ast 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.