Iamsometimesinclinedtowonderwhether，inverytruth，thosePolchesterChristmasesofnearlythirtyyearsagoweresomarvellousasnowinretrospecttheyseem。Icangivedetailsofthosesplendours，factsandfigures，thattotheonlookerarelessthannothingatall——asugarelephantinastocking，aboxofpencilsonaChristmastree，“Hark，theHeraldAngels……“atthreeinthemorningbelowone’swindow，alightedplum-pudding，apostmanfourhourslate，hisbackbentwithburstingparcels。Anditissomethingfurther——behindthesugarcherriesandthepapercapsandthelightedtree——thatremainstogivemagictothosedays；asenseofexpectancy，asenseofrichness，asenseofworship，avisitfromtheThreeKingswhohavesoseldomcometovisitonesince。
ThatChristmasofJeremy’sninthyearwasoneofthebestthatheeverhad；itwasperhapsthelastoftheMAGICALChristmases。Afterthishewastoknowtoomuch，wastoseeFatherChristmasvanishbeforeasuminarithmetic，andastockingchangeintosomethingthat“boyswhogotoschoolneverhave“——thelastoftheChristmasesofdivinemagic，whenthesnowfellandthewaitssangandthestockingswerefilledandtheturkeyfattenedandthecandlesblazedandthehollycrackledbythewillofGodratherthanthepowerofman。Itwouldbemanyyearsbeforehewouldrealisethat，afterall，inthoseearlydayshehadbeenright……
AveryfatbookcouldbewrittenaboutallthathadhappenedduringthatwonderfulChristmas，howHamlettheDogcaughtarattohisownimmensesurprise；howtheColes’Christmasdinnerwasfollowedbyaplayactedwithcompletesuccessbythejuniormembersofthefamily，anditwasonlyMr。Jellybrandthecuratewhodisapproved；
howAuntAmyhadanewdressinwhich，bygeneralconsent，shelookedridiculous；howMary，owingtothefoolishkindnessofMrs。
Bartholomew，thePrecentor’swife，wasintroducedtotheworksofCharlotteMaryYongeandbecamequiteimpossibleinconsequence；howMissMaplehadachildren’spartyatwhichtherewasnothingtoeat，sothatallthechildrencriedwithdisappointment，andonesmallboytheyoungestsonofthePrecentoractuallybitMissMaple；howfortwowholedaysitreallyseemedthattherewouldbeskatingonThePool，andeveryoneboughtskates，andthen，ofcourse，theicebroke，andsoon，andsoon……thereisnoendtothedramaticincidentsofthatgreatsensationaltime。