THERE SHONE A STAR.
H, stars by the million-fold
above!
In the wide blue
apacea we watcn
and love;
Stars like grains of
sand hv thp- sea.
Through wheeling
clnsters of worlds
they be;
Bat once through the
gates of heaven
ajar.
When a Child was
born, there shone a
' Star.
I Children they come to
I th roilaee hall:
i Children they come to
i the caDin smau;
Tn. that tent, to the
ship, to the poor
man'
Drear Is the home where God sends them
Bnt once! Just once, through the gates ajar,
God's own Child came, and there shone a
Star.
Over desert places Its golden light
Flamed like a torch the livelong night;
Bowing low to the wonderful East,
In stately procession, king and priest.
And a marvelous, moving caravan
Bought for the gift that had guerdoned
man.
When, banners of glory waving far.
Once, for his people, God kindled a Star.
The Emperor sat In his purple robe.
Holding the scepter that swayed the globe.
Bent the slave to the laboring oar
Little to him was a groan the more;
Wreathed with laurel the conqueror strode.
Trampling hearts on his haughty road; -The
cry of the anguished quivered far.
And lo! in the darkness there shone a
Star.
Out from a cave in the riven rock
A candle flickered; who will may mock;
That thread of flame was the answer sent
From Earth to the Star in the firmament.
On the silence trembled a Babe's first
breath.
Child to be Lord of Life and Death;
Safe as a bird In the tiny nest, t
In the mother's arms, on the mother s
breast;
While the lowing kine stood wondering near.
And the angels sang on the midnight clear.
And the midnight waned, and the dawn s
great car
Bwept lu where brightly there shone a Star.
Margaret E. Sangster, In Woman's Home
Companion.
g WON HIS CHILDREN'S LOVE g
jP BY THOMAS HALL. jftk
WRINKLES of care furrowed
the forehead of John How
ard, wholesale leather mer
chant of New York, es he
sat in the library of his
home, and his hair was tossed into dis
order by the combing of his nervous fin
gers. His dull eyes gazed into the red
depths of a great fire, but read no crim
son pictures there.
This was the man the world had called
"complacent John Howard."
Eight years before, when he married,
people expected a change in his habits,
but they were disappointed. , He had
merely added another part to his ma
chinery. He had carefully chosen the
kind of woman who would helplessly be
come a part of a machine.
When children came they, too, were
compelled to become parts of the order
ly, silent machine controlled by John
Howard. Meek little mites they were.
No one suspected that they were chil
dren. There were three of them: Mary, a girl
of seven; Anna, a girl of five, and John,
n boy of four. By direction of John
Howard, good, plain names were given to
them, names that would wear. Meek
Mrs. Howard would have chosen differ
ently, but she was not consulted.
When the children came, John How
ard laid down the rules for their con
duct and keeping: and never afterward
bothered himself about them. If he saw
them once a day it was by accident. One
of his rules, conditions, was that he was
never to hear them, save when he wish
ed. As a result John Howard was a
father without children and the chil
dren had a living father, but were fath
erless. All this would have continued but for
one, inevitable little iucident in life called
"death" for death, after all, iB a part
of life, and dying very often the main
part of living. The entrance of Mrs.
Howard into the life of her husbaud had
made no perceptible change in it. Her
death had thrown every part of it out of
gear. There were three waifs in his
house who came at his bidding and look
ed at him in a frightened sort of way.
"How was he to win the love of his
children ?"
How John Howard longed to enter that
play room! But he never dared. He
was afraid his entrance would drive them
forth, and he realized that this room was
their own little world. Sometimes, in
agony, he listened at the door, and learn
ed how different they were from other
children.
How he longed for them to- ask him
for something! What joy he would take
"In granting them any wish! But they
had been brought up to ask for nothing,
to expect nothing, save on one day in the
year. That day was Christmas.
On that day they could expect wonder
ful new presents, they knew, from a mys
terious person called Santa Claus. The
late Mrs. Howard had cultivated this one
dear delusion in them, and so perfectly
that they never dreamed that either she
or their father had anything to do with
the annual midnight visit of the good
little fat man. Of him they talked
months before he came and months after
he left. And with the presents he left
they played from one Christmas until
the next, patiently waiting for the new
ones and carefully guarding the old.
Discouraged at his failure to win even
the confidence of his children, John How
ard hired that hopeless substitute for a
mother, a nurse, to take care of them.
With business acumen and lack of or
dinary common sense he secured a grim
New England school teacher for this deli
cate position: and in less than a week
she succeeded, by perseverance and In
dustry, in casting more of a shadow oyer
the lives of the three waifs than ever
John Howard had.' But the waifs bad
been taught not to complain, and John
Howard knew nothing about it.
One lingering hope remained in his
breast. Could he make the coming
Christmas so happy for his children that
he could win their love? He resolved
that he would take charge of the holiday
himself, and the preparations he made
for it were extravagant. The presents
purchased for all the preceding Christ
mas celebrations at his house were as
nothing compared to the array that stood
before him on the floor, ou tables and on
chairs, this Christmas eve when he sat so
broken in heart before his grate fire.
Something had happened. A mistake
had been made. The New England school
teacher, in the interests of white-winged
truth, had told his children there was no
Santa Clans. This he had learned while
listening at the door of their playroom
that afternoon. And he, who had so care
fully rehearsed the part of Santa Claus
for the performance that night, felt that
it would be a hollow mockery, now that
they knew, as we all do some day, too
much.
With a promptness and decision that
had characterized him always in busi
ness, John Howard peremptorily dismiss
ed the New England school teacher, giv
ing her a month's salary and no expla
nation for his strange conduct. The chil
dren should have the hollow mockery of
Christmas at any rate. But the essence
of it was gone. He had heard his .chil
dren declare, between sobs, that they
would never hang up their stockings
again, and after all it is the stocking and
not the tree that is the essence of Christ
mas and the mystery of mysteries there
of is the wonderful fact that Santa Claus
can spend so much time and take so
much pains in filling the stockings.
Bnt John Howard was human. He
himself had -looked forward to this Christ
mas with greater expectations than had
any of his children.
He rose from bed and put on his dress
ing gown and slippers. Then, with a
little night lamp in his hand turned very
low, he went stealthily into the bedroom
where his children slept. Their clothes
were laid neatly on three chairs, and
from each chair he took a stocking and
pinned it where the sleeping children had
been accustomed to pin them in previous
years. -
After this he made frequent trips to
the library and brought up load after load
of toys, candies and trinkets. And then
he began to fill the stockings. It was
slow work. He had seen his wife do it
once. He had watched her then in a
mechanical sort of way. It was on the
preceding Christmas eve. She was ill
.and nervous and afraid to go about the
house alone. In a grumbling, protesting
way he had accompanied her.
How glad he was now that he had! He
dropped a moderately heavy object into
the toe of each stocking to hold it down
then an orange to make it capacious.
After this he slipped in a present for the
sake of a surprise, and on top of the pres
ent he put a layer of candy." He won
dered that the "tick tick tick" of the
candies as they dropped did not awaken
the sleeping children.
He was slow at the work. It was early
down when he finished. He blew out the
little night lamp and sank into a chair,
burying his face in his hands, and his
heart in memories. Suddenly he looked
np and saw his three children standing
about him in the arc of a circle.
"It's papa," cried his eldest girl, rush-
CHANGING THE SCORE.
ants did their baking in ancient Dutch
ovens, while suspended above the big
log fire by iron chains and tripods were
big pots and stew pans. The two great
turkeys which formed the pieces de re
sistance at the Christmas spread in 1800
were "hand raised and hand fed" by a
country gentleman in Fairfax County,
Virginia, who presented them to Mrs. Ad
ams with his "esteemed compliments."
The affair was homelike in its details
and the distinguished diners discussed
with equal satisfaction the smoking vi
ands on the homely dining table and the
great questions pf state which wore agi
tating the American people at that cru
cial period of our national existence.
There was an absence of stiff formality
and the host and genial Mrs. Abigail Ad
ams bade the guests to feel "at home'
and help themselves just as they would
at their own boards. . -
Christmas dinners at the White House
now are elaborate affairs in contrast with
the simple Christmas dinners during the
days of Adams, Jefferson and Madison.
To-day many courses are served and the
state dinners continue about three hours
with an acompaniment of soft music by
the Marine Band. Then there was but
one course, in reality. It was a sort of
go-as-you-please affair and help your
neighbor and yourself. -
The Annual Greeting.
"A Happy New Tear to you!" This is
the greeting which is heard on every side
..w
REFORMING INEBRIATE WOMEN IN ENGLAND. , v
- By lady Bemry Somerset.
The homes for friendless girls in London are well estab
lished, and the homes for inebriate women, so sadly needed,
are well started, well patronized and are already a success.
We use nothing but kind words to" reclaim
the unfortunate women with- whom we
come in contact, and that has proved to be
the best way. Locking up a woman in
prison is not the way to reform her. When
a woman enters our home, she is given
light work to do, and everything around
her is arranged so that nothing of her old
life will be present in her habits. '
Another factor contributing to the ad
vance made in the cause of temperance in
England is the conviction on the part of
the general public that there is too much drinking through
out Great Britain. The people , themselves the working
class, the tradesfolk and the better middle class are all be
ginning to see that drunkenness is one of the curses of civili
zation and that temperance is its only cure. As to the
upper classes, the nobility, the cause has never been very
popular there, , but I really think that there are a better
understanding and a beginning of sympathy among the
upper classes. - But in England we have centuries and cen
turies of custom back of us, and it is hard to break through
and see that there is light on the other side.
ill
LADY SOMERSET.
the small dealer has been driven from the field. He can
not compete with the trust His occupation Is gone. The
field being blear, competition destroyed, the managers ot
various trusts fix"" prices to the consumer at their own
pleasure. Is it possible that the people are Indifferent to
this growing evil? It virtually destroys competition, "the
life of trade." In no small degree it usurps the -functions
of government By intelligent machination, exclusively to
its own gain," the trust has greatly increased to the con
sumer the cost of articles of daily necessity. ' The shadow
of the trust has fallen upon every hearthstone in this land,
and the end is not yet The trust Is the monster evil of
our day, a constant menace to our welfare as a people. "
hfl
SANTA CLAUS' BIG JOB.
'II I lfc4g-"feifi.,aai.iM IS 111.
K KnrtH'IBiliWIMimTOTffir 1 J HUIM
'''"niniiiiiiiiiiiuiinlE-
DISREGARD OF SUNDAY DEPLORED. ,
By Cardinal Gibbons, ot Baltimore.
A close observer cannot fail to note the dan
gerous inroads that have been made on the
Lord's day in this country during the last thirty
years. Look at the railroad lines in this coun
try; not only are the passangers carried on Sun
days, which I believe Is unavoidable, but freight
trains are in full operation. This traffic involves
the employment of thousands of conductors, fire
men, and engineers, as well as freight handlers,
on the Lord's day. Then observe our system of electric
cars. These lines are in full blast on Sundays, and the
conductors and motormen have to serve the same number
of hours on that day as on week days. - "
On Sunday mornings the business man is" debarred
from going to his place of business, but seizes the morning
paper and devours its contents of twentyjor thirty pages,
its news of stocks and bonds or pleasures and amusements,
of crime and scandal, until his whole being is saturated
with this unhealthy diet Like animals gorged with food,
he spends the morning in a comatose condition.
MONSTER EVIL OF OUR DAY.
By Adlal E. Stevenson. Ex-Vice President.
Existing conditions challenge the attention of
all thoughtful men. These conditions are confined
to no particular section, but exist throughout the
length and breadth of our country. Notwith
standing our boasted prosperity and the Individual
fortunes that have suddenly been acquired, the
sad fact remains that to the mass of the people
this oft repeated boast of prosperity is but a
mockery. Within a brief time articles of daily
consumption the foods essential to human health and
comfort have enormously Increased in cost Meat at
many tables Is indeed an article of luxury. The much
vaunted prosperity is that of the favored few. To the
mass of the people conditions have seldom been more ex
acting, rarely less hopeful, than at this moment. It were
worse than idle to close our eyes to the discontent, the
feeling of unrest so general in this land. It is the part of
wisdom to ascertain the cause and, if possible, to apply
the remedy. -
The trust is the crying evil of to-day. By combinations
of capital unknown to our earlier days, against public pol
icy, and in many instances in direct violation of State laws,
VALUE OF GOOD LOOKS TO BUSINESS WOMEN.
By Zerllna Rosentteld, Stenographer, Hew York.
It may be set down as a rule that good looks go
a great way toward making a woman successful
in business. But in saying this, I am not forget
ful of the fact that plain-looking and even homely
women have been known to distance the others in
the race. Take two women of the same average
ability and common sense, and the prettier of the
two will make the more rapid headway in the
matter of promotion, and therefore will earn more
money. I have heard it said, or rather I have seen it stated
in the newspapers, that good looks are a handicap to a girl
in search of a position; that many employers will not have
pretty girls in their offices, because they receive too much
attention from the clerks.
Perhaps this is true in some cases for instance, in an
office in which the employer has a jealous wife; but gen
erally it is not. true. In most instances the young woman
of prepossessing appearance who is seeking a place will
secure an audience with the head of a firm when her plain
'.ooking sister would be turned away. There is no use moral
izing over the situation and saying that merit ought to dis
count good looks in such cases. We must take the world
as we find it
- Now, I want to say a word about the treatment that
young women in offices receive from the employers. If you
were to believe all you see in the sensational newspapers
you would have the opinion that a majority of the type
writers and stenographers accompanied their employers to
lunch, to the theater and other places of amusement and
were presented by them with boxes of bonbons and bou
quets of American Beauty roses.
The truth is that the number of girls of this class is
small indeed in comparison with the thousands of young
women who earn their living in offices. Business men, as
a rule, respect them and treat them in a gentlemanly man
ner. They have too much work to attend to during business
hours to devote any of their time to paying compliments to
their typewriters. Moreover, most men are proud and have
too much regard for their reputations to pay marked atten
tion to young women in their own offices. Girls who have
been brought up properly, who are sensible and have will
power need have no fear that they will not be treated with
respect wherever they may be.
MORE MONEY IS NEEDED.
By Janies R. Keette, Stock Speculator.
There are no signs of diminution in the general pros
perity. Our foreign debt is smaller than at any period of our
history, and our resources are immeasur
ably greater. The industrial and railroad
outlook of the country is thoroughly satis
factory. The greatest menace is our
financial system. When our business Is
expanding and there is a growing demand
for funds, the "United States treasury
withdraws money from circulation. The
financial stringency which we have pass
ed through has not been due to lack of
prosperity; It has been the result of it
We must have circulation sufficient to
james e. keene. meet the growing business of the country.
Said Santa Claus on Christmas eve, in jolly, 'good, fat gle,
"To judga by all these stockings here, they've turaed the hose on me."
ing into his arms. "Papa is Santa Claus.
It is papa who has been so good to us
and we haven't loved him."
"It's papa," echoed the younger daugh
ter.
"Papa Santy Close," said the boy.
And they, too, sidled up to him and
clung to him, their little eyes beaming
with love.
And then John Howard knew that Lis
stocking had been filled, also with the
love of hiB children. Criterion.
A WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS.
Day Was Observed with Remarkable
Simplicity in Karly Times.
On the first Christmas day in the
White House, it is recorded, snow man
tled the varth to a depth of nearly two
feet It was a typ
ical old-fashioned
Christmas day, with
all the accompani
ments of wind and
weather. Old Jack
Frost was busy and
decorated in fantas
tic designs with
films of ice the win
dow panes of the
big white mansion.
Downstairs in the
kitchen there was a
blaze" of light and
genial warmth from
ABIGAIL ADAMS.
the great piles of oak and hickory in the
broad fireplace, while the atmosphere of
the building was redolent with the odor
of the viands being prepared for the
Christmas feast
There were no chefs and assistant
chefs, with scores of white-clad assist
ants, nor such ranges and cooking uten
sils as are provided for the White House
kitchen of to-day. Old colored "mam
mies," neatly clad in bright calico frocks
long white aprons and bright-colored ker
chiefs on their heads, flitted hither and
thither before the roaring blazes on the
hearths, as they prepared the food for
President John Adams and his Yule tide
guests.
Indeed, Mrs. Abigail Adams herself
performed the functions of executive
chef. Wearing an immaculate apron, she
busied herself giving directions first to
one negro servant and then to another.
Mrs. Adams and her corps of assist-
as we cross the threshold of the new year.
It has become a custom to repeat it. In
many cases it has little meaning, and is
nothing more than an empty compliment
or an idle wish. How much do you mean
by it? It is very easy to repeat the
formula. It is a very simple matter to
buy a New Year's card and enclose it in
an envelope. But when you send this
greeting, or speak it, do you regard it as
a pledge or promise that you will do
nothing to make the recipient of it un
happy, and that you will do all in your
power to relieve his anxieties and bring
gladness to his heart? Baptist Union.
Trimming tbe Tree.
1
Origin of Mince Pie.
English plum pudding and mince pies
both owe tneir origin, or are supposed to,
to an occurrence attendant upon the birth
of Christ The highly seasoned ingredi
ents refer to the offering of spices,
frankincense and myrrh by the wise men
of the East to the Christ Child. New
York W'orld.
Shattered. Her Ideals.
Miss Askit Why is Miss Wunder so
pessimistic about Christmas?
Miss Tellit She hung up a $12 pair of
silk hose last year, and some one stole
them. '
The New Year.
List, the New Tear bells are ringing
To and fro.
Messages of comfort bringing
Clear and low.
Over mead and plain and valley.
Where the forest giants rally,
Up through park and street and alley
Paeans flow.
List, the New Tear bells are calling
Far and near.
Like some prayer triumphant falling
On the ear,
Lo, the past is past forever.
In this hour its bonds we sever, .
And its clouds shall darken never
Our New Tear.
List the New Tear bells are swaying
High and low.
Pulsing, pleading, praising, praying,
As they go.
Now may every sin be shriven,
And onr hearts from sorrow riven,
All forgiving and forgiven
Here below.
Minneapolis Housekeeper.
Making Preparations.
"I want to get a turkey, and a bottle
of paregoric, and some mince meat, and
some pepsin pills, and some cranberries,
and some furniture polish, and a quart of
oysters, and a package of court plaster,
and some sweet potatoes, and a fire in
surance policy." L
- Here the market man smiled merrily
and inquired: :
"Going to eat all that?"
"No," responded the customer, "but
the family Christmas dinner occurs at my
house this year." Baltimore American.
Christmas Feasting.
During the -middle ages the whole
Christmas season was given up to rev
els and jollity, in which eating and drink
ing had a prominent part. The Saxon
instinct of our English ancestors led them
to make of every holiday an occasion
for feasting. Plenty to eat and to drink
was their idea of a festival, no matter
how sacred might be its associations. On
Christmas they not only lined their stom
achs with good capon, as did Shakspeare's
justice, but stuffed themselves with all
sorts of rich, nourishing food and strong
ly compounded puddings and pies
THE RUINED-CAMPANILE.
Strange Spectacle of the Celebrated
Square of Venice.
The crumbling of St Mark's cam
panile, Venice, some months ago was
extraordinary in that no one was
killed or injured of the hundreds who
might have been if it had swayed to
ward the old ducal palace forty feet
distant from its base and tore its way
through that musty pile which has
been defying the ages for centuries.
The lofty tower started to its demoli
tion after giving full warning and
came down as gently as if some great
genii had purposely held it back to
save those near by from destruction.
laid bare and swept clean of everything
tending to remind one of the. catastro
phe. Money to build another campa
nile has been freely subscribed and al
ready more than half the amount that
will be required to restore it is pledged.
It Is expected the balance will be
raised before the new campanile is
completed.
SNAKE VIRUS USED ON WEAPONS
Seri Indians Poison Their Missiles
with Rattlesnake Venom.
"t scarcely can think they are canni
bals, but .one day we killed a deer, and,
tossing the Indians a hind quarter, they
proceeded to devour it raw. They live
THE WRECKED CAMPANILE IN VENICE.
A Real Saint.
Old Santy is no phantom prim
The cheer he brings cures many ills;
Thro' dreamland's door we follow him.
And lose the thought of New Tear's bills.
Not even great noise proclaimed its
undoing, . but a huge cloud or dust
arose and settled for a time over the
big square of which for centuries it
was the crowning glory. In descend
ing it leaned over enough to tear out
! part of the front wall of the ducal pal
ace, otherwise no damage was done.
I The immensity of the campanile
could not be comprehended when it
stood the lofty sentinel overlooking
Venice and the Adriatic 330 feet in the
air. Now that it was turned into de
bris, filling a space 300" feet long by
100 wide and 70 feet high, its colossal
proportions could be understood. Even
the Venetians who were born within
its shadow, and lived beneath it to
old age, did not realize its mighty di
mensions until it was turned into a
crumbling mass.
To recover the figures and designs of
various kind used to embellish the
lofty pinnacles the great mass was
fenced in, the public excluded and la
borers set to work to sort over the de
bris before consigning it to the barges
which carried it out to sea. Singularly
enough all the iron and brass used to
beautify the tower was recovered and
found to" be practically uninjured. For
a time a good-sized lump from the de
bris brought 25 cents. But the supply
soon outran the demand and souvenirs
of the catastrophe came to be had for
tbe asking. To-day the foundation is
on fish and turtles mostly and eat them
raw."
Thus spoke Edward De Haven con
cerning the Seri Indians of Tiburon
island. He was one of the participant?
in "Arizona Charley's" expedition to tht
Tiburon island, and he says the trip
was a success. The party met at Her
mosillo, Mexico, and consisted of
Charles and Frank Meadows, of Ari
zona; John Arnold, of Randsburg; War
ner Weakley, of San Francisco, and
George Fur gar d and Edward De Ha
ven, of San Diego. Cal.
They stopped two days at Hermosillo
and then proceeded to Guaymas. Ai
this place the serious work of the ex
pedition commenced, namely, that of
getting a boat and. an outfit When
ever the name of Tiburon was men
tioned no one would go.
A Yaqui Indian was hired, but he
backed out as soon as he heard of their
destination, saying: "I would not go
for a million dollars."
The party finally bought the sloop
Ella, of eleven tons, and sailed to Ti
buron, which Is about 125 miles down
the gulf. They sailed around It for thir
teen days, making two trips inland, one
of eight miles on the Sonora side and
the other four and a half miles on the
gulf side.
Whenever they saw any Indians they
made a landing. At first the Indians
were very suspicious, but finally they
consented to do some trading.
The party obtained some of the na
tives bows and poisonous arrows and
a peculiar bamboo boat. The Indians
poison their arrows by taking the liver
of a deer, allowing a rattlesnake to bite
it and then dipping their arrows Into
the inoculated liver. The Seris are sup
posed to have horses, as the party saw
several hoof marks. The island Is about
thirty-two miles long and eighteen
wide.
Members of the expedition shot many
deer and reported that the island is
ailed with rattlesnakes.
Burled on Horseback.
Lord Dacre, who died fighting for
:he Lancastrians at Towton, England,
n 14G1, directed that if he were killed
in the battle his favorite war horse
should be buried in the same grave
with him. According to his wishes,
when his interment took place in Sax
n church yard after the battle a tre
mendous grave was dug and in it the
-varrior was buried, seated upright on
.'lis horse. For centuries reflections
were cast upon the accuracy of this
tradition, but a few years ago while
jxcavations for new graves were be
ng made close by the reputed burial
olace of Lord Dacre the pick of a dig
?er struck into a great bone and upon
further search being made the skull of
i big horse was brought to the surface.
As this was found almost at the very
spot under which the body of Lord
Dacre was said to lie it was accepted
is confirmation of the tradition, par
ticularly as the skull was found to be
standing vertically in the soil. The
skull was replaced carefully in its or
iginal position and the excavation filled
np.
United. States Patents.
The whole number of Datents lsaiiml
by the United States Patent Office is
more man HoO.OOO, of which 45,000
were to foreigners. The number of
.ive patents is about 375,000.
The industries and aDDliancoa nnnn
which the larger number of nstanta
have been issued are, approximately.
noves auu turnaces, zo.ooo; steam en
gines, 14,000; railways, tracks, and
mrvesters, each, 12,000: electric n?hT
3,000; bicycles, 6,000; pumps, 5,000; re
frigerating, 4,500: telenhnn A noo.
electrical railways, 3.000. ' '
It has been estimated that th ttmr.
motion feed for sewinz machine st
ents earned $32,000,000 for Its owners,
a larger amount probably than any
other patent issued prior to the Bell
telephone patent.
Wonld Take Him Bick.
Maud Why did you hrrak
gagement with Tom Hotchkiss?
Edith Hush 1 Don't tell
he was growing so horribly fat When
grief has pulled him down a bit I shall
take him on again. New York News.
Gold in Rhodesia.
Southern Rhodesia's gold output in
May was the highest recorded, being
over 19,500 ounces.