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If Grandpapa W? If Grandpapa were Santa Glaus, When toyshop toil was finished He'd tell us all his secrets and He'd made and kept in hiding for We have a real, live Grandpapa! And he is quite a bosom friend o Although he owns no reindeer, a If Grandpapa were Santa Claus, EMOTIONAL VALUE OF DAY Christmas Spirit Almost Universally Felt, But What It Is Remains a Mystery to Many. The emotional value of Christmas may be said to be universally felt. Something haDoens at Christmas that. if only for a day or two, does the whole world good. What that some thing is remains for many a mystery. A number of persons who feel the renewing impulse are like Faust when the notes of the Easter song arrest his suicidal Intent; they take and en joy the moment's deliverance and con tinue to regard the source of the boon as nothing more than mythology made potent through human associations. Others are moved through supersti tious fears; they approach the great season with consciences crowded with uncomfortable memories; Marley's Bon't anfc Bo in Holiday Tire Caution Do not dccorate your Christmas tree with paper, cotton or flimsy materials. Do not use cotton to represent snow. Do not permit children to light candles. Do not leave matches within reach of the children. Do not p!a<e Christmas tree near window curtains or gas fixtures. Use metallit; tinsel and non-inflam mable decorations only. Use asbestoif iber to represent snow. Set the tree upon a substantial stand. A house of merriment is better than a house of mourning. Have an extinguisher or a few buckets full of water near the tree, ready for use in an emer gency. I m 0Bsm Wi m sre Santa Claus! how happy we would be ! he would take us on each knee, he'd name the pretty toys the other girls and boys. He visits us teach year, f Santa Glaus, I hear. nd of playthings no great store ? we could not love him more ! GENE MORGAN. ghost is after them, but, unlike Scrooge, their new heart is only for Christmas week. Another group sim ply fall in with an ancient custom and are surprised, and indeed pleased, when the dry bones of their unbeliev ing minds come together, take on flesh, and begin to live. A vast mul titude meet the great day with buoy ant expectation, take with thanks its new happiness, return to their work in this exalted mood, and ask no ques tions about cause and effect. A few philosophize on the phenomenon, and they are willing to stake their lives on the substantial truth of their in sight.?George A. Gordon, in Atlantic Monthly. FRIENDLY ADVICE. "i an you suggest something for me to get lor my wife for Christinas?" he asked of the shopkeeper. "You'd better get iter a box of cigars, I expect," said the shopkeeper. "She was in here this morning and bought a lace parasol for you." Gathering of Plant Sacred Rite in Druidical Religious , Festivals/ Also Considered a Potent Remedy for Ills, a Belief Which Still Exists in Some of the Remote Places of Europe. E decorate our homes with sprays of mistletoe at Christ mas time, but few of us know the history of it as a Yuletide symbol. Pretty girls are kissed under it and a great ^deal of fun and nonsense is carried on apropos of it, but no one stops to think of how ancient a dec oration it is or how sacred it was once thought to be. Almost everybody has a vague knowledge that the Druids of old had something to do with the gathering of mistletoe, but just what that some thing was is not clear to the average mind. The fact is that the ancient Celts in their druidical religion had two great festivals, one in June and the other in December, the latter being equivalent to our Christmas. In both of these great festivals the gathering of the mistletoe was a sacred rite. Pliny in his "Natural History" de scribes the ceremony. Speaking of the Druids'.worship of the oak, he says: "They believe that whatever grows on these trees is sent from heaven and is a sign that the tree has been chosen by the god himself. The mistletoe is very rarely to be met with, but when it is found tliey gather it with solemn ceremony. This they do especially on the sixth day of the moon, because by the sixth day the. moon has plenty of vigor and has not run half its course. "After the preparations have been made for a sacrifice and a feast under the tree they hail it as the universal healer and^bring to the spot two white bulls whose horns have never been bound before. A priest clad in a white robe climbs the tree and with a golden sickle cuts the mistletoe, which is caUght in a white cloth. Then they sacrifice the victims, praying that God may make his own gift to prosper with those upon whom he has be stowed it. "They believe that a potion pre pared from mistletoe will increase their flocks and that the plant is a remedy against all poison." It was believed to be a remedy for many ills, and this belief is still to be found in many remote, places in Eu rope. In Holstein, for example, the mistletoe is regarded as a healing remedy for wounds, and in Lacaune, France, it is always administered by the native people as an antidote for poison. They apply the plant to the stomach of the patient and give him a solution of it to drink as well. The Gaelic word for mistletoe is "an t'nil ioc," which means all healer. In the northeast of Scotland people used to cut withes of mistletoe at the March full moon; these they bent in circles and kept for a year to cure hec tic feverB and other troubles. In some ?? ?> Vin rr??aflflfno ia no. ptuia U1 VJCiiuau; kuv/ iuiouowvv, 10 vu pecially esteemed as a remedy for the ailments of children, who sometimes wear it hung around the neck as an amulet. , In Sweden on Midsummer eve mis tletoe is diligently sought after, the people believing it to be possessed of many mystic qualities, and that if a sprig of it is attached to the ceiling of the dwelling house, the horse's stall or the cow's crib, the trolls will then be powerless to injure either man or beast. Branches of the plant are com monly seen in farm houses hanging from the ceiling to protect the dwell ings from all harm, but especially from ^ '3 wHH fVin foil. I lire, ciliu pui DUUO auiiw&u M.iwu buv iuu ing sickness think they can ward off all attacks of the malady by carrying about with them a knife which has a handle of mistletoe. A Swedish remedy for other com plaints is to hang a sprig of mistletoe round the sufferer's neck or to make him wear on his finger a ring made from the plant. Moreover they fash ion divining rods of mistletoe or of four different kinds of wood, one of which must be mistletoe. The treas ure seeker places the rod on the ground after sundown, and when it rests directly over the treasure the rod begins to move as if it were alive. Like their Swedish neighbors, many German peasants consider the mistle toe a powerful charm against evil spir its. A similar belief seems to have lingered among the Romans, whose re ligion at a very early date was some what similar to that of the Druids. When Aeneas descended into HaAv he gathered to protect himself from the infernal powers a branch of mistletoe which Vergil calls the golden bough. 15 TWIT?" 1IMWOT HIT'S de las' thing I heah when I tun out de light; "Is 'e cumin' ternight, mammy? Comin' ternight?" En de good Lavrd knows, dough I sez "Not yit," Dey's a-astin' me still whut dey gwine ter git. En I projick en plan, en I skimp en squeeze, En I hurries apas' all de winders I sees, 'Case de chilluns espec's dat he'll bring 'em a lot ? En dey think he's de same dat de White Folks got. "Is 'e comin' ternight, mammy? [Comin* Lawd, I wisht In mah soul dat 'e would en he might! I wisht In mah soul dat 'e'd come down de flue Lak I useter believe dat 'e sholy would do. When de chilluns ondress en dey Jump In to bald, ^ En I tuck up de quilt 'roun' eacK po' li'l hald, Den I set down en wish, en I wish lak I pray. Dat 'e find out de place 'to' hit com* Chrls'mas Day. Why" de chilluns believes! Dey is sho' dat hit so, En dey countin' on him lak a man dat dey know, En dey talk er de things dat he sutten ter bring:, 'Twell dey set up in bald en dess holler En I tell 'em w'y sho' good ole Santy '11 come Wid a doll en a sled en a railroad en drum. En dey drlf oft ter sleep wid a smile on dey face En dey aln" not a cent I kin spalh In de place! Hit's de las' thing I heah when I tun out de light: "Is 'e comin' ternight, mammy? Comln* ternight?" En I laughs wid dem all w'en dey plan whut dey do Wid de things dat he'll bring?en I say hit's all true! En de white chillun up whah I's wukin', dey 'low Dat ole Santy he'll come, cn won't miss 'em nohow. "Is 'e comin' ternight?" Lawd, I wlsht hit 'ud bs Dat he's com hyuh en fix up <Jls 'poblem for me! Except ye become as a little child ye shall in no wise enter into the joy of Christmas time. When and Why. "Do you go to Sunday school now, Georgie?" inquired Georgie's uncle. "Yep; Christmas is comin'!" "Don't you go except just before Christmas?" "Yep; I go just before the summer picnic, too." The Christmas Robin. In many parts of England the robin is associated with Christmas-tide. There is a belief that on Christmas eve these birds will sing near a house where a person is dying, to che-jr him. AfiSwi -r WHAT YOU CAN GIVE Helpful Christmas Present Sug gestions for Those Who Are Puzzled. Unabridged Dictionary Will Be Appre ciated bv Children of Kindergarten Age?Other Suitable Gifts for Young and Old. f NUMBER of correspondents who have requested sugges tions of books suitable for Christmas gifts will find an swers to their queries in the following: Among the many attractive gift books for very little boys might be mentioned Professor Rausmissen's "Analogy Between the Monogamous Protoplasm and the Silurian Mole cule." We can think of no book that would be a greater source of delight to {he child that is not yet out of short dresses. It tells in easy words of eight and ten syllables of the sports and pastimes of the protoplas mic family and draws beautiful moral 4-V. rt ortwii o/ilaa rtf fha 1CJ5DUUB IXUili lilC VUlJ/USVi^a vra. wuv carboniferous era. It is handsomely illustrated with representations of the agile animalcule and will be sure to delight the heart of the little boy or girl who -finds it In his or her stock ing, as the case may be. Another dainty idea for a child of three or four years is the Unabridged Dictionary. The simplicity of style observed in this interesting narrative recommends it at once for children who have reached the kindergarten age. The plot is not so complex and the characters are sufficiently varied to hold the unflagging interest of the little ones. We have in mind a gen tleman who ?ave his little son a dic tionary last Christmas, and he as sures us that the lad simply devoured the book. A pretty present for a child is the clinical report of the county hospital. This comes nicely printed on clea^ white paper, with bizarre illustrations showing the rise and fall of the tem perature, amount of protoids eaten, official count of the germs, statistics as to microbes and many other amus ing and entertaining ideas. A rare source of pleasure with (his book is to have the little fellows pronounce the long words first the way they are spelled and then read them backward and see what difference, if any, there is in the sound. Some boys would rather do this than go skating. In the line of pure, romance there is nothing more entertaining from Prof. T. L. Escopex's "How the Spec trum Caught On in Saturn." This highly original historical tale tells how snfifitrum revealed the secret of Saturn's rings, showing that the planet was warm and dry and that the two rings were for ice water. It comes in four large volumes, with 22 pages of logarithmic calculations that are sure to delight young and old. As a gift book for a member of a temperance family there is nothing pleasanter than "The Complete Bar keeper." This tells exactly what goes into the stuff that men put in their mouths to steal away their brains, and will be of valuable assistance to any person who wishes to apply sat isfactory tests and determine whether or not he has been equipped with brains and would inspire larceny. "One Thousand Ways to Cure a Cold," by Burton Bales, is a beautiful ly written book, giving all the reme dies for cold that were suggested to its author in one day. There are 89 variations of the quinine and whisky treatment, and the other 911 reme dies consist of the same prescription 4 V?4ffor? stnintrtn Thla {a wunoui iuc uiuw suuiuv, ,w a good book to have in any house. "The Servant Question and Its An swer" will deceive many people, but it might do for a gift to a young mar ried couple. The answer is quaintly given: "Board." WILBUR D. NESBIT. MORE SLIPPERS COMING. "The time Is at hand," said the preacher, With wrath showing1 plain on each feach er. "When slippers will be Showered down upon me By every feminine cneacher." Life Without Christmas. To take Christmas out of life, would be to take the perfume out of flowers, the sweetness from all songs, the color from the rainbow, the soul from the body, God from the sky. VALUE OF A CHILD'S GIFTS Those Made With Their Own Hand# Teach Good Lessons and Give inspiration. If we stop to think about our Christmas giving we realize that a gift means more to the giver than it does toy him who receives. If it is i eivfin in th? nrnner snfrlt the donor finds out to, the full that it is really "more blessed to give than to re ceive," a fact that is Jost sight of in an age of the commercial spirit. With children there is a great edu cative value in their present giving If it is encouraged to be really their ; own giving. If the mother, however, 1 simply prepares some little remem brance, and says "Mary, this is your ; Christmas present to Aunt Ellen," the gift has no meaning in the thoughts of the young giver. And not only has it no meaning, but it becomes 1 actually harmful for the reason it pre sents the idea to the child that the gift without the giver is really a gift. And the child has put no thought or ' self sacrifice Into the giving of that present. On the other hand, if the child be given pocket money which it may con sider its very own, or, better still, if It is enabled to earn pocket money and Is then encouraged to set aside, a por tion of its very own money for pres ent making the idea of true giving is acquired. The sacrifice, the fore thought, the love necessary to make a gift a real gift are there. The home-made gifts of children have many valuable lessons to teach the young givers. Many lessons in sewing, raffla, bead-work or painting may be given under the guise of mak ing a gift. In one family, where the elder sister had never made gifts, and really never learned to sew well until she was eighteen years of age, the younger Bister, a girl of ten, in spired by the example of a small friend, wished to make birthday gifts for her family. Once she asked her -i.1 A- * ? 1 ? 1 A. . muiiier lu ietu;ii uci uuw iu uutuci, another time to scallop, and before she was twelve years old she had be come as proficient a little seamstress as one would want to see. Thus practical lessons are learned, while the child is inspired with the idea that "Not what we give, but what we share; the gift without the giver is bare." A FEEL IN THE CHRISTMAS AIR. By JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY. They's a kind o' feel In the air to me Whpn the Chris' mas times sets in That's about as much of a mystery As ever I've run ag'in. Fer instance, now, whilst I gain In weight ' And gineral health, I swear They's a goneness somers I can't quite state? A kind o' feel In the air. They's a feel In the Chris'mas a 1 r goes right To the spot where a man lives at! It gives a teller a appetite? They ain't no doubt about that! And ylt they's some pin?I don't know what? That follers me here and there And ha'nts and worries and spares me not? A kind o' feel in the air. They's a feel, as I say, in the air that's jest As blamed-on sad as sweet, In the same ra-sho as I feel the best And am the spryest on my feet Them's alius a kind o' sort of a ache VI -tj-r-APU, That I can't locate u ^3 nowhere, But it comes with Chris'mas, and no mis take? A kind o' feel *n the air. Is It the racket the children raise? Why, no! ? God bless 'em, no! Is it the eyes and the checks ablaze. Like my own wuz long ago? Is it the bleat o' the whistle and beat O' the little toy drum and blare O' the horn? No, no! It Is Jest the sweet? The sad-sweet feel In the air. One Might, "They are io be married on Christ mas day." "Would you call thajj 'Yule-tied?' I inidmonai SUNMSQIOOL Lesson (By E. O. SELLERS, Acting' Director .of Sunday School Course.) LESSON FOR DECEMBER 27 JESUS, THE WORLD'S SAV10R^ND > king. ' (Review.) READING LESSON?II Cot. 5:14-2L GOLDEN TEXT?Far be It from me to glory, save In the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.?Gal. 6:14 R. V. With the-exception <*f the temper ance lesson, all the lessons of the quar ter have to do with the death and res urrection of our Lord, lo the first quarter we considered Jesus as the great Teacher; in the second, he is presented chiefiy as the seeking Savior; in the third, we observed him as he acted in judgment upon Israel and sin; in this last, he is seen in his supreme office as Savior and king. The king of love, he is also the world's Savior. Deny him his kingship, refuse to become a subject of that kingdom of which he is the head and we bring upon ourselves the condemnation of a righteous judgment This past quar ter particularly reveals him in that final ministry which resulted in the Initiation of the new enterprise of pro claiming his gospel, to the end that his kingdom shall be established. We Bhall consider the lessons under four hAftritncrs: / Story of Love. x 4* I. ThOoe of Preparation for HI? #ion. These embrace the first three ? lessons. (1) In the first, we have the * beautiful story of the lore which anolnteri him for burial, which he ac cepted and Immortalized. This was not because of the greatness of the act, but because of the appreciation of himself and of his worded (2) Here we observe him presiding over and in stituting that lasting memorial, the symbolic feast, wherein the old passes away and the new dispensation is ushered in. (3) In the third lesson we view with awe the agony of the gar den wherein he dedicated himself, to the coming suffering, "Not as I jvill, but as thou wllt'J-~absoIute surrender and delight in the Father's wiil. > * * II. Those That Preceded His Pas slon. These next five lessons lead us through those dark shadows, yea, through a darkness which is yet un fathomable and which ended in the total darkness of Calvary. (4) In this lesson Judas is presented, the incarna tion of evil, and. the agent of Satan, who betrayed his Lord and "Friend" by a kiss. Here we see the utter ruin of a soul which chose private ambition instead of fellowship with JesnB. (5) This i^ a presentation of the greatest / ^ and most appalling travesty of justice f the world has ever seen. Humanity , never descended to any lower depths, yet he is serene, calm, dignified' and fttrong. (6). The Temperance Lesson. (7) This lesson considers the heart breaking rashness of Peter. (8) This is the story of the ignoble failure of a weak, vacillating, time-server. Pilate's conscience was keenly alive, yet at Last, in a i lie mignt eavu uiuidcu auu retain hia position of power, be gave Jesus over to the hatred and malice of his enemies by ordering him to be crucified. Story of tne Cross. III. His Passion. (9) This brlhgs us to the story of the cross itselt as. considered in this sequence of lessons. Before that awe-inspiring, wonder rreatine event we stand with bared head. Here sin was unmasked and did Its utmost. Her also we behold grace unveiled and active. IV. The Poat-Passion Lessons. We are now in a new atmosphere and light, a new glory Is to be seen. (10) [n this lesson we behold the empty tomb, for "He could not be holden of death." We share with them the glori ous, the joyful consciousness that he whom we have just seen die In ig nominy and shame and suJering is now alive and "ever liveth" to be our advocate and ever-present friend. This - Is a glorious fact, that of the literal, bodily resurrection of Christ from among the dead. Hallelujah! (11) In lesson eleven this same thought is again emphasized and with the sugges tion of its accompanying obligation, in that "we are witnesses of these things." These first disciples re ceived their great commission and were told how in infinite grace the Savior and king first of all calls his followers into fellowship with him self before they are sent out to cany on those enterprises which are the fruit of his death and reisurrection. (12) In this is found the blessed record of those last words of him who "shewed himself alive after his pas Bion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom" (Acts 1:3). Here is not alone the un questioned certainty of the resurrec- ^ tion of Christ from the dead, but th? record of his present place ' in the heavenlies," whither he ascended to be with the Father, and also the glo rious hope of his coming again "in like manner as ve saw him ascending." Bodily he left this earth, bodily and "in great glory" he is to return. Praise his name! In "TarbeU's Teachers' Guide" ^ fa a good suggestion for review Sunday, viz., that a series of elliptical phrases Ije written upon a board or chart, that will fix the chief idea or serve to re call the lessons, as follows: (1) Let her alone ... (2) For ye have the poor ... (3) Where soever this gospel shall be preached . \ . (4) Verily I say unto you, One . . . (5) For the Son of Man goeth . . . (6) This is my blood . . . (7) Take ye . . . (8) My soul is . . . (!)) /ather, all things . . . (10) Watch and . . . (11) My God, my . . . (12) Why seek ye . . . (13) Ye shall be my . . . These phrases may be written upon cards or slips of paper and distributed to classes or individuals, the entire sentence to be recited when called >cor. A