New York," and when the full quota
of eighty had been admitted he was to admit no more.

Ah me! My poor Alice issued her cards only too freely. Better indeed, it
seemed, had she held to her original plan; at least she thought so, and
thinks so to this day. But I am not so certain. A hard time she had of
it, however. Quarter of seven found the little Arabs in crowds around
the door, with hundreds of others who thought they also were to find out
what a "free lunch" was. The faithful officer Purdy was in attendance
also; he passed in all who had the cards; he sent away legions, let me
say, who had reason to dread him; but still there assembled a larger and
larger throng about the door. Alice and Lillie, and the young gentlemen,
and Mrs. MacNeil, were all at work up stairs, and the tree was a perfect
beauty at last. They lighted up, and nothing could have been more
lovely.

"Let them in!" said John Flagg rushing to the door, where expectant
knocks had been heard already. "Let them in,--the smallest girls
first!"

"Smallest girls," indeed! The door swung open, and a tide of boy and
girl, girl and boy, boy big to hobble-de-hoy-dom, and girl big to
young-woman-dom, came surging in, wildly screaming, scolding, pushing,
and pulling. Omitting the profanity, these are the Christmas carols that
fell on Alice's ear.

"Out o' that!" "Take that, then!" "Who are you?" "Hold your jaw!"
"Can't you behave decent?" "You lie!" "Get out of my light!" "Oh,
dear! you killed me!" "Who's killed?" "Golly! see there!" "I say, ma'am,
give me that pair of skates!" "Shut up--" and so on, the howls being
more and more impertinent, as the shepherds who had come to adore became
more and more used to the position they were in.

Young Gilmore, who was willing to oblige Alice, but was not going to
stand any nonsense, and would have willingly knocked the heads together
of any five couples of this rebel rout, mounted on a corner of the
railing, which, by Mr. Williams's prescience had been built around the
tree, and addressed the riotous assembly.

They stopped to hear him, supposing he was to deliver the gifts, to
which they had been summoned.

He told them pretty roundly that if they did not keep the peace, and
stop crowding and yelling, they should all be turned out of doors; that
they were to pass the little girls and boys forward first, and that
nobody would have any thing to eat till this was done.

Some approach to obedience followed. A few