ught I, and I added, 'You're nearly twice as old
as Methuselah, you know,' thinking that this might have struck him.

"'Aye, aye,' said Father Christmas; but he did not seem to think
anything of it. After a pause he held up the tree, and cried, 'D'ye know
what this is, little miss?'

"'A Christmas-tree,' said Patty.

"And the old man smiled and nodded.

"I leant over the wall, and shouted, 'But there are no candles.'

"'By and by,' said Father Christmas, nodding as before. 'When it's dark
they'll all be lighted up. That'll be a fine sight!'

"'Toys, too, there'll be, won't there?' said Patty.

"Father Christmas nodded his head. 'And sweeties,' he added,
expressively.

"I could feel Patty trembling, and my own heart beat fast. The thought
which agitated us both was this: 'Was Father Christmas bringing the tree
to us?' But very anxiety, and some modesty also, kept us from asking
outright.

"Only when the old man shouldered his tree, and prepared to move on, I
cried in despair, 'Oh, are you going?'

"'I'm coming back by and by,' said he.

"'How soon?' cried Patty.

"'About four o'clock,' said the old man smiling. 'I'm only going up
yonder.'

"And, nodding and smiling as he went, he passed away down the lane.

"'Up yonder!' This puzzled us. Father Christmas had pointed, but so
indefinitely that he might have been pointing to the sky, or the fields,
or the little wood at the end of the Squire's grounds. I thought the
latter, and suggested to Patty that perhaps he had some place
underground like Aladdin's cave, where he got the candles, and all the
pretty things for the tree. This idea pleased us both, and we amused
ourselves by wondering what Old Father Christmas would choose for us
from his stores in that wonderful hole where he dressed his
Christmas-trees.

"'I wonder, Patty,' said I, 'why there's no picture of Father
Christmas's dog in the book.' For at the old man's heels in the lane
there crept a little brown and white spaniel looking very dirty in the
snow.

"'Perhaps it's a new dog that he's got to take care of his cave,' said
Patty.

"When we went indoors we examined the picture afresh by the dim light
from the passage window, but there was no dog there.

"My father passed us at this moment, and patted my head. 'Father,' said
I, 'I don't know, but I do think Old Father Christmas is going to bring
us a Christmas-tree to-night.'

"'Who's been telling you that?' said my father. But he passed on