The ledger. [volume] (Gaffney City, S.C.) 1896-1907, December 21, 1894, Image 1
THE WEEKLY LEDGER.
VOL. I—NO.
GAFFNEY CITY, s. C.. FRIDAY. PECKMBKk 21. 1H<»4.
A YEAR.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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•' Thera's s new fori; st the door, my fricad,
A new face st the door."
—Chicago Record