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Til K AL1SDF0.KD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, DEO KM WM VJ, 1SKM).
1 N
HAWTBORXZ.
TUACJUCKAY.
CHRISTMAS
; IN FICTION.
By GEORGE H. PICARD
fftCoprrtsht, 190?. by American Pra Asso
& elation.) '
OT until the first
half of tho Inst
century was well
spent did tho spe
cies of literature
which tins come to
be known as Christ
mas fiction effect n
pcrmnncnt 1 o d k-
tnent in the henrts
of English speak
ing mankind. The
ancient parable
p 1 a ys nnd the
rhymed holiday
legends of the mid
dle ages are still In
a so on the continent but the mora
secular minded English had only the
rude Vulctlde Jingles and the quaint
enrols of beef eating antiquity.
Contrary to the prevailing notion, the
Inventor of the talc with a distinctive
ly Christmas flavor was an American.
It Is likely that It would occur to few
Americans and to no Englishman to
dissent if it were asserted In their
presence that Charles Dickens origi
nated the Christmas story. Ills name
Is bo Inseparably connected with so
much of the holiday literature en
shrined In the popular heart that It is
small wonder the mention of Christ
mas suggests him. The credit of the
"literary find." however, must be given
to another, a man who was at the end
of his thirties when Dickens was born,
who had been at Malta when Nelson's
fleet sailed away to Trafalgar, who had
visited Sir Walter at Abbotsford and
bad captivated him and who was aft
erward secretary to the United States !
. legation in England. That, of course,
means Washington-Irving.
Irvlng's first book. "The Sketch-Book
of Geoffrey Crayon. Gent-." had pleased
everybody, so much so, indeed, that it
was republished by John Murray in
London and translated into several con
tinental languages. Both the publish
ers and the public were urging him to
do something equally meritorious. No-
body realized more keenly than did the
' author of the exquisite work the diffi
culty of producing Its mate, and be
was uot a man to be driven Into medl-
ocrlty. Three years later he published
"Bracebrldge Hall," and tho chapter of
that masterpiece of literary workman
ship entitled "Christmas at Bracebrldge
Hall" was the pioneer holiday talo of
English literature and has furnished a
model for subsequent flctiontsts which
has seldom been equaled and never
excelled. Its easy grace nnd felicity of
expression were a revelation to every
body in those days, and tho wonder
and the charm are potent still.
H William Makepeace Thackeray, mas
ter of a realism that Is tbe wonder and
tho despair of those who have followed
blm, needed no
model and chose
none. His "Mm.
Perkins Ball" re
sembles nothing
ever conceived in
the mind of any
other man. The
public was pleased
with it. but never
so much as was
Thackeray himself.
Host' amazing of all, the author of the
tale professed to believe that it was
"Mrs. Perkins' Ball" that had made
bis reputation that, too, in the face of
the fact that "Vanity Fair" had Just
been published. This perversion -of
Thackeray in regard to the literary
value of bis wares and his tack of faith
In bis masterpiece bo hud so little
confidence in the success of "Vanity
Fair" that after It appeared be applied
for a small government position aro
proof sulllclent that tho man who cre
ates a musterpleco may bavo a dim
conception of artistic values.
Ajl the makers of great Action are
moro or less under tbe spell of tbelr
Immediate surroundings, but few have
made It more apparent than Charles
Dickens. Those who knew tbe circum
stances saw plainly that he had put
himself and bis sad childhood into
many of his pathetic short stories.
This Is especially true of "The Ghost
In Master B.'s Room." which Is an ac
count of things which happened to
him in bis troubled boyhood. As a
child ho was a firm believer In ghosts,
and it is probable that he novel entire
ly abandoned his faith In spectral ap
pearances. Many of his tales are peo
pled with disembodied spirits, and tbey
are like the ghosts of no otber writer.
Tbey aro the spooks that appeal to one
and mako one believe In their genuine
ness. Tbey are frequently more real
than tho living characters who consort
with them. Although they are dead,
tbey conduct themselves llko living en
titles. Dickens' Christmas ghosts are unique
In tbe realm of literature. Of all the
silent shapes that
have been sum
moned from tho
upper and nether
worlds to lend en
chantment to tbe
Christmas tale
bis alone have
become acclimat
ed. There is nev
er anything re
pulsive about
them. They ore
tho most compan
ionable spook!, ever invented. They
aro seldom sepulchral, but are fre
quently choerful. Tbey aro not tho
haunting, sleep killing and never to bo
exorcised phantoms of the fairy tales,
but actual personalities, freed from all
mortal restrictions In regard to locomo
tion that come to us when wo bid them
and vanish politely when wo nre weary
of their presence.
Bret Hnrtc never made n sooret or
his admiration for tho creator of l.lttlo
Nell nnd Tom Pinch. I.Ike Paul at
the feet of Gamaliel, he was content to
receive his lesson from the man ho
acknowledged to be his master. Not
until after Dickens had finished his
work did the young literary light who
stood revealed In tho far western firma
ment lenrn that his model had seen
that exquisite elegy "Dickens In
Camp" nnd bad been heard to express
his ndmlrntion of It In the most gen
erous terms. The dying novelist de
clared that the work of the new Amer
ican writer contained such subtloj
strokes of workmanship as no other
writer In the language had yet ex-1
bibltcd. And then be asked, with n
humorous gleam In his weary eyes, J
I "Don't you think that his manner Is
i very like my own?"
Like Dickens. Harte bnd a genulno
fondness for the doings of Yulctlde.
One who knew blm best snys that up .
to the last day of his life "he thought '
ncters niv tlosh niul blood people, and
they nro not of tho sort tlint "will nt)t
stay dead when thoy die." Her "Christ
mas Party" la as dainty In Its work
manship as nnythlng which ever camo
from her careful pen. and that Is say
ing much. It Is as "t'stful and tiou
suggestive ns n pastoral, nnd Its Influ
ence Is an soothing ns the dellcnto
savor which escapes when the cover
of a potpourri Jar Is lifted or tho
drawer of nn old time cnbluet is open
ed tho fnlnt, pervasive odor of crush
oil rose loaves and dried lavender.
THE RATIONAL
CHRISTMAS.
By ELLIS FRAME
CopjTlsht, 1509. by American Press Asso- '
elation. '
"Lot u elvo m reason this year," sh 1
' .. . . ... . .. . i ...
ioi merely mr in. ui i,.u ,
L . It's the sulrtt. not the money tnreited. 1
irnicu o me uiraiura season aim 10 1)t u,; ,llcwft)M, turn from foullih .
the Inst kept up the fond and foolish ( squanderings, '
custom of sending generous presents lt the girts we give be thins that mar
to his friends." Better appreciated in lMtSt?h sooa t0" . a.. ,
England tban in bis native country, 1 "My darling, your aunreitlon ahall be
Harte spent the later years of his llfo i heeded. j
abroad, but his stories were to tho last j For than u wisdom in It," he replied. I
distinctively American. In that ad- sh8 dul hor .hopping early, being guided
mlrable performance entitled "How i Hy lessons learned from much expert- ,
Santa Claus Came to Simpson's Bar" ' nc . 1
out) nuuiu muw uvr iuiu mu uiavivi, auv ,
decided.
waa common
piMftMgfJsVHBTMB'SBTam
I O A Merry Christmas X
i
there Is no flavor of the old world
'" " i decided.
Christmas, nnd Johnny, clothed In tho now excellent a thing
stars and stripes. Is a young American ' seme.
of tbe most unmlstnkablo sort
Two of tho most strikingly dissimi
lar Christmas stories ever written aro
Hawthorn e's
For tbelr baby boy aha purchased a.
French corset
And an oriental rug that cajight her
eye.
"Though the darling longed to have o
rocking horse. It
Wasn't sensible." aha murmured, with a
atgh.
Thoy had promised not to buy things for
I ach nfher.
few things for
her
DICKERS,
"Christmas Ban
quet" and Miss
MltionlVChrlst-
They would merely get
xuvrB is unit; uli tne child.
Christmas in She would sacrifice her sister and
Hawthorne's . .m..th7',. . u .
. , And It gladdened her to see the way he
grewsome talo. ,mnej
Tbe Joyous fcstl- As he said his people, too, should be omit-
val Is only a lit- tL . , ,
erary makeshift j So $V nd w,n,ora woman-
around which Is From shop to shop, with sweet emotion.
woven a weird
flitted.
.Having dry goods bound up and sent
away.
psychological study that drives all re
membrance of tbe blessed season from
tbe mind. Its ghosts are not tbe so-, He bought a pipe and splendid smoking
clable and easily banished spooks of, Ja,cke' .... .
. . . . . I To Klve their darllnir dee on Christmas
anu , -
Dickens. They are formless
creepy and all pervading. Tbey are tho with these the child could make no such
fearsome specters that rise In tho frig- n racket
Id vapors of German mysticism, and J As mlBhhave been produced with drum
they are made Icier still with a strong n ) KOt lno Works. unexpurgated.
admixture of New England transccn- or oia uoccaccio and Rabelais,
dentallsm. It Is a masterpiece In con- SoA'h.a,ti,leLr J.'"!!! ,ne mlfh,t b0 elat,cJ.H '
, , . . ' - i And lontf have glad remembrance of tho ,
ccptton nnd In treatment no question '
at all about that but it does not make 1
tho Yule log glow more brightly or On Christmas when their presents were
lend a better flavor to tho steaming ' Then tho aofa ,Me bjP (le '
bowl. I And while their child looked up at them, 1
Mary Russell Mltford does not deal dismayed.
In ghosts. All of ber Christmas char- Hec a W manner, ana she
THE
NURSERY LIGHT
Whore thero aro small children In tho homo
the light without an open flamo Is ossontlal. It Is
wrong to endanger their lives by a light that might
set their clothes or playthings afire without
warning. With Electricity thoro is no danger,
it is tho perfect nursery light. Tho little onos can
turn It on or off at will. It makes tho nursory
"fire proof." Moreover, It doos not vltiato tho
atmosphere.
'Phono us for further Information.
Rogue River Electric Co.
Keep Your Eyes
On Our Store
Don't pass us up when selecting that Christmas
present. Our store is full of suitable, appropriate
gifts, such as Indian Moccasins, Dolge Felt Slippers,
Fancy Home Slippers for men, women and children.
Don't you think a gift of this kind is sensible and
would be more appreciated than many almost use
less gifts? Try giving a fine pair of shoes or slippers
and see if the satisfaction it gives does not give you
more than the usual pleasure.
$lnwade4 $
cm
They Packed Their Grips
WITH EVEHYTHING THAT WAS NICE FOR
CHRISTMAS, NEW YEARS, and the WEDDINGS
THEN THEY WENT ON THEIR WAY REJOICING.
YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED TO SEE WHAT AN
ASSORTMENT WE GOT IN THE WAY OF CHRIST- ?
MAS BOOKLETS, POST CARDS, STATIONERY, FAN-
CY BOXES, SCENERY, ART AND SCENIC NOVEL-
TIES, PHOTO AND POST CARD ALBUMS, SOFA
r t PILLOWS AND CALENDARS, BURNED NOVELTIES,
'1 1 PYROGRAPHIC OUTFITS, MATERIALS AND
PARTS. IN FACT, THEY MUST BE SEEN TO BE
APPRECIATED. IT IS A PLEASURE TO SHOW OUR
GOODS.
See our $50 Violin for $25. It's an old one. Ask for free Coupons.
the Art studio
Franfo Hull, Proprietor
331 E. MAIN
MEDFORD, OREGON.
ROOM 3, SECOND FLOOR.
The Greatest Assortment
FURNITURE
I-;
Here is where we shine. Oriental, Velvet Axmin
ster Rugs; all styles .and si.cs; and don't forget to
register for Christmas souvenir.
Something for everybody.
"Washing you a merry Xinaa and happy Now Year.
"We have our Novelties in China, Glassware, etc.,
now on display; all the latest designs and patterns.
Don't miss going through this department. It's
worth your while.
Medford Furniture Co.
Complete Housefurnishers .
of
Xmas
Goods
ever shown in Southern
Oregon. Ladies' Desks,
Dressing Cases, Library
Tables, l?oekTs, Hirds
eye, Circassian Walnut,'
Oak Bedroom Suites,
Brass and Iron Beds.