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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 1909)
22 TUB MEDFORU MAIL TRIBUNIO, MlODlOR 1), OHMON. SrNTl)AV, DH(1KiM UKR 1), inO). A Christmas ir ft-nOflDP riy CtlAllt.ES I1ARON. t Copyright, by Ainwlcftn Prw Asso ciation. CUIUSTMAS It Jutt na much CliilMtinns at the Boon Join ml lighthouse nn It la anywhere olso In the world. And why not? To bo sure, the nearest laud Is ten nillott away, and whon storms come tbe wave tho winter dash quite over the two acres of rocks out of which the sturdy lighthouse rlsw. There are im blueing rows of streets Ihiwt with trrsbopB there, ihj gather ing of families, no Christmas troos loaded down with pre ents, nothing to lie seen from tbe lighthouse but Ihe changing wa ter and unchang ing rocks-water on throe sides and on the fourth sldo a bluff bar rier of rocks, with the world hkllug behind it ten miles away. There are six children there, though, nnd a mother and fa ther, and If they 'i nss I'a not r0T NUFFIX." Cannot Uiaka a .i i. . uoIm dy can. Why, Baby Deb alone Is material enough of which to make a Christmas, aud a very rollicking. Jolly sort of Christmas, too but when to her you add Tom and Sue and Ann nnd Ike nnd Sain well, the grim old lighthouse fairly overflows with Christ mas every tilth of December. 'If It Is a lonely, old. one eyed light house, has It not a chimney? And do not ehlldren there have stockings good, long stockings? Indeed, tbey have. And does not Chilstmas eve Bee them all temptingly hung, so In vitingly limp and empty, under the mantelshelf? And does not Christmas morning very early, mind you see six graduated, white robed ghosts per forming mysterious ceremonies around six bulging stocklncs? Ah. then. If you suppose that that cunning old gentleman Santa Clans does not know how to find a chimney, even when the cold waves are pelting it with frozen spray drops ten miles from land, you little know what a re markable gift he has that way. . And the Christmas dinners tbey have there tbe goose, the brown, crisp. Jnlcy, melting roast goose! What would that dinner be without that goose? What, Indeed' Hut once they ti'rn pale at that lighthouse now when they think of It ' tluv came very near having no goose i for dinner on Christmas tiny t i It eamo nix It came nbout In this way. Pnpa-nh, tf ' 1 "' hoar llnby Dob tot) about It. It would lie worm tn -'r noy. but you cannot, of couw. never mlnd-l'np Stoughton. the lla'it house keener, you know, had lt all his motley In a wiving tmnk that4 hnd failed early In that HiHTiiibcr. ,' A gtoso l really not a very expen sive fowl, but If one has not the 1 money of course one cannot buy oven ! a cheap thing Papa Stoughton could , not afford a goose He nM so said so wfore all lite ramny rt-n - thnr tlw tilfnev tluif foil upon that family then was painful to t rrn - l. .1 , ,...! ...IM. ai'ti'Tb.S -if "No goote!" at last crtod Tom. who was tle ohlest. "No goose!" cried tbe others In I clwrus. all except Baby Pelt, who wn ! busy at the time gently admonishing Seulpln. Iter most troublesome- child, for being so dirty. Uaby Dob said "NO dooee!" nfhtr all the others wttre quiet. That tnad them all laugh. No doubt they thought that, after all. so long ns Uaby Deb was there It would bo Christinas anyhow, goose or no goose So they were happy for a moment until the thought came that roast goose was good on Christmas even with naby Deb. nnd thou they looked dismayed again. However, when I'a pa Stoughton ex plained how It was they saw It na plainly as he did. nnd so they tuado no lnort cnmnlalnt. Onlr Tom foil 'n.Hilntln nn.l u-hnn tm nlhoN nnvv i - " what he was doing they did the same,. ! the difference being that Tom was ; trying to think what ho could do to , try,I1K to tm-nk what hc wn3 lulnklllR Kui iuo koosc nujuow nnu mey were ; about so that they could think the ', same all except Baby Deb, of course, j who, being only four yenrs old, gave horsolf vorv HMlr ronporn nhont thn thoughts of others. Her own thoughts J took nil her time. Tom finally said "Ah!" under his breath and mysteriously vanished Into another room after beckoulng his brothers nnd sisters to follow blm, which they did almost before they had fairly said "Ah!" Baby Deb fas thoro , too, somewhat awestruck nt tho mys tery about her, but ready to lend the help of her wisdom if necessary. ''We must hnvo n poose," snid Tom. "Oh!" gasper his audience, moved by mingled amazement nnd admira tion Tom looked nt them with great firmness nnd dignity. "Ever sinco I "ou. please, dood was born," ho lohd, sexo cs x went on, "we dooseI" have had a roast gooso for Christ mas." Ever since he wa3 born! It might KEEP JEWELRY STORE That does the Holiday Business. There is where you get your Diamonds, Watches, Clocks, Jewelry, Silver ware, Cut Glass, etc., at the right prices as we have by far the Largest Stock in the city and can convince you. Glad to show you the goods. Elwood & Burnett Opposite Hotel Nash have boon a liundrcd years before, from Tom'a tone nnd manner, and tho nudlenee w trenvm'o": p-rose I "And," continued the oralor, "wo must have one now. We will have one now!" They almost stopped breathing. "1 have a plan." They shuddered and drew nearer. "Wo nil must com hliml" "Ohl" In chorus. "l)oyou want goose, Suo?" "Yes, Indeed:" . "You, Sam?" "Yes." "Ike?" "Do 1? Weill" - "Ann?" "Yes. sir!" , turi H'x-i -- i ...... that It was a n-JJtjj. f -ting. j ' " " . ,w s " ?" pllng." said Tom. "Now, then," he continued when order was restored, "wliat shall we contribute? I'll give my new sailboat. That ought to bring tO con is." Ills new sailboat! Why, ho bad only )ut made It and had not even tried It yet Oh, evidently this was a time of "sacrifice! Who could hesitate now? "I'll give my shells," said Sue hero ically. "My son mosses." alglted Ann. "You may take my shark's tooth." said Ike. "And my whale's tooth." sold Sam. The sacrifice was general. The light house would yield up Its treasures. "All right." said Tom. "Now lot's tell father." And father was told, nnd for some reason he pretended to look out of the window very suddenly, but he did tl0t. He wiped his eyes, nnd Mamm: stoughton wiped her spectacles urul Wiukl verv hard and said: "Bless their hearts!" For, you see. these parents were very simple hearted folk, nnd It seem ed to them very affecting that tho children should make such sacrifices to Procure Uie goose for Christmas, "And what does Baby Deb contrib ute?" asked Papa Stoughton by way of a Joke. "I des I's not dot uuffln," was Baby Deb's reply when the matter was ex plained to her. "cept 'oo tnte Stulpln." Oh. what a laugh there was then, for If ever there was a maimed aud demoralized doll It was Stulpln. But Baby Deb was hugged and kissed as If b lie bad contributed a lump of gold Instead of a little bundle of rag. Papa Stoughton and Tom were to go out to the mainland the first clear day to buy the goose; but. alas, a storm came on. and they were forced to wait for It to go down. It did not go down. It grew worse and worse. The wind shrieked nnd mouned and wrestled with the lonely tower, nnd the waves burled themselves nt It nnd washed over nnd over tbe Island, nnd no boat could have lived at all In such weather. If a goose be only a goose, no matter, YOUR but If It be a Christum dlnnor-nb. then! Yes. they had good reason to feel dismal nt the lighthouse It was no wonder If live mmos were fifty times ' 1 n llit t tut 1 1 1 iti t tit I 1 1 ! v n ttl I ti u I the llghthiiuii windows Yes; six noses, for oxen Baby lvi was finally nffwetcd. and. though she did not know tun leaai iiung uikhu uie weuiuor, sue. too. would press her little nose against he glass In n mum manning way. as If she thought tluvt pressure was .the only effective thing. It took some time for Baby Deb to roallie the Importance of having n goose for Christmas, but when she bad grasped the Idea she became an enthu. slast on the subject. She explained th matter to her dolls and was ,mr- tlenlarly jMllel with Stulpln. wl h whom Indeed, she held very elaborate and almost painful conversations. One thing became very certain. There was very little prw,HVt of clean I weather within a week, ami It lacked only three days of Christmas. The others gloomily gave-yp hope, but not so did Baby Deb The truth was she had a plan, nnd you know when one has a plan one has hope too .Mnmmn louginon mm ouiy rvcouuy ; Mnmum Stoughton had only recently been having a serltw of talks with Unh Deb on the Important question of prayer, and It had omirtvd to ltaby Deb that the goose whs a good sub- loot for prayer U wn a very clear ' "' "J A"lJ t goose was nccoa- ' sary U by not ask for It. then? The great dlttl cultv was to lltnl a sh ret place for her devotions, for the family very w e 1 1 tilled tho lighthouse, aud .mo, WBu mater- s.mnl that pray- ers ought to 1"-' quietly and so- , ltaby Deb under i-fi.tlr fimil. The place found, however. Jut In front the light house w as a broad! ledge of rocks, j STEP 11 Y kttk: I'.VT- teu. r.TTi:n. generally washed by the waves, but at low tide, even In this Imd weather, out of water. Tho other children hnd been forbidden to go there because It was dangerous, but no one had thought of cautioning llaby Deb. So there she went nnd In her Imperfect way birgcd hard for the goose. Christmas eve came, and still there I was no goose. Baby Deb was puzzled; . the others were gloomy. Still Baby j Deb would not give up. It would bo low tide about 7 o'clock. She knew that, for she had asked. She would make her last trial. She had hope yet. but as the others knew nothing of her plans they had absolutely no nope. io tnem It was certain that -- mass -ja SAY!! I there could be no ChtwIniaH gooso at their Iioiiho that year. Seven o'clock vanie, and Uaby Dob crept softly from Ihe room and down stairs. She opened the grout door Junt n little bit and slipped out Into the daiknesH-ivally did slip, for It was very ley on tho rocks, and she sat down very hard.- llowevur, nIic wiih i ..,... ..i,,..,!,,. ,i .n.i .,, .i,i i. She fPniwlwl cautiously around to the big ,,.00,.( u lu,(,n wm , , , n)UU(, nw, , op wH froA(-tu I rtpw)l( uf my Unol (,()Wn , ..0,, ,,u,IU(0i ,m))l Umti Hl,mi UH n uooso! We wants a doose awful, Won't you, please, dood Lord?" j .r,urt rol Homethlng right alongside 0f lor j 0, ' .,. ,,., , , (,Xl.,lvllmHli !, h,tp ..W H, .,, M ))f ,,. ,,, ., ,., hl ,.,, ...,. ;a soft. warm, feathery body. Slw ', K,n, ..m;;k ym fHp the goose, but she was thankful, though not so wry much surprised. She really had o.Hetod It. 1 It was a heavy load for Baby Deb. ; but shu was excited and did not no tice It. She made her way Into tho llel.i Iiouncv nnd. xtci. bv slen. tMitter. st, w,,nt ,mtalrs and burst, nil iirwhlWli lh4. siting room, cry ..... ..vui.Hutlv ir tummrtl. It's turn- ,lllMr s Uu, ,fn.Ht M from her i ,., ,K, noor. ' Well. If you think tbey wore not mir- , prlHwl yo Umw vrrv ntHmt ,m i,,m,.i,ii,,i tthu wuat timv- niii mi. ! . body knows. They all talked at onco, ; but by and by I'nirn Stotmbtou hnd a chance to be heard. "Where did you get It. Baby Dob?" he asked. ; "Why, I p'ayed Dod for It." answer ed Deb In the most matter of fact way. ! "Paid Dod I" ry ww;cffl exclaimed Papa (f&h Stoughton. "Pnld D.xll" Z $ firf? c b o r u a e d tho family. I "IX" respond- , od Baby Deb ; e o n vlnelngly. ! "Dodzo d o o d Lord. ' I p'ayed to him. Ilosend ed It to me des.i , now." More q uon- j tlons nnd more , of Baby Deb's i explanations re- , venlwl the whole i story. I' u n n y folks, those' Rtoughtons, but ! they spent the next ten minutes Y "I)OI)'6 roosE is noon." w I p I u g their eyes nnd hugging and kissing nnd snnklng up new pet names for Baby Deb. , Papa Stoushton did snv to Mamma Stoughton thnt night as they were go- to bed a u-IM rooso It was blinded by --- ON Jl Medford, Oregon the blight light and hrolio Ha nook by Hying iignlust the glass. And, after all, who shall say tho good Lord did not send It?" At all events, not a word of explana tion was vnld to ltnby Deb, and no one contradicted her when she wild at dinner next day; "lXnl'a doono Is dood." Cbnrlot Dlokcni on ChrUtnini. "It Is a wonderful thing." wrote C'lmrle Dickons, "the period of Christ mas! I wonder how many ImtnliviH of thousand of parents Imvo dlsoov. red at Chilsttnas ilnio, under the inagle of the eason through some lit tle, little tiling done by nm or daugh or tttnt tieie they thoimht ottlrnnged from them, by thn-4 things which route iH'tweeu, mill loved Jhein with a ntemory more tender than (hey hud drisnned of "I wonder how many sons anil daughter, under the magic liillueuce of Christmas have had their heart Nofteiifd no us t Ik moved by hoiiu little tuanlfpstatlou of lore by father or mother, which thoy would Imvo thought little of, iHirlwpt desplnn-d, at c iy other tetison." ttttr TKo Prodi. "Are ju sure Hn-e egg are froMi?" "ivmtlve! Tlty were teali n t iliif "!ttll U'llWrroW " I''I.',;. mIo Itliiltor IBP By Common tho crowd makoa brllllnntllKht This Ib trio SlKn In front donototi huatllntf buol- nooa qualltloo within. nnwollnohuotllnK nntl ndvortlalnir propoaltlon worklntr twonty hourn Our opoqlnl olun propoaltlon muat Intoroot you. ROGUE RIVER V - THE w nOemlnate. Wife I don't see lunv you emi wiy thill Mr. Whlieoholiei' Ims.ini olloinl nolo wa. or talking, lie baa a n liiiiltiiibly loml voice. IliiHliiind I MH-itn by an olteiiitnutr Mt, nt milting, m.v dour, ihia he luiM Jll Hie (lino. KvcllilllMO. A I'eritliiii plilloMoplier nays. "Tho goat iliulw Ihe rocky hill, ihe wlwo until lakes the valley road." For tbe Best In Ikiiiioss, saddles, whips, tiliut, hints, lilniikots, wntj on shoots, nxlo urease nnd Itnll cure, ns well as nil kinds o( custom work, sice J. G.Smith 3 1 1 E. Main. Consent for tho otoro of bocnuso nn Eloo- t Pooplo llko tho llfiht rlKht prlcoa. Aa nn It puta In ovor-tlmo, out of twonty-four. ELECTRIC CO. -
