Christmas and his children, by Robert Seymour, 1836

"christmas and his children", a vision of the lost christmas of merry england. The author imagines old father christmas as a magician, "summoning his spirits from the four winds for a general muster". The 'children' are identified on pp114-118 as roast beef and his faithful squire plum pudding, the slender figure of their sister wassail with her fount of perpetual youth, a "tricksy spirit" who bears the bowl and is on the best of terms with the turkey, mumming, misrule with a feather in his cap, the lord of twelfth night under a state-canopy of cake and wearing his ancient crown, saint distaff looking like an old maid, carol singing, the waits, and the twin-faced janus. Date: 1836.