Eugene City Guard.
CIIltlKT.M as si pili:meit,
A TIMELY GREETING.
MERRY CHRISTHASl
CHRISTMAS CAROLS.
INO loudly, 0
my soul,
A piean to the
Lord I
His goodness,
grace and
love extol,
And for hi
nierclei
poured
Upon theeasthe
r,
Uh
seasons roll.
Give thanks in glad
accord.
For on this happy
day
A star from heaven
MM torn.
To blazon out tht
hunilile way
To where our Lord
wum lrn.
And change earth's
twilight, cold and
gray.
To spiritual uiorn.
Rejoice, my soul, and know
That Christ la born anew,
His grace new mercies daily show.
His works our work Imbue;
And to the world his words outgo
In endless love and true.
V, II. MAM K. B. Kau-h.
rrv Christmas :"-ring It out
ill ye happy festal bells,
"hn.Hi.-li tin' sweet magnolia grove.
Fi-iwti iniKirs, or snow heaped fella.
irols ns', and yule tires glow,
prtya of silver mistletoe
r fri mi out the dark green pine.
tuktide, peace and Joy be thine I
M ml ' liristtnas:" ring it tart.
All yetuut-flll festal bells,
Plo cheerless hearts, wherein
.Wither hoie nor gladness dwells.
t'Svens stuilc, nnd stars shine out
All our y tile decked homes about;
knurls stand within the door
urbtiuas tide is come once more!
Helen Chase.
IK MERRITT MATTER.
DEUJN BI.AKK BROUGHT ABOUT
UmintAI RECONCILIATION.
Pglit, lsw, by American Press Association.)
WOXDER what you'll be
like at my age," Raid Will
iam Merritt angrily to his
y sou Aiuerv, oue uny meiiiov
)w able in the lives of both.
Mr
William Merritt was what
ts. the tssirte oalKsi "a Imrn
man to I along with." Ho
was hard. just, sincere and
Hi! began mature life as a fiatlmat
ad finished his training as sherilT of
n count v. A born ruler, at 50 years
he knew absolutely nothing of any
sov stern command and force ready
't application. To this he added a
'( Dertstll.il fault flndincr
' ' "
n C"inc over the hoarv hnrangue.
kich some old people have insulted
"since the days of Homer, about
a hoys and the industrious young men
F"')' life and the degenerate sons of
J, when Albert's satirical humor
1 mighty little account now," said
"What'll you be at my agef"
said Albert, unconsciously
f bi father's sneer, "111 do like other
at and tell lies about the big things
1 1 was a boy."
I "f those insults which some men
r "the first blow," and the second fell
naming his broad, right hand,
! with rage, the father brought it
I serosa the son's mouth. The blood
: s nose as he staggered luck.
I pied an instant on the father,
away with clinched teeth and
to his confidant, Sam McCorkle,
shoemaker's boy near by, who
Km age as Albert, but knew
as much of the tricks and devices
I At 10 vears Rani was an
" trick ; at lb be was simply
two had met and conferred often
': .. ......fir- i ,- . - was
! ell-to-do farmers of the commu-
' as finished trickster, whose father
t : they often laid out wonder-
in distant reel oris: but soon
! face rose Lfm Alhrt MerrlttS
ks could not nuke nn hia mind to
the face of Helen Blake, only a
oeiore his schoolmate. But now
rasnlral is rr.i. ,h,.,,,Ti,. of
mw
tor ...m to n'.iiir., r.t,u If she were w, tu the
winning she would respect him more for
leaving the discomforu of bit present lift.
Thus he reasoned.
1-ate that indit two lad o, ....: v.
dies might have been seen, but took care not
to be, on the river road, and it was soon
.i"nio an me conunuuity that they had
left the place.
Of farewells the boys had said none.
Allien had indeed written Mai .
his mother, in which he had bidden her a
good-bv full (,f clumsily worded tenderness
id another to Helen, which he had formally'
eg"" -Miss Helen Hlake." and in which ho
had as formally expressed the I,,,,. ti,.
though hunt perhaps for years, bt would
not be forgotten. Those epistles he took wit h
liim in bis Bight, and a day or two later en
trusted them to Sam McCorkle to post, but
that Individual, fearful that the route of de
parture would be guessed by the postmark.
calmly destroyed them, although he solemn
ly declared to Albert that he had deposited
them in the postofHee of a considerable town
through which they journeyed. And to the
two boys were quite cut off from the old
world of semi-servitude.
That a father should be sorry for the flight
of a son is but natural; that he should, while
asiwrkof pride or anger remains, tell any
oue of his sorrow would lie contrary to ail
recorded precedents in such case. William
Merritt was not the man to violate prece
dents of discipline. He held himself stilllv.
waved away the subject complacently, and !
said w hen he sjHike at all; "Uh, he'll soon get
sick of his flirt he'll be glad enough to come
back. Hut late summer yielded to am num.
and autumn gave place to winter, and a ud
Christ inns day had come, for Allien Merritt
had made no sign.
When lleleu Hlake was told that Albert
Merritt was a "runaway boy" she merely
said, "Ah, indeed," and bent very low over
her work: but she knew why he had gone
know it, indeed, about as w ell as he did.
Ere long she and Mrs. Merritt teemed to
have good ileal to say to each other. They
seldom if ever mentioned Alls-rt, but it al
ways seemed that the mother was much
cheered after a visit from Helen. In her own
desponding heart the mother said: "He will
never come back, he is too much like his
taller, a favorite delusion with mothers,
by the way. And so, on this sad Christinas
day, the two sorrowful women exchanged
deep sympathies without exchanging a word
on the subject nearest their hearts, and the
mother felt that night as if volumes hud
been ssiken on the subject, when in fact it
I. ad not la-en mentioned. And thereafter
Helen came oftener and oftener, and some
how after each visit the mother 'elt an as
surauce that all would be right, and felt it
just the same whether Albert's name was
mentioned or not
Now, after the first shock was pass.il,
Helen Blake never felt a doubt in her bosom
that she would ill good time receive some
word from Albert Merritt, and she would
have risked much on her conviction that she
would hear before either of his parents,
though she could not have told you why, and
probably would not if she could, for the liest
farm in Jackson township. Yet she knew it
all the same, ami visited the Meriitts often,
and ut each visit it somehow fell out that
something rather singular happened.
On cue occasion she grew quite hilarious in
reminiscences of a certain school exhibition,
and told how the teacher had photographs of
the whole class taken, a sot for all, and lion
childish the pictures looked r w, and ho
everybody had changed, though it was but
six years ago, and the-' she brought out the
photographs cheap, tawdry things they
were, but among them was one of a tall, tall
boy, with all the glow of class leadership in
bis eye, and light hair curling around a bold
forohend, and under it, in round boyish script,
was the autograph, "Alliert Merritt."
A pang shot through the father's heart,
and he longed tor her to talk of his Isiy; but
she rattled 00 aliout Tom and Jennie and
Mattie, and soon hastened home.
Hut tho mother noticed that Helen "hud
forgotten her pictures," and so they lay on
the looking glass stand for muny a day,
where the father often saw the presentiment
Of his boy, but he never toadied it, and they
lay there till Helen came again.
This time she brought a "story MOW" for
Mrs Merritt. saving that the main story m
it had interested her very much; and after
she was gone William Merritt picked it up
and pished and pshawed and ridicuh-d the
pictures, but he read the story. It was a
commonplace novelette of a son, who hadOtd
from u harsh father and enlisted in the fed
eral arinv. and who was sick almost unto
death in u southern hospital, and how 111 de
lirium he babble.) of home, and how a Sister
of Charity wrote to the father, who came
and patiently nursed his boy back to life and
love and forgiveness. A commonplace story
-one of ten thousand war stories of the tune
-but the father's hand trembled as he road,
ami he rushed (0 the Held and drove his work
with unusual energy and shouted louder than
ever at his team, and at night was stern and
Silent and solemn to a degree that surprised
even his long suffering wife.
The other children would occasionally ven
ture"'. WWUdOl to 4UVt, anil now wneu
Helen came the father would blame the run
away; but she only listened quietly and ask
li if" tl.ev had ever heard of torn, and turned
the ta Ik to their school -lays. And so two
,l away and the third I ins.nia,
tl UWH BUI
, . m, (if the dav tie- Jler-
came. Kl
. . ... ,.f the Blnkes. and
.rthevgal thebigro, ft.
it'-hichA.liertMernt.had
Of course Helen Blake never though
wi&.'&'a-
1" ii " "."-" "
h T, IT! -ressivelv to tho at t end
l!5S5u
1.4"
the other side
500,000 majonty over
could put up next own
5o Helen was JjSlfcil
.nind that Oie trough':
work, but !k.t'fW pj te.
borne the 'X ?
wrar7 waiting. J',kan fltaj Bugle,
V r
.rttMl'i n TO THE GROUND.
Helen Knew. Tliere'"asn't auniTk 'of fcny
kind on the printed sheet, to she set herself
resolutely to read every line. Never had for
western publisher in the most heated cam
paign a more devoted reader, and at last, 1
in a lediil arttcle in the page headed j
"Local Intelligence," she found a list of
members of a new fire comiiany. and among
the names was "Alliert Merritt." A writer
in the "County Correspondence" of the
next issue of The County Democrat told of
"our fair ladies who charmed the audience;
with their music" at a certain Christ mas eve
church f.-stivnl, and, by request conveyed in
a note inclosing the stamis, the publisher di
rected a copy to "A. Merritt, Esq., Tekee
wuh. Kan." And this sort of thing went on
for eight months more, ami the golden au
tumn set in and the country was most
mightily stirred over the presidential eh-c-lion,
and the Blnkes and the Meri itts bogan
to look forward with strangely mingled feel
ings to another Christmas.
William Mei ritt was the same and yet not
the same. His hair, which was just streaked
with grav when his son Albert had left him,
was now whitening visibly. His broad, bur
i.K,,M..e bad heL'un to sbop. His hard
eyes had lost somewtiato. u eir s,e v... ,
and occasionally there were lines denoting
mental pain visible 111 his nlMe, uilio-
nance. His voice, too, sometimes quavered
in a way that astonished nn ono more than
himself. Ami one day Just after the sorrel
Bolt a wild, viciTnis beast, he was breaking to
the saddle-had almost thrown him on the
way to town, he hail caught himself audibly
wishing that Albert, who mutt be a full
grown, strong man by this time, were there to
help tubjugale in annimi
r.l'T WE orr ALOIRT BACgT
And to when Helen next paid the Merritt
homestead a visit she found the fortress of th
old man s heart ready to yield. Hbe had th
day before received a copy of The Tekeewah
Bugle in which the found the following
paragraph half way down a crudely written
account of a fire in that enterprising town:
"We should utterly fail in our duty to our
readers if we omitted to take more than paas-
ing note of the heroic conduct 01 one 01 our
young townsmen, a prominent and efficient
. m I i. L .iinna ci.ml1lir Nil
memts-roi aisi j,,
1. Of course we refer to Mr. Albert "wiitt,
than whom a braver man never drew breath
- hmA it hmime known tliat a child
was in the burning building than, at the risk
of his own life. Mr. Merritt rushed into th
smoke and flame, dashed op the stairs almost
at a bound, and, groping about hi the stifling
besvi, found the infant, fought hit way through
tne nre to tne'Wini.Tiw. Tit' Dy this time me
stairwuy was burning, and jumped to the
ground with his precious burden safe on hit
arms. Ho was greeted w ith such a cheer as
only Tekeewah throats can give. We regret
to be obliged to add that Mr. Merritt suffered
ajiainful, though not necessarily dangerous,
Injury in the breaking of an arm, which was
struck by a falling timls-r. lie was also
rather wordy burned. It It hoped, how
ever, that he will - - u l himself again."
This w-r Helen brought with her but
carefully hidden. She hail det. i mined, If
need Is-, to show it to the stern father, but
she promised to hold it for the last resort,
But her manlier (for, though ordinarily calm,
sh. was now much excitedl betrayed her,
and as soon as William Merritt looked Into
her face he knew that she knew something of
Albert; and her uiiwouted agitation, as ha
gazed fixedly at her, convinosl him that
something was ani.1i witu UT son. .Mrs.
Merritt was about to speak when her hus
band interrupted her in strained, quivering
tones:
"Helen Blake," he said, "Is Albert deadl
Tell me the truth!"
There was a world of paternal love in me
aM man's voice now. But for a moment
Helen said nothing, for she felt that were tha
to sieak stm would iuttantly and completely
lose her self controL 8o with a deprecatory
gesture and a white face she walked to ths
window to conio herself, while the father
and mother waited m sus'tise. After u lit
tle the turned again to them, and, with a re
assuring look toward Mrs. Hlake, who sat
with rlnsil hands and rted lips, she took
the paper from her pocket
"I would liketoread to Tou an article from
The Tekeewah (Kansas) Bugle," she said, in
as ttcady a voice assbe could command. And
then she read the account of the lire, from
headlines to dash, without a break, and with
out looking up. When she had done sb
raised her eyes. Mrs. Blake was crying qui
etly ami the old man was quite broken down.
"Helen," lie said, reaching out both hnndi
to the girl, "it's no use. I can't lie a hard
ened old fool no longer. Can't wo get Alliert
back here with u.sl Hadn't I l-ttr go out to
, -.t ,-, , r,r IK,.',,,l8y l. lie's
,L, it sav." And then the old
burt worse than It says.
man let tin' tears flow unconcealed.
Tlint night a letter was mail.sl to Tekee
wah. Kan. It was written by Helen, though
unsigned, and here is a copy:
Mr Allien Merritt:
Tie- aeeeiuit of the recent fire In Tekei-wah and
the bravery displayed by yourself ou that .-ca-slon
has worked a great change of opinion Ic
s-rtsir. quarters, a change which would bav
OHM soon, however, In the natural court of
things. Your father I very much broken and
anxious to see you. A FBKWn
When Alls-rt Merritt received this letter
he was convalescent, lying on the lssl of ttie
liest risim in the Tekeewah tavern, while Ham
McCorkle was standing in the center of the
flisir telling ome admiring friends for the
thousandth time how "my pard here saved
that gal baby." '''I tell vou,' he? said, "It
take the hon from old laflkjnj- todo things.
Now, I mitiii me one time before I came weat
of how little Jimmy Jones fell Into the river,
n' I Juml right In without ttopplng to
peel a bit ' And then ho reeled off a
wholly imaginary yam of his own bravery,
wbUe Alls-rt sin lbs I and the rest listened open
mouthed. When Albert had read his letter
be said, quietly:
"Sam. I'm going home for Christina. I
shall start us soon as I can do it safely."
Ham was astounded, but he did not remon
strate, and finally concluded to go, too, "Just
to take care of Al," be explained to the boys.
But secretly be was glad of the excuse.
The next iaue of The Tekeewah Bugle 000
tained this tragraph:
"Our well known townsman, Mr. Albert
Merritt, is al. nt to visit bis old borne In In
diana, where be will probably spend the boll-
'daya He is very nearly well of the Injuries
(ugujnn , nom)l H, wU1 b.
by hU fut trimii jr. Ham Mo-
. " ' " . ..... .
1 Corkle, the well known lightning r..i agent."
UgB u (,u( to Wilwun JlerTitt't
1 4 iMxk m chrlltmM fr but
too roads were had and it was quite dark
when, with a sweeping curve, it swerved to
the tide of the pike and stopped in front of
the bouse, in the open frontdocrway of which,
In strong silhouette against th flood of light
Wilton. i inn brfriv MM M WttttejO
Merritt, hi humls outstretched with trem
bling hopcfulnc".
"Come along. Sun," aid one of the young
men w ho dismounted from the hack seat of
the high stage, "1 need you yet."
ThOTI an a cry, 111 whvh recognition, wel
come and forgiveness were all blended from
the figure in the doorway, and an answer
from the fuller of the travelers, who still car
ried one arm in a sling. And a moment Inter
William Merrill led this one Into his house.
"Mother,'' he said, "our boy has com
hook."
In the eotatic joy of meeting lii mother,
Allrt bad forgotten Sain McCorkle, and
when he lo.kisl lor him that individual bad
ditaptavinsl As he afterward explained, h(
"didn't feel like he was any use when folki
was ull a-en in' and a-weepln' and fallin' on
each other'" ins-ks. solje hut slooed "
nut Alls-it did noriook for SaTII very long.
lie bail much to tell of his new life ill Hit
w.sd, where he had Isvn fairly successful, and
his father and mother and brothers and sis
ters had quite as much to tell him.
-
i
Tiirmt WAA A CRT.
The next dav there was such a Christinas.
gathering nt William Merrltt's house ns had
never lieon there tiefore. Such roast turkey
with crnnlierry sauce, and such Juicy mince
pi., and such BMily potatoes, and such line,
white home made bread, and such gmsl things
to eat generally as they w ho sat down at tht
dinner table rtik of have uever hjMB OB
celled. All the Blnkes were there, an I so
were all the members of that class of eight,
whoso photographs were the first weaimn
Helen i. ad employed in storming Williutn
Meriitt s filmy old heart.
Aud Sam McCorkle. too, the drunken shoe,
milker's son, lull of far western dash and his
torian of the time "Al rescued the Imby."
He was "Mr McCorkle," an honored guest,
in I no one recc I Tad greater ressVt than ha
But be did not rise to the height of his glory
till evening, for at the dinner table. Alliert
would not suffer his own praises to be sung
In too high a key. But when Alliert, soeirt
lug to have something particular to any to
Helen, w hoso great, brown eves rkltsl un
WiMitedly and whoso cheeks 'iisbsl In
blushing furiously, led her away with him
Into a quiet corner and left the Held to Sam,
that individual chanted his hero's deeds to
his heart' tent nnd everylssly else's de
light, though he did not let slip tho oppor-tuuilli-s
to tell of some things he had himself
acmmplishtsl in the OOOk
The close of this veracious history may be
rlipiied Iroui The Tekeewah Buglo ol March
It, I Mi'.':
"Mr. SiMiiuel McCorkle, Iho gentlemanly
and enterprising agent for Plash & llittem's
Justly
leluat.sl lightning nsls, bus returned
from Indiana healthy and happy His friend
and our former townsman, Mr Alls-rt Mer
ritt, has (-.included to remain east, w here ha
will settle down Usin his father's extensive
(not A little bird has whispered that the
Uind gisl had something to do with Mr.
Merrill's decision to forego a sham in the
golden fulure sure to come to T'ek-c isrtk,
Those who are curious In this matter nre di
rected to the notice in the marriage column
on another p i, - headed Merrltt-lllake.' "
IUxrv DaWsii.
A HUMBLE CHRISTMAS DINNER.
There was not very much on the table In
fact, It wasn't very much J a table, lielng
made of a dry goods box stood on its side.
The room U-loiigil to the grocer, but ho had
told them they could have the use of It for
Christmas night In the corner there was a
little, cracked stove, which was so hot that it
thone like a big lump of Christmas cheer In
tho seini-darknesM.
1'rctty wsm "Hwlpesy" came in out of the
roar of the city street. He had a few unsold
import under ono arm and a small a very
small-bundle under the other. With him
was hi sister Huie. They were orphans try
ing to make their own way. Hbe bad had
good luck and had sold aN lv-r o .. r S!,s
took what Vua left of Ki,"n sloe and
spread a nice clean paper over the dry goods
box. Then be unrolled ; iiumlio.
"Oh, Hwijiesy I" said the girl.
Thero was a can of oooked corn lionf and a
lilt l- box of tlga
Pretty smi the others began to come In.
There wa "Mickey" with a little packet of
coffee, some sugar, and (what lie k 'i some
cabbage thnt the apple woman on the corner
had cooked and given him with big tours In
her honest, Irish eyes when be told her about
the dinner.
"It ain't much, Mickey," she said, "but
may the gissl saints make it taste a relisbln'
a if 'twas as big as a bam and cooked in a
gnwld skillet "
Thero were flv charter members of the
dinner rty, so to speak. "Hock" lo
named from bis manner of defending himself
in his frequent "scraps") came into the room
MXt He too bad a httl bundle which was
undone with due ceremony. When "llper"
came in be itopiied a minute Just Intide the
threshold, and held the door open while b
beckoned to mime one on the outside.
"C.c.11 kV said be. "Tb fellers Tl b
glad ter see jer."
Then there entered a little fellow not mora
than tl vears old. He was very much em
barrnsMil, and held his linger to bis Ilpa
Piper, by way of introduction, said:
"Kellers and huza this 'era little cova"
(Piper himself was a big cove, having seen
thirteen years, end being the oldest member
of the dinner party) "Is comln' to our Crla
muta He's ju.t gone into the paper osllin'
bit, an' h ain't got nc boodle. I'm a takln'
ear u' bim till he git started. Bear'
For a miuute an embarrattod silence hung
over toe little group. Then tbaJitUeneoid
opened their Hearts to the newcomer mint
they were lug hearts for such very small
bodies', and he was one of the dinner party.
l'lgs r eiplam.sl to him:
"You see," said I'uht, "wo fellers and
Sum had Inurd a lot 'Unit Crismuas. We
don' know 'giac'ly w hat u is. but we do know
that everylssly, wot is aiiylssly, has a Crla
muss dinner So wo jes' tblppoj in, and
and" (waving his hand around the naim)
"here y' are."
"Hut I ain't Ohlppatt in." said the new
comer. "Well, wot if f ain't Vcan nex' time."
So ll nl was soltled.
Sua in the meantime hnd products! a pnll
from ismie where, and an old stew mn from
tome w here else, and some broken crockery
from still another place.
"Voii'll make the coffee nnd wiirrm tho
cabbage nnd meat, ihirlint," said Mickey.
"Yen are tho only woman hero."
Ho Sill- went ul it
It wusn'i long before everything win
ready, and they gathered around the box.
The savory lor from the eon.-.' pot nnd
stew pan hnd tickled the twelve little nostrils,
and the six mouths were ns eager to taste the
pool little dinner ns ,Ver yours was to pick
par siuvulctit Christinas turkey honea
They fell to at once.
"I in 'liaid the c.iffis' ain't very gissl," said
Sure. Hut she smiled the satislhsl smile that
everv hoiwwile smilis while ihs-ryiug her
own .liilnlles. and was as pleased as you ever
weic. my line lady, In similar circumstance,
when Kts-ks exclaimed ill answer:
"Kiner'n Dcluiouico's, I'll liet."
Before very long the dinner had been
eaten. They ant mound and talked for
awhile, and the little tl year-old fi ll asleep
with bis head on Sine's Inns, and her linger
passul lovingly over the little fellow's dirty
forei . ad. and by and by she leaned over nnd
kissed him.
l a ' (allow candle burned low in its green
bottle oiiudlcsltck, and when l'inr rose and
4uer1.1l:
"Well, fellers and Sur.o has w had a
merry Ciistnussf" A fervent "You bet!"
went from tne tin nit lis of everyone but til
Vviiir old, mid he smilisl In his sleep.
The dinner party was over I). E. M.
I I.e llruiliatlek.
Behold my rotund wealth of meat
With nil us Juice, rich and ROM)
flow llrm, tiow solid, an my Kirts,
And how 1 go straight to the hearts
Of children, wlih distended Jaws,
In wait to hide me In their maws
Ah I how 1 love to lie In state
Vsin the table, while you wait
With eager eyes and teeth that burn,
Ci lit 11 e.nues I., no y. ur turn.
How crisp my skin, anil, oh' how brown.
And how I tickle golngdown:
And.l'ien, my Isme, oh: what delight
To pick It till li s clean and white.
How Ootdd you like, on Christina Pay,
To I ramp 1 ill in sin nnd then, we'd say,
Toroine hack h tue.w.l almost starved,
Aud llnd mt waning, nicely carved?
Between your linger and yiKirtliiunb
Von hold 1110 up. thus lytnn, yum, yum!)
I tickle every nerve. I thrill
Your stomachs, and I (111 the hill.
And with all men I nothing lack
In luct, 1 have the Inside track I
To Massok.
A tvise Hint.
Why deal jron Mi Mr. OuliMuT
"Itccaiiso I iluti't wish to I' eiiten, my"
Monti Arc you not iiwnro tluit ClirUt
M is coiningf"--Harper' Young I'eo-
n.iys Are llillimn, (if t'oiirse.
The bOT wbO Bftdl hi stockitigH well
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