Newspaper Page Text
T
l.
Why 4ie Sober
Man Did Smile
B$ MARTHA B. THOMAS
Boarding House
CKristma* Party
Had a Very
Happy Ending
far Two
|T WAS Christ
mas Ere at
Mra Com-
mlngs’ board
ing house. In
the Interval be-
« tween two string
WKat He Asked beans, Mins Bll-
j it a lings observed to
utd HerAnswer tlie rest ^ the mn .
Should Be an ers thnt It was nice
Easy Guess t° have friends at
this season. No one
denied It Qf the seven places at the
table one wns vacant, that belonging
to Vesta Blaine.
"Miss Biaine,” continued Miss Cum
mings a little wistfully, "always has
such a delightful time nt holidays. She
has so many pleasant acquaintance*.
And of course.” she hesitated to glva
emphasis to what was coming, "she Is
getting a good deal of attention from
that young man."
No one had any comments to make.
But n gerlpus-fnced man at the other
end of the table seemed to be very
grave Indeed; he bent a concentrated
regard upon his plate, as though the
contents might yield some secret which
ha hunted.
"A real Christmas Eve!" chanted
Testa Blaine. Her eyes were like stara;
her cheeks bright with color; sha
looked like a flower set down In a veg
etable garden. Ths ether boarders
wera a bit older, a bit mere tired, a bit
dlallluaionad; they drank their sun
shine from the exuberant girl, and won
dered how she could come home at
might still bubbling with high spirits
and fun. ,
"It’s snowing 1" continued Vesta,
darting a smile at the sober man, who
apparently was not aware of his good
fortune, for he never looked up. "That
soft sift of feathers that comes down
Ilka . , . like”—she hunted far an
adequate simile—“like prayers of ths
aagelsl Only prayers are smpposed to
re up. aren’t they!" aha laughed at
her own conceit ’The trees are like
dreams behind whits veils, and the
Street lamps are orange moons 1 I love
It Do pass me the better, somebody.
Ta hungry enough to eat shredded
hairpins P
■verybody did their beat to make
Taatm comfortable, evam the scrap of a
aaM who waited an the table Miao
■tains offered her pepper and salt
tale* and the landlady asked It aba
preferred her roast bead wril ar ns
"I’m going to a party tonight I" an-
msnnced Vesta after a law mouthfuls
ta fortify bar wants, “the vary bant
party over perpetrated."
Mia Billings sailed bar I nt areal and
naked where.
"Oh, not van tar from bars; and"—
tan panned, looking around the tabto
Vesta Plains Went to the Front Door,
Openod It.
with n curious glance—"you’re all In
vited 1 That’s why It’s the Deet party—
because It’s got the nicest folks com
ing to It I”
What a hubbub there was then!
Everybody asked five questions at once
and none found out the answer. Mias
Billings quivered with excitement.
Mrs. Cummings waved the carving
knife and nearly took off a slice from
toe sober man’s nose. Finally, Vesta
stood up, commanded alienee, tapped
Importantly on the table with a silver
spoon, and began:
"Ladles and gentlemen, you are ear
nestly requested, cordially Invited and
definitely ordered to clothe yourself
ta radiant raiment after dinner, and
than wait for me In the hall. No one
taall be allowed to aay ‘no.’ Penalty
for disobedience la so horrible I can’t
even mention itl”
And ready they were aa soon as they
eonld Jump Into their best and as
semble In the halt The sober man
was the last to appear. He looked as
though he did not dare stay away-
That’s the best that could be said
about him. But the rest were laughing
and talking in happy expectation.
Vesta Blaine went to the front door,
opened it, made strange signs with her
hands, and In there tramped a big,
blustering giant of a fellow dressed
like Santa Claus. He had a nobby
pack on his back, and appeared to
have every Intention of unloading it
at Mis. Cummings’ boarding house,
“This way,” said Vesta and led him
Into the parlor. The rest followed.
"For mercy’s sakesl" exclaimed Miss
{tilling*.
That Muk Which Grew
on Mr. Philetus' Face
[>Y| UTLETUS SOLEMCOLLT could
[M| not understand why the chll-
■mw| dren did not like him. He gave
them good advice. He patted
them upon their heads. Ha ex
pressed the hope that they would be
successful In life as he had been. He
promised them rewards if they would
behave themselves as be wanted them
to. Vet they came to his school un
willingly nnd went home from K glad
ly. They were respectful, but unsmil
ing.
It wns with hope, but not without
difficulty, that a friend persuaded
Phlletus to officiate ns Santa Claus at
the Christmas festival and to assume
tho traditional garb of the part. Phl
letus did not see much use In such
fanciful doings, but yielded to solici
tation and appeared upon the occasion
with ns much grace as a feeling of
foolishness would allow. His spare
form was now rotund, his sober gar
ments had become gay, and the Jolly
mask thut had been adjusted to his
long face gave him qnlte a new ex
pression.
As the Joy among the children pro
gressed and the spirit of fun and
frolic mounted high Phlletus began
to experience a change of heart Ta
hts amazement ha began having a good
time himself and to feel Uk* a real
8alnt Nicholas. For this reason, per
haps, he overexerted himself to such
an extant that his mask fell off and
It was revealed to the surprised audi
ence that It had been contradicting
the face of Mr. Solemcolly.
This wns really the best feature of
the evening, and It proved to have a
permanence about It, for, from that
time, the Phlletus phis shortened, and
broadened, and fattened, and colored
up. until It came to look a good deal
like the face of that old fairy who
is always young and kindly.
So the mask that fell off left Its
Imprint and stayed on, and Phlletus,
•bl# to be merry, became the familiar
friend of the children.—Christopher O.
Haaard.
(•, UJl, W.x.rm N»w»»»p.r )
THE THREE "PS"
JIT MB Important (blag sled
Ur Chrletmoa la tbs way you took
Mat bodily (Milas, hat heart-
feallag.
Aad the kaari-fsollag sboaM
ha oa* of fun, faith aad frolta,
Faa far aa many as yaa aan
raash.
Faith In tha fan of glvtaa,
Fretle with tha naaraat aad
daaraal
A Cbrlatmaa SI lad with thOM
thraa,. Ta will ah ad ayarbi at
hayylaaaa on, maay a day to
There to too maab
about to End pleasure
when tbe greateet Jay MB
teaad oa our awn thi
... It m are determined to
eeefe It.—Martha I. Theaaae.
(to >*»- Waatara —geyani Palw.)
GOOD IDEA
He—Don’t you think It would be a
good Idea to hang up some mistletoe?
She—Christmas Is several weeks
away.
He—Tea, but we could be practic
ing.
HER CHRISTMAS TRIP
The family were going away foi
Christmas to their old home In ths
beautiful country which they loved so
much. They hadn't gone back at
Christmas time for ever and over oo
long.
They said, at first, they would give
their faithful, wonderful cook a chock
and a holiday, and then they asked
her If she would Ilka the Christmas
trip aa her Cbrlatmaa present
Would she Indeed? Just because
she was no longer a child It didn’t
mean that she couldn’t enjoy as a
child!
She went and she loved It all—even
tho overcrowded trains, tha hurrying
masses of people in tho Jammed sta
tions—for wasn’t It her Christmas
trip?
She, too, was a part of tho groat
holiday travel!—M. O. Bonner.
<£, 1911, Wfiitira Ndwipaptr Uilii.)
SPEAKING OF FUEL
A Christmas gift for the man with
the average domestic supply of coal:
A magnifying glass, a pair of tweez
ers and the framed motto, "Keep the
home fires burning."—Louisville Cou-
rler-Journul.
THE RIGHT SPIRIT
Put the Christmas spirit Into your
politics and keep the partisan splilt
out of your Christmas.
THOSE SLIPPERS
Grandfather is pretty sure K will
be a pair of slippers. All that remains
to be decided Is how many pairs.
i
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Gifts That Express The
True Christmas Spirit
A gift for the home brings more happiness and comfort than any other. It
makes that “Dearest Spot on Earth” a better and pleasanter place to dwell. Our
beautiful Furniture offers scores of such attractive suggestions that express the
Christmas spirit in its finest sense.
We are receiving almost daily the newest and most up-to-date patterns that
are to be had in Furniture for the Bed Room, Living Room and Dining Room.
Come in and inspect our
Truly Magnificent Displays of Fine Furniture
While our Bhowing in all departments are
wonderfully pleasing, we are especially proud
of the beauty and sttnfj
niture for the living rooj
values which we are ab(
Individual pieces in this
which there is a strong dei
jveness of our Fur-
rell as the usual
Ter in suites and
' of furniture, for
land just now.
The long winter evenings which give the
family more opportunity for home life than any
other time of the year are influencing many to
furnish their living rooms to provide the utmost
of comfort and beauty. We would like to show
you just how attractive we can make your living
room and at what a reasonable figure it can be
accomplished.
Our suites for the bed room and dining room
are scarcely leu attractive, while there is a
wonderfully pleasing assortment of odd pieces
and novelties in house furnishings that will give
your home an added beauty and charm.
You will find a visit to our store and an in
spection of our displays both pleasing and prof
itable. 1
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In selecting your Christmas presents give something that will be useful and
appreciated in the years to come. Nothing could come nearer to giving genuine
satisfaction than a Cedar Chest. One will last for generations—never wear out
or go out of style. Absolute protection against moths for furs and other wear
ing apparel. A Chest is an ideal Christmas present.
We are pleased to announce that we are showing the newest and most up-
to-date patterns in
Wilton and Axminster Rugs
You Will Always Find
THE PRICE RIGHT
Tim*
*(!
and you can't go wrong When you buy from us.
Roop Hardware Co.
Furniture Upstairs
Paints
Hardware