Expecting to spend his Christmas holidays at the home of his friend and fellow Harvard student, E. Satherwaite is dismayed to receive a last-minute telegram informing him that the invitation must be rescinded, due to a sick relative. Thrown into a state of dejection at this state of affairs, and with nothing to do with his time until the following morning, when the next train leaves for home, Satherwaite takes to cleaning his dorm room in his desperation. When he discovers that a book he borrowed a week before from an acquaintance is still in his possession, he sets out to return it, finding himself intruding upon a party of college men he doesn't know - college men working their own way through school. Here, at this unexpected holiday gathering, Satherwaite realizes that there is something to be said for appreciating small blessings...

Originally published in 1910, as part of Ralph Henry Barbour's collection, The New Boy at Hilltop and Other Stories, where it is known as "A College Santa Claus," this short story makes for an engaging, old-fashioned Christmas tale. There is no overt moralizing here, but the lesson that Satherwaite learns - that there are many young men at school with him at Harvard who, although not in his social class, are well worth knowing and having as friends - is made perfectly clear through the story. I'm not sure why this was reissued as "A College Santa Clause," with an "e" added to Claus, as the pun doesn't seem to relate to anything in the story. Leaving that issue aside, as well as the prevalence of pipe smoking (something the young men all do together, and which may strike the contemporary reader as being unpleasant), this was quite enjoyable, and made me eager to track down more of the prolific Barbour's college fiction. Recommended to those seeking old-fashioned Christmas stories, especially such stories aimed more at young men. ( )