McCormick messenger. (McCormick, S.C.) 1902-current, December 22, 1938, Image 2
McCORMICK MESSENGER. McCORMICK. S. C- THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1938
Famous Writer Gave Most Unusual
'Christmas Gift' in All History
In 1891 Robert Louis Stevenson "Bequeathed" His November 13 Birthday to a Little Girl
In New England Who Was Unhappy Because She Had Been Born on December 25 and
Thus Was "Cheated Out of a Birthday Party Like All the Other Children Have"
© Western Newspaper Union.
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, famous author who ,< willed ,, his birthday
as a Christmas gift to a little girl in New England.
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
ORTY-SEVEN years
ago Henry Clay Ide, a
Vermont lawyer who had
held various public offices in
the Green Mountain state,
was appointed American
commissioner in the Samoan
islands, then held jointly by
the United States, Great
Britain and Germany. It
was not a very important
appointment but it became
the first link in a chain of
circumstances which resulted
in one of the most unusual
“Christmas gifts” in all his
tory.
Ide’s wife and two daugh
ters did not accompany him
when he went to Samoa but
remained in their Vermont
home. Among the residents
of Samoa Ide found a famous
writer who had become a
voluntary exile there for the
benefit of his health. This
was Robert Louis Stevenson,
author of “Treasure Island,”
“Kidnaped” and a number of
other books which have be
come English classics.
Ide and Stevenson became
Warm friends. During a conver
sation one day about the coming
Christmas holidays the American
told the Englishman that he had
a little daughter, Annie, back in
ANNIE IDE COCKRAN
Vermont who was always un
happy at Christmas time because
she had been born on December
25 and thus was “cheated out of
a birthday party like the other
children have.” Although he and
his wife tried to compensate for
this by giving her more than the
usual number of Christmas pres
ents, Annie continued to mourn
over her lack of a “real birth
day.’*
Thereupon Stevenson sat down
and wrote out the following re
markable document:
“I, Robert Louis Stevenson,
Advocate of the Scots Bar, au
thor of the Master of Ballantrae,
and Moral Emblems, stuck civil
engineer, sole owner and pat
entee of the Palace of Plantation
known as Vallima, in the Island
of Upolu, Samoa, a British sub
ject, being in sound mind, and
pretty well, I thank you, in body:
^ “In consideration that Miss An
nie H. Ide, daughter of H. C.
Ide, in the Town of Saint Johns-
bury, in the County of Caledonia,
in the State of Vermont, United
States of America, was born, out
of reason, upon Christmas Day,
and is therefore out of all justice
denied in consolation and profit
of a^ proper J)irthday^
l “And considering that I, the
said Robert Louis Stevenson,
have attained the age when, O,
we never mention it, and that I
have now no further use for a
birthday of any description:
“And in consideration that I
fiave met H. C. Ide, father of the
said Annie H. Ide, and found him
about as white a land commis
sioner as I require,
“Have transferred, and do
hereby transfer, to the said Annie
H. Ide all and whole my rights
and privileges in the thirteenth
day of November, formerly my
birthday, now hereby and hence
forth, the birthday of the said
Annie H. Ide, to have, to hold,
exercise and enjoy the same in
her customary manner, by the
sporting of fine raiment, eating
of rich meats and receipt of gifts,
compliments and copies of verse,
according to the manner of our
ancestors:
“And I direct the said Annie
H. Ide to add to the said name
of Annie H. Ide the name of Lou
isa—at least in private—and I
charge her to use my said birth
day with moderation and human
ity, et tanquam bona filia fami-
liae, the said birthday not being
as young as it once was, and hav
ing carried me in a very satis
factory manner since I can re
member.
“And in case the said Annie
H. Ide shall neglect or contra
vene either of the above condi
tions, I hereby revoke the dona
tion and transfer my rights in the
said birthday to the President of
the United States of America for
the time being.
“In witness whereof I have
hereto set my hand and seal in
the year of grace eighteen hun
dred and ninety-one.
“ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON”
After having this document
witnessed by his friends, Lloyd
Osbourne and Harold Watts, Ste
venson gave it to Ide who sent it
with a letter of explanation to
his wife. On the morning of De
cember 25, 1891, little Annie Ide
walked slowly into the room
where a Christmas tree was
laden with presents for her and
her sister. As usual, she was
brooding over her “lost birth
day.” But her mood soon changed
when her mother handed her the
“deed of gift” which was hang
ing on the tree and explained its
meaning to her. Thanks to the
famous Robert Louis Stevenson
she now had a “birthday of her
very own” and its celebration
would not be overshadowed by
the celebration of Christmas.
Little Annie immediately wrote
a letter of thanks to Stevenson
and sent with it photographs and
drawings of herself. In acknowl
edging her letter Stevenson ex
plained to her how her “new
birthday” would work. He wrote:
“You are thus become a month
and twelve days younger than
you were, but will go on growing
older for the future in the reg
ular and human manner from one
thirteenth of November, to the
next. The effect on me is more
doubtful; I may, as you suggest,
live forever, I might, on the other
hand, come to pieces like the one-
horse shay at a moment’s notice;
doubtless the step is risky, but I
do not in the least regret that
• •• s v
which enables me to sign my
self your revered and delighted
name-father.”
Two years later Mrs. Ide took
her two daughters to Samoa to
join their father. They arrived
on November 12 and were met
by Ide and Stevenson. The next
day, being little Annie’s “new
birthday,” she was a guest at a
huge feast which the natives had
arranged for Stevenson in honor
of his birthday which he, un
known to them, had “willed” to
the little American girl. She sat
beside him at the end of the na
tive dais and received many fine
gifts.
The next year the event was
repeated and there was a dinner
party in the evening besides. The
famous author enjoyed the occa
sion as much as did the little
girl. But that was their last dual
celebration for Stevenson died on
December 3, 1894. Annie Ide,
however, continued to carry out
faithfully the conditions of the
birthday deed “by the sporting
of fine raiment, eating of rich
meats and receipt of gifts.”
Even after she became a wom
an and married W. Bourke Cock-
ran, famous New York political
leader and congressman, she con-
PRINCE EDWARD
tinued to observe the “birthday”
which Stevenson had willed to
her. Stevenson proved to be a
good prophet for her husband was
a wealthy man, and in their lux
urious home at Port Washington,
Long Island, .she received her
“gifts” of costly jewelry and ar
rayed herself in her “fine rai
ment” of Paris gowns.
Last year, Mrs. Cockran de
cided that she had enjoyed more
than her share of the unique
Christmas present which Steven
son had “willed” to her. So, in
stead of letting it revert to tha
President of the United States, as
Stevenson had whimsically sug
gested would be done if she
should “neglect or contravene”
the provisions of his will, she
passed the birthday along to her
niece, Anita Leslie, a well-known
British author who is the daugh
ter of Shane Leslie, Irish poet,
novelist and dramatist, and Mar
jorie Ide Leslie, sister of Annie
Ide Cockran.
If ever Miss Leslie decides that
she no longer wishes to keep Ste
venson’s “gift birthday,” there
are several notables, born on De
cember 25, Who would doubtless
welcome it. It would be especial
ly fitting, perhaps, if she con
ferred it upon a little boy who is
“out of all justice denied in con
solation and profit of a proper
birthday” even though he is a
scion of royalty. That little boy
is Prince Edward, the young son
of the duke and duchess of Kent.
Or she might pass it along to
another member of the royal
house of her native England—
young Prince Edward’s aunt, the
duchess of Gloucester. Some oth
er notables born on Decem
ber 25 are Evangeline Booth,
world commander of the Salva
tion Army; Helen Twelvetrees,
actress; Rebecca West, novelist;
Gladys Swarthout, opera singer;
Robert L. Ripley, the “Believe It
or Not” man; Paul Manship,
sculptor; Belle Baker, singer, and
Jerry Rodman, six-day bicycle
racer.
Six years after the little girl
in Vermont had been made
happy by Robert Louis Steven
son, who “willed” her his birth
day, another little girl in New
York city was also made happy
by a writer, but in a different
way.
One day in September. 1897,
there came to the office of
the New York Sun this letter:
Thereupon Francis P. Church,
an editorial writer, wrote a re
ply which was printed as an edi
torial in the Sun on September
21, 1897. It said:
IS THERE A SANTA CLAUS?
We take pleasure in answering
at once and thus prominently the
communication below, expressing
at the same time our great grati
fication that its faithful author is
numbered among the friends of
the Sun:
Dear Editor—I am eight
years old. Some of my little
friends say there is no Santa
Claus.
Papa says: “If you see it in
the Sun it’s so.”
Please tell me the truth;
“is there a Santa Claus?”
“Virginia O’Hanlon.”
Virgina, your little friends are
wrong. They have been affected
by the skepticism of a skeptical
age. They think that nothing can
be which is not comprehensible
by their little minds. All minds,
Virginia, whether they be men’s
or little children’s, are little. In
this great universe of ours man
is a mere insect, an ant, in his
intellect, as compared with the
boundless world about him, as
measured by the intelligence ca
pable of grasping the whole of
truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa
Claus. He exists as certainly as
love and generosity and devotion
exist, and you know that they
abound and give to your life its
highest beauty and joy. Alas!
how dreary would be the world if
there were no Santa Claus. It
would be as drear as if there
were no Virginias. There would
be no child-like faith then, no
poetry, no romance to make tol
erable this existence. We should
have no enjoyment, except in
sense and sight. The eternal light
with which childhood fills the
world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus?
You might as well not believe in
fairies! You might get your papa
to hire men to watch in all the
chimneys on Christmas Eve to
catch Santa Claus, but even if
they did not see Santa Claus com
ing down, what would that prove?
Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that
is no sign that there is no Santa
Claus. The most real things in
the world are those that neither
children nor men can see. Did
you ever see fairies dancing on
the lawn? Of course not, but
that’s no proof that they are not
there. Nobody can conceive or
imagine all the wonders there are
unseen and unseeable in the
world.
You may tear apart the baby’s
rattle and see what makes the
noise inside, but there is a veil
covering the unseen world which
not the strongest man, nor even
the united strength of all the
strongest men that ever lived,
could tear apart. Only faith, fan
cy, poetry, love, romance, can
push aside that curtain and view
and picture the supernal beauty
and glory beyond. Is it all real?
Ah, Virginia, in all this world
there is nothing else real and
abiding.
No Santa Claus? Thank God!
he lives forever. A thousand
years from now, Virginia, nay,
ten times ten thousand years
from now he will continue to
make glad the heart of childhood.
A “Newspaper Classic.”
Around Christmas time, the
next year after this editorial ap
peared in the Sun, that newspa
per began receiving requests
from its readers: “Please reprint
the editorial called Ts There a
Santa Claus?’ ” Each year there
after it received the same re
quest and each year the editorial
was reprinted in the columns of
the Sun.
More than that, it was reprint
ed in other newspapers which
also received the same request
annually. It became a “News
paper Classic,” which has been
reproduced thousands of times
during the 40 years that have
elapsed since it first appeared,
and it has been translated into
many foreign languages—even
the Chinese!
Next to Clement C. Moore’s
poem, “A Visit From St. Nich
olas” (also called “The Night Be
fore Christmas”), this editorial is
probably the best known bit of
writing associated with Christmas
ever produced in America and it
seems destined, like Santa Claus,
to “live forever.”
Christ
las
Around the World
Above, dressed in fancy cos-
tumes, Polish children stage
scenes from biblical lore and
sing religious songs, serenading
the homes of villagers.
At tropical Cairo, in Egypt,
European visitors erect their
Christmas tree in the shadow
of the pyramids. Left: Stock
holm, Sweden, street decora
tions.
Few ceremonies are more colorful than those of Rumania, where
villagers portray the three wise men, shepherds and an angel.
/it Tromso, Norway, most northern part of Europe boasting &
radio station, residents listen to the story of Christ’s birth.
Christmas service in a Russian Orthodox church*