Villainy wears many masks, none so dangerous as the mask of virtue - Washington Irving

after a man passes 60 , his mischief is mainly in his head

Of all the old festivals, however, that of Christmas awakens the strongest and most heartfelt associations.

The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head. It is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper whose head had been carried away by a cannonball in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War, and who is ever and anon seen by the country-folk hurrying along in the gloom of night as if on the wings of the wind.