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turned to her grandmother with tears in
her beautiful eyes, and said —
“ How good you are to us, dear Grand
ma !”
“ Here, darling, take this crook to lilt
the things down with,” said Grandma, as
she seated herself in her large arm chair,
with baby Leila on her knee.
“Now each one must come for his or
her present as I call the name,” said sis
ter Maggie, as she began to lift the toys
from the heavily-laden branches of the
beautiful Christmas Tree.
“A cannon on wheels for master
Louis.”
“A box of dominoes for master Fred.”
“ A doll, with her hair chignon, for lady
Addie.”
“ A bat, ball, and microscope, for dear
Walter.”
“A coral rattle for baby Leila.”
“A humming top for master Gus.”
Thus the gifts were distributed. Again
and again was each name called, and again
and again merry voices exclaimed at the
beaut}" and number of their presents.
“0, Grandma!” exclaimed Walter, has
tening to his Grandma’s chair; “ see how
beautiful this microscope is! Just what
I most wanted. I can examine flowers,
seeds, shells, and everything almost; can’t
I, Grandma ?”
“ And you’ll let us look some, too, won’t
you, bud Walter?” asked Fred, joining
the group about Grandma’s chair.
“ Indeed you may look whenever you
want to. But just hear sister Maggie,
how she’s rattling off* names. Going, go
ing, gone!” laughed Walter merrily, as
Gus ran to his sister’s side in time to take
a beautiful rocking-horse from the end of
her crook.
“But what’s for you, sister Maggie?”
exclaimed the delighted child, dropping
his horse on the carpet and hastening
back to the tree.
“I think that beautiful hanging cush
ion, and that little work-box away up on
that limb, must be for you,” he said eager
ly, pointing his little hand towards one
of the topmost boughs, pendant from
which was a beautiful crimson satin cush
ion, also a rosewood work-box.
While Maggie stood upon tip-toe to
reach the beautiful presents, little Gus
stood, with arm outstretched, watching
her with great eagerness.
Louis was drawing his cannon over the
carpet. Addie, with her doll in her hand,
stood leaning against her grandmother’s
chair, looking alternately from her doll’s
to her Grandma’s face. Fred, with his
box of dominoes, was standing near
Grandma’s knee; while Walter, bat and
microscope in hand, leaned his bright face
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
over Fred’s shoulder. Baby Lelia, with
her bright red rattle in her chubby little
fingers, laughed and prattled incessantly,
and Grandma looked on the merry group
with peace and joy written upon her con
tented face.
What a happy home! What loving,
affectionate hearts are within that pleas
ant little sitting-room. Goodness and
kindness always bring peace and happi
ness. So, dear children, may your Christ
mas be. May loving friends gather about
the hearthstone and speak kindly words
of cheer and hope. May your kind pa
rents, grandmother and friends wear no
cloud on their brows, and no shadow in
their hearts, on account of some erring
child, some ungrateful son or daughter.
Learn early to do right—let kindness
and gentleness mark your bearing one
towards another, in order that there may
be more than one home and one Christmas
like that of “Grandma Marston and her
grand children!”
Hoping that such may be the case,
Miss Clara wishes you all a “Merry
Christmas and a happy New Year!”
Ring Out, Wild Bells.
f'yk ING out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
J| The year is dying in the night;
out, wild bells, and let him die.
fßing out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow ;
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more ;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out, my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand ;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
Lazy Boy, Lazy Man.—A lazy boy
makes a lazy man, just as a crooked sap
ling makes a crooked tree. Who ever yet
saw a boy grow up in idleness that did
not make a shiftless vagabond when he
became a man, unless he had a fortune
left him to keep up appearances? The
great mass of criminals and paupers that
fill our prisons and poor-houses, have come
to what they are by being brought up in
idleness. Those who make our great and
useful men were trained in their boyhood
to be industrious.
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
MAROONER’S ISLAND ;
OR,
Dr. Gordon in Search of His Children.
BY REV. F. R. GOULDING,
Author of “ The Young Marooners.”
CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER XVII.
IB eastern sky was now
brightening with the
light of the rising moon,
while the western, over-
M$ hanging the sea, looked
black and portentous. Soon a sigh
was heard, followed by a little puff
n£k of wind, then another sigh, and an
other puff. The moan from sea
deepened every moment, as also did the
darkness. Every puff of wind became
more decided, and it was not long before
a deep darkness settled upon everything
visible, and there was such a roar from
sea and sky as almost drowned the feeble
voices of those who tried to speak. It
was fortunate that the tarpaulin tent and
the palmetto booth had been located un
der the partial protection of the bluff, and
also of a mixed mass of herbage and sand
near its margin; otherwise they would
have been prostrated at the very begin
ning of the gale. Assisted, however, by
some sails from the barge, which were
firmly staked, the inmates were screened
against both wind and rain, and it was
not long before they needed protection
against both. With the driving of the
rain, and of the spray from sea, came also
the rising of the tide, which in half an
hour’s time had covered the whole slope
of the beach, and had lifted the waves so
that they were beating heavily against
the bluff above high water mark. The
unexpectedly serious aspect beginning to
be assumed by the storm, caused Dr. Gor
don to recall with painful distinctness the
scenes of wild disaster which he had wit
nessed at his home upon the Georgia
coast, just seven years before,* when so
many lives, of both w T hites and blacks,
were lost by the overflow of the sea. He,
therefore, said to Sergeant Tomkins:
“ 1 am sorry we did not select a higher
spot for our encampment. If we are to
judge of the present storm by one I wit
nessed a few years since, we may be com
pelled to change our quarters before mor
ning. I propose,therefore, to takcJones,
if you will let me have him, and my young
friend Wildcat, and ascertain, by going a
little ways into the interior, whethei
* The hurricane of September, 1824, in which some of
the islands were totally submerged, and all the ■
tants destroyed, and in which many houses up ,
main were overwhelmed, not only by the winu, o
the fearful tide that rushed in from sea.