Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1909)
12- Til K AL1SDF0.KD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, DEO KM WM VJ, 1SKM). 1 N HAWTBORXZ. TUACJUCKAY. CHRISTMAS ; IN FICTION. By GEORGE H. PICARD fftCoprrtsht, 190?. by American Pra Asso & elation.) ' OT until the first half of tho Inst century was well spent did tho spe cies of literature which tins come to be known as Christ mas fiction effect n pcrmnncnt 1 o d k- tnent in the henrts of English speak ing mankind. The ancient parable p 1 a ys nnd the rhymed holiday legends of the mid dle ages are still In a so on the continent but the mora secular minded English had only the rude Vulctlde Jingles and the quaint enrols of beef eating antiquity. Contrary to the prevailing notion, the Inventor of the talc with a distinctive ly Christmas flavor was an American. It Is likely that It would occur to few Americans and to no Englishman to dissent if it were asserted In their presence that Charles Dickens origi nated the Christmas story. Ills name Is bo Inseparably connected with so much of the holiday literature en shrined In the popular heart that It is small wonder the mention of Christ mas suggests him. The credit of the "literary find." however, must be given to another, a man who was at the end of his thirties when Dickens was born, who had been at Malta when Nelson's fleet sailed away to Trafalgar, who had visited Sir Walter at Abbotsford and bad captivated him and who was aft erward secretary to the United States ! . legation in England. That, of course, means Washington-Irving. Irvlng's first book. "The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon. Gent-." had pleased everybody, so much so, indeed, that it was republished by John Murray in London and translated into several con tinental languages. Both the publish ers and the public were urging him to do something equally meritorious. No- body realized more keenly than did the ' author of the exquisite work the diffi culty of producing Its mate, and be was uot a man to be driven Into medl- ocrlty. Three years later he published "Bracebrldge Hall," and tho chapter of that masterpiece of literary workman ship entitled "Christmas at Bracebrldge Hall" was the pioneer holiday talo of English literature and has furnished a model for subsequent flctiontsts which has seldom been equaled and never excelled. Its easy grace nnd felicity of expression were a revelation to every body in those days, and tho wonder and the charm are potent still. H William Makepeace Thackeray, mas ter of a realism that Is tbe wonder and tho despair of those who have followed blm, needed no model and chose none. His "Mm. Perkins Ball" re sembles nothing ever conceived in the mind of any other man. The public was pleased with it. but never so much as was Thackeray himself. Host' amazing of all, the author of the tale professed to believe that it was "Mrs. Perkins' Ball" that had made bis reputation that, too, in the face of the fact that "Vanity Fair" had Just been published. This perversion -of Thackeray in regard to the literary value of bis wares and his tack of faith In bis masterpiece bo hud so little confidence in the success of "Vanity Fair" that after It appeared be applied for a small government position aro proof sulllclent that tho man who cre ates a musterpleco may bavo a dim conception of artistic values. Ajl the makers of great Action are moro or less under tbe spell of tbelr Immediate surroundings, but few have made It more apparent than Charles Dickens. Those who knew tbe circum stances saw plainly that he had put himself and bis sad childhood into many of his pathetic short stories. This Is especially true of "The Ghost In Master B.'s Room." which Is an ac count of things which happened to him in bis troubled boyhood. As a child ho was a firm believer In ghosts, and it is probable that he novel entire ly abandoned his faith In spectral ap pearances. Many of his tales are peo pled with disembodied spirits, and tbey are like the ghosts of no otber writer. Tbey aro the spooks that appeal to one and mako one believe In their genuine ness. Tbey are frequently more real than tho living characters who consort with them. Although they are dead, tbey conduct themselves llko living en titles. Dickens' Christmas ghosts are unique In tbe realm of literature. Of all the silent shapes that have been sum moned from tho upper and nether worlds to lend en chantment to tbe Christmas tale bis alone have become acclimat ed. There is nev er anything re pulsive about them. They ore tho most compan ionable spook!, ever invented. They aro seldom sepulchral, but are fre quently choerful. Tbey aro not tho haunting, sleep killing and never to bo exorcised phantoms of the fairy tales, but actual personalities, freed from all mortal restrictions In regard to locomo tion that come to us when wo bid them and vanish politely when wo nre weary of their presence. Bret Hnrtc never made n sooret or his admiration for tho creator of l.lttlo Nell nnd Tom Pinch. I.Ike Paul at the feet of Gamaliel, he was content to receive his lesson from the man ho acknowledged to be his master. Not until after Dickens had finished his work did the young literary light who stood revealed In tho far western firma ment lenrn that his model had seen that exquisite elegy "Dickens In Camp" nnd bad been heard to express his ndmlrntion of It In the most gen erous terms. The dying novelist de clared that the work of the new Amer ican writer contained such subtloj strokes of workmanship as no other writer In the language had yet ex-1 bibltcd. And then be asked, with n humorous gleam In his weary eyes, J I "Don't you think that his manner Is i very like my own?" Like Dickens. Harte bnd a genulno fondness for the doings of Yulctlde. One who knew blm best snys that up . to the last day of his life "he thought ' ncters niv tlosh niul blood people, and they nro not of tho sort tlint "will nt)t stay dead when thoy die." Her "Christ mas Party" la as dainty In Its work manship as nnythlng which ever camo from her careful pen. and that Is say ing much. It Is as "t'stful and tiou suggestive ns n pastoral, nnd Its Influ ence Is an soothing ns the dellcnto savor which escapes when the cover of a potpourri Jar Is lifted or tho drawer of nn old time cnbluet is open ed tho fnlnt, pervasive odor of crush oil rose loaves and dried lavender. THE RATIONAL CHRISTMAS. By ELLIS FRAME CopjTlsht, 1509. by American Press Asso- ' elation. ' "Lot u elvo m reason this year," sh 1 ' .. . . ... . .. . i ... ioi merely mr in. ui i,.u , L . It's the sulrtt. not the money tnreited. 1 irnicu o me uiraiura season aim 10 1)t u,; ,llcwft)M, turn from foullih . the Inst kept up the fond and foolish ( squanderings, ' custom of sending generous presents lt the girts we give be thins that mar to his friends." Better appreciated in lMtSt?h sooa t0" . a.. , England tban in bis native country, 1 "My darling, your aunreitlon ahall be Harte spent the later years of his llfo i heeded. j abroad, but his stories were to tho last j For than u wisdom in It," he replied. I distinctively American. In that ad- sh8 dul hor .hopping early, being guided mlrable performance entitled "How i Hy lessons learned from much expert- , Santa Claus Came to Simpson's Bar" ' nc . 1 out) nuuiu muw uvr iuiu mu uiavivi, auv , decided. waa common piMftMgfJsVHBTMB'SBTam I O A Merry Christmas X i there Is no flavor of the old world '" " i decided. Christmas, nnd Johnny, clothed In tho now excellent a thing stars and stripes. Is a young American ' seme. of tbe most unmlstnkablo sort Two of tho most strikingly dissimi lar Christmas stories ever written aro Hawthorn e's For tbelr baby boy aha purchased a. French corset And an oriental rug that cajight her eye. "Though the darling longed to have o rocking horse. It Wasn't sensible." aha murmured, with a atgh. Thoy had promised not to buy things for I ach nfher. few things for her DICKERS, "Christmas Ban quet" and Miss MltionlVChrlst- They would merely get xuvrB is unit; uli tne child. Christmas in She would sacrifice her sister and Hawthorne's . .m..th7',. . u . . , And It gladdened her to see the way he grewsome talo. ,mnej Tbe Joyous fcstl- As he said his people, too, should be omit- val Is only a lit- tL . , , erary makeshift j So $V nd w,n,ora woman- around which Is From shop to shop, with sweet emotion. woven a weird flitted. .Having dry goods bound up and sent away. psychological study that drives all re membrance of tbe blessed season from tbe mind. Its ghosts are not tbe so-, He bought a pipe and splendid smoking clable and easily banished spooks of, Ja,cke' .... . . . . . . I To Klve their darllnir dee on Christmas anu , - Dickens. They are formless creepy and all pervading. Tbey are tho with these the child could make no such fearsome specters that rise In tho frig- n racket Id vapors of German mysticism, and J As mlBhhave been produced with drum they are made Icier still with a strong n ) KOt lno Works. unexpurgated. admixture of New England transccn- or oia uoccaccio and Rabelais, dentallsm. It Is a masterpiece In con- SoA'h.a,ti,leLr J.'"!!! ,ne mlfh,t b0 elat,cJ.H ' , , . . ' - i And lontf have glad remembrance of tho , ccptton nnd In treatment no question ' at all about that but it does not make 1 tho Yule log glow more brightly or On Christmas when their presents were lend a better flavor to tho steaming ' Then tho aofa ,Me bjP (le ' bowl. I And while their child looked up at them, 1 Mary Russell Mltford does not deal dismayed. In ghosts. All of ber Christmas char- Hec a W manner, ana she THE NURSERY LIGHT Whore thero aro small children In tho homo the light without an open flamo Is ossontlal. It Is wrong to endanger their lives by a light that might set their clothes or playthings afire without warning. With Electricity thoro is no danger, it is tho perfect nursery light. Tho little onos can turn It on or off at will. It makes tho nursory "fire proof." Moreover, It doos not vltiato tho atmosphere. 'Phono us for further Information. Rogue River Electric Co. Keep Your Eyes On Our Store Don't pass us up when selecting that Christmas present. Our store is full of suitable, appropriate gifts, such as Indian Moccasins, Dolge Felt Slippers, Fancy Home Slippers for men, women and children. Don't you think a gift of this kind is sensible and would be more appreciated than many almost use less gifts? Try giving a fine pair of shoes or slippers and see if the satisfaction it gives does not give you more than the usual pleasure. $lnwade4 $ cm They Packed Their Grips WITH EVEHYTHING THAT WAS NICE FOR CHRISTMAS, NEW YEARS, and the WEDDINGS THEN THEY WENT ON THEIR WAY REJOICING. YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED TO SEE WHAT AN ASSORTMENT WE GOT IN THE WAY OF CHRIST- ? MAS BOOKLETS, POST CARDS, STATIONERY, FAN- CY BOXES, SCENERY, ART AND SCENIC NOVEL- TIES, PHOTO AND POST CARD ALBUMS, SOFA r t PILLOWS AND CALENDARS, BURNED NOVELTIES, '1 1 PYROGRAPHIC OUTFITS, MATERIALS AND PARTS. IN FACT, THEY MUST BE SEEN TO BE APPRECIATED. IT IS A PLEASURE TO SHOW OUR GOODS. See our $50 Violin for $25. It's an old one. Ask for free Coupons. the Art studio Franfo Hull, Proprietor 331 E. MAIN MEDFORD, OREGON. ROOM 3, SECOND FLOOR. The Greatest Assortment FURNITURE I-; Here is where we shine. Oriental, Velvet Axmin ster Rugs; all styles .and si.cs; and don't forget to register for Christmas souvenir. Something for everybody. "Washing you a merry Xinaa and happy Now Year. "We have our Novelties in China, Glassware, etc., now on display; all the latest designs and patterns. Don't miss going through this department. It's worth your while. Medford Furniture Co. Complete Housefurnishers . of Xmas Goods ever shown in Southern Oregon. Ladies' Desks, Dressing Cases, Library Tables, l?oekTs, Hirds eye, Circassian Walnut,' Oak Bedroom Suites, Brass and Iron Beds.