| Presently we passed the place where a man
of better odour was born. This was the children's friend Santa Claus, or
St. Nicholas. There are some unaccountable reputations in the world. This
saint's is an instance. He has ranked for ages as the peculiar friend of
children, yet it appears he was not much of a friend to his own. He had
ten of them, and when fifty years old he left them, and sought out as dismal
a refuge from the world as possible, and became a hermit in order that he
might reflect upon pious themes without being disturbed by the joyous and
other noises from the nursery, doubtless. .... St. Nicholas will probably
have to go on climbing down sooty chimneys, Christmas eve, forever, and
conferring kindness on other people's children, to make up for deserting
his own. - A Tramp Abroad |
 AI image created by Barbara Schmidt |
Also see Christmas and Mark Twain's Letter from Santa Claus
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