The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, December 14, 1916, SECTION 2 PAGES 9 TO 16, Page 12, Image 14
vhristofEve
| jsrNewRancp)
I
the little town of
i 11 "New France." a
II miles from Quegs|3ijEJ
JJL bee, there liyed an
".uj-' i_y old man by the
name of Perry Fan|chiori.
He was
P* ' *'* about sixty years
1 ^sattmm of age> a Wealthy
old bachelor, who, with the exception
of a housekeeper, lived alone
in a great weather-beaten old mansion
on the river road. He lived
a very secluded kind of life, was
seldom seen upon the streets of the
town, and attracted very little attention
when he was seen. There were
hardly ten people in the place that
knew the man or anything concerning
his life.
Yet there had been a time in the
life of Perry Fanchion when he had
attracted a great deal of attention,
and won the sympathy and pity of
the whole town. That had been over
forty years ago, and in the meantime
tho tnu-n hnri r>hnnp,prl from n village
into a city. The old families had died
out and the younger generation had
forgotten the history of Perry Fanchion.
,
It was Christmas eve night and bitterly
cold. Sleet and snow drove with
incessant fury against the great French
windows. The heavy old oak doors
rattled and shook, while the wind
shrilled mournfully among the many
old-fashioned gables and chimneys.
Perry sat gazing into the fire. His
hair was snow-white, his eyes were
dark, and tonight they had a tragic,
gloomy look.
On the old colonial furniture the
sinister faces carved there grinned hor*ribly
and the iron claws seemed to
"Well, Well?I Hope the Children Are
All in Bed."
grip the floor hard; as though they
were repressing some dark emotion or
'evil thought.
Forty years ago this night Perry
was a happy man, for tomorrow he
was to.marry the beautiful Miss Nelly
Leroy, daughter of the rector of
St Agnes.
But that great factor ' he events
of a man's career, fate, willed otherv
wise, for only a few days before the
wedding was to take place the brideto-be
^was stricken with a fatal illness
and less than a week later was laid
.
away in the village graveyard.
After the funeral Perry Fanchion
shut himself up, almost alone, in the
oTPnt house Time moved on and Deo
J* O* .
r pie forgot! One by one his friends
! left him, until at last he stood alone, a
stranger in a stranger world!
About this time the poorer people,
the destitute of the city, became aware !
* of the fact that they had a friend, j
a very good, mysterious friend, mys- j
terious because, try as they might (and |
did) they never could discover his j
? Identity.
H > One time when a severe landlord !
was about to turn a poor family out .
of the home they lived in, because
they were not able to pay the rent, !
that family found the required amount r
and a short note asking them to ac* '
eept the money as a gift, by the fire- j
place. Several times incidents like
this occurred among the unfortunate, j
A hut as to where these mysterious pres- j
ents came from, or by whom present-!
ed, none could ever tell. But the chil- j
dren suspected Santa Claus of having!
a hand in the matter.
Tonight as Perry sat by the fire he
was very sad and very, very lonesome.
The town clock struck ten. Perry <
- -.arose, donned a huge fur coat to
play his little act bravely. A worn, j
N tired smile played around his usually
grim mcuth as he thought of the scenes
of joy and poverty he would witness j
this night. He crossed the town with !
; STONE'S I
4 lb tin
^ 1 lb packaj
I G . A . D U
i,
V?
r? V
rapid, nervous strides and entered a j
little family burying ground. He was !
gone for thirty minutes and when he i
returned his face showed traces of
de?>p emotion.
"Good-night, sweetheart, I have wait- i
ed forty years; surely the end cannot
be far distant!" he murmured as he
softly closed the gate.
There came a jingling of sleigh bells !
?a sleigh drove up, he entered and
was whirled away over the snow.
In a tiny little hovel on the edge of !
the city five little curly-headed chil-;
dren, dressed in old and ragged but j
clean clothes were grouped around a !
'' - *? i rru
sman nre trying to seep warm, rucu ,
mother was sewing for a living, her i
husband having died several years ago, ;
leaving the children to her to provide
for, and being a woman of good educa- j
tion, she was trying to rear her chil- |
dren as best she might. She was hav- j
ing a desperate struggle and day by j
day she saw with despair the fight
growing harder and harder.
"Mother, when is Santa Claus coming?"
inquired little Billy.
For a while mother didn't seem to i
want to say anything. A large tear j
fell silently on her work. With a
hasty movement, almost angrily, she
brushed it aside.
"Perhaps he won't come at all!" she
replied wPh a little catch in her voice.
"N-o-o-o-o!" came a chorus of unbelieving
voices from the fire.
"He is coming!"
Suddenly there came a jingling of
bells and a sleigh drew up in front of
the home.
"Whoop!" yelled Johnny. "Come ou
kids?Santa Claus! My eye!"
In an instant the fire was deserted
and five little heads were peering eagerly
out of the door. I
"Gee willikins! Look at the toys!"
"Well, well," said Santy in a loud
voice, pretending not to see the little
ones. "I hope the children are all j
in bed tonight, for if they are not, I
will not come again."
Five curly heads vanished in a sec-|
ond, and when the old gentleman en- j
tered the room all were tucked snug-j
ly in bed?that is all but Billy, who !
in his excitement and hurry pulled all
the cover up over his head and left
his feet and body uncovered.
Santa Claus laughed and dumped the
contents of his pack near the hearth.
There were drums, dotis, tin soldiers,
books, candy, nuts and fireworks.
Just at this moment Billy's toe i
rubbed up a splinter, and there came ;
a subdued grunt from the bed which
changed to a fitful, sleepy kind of i
cough as the "old fellow" turned
around. The snores redoubled in volume.
Old Santy handed mother a ,
sealed envelope and departed before
she could sufficiently recover from her
confusion and surprise to thank him. :
It was addressed to her, so she broke
the seal. The sum and substance of it j
was, that the house and property of j
Ponnhinn nnd ^something' like five hun- !
dred dollars were to be hers upon the '
death of Perry Fanchion.
So ,at last the identity of the mys- '
terious Santa Claus and the friend of ;
the poor and unfortunate was dis- j
closed.
Her home was only one of the many
to which he had been that night. Tomorrow
they would honor him. They
would come one and all to thank him, j
to praise him, to bless him?perhaps!
to beg for more as the case might be.
The sleigh stopped at the Fanchion
homestead and old Santa Claus paid j
the driver and entered the house.
Perry was weary and as he walked j
down the dark, gloomy hall he almost j
dropped with fatigue. Fatigue of the]
body, weariness of the soul, the soreness
of a broken heart, all conspired j
against him! Wearily he slid out of i
the disguise. His eyes wandered with i
a pitiful expression over the empty, j
dark room. None came to welcome i
him. No one to love or care for him. I
She had gone on before. Perhaps she
was waiting for him up there now. He
didn't know. The blood-chilling faces
grinned and the cruel claws gripped.
He drew one of the heavy old chaifs
up before the dying embers and cast
down, bowing his head far over into
the grate. Closer he huddled. What
was this dreadful chill that seemed to
be taking possession of his body? His
great sorrow preyed upon him.
"Oh, God!" he murmured; "I can
stand it no longer."
Something gentle and soft stroked
his hair! his hair that was white as
snow. Two arms encircled him lov- j
ingly. |
He looked up, at first unbelievingly, j
and then a wonderful smile lit up his i
face.
"Nelly!" he exclaimed, joyously. "At
last you have come for me. I knew you !
would! I thank Thee O ?"
His voice trailed away in the dis- j
tance. The
fire died out and the faces no I
longer grined, but seemed to smile'
hi the darkness. Far off. just as the
dawn was breaking, the chimes rang |
nnt their messaere. Was it fancy or
did a soul far out in space echo:
"Glory to God in the highest and
on earth peace, good will toward men."
Perry was at rest!
RUiT CAKE JOYS]
box - - $1.60
OF
ge - - - 40c
CKER & E
1907?E
BAMBERG'S
Just Eight M
Naturally the question i
has the most complete assorl
? ? ? 1^V*A 4- ^ ? A! /% />4
nave a larger line iu aciceo
season to another indicates
small amount of money, rati
would be compelled to carry
have to carry over. Therefc
you. Come see.
HEADY TO WEAR DEPARTMENT.
COAT SUITS?Just a few of these,
BUT THEY MUST GO. Possibly just
the kind or color you would like. Tf
you did not intend to get a SUIT this
season you may change your mind
when you see these at the prices:
$10.00, $12.50 and $15.00. See the
SUITS and be convinced; it is up to
you.
CLOAKS?Do you intend to get a
CLOAK this season? If so, now is
your time. Our loss is your gain. We
have them in most of the popular
sizes for Girls, Ladies and Children.
So come see the COATS and get the
prices. THEY WILL INTEREST
YOU if you need a coat.
DRESSES?These we have a few
of in Silk, Satin and Serges, maybe
just the one you will want. Come
and see, anyone in the lot for a
$10.00 bill. You should see them to
appreciate the offer.
RAIN COATS?We have a nice assortment
of these. Nothing nicer and
more serviceable than a RAIN COAT
for an Xmas gift.
HOSIERY ANI) GLOVES FOR XMAS
GIFTS, i
There is nothing a Girl or Lady appreciates
more than more Gloves and
Hosiery; either or both make an excellent
gift.
HOSIERY?Our line of HOSIERY
is complete in Avery respect. We
have them in Silk and Lisle, for InWe
think the prices we
in a substantial way our th?
ues, and invite each custom'
With best wish
Hooton s I
?
TELEPHONE 83-J
| Busy B<
X AND CAND1
Y All Kinds of Hon
1 Full Line of
X EVERYTHING SANITA
X CAFE FOR LADIES
X Your Patronage' W
v ni tn\; nr
fDUdl BE
V C. Gre^orv,
4$> ^
! TOYS! TOYS! (
ALL KINDS ,
JRO., Bam
LARGEST EX
ore Shopping
is: "Where will you shop?"
;ment for Girls and Ladies at t
from at the end of the seaso
that you can get goods here fo
her than a large amount of go
over some of the goods. But t
>re, it will pay you to visit HO
fants, Children, Girls, and Ladies, and
the prices in accordance with what
you select.
LONG SfrLK GLOVES?Regular
$1.25 and $1.50 qualities for Xmas,
$1.00.
SHORT SWEDE GLOVES?Natural
color, at $1.25.
SHORT KID GLOVES?Black and
White, $1.50.
LONG KID GLOVES?Black and
White, at $3.50.
have placed on the goods for t
inks for their liberal and loya
er and friend to come and sha
es for a Merry Xmas
adies Stor
;e Cafe |
{ KITCHEN |
ie Made Candy. ?
Fruits, Etc. i
X
RY AND UP-TO-DATE
AND GENTLEMEN' X
f
V
ill be Appreciated ^
:e cafe |
Proprietor.
V
We Have 75 Boxes
Granges
3uy them by the box
berg, S. C.
OTON'J
CLUSIVE LA
[ Days Befor
We suggest HOOTON'S. W:
he beginning of, and during t
n. And the fact that we neve
r far less than real value, for
ods, and if the prices were m
he KNIFE has been put to tb
OTON'S. Every price on wir
MILLINERY AX1> RIBBON'S.
In this department 'we have many
things of interest to you. It will pay
you to come and see.
Ready to ;svear Hats all reduced to
three-fourths price.
Shapes, both large and small, reduced
to one-half price.
Flowers of all kinds reduced to
one-half price.
$1.25 Velvets reduced to $1.00.
RIBBOXS?These we have for the
hair, for girdles, for fancy work, and
in lact we have them for any purpose,
and at prices you will be pleased to
pay for the quality you get.
SWEATERS AND UNDERWEAR.
If its Underwear you need, come to
Hooton's. We have the line in Sizes,
Qualities and Prices. We will be
pleased to sell you one garment or as
many as you need. Come and look at
the garments and see the prices.
SWEATERS?These we have in
white, garnet, and purple; in sizes
from 36 to 42; prices from $2.00 to
$2.50. They were originally from
$3.00 to $4.00.
HANDKERCHIEFS AND NECK
WEAR.
These two lines are more complete
than at any previous showing, and
there isn't anything that makes a
more serviceable, simple, inexpensive
gift than either of these.
Handkerchiefs are in boxes of one,
he next 8 days will impress upi
1 patronage of the past. We t
re in them.
i and a Prosperous
e & Mint
?
I
mmm ?
I1**
milBMMW
C &
yet undt
ifvislv you^
5-1916 )
DIES STORE
e Christmas
i. 4 *
Htt9 Panonco +Vjo ctnro fliat.
UJ ?WVVUfUUV tliv WWiV. VUMU
he season, would naturally
sr carry goods over from one J
we prefer carrying over a
ot unusually attractive we
e prices on what we might
iter goods means a saving to
y ..It'*1 1 rf
.
boxes of two, or as many in a box as
you would like, and the prices range
from 15c to $1.50 a box. Without
boxes we have them from 5c to 50c.
Come look them over.
MS-"hill
M
fl
Jfli
COLLARS?These- we have in Felt,
Plain and Fancy, Georgette Crepe,
. .
large and small. Organdie, and
many other kinds, from 35c to $1.50.
Let us show you.
===========; ,
*
3ii our customers and friends
iave nothing to give but val
? f > r - /
* - j ' y
?? 'I
, - ' ;'
lew Year from
* ' ' .'' ' ' '
ikl .
;ry Parlor J
BAMBERG, S; C.
f " ? r.
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