Old Christmas Recalled - online book

Washington Irving's description of Old Christmas, Illustrated

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CHRISTMAS                                        7
darksome nights, while they circumscribe our wanderings, shut in our feelings also from rambling abroad, and make us more keenly dis­posed for the pleasures of the social circle. Our thoughts are more concentrated; our friendly sympathies more aroused. We feel more sensibly the charm of each others society, and are brought more closely together by dependence on each other for enjoyment. Heart calleth unto heart; and we draw our pleasures from the deep wells of living kindness, which lie in the quiet recesses of our bosoms; and which, when resorted to, furnish forth the pure element of domestic felicity.
The pitchy gloom without makes the heart dilate on entering the room filled with the glow and warmth of the evening fire. The ruddy blaze diffuses an artificial summer and sunshine through the room, and lights up each counte­nance into a kindlier welcome. Where does the honest face of hospitality expand into a broader
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