'Twas the night
before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all
snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose
such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the
new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But the 38 + 2 Horses, and they are sure held dear..
by
Major Henry Livingston Jr. (1748-1828) with a couple of changes
from me!