The Christ Cradle
a jQ AirllJtiijijiif i If You Have Trubie With cid Feet s
X Mmmm lf tAnd Troub,e i
A Christmas Ballad
By MARGARET J. PRESTON.
"Christ cradle" Is the old Saxon name
for mince pie.
the time of the old Cru
rj-t was
saders,
And back with hit broken
J Mttf
ita lite
ILIZAbtm 3TUMTPHCLP$
Working In the Name
Of the Christ Child
SOME thirty years niro thpre lived
in the city of Washington a young
girl, the (laughter of Richard T.
Merrick, a distinguished lawyer, says
the Survey. A serious injury, due to
an accident, had left her an invalid,
confined to her couch. The Christmas
Benson was fast approaching and auiid
the preparations for the holidays,
which the happy family were busily
making, this young invalid, roared in
luxury, conceived the desire of clothing
In the name of the Christ Child some
poor babe who was to come into the
world in poverty. She made a simple
but complete layette, sent for a friend
who she knew could find the very
mother who needed such assistance,
and one small child was clothed in the
name of the Christ Child.
The Christ Child society, founded
twenty-seven years ago, distributed l.'lO
layettes !f st year. Not one request has
ever been refused to an applicant in
dorsed by its visitors. And from this
has developed the material relief de
partment, which cloihes anil shoes chil
dren, furnishes a fortnight's outing,
a brace for a crippled leg or a book
from the library. There are no religous
qualifications. Active nicmluM's con
tribute a detlnite number of hours'
work each week, ami any one may be
come ii member by promising to an
swer the Christinas letter of a poor
child. Washington numbers l.ono mem
bers, and there are more than in
nil, including the branches in twenty
two cities.
From In1" ciaicli, where she has lain
for more tbnii twenty live years, Miss
Mcrrirk directs unil leads all the soci
ety's work.
St. f.'icWas Day and Christmas.
A writer in fie I'a'l Mall (iazette
thus vi,!.:t"i ci nr. Tiling (he amalga
llllltlotl of !l"it'".:s nil and St. Nlrllii.
las eve: "IVi'lmps the a tiial mat b m
of the two li-.iivuN was brought about
by motives of economy, the giving of
presents on Pec. u ami again on 1'i-c.
'J"i constituting too licaw a toll on pa
rental purses. That IbN was the cast!
appears to be prov "1 by the custom pre
vailing In Catholic (leniiniiy, where St.
Nicholas duly appear In each Inane cm
Int. .1, and, liupiiiing Into the enmliet
of the children, reward" ll.e worthy
with fruits and cnke nnd lectures the
unworthy on the duty of obedience. He
then asks children what pre-ents they
would .like the Cliri-t ( lnld to bring
them at Christmas, innl on the morning
of that day they usually liud the desir
ed articles In tie shoes whhh they
Jibn-e-il ovet night on the In-art Ii. This
variation of the urigiiml Nictmhis eve
rutotu, for so long o'.-olete in i'.n:'lalnl,
probably accounts for our o-.r.-on of
Hants ( bins in his pic., nt form, lie is
tloel to have Imi-ii an linMirtatlon
from America iib-nt forty jr ago
(SS little earlier we bad derived the
Christmas tree from ijermiitiy on the
Initiative of the prime mnmrt, bus
Land of vuis-n VI torini."
On Christmas Eve.
Ob. Itttl !.-. k ?it; fc.it,
Tt t in 1 1 . t . v i r in .
Ati iiSit !" t . :.--r I p-t
Whit i f- fi "''It "
tV ti r we'i i' ",(r ' . y hr
Ti r 'I t 4 . tr -t d.
Ltfn th.it ' .r i.iiu, rh th
JkUy h ..r t if p rc
Oh. t!M' h
V!,.i lo si il ..t I t ' ir
A' 1 ,(' t . r i i r t t.
. a - . m f '' v !
nut i i i i i t't
Arm mil m f -.t thi
01. !t h-f. S ' '
'if I . f p . 1
T , r f . ' r f ! a ;!
T - - f ?
At !' St f) r.mf r
I 1.
I ' . f 1 "i 1 '
A. 4 t
land
rhe lord of Lancarcan castle
Bad come from the Holy Land.
It was Christmas crc in the castle;
The Yule log burnt in the hall,
And helmet and shield and banner
Thrctv shadows upon the wall.
And the baron teat telling storiel
To the little ones at his knees
Of some of the holy places
He had visited overseas.
Then he s;iake of the watching shep
herds, Who saw such marvelous sights
And the tony that the angels chanted
That first of the Christmas nights.
He told of the star whose shining
Outsparklcd the brightest gem;
He told of the hallowed cradle
They showed him at Bethlehem.
And the cues of the children glistened
To think that a rack sufficed.
With only the straw for blanket!.
To cradle the baby Christ.
"Hay, dry up your tears, my darlings,"
Wight gayly the baron cried,
"For nothing but smiles must greet met
I'm home, and it's Christ mast ide I
"Come, wife; I have thought of a cra
dle
Another than this, I say.
Which thou in thy skill shall make me
To honor this Christmas day.
"We would not forget the manger,
So choose of thy platters fair
The one that is largest, deepest.
And cover it in thy care
"With flakes of the richest pastry,
Wrought cunningly by thy hands.
That thus it may bring before us
The wrap of the swaddling bandt.
"And out of thy well stored larder
Set forth of thy very best.
Is aught that we have too precious
To honor this Christinas guestf
"Strew meats of the finest shredding
(The straw was chopped in the stall) ;
Bring butter and wine and honey
To lavish around them all.
"Bet raisins and figs of Smyrna
That draw to the cast our thought;
Let spices that call of the Magi,
With their gifts, to mind be brought.
"Let sweets that suggest frankincense.
Li t fruits from the southern sea
Be given ungrudgi d. Ucmember,
His choicest he gave for thee I
"Then over the piled up platter
A cover of pastry draw.
With a star in its midst to mind us
Of that which the wise men taw.
"Christ's cradle is what we'll call it.
And cvir, : wcet wife, I pray,
With surh thou wilt make us merry
At dinner each Christ mat dayT'
Gypsies' Christmas.
The irypsy Cluistinas Is a love feast
and a carnival in one. The wandering
folk come to.-eiher in tribal celebration
to ehouve their iiiei-ii for the beginning
year. Kadi clan has Its own usages
and superstitions. In Itiaimatila the
cradle, so they say, of nomadism, tho
gypsy ipiis-ii Is crowned with roses, and
r s tip her scepter and her wand. In
place of holly ami mistletoe the hardy
little rosebud which blossoms at this
season mi the apex of the hills U hem.
rsl not for Its i.veetiiess merely, but
liiniiise of a fair Christmas legend
wliii 'i tlie gypsy folk Would make dis
tinctively their own.-Chicago Tribune.
'mm coirim
SAM CCMii
t " v-V .1'- i
i. . 1 J
' . r if It
I , - i i-- ir ' . it
;! A -f; :
'VS i8;lfln :
mQlRlll How Washington j
REEiT If Celebrated Christmas :
Gift Bringer In
Various Countries
THE Dutch girls sing a pretty little
song on the feast of St. Nicholas
Instead of writing a letter to
Santa Claus:
Santa Claus. you good natureci man.
Give me some nuts and sweetmeats
Not too much, not too little.
Throw them Into my apron.
For a Christmas without gifts would
be no Christmas at all. So always
there is a gift bringer, akin in nature,
If different In name, to the good St.
Nicholas, once bishop of Myra, who
loved children and whose memory lives
vitally today through its association
with the great Christian festival. Kriss
Kringle, Father Christmas, Santa
Claus, Sunderkloos, are identical. The
holy Christ child comes to Germany,
In mystical Brittany the Christ hint'
self Is thought to come to bless the
households of the pious, especially the
homes of simple shepherds.
In Spain on "Twelfth Night" all the
people, young and old, put their shoes
and slippers out on the balcony out
side the window in order that the three
kings Journeying by may see and fill
them. There are also grotesque Christ
mas visitors. Knave Ituprecht, terror
of Teutonic babyhood, has a load of
nuts and apples and other goodies with
him, as well as Ids trudltional bunch of
switches.
The "Julhok" or "klapperbok," a tall
thin beast, with goatskin covered head.
is after naughty Danish children, Just
as the "hahersack" Is after those In the
Ilarz mountains. Sunderkloos sends
sometimes a goat laden with presents.
The animals which the saint of Christ
mas uses for his carriers are quite as
various. Dontier and lilltzeu and the
other fleet reindeer come first. Santa
drives a span of reindeer In Sweden. In
Alaska becomes by dog team. Camels,
so the story goes, bring the three kings
Into Spain on their girt bringing er
rand, though sacred art would show us
that horses might be used as well his
torically. In Holland, on the Znyder Zee, St.
Nicholas comes cm skates over the fro
ten wastes of water. In Kngland there
are In use for Christmas several Imita
tion horses, the hobby horses of the
Morris dancers, which ciist still In
Staffordshire, according to their ancient
habit. Chicago Tribune.
Christ Floweri,
Born of the clouds and darkwil.
Of the fro t and early snow.
When the tumm-r bloom have fadrd,
The biauttful Christ flowers blow.
All through the budding springtime,
All through the summrr't hint.
All thnmgh thr autumn's glory
They hide their blossom! twirt.
But whn thr tarth it lonely
And the bitter r.orth winds blow.
With a imile of rarer for the diar old
ymr
The Christ mm blossoms Ibiv.
Hrert at the itriam of summer.
White as the drifting snow;
Whin imr hearts are filli'l with griev
ing The beautiful Christ flowers bluu.
Vol off the t'.u'h vind't wooing
Open! thiir teerit hi art,
slender the' grow nut stall ly,
tluardiny their life apart ;
But vhm thr ear th is dn nry
An4 hiitey rl-.u' hang l;u ,
With thiir tmihr is..r for th 4y
worn uiar
The Chrislmtii llontomi llote.
Fweeteit nf all re,e"dertf
Trest of flouett that grow!
When hopn and ftowirs hair faded
The burnt) tut f'hrlit point! Mote.
Bright In the eottngr wtndnw.
fw'ii in the dnr:imid r'.
Pair in the thorlmul sunlight,
Vherrleg the dwl y yhmm.
Oh, when iiur heart! are lonely
And rlilt tit rare hung (ou,
What I.U ssi 4 rrr f-rr true tfyif 1aaf,
The Chrutmu! llouom lloitt
T is Interesting to look back upon a
Christmas day at Mount Vernon,
with the Father of His Country as
host and his charming wife as hostess.
Christmas at Mount Vernon in the
peaceful days which followed tho Revo
lution was always exceedingly merry.
The Virginians of those days, being
cavaliers, made the most of the holi
day, which the grim Puritans of New
England practically ignored, says the
Philadelphia Tress.
Though generally serious, Washington
could unbend considerably on such an
occasion. Mount Vernon was always
crowded at this period, and the celebra
tion was of a luxurious character. The
Christmas dinner was served at 3
o'clock in the "banquet hall," and prob
ably no fewer thau thirty persons sat
down to the repast.
For this special occasion the hostess
always got out .her handsome service of
pure silver, most of which had belonged
to her when, as the widow Custls, sho
had married Mr. Washington, and there
was also a big display of cut glass.
An oddity, as nowadays It would be
considered, was the arrangement of the
table, upon which all the dishes to be
served, Including even t lie puddings nnd
plos, were placed at once. No wonder
that In such days the festive board was
said to "groan" beneath the weight of
the viands.
As a matter of course, at the Christ
mas dinner, as well as all other occa
sions, the table was waited upon by
slaves, who did duty as house servants.
Two were allotted to each guest, so
that quite a number were required. All
of the eatables had to be conveyed a
considerable distance, the kitchen being
detached from the mansion, with which
It was connected by a covered way.
At the houses of the great Virginia
families at that period it was custom,
sry for the slaves to wait on tho table
in the ordinary plantation garb. Hut
'at Mount Vernon many
things were on
a scale of exceptional luxury, and the
negroes who performed such service
were clad In Washington's own livery
of red, white and gold, which was
handsome and striking.
The necessity of supper was removed
by a great prolongation of the dinner,
at which each person was expo led to
eat all that he or she possibly could
III fact, it was the duty of I lie hostess
gently to persuade her guets to gorge
' tliMliiwfilvi.n III Petite! If ill wllile tilt- host
made it tils business to press wine and
other drinkable upon the men to an
extent wlik h In these times would be
considered most Imprudent.
At a certain period of the rm-al It
was Washington's custom to rl-e from
Ills chair, holding a ula-s f Madeira
In his hand ami bowing n:'ht nnd left,
to my, "Ceiitloincli. I diltU-tii Inv
guests." The natural ri -pon-e at the
Instance) of the mo-.t dis'lnuished
giie-it present was a health drunk to
Ijidy Washington.
Following the dlt tier a good, long
evening w as Indulged In wii'i pa-t lines
appropriate to Chi istmn. H ind man's
buff and hunt the ullpper were not uf.
tli'lenlly nmllglilhed In the i)is of
Washington lo Is- lialul- .d In. Tie
Washington family chii-tinas gifts
ere exhibited, ami Ne he i'imIs was
always ailed upon to p'av on I,, r harp
sl hord.
A colore-! tiddler, one of Hie tines on
the plantation. In pi lun -pie until
tloij gnrli would In- nil a -I in at n nr
tain perlfid, and v In n be w I Mm '
IVUiie IlierrV llOI-ie the joung eoplc
chose, partners for the i! iimi- I'f the
older ladles slid g-ntlii I f-'.ni!
card. Sliuill nfal.es ! ii-oa : p'av
e-l for, but giiinhlp.g for tie no) to
a roti-Odcf iihle iiiieea.t uhs tilwiu
mol obji-tionsh e o a-'ilni,-!' n A"
f-ir Mm. U ii-'iiii.-'on - he
rtiililr rnter lit., in.-n. f !n-
fi-KtUltle. bill Ho'lM I lln
mi' Ii mrt e.f i.er t -f - tin
ere 'i lli'I'lVe In I Hill "In
It mm nl I n I le or n M
fi!l-,liilf rtirt iinii- li nt II.
nilJ Ink Ibelr ib-i.-nfre
W'Mni.-toll lio 'l-e-b-iel '.'i
l" II t III 0 UllilltJ f-ej',1,1-.
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l-eliei :l
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