The snow was falling as fast as it could
O'er city and hamlet, forest and wood,
And Jack Frost, busy with might and main,
Was sketching away at each window-pane;
Father Christinas was travelling fast,
Mid the fall of the snow and the howl of the blast,
With millions of turkeys for millions to taste,
And millions of puddings all tied to his waist,
And millions of mince-pies that scented the air,
To cover the country with Christmas fare,—
When over the hills, from far away,
Came Santa Claus with the dawn of day;
He rode on a cycle, as seasons do,
With Christmas behind him a-tandem too;
His pockets were bigger than sacks from the mill—
The Soho Bazaar would not one of them fill,
And the Lowther Arcade and the good things that stock it
Would travel with ease in his tiniest pocket.
And these were all full of delights and surprises
For gifts and rewards and for presents and prizes.
Little knick-knackeries, beautiful toys
For mas and papas and for girls and for boys
There were dolls of all sorts, there were dolls of all sizes,
In comical costumes and funny disguises,—
Dolls of all countries and dolls of all climes,
Dolls of all ages and dolls of all times;
Soldier dolls, sailor dolls, red, white and blue;
Khaki dolls, darkie dolls, trusty and true;
Curio Chinese and quaint little Japs,
Nid-nodding at nothing, the queer little chaps;
Bigger dolls, nigger dolls woolly and black,
With never a coat or a shirt to their back.
Dolls made of china and dolls made of wood,
Dutch dolls and such dolls, and all of them good;
Dolls of fat features, and dolls with more pointed ones,
Dolls that were rigid and dolls that were jointed ones,
Dolls made of sawdust and dolls made of wax,
Dolls that go "bye-bye" when laid on their backs,
Dolls that are silent when nobody teases them,
Dolls that will cry when one pinches or squeezes them;
Dolls with fair faces and eyes bright of hue,
The black and the brunette, the blond and the blue;
Bride dolls and bridegrooms, the meekest of spouses;
And hundreds and thousands of pretty dolls' houses.
And as for the furniture—think for a day
He brought all you'll think of and all I could say!
And then there were playthings and puzzles and games.
With all kinds of objects and all sorts of names,—
Musical instruments, boxes and glasses,
And fiddles and faddles of various classes;
Mandolins ready for fingers and thumbs,
And banjos and tambourines, trumpets and drums.
Noah's arks, animals, reptiles and mammals,
Mammoths and crocodiles, cobras and camels;
Lions and tigers as tame as a cat,
Eagles and vultures as blind as a bat;
Bears upon bear-poles and monkeys on sticks,
Foxes in farmyards at mischievous tricks;
Monkeys on dogs too, and dogs too on bicycles,
Clumsy old elephants triking on tricycles;
Horses on rockers and horses on wheels,
But never a one that could show you his heels.
There were tops for the whip, there were tops for the string,
There were tops that would hum, there were tops that would
sing;
There were hoops made of iron and hoops made of wood,
And hoop-sticks to match them, as strong and as good;
There were books full of pictures and books full of rhymes,
There were songs for the seasons and tales for the times;
Pen-knives and pen-wipers, pencils and slates,
Wheelers and rockers and rollers and skates;
Bags full of marbles and boxes of bricks,
And bundles and bundles of canes and of sticks.
There were "prams" for the girls, there were "trams" for the
boys,
And thousands of clever mechanical toys,—
Engines and carriages running on rails,
Steamers and sailers that carry the mails;
Flags of all nations, and ships for all seas—
The Red Sea, the Black Sea, or what sea you please—
That tick it by clockwork or puff it by steam,
Or outsail the weather or go with the stream;
Carriages drawn by a couple of bays,
'Buses and hansoms, and waggons and drays,
Coaches and curricles, rallis and gigs—
All sorts of wheelers, with all sorts of rigs.
Cricket and croquet, and bat, trap, and ball,
And tennis—but really the list would appal.
There were balls for the mouth, there were balls for the feet,
There were balls you could play with and balls you could eat,
There were balls made of leather and balls made of candy,
Balls of all sizes, from footballs to brandy.
And then came the boxes of curious games,
With all sorts of objects and all sorts of names,—
Lotto and Ludo, the Fox and the Geese,
Halma and Solitaire—all of a piece;
Go-bang and Ringolette, Hook-it and Quoits,
For junior endeavours and senior exploits;
And Skittles and Spellicans, Tiddle-de-winks—
But one mustn't mention the half that one thinks;
Chessmen and draughtsmen, and hoards upon hoards
Of chess and backgammon and bagatelle boards;
And boxes of dominoes, boxes of dice,
And boxes of tricks you can try in a trice.