"Humph," said Joel, wearily, "Christmas is nothin' to me; there _was_
a time when it meant a great deal, but that was long ago--fifty years
is a long stretch to look back over. There is nothin' in Christmas
now, nothin' for _me_ at least; it is so long since Santa Claus
remembered me that I venture to say he has forgotten that there ever
was such a person as Joel Baker in all the world. It used to be
different; Santa Claus _used_ to think a great deal of me when I was
a boy. Ah! Christmas nowadays ain't what it was in the good old
time--no, not what it used to be."
As Joel was absorbed in his distressing thoughts he became aware very
suddenly that somebody was entering or trying to enter the room. First
came a draught of cold air, then a scraping, grating sound, then a
strange shuffling, and then,--yes, then, all at once, Joel saw a pair
of fat legs and a still fatter body dangle down the chimney, followed
presently by a long white beard, above which appeared a jolly red nose
and two bright twinkling eyes, while over the head and forehead was
drawn a fur cap, white with snowflakes.
"Ha, ha," chuckled the fat, jolly stranger, emerging from the chimney
and standing well to one side of the hearth-stone; "ha, ha, they don't
have the big, wide chimneys they used to build, but they can't keep
Santa Claus out--no, they can't keep Santa Claus out! Ha, ha, ha.
Though the chimney were no bigger than a gas pipe, Santa Claus would
slide down it!"
It didn't require a second glance to assure Joel that the new-comer
was indeed Santa Claus.
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