SPRING AND WINTER PASTIMES 211 



which possess all the most admirable qualities 

 of poetry, save that of rhyming. 



Whether the gifts that we shower upon our 

 friends at Christmas take the form of valuable 

 trinkets or cheap greeting-cards, the fact remains 

 that both the presentation and the receipt of 

 these seasonable objects carry with them a pro- 

 found sense of depression which casts a shadow 

 over the lives of many. As we look round at 

 our collection of pen- wipers, string-boxes, paper- 

 weights and paper-cutters, and recall the many 

 equally futile gifts that we have been inspired 

 to lavish upon our acquaintance, we may often 

 feel inclined to quote the prayer of the little 

 child who besought Providence (" Harrods be 

 thy name ") to " forgive us our Christmasses, as 

 we forgive them that Christmas against us." 



