dow, Uncle Juvinell, as if to fill its place, came in at the door,
all brisk and ruddy from his tramp over the snow in the sharp bracing
air, and was hailed with a joyous shout by the little folks, who,
hastening to wheel his great arm-chair for him round to the fire,
pushed and pulled him into it, and called upon him to tell one of his
most charming stories, even before the tingling frost was out of his
nose.

As this worthy old gentleman has done much for the entertainment and
instruction of the rising generations of the land, it is but due him
that some mention, touching his many amiable traits of character and
his accomplishments of mind and person, should be made in this place
for the more complete satisfaction of those who may hereafter feel
themselves indebted to him for some of the most pleasant moments of
their lives.

In person, Uncle Juvinell is stout and well-rounded. His legs are fat,
and rather short; his body is fat, and rather long; his belly is snug
and plump; his hands are plump and white; his hair is white and soft;
his eyes are soft and blue; his coat is blue and sleek; and over his
sleek and dimpled face, from his dimpled chin to the very crown of his
head,--which, being bald, shines like sweet oil in a warm
fire-light,--there beams one unbroken smile of fun, good-humor, and
love, that fills one's heart with sunshine to behold. Indeed, to look
at him, and be with him a while, you could hardly help half believing
that he must be a twin-brother of Santa Claus, so closely does he
resemble that far-famed personage, not only in appearance, but in
character also; and more than once, having been met in his little
sleigh by some belated school-boy, whistling homeward through the
twilight of a Christmas or New Year's Eve, he has been mistaken for
the jolly old saint himself. In short, his whole appearance is in the
highest degree respectable; and there is even about him an air of
old-fashioned elegance, which of course is owing chiefly to the
natural sweetness and politeness of his manners, and yet perhaps a
little heightened withal by the gold-bowed spectacles that he wears on
his nose, the heavy gold bar that pins his snowy linen, the gold
buttons that shine on his coat, his massive gold watch-chain (at the
end of which hangs a great red seal as big as a baby's fist), and by
his gold-headed ebony cane, that he always carries on his shoulder
like a musket when he walks, as much as to say, "Threescore and