SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 1901
THE MORNING ASTOMAN, ASTOIilA OREGON.
8
Copyright I, by Frank 11. IWMt,
eAefteAeaeaeOeeaeftefteftefteii
I
f T Hlu't any uw for you to any you
Ihluk It's goln' to stop anowln',
grandfather, for It nlu't. It's set
In for a liljv Mtorin." There wai
allgut quiver about little fcarab Mary's
UpS SS ill ttalll ttllH, llllt MtiO priHIWHl
them drmly together, and, brushing
the flukes of now from nor plaid
shawl, alia bung It up ou nail behind
the kitchen door and aot about getting
, the breakfast,
"You't beeu out In tbe road to get a
good look at the sky, I reckon, Barah
Mary," aatd Grandfather Nichols gen
tly... '.
8antli Mary nodded. A queer littlo
ouud cauia from her throat, but abt
did not speak. '
"Wall, I declare, It doea appear to bo
kind of atuinp, Sarah Mary-a kind
of a Mump," aald tbo old man alowly
"OAll'T YOU AND I IIAVB A PHBTDfD
CUHlHTMAa USSST
as he carried lu aorao klndllutr for tba
atove In tbo llvlug room and stooped
down to open the stove door and atart
tbe fire.
1 "Hon? ho wss lottln' on that Sunday
school (!brlstrans tree for iki and
week stlddy," ssld Grandfather Nlcb
old, apparently addressing the flicker
Ing blase that seemed loath to atart op
L briskly, "and then 'twa put off to
'New Veer's on account of (tie minister
bela' sick, and uow, after all the wait
In', abe'a got to lone It Never been to
Christmas treo lu ber lire, Snrah
Mary ain't, and tblnka I haven't nuthcr.
"I waa goln' along with bor. Full
moon due tonight and mild weather
for a week back. The nrst anowatorra
of the season, thla ta, and Sarah Mary
ain't fltted out for stormy weather.
flTtieui three miles there and back three
more waa goln' to be about all I could
'a' fetched In good walkla', but I
wouldn't '' begrudged gottlu' master
tired, not a mite."
"Break f ant la most ready," aald
Barah Mary, wltb faint smile. Pres
ently It was quite ready, and they sat
down at the table. It was a very si
lent meal, but at last Sarah Mary
broke the alienee. '
"Last year was the first oue they
ever had, but I didn't mind mtsslu'
that, grandfather, because you was
alck, but now It Just seems aa If"
'Poor little Sarah Mary could not fin
ish, but rone abruptly and began to
clear away the dishes.
"I know, honey," said the old man,
patting ber bead aa he, too, rose from
tbe table. 1 '
When the door from the kitchen Into
tbe shed was closed Sarab Mary sank
Into tbe splint bottomed rocking cbalr
and sobbed despairingly. Gradually
tbe sobs censed. Then she stopped
rocking and sat up straight
.Si "Grandfather,") crlod the little girl
cheerily about half an hour later, "you
i must have split up moro'n enough kin
dlln'a by this time. , Come In. I want
to talk to you. I've got a reg'lar splen
did plan."
J Tba old man came In quickly, rub
bing bla hands. :
, "Kind o' cool In tbe abed this morn
In'," be said, looking anxiously at
Barah Mary, whose eyes were red,
though she smiled bravely at him,
! "Now ait right down here In front of
the atove and get warmed up," she
amid, drawing the old rocking cbalr for
(ward. ( , , ? ;; . v j
."Fve been thlnkln',", she went on,
peaking quickly aa aha stood quite
close to ber grandfather, "that thla la
.the last day of tbe year, End tonight
jwlll be New Year's eve, only we'll be
go home 'stead of down to the church."
, Here ber voice trembled a little, but
)Hdy for a moment. , ; ;
"And 1 1 don't see why yon and I,
grandfather, can't have a pretend
Christmas here that'll be moat at good
'as If we'd genie to the Sunday school
one, ' i! '' '
"Of course." aald the little girl wist
fully, "we could do It better if we had
ever seen a real Christmas enftatn
anent.lii't 1 rtcJion w , $3 maie out
grah'dfiftncr, don't your
"I see a Christmas enf talnmont once,
tree and all," said tbo old man. 'Twai
when yonr father wns a little chap,
and be was vlxlttn' wltb Brother Hen
ry's folks down In the city."
"Oil, grandfather!" esclulmed the
child, drawing a long breath. "Then
you must be more disappointed even
than I am, because you know what
you're mlsslu', but you can tell me
what It was like, so we can pretend
Just complete,"
"Well," began the old man, "there
was a tree all covered wltb parklin'
things and colored ones and candles,
and then tbe folks' preseuta waa bung
ou the limbs too. Tbe room waa all
kind of trimmed round wltb green,
and there was words on tba walla,
Teace on Earth, Good Will to Men,'
and aev'ral others. ' -
. "And there was a Santa Glaus, a
man all dressed up In furs, wltb long
white whiskers and lookln' as If he'd
been out In a snowstorm, and he made
some remarks fust and then give out
the presents. There was a parcel of
candy for each child, I reflect 'Twas
a handsome sight"
"We ran pretend most of It If you'll
help, grandfather," she aald.
"I'm ready for anything you suggest,
ma'am," aald tbe old man aa be rubbed
fnrnh Mary's baud between bis own
rough palms. '
"Well, then." said tbe child briskly,
"bad you Just aa soon bare your din
ner at half past 'leven, so I can have
tbe wbol(e afternoon to get ready to
pretend In?' 1 '' ,
"Have It at ten thutty If you aay so,"
said ber grnudfsther gayly.
"No," rolwned Ssrah Mary, wltb
much gravity; "half past 'leven will be
early euough. Now, there's two or
three thing you can do to help, I
don't 't we can have a real tree,
but If we could bring In that tallest
apple wood chunk that's out In the
shed and cut some notches In It and
stick some of the twigs from tbe brusb
pile In the notcbea I think 'twould
make a real good pretcndln' tree.
"And then, of course," she went on,
"you must l Hants C'laus, and you'll
know Just bow, 'a long as you've mmmi
one, and If you could spare me some
of your old papers I'd be obliged. And
I'll do all the rest"
"Mussy sakes silver ejaculated
Orandfutlu-r NU-bols. "What a little
planner you tie! Well, well, I guess
there's quite a little Job laid out for
me. I'll look over the old papers fust
and see what I can sparo. I a'pos It's
no use asklu" you what they're for?'
"Not a mite," replM h child njsr
'"y JJs.lCi look dpwe the Urrnm from
Its 1cg on tlio "ftifli.
"Otiose TH step out If It's bouse
cleanln time," said Grandfather Nich
ols as he beat a retreat, In pretended
dismay, to the living room.
"Here's four numbers from tbe three
years' ago Die that haven't got any
thing of no Krvnt Interest to me la
'em," said the old man, cautiously
opening the kitchen door at about 10
o'clock with a little package of old
uewepapcrs lu his hand. : "Will that
I enough for your purposes? Bpenis
to be great doln's In here this momln'.
Haven't I smollod moles"
"Grandfather!" said Bsrsh Mary In
a warning tone, and the old man drop
ped the paixrs and retreated.
"Jot like her ma, that child Is," he
said to bluinelf as he put on his coat,
preparatory to a trip to the cold gar
ret, where be expected to find some ar
ticles suitable for his afternoon's mas
querade. "There ain't no atumpln'
her, not for long, I carl tell ye."
Dinner was what Sarab Mary called
"slim" that day and waa eaten with
all possible expedition. Sarah Mary's
tbln little checks were flushed, and ber
eyes were unusually bright
"Do you s'pose-do you reckon it's
silly for me to be prctendinT' she
asked. "Hud I ought to consider I'm
too old for play, grandfather?'
"Let's see how old be yon 'xactly?'
Inquired the old man.
"I'm Jest about "leven," responded
the child.
"Wey, that's gettln' on, o course;
but, seelu' you're small for yonr age, I
presume It might be allowed ye to
play a littlo spoil longer If you get a
good chance like this one."
Tbe child's last doubt vanished with
this assurance. ,
It had bceu agreed between them
that when Grandfather Nichols had
placed the chunk, with Its twig
branches tightly notched In according
to Sarah Mary's directions, she was to
take possession of rho living room and
beautify it as she saw fit.
All hor grandfather had to do wltb
it was to give her a few more particu
lars about the docoratlons he bad seen
that other Christmas so long ago. lie
was not to be pormltted to see the liv
ing room till 0 o'clock.
Precisely at that hour Sarah Mary
in tbo character of guest and Bantu
Claua in the person of her grandfather
were to enter the apartment, one from
the kitchen and tbe other from the
entry. , '
Tlmo bung rather heavily on tbe old
man. At C o'clock he muttered to him
self, "I wlsht I could see bow I look,"
and vainly tried to got a glimpse of bis
figure In tbe little cracked looking
glass, six inches square, which hung
lu his room. ' v
"There," exclaimed Sarah Mary, de
scending rrom a chair on which sue
had been standing and looking about
tbe room with pride; "I've done the
very best I could. I hope grandfa
ther '11 be pleased It's half past 6 now,
and I must hurry and get dressed."
A few, minutes before 6 o'clock a lit
tle figure stopped softly down the
steep back stairs, and at about the
same time a large, cumbersome form
descended the front stairs laboriously.
Aa tho old clock In the kitchen struck
Q vQt&L its. sharp, curt strokes these
two figures entered tbe living room
from opposite directions and gnxed at
each otlir. " ;.;:
Rnmh Mnry wns bravely sltlrod In u
chnugoiihln silk wulst wblcb bad once
belonged (0 her mother awl a skirt of
some sort, the exact sty' of . which
eould not be determined, inasmuch as
It was completely covered by Sarab
Mary's best opron, a very largo white
one wltb strings of grout length. These
strings were crossed diagonally ou tbe
child's back and brought over ber
shoulders to tbe frout, where tboy ter
minated In a large bow securely pinned
to ber dress. Her curly hair bad been
made to lie as flat as such balr aver
would, ttbo stood wltb ber eyes rivet
ad on Santa Claua, on whose face was
a broad smile. Truly he was a won
derful Santa Clausl An old buffalo
akin, plentifully besprinkled wltb
flour, wss gathered about blm and tied
lu place about bis neck, arms and legs.
It was easy to set that getting down
stairs at ever so slow a pace must
have been a difficult matter. His hair
and beard were well covered with
flour, and so waa tbe old fur cap on bis
bead, There was even a dash of flour
here and there on the boots be wore. '
"Obi Oh! I'd never know you In tbe
world!" gasped Sarah Mary. Then,
recollecting herself, she walked sedate
ly to a cbalr placed In one corner of
the room.
Santa Claua for bis part was onable
to suppress an admiring "Well, I de
clare to inan!" aa be looked about the
room. On tbe wall In several places
were strips of brown cambric on
which were pasted sentiments appro
priate to the season. The letters were
of various sIzm, cot from tbe papers.
"Peace on Earth," read Santa Clans,
looking at the words over the stove
through a tremulous mist that made
them waver.
A wreath of autumn leaves was
pinned ou one window curtain and a
bunch of dried "everlastings" on tbe
other. There waa a big candle in tbe
center of the wooden mantel and a
email one at each end. A lamp burned
on tbe oue table, and tbe smallest can
dle of all shone from a little tin can
dlestick placed on tbe top of tbe tree.
Tbe Inverted wssbtub waa bidden by
an old red cloth, and above It tbe tree
rose resplendent Its bare twigs glis
tening with strips of tin and scraps of
colored psper and hung wltb strings of
popcorn. Tied to tbe two largest
branches were two packagea wrapped
In a newspaper.
Sarah Mary's eyes shone with pride
as she looked at the tree. . '
This la a glor'ous, blessed time, chil
dren. aald Sunta Claua, advancing
slowly to tbe tree and turning bla eyes
on bla sedate but beaming audience.
"We've got a sight of Iblngs to be Joy
ous abort, and, wlsmV you aTT 4 mer
ry Cbrlstmas-New Year, I will now
pcrcede to distribute the present."
Bo saying, Snnla C'laus put out bis
band and cautiously untied one of the
newspaper packsgos,
"'for , Grandfather Nichols,':' be
read slowly aloud. "1 understand he's
expected to be with us this evenln'
and will probably be along In a few
minutes."
He untied the other package and
read, "'For Sarah Mary Nichols Will
tho little gnl step forrard and got her
present?' Sarah Mary received the
package and a pat on the head from
Santa Clau. She turned away and
then stopped.
"Grandfather." she cried, ..facing
about and throwing ber little arms w
far around the befloured buffalo robt
as they would reach, "you've been s
splendid Santa Claua, and now will
you take your package and be tbe rest
of tbe children with me? It's only Jest
niolsKsc candy, but It's real good. I
tasted It to see."
"Well, I reckon I will," said Grand
father Nichols heartily as be burst tbe
bonds of his buffalo rolie and kicked
off the clumsy boots with a right good
will.
' lie and Sarab Mary were sitting to
gether lu tbe big old rocking chair, the
candles were burning low and tbe mo-
"TBS SUNDAY KCHMIL TURK IS POSTPONED
Til tojiobbow."
lasses candy was nearly gone when
th two Christmas-New .Year revelers
beard the sound of sleigbbells, follow
ed by a knock at tbelr door. .
"I Jest stopped on my way home
from the Corners," said Nicholas' near
est nelghlior when the door opened.
"I tbougbt I'd come in and tell yon
tlist the Sunday school tree Is post
poned till tomorrow night on account
of the bad travelln. and I can tlx it to
take- Sarab Mary and you, too, along
Wltb us to tb- enftalnment Good
night"
"Much obliged I Much obliged!" !d
Orsiulfathclr Nichols as he.(.lrov.aaj.
SaralTMnfy, prewiring to go to Dea,
took a peep at tbe outside world.
"Why, grandfather." she exclaimed
Joyfully, "It has stopped snowln. and
tbe moon Is comln' out! . Wbat a bee-yu-tlful
time Christmas ani New Year
Is!"
"The Nsarsr the Bon; the 8weeUr tha
Mest"
CUT THIS OUT.
Fine Recipe (or the Quick Cure of
, , Coughs and Colds.
"Mix half ounce of Concentrated
oil of pine with two ounces of glycer
ine and half a pint of good whiskey;
shake well each time and use in doses
of a teaspoonfui to a tablespoonful
every four hours. , ,
This is the formula prescribed by
the renowned throat and lung special
ist who established the camp for con
sumptives in the pine woods of Maine
and whose remarkable cures attract
ed widespread attention among the
medical fraternity. ; He declares that
it will heat the lungs, and cure any
cough that is curable and will break
up an acute cold in 24 hour. The
ingredients can be secured from any
prescription druggist at a small cost
and is easily mixed at home.
: fie sure not to buy the ordinary
bulk oil of pine nor patent medicine
imitations, as they will produce nau
sea on account of the impurities they
contain and frequently do permanent
injury to the kidneys.
The real "Concentrated" oil of pine
is put up for medicinal use in half
ounce vials inclosed in small tin
screwtop cases which protect it from
heat and light It is also said to be
an excellent remedy for lumbago and
all forms of uric acid rheumatism.
For this purpose it is taken raw;' a
1 few drops on sugar night and morn
ing.
-Sketch.
The
month,
Morning Astorian 60 cents per
If it is all tbe same to Uncle Sam
the jackies would prefer to be com
manded by the paymaster rather than
the doctor.
Congress will be expected to settle
the currency trouble before taking up
the profound question of antimony in
bullets.
Irritation of the throat and hoarseness
little swallow of Kemp's Balsam, tha
best cough cure. Grip patients should
make a note of this.
CASTOR I A
. Pox Ia&ata and Children. ,
More signs of a four-leaf shamrock
sprouting. But Sir Thomas rightly
leaves the fussy New York Yacht
I Gab to take the initiative. He is
; tired of seeing his cup challenges
j blocked by technicalities.
Jlta Kind Yoa Hai8 Alwajs IzztiX to cubb a cold a oax day
I Take LAXATIVE. BROMO Quinine Tab
Beara tho yT ' IS7-- feta,, Druggists .efund money If It fails
Signature of CVT&A te cure. E. W. GROVE'S signature Is
sn each box, 25c . S1.,. ,,..,..,. : -
B
lank Books
Up to the Highest Standards,
Bookbindin
After Strictly Modern Methods,
p
ting
nn
of Every Description
Our Facilities arie the best and we
can promptly execute all
orders.
J
elMneir Co,
'p
ASTORIA, OREGON