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Exeter Advocate, 1908-12-17, Page 6♦ i ♦o+o�o4c o♦o♦0 o♦o4- leaked out, and the blind tuella scream burst from my lips. As the CIIRigTIl.k3 "DONTS." magined wub hho of way thought their meansthat ofit livelihold ood.ruDteafem toof echo heard anit ansdiedweraing cryI. Surely1 Woman Tells of Pitfalls to my brain was fooling mo'. And yet Avoided by Sterner Sex. . it came again . . . a childish halloa. . . . Dave Arnold's � Christmas reason, they showered upon me taunts and curses, and finally left after allotting we twenty-four hours in which to make up my mind. "'1'weaaty-four hours! Why, yes, I could havo no objection to that, o♦ 404.0+0+04.0.+.0...,3 for by the Christmas night my work would be ended. The machine stood "Six years ago 1, Dave Arnold, in the room merely requiring the was in the ruck ; just one of the finishing touches. An adjustment great crowd who sweated away their here, an alteration of the gear days for a weekly- wage that any one there, and it would be ready fur the of you would give for a good diun- test. Oh, yes, they might come on cr. My over alis were just as greasy, the morrow night if they chose. I my hands as grimy as those of any would desist willingly enough. t•,i cr who turned out from the "All through that night and late wi,rks at the clang of the bell. The into the Christmas l)ay I labored difference lay in the fact that they, like u roan possessed. (.blivious to with a Linen behind them that everything but my work I strove on, ` ecd work, were content with and when at last 1 threw down the thesirir let, while I, with the excite- wrench and staggered back to feast mens of something that dimly waswrench eyes upon its perfection before shaping itself in my mind, was not. applying the power my trembling brain at work A happy ati bad set my legs could scarce support my body. o on thea evolution of a labor-saving machine that, could I For the last hour my lips had been tattering foolish confidences to it. perfect it, would revolutionizeakan Reeling into the darksorne work - rich process and make me n shop I started the gas -engine and, rich man. racing back, pulled over the lever. "Step by step, as I worked at the Tho belt slid gently on the pulley, problem nightly iii my garret, the and on the instant the machine way became clearer. Every hour sprang into being. made its possibility more apparent. "I had done it! Intoxicated with Slowly the model grew beneath my success I danced irrationally around hands until one night I went to sleep, successful and exultant. it, gloating over the wonder of its Theoretically iaction. I can remember laughing t :as sound. To aloud at the cogs with which it prove it so in practice could only accomplished its purpose; and then, be done by actual experiment. with the laugh on my lips, came a "I was a poor man. I had no stunning blow on the back of my moans whatever of patenting the in- head and after that—darkness! vention. But I was not to be de- "Icame back to consciousness to terred. The reward of my endersv- find myself in a strange position. or was at my finger ends, and I My legs wore tied together, my meant to grasp it. Seizing the first arms were trussed behind my back, opportunity I approached the prin- and I stood erect, supported by a cipal and requested an interview. pendant rope which had been pass - My slaopmates eyed me askance as ed under my arms, looking down on I followed him to his office, for I the dimly -illumined workshop from was not popular. what seemed to me a raised plat - "Inside his room I told him of forth beneath my feet. When I tried my discovery. At first he was to move my swimming head, I dis- fraukly incredulous. Was I not but covered that a chain had been loop - an ordinary mechanic? It was im- ed round my neck. possible that such a man could have "Below mo stood two men, whom achieved this wonderful thing! I I recognized as the discharged read his veiled distrust and my face foreman and ono of his deputation. flushed beneath the grime. I told Terror-stricken I stood, wondering Lim as much as was polite until an at their intent, and involuntarily a understanding had been arranged, groat groan burst from my lips. and saw his expression change. My 'A merry Christmas, Mr. In - earnestness of manner impressed venter !' burst out one of them, him. The possibility of success with a drunken laugh. 'You hard - made him tolerant. Before I had ly expected us, did you 1 Now lis - finished he was half convinced of its ten to me, you dog. Listen to the practicability. I left him with the mon you kicked out o' of the place promise that he would place the he's worked at sence a lad, for by necessary power and materials at th' Lord Harry it'll be the last my disposal, and I should have a speech ye'll iver bear on this earth. corner of the shop partitioned off We coma 'ere th' night to stop this in which to erect the machine, con- thing gooin' on. 11'c'm late. But, ditionally that if it succeeded ho curse 'co! wo'm none too late to had the option of acquiring it. finish 'cc. That machine o' yourn "Next morning the work com- menced. "From the first the then evidenced their feelings in no uncertain man- ner. It galled them to think that round thy neck is the chain o' the I, under the favor of the head, had travelling crane. Ve'm agoin' to climbed above them and that they start the engine. . . Yo' know what were, at least for the time, at my that means. When Jirn 'ere cuts beck. that rope which is about thy infer "Regardless of it all I pursued nal body theer's three links of my course. Day and night I lab- chai i atweon you an' the hanging orad on to perfect the machine. yo' deserve. Yo' shall hear that The fever that consumed me allow- machine o' yourn a-runnin' merrily, ed me scarce timo for sleep. As the an' know that ivery whirr of its idea took shape under my hands a wheels is tightening the chain growing anxiety kept nae chained round thy neck and draggin' 'ce by it. The open threats of the nearer to death.' men and the fear of its destruction "For a brief instant, as I realized bade the guard it zealously, and the their horrible intention, my heart's chief, convinced by the manifest pulsations seemed to stop. The signs of discontent, gave me per- next, 1 was straining at the rope mission to sleep in the shop. For like a mailman. For three ti Deka I never passed be- " 'Cut it, Jim!' he Laughed, 'an' yond the gates, and the only crca- see the fool hang 'is blessed self !' ture who entered my shop beside "His words arrested my :.trugg- myself was the little chap who ling and, even as the rope was sev- brought any meals. Dred, I stood inert. The least "Ho was a bright little follow— movement now would tighten tho the son of a widow with whom I chain and make an end. Springing lodged. When the great works, to the engine the pair set it runti- scve for that one bright corner, ing, and the cogs in any machine were wrapped in gloom, his signs) started off with a whiff. The blas - at the window which overlooked the pheming wretches stood glaring up car ,! et tho rear of the premises at me for a moment; then, as i wort • ,ain him ndanittance. shrieked Aloud in mortal terror, "One night about the time i with A final burst of mocking laugh - was anticipating his vislt, a gentle ter they were gone. knock carne at the door of my room. "Again and again I shrieked, but Knowing that the works, save for only the echoes of my screams rang my'elf, were deserted. my hand through the great workshop. stole to the revolver I had thought "I was on a telescopic gas holder. it advisable to purchase. The engine was absorbing the. gas. " ' Who's there 1' I shouted. The holder would gradually sink "'Me!' came back the childish beneath my feet. flow long would treble Laughing at my fears, 1 those links give me' How long unlocked the door and sternly bade would it be before I felt the chain hire tell me how he had gained ad- gripping my throat. tighter. even mission. tighter. until it lifted me from my " 'I thought I'd surprise yer,' he feet and strangled me 1 How long 1 said, gleefully. 'You sen where the Mereiful heavens! How long? cut comes into the works there's a "The inexhorable whirr of the ledge under the bridge. I come; machine maddened my brain. The round to -night.' rhythmical explosion of the gas "Gently i rebuked him, warning seemed to be ticking off my spell of him of the danger of a slip. He' life. I tried to calculate the caw - pretested his competence to do it ity of four inches of the holder and cn his hands. and the incident end- check my minutes by the quantity ed in a mutual laugh. necessary to drive the engine per During those three weeks tw•n hoar. But it was useless. My attempts were made to incapacitate hrnin refused to net. A jumble of me. The first. presumably An asci- figure* swam confusedly in my head. dent. i ignored. The second ono "My legs threatened to give way. so t agrant that I was compelled, The thought that if 1 lost control for my own protection. to report it. but for a secon(t 1 was doomed and the perpetrator -my erstwhile eaimed me. Gradually i dropped foreman—was summarily dismissed. into a coma—the coma of de•pair— That afternoon- it was Christmas and one by one the loose links Eve—a deputation of the most vial- tightened on the chain. lent among the malcontents called "Wild-eyed and mad with the tor - me out and delivered their ulti tore. i stood there walting for mat um death. Suddenly the last link ierk- "Rumer of the purpose for which my invention was intent I had "(;rest heavens! It was the boy. He had conte by way of the ledge. Running into the shop he ga.:ed around h'ai bcwildcrly. 'Willie!' I whispered, hoarsely. He could not hear ore, and the chain was even then lifting my heels froni their support. Moist- ing toy lips with 111 tongue, I cried his name again. He looked up. He saw me and, with a startled cry, came slowly forward. " 'The engine!' I whispered. 'Pull that handle down, quickly'' Ile grasped my meaning and flew to the _ engine room. Clambering on to a box, he managed to mach the lever, and, pulling it down, shut off the inflow of the gas. The engine slowed; the explosions came leas frequent, and, at last, the great fly -wheel stopped doad. Running back, he looked up into my face with wide, staring ems. " 'That piece of wood, Willie,' I muttered. 'Get up here, and push it under me.' He understood. Clambering tip with difficulty, ho thrust it carefully beneath my feet. "Taking his knife from his pocket he hacked away at the bonds that secured my amts. Presently the; ropes fell away, and, lifting them, I managed to remove the loop from about my neck, to collapse the nest instant a shuddering heap at the boy's feet. He bent solicitously over me and cut away the ropes from my legs. "And then, with a great choking cry of heartfelt thanks to Heaven, I twined my arms round his neck and kissed his face again and again." CHRISTMAS GIFTS. Notwithstanding the fact that to the philosophical mind Christmas is A woman correspondent to the London Daily Stull gives the follow- ing advice to men : "Why should Christmas depres- sion be monopolized by men," she asks, "when women are troubling their hearts about the harrowing surprises which await them on Christmas morning in the shape of presents from their menfolk? "The following don't should be learned by heart : "Don't go into a fashionable mil- liner's and order the most expen- sive hat she can make. A woman would rather have a 30 cent model that suits her than a $25 one that doca not. "Don't buy gloves of the size 'sloe' confesses to. Be on the safe side and order half a size larger. "Don't buy her a jet necklace be- cause your grandmother used to wear one. 'She' isnot your grand- mother, and she likes something that sparkles. "Don't buy your wife an improv- ing book on 'How to Keep House on 50 cents a week."The houses keeping bills will increase if you do. "Don't buy the baby a new frock and call it a Christmas present for your wife. She intended to make you buy that frock after Christmas. "Don't get 'something useful for the house.' Sho cannot rid herself of the impression that it is six for her and half a do..on for yourself. "Don't buy your financee a mistletoe brooch, and then be fur- ious if other mien endeavor to follow an ancient custom. "Don't bray. 'her' skates if she can't skate,. Sho will expect you to teach her. "Don't he too proud to take these 'don'ts' from a mere woman." 4' EVOLUTION OF CHRISTMAS. a great comedy of errors in which It, matters not that the Christmas the actors go about purchasing or- tree sprung from a pagan ceremon- naments for those who want util- ial that antedated the birth of ities, utilities for those who wait Christ; tliat the holly ar.d mistle- ornaments, and both for those who toe so freely used in Christmas dee- want neither, there is something orations are survivals of ancient about the Christmas spirit that Druidical worship, the Christmas time cannot wither or custom stale. carol born of the hymns of the Sa- Tho impediment, as Emerson turnalia ; and rl at it is not known says, lies in the choosing, a.id the whether December 25th no the cor- holiday reform that is so devoutly rect data of the birth of the Christ - desired by some Christmas socio- child; or that people—in ltus: is and logists ought to be directed to- in other countries --celebrate in all wards the nssistan -e of the chooser earnestness and solemnity another rather than towards the abolish- day as Christmas day, so strongly merit of the giver. To choose a gift grounded is the Christmas belief, wisely is to understand the human and so widespread has become the heart. The dark, unfathomed desire for a fitting observance of corners of closets and bureau the day, that the old forms and drawers bear testimony to the, nuns- customs havo losttheir pagan sig- ber of gifts, the smoking jackets nificance like the holly and mistle- toe, which, though once a part of a heathen rite, aro now used almost wholly for decorative effect. Few are they who know, says the llome Magazine, that the mistletoe was an object of special veneration shall send 'ce to perdition ! and shaving cases, for which the re- " 'Let me tell 'eo now how yo' cipients blushed unseen and the stand,' lie went on, thickly. 'Under oceans of perfume destined to waste thy feet, !ad, is th' gas -holder, an' its sweetness on the (leRort air. Yet, in spite of this feet, the true gift. giver is not to be daunted by misfits or this applied etetracts, and among the Druids, and that it was "some shape of disgruntled recip- gathered with great ceremony ; and ient. In giving, Emerson says, a the Yule log, since a subject for ray of beauty uutvalues any util- poetry and a theme for song, was ity, though he admits that the no- originally burned in honor of Thor, cessity of the prospective' recipient the mythical god of war. But this is an aid to the giftgiver,. "since, if would not change our custom. the man at my door is without The tendency has been forward, shoes, I have not to consider wheth- steadily, to a sane observance of er I shall gilt- him a paint box." I the day and from the riotousness of The holiday pessimist believes that modern gift giving consists in giv- ing paints to the shoeless and ahoes to the lover of paint, but the bless- edness of giving shines through all such errors and tnakns the Christ- mas spirit more eager with the coming of each year. -----q"----- TWO GOOD RECIPES. Christmas Cake.—One Ib. flour, 1 11►. sugar, 0 eggs, % Ib. butter, 1 Ib. stoned raisins, 1 teaspoon salt, juice 2 lemons, and ; ib. orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, carraway, mace, the juice of one lemon and % cup of water. Work butter to a cream, add sugar, add yolks, well beaten whites; lastly, add flour very slowly. Hake in A Slow oven. if the spices are ob- tained e.►ole and crushed, grated, or put through a small entree mill, the flavor will be found to well re- pay the extra trouble. This cake is vouched for by an old-time cook, who says of it : "The best fruit cake I ever taslQd." Plum Pudding.- -Half lb. raisins, ,14 M. currants, ?; Ib. beef suet, 6 oz. granulated sugar, 1 oz. e. lemon peel, 1 ex. c. nrnnge peel, 1 oz. cit- ron. 3 oz. flour, 2 nz. bread -crumbs, a little grated nutmeg. mix well with four eggs and a little milk ; boil quite fast for two hours and a half. 11 3 oz. orange peel and 2 or.. binnehed and chopped, and the cit- ron and lemon peel are omitted. it will vary the flavor pleasantly. Serve the pudding either with the penal enremel sauce er with whipp- ed cream, :lightly sweetened and ravored with vanilla. Oxms WI•:.\T1IER FORECASTS. On Christmas day place twelve onion,, in a row. name each after A month, And put salt on their tope. Those on chick the, salt is me'.ted ed into line, and as i felt ti'pros- inside of twelve days will be wet sure beneath my ear A hoarse months. the celebration in King Alfred's time when the Danes surprised him and cut his deunken array to pieces on Christmas night, to the routing of the llessinns by the Continent- als --a page from the history of the Revolutionary War --there were, and have been since, strong efforts mn(te to give a greater solemnity and reverar:' a to the day instead of feasting and merrymaking. A CIIRISTMAS SONG. In every babe that gains the light Through rack of human pain, In each new -breathing soul to -night The Christ -child lives again. In every drop of anguish pressed From pallid woman's brow, In every virgin mother -breast His mother whispers now. And wise filen through the c:arknest' hie. Lo' In the East —a Star ! O little Christ who is to clic Was your soul's journey far 1 Strange meteor wounds of death and birth Lighting an endless sea; A little child has come to earth And he must die for mo 1 THAT MADE HIM LAUGH. "Alas!" sighed the moody man, "there is no gladness for me in this joyous season." "Tut -Tut !'' faid the optimist. "Surely there is a ray of sunshine for you, as there it for all of us ii we but look for it." "No," replied the moody one. "I have not a single friend, and no rel- atives with whom i am on speaking terms. ., "Cheer up. then," advised the other, with a shade of envy in his tone. "Can't you be glad because you will not have to buy any Christ- mas presents?" Cheap notoriety sometimes costs more than the other kind. CHRISTMAS GIFTS. Christmas Day—now most we feel Blessings sent us from above; 'Tis the day we s:ould reveal Love, 1 y gifts to those we love. If we're nothing else to give, Let us kindly wor(:s bestow ! Cheerless hearts needs aids to live, Much as wearied bodies do. 1'.'e that have, and still refuse '1'o our fellows gifts sof love, What a happiness we lose !- 1Vhat a wealth we know not of ! Every gift brings grand return ; Joys bestowed reflected are. And with in our souls they burn, Multiplying, star by star. Good we do gond answer brings; Deeds of love that we do hero Soar above on Mercy's wings To diviner atmosphere. + CHRISTMAS IN J.tN t'ARF. Ham Not Always Been Celebrated in December. Nobody knows the real data of Christmas Day. It there ever was a written record of the actual date of the Nativity, it has perished be- yond hope of recovery. The best that men have been able to do when they wished to commemorate the great anniversary in Christloin has been to trust to gueesw3TIt. During the earliest theca the fav- orite lute fur Christmas was in January. It was held in England in that month at the time of the coming of the Anglo-Saxon con- querors. March has also had its Christmas Days. One of the main difficulties in ac- cepting December 25th as the date is that December is the season of floods in Palestine, when the coun- try is in such a condition that it seems impossible that during that month the Jewish shepherds should THE FESTIVAL OF CHRISTMAS. have been out in the open fields at night, watching their Clucks, as Far back in the mists of antiq- they are recorded to have been. uity, historians find varions na- The reasons which lett the early tions that celebrated the birth of Christians to fix on December 25th the new year with feasts and as Christmas Day were various, but adornments of evergreen, holly and one of them, at least, appears to mistletoe. The early Christians have been curious. For a long time adopted some of the customs of the after the beginning of Christianity early ages, this among others. It the world was divided into two hos- is wise to keep the birthday of the tile camps of be'ievrs and pagans. Prince of Peace as a festival, that The greatest festival of the pagans around it may cluster our most hal- of home was the Saturnalia, which lowed associations. It is the time occurred during the month of De - for all that is good and beautiful to , cember. be cherished anew; for the giving Pleasure and topsy-turvydom of good gifts and good wishes. It reigned during the Saturnalia. is the time for broken links to be Scenes of wild gaiety were to bt mended, for strife to Le forgotten, witnessed on every hand, and law for kind words and deeds, and for and authority ceased to exist for sweet forgiveness. It is the. time twenty-four hours. Great rulers, for those who have wealth to think generals, and nobles put aside their of the poor and needy; of the homes pride and dignity and mingled with where the Christmas guests will be the lowest of the mob on equal only want and care; where tiler© is terms. Slaves sat down to gorg- no hope in the heart and no light sous feasts. and were waited on by in the house. their masters. But mingled with all Those who are in sheltered homes this mirth were occurrences of wild surrounded by all that crakes life terror and cruelty. beautiful and glad, upon whom THE CRL1 tiD.1R IN CO::I'U- rich gifts are lavished, should BION. thick deeply of these things this Christmastide. The Christian bishops were mix - The coming of Christmas to the ious to devise some better and per - children is an event looked forward er festival to counteract the evils to with undisguised delight. Their of the Saturnalia. There is a belief in Santa Claus, and a host mason to believe that they sought of other juevenile myths,. recalls to effect thin object by settling that our own juvenile interest in bygone December 25th should be C'luistmas days. It a beautiful belief, and 1)ay. But it was not till well on in there is no need to destroy it. The the sixth century that the date was practical duties of life will all coo at all generally accepted. Millions soon dispel the illusion. The ro- of Christians havo never accepted mantic, the fairy-like, the unreal it. Christmas lore of all nations has The Christians of Armenia have furnished substance fur brush and steadfastly declined to have any - pen from time immemorial. It anything to do with December 23th, lingers with us of adult years like and have for many centuries kept a pleasing dream, and serves to Christmas Day at Epiphany, on keep our hearts younger and fresh- January Oth. In the Tsar's vast er, and more alive with human sym- ebipire some people inierve De- pnthy, cember 25th and othM keep to On Tuesday the ('hristnras chimes January Gth, but both these Christ - will peal from ocean to ocean, and masea fall on different days from mill fill this great continent with ours. one grand swell of melody. Glad This is explained by the pro - ringers will pull the ropes, and ceedings of Julius Caesar and Popo Christmas with its wonder, its Gregory XIII. When the great sweetness, and its mystery, will Roman conqueror became the mast - burst, upon us one more. The full er of the world he found the eaten - choir and the organ's diapason will dar in a frightful state of confusion. fill the churches with triumphant Caesar devised a reformed calen- beauty and harmony. The choral dar of his own ; but, though it work - melodies pealing far and near bring ed well for a long tine, it was not to humanity the force of the mean- perfect. it gained a fraction of ing of the word Christmas --'Christ- time each year. This did not mss.' How blessedly ring out the amount to much in itself, but, as the strains 'Gloria in i'xeelsis 1)eo,' centuries rolled on it mounted up, most beautiful and blessed becalm and after nearly sixteen hundred it is everywhere the Day of our years the world was ten days in nil - Lord. vance of actual dates. That. is, Christmas is here. Ilrart touch- what Was called January 1st was ing, joy -bringing Christmas, day of really Januaiy loth. days, natal day of the Saviour, and ENGLAND BEHIND Tltii Tii11F.. our temperate pulses throb with quickened life and the promise and potency, of the future. when to the ends of the earth mill he felt the '(load -will' in the sacred promise. TWO ('Hi(ISTMAS CANDIES. To make opera creams take two cops of sugar, three fourths of a cup of sour ereaame three-fourths of a cup of broken walnut meats, one teaspoon of vanilla, a pinch each of cream of tartar and salt. Mix sugar, cream of tartar, sour cream and salt. look on the back of stove, stirring carefully to remove all grains. When the mixture is perfectly smooth. move to the front. of the stove and boil about five minutes, or until a soft ball is formed, when a few drops are put into cold water. Remove from the Cre and beat until a cream is formed, then add nuts and flavoring. Pour, cool, and cut late, squares. For Sultana Chocolates.—Soak over night a small amount of the hest sultana raisins in a little French Itrnndy. Work plain food. ant with the fingers until it is soft and creamy and flavor slightly with vanilla. Mold the fondant int" small mind balls with n raisin in the middle of each. Let these cen- tre' stand until the outside is dry and firm, then dip into melted bit- ter chocolate and drop on wax paper. Dimpleton : ''Do you still keep up your friendship with the Cater- bys 1" Natterson : "We Pee them very little, but we annoy each other with Christmas presents every year." People were celebrating Christ- mas Day on January 4th, while all the time they blissfully imagined it was December 2f th. In 15'I2 Pupa Gregory reformed the calendar by the extremely simple expedient of ordering thnt October 50 rf thet year should be called Oct•.he 150. The intermediate ten days were simply knocked efI'. Most countries in Europe prompt- ly adopted this change; but some of them at first declined to do no, and England was amongst these. All through the seventeenth century, therefore, we were ten days behind the greater part of the rest of the world as regards elate. We enjoy Christmas Day on our own Decem- ber 25th, which ens really Jan- uary 4th. in the eighteenth century. on tee - count of the Julian cnlen(lar hav- ing by then gained anotherry, Englishmen were eleven day,. Re - hind. Finnlly, the eonfioion aris- ing from the use of two ealendnrs became finch a nuiennee as to ser- ionsly interfere with trade. So in 1752. after a vast amount of debate --for many good folk thought it ens irregligious to tamper with arch things—nn Act of Pnrlinment or- dained that September 2nd f that year should be reckoned as Sep- tember The Russ16th.ians, however, from start to finish, have absolutely refn.ed to have anything to do with the Gregorian calendar, and their Christmas takes place on what is our January 7th.—Pearson's Werk. ly. It's always better to throw bow quota than it is to hand lemons.