\"IfyoudohaveapartyonChristmas—night，’tisonlyfairandhonourabletothesky—folktohaveitasit—stillparty。JiggingpartiesbeallverywellontheDevil’sholidays;butajiggingpartylookssuspiciousnow。Oyes;stoptillthechockstrikes，youngfolk——sosayI。\"
IthappenedthatsomewarmmeadaccidentallygotintoMr。Spinks’sheadaboutthistime。
\"Dancing，\"hesaid，\"isamoststrengthening，livening，andcourtingmovement，’speciallywithalittlebeverageadded！Anddancingisgood。Butwhydisturbwhatisordained，RichardandReuben，andthecompanyzhinerally？Why，Iask，asfarasthatdogo？\"
\"Thennothingtillaftertwelve，\"saidWilliam。
ThoughReubenandhiswiferuledonsocialpoints，religiousquestionsweremostlydisposedofbytheoldman，whosefirmnessonthisheadquitecounterbalancedacertainweaknessinhishandlingofdomesticmatters。Thehopesoftheyoungermembersofthehouseholdwerethereforerelegatedtoadistanceofonehourandthree—quarters——aresultthattookvisibleshapeinthembyaremoteandlistlesslookabouttheeyes——thesingingofsongsbeingpermittedintheinterim。