When dinner is ended, what sound do we hear
From holly-deck'd parlor ring merry and clear?
'Tis Uncle Tom's fiddle! the tune is a call
To all the good people to come to our ball.
They come, young and old, and partake of our cheer,
For old Christmas comes only once in a year!
Then hand up the holly, and let us prepare
The house for the pleasure in which all can share.
FOOTNOTE:
[A] Nursery, Vol. XXIV.
Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
The original text for the January issue had a table of contents that spanned six issues. This was divided amongst those issues.
Additionally, only the January issue had a title page. This page was copied for the remaining five issues. Each issue had the number added on the title page after the Volume number.