two people4 ,one was an old1 gray-haired woman1 so old that the little children of the village1 nearly half a mile away1 often wondered whether she had come into the world with the huge mountains and the great fir-trees1 which stood like giants back of her small hut4 ,her face was wrinkled all over with deep lines1 which if the children could only have read aright1 would have told them of many years of cheerful1 happy1 self-sacrifice1 of loving1 anxious watching beside sick-beds1 of quiet endurance of pain1 of many a day of hunger and cold1 and of a thousand deeds of unselfish love for other people2 but1 of course1 they could not read this strange handwriting4 ,they only knew that she was old and wrinkled1 and that she stooped as she walked4 ,none of them seemed to fear her1 for her smile was always cheerful1 and she had a kindly word for each of them if they chanced to meet her on her way to and from the village4 ,with this old1 old woman lived a very little girl4 ,so bright and happy was she that the travelers who passed by the lonesome little house on the edge of the forest often thought of a sunbeam as they saw her4 ,these two people were known in the village as ,granny ,goodyear and ,little ,gretchen4 ,the winter had come and the frost had snapped off many of the smaller branches from the pine-trees in the forest4 ,gretchen and her ,granny were up by daybreak each morning4 ,after their simple breakfast of oatmeal1 ,gretchen would run to the little closet and fetch ,granny's old woolen shawl1 which seemed almost as old as ,granny herself4 ,gretchen always claimed the right to put the shawl over her ,granny's head1 even though she had to climb onto the wooden bench to do it4 ,after carefully pinning it under ,granny's chin1 she gave her a good by kiss1 and ,granny started out for her morning's work in the forest4 ,this work was nothing more nor less than the gathering up of the twigs and branches which the autumn winds and winter frosts had thrown upon the ground4 ,these were carefully gathered into a large bundle which ,granny tied together with a strong linen band4 ,she then managed to lift the bundle to her shoulder and trudged off to the village with it4 ,here she sold the fagots for kindling wood to the people of the village4 ,sometimes she would get only a few pence each day1 and sometimes a dozen or more1 but on this money little ,gretchen and she managed to live2 they had their home1 and the forest kindly furnished the wood for the fire which kept them warm in cold weather4 ,in the summer-time ,granny had a little garden at the back of the hut where she raised1 with little ,gretchen's help1 a few potatoes and turnips and onions4 ,these she carefully stored away for winter use4 ,to this meager supply1 the pennies1 gained by selling the twigs from the forest1 added the oatmeal for ,gretchen and a little black coffee for ,granny4 ,meat was a thing they never thought of having4 ,it cost too much money4 ,still1 ,granny and ,gretchen were very happy1 because they loved each other dearly4 ,sometimes ,gretchen would be left alone all day long in the hut because ,granny would have some work to do in the village after selling her bundle of sticks and twigs4 ,it was during these long days that little ,gretchen had taught herself to sing the song which the wind sang to the pine branches4 ,in the summer-time she learned the chirp and twitter of the birds1 until her voice might almost be mistaken for a bird's voice2 she learned to dance as the swaying shadows did1 and even to talk to the stars which shone through the little square window when ,granny came home too late or too tired to talk4 ,sometimes when the weather was fine1 or her ,granny had an extra bundle of newly knitted stockings to take to the village1 she would let little ,gretchen go along with her4 ,it chanced that one of these trips to the town came just the week before ,christmas1 and ,gretchen's eyes were delighted by the sight of the lovely ,christmas trees which stood in the window of the village store4 ,it seemed to her that she would never tire of looking at the knit dolls1 the woolly lambs1 the little wooden shops with their queer1 painted men and women in them1 and all the other fine things4 ,she had never owned a play-thing in her whole life2 therefore1 toys which you and ,i would not think much of1 seemed to her to be very beautiful4 ,that night1 after their supper of baked potatoes was over1 and little ,gretchen had cleared away the dishes and swept up the hearth because ,granny dear was so tired1 she brought her own small wooden stool and placed it very near ,granny's feet and sat down upon it1 folding her hands on her lap4 ,granny knew that this meant she wanted to talk about something1 so she smilingly laid away the large ,bible which she had been reading1 and took up her knitting1 which was as much as to say3 ,well1 ,gretchen1 dear1 ,granny is ready to listen4 ,granny1 said ,gretchen slowly1 it's almost ,christmas time1 isn't it8 ,yes1 dearie1 said ,granny1 only five more days now1 and then she sighed1 but little ,gretchen was so happy that she did not notice ,granny's sigh4 ,what do you think1 ,granny1 ,i'll get this ,christmas8 said she1 looking up eagerly into ,granny's face4 ,ah1 child1 child1 said ,granny1 shaking her head1 you'll have no ,christmas this year4 ,we are too poor for that4 ,oh1 but ,granny1 interrupted little ,gretchen1 think of all the beautiful toys we saw in the village to-day4 ,surely ,santa ,claus has sent enough for every little child4 ,ah1 dearie1 said ,granny1 those toys are for people who can pay money for them1 and we have no money to spend for ,christmas toys4 ,well1 ,granny1 said ,gretchen1 perhaps some of the little children who live in the great house on the hill at the other end of the village will be willing to share some of their toys with me4 ,they will be so glad to give some to a little girl who has none4 ,dear child1 dear child1 said ,granny1 leaning forward and stroking the soft1 shiny hair of the little girl1 your heart is full of love4 ,you would be glad to bring a ,christmas to every child2 but their heads are so full of what they are going to get that they forget all about anybody else but themselves4 ,then she sighed and shook her head4 ,well1 ,granny1 said ,gretchen1 her bright1 happy tone of voice growing a little less joyous1 perhaps the dear ,santa ,claus will show some of the village children how to make presents that do not cost money1 and some of them may surprise me ,christmas morning with a present4 ,and1 ,granny1 dear1 added she1 springing up from her low stool1 can't ,i gather some of the pine branches and take them to the old sick man who lives in the house by the mill1 so that he can have the sweet smell of our pine forest in his room all ,christmas day8 ,yes1 dearie1 said ,granny1 you may do what you can to make the ,christmas bright and happy1 but you must not expect any present yourself4 ,oh1 but ,granny1 said little ,gretchen1 her face brightening1 you forget all about the shining ,christmas angels1 who came down to earth and sang their wonderful song the night the beautiful ,christ ,child was born6 ,they are so loving and good that they will not forget any little child4 ,i shall ask my dear stars to-night to tell them of us4 ,you know1 she added1 with a look of relief1 the stars are so very high that they must know the angels quite well1 as they come and go with their messages from the loving ,god4 ,granny sighed1 as she half whispered1 ,poor child1 poor child6 but ,gretchen threw her arm around ,granny's neck and gave her a hearty kiss1 saying as she did so3 ,oh1 ,granny1 ,granny1 you don't talk to the stars often enough1 else you wouldn't be sad at ,christmas time4 ,then she danced all around the room1 whirling her little skirts about her to show ,granny how the wind had made the snow dance that day4 ,she looked so droll and funny that ,granny forgot her cares and worries and laughed with little ,gretchen over her new snow-dance4 ,the days passed on1 and the morning before ,christmas ,eve came4 ,gretchen having tidied up the little room--for ,granny had taught her to be a careful housewife--was off to the forest1 singing a bird-like song1 almost as happy and free as the birds themselves4 ,she was very busy that day1 preparing a surprise for ,granny4 ,first1 however1 she gathered the most beautiful of the fir branches within her reach to take the next morning to the old sick man who lived by the mill4 ,the day was all too short for the happy little girl4 ,when ,granny came trudging wearily home that night1 she found the frame of the doorway covered with green pine branches4 ,it's to welcome you1 ,granny6 ,it's to welcome you6 cried ,gretchen2 our dear old home wanted to give you a ,christmas welcome4 ,don't you see1 the branches of evergreen make it look as if it were smiling all over1 and it is trying to say1 ',a happy ,christmas' to you1 ,granny6 ,granny laughed and kissed the little girl1 as they opened the door and went in together4 ,here was a new surprise for ,granny4 ,the four posts of the wooden bed1 which stood in one corner of the room1 had been trimmed by the busy little fingers with smaller and more flexible branches of the pine-trees4 ,a small bouquet of red mountain-ash berries stood at each side of the fireplace1 and these1 together with the trimmed posts of the bed1 gave the plain old room quite a festival look4 ,gretchen laughed and clapped her hands and danced about until the house seemed full of music to poor1 tired ,granny1 whose heart had been sad as she turned towards their home that night1 thinking of the disappointment which must come to loving little ,gretchen the next morning4 ,after supper was over little ,gretchen drew her stool up to ,granny's side1 and laying her soft1 little hands on ,granny's knee1 asked to be told once again the story of the coming of the ,christ ,child2 how the night that he was born the beautiful angels had sung their wonderful song1 and how the whole sky had become bright with a strange and glorious light1 never seen by the people of earth before4 ,gretchen had heard the story many1 many times before1 but she never grew tired of it1 and now that ,christmas ,eve had come again1 the happy little child wanted to hear it once more4 ,when ,granny had finished telling it the two sat quiet and silent for a little while thinking it over2 then ,granny rose and said that it was time for them to go to bed4 ,she slowly took off her heavy wooden shoes1 such as are worn in that country1 and placed them beside the hearth4 ,gretchen looked thoughtfully at them for a minute or two1 and then she said1 ,granny1 don't you think that somebody in all this wide world will think of us to-night8 ,nay1 ,gretchen1 said ,granny1 ,i don't think any one will4 ,well1 then1 ,granny1 said ,gretchen1 the ,christmas angels will1 ,i know2 so ,i am going to take one of your wooden shoes1 and put it on the window sill outside1 so that they may see it as they pass by4 ,i am sure the stars will tell the ,christmas angels where the shoe is4 ,ah1 you foolish1 foolish child1 said ,granny2 you are only getting ready for a disappointment4 ,to-morrow morning there will be nothing whatever in the shoe4 ,i can tell you that now4 ,but little ,gretchen would not listen4 ,she only shook her head and cried out3 ,ah1 ,granny1 you don't talk enough to the stars4 ,with this she seized the shoe1 and opening the door1 hurried out to place it on the window-sill4 ,it was very dark without1 and something soft and cold seemed to gently kiss her hair and face4 ,gretchen knew by this that it was snowing1 and she looked up to the sky1 anxious to see if the stars were in sight1 but a strong wind was tumbling the dark1 heavy snow-clouds about and had shut away all else4 ,never mind1 said ,gretchen softly to herself1 the stars are up there1 even if ,i can't see them1 and the ,christmas angels do not mind snow-storms4 ,just then a rough wind went sweeping by the little girl1 whispering something to her which she could not understand1 and then it made a sudden rush up to the snow-clouds and parted them1 so that the deep1 mysterious sky appeared beyond1 and shining down out of the midst of it was ,gretchen's favorite star4 ,ah1 little star1 little star6 said the child1 laughing aloud1 ,i knew you were there1 though ,i couldn't see you4 ,will you whisper to the ,christmas angels as they come by1 that little ,gretchen wants so very much to have a ,christmas gift to-morrow morning if they have one to spare1 and that she has put one of ,granny's shoes upon the window-sill ready for it8 ,a moment more and the little girl1 standing on tiptoe1 had reached the window-sill and placed the shoe upon it1 and was back in the house again beside ,granny and the warm fire4 ,the two went quietly to bed1 and that night as little ,gretchen knelt to pray to the ,heavenly ,father1 she thanked him for having sent the ,christ ,child into the world to teach all mankind how to be loving and unselfish1 and in a few moments she was quietly sleeping1 dreaming of the ,christmas angels4 ,the next morning1 very early1 even before the sun was up1 little ,gretchen was awakened by the sound of sweet music coming from the village4 ,she listened for a moment and then she knew that the choir-boys were singing the ,christmas carols in the open air of the village street4 ,she sprang out of bed and began to dress herself as quickly as possible1 singing as she dressed4 ,while ,granny was slowly putting on her clothes1 little ,gretchen1 having finished dressing herself1 unfastened the door and hurried out to see what the ,christmas angels had left in the old wooden shoe4 ,the white snow covered everything--trees1 stumps1 roads1 and pastures--until the whole world looked like fairyland4 ,gretchen climbed up on a large stone which was beneath the window and carefully lifted down the wooden shoe4 ,the snow tumbled off of it in a shower over the little girl's hands1 but she did not heed that2 she ran hurriedly back into the house1 putting her hand into the toe of the shoe as she ran4 ,oh1 ,granny6 ,oh1 ,granny6 she exclaimed1 you didn't believe the ,christmas angels would think about us1 but see1 they have1 they have6 ,here is a dear little bird nestled down in the toe of your shoe6 ,oh1 isn't he beautiful6 ,granny came forward and looked at what the child was holding lovingly in her hand4 ,there she saw a tiny chick-a-dee1 whose wing was evidently broken by the rough and boisterous winds of the night before1 and who had taken shelter in the safe1 dry toe of the old wooden shoe4 ,she gently took the little bird out of ,gretchen's hands1 and skilfully bound his broken wing to his side1 so that he need not hurt himself by trying to fly with it4 ,then she showed ,gretchen how to make a nice warm nest for the little stranger1 close beside the fire1 and when their breakfast was ready she let ,gretchen feed the little bird with a few moist crumbs4 ,later in the day ,gretchen carried the fresh1 green boughs to the old sick man by the mill1 and on her way home stopped to see and enjoy the ,christmas toys of some other children whom she knew1 never once wishing that they were hers4 ,when she reached home she found that the little bird had gone to sleep4 ,soon1 however1 he opened his eyes and stretched his head up1 saying just as plain as a bird could say1 ,now1 my new friends1 ,i want you to give me something more to eat4 ,gretchen gladly fed him again1 and then holding him in her lap1 she softly and gently stroked his gray feathers until the little creature seemed to lose all fear of her4 ,that evening ,granny taught her a ,christmas hymn and told her another beautiful ,christmas story4 ,then ,gretchen made up a funny little story to tell to the birdie4 ,he winked his eyes and turned his head from side to side in such a droll fashion that ,gretchen laughed until the tears came4 ,as ,granny and she got ready for bed that night1 ,gretchen put her arms softly around ,granny's neck1 and whispered3 ,what a beautiful ,christmas we have had to-day1 ,granny6 ,is there anything in the world more lovely than ,christmas8 ,nay1 child1 nay1 said ,granny1 not to such loving hearts as yours4 ,,viii4 ,,the ,,legend ,,of ,,the ,,christ ,,child4#c ,a ,,story ,,for ,,christmas ,,eve4 ,i want to tell you to-night a story which has been told to little children in ,germany for many hundreds of years4 #c ,adapted from the ,german4 ,once upon a time1 a long1 long time ago1 on the night before ,christmas1 a little child was wandering all alone through the streets of a great city4 ,there were many people on the street1 fathers and mothers1 sisters and brothers1 uncles and aunts1 and even gray-haired grandfathers and grandmothers1 all of whom were hurrying home with bundles of presents for each other and for their little ones4 ,fine carriages rolled by1 express wagons rattled past1 even old carts were pressed into service1 and all things seemed in a hurry1 and glad with expectation of the coming ,christmas morning4 ,from some of the windows bright lights were already beginning to stream until it was almost as bright as day4 ,but the little child seemed to have no home1 and wandered about listlessly from street to street4 ,no one took any notice of him1 except perhaps ,jack ,frost1 who bit his bare toes and made the ends of his fingers tingle4 ,the north wind1 too1 seemed to notice the child1 for it blew against him and pierced his ragged garments through and through1 causing him to shiver with cold4 ,home after home he passed1 looking with longing eyes through the windows1 in upon the glad1 happy children1 most of whom were helping to trim the ,christmas trees for the coming morrow4 ,surely1 said the child to himself1 where there is so much gladness and happiness1 some of it may be for me4 ,so with timid steps he approached a large and handsome house4 ,through the windows he could see a tall and stately ,christmas tree already lighted4 ,many presents hung upon it4 ,its green boughs were trimmed with gold and silver ornaments4 ,slowly he climbed up the broad steps and gently rapped at the door4 ,it was opened by a large man-servant4 ,he had a kindly face1 although his voice was deep and gruff4 ,he looked at the little child for a moment1 then sadly shook his head and said1 ,go down off the steps4 ,there is no room here for such as you4 ,he looked sorry as he spoke2 possibly he remembered his own little ones at home1 and was glad that they were not out in this cold and bitter night4 ,through the open door a bright light shone1 and the warm air1 filled with the fragrance of the ,christmas pine1 rushed out from the inner room and greeted the little wanderer with a kiss4 ,as the child turned back into the cold and darkness1 he wondered why the footman had spoken thus1 for surely1 thought he1 those little children would love to have another companion join them in their joyous ,christmas festival4 ,but the little children inside did not even know that he had knocked at the door4 ,the street grew colder and darker as the child passed on4 ,he went sadly forward1 saying to himself1 ,is there no one in all this great city who will share the ,christmas with me8 ,farther and farther down the street he wandered1 to where the homes were not so large and beautiful4 ,there seemed to be little children inside of nearly all the houses4 ,they were dancing and frolicking about4 ,christmas trees could be seen in nearly every window1 with beautiful dolls and trumpets and picture-books and balls and tops and other dainty toys hung upon them4 ,in one window the child noticed a little lamb made of soft1 white wool4 ,around its neck was tied a red ribbon4 ,it had evidently been hung on the tree for one of the children4 ,the little stranger stopped before this window and looked long and earnestly at the beautiful things inside1 but most of all was he drawn toward the white lamb4 ,at last1 creeping up to the window-pane1 he gently tapped upon it4 ,a little girl came to the window and looked out into the dark street where the snow had now begun to fall4 ,she saw the child1 but she only frowned and shook her head and said1 ,go away and come some other time4 ,we are too busy to take care of you now4 ,back into the dark1 cold street he turned again4 ,the wind was whirling past him and seemed to say1 ,hurry on1 hurry on1 we have no time to stop4 ',tis ,christmas ,eve and everybody is in a hurry to-night4 ,again and again the little child rapped softly at door or window-pane4 ,at each place he was refused admission4 ,one mother feared he might have some ugly disease which her darlings would catch2 another father said he had only enough for his own children1 and none to spare for beggar brats4 ,still another told him to go home where he belonged1 and not to trouble other folks4 ,the hours passed2 later grew the night1 and colder blew the wind1 and darker seemed the street4 ,farther and farther the little one wandered4 ,there was scarcely any one left upon the street by this time1 and the few who remained did not seem to see the child1 when suddenly ahead of him1 there appeared a bright1 single ray of light4 ,it shone through the darkness into the child's eyes4 ,he looked up smilingly1 and said1 ,i will go where the small light beckons1 perhaps they will share their ,christmas with me4 ,hurrying past all the other houses he soon reached the end of the street and went straight up to the window from which the light was streaming4 ,it was a poor1 little1 low house1 but the child cared not for that4 ,the light seemed still to call him in4 ,from what do you suppose the light came8 ,nothing but a tallow candle which had been placed in an old cup with a broken handle1 in the window1 as a glad token of ,christmas ,eve4 ,there was neither curtain nor shade to the small1 square window1 and as the little child looked in he saw standing upon a neat1 wooden table a branch of a ,christmas tree4 ,the room was plainly furnished1 but it was very clean4 ,near the fireplace sat a lovely faced mother with a little two-year-old on her knee and an older child beside her4 ,the two children were looking into their mother's face and listening to a story4 ,she must have been telling them a ,christmas story1 ,i think4 ,a few bright coals were burning in the fireplace1 and all seemed light and warm within4 ,the little wanderer crept closer and closer to the window-pane4 ,so sweet was the mother's face1 so loving seemed the little children1 that at last he took courage and tapped gently1 very gently1 on the door4 ,the mother stopped talking1 the little children looked up4 ,what was that1 mother8 asked the little girl at her side4 ,i think it was some one tapping on the door1 replied the mother4 ,run as quickly as you can and open it1 dear1 for it is a bitter cold night to keep any one waiting in this storm4 ,oh1 mother1 ,i think it was the bough of the tree tapping against the window-pane1 said the little girl4 ,do please go on with our story4 ,again the little wanderer tapped upon the door4 ,my child6 my child1 exclaimed the mother1 rising1 that certainly was a rap on the door4 ,run quickly and open it4 ,no one must be left out in the cold on our beautiful ,christmas ,eve4 ,the child ran to the door and threw it wide open4 ,the mother saw the ragged stranger standing without1 cold and shivering1 with bare head and almost bare feet4 ,she held out both hands and drew him into the warm1 bright room4 ,you poor dear child1 was all she said1 and putting her arms around him1 she drew him close to her breast4 ,he is very cold1 my children1 she exclaimed4 ,we must warm him4 ,and1 added the little girl1 we must love him and give him some of our ,christmas1 too4 ,yes1 said the mother1 but first let us warm him4 ,the mother sat down beside the fire with the child on her lap1 and her own two little ones warmed his half-frozen hands in theirs4 ,the mother smoothed his tangled curls1 and bending low over his head1 kissed the child's face4 ,she gathered the three little ones in her arms and the candle and the fire light shone over them4 ,for a moment the room was very still4 ,by and by the little girl said1 softly1 to her mother1 ,may we not light the ,christmas tree1 and let him see how beautiful it looks8 ,yes1 said the mother4 ,with that she seated the child on a low stool beside the fire1 and went herself to fetch the few simple ornaments which from year to year she had saved for her children's ,christmas tree4 ,they were soon so busy that they did not notice the room had filled with a strange and brilliant light4 ,they turned and looked at the spot where the little wanderer sat4 ,his ragged clothes had changed to garments white and beautiful2 his tangled curls seemed like a halo of golden light about his head2 but most glorious of all was his face1 which shone with a light so dazzling that they could scarcely look upon it4 ,in silent wonder they gazed at the child4 ,their little room seemed to grow larger and larger until it was as wide as the whole world1 the roof of their low house seemed to expand and rise1 until it reached to the sky4 ,with a sweet and gentle smile the wonderful child looked upon them for a moment1 and then slowly rose and floated through the air1 above the treetops1 beyond the church spire1 higher even than the clouds themselves1 until he appeared to them to be a shining star in the sky above4 ,at last he disappeared from sight4 ,the astonished children turned in hushed awe to their mother1 and said1 in a whisper1 ,oh1 mother1 it was the ,christ ,child1 was it not8 ,and the mother answered in a low tone1 ,yes4 ,and it is said1 dear children1 that each ,christmas ,eve the little ,christ ,child wanders through some town or village1 and those who receive him and take him into their homes and hearts have given to them this marvelous vision which is denied to others4 ,,ix4 ,a ,,christmas ,,song4 ,the following anonymous poem so exquisitely expresses the true ,christmas thanksgiving and joy that we give it with this collection of ,christmas thoughts1 regretting that we are not able to give the name of the author also4 ,there is a song so thrilling1 ,so far all songs excelling1 ,that he who sings it sings it oft again2 ,no mortal did invent it1 ,but ,god by angels sent it1 ,so deep and earnest yet so sweet and plain4 ,the love that it revealeth ,all earthly sorrows healeth1 ,they flee like mist before the break of day2 ,when1 oh1 my soul1 thou learnest ,this song of songs in earnest ,thy cares and sorrows all shall flee away4 ,x4 ,,birth ,,and ,,childhood ,,of ,,jesus4 ,,the ,,shepherds ,,and ,,the ,,angels4 ,now it came to pass there went out a decree from ,csar ,augustus1 that all the world should be enrolled4 ,and all went to enroll themselves1 every one to his own city4 ,and ,joseph also went up from ,galilee1 out of the city of ,nazareth1 into ,juda1 to the city of ,david1 which is called ,bethlehem1 because he was of the house and family of ,david2 to enroll himself with ,mary4 ,and it came to pass1 while they were there she brought forth her firstborn son2 and she wrapped him in swaddling-clothes1 and laid him in a manger1 because there was no room for them in the inn4 ,and there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field1 and keeping watch by night over their flock4 ,and an angel of the ,lord stood by them1 and the glory of the ,lord shone round about them3 and they were sore afraid4 ,and the angel said unto them1 ,be not afraid2 for behold1 ,i bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people3 for there is born to you this day in the city of ,david a ,saviour1 which is ,christ the ,lord4 ,and this is the sign unto you2 ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes1 and lying in a manger4 ,and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising ,god1 and saying3 ,glory to ,god in the highest1 ,and on earth peace ,among men in whom he is well pleased4 ,and it came to pass1 when the angels went away from them into heaven1 the shepherds said one to another1 ,let us now go even unto ,bethlehem1 and see this thing that is come to pass1 which the ,lord hath made known unto us4 ,and they came with haste1 and found both ,mary and ,joseph1 and the babe lying in the manger4 ,and when they saw it1 they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child4 ,and all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds4 ,but ,mary kept all these sayings1 pondering them in her heart4 ,and the shepherds returned1 glorifying and praising ,god for all the things that they had heard and seen1 even as it was spoken unto them4 ,and when eight days were fulfilled his name was called ,,jesus4 ,,the ,,wise ,,men ,,from ,,the ,,east4 ,now when ,jesus was born1 behold1 ,wise ,men from the east came to ,jerusalem1 saying1 ,where is he that is born ,king of the ,jews8 for we saw his star in the east1 and are come to worship him4 ,and when ,herod the king heard it1 he was troubled1 and all ,jerusalem with him4 ,and gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people1 he inquired of them where the ,christ should be born4 ,and they said unto him1 ,in ,bethlehem of ,juda3 for thus it is written by the prophet3 ,and thou ,bethlehem1 land of ,judah1 are in no wise least among the princes of ,judah3 for out of thee shall come forth a governor1 which shall be shepherd of my people ,israel4 ,then ,herod privily called the ,wise ,men1 and learned of them carefully what time the star appeared4 ,and he sent them to ,bethlehem1 and said1 ,go and search out carefully concerning the young child2 and when ye have found him1 bring me word1 that ,i also may come and worship him4 ,and they1 having heard the king1 went their way2 and lo1 the star1 which they saw in the east1 went before them1 till it came and stood over where the young child was4 ,and when they saw the star1 they rejoiced with exceeding great joy4 ,and they came into the house and saw the young child with ,mary his mother2 and they fell down and worshiped him2 and opening their treasures they offered unto him gifts1 gold and frankincense and myrrh4 ,and being warned of ,god in a dream that they should not return to ,herod1 they departed into their own country another way4 ,,printed ,,by ,r4 ,r4 ,,donnelley ,,and ,,sons ,,company1 ,,at ,,the ,,lakeside ,,press1 ,,chicago1 ,,ill4