THE CHRISTMAS TREE. 



133 



sibility and harassment : # he was only just able " to crawl on 

 in the ordinary course of things." 



The " ordinary course/' however, included a good deal. 

 Having bought many cheap articles at a stationer's sale, he 

 thought he would like to furnish a Christmas-tree, which he did 

 with the help of some of his lady friends. In a long letter, 

 addressed " Dear people all," he gives a lively account of the 

 preparation, and the ingenious way in which he made every- 

 thing attractive and useful. He issued elegant cards of invita- 

 tion to all the scholars and congregation, with a few exceptions. 

 The tree, from Prospect Hill, was about thirteen feet high, and 

 as it was then a novelty, the sight greatly astonished the children. 

 He wrote a song for the occasion. " I think, except the Crystal 

 Palace, I never saw a prettier sight than all the people round 

 the tree, looking up at it and singing. . . . There was some 

 surprise for all the people— even for me ; for the teachers and 

 older scholars had bought me a beautiful plain black inkstand, 

 which had been duly wrapped up in various papers and hung 

 on, while I was getting some tea. This was in honour of my 

 giving the party : they knew nothing about the tree, except the 

 initiated. But the great surprise was a real good silver watch, 

 with chain and seals, which some of us had got for poor Pem- 

 berton, who had been robbed of his a few weeks ago. The old 

 man could scarcely sleep that night, but kept saying to his 

 wife, 6 Mary, doesn't thee hear it ticking under the pillow ? ' 

 . . . We then sang ' Glory to Thee,' and I offered prayer, and 

 all under fourteen went home, it being half-past nine. The 

 elder ones, after eating and drinking, set to at games, which were 

 carried on with great spirit. ... At twelve I announced that 

 Christmas Day was over, and the people immediately separated, 

 taking oranges and food as they went out. I was extremely 

 pleased throughout with the conduct of the scholars and 

 young people. ... I could not help thinking very often, while 



* Yet his mother wrote, September, 1854, that he had slept two nights 

 on board a vessel with reformatory boys from Kingswood, whom his sister 

 had asked him to look after at Liverpool (on their way to America), though 

 she had not expected him to take such trouble. 



