It was a delightful room. I was introduced to practically the whole
of the Great Western Railway's rolling stock.
"Engine, three carriages and a guard's van. That's right. Then I
shall want some rails, of course.... SHUT up, will you?" I said
angrily, when the attendant was out of hearing.
"It's the extra weight," he sighed. "The reindeer don't like it. And
these modern chimneys--you've no idea what a squeeze it is.
However--"
"Those are very jolly," I said when I had examined the rails. "I
shall want about a mile of them. Threepence ha'penny a foot? Then I
shan't want nearly a mile."
I got about thirty feet, and then turned to switches and signals and
lamps and things. I bought a lot of those. You never know what
emergency might not arise on the nursery floor, and if anything
happened for want of a switch or two I should never forgive myself.
Just as we were going away I caught sight of the jolliest little
clockwork torpedo boat. I stopped irresolute.
"Don't be silly," said the voice under my arm. "You'll never be
asked to the house again if you give that."
"Why not?"
"Wait till the children have fallen into the bath once or twice with
all their clothes on, and then ask the mother why not."
"I see," I said stiffly, and we went upstairs.
"The next thing we want is bricks."
"Bricks," said Father Christmas uneasily. "Bricks. Yes, there's
bricks. Have you ever thought of one of those nice little woolly
rabbits--"
"Where do we get bricks?"
"Bricks. You know, I don't think mothers are as fond as all that of
BRICKS."
"I got the mother's present yesterday, thanks very much. This is for
one of the children."
They showed me bricks and they showed me pictures of what the bricks
would build. Palaces, simply palaces. Gone was the Balbus-wall of
our youth; gone was the fort with its arrow-holes for the archers.
Nothing now but temples and Moorish palaces.
"Jove, I should love that," I said." I mean HE would love that. Do
you want much land for a house of that size? I know of a site on the
nursery floor, but--well, of course, we could always have an iron
building outside in the passage for the billiard table."
We paid and moved off again.
"What are you mumbling about now?" I asked.
"I said you'll only make the boy discontented with his present home
if you teach him to build nothing but castles and ruined abbeys and
things. And you WILL run to bulk. Half of those bricks would have
made a very nice present for anybody."
"Yes, and when royalty comes on a visit, where would you put them?
They'd have to pig it in the box-room. If we're going to have a
palace, let's have a good one."
"Very well. What do your children hang up? Stockings or
pillow-cases?"
We went downstairs again.
"Having provided for the engineer and the architect," I said, "we
now have to consider the gentleman in the dairy business. I want a
milk-cart."
"You want a milk-cart! You want a milk-cart! You want a--Why not
have a brewer's dray? Why not have something really heavy? The
reindeer wouldn't mind. They've been out every day this week, but
they'd love it. What about a nice skating-rink? What about--"