Josiah gazed at the Green Pulpit in quaking awe and aversion as a black figure suddenly sprang up in it like a jack-in-the-box,--a tall, lanky, clothes-prop sort of shape, with a head like a large mop, from which the hair, of a fiery red, hung down in disordered tangles. This Goblin’s best feature consisted in its attire, which was of a double-dyed inkiness, with a wonderfully smooth and silky ‘shine’ upon it, suggestive of black-lead. It was an unfortunate costume, however, so far as concerned its becomingness to the face of its wearer,--a face white as a bleached bone, with prominent eyes which appeared to goggle out of their cavernous sockets like pebbles rolling each on the edge of a hole,--and the sable clothing of the creature only intensified the awful pallor of its countenance, and brought out its worst points into the strongest possible relief. McNason had barely time to notice these details, which seemed to be insistently forced upon his attention, when his ears were again assailed by renewed howling and screeching, accompanied by a tremendous sound of drums, as if all the drummers that were ever born were drumming their way through the world. Every Goblin had a protuberant paunch,--and as “the Reverend Mr. Firebrand” arose in the pulpit they all started together beating a prolonged tattoo upon these appendages to their otherwise skeleton forms. And ever over the frightful noise rang the Bells!--always the Bells!--the Bells of Christmas,--the Bells of peace and goodwill! Do, re, mi, FA!--Sol, la, si--DO! Ding-dong!--ding-dong! Swinging and swaying, the echoes rose and fell--and in the midst of the pulsating chimes, the Goblins burst into a chorus of wild shouting-- “Firebrand!--Ha ha!” “Good old Firebrand!” “Order, order! Silence for Firebrand!” “Ha-ha, HA! Ha-HA!” “Firebrand! Hoo-roo! Hoo-roo!” And then--as though they had been all clashed together by one stroke into silence--the Bells ceased. The shouting and laughter and Paunch-drumming of the Goblins likewise eddied away into a dull murmur--and the Goblin in the Green Pulpit raised a skeleton hand with the first-finger-bone elevated as a signal for attention. “My friends!” it began--“My dear brethren----!” “Ha-HA! Ha-ha-HA!” And the crowd of uncanny creatures twisted and writhed with ecstasy, tossing their queerly decorated heads about, and spreading their wide mouths into elastic grins which seemed to swallow up all the rest of their faces. As if in sympathy with the general hilarity, the “Reverend Mr. Firebrand” grinned also--a peculiar and very ghastly grin indeed. “My friends!” he or It resumed--“How good it is for us all to be here! What a sign of regeneration----!” “Ha-ha-HA!” “Of penitence----” “Ha-ha!” “Of unselfishness and charity----” “Ha-ha-ha!” “Of hope for the future----” “Hoo-roo! Hoo-roo!”