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.
-