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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1925-12-24, Page 7f TCHRISTMAS MOTHER Three Lonely People Play a Caaatsae of Fellowship. BY'CHARLOTTE COi1KRIGHT KINNEY. " Five o'clock and Christmas eve. ""A regular story -book Christmas eve!" smiled Kathleen Davis, as she picked her way, stopping now and then to look' in an attractive store window, 1 through the hurrying, : gift -laden crowd. "It couldn't be better if it had ) been made to order!" Great, feathery snowflakes filled' the. air. Everywhere, were festoons: of cedar and holly, .glittering trees, all the g'l'orious jumble- of things that mark the great. Holiday. And above it all, to give the finishing and perfect touch, the cathedral belle at the end of the street chiming: "Joy to the World'! The Lord is come!" "Joy, good will, friendliness. Yes, that is the keynote rof Christmas!"1 Kathleen said to herself.' Presently she stopped by a brilliant- ly lighted shop window and studied the faces of 'some of the crowd. It was a Christmas pageant. - She lilted, to imagine the part in the nigh't's drama that'each was playing. She � hoped that it was a 'happy one and that they were all hurrying some- where where... love _awaited them. A dignified, 'distinguished -looking, • judge -like gentlemen caught her atten- 1 tion. 'She laughed. The ;:.wind had blown ,.away most of the; wrapping- parar from the' bundle ho..wae carry - Ing, revealing a dashing red -and -gray rocking-horee. The absurd pony was delightfully incongruous: with the old .gentleman's outward dignity, "One of. the nicest things about Christians," thought Kathleen, almost speaking ;the words aloud, "is that it makes us children' again" A crinp!e Iiassed, • He was poorly dressed but is face *as an inspira- tion. "Tiny Tithe, she named him. Next came a kindly -faced Kish woman who, she judged, was taking- all the poor children in her block to visit same department -store Santa Claus. • Sas- hed her hands full managing the brood but oh, the fun she was having! "That's real giving," thought Kath- leen. '°She's giving herself and that is the only real gift." Two women approached. They stood for a second looking in the window.` Their faces were hard .and. brilliant as' posters. "She only gave me a cheap box of .stationery last Christmas," snapped one, Grand I gaveher an ex- -Ce x--pensive pair of silk stockings,' Well, she'll not get much • from me this year." They .walked away. Kathleen was infinitely sorry for them. - She joined the moving crowd. Her plans were indefinite. "I guess I'm the only one that's not hurrying somewhere!" Her face was wistful. She really had no place to go except to the room in her hotel. ` She longed like a. homesick child for home—a place where, a lighted tree shine in the window, where a little supper, a fire in the grate and Mother awaited her. This was the first year since Kath- leen could remember when Mother and she had not kept Christmas together. So much can happen in a year , .' Life can be very cruel. When Mother was with her they had always been `poor but they had been happy although .i.- else had never been able to buy the many things she had wished for Mother. And then after it was tool late, success suddenly came to her and money. Not a great deal, of course, but enough to have made Mother very comfortable. Now, she. told herself bitterly, she could buy the comforts, even a few of the luxuries she had always desired—the clothes, all the dear, entrancing things that women love, the books, the plays, mucic, flow- ers—and'Mother was gone , . She came to a flower shop. From behind the frosted glass, orehids, gar- denias, sweet peas smiled out at her. And there in the midst of this fairy garden was the very kind of a Christ- mas bouquet she would have liked to take home to Mother. She had always given her flowers, the less expensive kind --one buys in banches done up in tissue paper at the elevated stations. But to send Mother, at Christmas, dis- tinctive, out -of -the -season flowers tied up with ribbon in a bewitching box , For a long time she stood thoughtfully before the window. Then a delightful idea came to her. `She went in. "I should like to see et,hat lovely bunch of lilies of the valley in the window,". Her ` eyes glowed. They were her mother's favorite flower. She asked to have them arranged in a corsage. "A bit of greeny violets and a pink rose'. or two for color. Lovely! -Tie with silver ribbon." It was exquisite. - She watched him ar- range them in' a darling box. "I'll take it with me." Outside, she .hurried slang with the rest of the crowd. Her eyes danced as glia hugged the ribboned box. At the corner she collided with a fat man carrying home a huge lamp shade. They. both laughed good-naturedly, "I'm part of the Christmas pageant now, too,"thought Kathleen and in her heart sang a song of _enchantment. In Rosenbergs department store, up on the two:'fth floor, 14Irs. Mary Scott, an elderly frail woman wee trying not to look as weary„ ae' she felt. Ordi- fierily the store served only the noon lunch but as it was to be open late oh Christmas eve, tI o et nagement had made 'a special arrangement to keep. the cafe open. ' She had been waiting en table all day. - She tried to ease her, aching 'feet by shifting her weight from one to the other.- She was very" patient as one is apt to'be patient at eixty-three when one is alone in the world and upon one's own a,'osoureea. . 1VIrs, Scott, since the untimely death of her only daughter, a music teacher, had found few Positions available to a gent;ewornan of her years who had •no specialized training. She was there- fore grateful for her present position and wasmost conscientious and faith- ful. Thoughtful people,.peep e with imagination, must have noticed her at once; "Who was that sweet-faced old lady? What was she doing here?" they would oak.' In her dainty white blouse with its touch of Irish crochet —carrying _ltd hint of better days-- she ays—she looked like a sweet g.other. You bad a sudden longing, as you watched ber, to take away the heavy tray ale was carrying.You wanted= to seat her at the table and terve and protect her. "Seems like people might get their shopping done daytimes," thought Mrs. Scott as she folded napkins. "I hope it's wonting people who have no other time who'll be here to -night and not the rich folks who thoughtlessly wait for their slibppingvtill' the last minute," . A man on the eleventh floor,in the music department, was eingkn%, jazz through • a megaphone—something about moonlight and blues. ".tazz,on. Christmas eve!" she sigh- ed. She was putting fresh linen on her tables, There were not many in the restaurant.• She was grateful' for a few quiet moments. Again she heard the jazz. "How far we have wandered away from the true mean- ing of Christmas," she thought. She recalled some past Christmas eves. She saw Marian, her daughter, and the. glowing faces of school children as they sang: "Silent Night! Holy Night! All is calm, all le bright . " That was what the world needed - more peace, less of excitement and this feverish, tinsel happiness and more of the real and natural joys of life. She wished she had it in her power to send away all those tired, confused, over -laden shoppers, down there in the stifling air, of the music department, with that quiet song in their hearts instead of the echo of jazz. And Marian. Her patient lips quivered. Tears gathered In her eyes and she quickly brushed them away. It wouldn't do tohave a patron see her crying. How different this Christmas might have been if Marian had lived. A young woman came in and seated herself at one of Mrs. Scott's tables. She wore the gray fur coat and toque thatMrs,..Scott had come to know so well, for she often visited the lunch room. To,i•' light there was a touch of hollyin hhr color scheme, It was "Mies Delight" -Mrs. Scott's private name for her. She had attracted Mrs. Scott's attention because she always asked to be seated at her tables and while not old-fashioned she was not like the young girls Mrs. Scott usually served, "Miss' Delight" was decidedly pretty and always well dressed. From her thoughtful, sweet expression Mrs. Scott was sure that she was not the kind of girl who smoked cigarettes, drank cocktails and danced "till all hours." In time, they learned each 'other's names and each felt the kindly spirit of the other, "Something about her reminds me of Marian" said Mrs. Scott. Whenever "Miss Delight" came to her table, it was Mrs. Scott's hap- piest moment of the day—that is, -al- most the happiest. •For there wae an- other bright occasion, when a tall, good-looking young man with adorable brown eyes, appeared. Ike, too, was a regular daily visitor and he and Mrs. Scott. also had become friendly. Most of the people -at Mrs. Scott's tables were merely people. They could be duplicated anywhere. Only "Miss Delight" and the Man -with -the - Adorable -Brown -Eyes were individ- uals. What interested Mrs. Scott at first, was the fact that they came there at all, By their bearing and clothes, they belonged to a higher -class place. It interested and amused her. They ,had never met, as far as she 'knew, yet day after day they came, 'usually at the same hour, she at the little table by the window, he across the aisle, However, she had an odd conviction that Rosenberg's, as far as those young people were concerned, existed' solely as a place for seeing ono another. w "I wish," she had often smiled, "I could be the head waitress. I'd seat them together! You don't often see shyness in youngsters nowadays." Thoy endeared themselves to her the more because of their old-fashioned• is ',1FIa`te"'as much variety as possib le in the home-made' candies you give your friends in the festive season. standards. She made two interesting discoveries which she kept to herself,. She found Miss Delight's pretty face faintly sketched 'all over the young man's menu. And one day the De- lightful Lady had scribbled a bit of poetry on the back of an envelope and forgotten it: "But all remembered beauty is no ,more Than`a vague prelude to the thought of you— Lover: of beauty, knightliest and best." To -night Mrs. Scott had not dream- ed of seeing Kathleen Davis. 'Evi- dently, neither had Mr. Robert Har- per, for he was not there. Mrs. Scott came pleasantly forward to take her order, "Merry Christmas!" smiled« Kath- leen, her eyes • sparkling like sap- phires. "Merry Christmas!" smiled, back the White -Rose Lady, as Kathleen had privately named her, so sweet was her fine fragility, "Just bring me a cup of chocolate and a sandwich—any' kind. I'ni not hungry, I, just came to see you!" In a few moments the White -Rose Lady returned, When she had dain- tily arranged the order on the table, Kathleen tucked into 'Mrs, Scott's trembling hands the florist's box. "Why—why, my dear, it's lovely of you! I . , ." hervoice broke. Regardless of convention, Kathleen slipped an arm about her. "I' know," she said softly. "They make you think of past Christmases and happiness." Her own eyes were a bit misty. "I'm going to tell you something, I've been coming here to lunch so often mostly because you make me think of my mother." • "Dear child!" "Yes. And I've a plan. I: want to adopt a Christmas Mother for to- morrow. If you will give me your ad- dress, I'll call for you—unless you have some other engagement—say at two. We'll have dinner somewhere ,down town and spend the day to- gether." "Bless your heart!" beamed the WhitedRose Lady. "How lovely!; ;I have no engagement but ... you're not doing this, dear, just to be nice to me -because I told you about my daughter?" "To -morrow I'll tell you everything —I mean about . Mother and why I want to do this. Please don't refuse! ready for the street,' but in a huge white apron over a well-preserved black silk dress. "Merry Christmas, dear girl! Come in. I have a surprise for you." Kathleen was at once conscious of unmistakable and delectable odors of home at dinner time—Christman= dinner time with turkey, cranberry, plum pudding. Mrs. Scott half led, half pushed her "daughter" into ,a cheery dining room with a table set for three.. There were spotless linen and pretty dishes and shining silver. Christmas candles stood on the suffet. In the centre of the table bloomed the Christmas bouquet. "Am'I dreaming —Mother?" "No. Your plan was the dream. You're going to have dinner here with me," the ,Christmas Mother said sim- ply. "After you left last night, I re- membered that' the Smiths—I rent e room from them—were going to be. away to -day. I called up Mrs. Smith and asked her if I might give a din- ner. She told me to makemyself at home. Take off your things, dear. Fut them there in my room. You see," she said softly, a lovely light in her face, "you longed for a Christmas Mother And I got to thinking how you always had to be eating in restaurants and cafes and I thought maybe seeing I was to be Mother to -day, you'd en- joy staying n-.joy°staying home and having a bit of real home cooking for a change." "Ob, Mother Scott, how wonderful of you! It's exactly the homey kind of a Christmas I've been longing for but you should have let me share it . . And my dear," glancing at the little table, "there are three. Who in the world beside you and me?" "That's my secret," smiled the Christmas Mother, "but I'll tell you this much—I rather think you'll en- joy our Christmas guest." "Mystery!" Kathleen threw her arias about the white-aproned figure and kissed her. 'I suspect its some forlorn newsboy, tramp or poor wo- man you've rescued. But nothing can surprise me now not even if it's the Prince of Wales," Suddenly the door bell. "Oh, my goodness. laughed the Christmas ! Mother, flushing like a girl expecting ' a sweetheart. "Tell me, does my hair {look all right?" "You're a picture just as you are— a Christmas picture." Mrs. Scott, her cheeks a ` pink as If you knew how I dreamed of this Christmas. There is one condition. For one day you are to play you are really my mother and let me do all the! things for you I would love to do for' hers" - "I think I understand,"quietly smiled • the White -Rose Lady."There'll be my condition too. If I'm to be your mother, you're to be my little girl. It's to be a Christmas game for two alone peopleto escape loneliness?" "That's it!' I knew you'd under-, stand. To -morrow at two ... And wear your flowers. Good night, Christmas Mother!" She was gone, but she had left behind her a -trail of fairyligbt, a fragrance, a song. The rest of the evening did not matter. Christmas day! Promptly at two, a gray -furred figure ran quickly up the steps, of the address Mrs. Scott; had. given her. 'Mrs, Scott answered the bell, not the Christmas rose, threw open the door and 'Cathleen heard her greet- ing. "WelcomeI Welcome, dear boy! And Merry Christmas! Come right in. Put your hat and coat here, What? Another gift? My! My!" Kathleen peeked around the door and—gasped. It was he—the Sir Galahad of Rosenberg's! "Miss Davis, allow me to present Mr. Harper. Kathleen—Bob—my Christmas children." "You see,"- explained the young man to Kathleen, "she's adopted me, too." 'Evidently Bob had been let into the Mother secret. ' And Kathleen said something about "such a lovely idea ... " Mother, with glowing eyes, was opening her. basket, "My! My! Isn't this lovely?'Strawberriea, grapes, per- simmons, pears . , . Oh, you dear ex- travagant xtravagant children ... fruit and flowers in mid -winter" Kathleen made a place on the table) for the handsome' basket, Shebroke off n rose and a,few lilies of the valley and pinned.thene on the breast;of the Christmas 'Mother, They lighted the Christmas candles and Bob seated Mother Scott at the table es if she had been a queen. He insisted on carving and neither one of them would let the Mother lift a linger to serve them. It was the jolliest of dinners. It seemed as if they all had known each other for years. And hew good things tasted! "Did you tell Kathleen about the play to -night?" asked Bob. (In the spirit of the game they spoke to each other intimately.) "Oh, no! Bob has invited us to a play, dear." - ' "Us? When did you know," Kath- leen demanded of the young man, greatly surprised, "that I would be, here?" "It was like this," explained Mother. "After you went away fast night, 'along comes Mr. Bob with this big box of candy, He saw the lights and thought maybe we'd be open. 'I guess he thought that he was theloneliest man in the city.. He seemed like alma soul. I saw how it was . we three all being lonely with no folks or place to go to but to.a show or the movies, Christmas is a home day. So I thought we'd have. just .our own Christmas party." "Dear Mother Scott!" .... Over the fruit and candy they exchanged confi- dences. Kathleen was a short story welter. Bob was a oommeroiaT artist. "I do everything from ham and eggs and beauty -clays to silk stockings and grand pianos." He had a sudden In- spiration. "Mother Scott, you must left me paint you as you look to -clay for my Mother's Day poster. Wouldn't ehe be great,. Kathleen?" "Speaking of pictures," said Kath- leen addressing the other guest, "you remind me of some picture or person —I don't know which—I've seen." "You feel that way, too? How many times I've' wanted to speak to yon in the restaurant but I didn't dare. I've always wondered where I have seen { ,you or someone like you." "You couldn't possibly ever have lived in the little town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia?" '4Sure! I lived' there until I was fourteen. My father was Douglas Harper. We lived near the East Ward School. "ThenI have seen you!" cried Kath- leen happily."I lived over in the West Ward on Haliburton Avenue with my grandparents. Do you recall Captain Castorlin? He was my grandfather. And do you remember the exercises at Central School • when all the schools used to get together? Didn't you speak pieces?" "Why, yes. I remember one was 'The Inchcape Rock' and 'The Death of Napoleon.'" He hadn't thought of those old reci- tations in years, Ile laughed, saying, "Tho kids in school nowadays never even heard' of them." "And could you—no, of course you couldn't—remember a small girl who sometimes sang?—once it was 'Corrin' through the Rye."" But he diel "You carried a tiny parasol and danced between the stan- zas 1" tan-zas1" "Yes, yes. Why, you do remember." "Well, now, here's another of those unexpected happenings," exclaimed 1 the Mother. "It's a good thing 1 plan- ned this party so you could find out ell this,,: Their oyes said eloquently that it was a verygood thing.The little party became a gayer affair than ever. Dinner over, they insisted on Mother Scott resting. "You won't be able to enjoy the play to -night if you don't." They chatted and laughed and worked and between spells ran to the piano. They sang "Noel" and "Little Town of Bethlehem." Presently Bob began "Mother Machree," "Sure I love the dear silver that shines in your hair, And the brow that's all furrowed and wrinkled .with care. Oh, God bless you • and keep you, Mother Machree 1" "The darlings!" Tears filled her eyes. It had been such a happy day! Oh; how good they lied been to her! "Dear Marian! Dear Mother of Kath- leen! If you can know, I'm sure you're glad that I gave them this chance to be happy. It was my part in the Christmas game—the gift of their Christmas Mother." Volcanic' ash is found in large beds in several localities in Southern Brit- ish Columbia. It has also been re- ported recently from near Swift Cur- rent, Saskatchewan. Material from the Saskatchewan deposit is already being used as ass ingrrdient.in scours ing soaps and other cleansing COM - pounds. In the Stable. What must her Virgin prayers for Him have been Her child and God's? She surely knew no sin Could ever snare' the little satin feet - That, nestling -in her palm,` she found so sweet, Those things the angel told her! 'Did they seem Now in this darkened stable like a dream? They must have floated through her gentle mind In reminiscent wonder. Did she find. Her heart aflutter with strange pangs and awe While looking on that wee bed in the straw? What had it meant? (This little child, her own!) These solemn words: "His father Da- vid's throne!" - -- "That holy thing which shall be born of:theel"— "The Son of Godi" Oh, pale young mother, she Must surely have bowed 'low, remem- bering. "Yea, Lord, yea, Lord, , this holy, holy thing!" —Bertha d'erneaux Woods, in Youth's Companion. Yuletide. Ohl merry piping time of Christ- mas! Never let us permit thee to degenerate into distant courtesies and formal salutations.: But let us shake our friends and : familiars by the hand, as our fathers' and their fathers did. Let them all come around 'us, and Iet us count how many the year has added to our circle. Let us en- joy the present and laugh at the past, 'Let us tell old stories and invent new ones—innocent always, and ingenious, if we can. Let us not meet to abuse the world, but to make it better by our individual example. Let us be patriots, but not men of party. Let us look of the time -cheerful and gen- erous, and endeavor to make others as cheerful and generous as ourselves. Draw the curtains, pilefresh wood on ithe hearth, and bring your chairs to the blazing fire:—Charles Lamb. A Christmas World. If we were to fancy a wholly Chris- tianized world, it would bea world in- spired by the spirit of Christmas—a bright, friendly, beneficent, generous, sympathetic, mutually helpful world. A man who is habitually mean, selfish, narrow, is a man without Christmas in his soul. Let us cling to Christmas all the more as a day of the spirit which in every age some souls have believed to be the possible spirit of human society. The earnest faith and untiring endeavor which see in Christ- mas a forecastaremore truly Chris - tion, surely, than the pleasant cynic- ism of ynic-ism'of the atheists, which smiles upon it as the festival of a futile hope. Meanwhile we may reflect that from good-natured hoperessneas to a Christ- mas world may not be farther than from star dust to a solar system.— George ystem:George William Curtis. --^0 -- Ham Contest for the Holiday Party. 1. The ham that is a small village hamlet 2. The ham used by a carpenter— hammer. a. Tho ham that is a bed or seat— hammock. 4. Tho ham that goes to market or impedes motion—hamper. 5. The ham that ie a burrowing ani- mal Tike a rat—hamster. 8. The ham where lace curtains come from—Nottingham. 7. The unsteady ham --Rockingham. S. The ham that is a sort of fowl -haiabury. 9. A boy's name, a letter and a nice 'piece of meat—Sydenham 1Q. Another boy's name, the son of Noah -Ham. . 11. Name of a city—that is, this 'contest, sick, and 2,000 )lbs. --Hamil- ton.. The Modern Santa. "Is Nana Clans' gonna treteha good this'. year?" "I don't know. I called him up and engaged a ease if he's got it by Christ. rms." Ps Larose One. Monk Sanita--"Ge`eat Scott, that must be Will Hippo's' stoeking. If I fl11 that 1 Ivon t have auybhlag for any one elaei" e MaA HAPPINESS IN USE.1FUI. TOYS The teys we buy may be selected so that the children will °rep' educe ise their pray tho things that prepare them for life, Housekeeping toys appeal to the domestic instinct of a little girl, There is nothing that will give her more pleasure and also bo more instructive than an opportunity to run a whole doll house. By this I do not mean the elaborate and cestly' ones; but some- thing rather plain which siie can fur- nish herself. Two good-sized packing boxes may be nailed together to make a two-storey house, windows may . be cut in the sides; and it may be treated to a coat of paint. But let her fix it up to suit herself. She may cover the walls with serape of her own, wall paper, make curtains of cheesecloth and make rugs for the floor. Gradu- ally the different rooms can be furs niched, and in the meantime there is plenty of fun and much development. The bed fog . her doll could have a mattress, pillows, sheets, blankets,'and counterpane, in order that the, small mother may learn real housekeeping. The toy bureau could be'.large•enough to allow the doll's clothes to be put away with care. The table for the dell family could lee large enough for serv- ing real meals, and she may,be'taught with her dishes how ,to set the table properly. Then we could add a tiny range, correct in every detail, with doll -size enamel cooking utensils., It is very helpful for .a little. girl to have a plain doll that she can dress and undress. -and whose hair she can comb and for whom she may make. -. clothing. Paper patterns for her baby s frock, odd pieces of material, and a toy sewing machine will interest her in the invaluable art of sewing.•-'• She could have a complete laundry outfit—tub, wringer, boiler, clothes basket, ironing board, irons, wax, starch—and thus be taught the real way to wash and iron, how to keep flannels from shrinldng• and how to set colors, - With' a 'set of rather large, smooth, plain; blocks a church, a house,' a barn, a silo, a set of furniture, or' a'whole village or farm may be constructed: By means of buildings outfits my boy was given mechanics . and me- chanical studies in his play. The out- fits consist of all the main parts used in machinery, such as pulleys, gears, pinions, axles, beams, wheels, • machine sorews, and so on. All these parts aro standardized and interchangeable, so • that a young mechanic may add to his outfit as he learns to build more intri- cate things. He builds big things on a small scale, his hand and mind work together constructing working models of derricks, bridges,, traveling cranes, airplanes, engines, fire ladders, auto trucks and ships. He builds and learns while at play, And when a boy grows elder he can make things for himself and bis home if he has a set of carpenter's tools. Of course it is poor economy to buy any but first-class tools. The wonders of electricity may be opened up to your boy in the play- room. A. boy I know has a corner of his room devoted to his electrical ap- paratus and though but fourteen has learned the theory of the telephone, the phonograph and the telegraph, and has put burglar alarms and electric bells in the homes of most of Isis neighbors, as well as in his own. His father's present to him each year usu- ally *consists of dry -cell batteries and the equipment which he needs. My son at the ago of seven helped to build a toy village lighted by electricity. .A. toy typewriter or a printing press often develops naturally an interest ip writing. There is education in a toy model -of a piano, but it is best to select one with two or three octaves of the chro- matic scale, for which little books of simple airs are arranged. A book on woodwork is full of sug- gestions `and directions for the young carpenter;. a book on photography, printing and developing; and one on how to study birds and trees will stim- ulate tale right kind of activity. And the little girl will learn to cook and make doll clothes if she receives books -- written in a language she can easily understand, Making Mothers Merry. The oldest English name for Christ- mas is Moddra Niht, or Mothers' Night In the early days, when our Saxon forefathers had just settled down in the country that was to be England, the day of December 25th was given up to games and feasting, but the night was dedicated to the special honor of mothers. They occupied . the Beate of honor, and everyone brought them gifts. Sens and daughters who had, gone out into the world strove to be at home on that one night in the year, A. little later the name Yule was given to Christmas, and the rejoicings of the day were prolonged into the night, when men sang, and told stories eitting round the cheerful blaze of the Yule log•, The old customs of Mothers' Night' gradually died out, though they still survive in a fewremote, pacts of the country, Xts piece has been taken to eome extent by hiothering Sunday in the 'loath of England, Qn that day everyone who- can do so Estill ri-0akes a pilgrinnage;homewards, ana the moth- ee receives the homage of "eta' family.