TORONTO:
THE POOLE PRINTING COMPANY, LIMITED,
PUBLISHERS.
Entered, according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine by A. BALFOUR GRANT, in the office of the Minister of Agriculture.
CONTENTS
| Chapter | |
| I. | [Watching for the Prey] |
| II. | [A Ministering Angel] |
| III. | [Still on the Watch] |
| IV. | [The Amphitheatre] |
| V. | [The Influence Working] |
| VI. | [The Indignation of Tharsos] |
| VII. | [The Perplexity of Carnion] |
| VIII. | [Waiting for the Victim] |
| IX. | [In the Arena] |
| X. | [The Lion] |
| XI. | [The Man with the Dagger] |
| XII. | [Discipline] |
| XIII. | [Night] |
| XIV. | [Day] |
| XV. | [Saint Nicholas] |
THE MOTHER OF ST. NICHOLAS
(SANTA CLAUS).
CHAPTER I.
WATCHING FOR THE PREY.
Go back into the third century after Christ, travel east into the famous Mediterranean Sea, survey the beautiful south-west coast of Asia Minor, and let your eyes rest on the city of Patara. Look at it well. Full of life then, dead and desolate now, the city has wonderful associations in sacred and legendary lore—it saw the great reformer of the Gentiles, and gave birth to the white-haired man of Christmas joy.