There in the library stood the most perfect snow-man. He wore a fur cap and long white whiskers, and on the floor behind him lay his pack, which had just slipped off his back. He held a doll on one arm, and over the other was hung a line of tiny sleigh-bells. This snow Santa Claus was made of cotton batting, but he looked exactly like the snow-man in the yard, and the children greeted him with cries of delight. Two sticks, wrapped in many thicknesses of cotton to form the legs, had been nailed to a block of wood to make a foundation for this snow-man; the other parts of the body were made like snowballs and sewed in their proper places.

Each child was allowed to throw a soft rubber ball twice in attempting to hit the string of bells which Santa held. Those who were successful were told to take some article out of the pack as a reward. Fancy cornucopias and small boxes filled with nuts and candy were found by the lucky contestants.

The children were then asked to guess the number of berries on a large piece of mistletoe which hung from one of the chandeliers. The one guessing nearest the correct number received a stick-pin bearing a tiny enameled spray of mistletoe.

Then came old-fashioned romping games, after which a Christmas carol was sung and the children marched in to supper. A star-shaped table had been arranged for the occasion. In its centre was a small but handsomely decorated tree. The refreshments consisted of turkey sandwiches, cocoa, lemon jelly with whipped cream, sponge cake, bonbons and nuts. The sponge cake was baked in small star-shaped pans, and ornamented with red and white icing.

In the parlor an immense snowball was hung from the chandelier. This had been made by fastening four barrel-hoops together so as to form a round frame, over which was sewed white cambric. Then the ball was covered with batting and sprinkled with diamond dust. A slit was made in one side, and each child put in his hand and drew out some article wrapped in tissue paper. These proved to be dolls, balls, and toys of all sorts. Some drew out tiny boxes inside of which were slips of paper with directions like these: "Look under the divan and you will find a steam-engine," "Look beside the radiator and you will find a doll's kitchen," etc.

In the dressing-room they were softly pelted with a mysterious shower of snowballs, which they endeavored to catch. The balls were packages of marshmallows wound loosely with white crepe paper.