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THE WEEKLY LEDGER. VOL. I—NO. GAFFNEY CITY, s. C.. FRIDAY. PECKMBKk 21. 1H<»4. A YEAR. 1 tm- i \ tea tii : «Vs? i-t-- f m | y H •4 J, ■ .i=l |V* 'V 4 , v “'r- mm tm . jp*- • J .'H \^5l 2^ %0. ■-m * V V K *fS ‘M 1 WS*® ;&■ ■ ■ m k «' ,c\ . : 5!f. 45}^: Copyright. 1894. If* 15 THiS BL,ES&®S> -TiDE; THfri CHRI^T^A® L,*nHT> A^Si ^L.L. AOl-OW.”—WHITTIER. these as well f.s to til.-ir wiilely <liifcr- oils festival known to the Civilize<l If you have no fireside of your own to ent prototypes of nearly two thousand i world. enliven, seek out the desolate hearth of 1 years ago. voices that sang of peace on earth -"vL . is r<>a >*? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? A Merry Christmas, then, let it be to some unfortunate brother. There are A Happy Now ^ar! What does it ill! A divine religion is not a sad one. many forlorn little ones to whom an mean? Are not these words often good will to men, still* resounds in the j It brings peace to the heart, and joy is orange and a picturebook would be a thrown out as a greeting without heavenson Christmas night; and broth- an exuberance of peace. Therefore let foretaste of Heaven. Play Santa ( la us thought or depth of meaning? Is it a er is reconciled to brother, old enmi- the bells ring out, and hang out the , to sm-h, and you will find your Merry year in which to ourselves come wealth ties arc laid away, past sins forgiven. , mistletoe, and bring on the smoking Christmas in the reflection of their 111- and the bonds of friendship and family j turkey, and gather round the fireside, noccnt delight; or carry your greeting affection drawn tighter over the Christ-! and join in the frolics of the young- and your gift to some aged and lonely and health, prosperity and friendship? One spent in the pursuit of lleeting pleasure and tilled with .-elf-centered WAS Christmas Eve, .inJ n’*-r the wurlj A mantle white was falling When Santa Claus set out to Li His yearly round of calling; The dear old saint rejok'-d to see A promise of good sleighing. For lots of snow was just what he A long time had been praying. So greatly pleased was he to see Fu h charming Christmas weather. That gayly to his task he flew Of .". King things together. His ample skigh was put to rights And leaded full to brimming. And soon along the country roads Old Santa Claus was skimming. Now here, now there, his sprightly deer With airy lightness darted, fresh when milt s and miles away As when they just had started. The fleecy flakes kept coming down. The rumbling roadways hiding; Yet on and on they flew along Like shadows swiftly gliding. But ere his journey was quite o'er St. Nick met trouble dire; The roads kept filling up apace. The snow kept piling higher. And from his sight the earth was hid By flakes so thickly flying. He could not find the road at all. But still he kept on trying. Here was indeed for Santa Claus An awkward situation. And one that for the moment filled His mini with consternation; The kindly soul was sad with fear That on the morrow morning Some disappointed little friends His absence would be mourning. Siik trusting that kind Providence Would h ip him in his trouble. St. Nick his faithful reindeer steeds Th ir eft irts urged to double; And often with a cheering word The jad d beasts he aided. While on ahead through snowdrifts deep To find the road he waded. At I ngtli, amid the flying flakes. By chance old Santa sighted Not far away a signpost tall, Wli Teat he was delighted The sign upon the post contained The welcome information That close at hand the road ran straight Unto his destination. With hope renewed the good old saint Along the roadway struggled; And soon he reached a sleeping town Which in a valley snuggled. Here ended Santa's Christmas calls And here his sleigh he lightened. Then homeward quickly oft he sped Lre Sol the landscape brightened Fpask B. Welch. A MERRY CHRISTMAS. {)<> Some Act to Make It a Happy One for Your Neighbor. Scarcely less wonderful than the mystery of the first Christmas ni^ht is the mystery of the perpetuation of the festival. It is a far cry enough from the shepherds who tended their flocks on the hillside of Judea, anti the be lieving kings who followed the star from the east, to, let us say, the aver age American citizen, anti the modern rulers of kingdoms. Reverence and simple faith are not exactly the pre vailing characteristics of the former, nor do the latter betray sufficient keen ness of interest in things supernal to warrant the supposition that they would leave their kingdoms and go forth laden with treasure, to follow a mysterious sign in the heavens. Yet withal Christmas brings its message to A LEASHI L CHAKHK. ' ' T iiir || oO 'ifflp . , !/ i Z' Si 7 Jm t^} ) / vs I)iU 4 (in horrified whisper)—Mamma, Willy is an infidel. Mamma An infidel? Hilly—Yes; he said ho don’t believe there’s any Sa'ita Claus.—ruck. i m ‘".yijj iiiiii 1 VA iwrS jt ^ & m Wa A r ..B C JP'a.V fjP U li lY .L ' W , {•/ ■ I'j. / /\i ■•'ft / / */ 7/ r /f v • /✓ :? iji-i y-jcr WSJ h |W a ^ ‘Sa 4 *1 ■ ii .1 'Mi > / , /' y'- vr. -k % ■ , # HI a ■ - 5.-»aC' *1 I Vyr I ^' > -•r’ !r ’ ’1 .v- t r>- ,\ '4-- y . ^ *r JaA i i.i - •t ... SMOW-BOUND. j k\ ITHIN the quiet house of God This winter morning fair. The organ music softly thrills Upon the listening air; Then, mingling with the organ notes, The choir’s sweet voices sound; “While shepherds watched their flocks bjr night All seated on the ground.'* And straightway, from that blessed place My wandering fancies roam, Once more a little child am I. Within my childhood’s home; I hear again my mother's voice. Her dear arms clasp me round. She sings how angel hosts “came dowfti And glory shone around." The moonlight falls across the floor In bars of silver light. And many a merry sleighbell breaks The silence of the night. My head upon her loving heart In childish trust is laid. The while she sings of that blest Ha be, •In meanest garb arrayed." The pealing organ notes are still. The Christmas hymn is sung, 1 sit in my accustomed place. The rev rent throng among; But sweet and low within my heart. There echoes all day long The memory of my mother's voice And of the angels' song. —E. M. Griffith, in N. Y. Observer. ODD NEW YEAR CUSTOMS. Oueer Ways of Giving I’resents in the Olden Times. There used to be a custom in vo'fuo many years afpo in placing all the New Year's gifts on the floor in a dark room where the recipients scrambled for them on their knees, and if they j brought out other than their own they 1 were fined a certain sum which was to | be expended in addition to the good ! cheer. Hag of bran and baskets of | shavings wercused to conceal thegifts in, and the whole process was made as | difficult and amusing as possible. The custom of giving New Year's presents dates back to the Saxons, who kept the ] festival with great ceremony and feast ing-. In the fifteenth century gloves were the most appreciated of any pres- j ents, being of the finest quality’ and handsomely decorated with gold and silver embroidery. A neat surprise was a sum of money inclosed in the gloves A lord chancellor of England, Sir Thomas Moore, had won a difficult suit for a lady’ client, and she remembered him on New Year's day with a pair of gloves which had forty’ gold pieces sewed into them. Sir Thomas kept the gloves, hut returned the money, saying that such lining made him un comfortable.—Detroit Free I’ress. Poor Man. One of the most melancholy sights in nature is a man trying to Irtiy a Christ mas present for a woman. He knows in a vague way that the present must not he a pair of suspenders or a shav ing set, but when he comes to particu larize the poor man lapses into perfect imbecility, and gives his sister the money aud tells her to buy the present. —Boston Globe. Christ mas Eve. Little bits of stocklnits, Hung up in u row. Always make Kris Kringlc Down the chimney no. —Detroit TYeo Press. A DISTINGUISHED A 1C 11 It AL. mas hoard and round the cheerful hearth. The rich and powerful still often their cotters and. with large- handed liberality, scatter their goods among the poor, thereby imitating the Magi of ohi: for is it not written: “W hatsoever ye shall di> unto the least of My brethren, ye shall do unto Me?” 'I Inis, in Spite of the evil forces with which modern materialism and infi delity are seeking to subvert the influ ences of Christianity, the Star of Beth lehem is still in the ascendant, and Christmas is the greatest and most joy- stcr, anythin', everythin;:. s<> that the day Im- ini-rry.andall hearts rejoice i because Christ the Lord was born. Forget for a time the cures of business, I the pressure of hard times, the threat ening future. Lock up the family skcl- eton and, with it, all frowns and harsh wordsund the |*otty tyranniesand jeal ousies of common days. If you can lose I the key of the closet, so much the bet ter. If not, even the brief respite from | ugly cares will leave its benediction in | your heart, and quicken your longing 1 for the return of the festival of peace creature whose hist < hri-lmas it will be on earth, and earn a blessing that will repay your effort: a hundredfold. There is, liappil;. no monopoly of the joys of ('hrist mas. If I hey do not come tous, we enii go to them. We have but to ojHUi our hearts and stretch out our hands, and the niesseiigerHo f| M'itOl* will come gladly trooping toward us. It will he our own fault if we have not each and all a Merry Christmas.—Once a Week. A tax on iacorn adelphia Record. f hristi -1’hil- interest? No! Rather let the wish Is 1 to each and all. as the New Year dawns with all itsopjs>rlimities, that the days of I -‘.IT may be well Ejs’iit filled with thought and sympathy for those around, aui' that in self-forgetting and kindly deeds the happiness of others may be ever sought, and then most truly willcuch act rebound again in joy and blessing to the heart from which it springs—Christian at Work. Santa Cj.als will Iks just as well pleased if you distribute a few stockings instead of til ling quite so many this year. ,M/Vj £ / vm •' Thera's s new fori; st the door, my fricad, A new face st the door." —Chicago Record