The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, December 20, 1895, Image 2
Now the Christmas tlm? is near.
And the stores are bright, bat dear
> Little voices may wo hear
Lisping sweet
', At oar feet?
^ "Santa Claus."
And the cherubs are not dumb,
With their with: "I want a dram,
Tell as, won't you, when he'll come?
Dear mama?
Good papa?
Sinta Claus."
"I want a dolly!** princess cries;
"One that opens and shots its eyes.**
Aj?other cherub, still, bat wise,
Mutters, "Bricks,
Lots ol tricks
BnAta Glaus."
Chorus still of cherub jova:
nc "Jla, toll him to bring <u boys'
I"'1 Knives, and skates, and fots of toys."
no Baby sings:
jn "Me want 'ings?
Santa Clans."
Bo tbe> chatter ns I hey play;
Curly heads both grave and gay.
Bring thom ploasuro whilo you may;
Youth will fly,
Hope will dio?
Santa Claus.
MISS ENID'S PRESENT.
BY AUGUSTA IIAXCOU&.
^ >**lss ENID 8at hy
/y ? tho liro in tho
m oak parlor, and
K\ gazed into the
V bright flames as
i'she saw there
somo very
I lovely picture
of tho past.
"Protty Mies
// l\ Enid" t h o y
y 0/\ sometimes
ft K called her in
" the parish, and
tho adjeclivo was well applied, so
sweet was her6uaile, and so tender and
gentlo were tho soft tones of her
voice. And nlie was not really old,
nothing liko tho conventional old
maid of utorv-book fame. Sho was
simply "Miss Enid"?no longer very
young, but with ? past that had
brought to her gladness and then sorrow,
and that had taught her a lifelong
lesson of tho tendorest, purest
sympathy in and with tho smiles and
tho tears of others. No ono came to
Miss Enid for help and went away
comfortless; no ono ever told her
\ ..Af -.1A -A - ? ?
rumu ueuiititiii oiur y 01 glial and
weariness, and did not leeeivo sweet
consolation in return. Miss Enid's
great heart was ever open, ever ready
to condole with the bereaved, tosmilo
Ic-r , -r ? ^?i.fVJU Hhe
^JucQV toiler, to bring a message of
patience to the siok and the sorrowing
?in fact, to minister to each and
every one as they ntoded her sweet
helpfulness. And yet?aud yet?Misa
Enid had known sorrow, the greatest
and tho deepest sorrow that can come
into a woman's lifo and blot out forever
the sunshino from tho pathway!
And she was thinking of the past
to-night, thiB Christmas time, when
every one wa9 happy in tho society of
their dear ones, and when love and
joy wero the theme of every hymn and
anthem that was sung in tho great
church yonder, the church sho had so
recently left. Sho had been twining
bouutilul wreaths for pillar anil pulpit
?wreaths of holly und ivy and box,
and tho vicarage children had helped
her, pricking their small fingers with
the sharp holly leaves, aud tying her
string into innumerable tangled knots.
Yet sho loved them so much, the
darlings, that she was only too happy
to have them near her, to hear their
little bright voices, to seo their rosy
faces, and to feol the soft touch of
their sott hands as they hung about
her trying bo hard to help "dear Miss
Enid."
"Wo lovo von so much, you know,"
gray-eyed Angela had said, "that wo
want to do all we can, and it isn't very
much, but wo does our best."
And* Bobby hud brokea ia with nn
account of the G'hristmns curd that ho
meant to send Miss Enid?a very gorgeous
production from the village
shop, in the purchase of .finch and
similar treasures the children's morn*
iug had been happily spent. And
Miss Enid thauked him boforo and,
stooping down to kiss tho bonny little
face, and assuring him that she
would like it very much, and would
< keep it always iu memory of hiin.
"That's right," tho little hoy said,
heartily. '"Tis quite the proper
thing 10 say, isn't it, Alarjorie?"
And Marjorio and Angela nodded
assent as the nurse came to carry them
oil home to the viearage tea.
Miss Enid ha.i declined their enthusiastic
invitation to accompany
them?something had sent iier
thoughts baca to tho past witu a sudden
rush of .neinory, and tho sceno
around seemed strangely dreamlike
and unreal. .She fastened up the long
ends of her wreath and put on her
cloaK, nn i then, uefore her lligtit was
noticol, sUo slipped away, out into
the uiirkuess ami tho stdiiies* of the
win ei's evening. She wanted to tie
alone, to think- she had not had much
time to think lately, there was always
so much to tie; ami then she 't I beeu
^ gtud o; it hoe fe, lor toe imvicof
k (.'briumas lime were (' era ' / sua
ones. lint now sue Ion ;< tier qui' tilde,
lor the sympathy ol mi own thoughts
uml ol tho or? a us of tuat hitter sweet
pu-t, thu jmst that tin I so strangely
ailtclc l all her life.
%
And ones in her ooey oak parlor, in
her own eheir bj the bright fireside,
he lay back with half closed eyes and
gave herself up, for a brief time at
any rate, to the memory of the put.
It was not a very eventful past, a'ter
all, that the children's talk of Christmas
had brought back to her.
She was young then, that was all.
and life was rose-tinted with health
and happiness and?should she confess
it, even to herself??love! Yes,
she believed that love had come to
her, as it comes once, and only once
in a lifetime, to every one. And yet
no voioe had ever whispered to her
thai a trne heart was hers for always?
no lips had ever pressed her own in
the glad rapture of a lover's kiss?no
sweet, strong arms had enfolded her
and held her captive?ah, me, not
And yet, and yet t There were hall
spoken words hnprinted in her memory
; there were tender glances, and
wonderful smiles, suoh as love, and
love only, could awaken; there was a
I
1^1
^ /^).X\ -p
WHA
Wo hung up our stocking on Christmas Eva
On the knobs at the foot of tho bed.
"We shall findtliam crammed with beautiful
things
When wo wake in tho morning," wo said.
Wo tried very hard to koop awake
To soo Santa Claus when ho came.
But I dropped asleep very .quickly indeed,
And Eveline did the sa no.
face?a beautiful, brave face that
dwelt safely shrined forever in tho
depths of Miss Eni l's heart?tho face
of one who had surely, surely loved
her once, iu tho lout; ago 1
And she fancied sometimes that ho
meant to tell her ?o, that the words
had trombled on his lips, the words
that would have changed her life aud
his so greatly ! She had read part of
his story in his eyes?clear, gravo
pvp?j tlini. wpph truth &r>(1 h?iii*'?f.v it
self?ami yet bo bad never uttered
what bis heart surely knew well, and
she had never listened to the sweetest
words that the human ear eau hear.
For tbo old, old reason. He wa?
poor and proud, and bo wanted, ob !
so maeh, to win honor and fame for
his lovo?and ho had gone on, meaning
perhaps to tell her if the opportunity
offered before tbo end. And
suddenly their parting had come, and
hoc hud known that be must go awny
from her. Ho had told her so himself,
walking homo from the oi l church
at Christmas time, under the stars.
"Wish me God-speed, will you not?'
ho had asked her, and her gcntie voiec
had bidden him farewell quietly and
evenly, so th.it he never knew how
deep was the pain in the loving heart,
or how near the tears were to the
| pretty eyes that strove so bravely tci
| smile on him lor the last time. And
I uow, he tbougiit to himself, ho.v lie
. would tell h? r everything 1 He woul I
, ass her to w ui lor lnm, to be his wih
Wheu ho cam lui, .. i ,.i.n with fame
j and loriune t? lay at n?-r tret. And
! the stars shone down nil them as thej
went up the quiet lane, as if to bless
j his plan.
I lint .some one bad jojued them a
they wont---an unw o < >:no thirl.
?nid's little *hoiigii!.r-s e-usin, win.
little guess, I, peer child, ti;e sorrow
< tliut her nresetire lirmi iht Vnil tlirp.
i had only been time for "Good-by" a?
the gate, for he would not oome io,
he said?only "Good-by" and a tremulous
hand shake?and?he was gone.
And Miss Enid's love story had
never really began?it had only been
a dream, perhaps, who was to know?
So the long years had passed, taking
one by one of her loved ones
away, as the antumu takes the dowers
that are wearied with the lonsr, loug
summertime, until she was left alone
> ?alone in the pretty old honse where
the swallows built nnder the eaves in
the spring, and where the garden was
ablaze with roses and syringa and
olematis all through the summer. And
the ebildren of tho village were her
friends, and the vioarago babies oamo
and grew np like flowers aronnd her,
weaving themselves into her calm,
' sweet life, 60 she had something to
love, and no one ever knew how sometimes
she longod and yearned until her
heart felt almost breaking?for what?
Ah, dear hearts, I oannot tell yon.
jams
lip
t kris kringlb
) But when the morning began to break
I suddenly woke up quite,
And looked to see if dear Santa Claus
Had thought of us in the night.
When, oh! how frightened I was! I heard
A noise by the foot of the bed.
1 whispered, "It must be Santa Clans."
"Yes, it must be," Eveline said.
T7.
Yon must picture for yourselves f
lonoly woman?one who could lovt
deeply, truty, passionately, one tt
whom littlo children turned as to r
mother's protecting care, to slumber
peacefully on her tender bosom or tc
smile up into the sweet face above
them. Picture that to yourselves, and
then tell mo for what it was that my
dear Miss Enid longed so much sometimes.
Sho was very good and swoel
and patient, but she was very human,
after all?but a womau at heart?and
every woman yearns at some time 01
; othi-r of her life for love.
Christmas Day broke white and
i calm and beautiful, for suow had
fallen in the night and the whole world
was shining. And Miss Enid, as sho
sat at her solitary breakfast table,
hearing a number of voices without,
I smiled expectantly. Were not the
1 children coming to give her Christmas
- presents, and would they not be delighted
with tho purchases that she
i hail made for them? And she glanced
towards a pile of neatly wrapped par'
eels with some pleasure?they were
s just tiie things that sho know they
wanted. As the door burst open, the
four children crashed in, in even
wilder spirit than Christmas Day
i usually called forth,
i "Merry Kis'mas, Merry Kis'mas,"
shouted Hobby, holding up his rosy
irioiilh for a kiss. "We've got a big
[ present u?r you, much a ooatity; mother
! said von would liko him."
: j "Mush, Hobby," the littlo tfirls said
I nastily; "Miss I'.rii I, dear, don't inind
I what he siivs. Mother's iove and all of
> j ours, utid <>h !"' fori?ettm^ all thoir doJ
mnreness and llin^ui^ two pairs of
- arms aroun 1 her neck at once, "we'll
brinif it this minute, l'roiniso that
> you'll be please i.
i j Hat Mi-s Kind's promiao was novor
> j made, lor ul th.it instant tho door
v ' - ' \
> opened tguo, ?B?t M>me one, tired of
veiling oetside, ouae in t
There ?u ashout from the ohildren,
end e err* e glad, startled, tender cry,
. from MIm Enid and than everything
i else wee forgotten, and the estonishod
' bairnae saw their friend's slender form
' clmjled closely in the arms of the
t "present." who w.w? usually called by
i them "Uncle Edward."
"(Darling, darliner," they heard him
i s^r, and jnstthen Angela, with wonder i
fhl tact, discovered the pile of parcels
> addressed to each of them, and eugi
ge?ted that they should carry them
i into the kitchen to show to old Jennie,
I which the ohildren were nothing loth
1 to do, leaving the lovers alone to their
wonderful new-found bliss I
'And I've forgetted to give h er my
Kisinas card, after all, and bootifnl
i money-box that I brought on purnnia."
Mid Rnhhv inntai Ha war rrninir
to bed ou Christmas night, very much
aggrieved.
"Give her the card to-morrow,"
I
Llwti Hit
Kgpl
Sent.
We waited to sob what his face would be,
Aud my heart wont pit-a-pat-pat
(And Eveline said hers did the same),
Till we heard the miau of a cat.
Thueu nroeo 4?r litfU biflSad A Unol *
?iv;iu mv limn a yi CZ>?nt
For Christmas, 1 think, don't you?
And father says, "'Well, it was Banta Clans,"
And Eveline says so too.
i suggested Ronald, and Marjorie said,
> "And the money-box wonld do for a
> wodding present, yon know, Bobby,
i Mother says 'tis to be soon."
Aud then she added, what every one
> said that happy day when they heard
s of the wanderer's return, "Dear Miss
I Enid."
Christinas in Sweden.
At Christmas the royal family of
Sweden assemble, as many as are in
I Stockholm at the time, exchanging
' proseuts on Christmas Eve, according
to the Swedish custom. The King aud
I Queen give sums of money for churiL
ties, which are remeratiered every
year.
1 The grand New Year's ball given in
the beautiful "White Hall" in the royal
palace is the next great public ooca1
sion. The absence of the Queen and
1 Crown Princes from the court assem'
blics detracts much from its former
1 brilliancy and life. The young Princes
are much courted and are invited to
innumerable balls during the season.
i>?: / i ? i
ut'iu^ iuuvi ui njiui t/-? tuu^ uuvu n ruym
ico skating club, whicb takes the lead
among clabs of that kind.
Every Monday, beginning in January,
tho court is seen gliding on ico
nu ler tho glare of lunterns, and dancing
on skates to tho tones of an orchestra.
Sleighing parties, balls and tho
opera occupy gay society iu Stockholm
dor ng the winter season.
"I might say that I feel drawn to
yon," as tho turkey remarkod to too |
man who had won linn in a ratllu.?
ibillalo Courior.
Cobble ? ' vVell, I suppose I'll havo
to eat ray Christmas turkey in a hoarding
house this your." Stoue ? 'That's I
tough."?Life,
? *'?tjtPK *'/V" * ' %r"^ ?' ' *
N ' '+ ' ? ", *
|
CttftlsTMAS t ERHJRKBlf S?
How They W?r? Ktrsfc VMd In Ofden
Tlmci.
Aroonic the votaries of the eojrly
Druid* there wan a superstition that
the houses should bo decorated with
evergreens in December, in. order
that the sylvan spirits might enter
thntn and thus he kept free from the
blast of the oold North wind and the
frost, until a milder season renew the
foliage of their nsnal haunts.
The Christmas tree is really from
Egypt, where the palm tree puts forth
a branch every month, and where- a
spray of this tree, with twelve shoots
on it, was nsed iu Egypt at the time
of the winter solstioe, as a symbol of
tho year completed.
Who does not know the poem beginning
The mistletoe hung in the castle ball.
The holly branoh shone on the old oalc wall.
Years ago over every man's door in
England hung a sprig of mistletoe at
this season. There still hovers a mystic
charm about tho mistletoe, and
many a girl now, with a thril of expectancy,
places a branch of it under
tho chandelier or over the door. According
to a former belief, when a
girl is caught and kissed under the
mistletoe a berry must be picked off
with each kiss, and when the berries
have all been pluoked the privilege
ceases.
Among tho ancient Britons the mistlctoe
that grows on the ork tree was
the kind held in favor. ' Because of
its heathen origin it is not often used
in church lecorations, a fact which is
referred to by Washington Irving in
his "Bracobridge Hall,'* where ho has
the learned parson rebuke the unlearned
clerk for this very thing.
In Germany and Scandinavia the
holly or holly tree is callod Christ's
thorn, because it puts forth its berries
at Christmas time, and therefore is especially
fitted for church decorations.
With its glossy, dark leaves and bright,
red berries, it is an attractive decoration
for the house.
The Jews used to decorate at their
Feast of Taberuaoles with evergreens
and flowers.
The laurel was used at the earliest
times ot tho Itoruana as a decoration
for all joyful occasions, and is significant
of peace and victory.
In some places it is customary to
throw branches of laurel on the Christmas
tire and watch for omens while
tne loaves curl and craokle in the heat
and flume.
The eve: green tree is a symbol used
as the Revival of Nature, which astro- j
nominally signifies the return of the
sun. Hung with lights aud offerings,
tne tree has for centuries been one of
the principal characteristics of Christmastide.
Assyrians Watching the Morning Star.
The Assyrian Christians, who livo
almost isolated from the Western
world and the eastern regions of
Asiatic Turkey, have a lovely custom
on the early morning of Christmas.
They all repair from their dwellings
to the open air and wait for the morning
star to rise, hailing its advent with
deep devotion. In that land of cloudless
skies the heavens present a spectndrr
?f*#*??nt% to. nuHgina. foggy
North, aud the ecene, as these simple
and faithful believers stand or kneel
outside their homes, looking toward
llie uiue, MiHr-Hpuugicu vnun auuvc, in
woll fitted to iuspiro devotion. It is
only of late years that these poor Assyrians
have had any freedom iu their
religious rites, but now they enjoy
comparative liberty. Christmas,
among these people, is the great day
for match-making. It is the only day
in the your when the various families
mingle in common festivity, and the
young folks, of both sexes, have an
opportunity to meet each other. The
daughter of marriageable age looks
forward with longing for Christmas,
when she may clasp the hand of the
youth whoso good looks and winning
ways have won her lieurt; and none
the less ardently does the boy lover
long for the sacred morning to dawn,
when ho can freely avow his feelings
to the choice of his affections. Hence
Christmas among the Assyrians is a
day of rejoicings, apart from its holy
character. Soon after Christmas the
engagements are announced ; bnt weddings
usually do not take place until
after Easter. Owing to the barbarity
of the Turks, Christmas has not infrequently
been a day of mourning
among the Eastern Christians, compelled
to see their daughters borne
into hopeless captivity ; but, except in
Armenia, affairs nro improving, and
the Christian population enjoys com- I
purative immunity.
The Dird ot Dawning.
A nrtniiinr ciinprgtifinn ia f linf nn f hn
" y~i'~ -"I? ? ....... ""
e\e of Christmas the bird of dawning
siugeth all night long to frighten off
any evil thing.
It W8H from this belief that Shakespeare
wrote:
"dome say that ever 'gainst that season
comes.
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
Tho bird of duwoing singoih all night long;
And then, they say, no spirit dares ?tir
abroad:
The nights are wholesome, then no planets
strike.
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to
charm.
So hallowed and so gracious is the time."
JOKERS' CHRISTMAS BOX.
AleSwatters ? "What are you going
to hang up for Christmas?" MeSwitters
? ".Viy wutch, prooably."?Syracuse
Post.
.Tobson?"Bill Ricketts took his
now girl out sleighing on Christmas
Kve." Hixou?"Wuatl that onoarined
feller? How in the world did
ho in nu ago it?" Jobson?-"Sho
drove. "--Puck.
Hobbies?"My wife's got me a box
of cigars for a Christinas present.
But I'll get even with her." Pom as
? "What will you do?" Hobbles? 1
"I m going to select b?r next hat my- j
.self."?Chicago Record.
HOLLY IH DSG0B1TI0I& I
Ita IUA Barries s Beautiful Fesisrs
In Christmas Adornment.
A picturesque shrub esoeciallv usefnl
at this time of the year is the holly,
with its tough and shining spinous
leaves and its pretty little fall, round
berries. It is the only plant appropriate
to this happy period that relieves
the deai green and monotonous
white of the noo-flower in g plants and
vines supposed to belong to Ohristraas
and the days that follow Epiphany.
Like the mistletoe, most of the holly
exposed for sale in Amerioan marts
oomes from Great Britain, slthongh
some speceies of the plant grow in the
Southern States.
The commercial holly, however, Is
out in Scotland and sent here in bags.
I It is most valuable to work np in combination
with laurel, ivy and mistletoe,
intc wreaths, anchors, stars, crowns
and other eoolesiaatioal designs, while
for running deoorations, that is long
festoons and great sweeps of green, a<
few o! the bright red berries wonndin
at regular intervals heightens the effeet
and relieves the eye.
The favorite manner of arranging
holly for sale is to make it up into
some one of the numerous designs appropriate
to the ?day and' the season,
and thus' most of the plant offered
this year is fashioned. Holly is not
so expensive us the mistletoe, and is
more hardy and lasting. It lias no
A MIHTT>KTOK BAIjLOON.
tradition connected with it, however,
and thus lopes its sentimental value.
But to the decorator, the artist, the
florist and the dealer it is one of tne
| best, most ornate, ana Buggestivo
I plants for nse at home or in publio
places that can be selected at this season.
Christmas in Peru.
A Christmas celebration in Pern hss
peculiar features. In the cities, and
more especially in Lima, there are bewildering
scenes of activity on OhriHtman
Eve. The streets and square are
crowded with a gayly dressed people.
Droves of asses are to be seen in every
direction, laden with fruits, boughs
from the mountains, liquors and othor
merchandise. Ice stalls, provided
with chairs and benches, are crowded
by the perspiring pleasure seekers,
who find ice necessary on sultry
Christmas.
As night approaches the streets are
packed with a noisy people, and joke
and jest and merry prank become the
rule. These are participated in mostly
by Btrangely attired persons in mask.
Music of guitars, clattering castanets
and pebbles rattling in gourds fill tho
nir with mingled discordant sounds.
No door is closed. There is musio
and dancing and the distribution of
gifts in every house. All aro welcome
to enter. Strangers are Btire of a
hearty welcome, and to be a foreigner
is to have a double claim on hospitality
and to receive a double welcome.
All ceremony and restraint are absent.
In many houses the love of the Christmas
drama is shown by theatrical representations
of the Nativity, with the
Name characters as are seen the world
over. 1
Suddenly the scene changes. The
cnrtain falls on the play, the music
and dancing cease, and the people go
from their homes. The midnight boll
at the cathodral has summoned all to
mass. The houses and streets are
neatly deserted, while the churches,
with tboir decorations and blazing
tapers, are thronged. Worshipers arc
kneeling before tho tnany shrines that
line their walls, and wlierevor tlioy
can find a place whero one of the many
waxen images of the saints are displayed.
With tho organ's peal, and
the entering of tho riobly vested priests
and plainly attired monks, begins the
celebration of the mass.
Again, on Cbribtraas morniDg, the
streets are crowded and the markets
are thronged, bnt at 9 o'clock the
churches are again filled. Aftor the
services come the feast and the games
and tho sports. When night comes
j there is a grand procession beaded by
the priests and monss, wno are followed
by the soldiers and people. All
are gayly dressoi, and many in fautastic
costumes and masks. Banners,
Hags, streaming ribbons, and green
Itrttirrliu al*n nnvvioil efi<i rn nutn lillu f Ka
i/wu^uo hi v vi*iiivvi| *uti ittiiniv una tuu
air. In tho midst of tho procession
there is bold aloft tho figure of tho
Madonna bearing in bur arms tho
holy child. After a long march tho
procession returns to tho cathedral,
there disbands, and the Christmas Day
celebration is at an end.
' I supposo they will roast mo and
then pnll my leg for a dinner," remarked
the turktiy as tho oven door
hid him from view.?-Philadelphia lieoord.
W' '
V