3
TUE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 21, 1913.
Jre$cott
A
WHETHER Mrs. Dalton wn dis
contented, or dissatisfied, or
disappointed, she wu, at any
rate, very unhappy. And it wa corn
In? on Christmas ere, when no one
has a right to be unhappy.
She had married Rodney Dalton
when be waa on the high Ude of suc
cess, and money had flown Into her
hands as the waters of an Irrigation
ditch flow when the gates are open.
And she bad gowns from Paquln. and
gems from Tiffany and the Rue de la
Faix, and gold and silver table equip
age, and Summer jaunts to Europe
with her motor car and everything as
might befit a princess 01 the Dioou.
And now now Rodney had failed,
failed utterly, and they had gone to a
little hut In the' country and were
buried alive! At least Teresa had called
It a hut In the first place; it was
really an old farmhouse, half way up
a hill, soma 20 miles away, capable
of a good deaL From there Rodney
bad gone In and out In the endeavor
to repair Ms fortunes in the city.
A Lost Fortune.
The knowledge of his failure had
coma to her with a great shock. She
was -at the assembly ball, and, that
clumsy De Valles, having torn her
flimsy draperies, she had gone to a
dressing room for repairs. And while
one of the maids was busy with needle
and thread in her behalf she heard
Frances Bannock, who also was un
dergoing repairs, and who had not no
ticed her, talking to soma one whom
she herself did not see.
"Why, did you notice her?" said
Mrs. Bannock. " Tou would never
dresm such a thing happened."
"No. She holds her head as high
as a duchess. said the other.
"And Mr. Bannock tells me It Is the
worst failure In years. It demoralized
the street and sent stocks down to
rock bed. as he calls it. No one had
an idea of it. Every one yes. Jennie,
that Is the way It goes; such a bad
rent every one thought Rodney Dalton
was as solid as the hills. It doesn't
seem possible It can be true, and she
so entirely at her ease. Why. look
at the Jewels she wears! Bannock said
they would have to go; the creditors
will Insist upon it- If that is so 1
mean to have Bannock buy that saddle
horse of hers and give It back to her.
I waa always fond of her."
"Oh, perhaps It Isn't so bad. said
the unseen lady. "If these Jewels go
there are others. There are failures
and failures, you know. Haven't you
ever heard of a fortune In a failure?"
And then Teresa seemed suddenly to
lower above them a royal creature in
her purple chiffons strung with bril
liants, and with the filet of big soli
taires across her hair.
"Do you know what you are talking
about, Frances Bannock V she cried.
"Mt husband failed! It Isn't possible!"
"I'm sure Tm awfully sorry. Teresa."
"Tou know very well. Frances Ban
nock, that if Rodney Dalton has failed
it will be an honorable failure, leaving
htm without a penny. And tell your
gossip there who is It? Oh. I see.
Rosamond Leigh that I shall hold my
head Just as high without my Jewels!
Give me my cloak. Susanna."
And she threw the wrap of rose
colored velvet, covered with priceless
lace and lined with priceless sables,
over her white shoulders and hurried
from the room and from the place.
"She doesn't know what failure
means, poor thing," said Frances Ban
nock. ...
"I fancy she'll llnd out, aald Rosa
mond Leigh. "She la quite a fury,
isn't she?"
The horses could not go quickly
enough as Teresa hurried home. The
wings of the wind could not have
borne her swiftly enough. As she
waited for the door to open she
glanced up at the night and the great
scarf of stars above the street, and a
half formed sense of wonder and of
relief came to her. Since the stars
were still in their places It was Im
possible that things had changed so
disastrously for Rodney. She swept
upstairs to her sitting room and went
In like an angry and avenging fate.
Rodney was waiting for her. She
saw in an Instant that hope waa gone.
"Is It truer' she cried. "Have you
failed? Did you let me go among those
cruel women knowing that? Is every
thing to go?"
"Quite true," he said. "Everything."
She tore off her nerkloce and bandeau
Bus
Discloje
0
F the preliminaries of this Inter
view with Santa Claua tne wruer
reaolutelv refuses to telL That
they necessitated persuasion It is pos- !
slble, of course, to concede. Important
personages love to be persuaded. Even
Santa Claus did. though he failed to
make the point that his coyness be
Included in the interview, a wish that
important personagea have voiced be
fore. Ttat the Interview took place In
Greenland, too. you may believe. As
to directions for the situation of that
delectable mansion of Santa Claus
himself, on that the interviewer's lips
are sealed. That rivers of raspberry
syrup flow In their rapt courses about
It Is admitted for of what use would
it be to deny the dreams of childhood?
That all the trunks of the trees about
It are the original Inspiration for those
red. white and blue candy sticks we
used to come by In the shining honrs
when the earth was intimately close
and the people In it so very smiling
(ah. how smiling they nsed to be) can
not be denied. That the ground about
Santa Claus' house Is moiasses candy
(though frozen quite hard) and that
the bashes about It are ripe with choc
olates, "n lemon drops. n sugar plums,
'n candles of every bright color is true
though these things we knew very
ions ago. before w had come to for
get. But one forgets even cocoanut candy
when one sees Santa, and when one
comes to think of bim in his very
works! oi and In his very overalls,
m-hy, ft just gives one a thrill.
For ganta Claus was very busy, and
as he planed at the wood upon the
bench the shavings came from him
like exuberant snowflakea It was ob
vious that he was behindhand. And
fancy what it must be only to have
Europe and Asia and Australia done,
and all the toys for all the kiddles In
' all America and Africa yet to fix!
One might have forgotten him had
he frowned, with only half a continent
to do. But with two, and one of them
America! It seemed too much to ask.
though this affected Santa not at all.
He smiled like the heart of childhood,
although, of course, be was young In
;mji onx when he eomjanied with
- f ' .
and bracelets, together with her long
string of pearls, and flung them on the
table beside which be was standing.
"Take them!" she cried.
"Teresa!"
"There's a fortune in them. A for
tune one might be happy on if it
were not for the wild folly of the big
gamble. Tou couldn t be content until
vou were In with the Rothschilds and
the rest. What is this they call them?
Captains of Industry and masters of
money. And here we are now, ana i
pitied by Frances Bannock and Insulted
by Rosamund Leigh!"
"Teres!" he said again.
"And she said the creditors took
everything."
"Everything belonging to me. Tour
Jewels are your own, and the old farm
house on Qrayshead Hill waa yours
before you married- me, is yours still.
with Its two outlying cottages. That
Is where we shall have to go till"
"Till what?"
"Till I am on my feet again or in
my grave. The grave would be a
blessed place beside this!" And he
left the room. She stood a few
moments where she was. If she had
been turned to stone she could hardly
have been more still. Then she turned
and breathlessly began unpinning the
parure of brilliants and amethysts
that overlay her bodice and stripping
her dress of the strings of jewels that
fell between the folds of her purple
chiffon to her knees. And she gath
ered them into a corner of the cloak
she had thrown otf and ran down to
the library. She had heard him go in
there. '
"Do you suppose," she cried, as she
flung the door to behind her, "that I
am less honest than you?"
A Wife's Love,
And then she saw him as he sat In
his chair, with his arms thrown out
straight across the table and his head
fallen between them.
In an instant the cloak and Its con
tents fell with a smothered crash to
the door, and she was kneeling beside
him, with her arms about him.
"Oh, Rodney, Rodney, darling, for
give me!" she cried. "I was beside
myself! ' I don't care what I lose If
I don't lose you! Oh, what a wicked
wife I am. when I should comfort my
husband. Dearest. I know what a
cruel thing it is to you your pride
your honor!" And she rose and stood
over him and lifted his head and laid
it on her breast- "And if the Jewels
are mine I won't have any quixotic
nonsense about it. Tou shall take
them, and perhaps they will be enough
to make a start. No, no, you mustn't
refuse me. I shall think you haven't
forgiven me if you do. And I couldn't
blame you! But. or, I should be so
wretched! We. will fight It but to
gether, dearest, and old Grayshead Hill
isn't so bad after all. I remember
the house. It had some pleasant rooms
and a view. I was having quite a
revenue from that and the two smaller
ones before the tenants left as much
as J 500."
And she laughed gaily and checked
herself, surprised at the sound. "We'll
go tomorrow," she said, "and now we'll
go and get what sleep we may. I
am sure you need It- Why didn't you
tell me, dear one, and let me hold up
your hands?"
How radiant she was now as she
talked, all flushed and eager, her
cheeks burning, her eyes gleaming,
her burnished hair, from which she
had snatched the diamond pins, falling
about her In great curling tresses, her
smiles and her tears! Was ever any
one sweeter or more caressing? It
put the heart Into Rodney. They both
forgot how different it had been a half
hour before.
Of course they didn't go on the mor
row, but as soon as the bankruptcy
allowed. And Teresa had some old
silver and china and linen of her
mother's that had long been packed
eway and could not possibly be called
Rodney's, and other various furnish
ings, and as the farmhouse had always
been rented partly furnished, it did
not take long to put It In tolerable
array. Of course Olympe and the fine
lady upper servants were not to be
thought of, but the faithful old Caro
line, who had been the maid of
Teresa's mother, went with them, and
there it was.
Treasures of Gold.
It Is no easy thing to change a
whole manner of life from great lux
ury to as great simplicity. And when
LING
- u. at. His
The
Grecian gods, who In reality were con
scious children. That Is why they
lived so long. From these ne learneu
to smile, although, of course, this ac
complishment would fall to interest
you. Tou are wise and a stockbroker.
You have forgotten.
It was on this question of age that
I commenced. It waa a certainty that
Santa would answer truly. His record
is known for several hundred years,
and at that period yo cease to care.
"Mr. Sauta," said the Interviewer,
diffidently, "would you care to tell me
would it be too much to ask your
age?"
His shavings ceased Immediately.
His smile brought curious memories of
rose gardens and shining brooks when
vou were . It was, perhaps, of smiles
ilke his that you remembered near the
brooks you who snrlle and are smiled
at no longer, and so are old.
Santa regarded his visitor suddenly
with the gentle seriousness of a child
softened by a wisdom consciously ban
ished. "My age?" said ha "My dear. If I
had ever thought of It how could I
be here? One comes to age only
through keeping playmate with the
soul of youth, and coming of age is
ever young. I never think of sgo, only
of childlmcd and the times of smiling
years. That Is where those old fel
lows, the philosophers, who sought
eternal youth, made their mistake.
They sought and counted the time
of search. The gods died counting
the days of happiness, and one day
found that they, too, were old. Circe
used to lauph at me because I made
toys for children. She used to say
that it was nicer to make fools of
men. But Circe, she died, too. Tou
see. she counted. She was a gracious
tadv. I've heard It said, rest her soul!"
lie stood serious for a moment, but
with an Infinite tenderness upon him
still. He stood, the purity of child
hood hopes emblasoned In a man. The
great, white, wonderful World Ahead
showed In his eyes, no spot upon it,
still peopled with the gracious ones,
simple and brave and generous and
kind, that lived In that World Ahead
when we looked out upon it, too. The
mansions of high hopes were there
and generous ambitions and castles of
simple dream stuff in which one was
to llvs In the gentle eye of the kind
world.
Santa Claa looked pint ana whit
Teresa, with the help of Caroline and
a chore man. had disposed of such be
longings as they had and given the
old place a homelike air, and arranged
for wood fires in all the rooms and
prepared a few Indigestible meals, and
taken long walks through the coun
try and brought home new treasures
of gold and scarlet boughs, and later
of fluffy seed vessels and red berries:
had visited various poor people and
read verses to various sick ones, the
days began to lag and life began to
seem more featureless and dreary than
she had ever dreamed it could be, and
her discontent, if that is what It was,
made her all but really 111.
The only excitement or pleasure of
the day was watching Rodney come up
the hill from the train. And when
he came he was as low-spirited as
she and the roaring fire was the only
cheerful thing in the house except
Caroline. She, when announcing din
ner, glowed with satisfaction; the
soup she had made of little but the
garden herbs, the steak or the chicken
she had broiled, the whip of sugared
cream atop of the wild plums she had
stewed, all filled her soul with the
Joy of creation, that acknowledged but
little Indebtedness to the hens on the
place and' the cow the choreman had
taken care of In the absence of an
occupant of the house, for the milk
and eggs. And though everything was
excellent and dainty, too. It seemed to
Teresa sordid and mean, and she had
no appetite for It. and she would He
Work
Mi
.Secret of Youth dud
and smiling and always wtlh the child
look. Shavings were upon the floor
white, white shavings with a plney
smell and upon the bench and cling
ing to Santa Claus' overalls. There
were boards and wire and pieces of
canvas and pots of paint, and one
could Bee boxes and boxes of tin sol
diers heaped up, and heaps and heaps
of little railroad engines, too, and
aeroplanes, not to speak of automo
biles. Mrs. Ssnta'a Voice.
And every little while would sound
a voice (It was Mrs. Santa's) calling
sweetly as silver bells. "Hurry, now.
Santa! " Buddy at Pike's Corner will
never get hlsl" or "How about Effle's
present Santa?" It brought Effle
very Intimately close. It seemed to
suggest that Effle's letter had even
been read, a thing unlmagined by Ef
fle. secure in the removed confidence
of four.
"Mr. Santa, do you read every letter
that every little boy and girl sends
you even when it's Just a scribbler"
he was asked.
"Why, of course," said Mr. Santa in
surprise as to how so apparent a fact
could be doubted. "I get them all.
What is the postman for?"
"And In a year how many do yon "
Santa put up a pink finger of warn
ing. "S-sssh," he said, "we never
count here Joys or sorrows or letters
or tovs we never count We only
love "life and childhood and have
thankful hearts and make toys.
That's how we keep young. Young
Joe. the reindeer, told me that when
we first went Into the business to
gether rural delivery.
"I go about on an aeroplane nowa
days. We've got to keep up with the
times. That's another way to keep
young." . T
He confidentially lowered his voice.
"I only keep Joe, the reindeer, now
to . pose for the Christmas supple
ments: and do you know he seems to
like ltr
He was back at work now. and the
shavings, like an encouraged Btorm,
Indicated that Bud could count on his.
"Yes." he continued, "I keep up with
the times and that's another way of
keeping young:"
-And the sifts themselves have
changed,1!
awake half the night, having wrought
her brain to sleeplessness In bemoan
ing her condition and In trying not to
let Rodney know.
But in spite of her effort Rodney
might have felt that he had not much
of a home to come to if he had allowed
any thought of himself to outdo his
constant sense of his wife's having lost
the life she loved through his reck
lessness. As it was he made the best
of it, concealed his depression till it
ceased entirely with better luck, told
her the news of town, his improving
opportunities, -of his determination to
pay every dollar of the balance for
which the creditors had compounded,
and was always praising and encour
aging. "Oh. Miss Teresa," said old Caroline,
"the Lord broke the mould when he
made that man!"
So the seasons wore away, from the
melting snows of March through the
roses of July, the drifts of Autumn
leaves. She tried to make cheer for
Thanksgiving day, and Rodney felt his
heart glad within him at what seemed
to him a sweet acquiescence hi fate.
And now .the Christmas snows were
upon them In a great uproar of storm.
Caroline had gone into town for her
mistress and had sold, for a fraction of
its value, of course, a ring that had
come to her from the estate of some one
of her dead and gone great-aunts, and
that she had happened on only the
other day in looking over old boxes.
4NTA
Bench The
Vvv
l - ' ... -i. - ,
-Yes." he replied, "fashions have,
"She Was Kneeling Beside Him
and she had bought the material for a
royal dressing gown for Rodney.
And the only useful bit of work Teresa
had ever done was the making of this
garment, in secrecy save for Caroline's
supervision, that Bhe might surprise
Rodney with it. She was really quite
happy while engaged in this work. And
then she and Caroline cut down and
made over some of Rodney's cast-off
clothes for the boys of a family in want
on the other side of the hill, and after
she had carried them to their destina
tion Teresa seemed to hear all night
the mother's thanks ringing in her
ears. She felt like a person who was
doing good in the world, was resolved
to do more, and enjoyed the sensation.
etii
J' -
5
4 -
"Little soldiers," replied Santa, in-
CLAUS
Benevol
Discusses
- " "
1 i -v W if
j-.-rI;i,Vi rJ
-3
i
With H er Arms About Him,"
The dressing gown was lying over a
chair by the fire, quite glowing in the
firelight, for it was Christmas eve at
last. It was growing darker and darker
outside and the -snow was driving past
ana tne sieet i&sneu um
roaring wind of the northeasterly gale.
T . ttma that PnHllV Wfl.fl fit
V, Ufa ,aln Vl O W h 1 (3 1 1 P ft bv half
an hour ago. How cruel, she thought.
that Koaney, usea to ma nnw ciclh
cab, should have to struggle now with
v. - - , rnnti Th f 1 r .were
B U 1- 11 U i3 L U . ... wu vwh.
roiling- their great flames up the chim
neys and she saw the room she had
II1UUC) BU 1 -15 1 1 - -
and etherealized. She wondered why it
frio-htened her a little and gave her
Old Gentle rtid n
His- Hedvu
... .
Christmas JAs
-
Pike's Corner wants one, too, and
mother!"
"Father!" answered the silver voice
to his.
"What did Effle want?"
"A doll," came back the silver voice.
Dolls and Soldiers.
"That's what the little Egyptians
had," said Santa Claus, ceasing sud
denly his work. "Dolls 'n soldiers
are the toys that never get old. ' Er
I wonder if they count?"
"Of course not" promptly responded
the interviewer.
"I don't think they do, either," said
he, eagerly. "Dolls 'n' soldiers never
count they stay too young. People
laugh when I tell 'em that but they
never smile. People have forgotten to
smile."
He laughed a timid challenge.
" 'N that's another thing that makes
em old," ventured he. " 'N their
hearts can't get out in the sunshine."
And he nodded his head. "Yes, the
toys change," said he absently after a
little "always change. There Is only
one thing that is ever the same."
"And that?"
The interviewer feared to disturb
him, for he seemed to speak to him
self. "The heart of the child," he an
swered. "That is what the race of men
commences with and what it leaves
behind. That is what it has passed
from and to what it will come. It Is
that which makes men gentle who are
hard. The heart of the child! It is
mankind's unrecognized ideal for Itself
the heart of the child."
He stood still, looking out beyond
the bleak window to where the night
whipped snow down from the black
gley. He turned and smiled again. He
looked apologetically at his bench.
The Interviewer ventured a query.
"Don't you ever have trouble get
ting down chim "
"neys?" he said, and nodded his
head decidedly. "N I can come any
where. Any child knows that," said
he. "In a little crack in the wall in
through a little keyhole. I can come
always to those whose mothers want
me-" .
"But how do you know "
"There's the postman, as I told you,"
premonitions of trouble of danger. She
remembered that It was called the
witches' fire. She went into the dining
room, where, the table was set with her
mother's old' silver and the old damask
Caroline had bleached to snow, and
rearranged it a little, and went back
again to the window, shielding It with
her hands that she might look out: But
again there was nothing but blackness
and the emptiness of the driving storm.
Where In the world was Rodney?.
Hadn't he come? Had he thought the
storm too bad and stayed in town? He
would never do that; he. would not
. i . nhriotmiiq pva!
leave Her ttiuiie " " . "
Could it be that Rodney had left the
i . nni4 iAEt Vi i a wov 1n the dark.
and was he lying now in some drift, to
be covered in a winains sneei i ;
, i - cfeA m-o 1 1-,wl 1 1 n dnii
ana iroieu ov. ' .. ... --. - - -a
' . i- ftntimr it Impossible
UUrt II IIIV 1 D.-l.i, ......... (T, '
to sit still, going at every other turn
to the window again.
Alone on Christmas Eve.
Tii i-inrV utruck seven. No sign was
there of anyone looming darker on the
.1 1. ! Intn tfeA window's 1 fill 6
of light The clock struck eight, bhe
ran to the door ana caiiea. out
v.i t,a VkAntTi hnck into her
throat; there was nothing but the great
pressure or tne snouiaer ui mo .
and it took til her strength to close
the door. The clock struck nine.-Oh,
wi,,,,. waa Rodnev? What might
he be suffering: remaps ne v
. . i. v. ,1 iAr. ha, f nrnVA.r. Oh.
dear Lord, was it possible, would she
never see Rodney again:
She still walked the floor wringing
her bands In agony. The fire was fail
ing. Caroline ana inu cj
In and heaped the logs and went to
. . . i Tn.oc, Hid not see: she
sno o, -
stood now by the window as if frozen
thus herseii. tier newi -She
was conscious of nothing now but
dull misery. And then suddenly a
clang of bells, a snorting of horses,
high voices on the wind.
"Oh, he Is dead!" she cried, moved
from her dull deadness to a wild hor
ror "They are bringing him home!
And then the door was thrown open
and Rodney was there, white with the
snow, and Caroline with a broom was
brushing him off. as well as the two
other men and the two women, and
they all cams forward before she,
moved in the shock of her reaction,
"We lost the train." Rodney was say
ing, "and we took a trolley half way
and had to get a team for the rest I
never had such a wrestle with ths
weather in my life! Aren't you glad
to see me?" And he took her in his
arms and nothing was ever so delight
ful as the touch of that cold face oa
hers "And here," cried Rodney again,
"are' some old frlynds to be made hap
py with our Chrlstmaalng. Mr. .uelgb.
and Mr. Bannock are In the plight
where I found myself a year ago or so.
And they are renting your two empty
cottages till they can do better, and I
thought we would put them up while
the storm lasts and tiU their plaoes
can be put In order."
But Teresa was already flying from
one to the other, undoing the wraps
and veils of this one and turning to
loosen the cloak of that one. and hurry
ing for a glass of hot wine for all o
them.
"Come into my room." she cried, "I
will have fires laid In yours. Where
are your bags? It must have been a
terrible drive. Are you sure you're not
frozen? Don't yon need dry things?
Oh you will like it here In time you
will thlnk'lt isn't half bad to fall when
It brings you to Grayshead Hill! And
she talked on, bubbling- over with the
happiness of her relief at Rodney's re
turn alive and well, till the two ladles
had put themselves In order. "Dinner
Is spoiled, of course," she said, as they
all went into the dining room. Rodney
having taken care of the men It is
my fault- I was so worried I forgot
everything. But there will be some
thing, thank goodness. And Caroline
shall make us some eggnog to drink to
old Father Christmas by way of. a
nlWhenP'some time after midnight poor
Caroline had gone to her tired slumbers
and Teresa herself had tucked her In
and given her a delicious tingling
sleeping draught, Rodney lingered on
the lounge by the fire that was now a
mass of amber, and when Teresa cams
back pulled her down beside him. It
is hard for Leigh and Bannock, he
said.
"But their wives will behave worlds
(Concl uded on Page 4.)
said he, clipping out the planes of a
thousand airships.
"But how could he get your address?"
"How could your asked Santa, gum-'
mlng the thousand to separate places.
Of course the caller hadn't thought
of this.
"But don't the children ever see you
coming r
"Why, no," said Santa, who had
fixed a thousand motors. "I change
into father or mother till they go to
sleep again. It's easier than changing
to a curtain."
He looked anxiously at the little
clock. He had only completed a thou
sand little flags one couldn't help
counting while he had spoken, and he
was obviously wasting time. Insidious
ly, subtly, the spray of snow, powder
ing In, dimmed him like a gossamer
veil.
"Mr. Santa," said the Interviewer
"but one thing more. Do you not
think, with all due respect, that toy
distribution for a man of your years
Is a little undig "
The storm mist crept through as he
rose, veiling him more softly, subtly
yet.
"My dear," said he gently one could
not tell if it were the mist that lent
to his voice a greater softness 'mine
Is the noblest of all professions. My
poor little toys are toys only to chil
dren and the blind." His voice sank.
"My toys are charity, faith, hope,
which are eternal childhood. They rep
resent the highest spirit of the race, a
spirit to be forgotten with the years."
He shook his bead, and again the storm
spume beat against the window, veiling
ever so delicately the old man.
"That is why the toy giver Is no
blehe gives toys to children, charity
to the world. But I," he struck him
self, "I must do more than this. My
dear, do you know my ambition? To
fill the stockings of the older people,
with toys, only with toys. When gold
has gone people will be simple once
more, being wise, for those most wise
are most simple. Then they will be
lieve in me again, and then when they
are very, very wise I will give them
toys."
The interviewer rubbed my eyes
suddenly. . Santa Claus had gone.
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