Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1896-12-18
THE CHRISTMAS DINNER
AT BOB ORATOHITs.

am saving the best for the last-the
Christmas dinner at Bob Cratchits, with
Tiny Tim and all the rest Of the little Orat-
chit's. What a picture it isl / smell the
savory goose, see the steam rising from
the plum pudding, and yes, ah, yes hear
the voice of Tiny Tim with its blessing for
all;
Then up rose Mrs Cratchit, Cratchit's
wife, dressed out but poorly in a twice
turned gown, but brave in ribbons, which
are cheap, and make a goodly show for
sixpence; and she laid the cloth, assisted
by Belinda Cratchit, second of her daugh-
ters, also brave in ribbons; while Master
Peter Cratchit plunged fork into the
saucepan of potatoes and getting the cor
ners of his monstrous shirt collar Bob's
private property, conferred upon his SOIL
and heir in honor of the day) into his
mouth, rejoiced to find himself so calamity
attired, and yearned to show his linen in
the fashionable parks. And now two
smaller Cratchits, boy and girl, came tear
ing in, screaming that outside the bakers
they had smelt the goose and known it for
their own; and basking in luxurious
thoughts of sage and onion, these young
Cratchits danced about the table and exN
allied Master Peter Cratchit to the skies,
while he mot proud, although his collars
nearly choked HIM blew the fire, until the
slow potatoes bubbiing up, knocked loudly
at the saucepan lid to be let out and peeled.
Such a hustle ensued that you might
have thought goose the rarest of all birds;
feathered phenomenon to which a black
swan was a matter of course-and, in
truth, it was something very like it in that
house. Mrs. Cratchit made the gravy
(ready beforehand in a little saucepan)
Kissing hot; Master Peter mashed the pota-
toes with incredible vigor; Miss Belinda
swee:ened up the apple sauce; Martha
busted the hot plates; Bob took Tiny Tim
beside him in a tiny corner at the table;
the two young Cratchits set chairs for
everybody, not forgetting themselves, and
mounting guard upon their posts cramDned
spoons into their mouths, lest they should
shrek for goose before their turn came TO
be helped At last the dishes were set on
and grace was said. 1t was succeeded by
a breathless pa - as Mrs. Cratchit, look
ing slowly al ats o. carving knife pre-
pared to plurlge fs HS; but when
she did and TFhen the, meg pected pusb
of stufine issI ued fog one murmur Of de-
light arose 81 roYd the board, and even
Tiny Tim, ez kcitef y the two young Graf
chits, beat Of thes-Dle with the handle of
his knife an, b fe,Sy cried "Hurrahl"
There new Ter S&5 sucha goose. Bob said
he didn't belle there ever was such a
goose cooked. Its tenderness and flavor,
size and sherpness, were the themes of
universal ad niration. Fixed out by apple
sauce and raashed potatoes it was a sufi-
cient dinner for the whole family, indeed
as Airs. Cratchit said with great delight
(sfIveying one small atom of a bone upon
.e disn), they hadn't ate it all at lastl Yet
Vevery one had had enough and the youngest
Cratchits in particular were stepped in
sage and onion to the eyebrowsl But now,
the plates being changed by Miss Belinda,
Mrs. Cratchit left the room alone-too ner-
vous to bear witnesses-to take the pudding
up and bring it in.
Suppose it should not be done enough
Suppose it should break in turning outi
Suppose somebody should have got over the
wall of the back yard and stolen it while
they were merry with the goose-a suppo-
sition at which the two young Cratchits be-
came lividl All sorts of horrors were sup
posed.
Hallol A great deal of steamI The
ding was out of the copper. A smell -
washing dayl That was the cloth. A
smell like an eating house and a pastry
cooks next door to each other, with a
laundress' next door to thatl That was the
puddingi In half a minute Mrs. Cratchit
entered-fushed but smiling proudly-with
the pudding, like a speckled cannon ball, so
hard and firm, blazing in half of half quar-
tern of ignited brandy, and bedight with
Christmas holly stuck into the top.
Oh, a wonderful puddingl Bob Cratchit
said, and calmly. too 80 he regarded it as
the greatest success achieved by Mrs. Graf
chit since their marriage. Mrs. Cratohit
said that now the weight was off her mind
she would confess she had her doubts about
the quantity of -four. Everybody had some
thing to say about it, put nobody said or
thought it was at all a small pudding for a
largo family. 1t would have been fiat
herr ~ to do so. ANY Cratchit would have
biz led to hint at such thing.
last the dinner was all done, the
clio was cleared, the hearth swept and the
fire made up. The compound in the Jug
being tasted and considered perfect, apples
and oranges were put upon the table and a
shovelful of chestnuts upon the fire. Then
all the Cratchit family drew round the
hearth, in what Bob Cratchit called cir
Gle, meaning half a one, and at Bob Graft
chit's elbow stood the family display of
glass-two tumblers and a custard cup
without handle.
These held the hot stuff from the Jug,
however, as well as golden goblets would
have done, and Bob served it out with
beaming looks, while the chestnuts on the
fire sputtered and cracked noisily. Then
Bob proposed
"a merry Christmas to us all, my dears.
God bless us''
Which all the family reechoed. IRENE
''God bless us every onel" said Tiny'n tn
the last of all. y tn
ing