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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1915-12-16, Page 6PHOEBE ANN'S CHRISTMAS TREE n...,,uereesel On a point of land that stretches far out into the sea and ends hi a great rode, there stands a tall white lighthouse, and cuddled close up to as if to keep warm M the cold ,winds which roar in froin the oeean, are it white house, built very strong of great stones, nnd some other little, buildings, in which are kept n boat and barrels of oil and other things needed by the ]igttthaase-keeper nnd his family. The great reek is high and hare. Not a tree, nor even a blade of grass, grows upon it, but all round is the sea; and sometimes, in the whiter; storms, the great waves dash against it till the spray reaches almost to the light. They seem like a pack of white wolves climbing up and up, to tear the keeper from his little room. It is only at certain times that one can get from the lighthouse to the mainland. When the lceeper has a man with hint to help him launch the boat, he can row across the bay, but at other times the only way is to walk across the narrow neck of ]and which connects the point with the mainland; and this is covered with water except when the tide is very low and the sea is quiet. Sometimes there are weeks when no one can reach the shore. For a long time the keeper's little daughter, Phoebe Ann, had been look- ing forward to Christmas, and count- ing the days. There were so many things that she wanted that she had not dared to tell Santa Claus of all of them, but she had finally made up her mind about those that she wanted most, and had written Santa Claus two letters about them, She had left the letters on the mantelpiece when she went to bed, and in the morning they were gone. So he must have got them. Phoebe Ann had had an an- swer, and was a little afraid some- thing had gone wrong; but her father told her Santa Claus was always so busy, especially just before Christmas, that he seldom had time to answer letters. He thought the old gentle- man would come on time if the wea- ther was not too bad. But the weather was bad all Christ- mas week—so bad that Phoebe Ann's father could not get over to the main- land, and the day before Christmas was the worst of all. It blew so hard that the water swept clear across the point, even at low tide, and it looked as if Santa Claus could not get out to the lighthouse. Early in the morning the keeper and his family had seen a great ship coming up the coast. It was plain that she was having a hard time in the high seas and strong head wind, and so they were not surprised when, about noon, she came to anchor a little way out, in the shelter of the point. But they were very much sur- prised a little later to see a boat with six or seven men in it put off from the ship and start toward the light. They watched it tossed up on the staves like a cork, and then dropped down again out of sight, till they thought it was lost; but all the time it kept coming nearer, till at last the keeper ran down to the landing, and helped the men pull the boat up. They had come for help. The ship was just home from China and the East Indies. The captain had been taken sick, and was very weak and low, and the officer in charge of the boat had come to see if he could get some fresh, nourishing food for him. 'While the lighthouse -keeper and the officer went up to the house, Phoebe Ann stayed down by the boat and talked with the sailors. She told them about the letters she had written to Santa Claus, and how afraid she was that he could not get to the light- house now. But the sailors cheered her up. They said that perhaps in- stead of coming with his team of reindeer, he would put on his diving - suit and swim out. They said he had web feet and could swim like a fish, anyway; and even if he did not get there just on time, Ile would probably send the things later, and she must not mind a little delay. Phoebe Ann stayed by the boat un- til her father and the officer came back, carrying two live chickens and a basket of eggs and some vegetables. Then the boat rowed hack to the ship and Phoebe Ann went into the house to help her mother. There was a good deal to do that day in getting ready for the Christmas dinner, and so Phoebe Ann did not know that the boat came back again and left a big box on the landing, which her father covered with an old sail and brought up to the house that evening, after dark. She went to bed early, and rather sad, because she was sure now that Santa Claus could not come. But oh, the next morning! Phoebe Ann jumped out of bed and rushed into the dining -room, where she had hung her stockings by the chimney. The stocking was gone, but there were two stockings, both very fat and bunchy, hanging on the funniest little Christmas tree that stood in a great green pot. It was not like a common Christens tree, but had big, thick, rubbery green leaves. From branch to branch stretched strings of pop -corn, and here and there were little sparks of fire, from sticks that burned only at the end, and sent up a delicious, sweet smell. On one limb was a little gray goose that danced up and down and flapped its wings gently, On 'another was a brown monkey, hanging by one hand, mid holding a little dial in the other, At the foot of the tree was a pile of funny elute, all bubbly on the Outside, but very sweet and phewy inside, Thorn were two beautiful fans, and three funny Japanese dolls, with slanting black oyes and a (Neer little topknot of hair; and there were boau- tiful things to make dresses ft$t the dolls. Last of all, and most astonish- ing, was a letter from Santa Claus himself, Baying that he just happened to be coming up the coast on the China ship, and had stopped to leave the' things before he went ashore, "Just to think, papa," said Phoebe Ann, at dinner, "how wonderfal'it is that Santa Claus should come just in time, on that ship!" "Yes," said her father, "Santa Claus is one of the most wonderful things in the world," The Carver. Bake sport of him, you flippant folks Around the festive table; Fling at his lack of skill your jokes As fast as you are able. The server is a luckless wight, Designed for friends to flout him; But this old world were black ns night Had it been made without him, Suggest he place his knee upon The bird that he is carving, And be he slow, then ponder on Tho awful pungs of starving. Tell him to sharpen up his knife, Ask if a vise would aid him, Then turn and ask his grinning wife If by the hour she paid him. For he who stands to carve a bird Is proof against such ehatter, A thousand times or more he's heard The self same idle clatter. He's , heard the fresh, the glib, the quaint Expressions to undo one, And surely would the carver faint If someone pulled a new one. He's been the butt of all the wits Of all the bygone ages, The clowns have torn him into bits, Likewise the solemn sages. The priest has at his table sat And labelled him a sinner; But now, I vow, for all of that Has ever spurned his dinner. So jibe the carver as you will And plague him with your chiding But don't forget you eat your fill Of good things he's providing. And don't forget the while you chase Your ancient jests about him, The guests would wear a lengthy face If they sat down without him. LAST-111NUTE GIFTS. Never Too Late to Make Up Some- thing Beautiful. What are you going to give the little lady next door? Oh, whatever shall you do! You have forgotten to provide something inexpensive in the way of a remembrance for the dear old lady across the way! Here are your answerse. There are always contingencies about the de- livery of packages or the incomplete list, and a handkerchief is so "bought" and impersonal. Look at the belt. It is to be worked on regular belting in three -quarter - yard lengths with our friendly French knots. Use heavy mercerized cotton or silk and any shade that you think the recipient will prefer. Outline the stems and use the "lazy -daisy" stitch for the leaves. This is really a long loop held down at the tip by a small stitch. Work the circles solid, and your hand -embroidered belt is finish- ed. The little jewel case for the travel- ler or visitor is always acceptable, In this pattern it is particularly attrac- tive. There must be two pieces cut. The under surface is plain and re - the Star„ 01 Hope sembles the design, plus the flap, which you will add to the sketch, let- ting it face the other way. This will make the piece of material almost a modified circle in shape. • Next But the piece as it is, disregarding the flap, and allowing for a hem along the top. Pad the shallow scallops in darning cotton. Use cotton or silk for the working and buttonhole the edges. The flowers can be outlined, but a solid working of the petals and slen- der leaves will give pretty results in a very short time. Place the two pieces together and work a button- hole on the flap and put a small cro- cheted button on the upper surface. Add a small chamois bag, cut to fit, and sew baby ribbon on the top edge so that the case can be carried around the neck. If you wish you can omit the dot in the centre and work the initial of the owner. This gift is ex- cellent in linen, in silk, in soft lea- ther, and gives practical expression of your thoughts. The card case is another pretty thing to be embroidered -es you wish on linen, tan or white, or on silk to match a dress or suit. It is cut dou- ble and the edges are turned in and whipped over two pieces of thin card- board after the embroidery is done. This latter can be in silk, in em- broidery ribbon or in mercerized cot- tons. The French knots are effective in combination with the lazy -daisy stitch to represent the petals of the three flowers. Outline the rest of the design. The clashed lines about one inch from the edge show the width of the hem to be turned back. In the oval at the top work the monogram of the one to whom you wish to give this. If your mother crochets or knits, she will appreciate a bag to hold the thread and needles. This is the front of a bag of linen. The back is cut exactly the same and is undecorated. After padding the edge, button- hole it. Use either mercerized cot- ton or silk. You will find that the flowers work up very quickly in solid stitches, with French knots for the centre. Outline the stems and work the leaves solid. Outline the letters and finish the large' eyelet, though which the thread or yarn is passed from the ball inside with eyelet work. The eyelets at the top on both front and back are used for the cord or rib- bon that holds the bag. The two pieces are stitched together almost as far as the side eyelets, all around the lower part. And that is about enough. But if you will put these pretty designs to the time test you will see that it is never too late to do something beauti- ful and useful! At a Distance. Mother—I hear that Harry Smith is the worst boy in school, and I want yeti to keep as fur away from him as possible. Tommy—I do, Ma.,. He is always at the head of our class. A Busy Line. "How would you classify a tele- phone girl? Is hers a business or a profession?" "Neither; it is a calling." FATHER'S PREDICAMENT. When mother asks me what I want, In truth I'd like to say I want a set of briar pipes, Three b of double a. I'd like a watch of solid gold With something 'graved therein, But every year I answer, her: "My socks are getting thin." When daughter Jane looks up to me, And mutters: "Father, dear, It is so hard to buy for men, What do you want this year?" I fain would tell the things I crave, But let my thoughts revert Unto the custom of the time, And say, "Another shirt." A hundred trivial things I want, I'd count it joy to get A solid -headed walking cane, Likewise a poker set. But gifts like this are not for me, And so I make reply, When I am asked what I desire, "Just pick me out a tie." Thus has it been and e'er will be When Christmas time draws round And loved ones smiling come to me Their questions to propound. I dare not tell"them what I'd like. It would be vain indeed, For what I want I substitute The things I really need. A full-grown sheep averages 152 lb. in weight. Out of the frying pan of courtship a man often steps into the fire of matrimony. Waiting for the Signal for the Scrimmage ! !'HE ANNUAL TROUBLE, "Alas," she sighed, '41'm sore 'and sad; The time has comp Which drives the mad--- The dnys when fag Grips hard eny brain, When Itfe is .ono Long thinking pain. "These are the clays When one must try With least of cash The most to buy Of Christmas gifts For all one's i'riende— A task whose pang, It neves ends. "A list I draw Which longer grows With every thought Which to it goes; Then when I sort Allotted chink— It is a sweet Job—I don't think!" OLD CHRISTMAS CARDS. I•Iave Become Modified Into the -Usage. of Modern Civilization. It is interesting to note that many of the Christmas customs which have endeared themselves to the people scattered all over the world have their origin in many case among those ancient men and women who worship- ped strange gods before they heard the message of peace brought to them by the early Christian Fathers. The holly, the mistletoe, the wassail bowl, the Yule log, and the Christmas tree are remnants of old customs that have become amalgamated and modi- fied into the usage of modern civiliza- tion. The Druids of Great Britain, whom the Romans discovered there when they conquered the .Celts, were a priesthood ruling the people by cruel tvatchcraft. They worshipped the oak, the mistletoe, and the holly. Their altars on their feast days were decorated with the branches of white and red, berries, and one of the most, important of these festal occasions was the celebration of the winter sol stice when the.sun began its backward journey. Huge logs were brought from the forests, and fires were built in great heaps and in 'fireplaces in the homes, while the wassail bowl was passed around among neighbors and guests amidst great feasting. When the early Christian Fathers, came over to Britain they found that it was easier to amalgamate the feast days of the pagans with their own customs and teachings than it was to eradicate them from the minds of 1 the people who, like all men and wo- men, loved their recreation days. The I Christian missionaries• merely changed the name of the feast of the winter solstice to that of Christmas, and'so the people paid tribute in the old way to the new God, which, to their simple minds, was quite com- patible. Santa on the Way. I can hear him singing faintly, As he urges on his deer, And his song is mellowed quaintly, As tine measures strike the ear, And the lilt of it is jolly, And the words of it are gay; "Get the mistletoe and holly; I have started on the way." I can hear the hoof -beats thudding, As the snow is flung behind, While the laden sleigh is scudding With the swiftness of the wind, And the echoes now are flinging Broken murmurs of the song, That old Santa Claus is singing While the reindeer speed along: "Little :fellow, little fellow, while you sit and dream of me, And the marvel of the morning that shall show the wondrous tree, For you trust in all the fancies of the shadow and the gleam, I am starting on my journey down the highway of your dream." Christmas Tree Cakes. Little anise seed calces are often called Christmas tree cakes, The prettiest of these are made with white of egg only, and thick enough to roll out and be cut out in all sorts of fancy shapes, and often they are sprinkled with red sugar. A simple yellow anise drop cake may be made as follows: Two eggs [whites and yolks beaten separately]; four table- spoons of sugar, one-half cup of well sifted flour, and one scant teaspoon- ful of pounder] anise seed, Beat the yolks thoroughly and then beat with the sugar, and add the flour,: and finally the anise seed; drop little Pieces on a pan at a good distance apart, let stand an hour, and bake for ten or twelve minutes in it moderate oven. Anise seed is dirty as we buy it, Pick out the debris and sltttice it in a fine strainer to remove the dust, then wash and again pick over, drain carefully, spread out on a tin to dry, picking out any foreign seeds or dirt, iridescent bugs, etc., then sop with a dry cloth to further clean and dry, and finish drying in a warm place, The flavor is dainty if not •too much is used and is worth the trouble, A Fires Sign. "It's beginning to look like Christ- mas at ear house." ewhve,t "I. found my clean shirts en the floor this morning and the drawer in which they're usually kept filled with Opera bags and It'ish crochet." IN ElSL�t HOLIDAY SWEETMEATS $ { t There is no eulinary email $o dear to the feminine heart as a mole be.. quoathed by one's gt•eat•gr'oat•gt'andk mother, The recipes for tlleso little cakes have bean used for gehorait]ong by the Moraviens whose quaint 014. World religious customs have with- stoed our fin-de-sieele eivillaatiot for a cpntut;v and tt ]tall. To them, the neighborly " exchange of Christmas calces is an institution as honored as the singing of enrols, and much more gratifying to the youngsters' who re- vel in edible birds and ,)casts eut after the grotesque Moravian pate terns. The cutters used Co form the% unusual shapes are now found iii, some house -furnishing stores, batt they can be made by any tinsmith, Cakes mado from these recipes will keep fore weeks if they are put in a stone crock in 'Wool place, Pepper nuts are especially good for hong keeping, because they contain no shortening to become rancid. If they are made before Christmas they will keep perfectly until late in the spring. All of these cakes are better if they are mixed one day and baked the next. The dough should be covered hand kept in a cool place, overnight. Pepper Nuts. Mix one pound and a quarter of brown sugar, two table- spoonfuls of, cinnamon, ono table- spoonful of cloves and one teaspoonful, of baking powder. Stir into this three eggs and add as much flour as it is possible to work in. The dough most be very stiff. Roll it out moderately thin, and cut the cakes no larger than a silver quarter. Balce in a very cool oven. These cakes will puff up round, and are more attractive if the flat side is spread with a hard icing. This re- cipe will make between three and four quarts of cookies. Bethlehem Spice Cakes. — Cream one pound of brown sugar and one pound of butter, add to this one quart of molasses, one ounce ofcinnamon, one ounce of ginger, one ounce of all- spice, half an ounce of cloves, tete grated rind of one orange and flour enough to make a dough stiff enough to roll out very thin. Moravian Chocolate Cakes. -- Mix together two cupfuls of light brown sugar and half a cupful of butter and lard mixed. Add two eggs, a. half cupful of grated chocolate that has been melted over hot, water and one teaspoonful of soda. Stiffen this with flour and form into a long soil as large eround as a small baking pow- der can. Slice this down very thin, dip one side in granulated sugar, ant bake in a moderate oven. Nazareth Chocolate Cakes.—Cream two cupfuls of granulated sugar: and a scant three-quarters of a cupful of butter. Stir into this one cupful of water, two eggs, two small teaspoon- fuls of baking powder, half a cake of melted chocolate and four large cup- fuls of flour. Roll very thin and hake slowly. Almond Cakes. Rub together <t quarter of a pound of powdered su- gar and a half a pound of butter, add the yolks of four eggs, three table- spoonfuls of cream and one pound of flour. Mix sufficient sugar and flour in equal parts to sprinkle over the dough board. Roll the dough on this until it is a quarter of an inch thick, then cut in diamonds, and when he cakes are baked ice them with the following icing: Beat together ':he yolks of two:eggs and two tablespoon- fuls of water and thicken with confec- tioner's sugar. Spread this on the cakes and sprinkle thickly with .t!- monds that have been blanched and cut fine, then set in the oven a few minutes to dry. Crisp Molasses Cakes. — Mix a pound and is quarter of dark brown sugar, half a pound of butter and half a pound of lard. Add to this one quart of molasses, two table- spoonfuls of ginger, two tablespoon- fuls of cinnamon, one tablespoonful of cloves and a small teaspoonful if soda. Work in enough flour to stiffen and roll very thin. Bavarian Christmas Cookies.— Mix half a pound of butter with a quarter of a pound, of granulated sugar, add three-quarters of a pound of flour and moisten with three tablespoonfuls of orange juice. Roll the dough thin. cut into smell round cakes and spread a little of the well -beaten yolk of an egg in the centre of each. Sprinkle pulverized sugar and a little cinna- mon. over the egg, and balce in a slow oven. White Christmas Cakes.— Cream one pound of butter and one pound of sugar, add five eggs and one cupful of sour cream in which has been dis- solved a teaspoonful of soda. Stir in flour enough to make a soft dough, roll thin, cut into round cakes and pros half of a hickory nut meat ht the centre. Rice Cakes. — Rub together ono pound of butter and one pound of su- gar, add two eggs and one pound of rice flour. After the dough is rolled thin and cut, spread a little beaten egg on each cake and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Vanilla Wafers. — One-third of a cupful of butter and lard mixed, one cupful of granulated sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt, one egg, a quarter of a cupful of: sweet mills, two anti a quarter cupfuls of flour, ono teaspoon • - ful of baking powder and two tea- spoonfuls of vanilla. Bake in a mod- erate oven. Some people are always more sus- pioious of it self -admitted saint than they are of a self-confessed sinner.