little dancing jack.

Alice now lighted the gas, Ely set the pretty pine tree carefully
against the wall, and the four little Eliots danced hand in hand
frantically about it.

Then Alice, and Mabel, and Ely went up close to the fender, and
whispered together about the presents Ely had brought home to put in
the children's stockings, and Mabel helped Ely empty her great
stuffed-out pocket; and the fire laughed through the bars of the grate
to see the parcels that came forth.

By and by Mabel and Ely took the pine tree carefully down stairs into
a beautiful room, and Alice came close behind them with a great
covered basket. The four little Eliots followed noisily, striving to
peep under the basket covers; but Ely thrust them all out again into
the hall, and locked the door upon them.

Now began the Christmas adorning of the little pine tree. Such
beautiful things as were hung upon it, and folded about it, and
festooned around it!

"How charming to be a pine!" murmured the little tree, with its head
among the frescoed cherubs on the ceiling.

"Where are you, Mabel Eliot? Light up the burners now," commanded Ely
from the top of a step-ladder.

Ely crept out from under the green baize around the foot of the pine
tree, two pins in her mouth, a crimson smoking-cap on her dishevelled
head, and a pair of large-flowered toilet slippers drawn over her
hands.

"I crawled in behind there to see if there mightn't be a place
somewhere for these," explained Ely, hastening for the torch, and
proceeding to light up.

The pine tree now saw itself reflected in the great mirror opposite,
and echoed the "splendid" of the three girls, who clapped their hands
at the gorgeous effect. Then the lights were put out. The silver key
was turned in the door again, and the girls went away, leaving the
pine tree in darkness indeed.

The four small Eliots, after pinning up their stockings by the
chimney, seated themselves in their night-gowns on the hearth-rug, and
talked over St. Nicholas before they got into bed. Each agreed to wake
the others if he "should just but catch Santa Claus coming down the
chimney."

Chrissy, squinting up his eyes till nothing but two little lines of
black lashes were visible, was sure "he should catch him; O, yes, he
should."

So they all climbed sleepily into bed, pinning their faith on Chrissy.

The night darkened and deepened, the stars moving on in a grand
procession. Somewhere about midnight St. Nicho