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BY THE NOIiTH BOLE.
(By Curtis May.)
Jjgff T was only a
month before
Christmas, and
Santa Claus was
sitting outside his
door whittling the
corners off from
the handle of a
small wooden toy—
for Mrs. Santa
Claus would not
allow him to whit¬
tle inside the cave. Being in a mighty
good humor, once in a while he would
stop and rub his hands together, thus
giving vent to his happy feelings and
also helping to keep him warm. This
was rendered the more necessary by
the situation of the cave, which had
been hollowed out ages before by some
igneous agency, exactly at the foot of
the north pole. Santa Claus had utiliz¬
ed this fact when he had taken pos¬
session of the cave; for, to rid it of
smjke from his fire, he had to run
out a long length of stovepipe, anu
hind it by bands of sheet-iron to the
pole itself.
Although it was not quite noontime,
it was as dark as night, and the sky
was full of bright stars, cfce of which,
the Polar star, stood directly over the
north pole; so that if the pole had
reached further up it must certainly
have punched a hole in the star. Hov/-
ever, tne pole had been cut off quite
a distance down. There were beauti¬
ful gleams of aurora borealis in the
say, but they did not give Santa Claus
light enough for his work, so he had
fixed an iron .cup in the icy ledge of
the cavern and in the cup he had stuck
a tall torch made of the body of a
salmon frozen hard, with a flaming bail
of pitch where the head ought to he.
“I believe I shall have to sandpaper
this corner,” he said, thoughtfully. "It
doesn’t come smooth, although I’ve
whittled on it ever so long. I can’t
spare much more time for it, with all
the other things there are to make, and
the reindfeer yet- to be sharp-shod mr
the journey. And the sleigh needs a
fresh coat of paint, too. Bless that
old sleigh, how it does last! Seems as
if it never would wear out! Beats
anything I ever heard of!”
“Santa, come in to dinner," called
Mrs. Claus, in a fresh voice.
* Santa Claus turned at the welcome
summons; but just then he saw a guest
come puffing along the snowy path,
and he waited to greet him. The new-
ccjnor was thin and pale, with piercing,
half-insane eyes, and a mouth that
twitched constantly. Men shuddered
always to meet his glances, and he was
invited guest in no house. The Eski¬
mos who inhabit those dreary plains
and hills nevdr let him crawl through
the Icag, tunnel-like entrances of their
snow-built homes, and draw their
heavy fur hoods closely around their
faces so'as not to reedgnize him when
they meet. But Santa Claus loved the
North Wind like a brother, and sang
out, “Hall, friend, and well met! The
good wife has drawn the ale; come in
and see w’hat is smoking on the table.”
“I come," answered the North Wind,
hoarsely, “over fields of snow and long
precipices of ice, at whose foot the
glacier hangs and never a drop drips
out. I have rustled the tops of the
firs far to the south, and my breath
has clung to the spars of the ship m
the frozen sea.”
But your welcome has ever remained
here,” answered Santa Claus, cordial-
ly. ‘Tea fi when sometimes the
HiXvith K\in strange noises
^^^^\the its long chain,
other, “It is
Wind that is
sglhey Wk together. approached The
■with wall? and
^»erlai(l Hpe on the
anti snow;
BBrai. by nature
anti tlio<c
Hyfripppfl |||.i l>ig lamp
into a
■ l. As for the
^■pegs |»ed all and over shelves, with
He upon which any-
Hfor laid or support-
Brsweetmeats, ^^^hese receptacles al- of
Shells strings
or serviceable gar-
^BHHf ^Kaus her visitor. held out “Now her hand sit at
you
^Rsewife;' mK/'- said she, for she Is a notable
“here is ale with the froth
^fthat HPady for the lip. here is the venison
three days ago was afoot, and
f here is the platter of smoking cakes
with the sap that dripped from a Ver¬
mont maple last spring. Such a load
of things as Santa always brings back
after tbe holiday journey! Eh, but the
old sleigh conies home as full as *t
gees, I tell him!”
So chattering, she gave the North
W'ind the place of honor at her right
hand and poured him a wide-mouthed
beaker of ale; while old Santa Claus
stood (for be is but a short map) to
1 carve the saddle of venison, and»\ap
the choicest morsels on the plate
guest. As they feasted he
tte latter, “What have you
your way hither?”
\ 1 “Oh,” answered puffing the North he wB|
with his cheeks out as agm
like those of one used to blow
pet, “I have seen a ship frozet-^B gon^fl
sea of ice. The fire has
her furnaces, and the men Hi
in their hammocks. Onh^. or •ImmI
as in a dream, and he Tf but
/ hoy. I blew my loudest spirit notei^H mfl
the of
I&on his month, Y.H
*\.-nnw B not why 1 eflj
arry no food
TSk* * *
M > :>m
cheeks^ “Will he not awaken when the
dream'is over?”
“Perchance when It is over; but it is
a long dream.”
“And what else did you see pn your
way hither?” asked Mrs. Claus, as she
poured syrup on the wheaten cakes.
“I saw in Norway a young girl
stand at the door of her father’s house.
She had been spinning, and her cheeks
were red with the glow of work—or
why should she look so rosy as the
young man whispered in her ear? Then
he turned away, and she sat again at
her wheel, but her bands did not seem
quite in tune with its whir.”
“That was pleasant, too,” said the
hostess, and smiled to herself.
“In the pine woods where they fringe
the broad white mantle of the pole,”
said the North Wind, “I played as
upon a harp of a thousand strings.
That Is music—ah! that is the great
orchestra where nature can wholly
comprehend those sounds. Even I feel
a tide within my being, and rise to a
height that dwarfs my everyday
moods.”
Here they rose from the table and
Santa Claus threw the bones of the
deer to a great white bear that rose
sleepily from a corner, and shook him¬
self like a snow ball that has been set
in motion. Then they prepared for
work, rhe host began to place rock¬
ing-horses on their wooden rockers
and train jumping-jacks for their peril¬
ous feats. Mrs. Claus set to dressing
dolls, of which great numbers lay
about, and the North Wind, having
discontentedly tried his hand at a few
of the many drums and* horns scatter¬
ed around, sat in a corner grumbling
to himself, or fitfully telling tales of
"lue lands that lie in bis domain.
Just then there came a gentle tap
at the door, like a few drops of water
thrown against it, and Mrs. Claus
eagerly hastened to open it. There
stood a slendqr maiden, with blue
eyes that sometimes grew as black "s
an unlighted midnight. Her filmy
gown fluttered out behind her and ner
voice was as soft as the trickle of a
woodland brook.
“Good-morning,” said she. “And
.
here is my brother, the North Wind.”
“Her voice is low,” murmured the
brother, “but it is melodious. I have
heard those sounds in the symphony
of the pine forest.”
“And what have you seen on your
way northward?” asked Mrs. Claus;
“for long has been your way hither.”
“My path has always led through
pleasantness,” answered the South
Wind. ‘ “I saw ship sailing in the
a
free sea far to the south. There were
many passengers on her deck and all
were looking skyward. I, too, looked; •
/
3 33
m ft
» ®1J if
% Ml
S M1
bLJi 3
) c 3-. ><
——>3337
'^3
“HAIL, FRIEND, WELL MET.”
and there was a little bird there, worn
with long flying and able .merely to
keep from falling into the sea. ‘He
shall not die, the brave little land-
bird!’ cried the ladies, and the sailors
hastily put a boat into the ocean, and
rowed out from the ship. And when
the little brown thing fell into the boat
a rough old sailor shed tears—yes,
tears of joy, that he was saved. This
I saw on my way here.” queried"
“Did you see augnt else?”
S-'-nta Claus, as he sent a procession -f
wooden animals helter-skelter into a
gayly painted Noah’s ark.
“I rested one moment where a gla¬
cier stood during countless ages. The
ground had been pulverized and then
hardened, dragged as if with a harrow
and scratched in long parallel lines;
and at its foot a great mass of debris
had been dropped, gleaned from the
mountains above. But frost and rain,
heat and cold, had broken up the sur¬
face of the ground, and a great bed
of scarlet poppies had risen there.
How they shook their bright heads as
I passed! Oh, a merry game I played*
with them, in and out, seeking and
sought, until at last, with a gentle ris¬
ing, like a wave at sea, I left them h o
laugh down the former desolation with
living beauty.”
“Ho, there!” cried a. thin, small
voice, and. looking suddenly around,
they beheld the Frost Fairy. She had
transparent wings of purest white, and
her gossamer gown was of opaque
white full o. le twinklings of light.
A coixAm a fgrn-
of a border of crinkled marigold
leaves, set with golden buds. See!
These are li-tle suns, but they do not
revolve. How beautiful it will be when
you and your mischievous twin. Jack
Frost, paint this model on the window-
panes! How lovely when this pattern
glistens along the brookside or by the
garden walk!”
“What would I not do if I had more
colors upon my palette!” mourned the
FrofSt Fairy. “Alas! I have only one.”
“That is the beauty of your work.
For it is so delicate and do fantastic,
it copies so exactly its models without
having the heaviness of color, it is so
the soul of nature, uncovered • for a
moment as in reverence, that there is
no change but must vulgarize it. And
you work so hard and patiently, my
kind little Fairy, adorning attic win-
dows for starving children, just as
richly as nursery windows in wealthy
hones, that I do not know what the
world would be like if you had been
forgotten at the outset.”
The Frost Fairy dropped her eyes;
she could not blush, but she seemed
lighted from within. Then she said,
“When you next come from the strange
south, which I have never seen, bj-ing
me a spray of apple blossoms. Would
that I might live in the realm of fra¬
grance!” Then she raised her wings
and disappeared, no one could tell
how.
“There goes one of the brightest lit-
tie beings ever created,” said the South
Wind. “Dame Claus, I must be on
my way. But I am charged with a
message for you. The Sun winked at
me as !• started northward, and said,
“Tell Santa Claus and his good dame
that I have not forgotten them, and
within four months I shall peep at
them oter the horizon.”
So saying, the South Wind followed
the Frost Fairy away.
“Don’t you think the reindeer ought
to be exercised a little?” suggested Mrs.
Claus to her husband. She brought
him his fur cap and his great fur coat,
and he went out and harnessed the
reindeer into the sleigh.
“I’ll go with you said the North
Wind, hastily. And the hostess smiled
to herself; for a woman must have
time, to wash the dinner dishes and
prepare for the next meal. After this
labor was performed she sat dawn
again to dress more dolls and sew
leather covers on soft balls; for she is
a very busy woman. But she smiled
at her work; and it is the happiness
of the jolly old couple in the cave by
the great north pole that seems to
spiritualize their gifts, so that the day
on which they are given is the mer¬
riest and dearest day in the whole
year. .
Patronizing n Pot Grocer,
One day Mistress MacPhairson was
trotting home from her grocer’s with
some spiritual comfort tucked under
her apron, when she ran up against
her friend, Mistress Macleod, and felt
called™ upon to explain. “I waur just
beyont at Muster MacTavish’s store,’
He keeps th’ very best ham in a’ th’
land. Our John loves a bit o’ guid
ham, ye ken, and is ay yammerin’,
aboot th’ ham at ither shops bein’
ower fat and -saut.” “Oor Tam th’
same.” said Mistress Macleod, “and so
I’ll gang and gie MacTavish a trial
now." Five?' minutes after that Mrs.
Macleod went to the obliging grocer
and asked for “a pund of ham.” “What
kind o’ ham?” inquired Muster Mae-
Tabish. “Oh, gie me the same kind
that Mistress MacPhairson always gets
here.” “A richt,” returned the grocer,
with a cunning leer. And then, bend-
ing over tlm counter, he said in a high¬
ly significant whisper. “Whaur’s yer
bottle?”—Weekly Telegraph.
ills Only Alternative.
Little Dot was very fond of Bible
stories, and one day after her mother
had read the story of Lot’s wife she
asked: “Mamma, what did Mr. Lot
do when his wife was turned into a
pillar of salt?” “What do you think
he did?” asked mamma. “Why,” re¬
plied the practical little miss. “I s’pose
he went out and hunted up a fresh
one.”—Chicago News.
PEOPLE TALKED ABOUT.
Queen Victoria’s favorite scag is said
to be “And ye shall walk in ailk at¬
tire.”
The late Mme. Carnot was fond of
busying horself with the garden and a
greenhouse built by her late husband.
The duke of York is the only mem¬
ber of the British royal family who
can dance a genuine sailor’s hornpipe.
He learned the steps when he was a
young cadet.
There lives in Sedalia,\ Mo., an old
gentleman who was tutor to the late
King Alfonso XII. of Spain. His name
is Col. Van B. Wisker, an American,
born of English parents.
Pierre LotiA to India with
Sarah ictress intends
ti Bints and the
Htinteresting Hy
make a
lossesses
»ps the
B Bsoo.ooo King-
Eke 0 r
icre-
ap-
[g his
i
A WOMAN SI 1
'STRANGE C
treatment of thel
Geographical* K»t|
as the Husband St
noss In the Susport
Dr. William 0’Ne/| inffi
several Lincoln
following account oV
j rience to the Lone ,1 '1
j scribes a case of tht'
monplace complai '.
j “spirit of jealousy,”
; the scriptures, when
scribed and treated,
he states, I was re
j a( jy w h 0; jt was
was very ill, and i
attention. On ent(
was shown into t
room> in which the
sons, all of whom see
health. There, were
lady (owner of the 1
daughter, who had aig| m
previously from
to spend two or tnlj cM
: mother, and the
I whose visit was oil!
i or of two. man in Jai H
age, small
: complexion and WtO . Jr .rhe
wife was a stri her
husband. She was rather tall, reihark-
ably fair and handsome and was a few
years younger than her good man. I
, asked which of them was the patient,
i but no answer having been given to
j my inquiry, I asked again. hesitation, Then the
younger lady, with some
said:
“I am the patient, and my complaint
is j ea i ousy i am jealous of my hus-
.
j k anc j an( j jf y 0U jo no t give me some-
t]llng t0 rel j eve me I shall go out of
my mind.” This accusation against the
little man seemed to me to he most
I ridiculous; indeed, I could not help
i thinking that if the accuser had been
j 1 accused it would have been more in the
nature of things. I assured the lady
I was extremely sorry for her, the more
so that I was quite incompetent to
treat such a case. The husband pro¬
tested his innocence and declared there
was no cause whateva for her accusa¬
tions. The wife persisted in reiterat¬
ing them, and so the wrangle went on
till suddenly she fell from her chair on
the floor in a fit, the spasmodic move¬
ments of which were strange and
varied. At one moment the patient
was extended at full length, with her
body arched forward, in a state of
opisthotonos. The next minute she
was in a sitting position with the legs
drawn up, maki'A, while her hands
Then' clutched s'Jm her wtfffAi th-'jjt, «.y>w a guttural herself on noise. her
1
back and thrust hdr arms and legs
about, to the no sm4.ll danger of those
around her. Then, becoming compara¬
tively quiet and j supine, she would
quiver all over, wh^le her eyelids trem¬
bled with great rapidity. This state,
perhaps, would be followed by general
convulsive movements, in which she
would put hersell. in the most gro¬
tesque postures and make the most un¬
lovely grimaces. \
At last the fit ended and, exhausted
and in tears, she was put to bed. The
patient was a lithe, muscular woman,
and to restrain her movements during
ttfte attack with the assistance at hand
was a matter of impossibility; so that
all that could be done was to prevent
her injuring herself and to sprinkle
her freely with cold water. The after-
treatment was more geographical than
medical. The husband ceased doing
business in a certain town where the
object of his wife’s suspicions lived.
He was enabled to do so by the kind¬
ness of a friend, who exchanged part
of hits district with him. The fit wan
not the disease, but it was the symp¬
toms or manifestation of a mind dis¬
eased or deranged, the state of the
mind being the result of a woman’s
broodings over her real or imaginary
wrongs.
IRISH POLITICAL PRISONERS.
They Complain of Warder's Sneers at
Their Religious Views.
John Henry O'Connor, better known
under his alias of Henry Dalton, has
been released from prison, says the
Irish Independent. On July 30, 1883,
he was sentenced at Liverpool to Im¬
prisonment for life, his ofTense being
treason-felony. As life sentences are,
according to the home secretary, to he
treated as sentences for twenty years,
a prisoner at the end of the fifteen
years becomes entitled to a ticket- of
leave. His release under conditions
may, however, be delayed by taking
into account any falling off in the
marks expected to be earned by him
in each year, and for this reason Mr.
d’Connor, instead of being freed at the
end of last July, might have been de¬
tained until the 27th inst. The fact
that he was liberated some days be¬
fore his time came as a surprise to
him. The liberated Irishman is a sun¬
burned, finely featured man, below the
medium height. He is apparently of
strong physique, and his fine develop¬
ment evidently results from his old
trade of smith. He is some years over
50, hut does not look it. An affection
of the heart troubles him at times and
he fears this may interfere with h is,
^»rning v^BMLit.ers his livelihood. AftercM^H
--yrT" 11 '- ,!'
war held’tnH 1 n dfm^B
erto
of well known,^B kno'^^H
ever
the largest bal.H^HH
sents the
with the JaHBfl itfgl
China to
ICs 9d. TheH
rowed, throuBB
Shanghai banQMH
000 to pay thj
was transferee, /atES
land, from the accH
ambassador to theH
ernment of Japan;, H
indorsement of thH
to England, LofenlJM
manager of the BaH
it is also signed by ffl
Hong Kong and Sll
corporation. This rB
is at present in thel
H. Harris. Another!
presented at a £5,280!<] well-li
years ago for
sum paid by the De
company for the pun
very large diamond n
in question was sign<
tors. After it had hi
graphs of the checkH
sold for a small sum.H
up rapidly. Another ■
that drawn on the Lo®
bank a few years baB
Indian Peninsular UaB
and short,time.JbefJ thel
was paid through
for over £3,000,000, drl
Glyn & Co., which wl
Bank of England.—Tit
Real Bloodthi
/Greens—Good morning
Where Tqm today?
Tom is out in the kitche
roaches, He was goin
hut his gun didn’t come
had ordered. He had set
a day of' sport, but rat
wholly disappointed, he
killing cockroaches. Win
in the humor for sport he
something, you know.—B
cript.
A 'Haunted Hoyise. y/6u'shoul
“I don’t kikow why
that empty old house/ is haul a|
“Why, don’t '.you see/ those
window curtains?” ( “Yes, o! w
“Well, aren’t they ' the shades
departed?”
WHAT TH^ LAW DECIDERS
Game killed on^ an Indian reservaH
by a tribal Indian and transported!/,
wagon to the neiarest railway statn
off the reservation and there deliveBi
to a carrier to be shipped out StevtBl of B|
state is held, in Selkirk vs.
(Minn.), 40 L. R. A. 759, to he subj*
to the game laws of the state.
On a second trial in an ejectmeiB
suit taken by the defeated party as ■ I
matter of right undfer the terms Slaul of
statute allowing it, it is held in coml
son vs. Goodrich Transportation rul-j
pany (Wis.), 40 L. R. A., 825, that
ings upon the admissibility of evidencel
made on the former trial have no bind¬
ing force. With this case are collect¬
ed the authorities op the effect of a
prior decision on statutory new trial in
a real action.
A promoter who transfers to a cor¬
poration land purchased by him before
the corporation was formed is held, in
Milwaukee Cold Storage company ys.
Dexter (Wis.), 40 L. R. A. 837, to be
not subject to any liability to the cor¬
poration for the amount received by
him in excess of what hT he
majle no misrepresentatk ,lse
statements about the ma all
the subscribers had opport as-
certain th,e conditions sic of
the land and know the pi led,
although he did not discl<- em
the amount which he paid.
The doctrine knownhWjdB that tho TdJ
trie wires
a place
tied to be
ip Electric 1 ied In Pejj
!99,
'hei
n
