HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1903-12-31, Page 6hyyla�«;�€�"P�.•,�.�.Y I. I.»�..;,y.,.�'%i�.+n•�+: l''3+.
4
6 YCOF
•
no freo1II% wlll'r'olir.
11'0 wore always gottiug out of
wood at !n'aple Knoll,
It woo the big fireplace in the sit-
ting -motto that ate up all the fuel wo
could get. I never saw such au in-
satiuhle monster, Yet, wo couldn't
make up Our Minds- to close it up
anti put up a stove instead, because
of Its radiant choerfulnoss. IIow jol-
ly it was, just when tho float touch
of 0 winters twilight stole on, to
tooth esh hickory logs on the old on
-
snoops and watch the flames dash up
the chimney's throat and light the
whole coni with a mellow crimson
„(lame.
lint tho wood! Of colu•se, We thro
WOrnen couldn't very well go Out an
bop and haul it, and our funds ilf
not always warrant hiring larg
quantities laid in, besides ivhicll th
neighboring help we could get W'a
'not very dependable on at all tinges
Maple . Knoll was a lovely place,
but didn't bring in much revonno,
worked, as we were obliged to have
it done, by arty loin, '.Dick or Ila
ry w0 could lick u}3; and tI
house, was picturesque -but leaky
a sieve. Still, we managed very wet
about everything else, but for fur
wo woro obliged to depend on get
ting a load hauled . now and the
when some neighbor had tho time
and inclination to uudertake it. •
December though it was,'we had
bad a streak of regular Indian -sum-
mery weather --a mild atmosphere in-
terwoven with a soft smokint'ss. Our
stove wood' load run out, and the
neighbors lead all been too busy haul-
ing cordwood to attend to our needs.
Our drip yard was ii} good condition,
however, and we bad been levying on
it for cooking purposes, using what
little wood we had for the fireplace,
as we didn't need much, and had
gone jogging along ih art easy, grass-
hoppery way, as if the pleasant wea-
ther wero going to last all winter.
We woke up the morning of De-
cember 80 to find the world nearly
lost in. a most beautiful blizzard of
whirling snow. Not only was the
outW r
n d world ' a white desolation
Mat there were little drifts all over
the inside of the house.
"Dora," I shouted, bouncing out
of bed and landing with olio foot in
a snow bank, "how many chips did
we bring in last night?"
"About enough to cook breakfast
with," Dara answered, with the calm-
ness of despair, as she shook a little
�pufl of snow. out of her shoo. I
hopped out of my drift and rushed
to the window.
"Meantime, let's go down acrd make
a fire and get a good waren-up if we
do perish afterward."
"We'd better save the sitting -room
,) wood until after breakfast,' coun-
seled' Dora, "and just have a lire in
the cool, -stove till then, and eat in
the kitchen."
Sure," said 1, "that'll be a lark."
In spite of the dismal outlook we
had a cheerful fire and a cozy kitch-
en when Aunt Lama came down, and
then while site began to prepare
breakfast Dora and I did ourselves
up like Laplanders and plunged out
into the blizzard to feed and milk
tho cows, after which we braved the
winter's blast long enough to trans-
port my troasuro stump to the house,
-whiclr-we' ilid partly by lugging and
partly by rolling ft over and over.
Breakfast was ready when we got
it safely under cover, and notwith-
standing our impending doom, WO
fell upon the barn and fried potatoes
and pancakes, and enjoyed our meal
immensely.
Girls," said auntie, when the last
pnt'lato and tile Mast crimpy brown
batter -cake had vanished, "I don't
want to dampen your spirits, but
there isn't a chip left, and how
We're going to cook dinner I don't
see,"
"Nett," said Dora (who was just
three months older than I), "we'll
cook dinner by the Aroplace."
"Dora," I snid, "you're gifted.
That's what wo will, and imagine
we're aur own great-grandmothers
and greataunts-how lovelyl"
"Well, you'll have to help, miss,
and 1 doubt if you think it so lova)j.
before you get through," returned
Dora. "You'll be baked a beautiful
brown."
We took an inventory of our stores
to sari what there was we could cook
by the fireplace,
There's 0,sparerib, for ono thing,"
announced Dora. "We'll bang it up
by a string in front of the fire."
"Potatoes 110 can boil by hanging
the kettle on tho hook and chain,"
said Aunt lemma,.
"And the sweet potatoes 300 can
roast in the ashes," 1' added.
"Anil _bilks corn in a skillet in the
hot conks," Anished Dora.
"Goody," said I, "that's a fano
enough diluter fora blizzardy day
Otte this. Of course, nobody'll coma"
•llut somebody did come, as they
usually do when you 'think them
won't; and who of rill p131;00ns
)lov, tiyras Melton/ Dora foist.'
tom toned where Aunt IAnura brought
t'oetint right into the sitting -rein, for
`af course, she couldn't tn)co him 1171y -
NOON els", nn1ons site tvlu1t d f0
fle(ze hire, tt0 in ho canto ,;piling
1llaeldly, (1(1d there tens the rib evok-
ing ir1'front of rho fire with a stilet
sot under to catch the gravy, 13(2,1
there was Bora with low faro like a
hollyhock, turning a `moat .h°ecnlce
111 itnother skillet, sold 1(10113 only .1
prodding in the a0hes with a long
fork to dig out the street lwtato001
Not that it 01,lttc'rn(f much about
t1'(; but rare, folt(,5 vera beginning to
0b,erve (hist Rev, Cyrus Was e. trios
tomo (aloofkn to ')ora than ti•'e' fact
of hr's lining' ono of. his flock War-
ranted, oat 7' knew that in her 'eyes
he tin 'lout 't5 near a state of pot'-
focilnn ,31 Mr,: 1 al Mali needed' t°
Ito wits just riding out, he explain-
ad, to 500 old Mrs, Rankine, who
tvaa sok, and had been delayed a lit-
tle by the blizzard and bean 00 the
road quite awhile; ho had brought a
bag of oats for his horse, and had
como up through rho aide lane and
taker)tbo liberty to put (ho animal
in our barn to oat his oats, while he
linseli
h 1'n
a os, 1
in eol0lvtea it •-
a fat
ed this inclement day, etc., etc. I
slid out while be was thus discou•s-
ing and rushed to tho p€t'lor with
a very forlorn hope of finding a stray
stick or two left over thero, /(akin
a fire and getting him into the par
for while we finished the dinner, Th
hope died as I poked my head int
the arctic desolation of our hos
room, It was on rho oast side
where do spiteful wind had been bat-
tering at it all night, searching °u
a hundred crevices about windows
tend door' to hull the cine, powdery
snow through. There were drifts,
his fortuzlo and yenning back to Share
it with Me, rebuild rho old house in-
to a stately mansion and take care
of Aunt Lauri( and Dorn, which was
quite proper; tor, you 1100, I had
been gathered into the family when
was left a small orphan, in Undo
John's time, and lie and Aunt Laura
had not made an atom of d(1Threnee
etw>
b t Dora on eta arlcl Me in thein lovo
and caro, But now It had been u0
long si11130 1 had heard from Prank T
couldn't help being afraid he had
frozen to death or been buried in a
g snoWslido. And this dreadful rainy
- day I couldn't even have the setts-
o faction of going or sending to tovrl
o for tho mail, if there 5110014 possibly
t be any 1)01114.
Dora and I had an unwritten law
that the mato downcast we felt rho
t jollier we should force oulselvos to
be, To -day I think we degenerated
into silliness in our efforts to be
cheerful. But a lot of smaller trou-
o bles followed oath other so persist,
eptly-such as the refusal of the cools
stove to draw, the falling of the light
bread in consequence, a, slip in the
mud on Dora's part, etc., ete; that
when, to cap the climax that evening
our beloved fireplace smoked sulkily
of and relentlessly, we felt that ice
might as well wind i€p the year by
going to bed at eight o'clock.
When we were all snuggled down
and the lights were nut 100111d have
cried just out of low spirits, but 1
wouldn't. I knew God could see far-
ther ahead than wo could, and I put
everything into 1158 hands and went
to sleep.
I slept so soundly that I was
greeted the next morning by a sav-
ory, sogoy scout of frying sausages
coining up the little back stairs be-
fore I fairly got back from the
slumber world, Dora .(vas down in
the kitchen singing "Lightly Row"
over the biscuits, and looking as
fresh as a peach, with her rosy
cheeks and clear gray eyes. And the
stovo was drawing beautifully. And
Aunt Laura came down without a
speck of neuralgia and feeling as spry
as a girl, to finish breakfast, whilo
Dora and I went forth to do the
milking. And behold! tho sopping
rain had turned into a lovely soft
snow in the night, not a bnzzaody
snow like the one before the rain,
that blow in everywhere, but a gen-
tle, fine, thick powder. It had stop-
ped falling note, and the air felt
crispy and bracing. The sun wasn't
shining yet, but there was a /mellow
look in the sky, as i ft meant to
pop out any minute.
New a Year'scalling 1 as not much
v,.
g
in o
lata i ,,ar''
n 1.t�dis` district; still,
it was Aunt Laura's way to make a
red-letter day of the opening one of
tho year, and always to be prepared
for any stray caller who might
chance to appear. She had a cheer-
ful fire in the parlor, a plentiful sup-
ply of coffee and cake on hand, and
we all put on our pretty house dress-
es and prepared to be happy whether
anyone canto or not.
At half past nine. a pleasant melody
of sleigh bells jingled along, and the
cutest little cutter stopped at - our
gate, wit] here carne Rev. Cyrus Mel-
ton smiling up the walk, We were
mighty thankful for the contrast be-
tween
o-
tween this call and his last one; but
such is the perversity of man. I im-
agined he looked a little disappoint-
ed at not being ushered into the
cooking regions again. Still, h0
smiled very good-n,aturodly, with
those jolly brown oyes of his, as he
fished smoothing out of his pocket
and handed it to me.
"Miss Bottle," he said, "I felt 11
n my bones that you couldn't get
any 111ni1 up lure on the hill all yes-
terday, and I dropped in at the post
office as I cane by this morning, cold
o 1)d you •this,"
Maybe I didn't know what it was,
even before I saw the handwriting 011
t, and porhnps I didn't fly to get it
and scamper out to the big 1heplace
and cur] down beside it 011 a little
voodoo stool to read my letter ail
Ione. frank hadn't made a fortune,
ha wrote ale, and he didn't know as
tvo could hove a big mansion built,
ut he had dug enough gold to re -
air the old house and 111ttk0 us alt
omfortabho, and ho was on his way
erne that blessed minute to meta„
norphoso Maple Knoll into the Moist
ittlo farm in the country, take care
f aunt and Dora and (incidentally)
0117 ino,
'steel I got back to earth again
hfr. Melton had taken Dora MT in his
neigh for a ride, so auntie and I lead
little jollification of our own, and
forgot' all about lunch time. It
idn't platter, though, for when the
neighing couple calve back they
ain't seem to know much of any -
varying in size, on the piano, on t11
chairs, and 0. dainty while powdering
all over' the carpet, which the wind
had putted in under' the door. You
° could fairly feel the gale whisking
d about your ears. There wasn't a
d scrap of wo)d nor a chip in the wood
° box. Relinquishing a wild Moo
° chopping up a parlor chair or two
s t° make a Are of, I scooted back to
• the sitting -room chilled to the bone.
Dora, putting as bold a face upon
the situation as possible, was bring-
ing in dishes from tllo dining -room
1' , and setting tho table right under the
eyes of the minister, who was chat -
as ting away as serenely as if he hadn't
1 driven us all frantic by his ill -tinted
1 call. Aunt Laura had leviod on her
cellar goodies and prochrcod preserv-
n od quinces, apple jolly, pickled peaicll-
eo and chow -chow, so the dinner
wasn't so frightful. The only thing
I was ashamed of was the corn cakes;
they were so big and clumsy, and
Dora had crumbled the edges in
turning them. But that good man
seemed to think ire had a banquet,
and even the corn cakes didn't go
begging so far as ho was concerned.
We all made merry over our pre-
dicament
ry
dicament as we told him how it hap-
pened, and ho joked about it, too,
but shook his head a littlo, and
said it oughtn't to go on that way.
Ile proceeded upon his errand soon
after dinner, and we went about, our
work with what spirits we might. It
wasn't more than two hours after he
lett that Uncle Jink, a dilapidated
old colored maxi, appeared with a
yoko of steers, which he left in the
lane while he came plodding
through
ou h
g
the suety to tho house.
" 1l1erd y'all was out o' wood," he
grinned, "so I 'lowed I'd come art'
snake up a few logs '31' split fer de
place '11' wlla0k up 803110 for de
eook'n' stove."
It's very kind of you, indeed,"
said Aunt Laura, "for we are in
great need of wood -only I'm afraid
I can't pay you for it to -day, Un-
cle-"
"Dass all right--dass all right," in-
terrupted Uncle Jink; "don't y'all
boddah 'about dat-dass all right,"
and he smiled away, leaving us a lit-
tle, mystified, for it was not quite
like Uncle slink to be so indifferent
about coomeosati0n for his good
deeds.
"Of cotlrso Mr. Melton went and
told him to. come, and either paid
him or agreed to if we didn't," ex-
pounded Dora, and lookad as if she
were ready to fall in a heap.
"It was very good of him if he
did," said Aunt Laura..
"Good -yes; but who wants to be
an object of charity," groaned Dora,
"especially-" i
"Oh, well, I don't suppose he'll.
preach about it next Sunday," I
said, consolingly; but Dora wouldn't
cheer up very much. Still, it was f
very comfortabio to have plenty of
wood, and I felt grateful to the good
man for instigating Unelo Jlnk to i
come to our assistance.
Of all the 865 days of that year
rho three hundred and sixty-ilftll was t
the most dismal at Maple ICnoll. It a
opened with a drizzling, soaking
rain, much more depressing Ciao tlto
Blizzard from which it evoluted; the b
kind that dampens your spirits in p
spite of all the philosophy you can •e
bring ng to heal' against it. The sky h
was a dismal gray waste without a r
slit of light. Aunt Laura had a 1
racking neuralgia in hor face, Dora o
had been dreaming about charity and m
wood all night. .As for 111e, I had
a little trouble of my own widen
popped up just now more aggressive- s
ly than over. I never had but one a
lover (I never wanted but one), and I
ho was a poor young man who had d
gone to the frozon Alaskan regions s
with the avowed intention of making d
-*.- . .lir.^,,,,"" "'�S•'• -•r
Tho Duokt--'That turic(y used to bo awful ^ 1Wild,
7f he 1taa5terw-llo'o a; "dant) ones" now, all right,
.f: A
s
i�
j.1n.
Ciiin
dearth and get a big salary and g
c1) a lot of moony LO the (rout
t ,'' 4'° Ft:rn • ]es and (Motivations
lg
eccetoaciillte, and tt11 it well.
J
I 11ho11 s o had 112119110(1, Minnie We
asked a queotjo0, "11 they are
Poirot OA tl ac0onxpfisl-od, why
they wtt0to their ability in such
field as that ? if hn'cl take a ei
and dal need it so -I'm 'tory thankful I
ani;y-Edward--we can't put 1't in the
119 8(1210fnga."
50' It Wee 5er'.ui'ely (00louod, but they
do got It nulled at last, and 01n'olle1 a
a length to flee tho potion), As they
tY 01.1' so $0m0thing fell out -a flat
._. A NIIW YI.Al('ie STORY.
�
"Do you moan to tell 1110 tho
those thing's were (11(4 ed just a
they were?" inquired 1415, CCa sweil,
sitting up very straight, (321(1 I'aa,.111,
herself violelntly, though it iv
1)e.olttbot', and cold,
"Yes, Mrs. Ca. stve'1, they were,'
replied Mrs. Brown, in an ai•ologotic
tone, "You llnov we had planted,
hofoae you. wont away, to meet 501110 -
Where fur a day •11(1 put them all in
01(10•. Your snd,031 cepa tura put
a stop to that, (old 1)'e 1121(10(1 fol'
you to colpo batik; you know orety
oodioiy de;:en(is on i,s president fa
such /hatters, but you stayed longor
than we es] o t11.i, and at Inst W0 te-
meln:bered that if we didn't 1(.0724 8t
on e they wouldn't tooth the lois-
Memory for Clio:tlnas, so we just
Pacl(0c1 tl e things and a.i;312021 then(.
Wo throw 1 the missionary's wile
could fit tl em 1111."
M,s, Ca.swtll's pretty chaste were
seta let in s; i o "f t e fao.
"'What sort of c-irieren0 does it
make whetter they get t: rough by
0. riatm(25 or not ?" sl•e as101.
"There ion't oc o tl is g fn the 1..t
suitable for a gift. llow Christian
pool dam to offer, for a 1(1is.1lon-
ary box, moments f,ayod and tlucad-
bare, buttons off, and sletne8 out at
the elbow, is a mystery to 111°. Sure-
ty the, least they 00g; t to do w0u1:1
be to put. them 111 repair,
"1t • wotad bo much more appro-
priato to give such tliiegs to 0033`
03511 pastor•, be.'ause to lives wter0
he can buy what l e wants, and Lis
salary Is anile for his 1:en'0 Tint
no.-dt would be an ins. It to Dr.
J'•Iolli'stor. So Wo rend 1 im barrels
of flour, and souks if sugar, and
low's of choice fruit to add to his
already goodly sup} ly. Wo sf elver
upon him 11101118 (hal s and study-
tablos, to make x01111 for whi+lt
something most be bat:loted fro= his
well -furnished Wetly. We ('e1lge (115)
with elaborate c:rossdog-gowns and
embtof Brod (Wieners, for tett 11 1•e
loss no use, being already comforta-
bly clad. And teen we ship disrepu-
table rant -oris to another' preacher
who wee Dr. 17ollister's 11013 Mate fn
ollege and son Ina ry, and who is
his equal nal i
q n Decry way -a man olio
is bringing up lir; family to be cap-
able 11010011 and ho e t men, on a
salary that wo(l'32't buy Cigars an(1
theatre tickets for some Comities in
ot.r (11,rr h. Such a /ran as that the
send- eU211 hirs. Ca swell choked
and stopped. Iter cii(Or mil ay sa1'-
n:r•i•.ed, began a f°Obfo protect. Ilut,
me dear woman, if you had been
here to tell to chat to do—"
Mrs. Carswell sudd0.ly recovered
her cote. "The idea," sl,o $aid,
indigna, tly; "that be: arse I was
away nursitief my sick sister, a lot of
illtellteel t . women, who buy and
rima! -e and re-rnako for Choir own fam-
ilies, to d know quote well what is
suitable and approprlate for them,
r idn't l.noly any better than to
pael3 a babel of, lras'11 a1' d earl it
Chri.at:mas gilt 1 LL s. Brown, do
yy*o.r teahi•e that that some Mrs.
Ellis was reared and educated in a
hig:.or circle of society than ally of
us aspire to ? Js it to Ler discredit
that relorses of fortuu0 hate lc't
her poor? Isn't s2,e rather to be
commen,od the mwe, for bong will-
ing to help her husband 111 his ardu-
ate and poorly paid labor, when his
talents 831(1 Hors could 51'ire in a
much more lucrative position ? Don't
tell me there is any'excuse 1 I'm so
ashamed of our missionary society
1 feel lite resigning on the spot 1"
"Well, I'm sure I'm sorry you fool
so about it. Mrs. Oro swell. if there
was anything ,wo could do -but' the
ba1.l'cl is gone, and it's too late to
].e]p Matte(s now," and Mrs. Brown
'010 and drew her handsome 110(1(3
abo.t hat•."
"lrs, urtfOrtunatcly it is too. late
to the them a reeportable Christ-
mas, but it mutt be made up to
Otero in some way at once 1" de-
clared Mrs. Carswell, with an 013'
of feterinination that made her 0101 -
tor wonder "what that dear fanati-
cal woman will do r,ext."
What she did was to write num-
erous notes aid dispatch them at
once, finning the twenty-five young
h cries of leer Bible clone to spend the
text evening with her, and bl•ing
sewing matol'la}s with thein, also
such bits of embroidery, Wed and
1dbb01:s as they (veto willing to
tilts. Carswell 0n0w tbat most of
her girls belonged to won -to-do faro -
Mos, who would willingly help her in
valrying out her pian, if once the*
interest was aroused: and she acted
accordingly,
The young ladlc9 needed no urging,
for art evening In thole teacher's
plOoeant 110mo was enjoyed; and at
the appointed horn', tl;e merry bevy
trooped in, When they were all to-
gether, Mrs. Carswell talked to
them of the noble missionary "out
Wast," with his beautiful wife, and
interesting family -told the story of
Jt'- pascal wrapped in t1Fs230 paper and
ter mooted, "Por tiro. 411i9,"
"Ilandercltiefs, 1+,dwnrd, 011, }low
p2'elty---six of thorn, dural lr(Oda," sho
annomre(1 0xci10(1ly, Another turn
of the roll (liecloSed more treasures,
and Will move ftu•tllel' o11, till at last
the little room 1ook0d Pike a, fancy
&tee. There were 21ap1(111H, and
1111108, and towel:" -not all new, but
all good and in po, fact order', A
generous length of muslin wrapped
lengthwise i11 1110 carpet, another of
flannel, and one of timely, collator/ a21d
cutis, dainty hoods and. cape --well, it
would, take too long to describe the
tit:moires that woftdca'ful eae'pet hell.
°7, Bat the best of all, in that hapfoy
to little mother's eyos, lay ill what had
c• been fila very mitre of rho roll,
where in a long, compact Movie
wo 0 Snugly (crapped a pretty d, 11
with wardrobe all complete, balls,
skates, and ma14)les, with pounds of
candy, and a sweet letter of sy=-
pithy and interest that was like an
nlsr'iration to hem both, signed,
" A1's, Cn,'swell's Bible class."
Mrs. Lrl'is.gathel•ed Mor arms £1111 of
treasures and hugged ti on. "Thom
('ens, sweet, lovely girls," feie ex-
claime9. "Only think of all this
loving thought for us almost at our
door, while I was complaining and
(Molting nobody cared for us, I'm
caro I'll never bo so wicked
again. 011, Edward, look at those
stockings ! So fall they wouldn't
hold a feather more. Row can I
wait ti'l maritime?"
Mr. 1:11„8 fol..ed a war111 =after.
and drew tiff a new glove as he es -
owered, "We have all boon most
gonerourly remembttra'', Edith. 11
t' a re citing is 30 joyful, surely God
wI 1 blies t11 givers."
"1 shall foray for them as long as I
live," declared the little woman with
quivering lips. "I hope trey will
etely one have as happy a New
Year as they have given us -=ore
than that I (•ovl.in't ask."
People didn't know that tho secret
el Mrs. Carswell's weaving }ler old
(look that winter was tacked down,
work, wouldn't that do just as much
goof ?"
"No, deal'. Morey /aver takes the
3 ('30('0 of pe1'9011(11 work, if God has
s,(de the 1101501101 (cork oltr duty.
L1', teals is doing in a very small
degree 251 at our 8avioa'r did bur us
Won he loft I:eaven, to come among
tie and work t nIc out cow v
1 salvation OTI In
n d
t
trials s11ch as o' on our Mono mis-
,1 mars knows nothing about, Mr.
Ell's fools that tl.e 1fsciplo is not
013020 1338 Lo•d,
"Nov }t is not only 0111' duty, but
our lrigb blessed privilege, to Sit o
as Go,( bas pr0sgrored us, of mon
and also of tfmo and matelots,
help those dear people do their' wort
"It Is orly by doing all we ran
along every nee, that we ft.]lill
Ch'i,tt's command to 'preach the
Gospel to 0t'eey creature.' We can't
all go as 0118,10110(105, but that
command is as binding on ore of
0od's ( hit aon as another, so our
mot of the work must lie 111 slpply-
1, g tl a neo is of tl 0 misional'les so
as to !trate their time a.nd thoughts
froo to do our Share of preaching the
Goee of as wo11 as their own."
"011 1 I wish we could get their
things to them by C11%10t0105, but I
suppose thaw is out of the question,"
said co a of (1 0 gi Is,
„Yes, I axil sorry to flay it is," re-
plied her tea her, "Bet ns that
cannot b0 hc1;1o:1, we'll do tllo next
hot thing 011d give t em a happy
New Year. Perhaps the gift will be
mo:0 enjoyed because so unexpected.
An", gi 1e, let's send them a gift
worthy the name, remembering that
in doing for God's chillren we aro
doing for 13m. Let us try to
tomer him in tl.is, and in all things
that we do.
"Now for our thimbles and needles.
Let's make the minutes count."
a' • •_ a * *
It was New Year's hive, Out on a
Wes,ern pronto whet t}.0 bleak wind
whistled acros•5 /riles of level plain
stood the little Home of tho Ellis
fatuity. Wooden shutters rattled
and treated, and a sudden gust of
wi..d blew s; irefully down tie etim-
n0y, 120(10 ing ases over th0 ti ly
learth. Tito room was small, its
furniture t 11'
e 1Hain adsca1t
v
and in
the midst
hood the miSryiOnal'y. bar
-
rel.
It had arrived only that afternoon,'
hating been delayed en routo, as
winter freight so often is in ti e
North-West, where snowdrifts and
bins,zards f.'equ°nstt
tly make pro•ers
1011.0: si'blc,
Mr. Ellis had smuggled it in' \, he
wood -shed, out -of tight, (ill'' the
chil..ron should be asleep. , Mrs wife
had lived for days in jo''dil' anticipa-
tion of 11.5 arrival. lt' was a eore
tisappoir,tmel 1 wt. en C1tlittmas came
and went without it, but the chill -
ren had been brave, and mace tee
moot of Choir sennty supply of mo-
lasses taffy, which was their a, ly
preSe.,t. They felt tIey could afford
to be patient when. such a wealth of
toil:tlown treasure 11(1,8 on its wits'. So
they had watched from day to day,
and toten father annoaneed its sato
writ al they tot'] each other 'Vey
teem glad it had been late -they'd
hate t -he fun of hanging up their
stockings on New Yeoa•'s lave, and
such a jubilee as there should be to-
morrow I
At becit'!me the stocldngs were
hung with gleeful col(Adonce, and the
parents had laughed with them, re-
membering the barrel in the shed.
When the little ones woro asleep,
it was rolled in and oroned. Dot,
when the unpacking had been accom-
plished, the husband and wife sat
looii,,g at the heap with sad faces,
saying nothing, but thinking much.
To bo sure, there we: 0 niftily things
which (would be 12106( u501111 sand ac-
ceptable during the long cold wintot',
after they had been made over, or
(11111.ed, or patched, or something.
But there were no toys -no books -
no candy, without which Christmas
isn't Christmas to a c11(1d and the
empty 'stockings hung limp and
pathetic, waiting.
Mrs. Ellis rose at Iast. "Let's
pack them back, Edward, for to-
night," sho said huskily. "1. mast
try to hunt something foe' those,"
Wm pointed to the stockings, then
her courage forsook her 07111 she
broke down.
"Don't, dear --don't," begged her
husband, holding her close and try-
ing to soothe her.
"I can't help it, Edward, Just this
once let me cry. 11']ten I remember
my own childhood and contrast it
with that of our children it breaks
my I1°art, It is not fair that they
should bo deprived of everything,
when others have to much, I fo01
sometimes like gi0h1g up,"
"No, tear -lever that. You
couldn't, you 11noty. 'A]1 things
work together for good to them that
love Gorr -and wo (1o,"
"1 1010w -but, the children. I don't
mined anything for Myself, Edward,
but you and t110 little ones---"
"Ito totes us better than W0 1ov0
oath other, Edith, Ito does not will-
ingly a1111,1t. We need the discipline,
or we should not, have it,:' acrd the
tender hand patted the 1ot5011 Lead
With a touch lino a mother's.
"Edward, T wonder if I shall ever
be as good as you. It is 1 who
need the di oipliuing-not you, :dear,
uusulfl*lx boy," and 1(0(11h :(41:fs
elaspod 111 both hor owns the hands
that had grown hard and eollou(0(1
working for the pimple of his hook,
A call from the gate startled thele,
and 1111. Ellis went out. ''I Ilopo it
icot't solnebod,y coma to take hila
away 111(5 cold night," mtn'nmureci
Mrs. El is, anxiously, as she heard
voices in the hal•kne5s,
A 1nAnh0111, later 110 camp in with a
1Jllndlo so big Ito could barely carry
it --0; bundle (1°1;0 up 111 burlap and
looping delightfully xuystcriO3ta.
"Look at this Edith," 110 exclaim-
al, with lion -Ming fart, "Pc1'lit:as of
ter till they Will notho disnpp(intt.-
cd, 11(14 wife 1ouldn't 11101 hem vofco
to anSWai•1 but tvork°c1 (t' (110 born
With trembling 13)11{els, Its a cow.
rot 1" 0110 oxcdainl01 sI loot, co alio
thing. I fell on Dora in the hall
and told all about frank's hitter,
and she hugged me black in the face
and said the Was tr023101udously pleas-
ed, but he wouldn't llavo to talc°
care of hor, 110ealise that was going
to be attended to'by 1.10v. Cyrus,
Who VAS the dearest: roan in the
world, but, crazy as a 1o0n, because
he confessed that ba had fallen mare
in lovo with her than ever the day
lie came and found hor baking hoe -
eaten in the fireplace,
l(1a celebrated that reigh.t by 1lrttviug
the biggest lire of the 500802/ in the
old fireplace, which bottomed sp1011clid-
17, and ire sat up till all kind of
lours, Aunt Laura, ,Dora etod 1, with
no light hist rho mellow cl'inlson and
gold bri113anco of that big old black
Wixom, roasting Snut5 and rod apples,
talking about the new paths opening
bolero tis, and telling (loth ether how
ggratofui hod thankful We Ought to be
fur thin happy 71ny opun{ng day of the
phots yeast
011 the bilis' €dtiing-r00111 floor; nor
that there was e:extols a girl in th0
llilde rla-ss who had not practised
real sell-dcrial in the giting which
did so moth good,
And God knew it all, and made it
111 v • • S
to than ovary one in blessings
P
� 1C .111 $
Y g
pressed down and running over,
The 11T(.w Year.
A11 flail to the fair and beautiful
queen,
In whose crown twelve glittering
jo10018 aro scent
At first she is clad like an infant
newborn,
In robes of pure white no other hath
worn.
Soon her robes will be soiled -her
crystals of snow,
Which now seem so fair as the moon-
beams bend low
To kiss them adoringly, will soon
melt away,
And whither they go thorn's no one
can say; •
But tate rippling till, waked from
winter's deep sleep,
In its swift -swelling bosom the se-
cret will keep;
While the bleak winds of March re -
footlessly blow
And seem to woo teat' wberovor they
g°.
Then April -a maiden of marvellous
grao0--
Slatiles on the earth; then 111011110113
her face .,
To wet the cold sod with tenderest
tears;
Then slrliloth again, and her weeping
face clea3.5,
While with soft, winsome voice she.
speaks to the earth,
And arbutus and crocus spring forth
from the dearth.
Then with fairylike touch the beauti-
ful May
Wieldeth her sceptre of love o'er each
day,
And the tulip springs up, caresses
her feet,
While modest wild flowers make the
forest comploto,
And when this fair Inaido11 renin
qufsheth sway,
Lot Juno, the fairest of all, 000105
to stay
While roses of pink, rod, yellow, and
white,
Swing tlh0r consors of inc°use by day
and by night.
The hot summer 5101 pours .forth
schorching heat
While Nature her mystery again doth
repeat
Of developing fruit from the spring-
tiln fi
a ower
Of apple and cherry. What rlxarvel-
lous power
Lies hid in the heart of those blos-
soms so fair,
As they swing on the branches 1311d
gorfumo the air!
Sweet prophets aro they of the Isar -
vest's sore (102011,
Attar their patois bespl'inklo tale
MAIM.
ITow varlet] thy Brass, 0 magical
qu05111
Poo, with harvests all gathered, next
thou art 8011
Feasting oil fruits, with 1,hankogiv-
Mg noel praise
To the "Lord of tho harvest." Then
couath the days.
When thou'lt be the "01d Year"' -no
Mogen', tho "New."
Then too'll bid Uteri lawmen, while
wilt mono to o11' view
A snow -clad -a (lying, yet beautiful
queen,
Leith the twelve jewels gone from thy
rrmvn thon'It 1311 seen;
''hot with 1011(111'°s1 thoughts (for
thou art very dear)
'lVo'll bury 021 'Old" nod ring in tho
"New Yecu'."
When a omit take tip tho mins of
government. � Iwo /away/ (mils himself
behind a team of kickers,
LW10(1 -0110 Woman moot .that alhbthet'
is clot50r she .means (:bat She 10 el hor
caught a tantallxi1g. glinspee. " Wa ,h01n0fy or tnlamiabia,
0'1 ra11,1'IY 13 .'W TEAR.
Some 1 v
o e 1VLi
n stakes t0 A.t Oid if 10 14
Is to Be a Bettor 'rear
Than 18011,
"nappy New Year 1" ale 0017
€lir is...ti'omulnus wit11 tho 1(011(lay
greeti'ngl of love, 'llloy have gar -
Imolai our homes and our heart(
with richer 11200(115 (bun those of.
holly or evot'g'recn or mistletoe,'
writes petard )1. 1". I1a1100, Yet
we must conceals that many people,
if we may judge by many indicatlonS,
aro not haPPY. Why '1 Per general
answer We may paraplu•a(o Shakos'
pear0'$ word about grcat.ress, and
say 1 "Some people ale born to be
unhappy, 501110 (,c111o10 nxlilap3ninesal,
and same havo unlntppinoss throat
upon thorn." Sone se01n, iur'.ied, to
be Born unhappy, conu"Iritutionrally,
nri(0t•able. SOmo Have unhappenatl3
thrust upon them -they aro placed
amid c;reunlOtaalc08 they mallet
change, 13ot tiro vast atajority of
unhappy people simply achieve un-
happiness; they have brought it up-
on themselves, and they alone are to
blame far being Wretched. It is a
work of their own doing, * 0 *
Pooplo try to And happiness in
wveng-doing, and they are always dia.
appointed; and so they became mor-
ose and st.1 en and wretched. When
a person bats he is very unhappy,
it is n lloltinent thing to ask 1
"What Ilavo you been doing ? what
makes you unhappy? What sin bavo
you committed whose memory site
11110 an,aveng!ng' spirit ie 70ur heart,
glaring at you 110th eyes that never
slumber Y' Row otter, a dotvacast
haggard, desp01.ing 'are indicates
e01/10 dark rocord in the life. Th+
por1•on has done 10100g 11312(1 15 sof•
tering for it. It 10 sin that makes
the life a burden and the soul un.
happy.
But there are many lesser evils,
and much /lore under our control,
which many popple permit to act of
preventives of happih:os.s, Thr ex,
ample, how 1110011 ha}shinesa is pre,
V411111 0(1 by the (ample fart of undo(
son<itivenes8. We are liable to al.
low the most tnln'ial tiling to lora
tale us. "An irritable man," it has
been well said, "lies like a Lodger
hog, rolled up ti•e Wl'e11g way, ton
toting himself with 1.38 own quills.
Exaggerated egotism is another of
those ro eventable and yet far too
common things that stand in thi
way CI our balminess. There is many
a man the cause of whose unhappi
Hess is tinselly that ha believes i im-
selfto be of vMtlyMole irn t
tauca•
than other people think ho is. 114
feels that 1' o Is uuapin•01 iated, and
hocause of this, he sow 13 and (rots
at evaylhlog and evolybody, and is
geeernlly unhappy. Self-conceit, pure
and simple, is at tl:e baro of all
that kind of ulthapl:ie'e5s.
Still soother way that happiness
s prevented is by t habit of boo -
owing trouble. This is far too
ommon a fault with us 'all. The
present may be wu11 enough, but we
peer out 11 to the future and think
Rings awl, I are coming. There is
a comet wills' ing i.s fiery tail
among the Wass, arid it cortal ly
(d 1 demolish our planet by a, certain
ay 1 Iiusdness is doing pretty well
01' the time of the year, but I am
wonderfully afraid that there will be
a panic before the season 1s out and
a general breakdown of failures 1 'rho
war' may be over, but I very much
ear we s11a11 11nc1 a resumption of
ostililics or we shall bo i'ato an-
ther ore before the end comes .! Did
cu ever hear anybody talk 111(8
Utat ? With too many of os it is
est fret, fret, all the t31no, not over
(teal, but just anticipated troubles;
c0, Tying oval. imag1311•7 ovi's. As
1 upper says : "It is ills that never
appen that have mostly made men
nlisorablo."
We road not long ago an accolnit,
ak0(2 fhoni a railroad journal, Witt:^h
nos that moonlight is especially
loaded by engfln0Cts, People 111011.
Or acd tints should happen on
right moonlight nights But the
igineer would far rather plunge
hroagh deof ost darkness. On a
right moonlight alight he is cols
aptly in a state of nervous ten-
on, because of confusing shadows
ahead. ]light across the track lies.
shadow; a few Owls away it loOka
rocisely 1110 a man lying there. It
not a man, but a shadow, Then a
tv, ora horse., ora tree, scouts to
e lying athwart the rails. 1t is
niy a, shadow, but it .both0's the
mincer to tell whether it is a shod -
w or not. Mc must watch very
°sett, 110 is kept in a constant
rain by those apparitions, untiltbo.=w'•
hroat begins to doubt- iii1 kgilsos.
'alny. an enbineer, 1' ,l1es the end' 01
s run on a mo • fight night, tired
soul and body merely from his
natant dight with shadows,
Rut engineers are not the only
ogle who wormy themselves with
Jig
shadows. It is a besetting
n with for too many of us. Shako.
Dare says "Each . sub(tance o1
ref hath 20 shadows, which oboes
ice grief itself', but ate not so."
hero aro people, and plenty 01
cin, haggard in fare, bowed groan -
g to the earth, with a pilo 01
thing but shadows on their backs.
w, if we really want to bo happy
have got to 3tOp lighting shad-
0, to cease 1ot•rotfing trouble. Ba-
cot what's tho use of WOtrying ?
Will bo time enough to ct oral 4,60 .
;Igo when we get there, "Taking;
111310 011 Jn101'esl," 8010 0110 calls
11 is such 1313)-. To inane the
intakes We Dave mentioned 15 "how
t
to bone a happy new year. To
oid . thane inistakos during 1`904,
go •1111''toward rushing tiro Scar
ltlttppy as we _4(On1 Wish.
.1''0;R IlOMAN ILLS,
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is
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sr.
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110
No
we
ow
Sid
It
ilii
too
it,
mf
no
av
30i
00'
Muds cod 11ver oil 38 made in
tray. 1'or three ntolit110, beginning:
tit January, tho fish e0n(a (11 from
the Arctic Neon to rite Norway .
fiords, or bays, to 51113.3041, and 001no.
tines , so 111rt11yCM sixty 111.117114» fish.
aro caught in a singltt season,
".i1(1 you( 11011' about rho (((1'-
1101,1tc down. at 1111 l rown'u' last
nigh G?" "No; what loon obool
hy, Mtn. thrown gran (1111 baby 13,
bottle to play. Wit -11, 01(41 while 2313(
toes in rho 031,111an it fell mut of th5
cradle am:l bronco Ifs uncle,' '13113,15
the haby ?" „'No, VA 311(411,(," ,
of