The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, December 13, 1912, Image 11
ft CURISUS ISLAND1
land of Fond Memories and!
Home of Saint Good Will.
T
MAN, as wo Jour
neyed eastward to
the Land of Hearts
Desire, wp caine to
an Island which Is
o a 11 p d Christmas,
where all good pil
jilms go tsbpre.
ISut those who
have ventured Car
from their course,
Of hare no iyd))|
to company with
their fellows, sail
on to the north,
which Ih a chilly
tv-a, of to the Mouth,
*bere tho blast is not tempered. For
Chrlstmus Island llos Btralght In
way of tho honoBt mariner, und the
itreani which runs uh u river through
ihe sea hath warmth and fragrunco,
whereof the ffcorw QJf '?"< Ulftnd give
ploalift'nt evidence. Now, the gales that
uweep tho Island swoop westward
upon tho approaching pilgrims, and
oast ward upon the departing sails, so
that tho stay within tho gracious port
is but a part of tho Joy of that sea. -I
And an the shores camo out of the
horizon, a little child called, "Christ
inas l file! Christmas IbIo!"? ho clear j
la the air of these parts to Infant 1
eyes, And tho older folk aboard were
Joyful, too, for off the west coast of
the Island, which those who have
charted these seas call tho Shoro of
Memory, a fragrant breeze began that
minute to blow; though of these !
names 1 cannot be sure, for tho child
had a book of his own wherein this j
shore was nnmed Anticipation. And
now tho journey meant a few more
dawns and sunsets ere a landing could '
bo made, but with each league onward !
tho mellow fragrance was more mark- I
ed. So there was groat dispute among '
the elder folk to say just what made
up the pleasant assault upon our
Bonnes, some saying It was composed
mostly of this, and others of that.
"It Is lavender," said an old lady.
"Lavender and spruce and burning
candles. I remember the night the
new dress was taken from tho chest,
and wo danced beneath tho candles,
and there was mistletoe, my dear,
. . . that was how I mot your grand
father. Yes, the breeze from off tho
shoro of the Isle is. lavender and
spruce and burning c&ndleB."
"Jlo! to me!" cried a bluff and
hearty man. "It Is tho good smell of
well-warmed horses on the snow,
with the moon making a double team
of them. And it is the good dry smell
of popping corn and cooking apples.
Oh, yes, and I will be saying there's
the brown turkey In it, too. And tho
smell of a lantern in tho barn vyhen
we go out to get the horses after the
dance."
"Ah," said another? and as I looked
?I saw he was habited as a' priest. "It
is tho incense, the Christmas incense,
which goes in ghostly columns to tho
darkened roof of the great church
as the Three Wise Men go in proces'
sion up the aisle attended by acolytes
and hooded nuns to do homage to the
Babe at tho altar. Raster" I know by
the li}ies which smother .ho incense,
but Christmas is incense and music.
It is that which makes the breeze so
delightful to you, my good people/'-. ... I
"No," said another, "No, no. Ah? [
now I know what It Is. It is back !
In the hill kirk that wo aro, where j
the foot-warmers keep us alive j
through the Christmas, and it's the
faint scorching of honest leather and j
the faint singeing of homespun that j
the L:\i zl' is bringing you."
"It's randy! It's varnish on sleds!
Its perfume ton. dolls! It's oranges,
andUevorgreens, and the smell of the
wooki fire in the fireplace, and tho
smell of the cold on mother's furs!"
cried the child.
And I know not to what lengths the
talk might have gone, but the sailors
v,ero calling '^Shore!" and there .was
great motion among the pilgrims. "
Now, tho island is ruled by a saint ;
whose- names are many, but in air'
tongues and races they have one
meaning, which is GOOD WILL. And
his name is tho law of the isle. For
that if a Inan hath Good
Will he fulfllleth all law; and if he
nave not Good Will no law can put
within him; but if ho have it he
cannot but give proof of It. So that
Here is groat giving of gifts in tho
gand called Christmas, for Good
, *3 itself a gift which forever
ranches and blossoms and sets to
fruit of its kind. And it Is the cus
tom of the saint to meet the pilgrim
Ps and give those who call upon
m the choicest gifts, and when a
man hath received any one of them
J* for?ver a citizen of tho island
thereof wIth all the rights
J5?k\th? aro hung upon a tree
Ihov , ? Called tho Treo of Life and
elvl l!ne Wilh a wonderful light and
f. ? ?V a sweetness which in good
ir -i sweclen the world. Indeed,
, gr,,ns know, the reason that
distant from the Christmas
erir^ai?e Stable at all is that pil*
eiftcS f'aVft COme back bearing their
* *)f sweetness and light.
And the first gift is the Gift of the
break n whoreby ono m?y
whirl 1?' * a narrow veracity
but In 8 him- truthfully enough
his in IO? unwiso^y. to the faults of
nor tiI?WS: Thero are neither riches
Tho.rr ~ra^ to <h? G??d
Sir h? i whlch comes of the Good
? .leroby men have discovered
hidden worth ^8 t round
Un? blackened, l? Idlug
hillside to bo threshold of v orldu of
gleaming gold. ll?- tbfll ric v. .m .
gift comes to bllDMlf to Cinl li I mtul f
lu a trlerdly world. it Ik n gift
greatly to be deal rod, us a iU?> In
wlntor, a friend In inlnfoi'tuno; and
by iu magic are miracles wrouglit oo
those WOO dvill far from the king
dom of tho Saint Good Will.
And the second gift la llko unto It?
a mild apirit of amneaty toward all
pilgrims whoita faulty compatm takes
thern astray, and thoao who receive
it are atraightway Inducted into the
Order of the Forglvers. It strikes
fi'un the pilgrim aa hi the twinkling
Of an eye, the cold bond" of hatred,
vengeance, and all the brood of ma!'
loo, which make their homo with a
man but to destroy him.
v And the third gift ia the Juat Judg
ment, by which tho .world la vaatiy
lightened by reasou of the number of
condemnatlona being leauc.nad. Kor bh
is the number of those wo condemn
in thin world, ao la tho number of
disuppolutmenta wo carry about with
us, and the number of tho sunny
window* we have darkened for our
hHvok. There lights of life WhlCll
u Juat judgment forbears to extin
guish, ?tyd he who beura thla gift
walks in a mellow circio of serene
tolerance.
And tho fourth gift 1b that of tho
Cheerful Spirit, having which ono ban
light at eventide, yen and at midnight.
For thero 1h no darkness llko unto
tho darkness of tho spirit bereft of
cheerful lamps and Area, and there
1h nq darkness of tho spirit that the
St. Good Will cannot dispel.
And when the pilgrim has received
these gift ? ho finds among them an
other, which is tho gift of Vision,
whoreby ho Bees tho uriBQen. Indeed,
nil tho gifts of St. Good Will portain
to sight and vision, for aa tbu physi
cal eye- is tho chief of tho body's
blessings, bo la tho gift of vision the
Stiver of life, which possessing, no man
perishes. For as blind men walk the
way and see neither rivers nor trees
nor men, so he who has not received
these best of gifts walks In great
blindness toward n world which en
compasses him with beneficence, guid
ance, protection and inspiration.
And when the pilgrims sailed on, lo!
they were new mortals. And no mat
ter how great the distance they jour
neyed, tho pleasant gales of Christ
mas isle were always In their nos
trils. And they went to many lands,
but wherever they set foot, or bpllt
a booth or raised a tent, the people
knew they had been to the Blessed
islo. And Christmas trees sprang'as
seedlings from tho Tree of Life, and
many kindnesses to friends and tho
poor were borne abroad on the wings
of sweetness and light which forever
came forth from tho Rifts of St. Good
Will. ? Detroit News.
Christmas Song
now is the time when Dolly sprays
Eight all the Darren, brooding ways,
Jlnd every bell, it sounds noel,
J\ p*an in tbe master's praise.
How is tbe time when ivies gleam
Cike beryl in the morning beam,
Jlnd every bell, it sounds noel,
jUnd makes the master's praise its
theme.
now is t be time when mistletoe
Is Glossy in tbe noonday glow,
And every bell, it sounds noel,
Co praise upon Ijis name bestow.
now is tbe time of ingle mirtb,
Che blessed day of Christ? his birth,
jlnd every bell, it sounds noel,
Co ring fjis praise throughout tbe earth.
? Clinton ScollarJ In Alnslet's.
NOT A DAY OF JOY FOR ALL
..Those Who Are Happy onXhriatmai
Should Remember the Suffer
ing and Distressed.
"It's Christmas time, friend! . What
will you do about It?" asks L. D,
Stearns in Suburban Life. "Mothers!
Aunties! You who love to see youi
babies bend, crooning softly, ovei
their family of dolls, with that grave
little smile of dawning motherhood
flitting tenderly over their faces, just
within a stono's throw of babies who
have no dolls, and the mother heart
beats in their bosoms just as it does
? in that of your own sheltered darl- j
ings; but their faces are grave, and
sharp and old; and little drawn, white
lines show about their mouths; and
their eyes are not lllco the eyes of
your children. The other day, a baby
opened its eyes for the first time
on this old earth; it was one of our
coldest days; but in the homo was
no stove, no bit of warmth, no food ?
almost no clothes! On another street,
in the midst of plenty, a woman, with
two small babies toddling about, the
father out hunting for work, cries ?
with red lids: 'We've not a dollar in
tho house, and nothing to eat!' Oh,
mothers ? oh, adoring aunties ? life
isn't made up of just prayers and sit
ting reverently in church, keeping
one day in tho week holy! There'?
n tryst to keep with lifo that is
spelled in many, many ways, if you'd
make it complete."
Women and the Ballot.
Weiner-Neustadt and Waldhofen,
Austria, have just, given the women
taxpayers the ballot, making voting
compulsory for women as well as men
The legislature of "Manitoba recently
permitted women' to practioe law. The
legislature bf Georgia only a few days
later defeated- a similar amendment.
(Cdpyrltfht.)
M I > it had como to
l>n?B that on tills
day befpre chrUt
initH <i man not
old in yearn nut in
hu room it 9 tiu
tel in u Ht range
town and foit him
self of nil the
world tii?> moat
lonely. High and
low. rich and poor,
mingled In the
procession of hui>
l>y shoppers with
out. 1 1?> uIdik' had
no thouicfit for
bantu Clang.
It wont back five years. Jlo, the uon
of ft railroad magnate, had ?l uro<l to
fall in lovo with the blue i d daugh
ter of a locomotive driver on his fa
ther's xoad? a mun whose face and
hands carried grime ? -who dwelt in a
cottage ? who had no society outside
of daily tollers. An<i he had dared
stand before the father who thought
himself specially created and say:
"Father, I going to bo married/'
"Well?"
'To Gladys Davis."
"Never heard of her."
"Tho daughter of one of , our en- j
gineers."
There was a moment of painful bub j
pense and then the storm broke.
"You shall not! .'You aro either a j
fool or. a lunatic to think of It. An I
engineer's daughter! Think of your
mother ? of me ? of your slHtor? the
disgrace! You must have lost your
senses!"
"But I am to marry her," was the
steady reply.
"I say no! If tho Jade has trapped
you Into an engagement buy her off.
The father must use his Influence or
take his discharge."
"But we love and are promised to
each other."
In the next half hour the father
stormed and cajoled. If tho sou In
sisted on such a marriage ho would
be cast out by the family; ho would
be ridiculed even by the common peo
ple. And the magnate ended up with:
"Fred, I will have tho engineer call
ed up here and give him. a check for
a thousand dol
lars and tell him
that this non
sense must end."
"We ?hall be
mar r led three
days from now,"
was his answer.
In reply to that
the father point
ed to the door, and
the son bowed and
passed out to he
son no longer. Me
had money that
had been left him ,
by an auntj and
the father could
not threaten him
with novfiftrtv
Love may always be right, but it
can be so influenced as to be seem
ingly a mistake. The marriage took
place and Fred Dillingham was ostra
cized. He was not kindly welcomed
in tho other stratum. If there is a gulf
between the rich man and the work
ingmtan the latter resents intrusion
as much as tho former. There was
love, but after a few months it was
influenced from both sides. Both hus
band and wife were made to fear that
a grave mistake had been made. They
fought away the idea and sought to
hold -their love, but that brought irri
tations and vexations and culminated
in mjsunderstandings and quarrels.
After two years there was a separa
tion. Neither really desired it. It
was what the gosslpB had predicted,
and what they strove to bring about.
There was more sorrow than anger
when tho young husband turned his
back on wife and infant a year old
and went out Into the world a3 a
wanderer The wife went back to
her father's cottage, but not to strug.
gle with poverty. Tho husband been
generous to her.
Five long years, and Fred Dilling
ham had not been heard of. As an
outlaw without a famiiy, whom should
he write to and why? At three yearB
of age the child, who hail been named
Patty, wondered in her childish way
why she hadn't a papa. At Ave she
demanded to know. At six she stood
before the embarrassed mother in in
dignation and threatened to go out
and find one.
And at last the wanderer had re
crossed tho sea and headed for Ids
home. He was tired' and weary and
lonely. Home? But he had none!
He had left it when he left wife and
baby. This struck him liko a sudden
blow, though he~had all along realized
It in a general way. No home ? no
wife ? no child! That was why he
havi left the train and taken lodgings.
He had no place to go. With money
In his pockets, he was a tramp.
And to know thrrt Christmas was at
hnnd, and to hear the jlnglo of sleigh
b*.<.
on 1 1
ftlii] n , . , .
0)?i h. 11 1 ;?
I I'm nu?n ?
not k^*>p i
A ii'i.'i i . . Of 11)
law whs down on
? ? 1
' v
t, out'!
'i ' llMfr thy out
th? ? i'.( I J
*ould wlp?U will*
tho throng Ho
would filter . the
?tOftl undrr tbl
ov??rgr*HMi branch
eu au<J look ?l?out
Mm- aye, make a
piirrhuuo and h?
Bunta CMaus to
lomo b I g o y e d
Child on tho Btrot't.
Ho v. uh it n out
i.i a biit (bi world
hIuiiiM not rr?>\s .1
hliu unit u to tho
('(Iko. llo who al?
most HinllliiK ti"
ho crowdod hip
way Into u biK
?toio, and ho wa?
lookljjg 11 bout htm when u small, warm
Juiftil wiw , cuddled Into his And' u
Child's voice said;
I'leaso tuko caro of mo 'till mam- '
iiift finds mo -I'm lost!"
It whk u Ulilo girl, and on her face
wn.s both ft smile and a look of en- j
treaty.
"Why, of courHo/' replied tho out- I
law, preuslng her hand ami drawing
'"or buck ft little. "So you camo hero l
v. i(h your mother after ChrlBtmaH
thing** and got separated?"
"That's It, only I think she rati away
from mo ho that I shouldn't know
what Santa Claun was going to hrlng
inn tomorrow night,"
" I hope it win ho something nice."
"Qh, it will he. Aro you buying
hoiim tiling tor your llttlo girl?"
"N-oo,"
"Maybe she's dead?"
"I ? I don't know."
'f lic I'iri iook< .! <ip and noticed the !
grave expression on tho outlaw'H face, 1
and cuddled doner to bin) and Huld:
"I'm sorry if I have hurt you; Mam
ma BayH I talk too much. I've Just
thought that maybe you are net mar- '
rlcd at all?"
I guess' that's pretty near It," re
plied tho outlaw as ho tried to laugh,
hut 1 1) {i r] c poor work of It.
"Well, If you haven't got any little
girl I haven't got any papa. What!
you going to buy.
"Why, whatever you Bay?" ,
"But not for me?"
? "Yen, for you. We'll select Bomn
tiling, and then when your mother
comes I'll ask her if she'll let you have
;it," ... ,j
"I hope bIi <5 will. Yon look to he
Buch a nice man that she shouldn't re
fuse. I picked you out as the very
nicest man < hat. canto along."
"Thank you," said tho outlaw a? he
felt his heart grow big. "Now, then,
about this doll. Real hair, o^es that
wink, pink Bhoes and almost as big a?
you are. 'She'll bo a sister to you."
- "And how much is it?"
"Only ten dollars."
"My, but can you pay that inuch! If
you can you must bo rich."
"But you see I havo no little girl of
my own."
'That's bo. Isn't Christmas nice?
Do you know ? there's mamma over
there! Let mo run and tell her."
Tho outlaw turned Ills back on the
crowd and gritted his teeth and
winked his eyes. He had been hit
hard. Three or
four minutes pass
ed and then a
hand pulled at his
and a voice said:
"Please, Mister
nice man, tell me
your name, that I
rhfly Introduce you
to mamma. I
think she will let
me have the doll."
The outlaw turned
and gasped and
his face went
white.
"Gladys!"
, "Fred."
"You here!"
"And you!"
"And this la our daughter?"
"Our Patty. Father was discharged
from the road and moved over here
to take another run."
It was the next day, and Patty was
sitting on her father's knee and the
happy mother was wiping tears from
her eyes, when the child said:
"Ray, mamma, I Just picked him out
as the very nicest man In all that big
crowd, and I didn't make any mistake,
did I? Don't anybody sit down oil my
doll and glvo her a pain!"
Made It Work.
A wook before the Christmas holi
days an undergraduate wished to start
home, thus gaining a week's vacation
on the other student 3. He had, how- ;
ever, used up all the absences from '.
the lectures which are allowed, and
any moro without good excuse would
have meant suspension. In a quan
dary he hit upon this solution; hc^
telegraphed his father the following
message: ?
"Shall I come home at my leisure or j
straight homo?"
The answer he received was: "Come
straight home."
An exhibition of tho telegram to the
professors was sufficient.
An Assurance.
"Don't you think a holiday Is more
cheerful when there Is a largo family
gathered about festive board?"
"I do," answered the sardonic per
son. "A largo family is a glad assur- ;
ance that there Is not going to be '
enough turkey left to supply tho menu i
for tho next few days." j
Baruch-Nettles Co.
Copyright Hart Schaffhcr & Marx
You want Saint Glaus to
stop here at this store on
his way to your chimney
and Christmas tree; there
are more things here that
men and big boys want for
Christmas than in any
other store in town.
Some day soon you'd bet
ter come in and pick out
the things you'd like to have
him deliver; we'll' mark
them f??r him and guaran
tee to get them there at the
right moment.
Here are a few things that Santa Claus will
be glad to carry for you; Hart Schaffner &
Marx suits and overcoats; best Christmas gift
possible, $18, $20, $25, $30, $35; finest made.
Others a} $10 and $15.
Other appropriate goods we carry in
stock for holiday gifts are Suit Cases, Hats,
Bath Robes, Sox, Ties, Shirts, Pajamas, Belts,
Mufflers, Gloves, Silk and Linen Initial Hand
kerchiefs.
Baruch-Nettles Co.
? ? ? - - ? - - _ ^