"...one of those scenes that Christmas eve alone presents. The general jollity, indeed, was of a character that on no other night would be tolerated. Not that the scene was one of disorder, but that the boisterous jocundity manifested by the people in the streets was such as on any other occasion would have been out of place Calathumpian bands and masquerades were moving about during the whole evening, and the clock struck twelve considerably before the streets were quiet."