Betty and Percy sat up until eleven o’clock that Christmas Eve. It was
such a merry time!
They saw the men bring in the Yule log. It was so big that it took
three men to carry it, and then they had to bring it in on their
shoulders.
[Illustration]
At one end of the hall was a large fireplace. I think you never saw one
like it. Pots and kettles hung over the fire, and on each side were
seats where the children could sit and eat apples and tell stories. You
see, it was a very big fireplace.
The men rolled the Yule log into the fireplace and lighted the fire.
How the sparks flew! How the fire roared up the chimney!
It lighted the great hall. It shone on the oak table where the supper
was laid.
On the supper table were two wax candles. These candles were almost as
tall as you are. They were wreathed with holly.
These were the Christmas candles and they burned the whole evening. The
hall was trimmed with holly and mistletoe. The holly had bright green
leaves and red berries, and the mistletoe had white berries.
A big bunch of mistletoe hung down from the ceiling before the fire. If
anyone happened to stand under the mistletoe, she was kissed.
How many times Betty was kissed! First her father caught her under the
mistletoe, then Uncle Edward, and then Grandpa.
At eleven o’clock Nurse said that Betty and Percy must go to bed. They
did not like to go one bit.
There was a fire in the fireplace in Betty’s bedroom, but it was very
cold. In Great-Great-Grandma’s time there were no such things as stoves
and furnaces.
Nurse undressed Betty, and then the little girl climbed up the steps
into her bed. It was so big and high that she had to climb up five
steps to get into it.
Then Nurse drew the curtains of the bed to keep out the cold.
Betty was almost asleep when she heard the Waits singing. The Waits
always sang under the windows on Christmas Eve.
“Open the lattice, please, Nurse,” she said.
So Nurse opened one of the windows. It opened like a door, and had
panes of glass which were small and diamond-shaped.
The house Betty lived in was very, very large, and was called a castle.