December.
50
THE WEST SHORE.
A CHRISTMAS STORY.
BY MIS. V. V. ULTTS.
They cull it Merry Christmas,
Atii all the world ii fray,
lint 1 imrer was bo lonesome
A - I have been to-day.
The people seem so happy,
At they hurry through the ttorin,
I only wiflh 'two summer,
That we might all be warm.
'I taw them carry garlands,
With holly berries bright;
An 1 standing by a window,
1 saw a dueling sight;
With toys the place was crowded,
I thought ot little Moll,
And wished that I could buy her
One teeny tiny doll.
"Hut more tbnn all I wanted
Something to make you well;
I looked at the bright ladies,
And wfh.-d ihet I rnuld tell
That you wer cold and hungry;
The tears came to my eyes,
An I thought tbot-mayhe Christmas
Was for the rich and wise."
Thatl said tin) gentlci mother
To the RrioTiug boy, "Nay, nay,
Tin) poir can have till Saviour
For a guest on Christmas Day.
His love is cheery sunshine,
His vuoe a heavenly chime,
That rings away the sorrow
Of the dismal wintry time.
"On read to little Molly,
The story strange and sweet,
Of the Bby and his mother,
With the wise men at their feet.
All rlotaai and all honor
Mutt yield when Ho is near;
At knelt tht' adoring miaji
That day in old Judea."
While thus they sat together,
And read the story o'er,
A ( Ml I came to the threshold,
And opened wide the door.
Tba llttla Holly hw her,
And cried out, "Mamma, see,
The Christ has sent his sister,
With a loaded Christmas-tree."
i Hi titer l was such rejoicing,
As tbay hud never seen,
When I ha candles all wore lighted,
And sparkling on the green;
And lo, among the hniiicnon,
Quite ludiien by a toy,
A (nil purse was discovered
lty the wonder-smitten boy.
Knin there was food in plenty,
And lire upon the hearth;
And hearts were never gayer
Upon the great round earth.
Then said tint grateful mother,
To the child that brought tba tree,
"If you do the Father's bidding,
Christ's sistur ou shall he."
ANNIE AND WILLIE'S PRAYER.
uv UU v r. snow.
I w i the eve before Christmas ; "(loud -night" had
been said,
And Annie mnl Williu had : - i into bed:
Tlicre were teara on their pillows, and teuni iti
their ayes,
And each little boaon was heaving with sight,
For to-night their stern fathrr's command had
l"en given,
Thst tbay should ratiia precisely at seven,
Indent! of nt eight; fur they troubled him more
Willi (mixtions unheard of, thai ever bed re,
Ho bail told them he thought this delusion a sin,
No suob being as "Santa Claus" ever had been,
And he heped after thii, he should nevermore
hear
II iw be scrambled down chimneys with present.
each year.
An 1 this was the reason tlwt two little heads
Ho restlessly tossed un their soft downy beds.
Eighti nine, and the dock on the steeple tolled
ten;
Not a word had Iwn spoken hy either till then,
Win ii Willie's sad face (ivtr the blanket did peep,
Aud whispered, "Hear Annie, is you fast asleep':''
Wny no, br.ither Willie," a tweet voice replies,
' Tvo tried but in vain, for I can't shut my eyes,
For siiinehow it makes me so sorry because
IVnv papa has asid tbeie is no 'Santa Claus.'
Now we know there is, and it can't be denied,
I or he citne every year before mamma died;
Hut lieu, I've l thinking that she used to urav.
And Qod would hear everything mamma would
say.
Arid perhaps she asked him to send SanU Claus
neie
Willi the suck full of pi sent he brought every
' Well, why tan't we i.'av dest as mamma did den
A:id ask lti.il to send him with n'esents adenf"
I've MM thinkiug so too." And without a wind
Off,
Pont little bare feet bsVtMUd nut on the floor,
An I roiir little knees the soft carpet pressed.
And two tiny bauds were clasped close to eu. b
breast.
,N i, Willie, you know we must firmly believe
That the presents we ask for, we're tun to ro-
oefiejj
V must wait just as still, till I say the 'Amen.'
And try that yen will kuow that your turn ha
come then.
l.-ar Jesus, look down on my brother and me.
And graut us the favor we are seeking of thee.
I Irani a wi dolly, a te-eet and ring.
And au ebony work-boi that shuta with a spring.
HIpm ,. dear Jeeut, and cause him to see
That SanU Claus loves us far better than he,
IWl 1st htm get fretful and angry again
Ai d.-ar brother Willie and Annie. Amen "
"1'less. lWus, Vt Santa Isui (urn down
nlibt.
And b'uig u sttme pWuts before it is 'ight.
1 wmt he should dive Die a nic 'ittle s'ed.
Wnb b'lgbt shinin' 'unners, and all paiotwl Vd;
A bos. full of landy, a tHk and a toy
A mm, and den. P. rii i, . . ,., i ,
l'heir prayers being euiled they raited up thru
beads, r I
And with hearts light and cheerful, again sought
their bedt i
They were toon lott in tutT both peaceful ud
MM,
And with MlfH in dreamlsud were t vnm In
aleep.
Fighl, nine, aud the little FlwMfc nloak Ua.l
stunk ten,
lire the father had thought of hit children ogam.
He seems now to hear Aunie's half-suppressed
sight,
And to see the big tears stand in Willie's blue
eyes;
"1 was harsh with my darling)" he mentally
raid,
"And should not have sent them so early to bed,
ltut then 1 wan troubled; my feeling found vent,
For bank stock to-day hot gone down ten per
cent.
But of course they've forgotten their troubles
ere this,
And that I denied them the thnce asked-for kiss;
Hut just to make sure, I'll steal up to the door.
For I never spoke harsh to my darlings before."
So saying, he softly ascended the stairs.
And arrived at the door to hear both of their
prayers.
Hit Annie's "Bless papa" draw forth the big
tears,
And Willie's grave promise falls weet on bis
ears.
"Strange, strange I'd forgotten," said he, with a
iRh,
"How I longed, when a child, to have Christmas
draw nigh
1 11 atone lor my harshness," he inwardly said,
"By answering their prayers ere I sleep in my
' bed."
Then he turned to the staircase, and softly went
down.
Threw oil velvot slippers, and silk dressing
gown, Douned hut, coat, and boots, and was out in the
street,
A millionaire facing the cold, driving sleet.
Nor stopped ho until he had bought everything,
Fron a box full of sweets t' the tiny gold ring.
Indeed he kopt adding so much to his store,
That the various presents outnumbered a score,
Then homeward he turned, with hit holiday load,
And, with Aunt Mary's help, in the nursery 'twas
stowed.
Miss Dolly was seated beneath a pine-tree,
lty the tide of a table spread out tur her tea:
A work-box, well rilled, in the centre was laid,
And on it ring, for which Annie had prayed.
A soldier, in uniform, itood by a sled,
"With bright, shining runners, and all painted
red."
There were halls, dogs, and horses, books pleasing
to see,
Ami birds of all colors were parched in the tree;
While Santa Claus, lauirhin". stood tin in the tun.
As if getting ready mor presents to drop.
Aud as the fond fattier the picture surveyed,
nu luotignt tor nis trouble tie had amply been
paid;
And he said to himself, as he brushed off a tear.
"I'm happier U-night than I've heuti for a year;
i vo eiijuyuu more irue. pieiwir unin ever neiore,
What care I if bank stock fall ten per cent, mom?
Hereafter I'd make it a rule, I believe,
To have Santa Claus visit us each Christmas
Eve."
So thinking, he gently extinguished the light,
And tripped down the stairs to retire tor the
night.
Aj soiui at the beams of the bright morning sun
1'ut the darkness to (light, and the stars, one by
one,
Four little blue eyea out of sleep opened wide,
Aud at the tame moment the presents espied.
Then out of their beds they sprang with a bound,
And the very gifts prayed for were all of them
found.
They laughed and they cried in their inuocont
glee,
And shouted for "papa" to come quick ami see'
What preeenU old Santa Claus brought ia the
night,
.Just the things that they wanted.) and left before
light.
"And now," addeii Annie, in a voice soft and low,
"You'll believe there's a Santa Claun, papa, I
know."
While dear little Willie climbed up on hit knee,
IWermined no secret between them should be,
And told, in soft whispers, how Annie had said
Miat their blessed mamma, so long ago dead,
I'sed to kneel down and pray, by the side of her
chair.
And that Uod, up in heaven, had answered her
prayor.
"Han we dot up and p'aved dest as well as we
tould,
And Dod auswered our p'nyers. Now, was'nt ho
dood."
"1 should any that ho was, if he sent you all these,
Anil knew just what presents my children would
ntrasu.
(Well, well, let him think to, the dear little elf,
Twouhl be cruel to tell him I did it myself. "
Blind father! Who caused your stern heart to
relent,
And the hasty words spoken so toon to repent?
'Twos the Being who bade you -deal hottly up
stairs.
And made you his agent to answer their prayers.
l 1IR1STMAS
M MHS. V. K. I1AKK.
Stitvly the river of life which flovvi
on ordinary days and weeks, is not
tht' river of life which Hows from
Christmas day to the second day
"1" January, and the cynics who ask
with the one in Mr. Dlcken's tale,
" What' is the jajth of December to
me!" are in a miserable minority. Tor
one of the greatest charms of the festl
val,is, that during ItjCynictim it lost in
universal charity ami good-will ; we are
pitiful t. the poor, tolerant with here
tics, and do not even object to our po
litical opponents enjoying their turkey
and mince pie.
Then, "good people all, a merry
Christmas to you, ami how infinitely
preferable is this genial old-fashioned
salutation, to the modern M Corapll
menti of the Season," whou frigid in
anity affects one like a cold ihowerbath
"it a winter morning.
True, to the middle-aged, and to
I use growing old. all anniversaries are
personally melancholy ( yet
"the wiMr nm..l
Mourns leea for wbat age takes away
Than what it leave Whind."
and good people do not keep Christ
mason their own private eniownent.
I The beauty and the virtue ofChrUtmai
is that we keep it for Mmebody else;
for the poor, for the children, for the
glad future when every bell will be a
Christmas chime, and all the year round
be Christmas. Besides, Christmas binds
us to our own old existence. Oh, if
every one of these festivals in our sepa
rate lives, were painted in a series of
pictures, what a gallery they would
make! Each 25th of December is a
"high place" in our history; let us
erect on them a memorial pillar, and
name it Jehovah-Jireh.
No two Christmas festivals are quite
alike; even the popular superstitions
regarding their observance have visibly
changed in our sight. Where are the
stately ceremonies of our ancestors?
Scarcely their shadow is left to us, and
yet we do not regret their departure;
101 to simplify life u get rid of unnec
essary forms, is one of the triumphs of
civilization. No one but children or
people of immature minds are exhila
rated by a set resolution to be merry;
generally nothing is so depressing as
trying to be cheerful to order. I doubt
however if even the more intelligent
children of this generation are an ex
ception. Mirth cannot be ordered for
them, they will have a reason for it,
and at very early years they have im
bibed enough of the spirit of the age
to vote the games and dances of their
ancestors vulgar and slow, 1 simply
statu the fact without in any way en
dorsing the nil admirari principle
which our juvenile Dundrearys affect
With the decay of splendid and
quaint ceremony we have also dropped
much of the old-time ellusiveness. We
lo not indulge now in loud and demon
strative expressions of friendship and
good will; we have come back to the
more delicate oriental fashion of intl
mating our feelings by our gifts. Hence
the importance of rightly considering
this subject, for a present may lose all
its value for want of thought even
where there has been no want of aflec-
tion.
Christmas presents should be either
uselul, beautiful, costly, or rare. "A
rare present to a rare person, says
Leigh Hunt; tor rarity is greater than
cost, because money cannot always
command it. It is generally an ele
gance to omit the costliness, though if
the giver be rich he must give some
thing equal to his means, or else he
sets his riches above his friendship and
generosity, which would be a contempt
ible mistake. "With no presents
should there be any pretence; givers
must never say, they could get no other,
or afford no better, nor keep asking
about it after it is given,"
For my part I think it is a pi t v that
the pleasant fashion of exchanging nice
things to eat is going out of use. It is
a great delusion to suppose that such
presents are not welcome; none bring
the donor more vividly and pleasantly
to remembrance. But these are "earli
est" and intellectual days, and we get
no cadeatiX but books. Truly Christ
mas books are wonderful; and com
pared with the "Keepsakes' and "An
uals" of a ouarter of a century ago,
they are vastly improved; but they are
in many ways unsatisfactory as pres
ents. I' Erst, they are rarely new or original;
publishers dare not risk such snlendor
of purple and gold, such wonders of
typography and illustration on untried
aud unknown authors; so they dress
up in new and attractive forms "accred
ited and Impeccable classic-. Johnson,
Goldsmith, Milton, Shakespeare. Wash
ington Irving, etc., are always safe;
they stand serene, faultless and above
all criticism. Now the people who
give books are not usually the people
to whom books are no rarity and who
know all about them
.
Jlook-iriveis
arc more likely to be of that clas who
have the highest respect for literature,
yet know little of it, and wisely dis
trust their own taste
people who
quite willing to
i i.nge price tor
hue copy, but who would greatly hi
wu utiiiuiMiig memscives with
a doubtful author. For instance, it is
friendly lo religion to present a hand
some edition of Paradise Lost; but
Carlyle, or Darwin, or Swineburne, is
open to suspicion and objection. Then
Christmas books are generally merely
show books, they are too fine to be
read, thc are too his for tho iv-Lm
thev are too HMcmtflr nt fr iU
H ' , t , ..v n wi
...mm, u, im. Miiiiiuvi -OOat.
If fk - 7 . . -
...v wwjwt wi n jjii'M-ui is 10 give
pleasure I think a bov would lilr
Svj dollar piece, a iirl :i rnwHu i.r.,.-
let. the seniors an exchange of silver
aes or handsonif linwU n..ri...,u k
ter than either poetry or philosonhv
just at this time. Not but what poetry
ind philosophy are admirably addenda
to other good things, but if we are to
have a holiday, what kind of one would
it be if all the world sat reading Christ
mas books?
It is almost as fine a thing to receive
a present properly as to give one not
to show hesitation, not to be churlish
ind think immediately ot havincr tn
give one in return not to be sensitively
annoyed at the obligation but to take
it with a conspicuous and frank enjoy.
mem 01 toe gm ami mc Kindness it
plies; to look upon it as so much
gain not m goods but in good-will
ind to be glad ol the privilege which
it accords to express our own feelings
in a 3Miui.it manner, it takes as liberal
a nature to receive as to give.
But they who would know the full
measure of delight in giving, and see
the perfection of grace in receiving
presents, must give gifts to the little
children. Now this is a hard thing to
do, unless you have danced with skip
ping ropes, and galloped on hobby
horses, and llirted with dolls; and are
thoroughly en rapport with that won
drous condition we call childhood. Hut
if you are of the initiated, then I will
tell vou how to snend a marvelous r1
visit all the toy stores, and let a little
child lead you. Follow with docile
feet your merry chattering guide from
street to street and store to store; cram
your pockets with Noah's arks, and tin
trumpets, and speaking dolls, and cats
and dogs, and candies and oranges, then
go home and gradually surrender the
whole crrgo of treasures to the "voug
barbarians" at play in the nursery.
In their reception there will he no
alTeclation, no doubts, no suspicions, no
considerations; their gratitude will find
voice in musical and untranslatable cries
of delight, in happy faces, dimpling and
rippling and beaming with wonder and
joy. Then don't say one word of dis
approbation if destruction at once com
mences. Remember how strong the
passion for handling is, even in adults;
so strong that men ami women have to
be constantly warned away from rare
and valuable objects, hy labels ol "Uo
not touch;" they may then surely ex
cuse that lust of the hand in a child
which is often stronger than the lust of
the eye; for who is ever satisfied with
seeing a thing until he has seen it in
his own hands?
Even a ten-dollar toy, if it has noth
ing moveable or changeable about it,
soon tires a child. After his eye is sat
isfied he wants to tie a string to it, to
pull it about, to pull it to pieces. And
if he may not do this, the thing is a de
lusion anil a weariness to him. No
toys are better for children than mag
netic or mechanical ones; they excite
wonder and speculation, and children
attain through wonder unto knowledge.
The Greeks, from whom we have yet
something to learn, gave their boys a
piece of wet clay and encouraged them
to model every conceivable thing; thus
early creating and developing the cre
ative and imitative qualities.
IMMENSE REDUCTION
READ AND PROFIT.
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