SPRING AND WINTER PASTIMES 209 



his library was almost entirely composed of 

 books which he had purchased at various times 

 as gifts for his relations, but had been unable 

 to part with when the crucial moment arrived. 



I myself remember somewhat guiltily appro- 

 priating a mechanical model of the Forth Bridge 

 which I had bought for a little godson, but 

 which appealed so irresistibly to my natural 

 love of architectonics that I felt impelled to 

 secrete it in my own stocking on Christmas Eve. 

 In the footwear of my little friend I substituted 

 a most interesting volume on " Block Basalts 

 and Other Ignatheous Phenomena," which I 

 had intended to present to a scientific acquain- 

 tance. For the latter I purchased a lovely 

 Sheffield inkstand at an old curiosity shop in 

 Baker Street, but when it came home I realized 

 at once that my learned friend would never 

 appreciate its fuU beauty, and so I sent him 

 instead a pocket almanac which I had that 

 morning received from my wine merchant. Thus 

 everybody was satisfied, and the Sheffield ink- 

 stand is still the chief feature of my writing- 

 table. 



For those of us who are too lazy to embark 

 upon the sport of choosing presents for our 

 friends, it is always possible to fall back upon 

 the Christmas card — that most depressing of all 

 Yule-tide productions, which has suffered much 



14 



