he upper hall we looked from a window upon the snowy world.
Perhaps we were too old to believe in Santa Claus, but even so, on
this magic night might not a skeptic be at fault--might there not be a
chance that the discarded world had returned to us? Once a year,
surely, reason might nod and drowse. Perhaps if we put our noses on
the cold glass and peered hard into the glittering darkness, we might
see the old fellow himself, muffled to his chin in furs, going on his
yearly errands. It was a jingling of sleigh bells on the street that
started this agreeable suspicion, but, alas, when the horse appeared,
manifestly by his broken jogging gait he was only an earthly creature
and could not have been trusted on the roof. Or the moon, sailing
across the sky, invited the thought that tonight beyond the accustomed
hour and for a purpose it would throw its light across the roofs to
mark the chimneys.

Presently mother called up from the hall below. Had we gone to bed?
Reluctantly now we began to thumb the buttons. Off came our clothes,
both shirts together tonight for better speed in dressing. And all the
night pants and drawers hung as close neighbors, one within the other,
with stockings dangling at the ends, for quick resumption. We slipped
shivering into the cold sheets. Down below the bed, by special
permission, stood the cook's clock, wound up tight for its explosion
at six o'clock.

Then came silence and the night....

Presently, all of a sudden, Brrr--! There arose a deafening racket in
the room. Had the reindeer come afoul of the chimney? Had the loaded
sleigh crashed upon the roof? Were pirates on the stairs? We awoke
finally, and smothered the alarm in the pillows. A match! The gas! And
now a thrill went through us. Although it was still as black as ink
outside, at last the great day of all the year had come.

It was, therefore, before the dawn that we stole downstairs in our
stockings--dressed loosely and without too great precision in our
hurry. Buttons that lay behind were neglected, nor did it fret us if a
garment came on twisted. It was a rare tooth that felt the brush this
morning, no matter how it was coddled through the year.

We carried our shoes, but this was not entirely in consideration for
the sleeping house. Rather, our care proceeded from an enjoyment of
our stealth; for to rise before the dawn when the lamps were still
lighted on the street and issue in our stockings, was to taste
adventure. It ha