dding as before. 'When it's
dark they'll all be lighted up. That'll be a fine sight!'

"'Toys too, there'll be, won't there?' screamed Patty.

"Father Christmas nodded his head. 'And sweeties,' he added,
expressively.

"I could feel Patty trembling, and my own heart beat fast. The thought
which agitated us both, was this--'Was Father Christmas bringing the
tree to us?' But very anxiety, and some modesty also, kept us from
asking outright.

"Only when the old man shouldered his tree, and prepared to move on, I
cried in despair, 'Oh, are you going?'

"'I'm coming back by and by,' said he.

"'How soon?' cried Patty.

"'About four o'clock,' said the old man, smiling. 'I'm only going up
yonder.'

"And, nodding, and smiling as he went, he passed away down the lane.

"'Up yonder.' This puzzled us. Father Christmas had pointed, but so
indefinitely, that he might have been pointing to the sky, or the
fields, or the little wood at the end of the Squire's grounds. I
thought the latter, and suggested to Patty that perhaps he had some
place underground, like Aladdin's cave, where he got the candles, and
all the pretty things for the tree. This idea pleased us both, and we
amused ourselves by wondering what Old Father Christmas would choose
for us from his stores in that wonderful hole where he dressed his
Christmas-trees.

"'I wonder, Patty,' said I, 'why there's no picture of Father
Christmas's dog in the book.' For at the old man's heels in the lane
there crept a little brown and white spaniel, looking very dirty in
the snow.

"'Perhaps it's a new dog that he's got to take care of his cave,' said
Patty.

"When we went indoors we examined the picture afresh by the dim light
from the passage window, but found no dog there.

"My father passed us at this moment, and patted my head. 'Father,'
said I, 'I don't know, but I do think Old Father Christmas is going to
bring us a Christmas-tree to-night.'

"'Who's been telling you that?' said my father. But he passed on
before I could explain that we had seen Father Christmas himself, and
had had his word for it that he would return at four o'clock, and that
the candles on his tree would be lighted as soon as it was dark.

"We hovered on the outskirts of the rooms till four o'clock came. We
sat on the stairs and watched the big clock, which I was just learning
to read; and Patty made herself giddy with constantly looking up and
counting the four strokes, towards which the