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i 1 \ ' V Va. . I ai. ,M- : ■ iBHC^i'»zr* JVmj*j.^. »f s..-:3 The Tra.mp ON THE Park Bench A Christmas Story by £OE ANDERSON NORRIS [Copyright, U<03. by Zoe Anderson Norris. 1 I T was Christmas night, and the Philanthropists’ club was holding its usual celebration of the fes tival. The Christinas dinner had arrived at the stage of the deini tasse and remarks. Naturally the president was the first to speak. "Reynolds.” said he, indicating by the gesture of a massive hand the member of the club situated on his left, "you may relate your experience last night in helping the poor. Accord ing to our agreement, if you remember, we were to expend a certain amount in charity on Christinas eve, not only for the purpose of giving immediate relief so far us our funds went, but in order to ascertain something of tbe extent of the poverty existing in this great city of New York, in which we live.” The club members, among whom was an artist rendered somewhat oon- • / // /* 7/ i 11 “MY GOOD MAN, HOW COMB YOU TO BK HBBB?” spicuous by the length of his locks and the exceeding breadth of his soft black tie, lit their cigars as Reynolds rose. “It was snowing”— he began. “Skip all that,” hastily put in a news paper man. "Of course, if it was ] Christmas eve, it was snowing.” “The hapless outcasts in the park had ranged themselves as nearly us possible according to the tree branches; but, being large in number, they over lapped them, some to the length of two branches or more, so that these sat unprotected from the snow, which soft ly soaked them.” The newspaper man raised his hand aduioulshiugly. “Will you permit me, Mr. President,” Interrupted he, “to suggest that all description be eliminated? Otherwise we’ll be sitting here In broad day light.” “It may be us well,” assented the president suavely, “to omit descriptions of scenery, for, as the gentleman has • Just stated, it may have the effect of detaining us longer than is absolutely 4 necessary.” Reynolds, reaching for a glass of water, wet his lips before he began again. “1 buttoned my overcoat to the throat,” he said then, “for the wind was raw and keen, and walked up to the first tramp 1 came to. He sat near the fountain on the corner seat' of a long bench. I touched him gently on the sleeve and said to him: “ ‘My good man, how come you to be here?’" The newspaper man leaned forward ubsorbedly, his eyes agleam. “Were those your exact words?” he inquired in so rapt a manner that tbe president once more let fall the fork. Reynolds, disdaining the question, sought in several pockets for a pocket handkerchief, and, finding one at length, delicately mopped his lids. “The story he told,” he stammered, “wculd have brought tears to the eyes of the coldest hearted. “It was not so different from the usu al run of such stories,” faltered Reyn olds. “He hud seen better days; be not always been obliged to sleep in a park, etc.; he had a wife and two children; he had been unable to sup port them; they were all three with bis wife’s mother. As I say, it was not so much tbe story us his manner of telling it. It affected you beyond description. It couldn’t help but affect you. I took a five dollar bill from my vest pocket and thrust it into his hand.” “And then,” queried the president, "what did he do?” “He became so deeply affected,” re turned Reynolds, “that I whirled about and left him, unwilling to witness tb* MW Vi I •*==33250 m Sr.. overwhelming nature of his gratitude.” He sat down. The artist coughed ilightly, covered his mouth with his hand a moment, relit his cigar, which had gone quite out, and blew the smoke to the ceiling. The president motioned to his neigh bor to rise. His name was Caruthers. He scanned his, listeners attentively, frowning as he talked. "My experience,” said he, “resembled to a certain degree that of my friend Reynolds there. I must have visited the same park. Union park, was it?” with a nod to Reynolds. “Yes,” replied Reynolds; “Union park.” “I circled the fountain,” he went on, “and proceeded to a long bench, where I stopped near a seedy looking individ ual who in spite of the steady fall of snow sat napping there. I tapped him on the shoulder, roused him from his sleep and asked We history. It was rambling, as that related by Reynolds. He had seen better days. Most of us have. He had not always slept in parks. Few- have. And, like Reynolds’ tramp, he had a wife and two children, whom he had been obliged long before to send home to the wife’s mother. Like the story of Reynolds’ tramp, there was nothing out of the ordinary with the exception of the manner in which he stammered and shook telling it.” At this jxnnt Caruthers appeared to experience some little difficulty in ar ticulating. When he had recovered, “Really,” he finished, “it was distress ing; most distressing. It grieved me deeply. I thrust a five dollar bill iut< his hand and hurried away.” He had hardly time to resume Wi sent when three members of the clul rose simultaneously. “There’s some fraud about this!’ they cried. “We went together. \V< . saw the same man. He had the sarm wife and two children who were liv ing with the same old mother-in-law .) Jove! We were so distressed w< ,'uve him $. r > apiece, and that mad* fifteen good old solid dollars between us.” They Hung themselves back in theii chairs and gazed in an excited .and in dignant way from one face to anothet in search of some reasonable explana tion of the phenomenon. The newspaper man suddenly stood It was as if he bad just waked up. “Was he tall and thin?” he question ed. ‘‘Did he wear a shaggy red beard long hair, an old slouch hat aflQ a rug ged gray overcoat out at the elbows 1 and fringed with a mighty fringe around the hem? I say, were bis shoes old, and did he go barehanded In the, snow?” “Yes, yes,” answered tbe rest in a chorus, “all that, and more.” “Then,” declared the newspaper man. “I, too, took out a five dollar bill and made him a present of-it.” And, falling limply back in bis chair, lie took to tapping the arm of it with impatlem fingers. The artist had slipped out of the room. After a period he rettrned. trans formed. His beard was shaggy and red, his shoes were worn at the toes and down at tbe heels, his hat was one of the t. iff A Poem of Christmas Eve ———ii Mi M.OYSIUS ©DLL >» rniTS** “ iS! 5 jre* f%u« h. claui 4ft?5,r orno ' : And so vonv f ® e up ' m , you re uni- ' Shaking the cried Santa r , ' i °f his coat o, f s of s hof C ' aus - 7 "V^f/okes F^' and lce In bed Sn ' P ' an ' ,erf ”lhat” S b0 ° f ' ■ f . ! HeriLt*... ■ an d leag ue l 1*0 LL you once tor “Now. 1®* . oi\i v Blue. You doub '"’Lne on Chr , '* mt ~ It ond rean all. “Now. M nu\v Biue. Y ou doubting ^ V ^ chrlstmoS That when as vou i Vtn lust as r come roun d each] A I V • i I ta M ^ I m o o - n? me ^ «*£ born s, oeve) dears' one©-— evd ^ year K orirt ^ A Came ^TJe'^ ‘ ha h0Uf6 - nl4M- vw . sonrietni A atork# , the ch. j Came down s t\rj^d That stork and one: ^ S^urT® 4* lh8 ' We brou 4 , n t tie sonl A dimpled m ' w ^l. ' That son was „ ^ d0ubt 'nfi bT/v T here fMr- Z y,na ln your * 8,ue - T <>e teles 0 f m hear ' ell ^ yrt a h r ; f C Tgi SCe 'he gw r o and frm, rea '- , 4 ' Ve f0 Vou^n^r Wwce / y . 0u Sit. ^ Wee Billy Blue Santas ^ of bed . Hop ^f i the awful words ^-tremble ot had said ■ The t ^Christmas sock he puhed out Of his enr Mll A ^hROGATfON POINT ^ WasIntf^l J!! : i fa V r mpm.. “THAT,” BHOUTBD TBN VOICES, “IS THE MAN!” slouch variety, aud his overCbat was gray and long and so fringed at the hem as to assume the appearance of having been fringed intentionally. Ten fingers pointed at him. “That," shouted ten voices, “la tbe man!” The artist bent a bumble and apolo getic bead. “Yes,” acknowledged he, “I am tbe man.” ♦ “But you are a member of the club,” they stormed. “You knew all about bur plan of relieving the poor. You had part of tbe money yourself. Why did you take ours?” The nilst shrugged weary ahouldera. Ho spread out two deprecating hands. “I urn an artist,” be explained aim- ply. “I needed it.” When monev talks It seldom bm any trouble In finding a listener. A CHRISTMAS DINNER IN CONSTANTINOPLE Tbe wife of • tbe proprietor of the Levant Times iii Constantinople, Mrs. Laffan-Hanly, wishing not long ago to show to some of the inhabitants, of that city what nn old fashioned Eng lish Christmas waa like and incidental ly to cement valuable friepdsblps for her husband In certain Influential quar ters. sent out invitations for fifty per sons. There was a curious mingling of nationalltiep in tbe gueata responding, Greek, Persian. Turkish, French, Ar menian, Russian, English, American. Spanish, Hebrew, German, Italian, Al banian and one Japanese. Possibly there may have been more nationalities represented,' but only thirteen different languages were spoken*. MK Laffan-Hnnly’s bouse was situat ed in Pera, directly opposite the konak of Fuad Paaha. As the guests arrived, some on horseback, h few on foot, a few in coupes, but more in sedan chairs, the faces of the women In the konak opposite could be faintly seen pressed against the kafass. for Fuad 1’asba wns one of tbe guests and nc-i; uf bis wives could accompany him Hadji Rassim . Effeudi was anolluM There were two Hebrew, bank direct ors, the- Persian ambassador anil tin Japanese consul. Tbe house was built originally for a Turkish residence, and three rooms were decorated with holly and mlstie toe brought all the way from England. The Greek and Armenian ladles were richly dream si In heavy silks and vel vets tinder Uidr fur lined wraps. They wore a.profusion of Jewels of barbaric design. These ladies riot in bright colors and dazzling effects, and on this occa slou were painted red and white and bad their eyebrows blackened. Tin other ladles were handsomely dressed but It remained for the two Jewish la dies to exhibit tine diamonds In ex trnvngant numbers. In shell a mixed assemblage It was almost impossible to establish anything like sociability, mid the poor hosteifs grew haggard with the effort. The Turks locked on with preternatural gravity, and bowed with exceeding |>o lltones* on nil oceaslons. The Persian ambassador, might have been a wooden linage for all the expression on hi* .ce, TIm* Alhmlan stood lu a corner in solitary grandeur, his stiffiy starched instanello standing out like a ballet dancer’s skirt. The Japanese consul smiled and bowed right and left with praiseworthy impartiality. The Eng lishmen stood in a group, while the Greek, French and Armenian got to gether and were soon talking with ani mation, while the word “parades” fell from their lips as if money was the only thing worth mention. The Rus sian. Spanish, Italian and German gen tlemen paid strict attention to the la dies, who sat in the two upper parlors, while the men appropriated the main room. Miss Lufian-Uanly. the very pretty daughter of the host and hostess, play ed Chrjstmas carols on the piano, but nobody listened, and It was a relief when dinner was announced. It was understood that tins dinner was to be representative of the Christmas in Eng land, and so there was a roast of beef of astonishing proportions following an enormous boiled fish on a wooden tray. Two monstrous turkeys and a chicken pie tilled the table, with tbe vegetables and small tilings, such as pickles, olives, etc. Everything was put on to gether save the dessert. Wines there were and pure water for the Turks and Persians. At last everybody was seated. Tbe service was well done by three men from the big hotel. The Greeks and Armenians had come to dinner, and they did ftlii justice to it. The rest of the guests were more circumspect or had smaller appetites. The amount of bread they consumed was astounding. The Persian ambassador was the guest of honor, with Hadji Rasslm Effendl opposite. The hadji was an orthodox Turk of the old school. Fuad Pasha was the same, hut he was in some ways not so strict in his observ ances. so he took a little wine. As the first hunger passed, the wine began to loosen tongues, and one would have imagined oneself in a new Babel. Jests and, couplets were made and toasts passed back and forth in all the thir teen languages spoken. The dinner lasted nearly three hours. The dessert consisted of a great plum pudding covered with blazing rum aud several fitu mince pies. The Turks seemed tb have an instinctive fear of a pudding blazing with Satanic blue lights and took mince pie or fruits. As so much of Turkish cookery is based on minced meats the Turks thought the mince pies were safe. The Greeks and Armenians managed both pie and fruits and ate with a “good coming appetite” everything offered them. Then came coffee and cigars, and the ladies went back upstairs. Mr. Laffan-Hanly had bis cue to bring the gentlemen all up as soon as he could, so that they might have some Christmas games. They had become n little more sociable among themselves, but as soon as they were back among the women the different elements sep arated again into their component parts, and it was desperate work to get them interested In snapdragon. The Turks seemed to fear the flames of al cohol and would not even try to pull out the plums. Finally one of the Greeks sang one of the native seesaw caterwauling songs, and after that the games were given up in favor of an impromptu dance. The Persian and the Turks E v o 1 u t i 6 n OF THE XmdwS Tree A Yulelide Sketch by JONATHAN JOYCE [Copyright, 1903, by C. N. Lurie.] T HE Christmas tree for the dis play of presents is an evolu tion. The true origin and sig nificance of this arboreal fea ture of Yuletide are uncertain. Appar ently It is derived from an ancient cus tom. The pagan races of northern Eu rope had a deep veneration for trees as the abodes of the gods. For instance, the linden sheltered Bercbta, the spirit kindly to babes. When celebrating festivals the chosen tree of the differ ent gods were decorated with lights, wreaths and tassels, and offerings to the spirits were suspended in the branches. The Romans used greenery In the festivals of Saturn, celebrated In De cember. and carried the custom among the Germans. The Egyptians used trees for interior decoration, their fa vorite being the palm. A work of fiction produced in France over 700 years ago contains a descrip- »! * f n 1 ■»—V /> V TOAST BASHED IN ALL THE THIRTEEN LANGUAGES. • looked on gravely while tbe rest danced. They maintained tbeir Impassible grav ity until Hadji Rnssim Effendl sign! fled that he wanted to go borne. He was ill. ^ had, secure in his belie! j of the innocence of the pie, eaten ttare* big pieces. And tbe crust was shoit ened with the fat of tbe “unutterable flesh!” . 1 His departure broke up tbe party. Not one of them bad understood uuy thing of the object lesson on an Eng ; gllsh Christmas in spite of all tbe lar . guages spoken. i The (Atyr hostess’ hair turned white 1 that night, and next week her bus band’s newspaper type was distributed in the Bosporus. Hadji Rasslm ws* the press censor. GLADYS GEORGE JAMES. 1 mm in A VERY EARLY USE OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE. tion of a tree having its branches from top to bottom decked with burning can dles, with the figure of a child at the very top sending forth a brilliant light. This tree in some way symbolized Christianity, the caudles representing souls aud the child typifying Christ. It is said that the Christmas tree was* adopted in France and. England m 1S4U. Prince Albert is yndited yvflh having introduced it in England the first Christmas following bis marriage, which was in l^td. Within a few years after that one of Un* trees at Windsor castle bore gifts valued at $ 10,000. But more than a century Is’fore Prince Al bert's aiNcnt an improvised Christmas tree, called a "besaut.” was carried in processions in England at Yuletide. It consisted of a pole decked with hotly or other evergreens and ribbons, to gether with oranges and apples and sometimes a pair of dolls. The irrepressible desire for novelty has led to unique variations in Christ mas trees. A society woman having a couple of valuable pet dogs got up a dogs’ Christmas tree and Invited forty or more of the neighboring thorough bred pups to tbe ovatlou. TJie device by which Santa Claus is cooped up in the trunk of a portable tree, with his bead showing out at times, is very simple, yet very taking with young folks. It is accomplished by having two empty barrels without heads fastened one above tbe other aud covered with moss, bark and lichen. Through a knot hole Santa’s voice is heard. The structure being on casters, the imp inside can move It about the platform to the infinite de light of tbe children. Another device for Laving a voice is sue from the Christmas tree is accom plished by the use of tbe telephone, the receiver being bung in tbe tree. The absent ones can then send familiar tonls to those present, and when the speakers are very dear and unavoida bly absent the message Is tbe best Christmas present that can be con ceived of for the occasion. An elec trical outfit for lighting Christmas trees has been invented at amall cost. One clever boy used It with novel re sults by applying It to a magnificent evergreen standing in front of his home. It was lighted on Christmas eve after a snowstorm which decked tbe branches with fleecy garb. The beat of tbe lamps melted tbe snow, and then it froze in all manner of shapes. When lighted up again on Christmas night the pendent icicles and icy armor glittered like 0 myriad of gems sn« pended in the glare of shifting light' Nfl