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ma —
Demoraiic Watcin
By P. GRAY MEEK.
“INASMUCH.”
A CHRISTMAS STORY.
You say you want a meet’n’-house for the boys
in the gulch up there,
And a Sunday-school with pictur’ books ?
Well, put me down for a share.
1 believe in little children ; it’s as nice to hear
em read
As to wander round the ranch at noon, and
see the cattle feed.
And I believe in preachin’ too—by men for
preachin’ born,
Who letalone the husks of creed and measure
out the gorn.
The pulpit’s but a manger where the pews are
Gospel fed ;
And they say 'twas to a manger that the Star
of Glory led.
So I'll subscribe a dollar toward the manger
and the stalls;
I always give the best I've got whenever my
partner calls.
No matter about the ’nitials—trom ‘a farmer,
you understand,
Who's generally had to play alone from rather
an ornary hand. .
I've never struck in rich, for farming, you see
is slow ; .
And whenever the crops are fairly good the
prices are always low,
A dollar isn’t very much, bat it helps to count
the same;
The lowest trump supports the ace, and
sometimes wins the game.
It assists a fellow's praying when he’s down
upon his knees— :
“Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the
least of these.”
I know the verses, stranger, so you needn't
stop to quote ;
It’s a different thing to know them or to say
them off by rote.
I'll tell you where 1 learned them, it you'll
step in from the rain;
"Twas down in Frisco, years ago—had been
there hauling grain ;
It was just across the ferry, on the Sacramen-
to pike
Where ig and sheds are rather mixed, and
shanties scatterin’ like—
Not the likeliest place to bein. I remember
the saloon,
With grocery, market, baker-shop, and" bar-
room all in one.
And this made up the picture—my hair was
not then gray,
But everything still seems as real as if ’twere
yesterday.
A little girl with haggard face stood at the
counter there—
Not more than ten or twelve at most, but worn
with grief and care.
And her voice was kind of raspy, like a sort
of chronic’cold—
Just the tone you find in children who are
prematurely old.
She said ; “Two bits for bread and tea, ma
hasn't much to eat ;
She hopes next week to work again, and buy
us all some meat.
We’ve been half-starved all winter, but sprirg
will soon be here ; ;
And she tells us, "Keep up courage, for God is
always near.’
Just then a dozen men came in ; the boy was
called away
To shake the spotted cubes for drinks, as
Forty-niners say.
I never heard from human lips such oaths and
curses loud
As rose above the glasses of that crazed and
reckless crowd.
But the poor tired girl sat waiting, lost at last
to revels deep,
On a keg beside a barrel in the corner, fast
asleep.
Well, I ord there, sort of waiting, until some
one at the bar
Said: “Hello! I say, stranger, what have you
over thar?”
The boy then told her story; and that crew
so fierce and wild,
Grew intent, and seemed to listen to the
breathing of the child.
The glasses all were lowered. Said the leader
“Boys, see here; .
All day we've been pouring whisky, drinking
deep our Christmas cheer.
Here's two dollars. I've got feelings, which
are not entirely dead,
For this little girl and mother suffering for
. the want of bread.”
“Here's a dollar.” “Here’s another;” and
they all chipped in their share,
And they planked the ringing metal down up-
on the counter there,
Then the spokesman took a golden double-
eagle from his belt,
Softly stepped from bar to counter, and beside
the sleeper knelt;
"Took the “two bits’ from her fingers, changed
her silver piece for gold.
“See there, boys, the girl is dreaming.” Down
her cheek: the tear-drops rolled.
One by ope the swarthy miners passed in si-
ence to the street.
‘Gently we awoke the sleeper, but she started
10 her feet
‘With a dazed and strange expression, saying,
“Oh, I thought ’twas true !
Ma was well, and we were happy ; round out
door-stone roses grew.
‘We had everything we wanted, food enough
and clothes to wear ;
And my hand burns where an angel touched it
soft with fingers fair.”
As she looked and saw the money in her fin-
gers glistening bright— :
“Well, now, ma has long been praying, but she
won't believe me quite,
How you've sent 'way up to heaven, where the
golden treasures are,
And have also got an angel clerking at your
grocery bar.”
That's a Christmas story, stranger,which I
thought you'd like to hear ;
<Arue to fact and human nature, pointing out
one’s duty clear.
Hence to matters of subscription you will see
that I'm alive—
Just mark off that dollar, stranger;I think
I'll make it five
— Wallace Bruce.
CHRISTMAS CAROL.
BY PHILIPS BROOKS.
The earth has grown old with its burden of
care
But at Christmas italways is young,
The heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair.
And its soul full of music breaks forth on the
air.
When the song of the angel is sung.
It is coming, old earth, it is coming to-night!
On the snowflakes which cover the sod
The foot of the Christ child fallgentle and
white,
And the voice of the Christ child tells out with
delight
That mankind are the children of God.
On the sad and the lonely, the wretched and
00T,
The voice of the Christ child shall fall ;
And to every blind wanderer open the door
Of a hope that he dared not to dream of be.ore,
With a sunshine of welcome forall.
The feet of the humblest may walk in the
e
Where the feet of the Holiest have trod,
This, this is the marvel to mortals revealed
When the silvery trumpets of Christmas have
pealed,
That mankind are the children of God.
MAGGIE AND CHIMMIE,
A Christmas Story.
BY BAB.
I did not see how anybody in the
world could be unhappy. The fire was
a glowing mass of red, I had a delight-
ful book, my little dog was enjoying
himself by making an effort to bark,
and the thought ot anyone being cold
or unhappy didn’t come into my exist-
ence. A ring at the doorbell—a quick
loud ring—up sprang the dog, and a
minute after my little maid came in
and said : “Please, ma'am, it's one of
your girls.” “Make some tea, get ont
the cake and show her in,” I answered.
“Please, ma'am,” she stammered, “she
ain't just quite a girl.” I had to laugh
and then I said again. “Show her in.”
She was six foot two aud a very rough
looking man; but I saw two clear eyes
looking at me, and the fact that the
dog was dancing all around him told
me that it was Chimmie, He said in
enracralic
RO
dD
o
VOL. 37.
STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION.
BELLEFONTE, PA., DEC. 23, 1¢
SaGol Grant”
20)
re °
d
NO. 50.
rant You, Fach and Everyone, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years
an apologetic way: “I wouldn't a-
troubled you, ma'am, but you told my
Mag last summer that if ever she was
in trouble to come to you, and she’s in
it now, and she begs of you to come to
her. These is her very words, miss.
Says she : ‘Caimmie, go and hunt the
lady we met last summer. If anybody
can help us she can, and if you can
£nod her ehe won't say no.’ ”
I thought a minute, insisted on
Chimmie having the tea and the cake,
ordered a cab and was in my cloak in
such a little time that now I can hard.
ly believe it was possible. As Chim-
mie and I started out I felt something
pulling at my cloak. I stopped. It
was the dog. Chimmie picked him up
in his arms; then he looked at me, and
added, as if to my thought: “Before
God, miss, this yere dog koows when
there is grief and he wants to go along
and say as how he’s sorry.” And he
went. Went down to a miserable
street, so narrow that the sunshine
never gets into the middle of it, and
with great, tall tenement houses on
each side. Went into one of ;the dirt-
iest of these, stumbled over men sleep-
ing 1n the hallway; met a drunken
woman who, as Chimmie pushed her to
one side with a little gentleness, yelled
out, after a series of complimentary
oaths, **You’se the one that knows how
to treat a lady who has been overcome
by liquor.” Went up and up and up
rickety stairs until it seemed as if we
would all walk into a star next.
On the top floor Chimmie knocked
at a door. It was opened by Maggie
and the little dog and I went in, while
Chimmie stood outside ready to serve
when he was called for. I hardly
knew Maggie. She had cried until
her face was swollen and she seemed
so nervous she could hardly speak.
She pointed, without a word, to a
little bed—a poor little bed, but a clean
one, and on it there lay the prettiest
girl I ever saw in all my life. Up on
Fitth avenue such a girl would be writ-
ten up as the greatest beauty of the day.
Ou the other side she was just one of
the girls. Isat down and waited to
hear the story. Isaw that the girl
wag ill—ill unto death. The slender
fingers never ceased picking at the lit:
tle white coverlet; the lips never ceased
muttering something, you could scarce-
ly tell what, and the eyes looked sll
around the room, uvever seeing what
was 1 it. The poor little room was
my first thought and my second was
the blessed little room, for it was big
enough to take in somebody who was
suffering. Beside the bed there was
a table, on which was Maggie's prayer-
book, a tintype of Chimmie and her
taken together at Coney Island, a lamp
which gave us the light in the room,
two blessed candles in colored glass
candlesticks, and a china font filled
with holy water, which Chimmie had
given to Maggie on her last birthday.
There weretwo chairs, one with no
back, and a httle stand off in one cor-
ner that had upon it a wash basin, a
pitcher filled with water and—a great
luxury in these parts—a clean towel.
A tiny cupboa:d held Maggie's clothes
and all her belongings. There was no
carpet on the floor but it was clean,
and even if I hadn't known who lived
there I should have said to myself,
“Thie little room is the home of a no-
ble girl.”
A clock ticked away the minutes.
Maggie moistened the lips of the sick
girl, cried some, and, smoothing my
little dog, told me the story: “It you
remember, ma'am, after that time I
came up to see you, and you eaid that
it I was ever in any trouble to let you
know, and now, miss, I am. It's not
only trouble, but it's a shame; not my
own, thank God, but somebody else's.
And as I said to Chimmie, we've got to
help because it might have been us, if
you hadn't seen how bad the gang was
for you, and it I hada’t always gone
wid you every place I might be where
she is. Chimmie said: ‘No,’ but 1
think ‘yes.’ She used to live on the
next floor to us, and she was that pret-
ty that once a man who paints pictures
for churches paid her $2 to sit for him,
80 he might use her face for that of the
Blessed Mother. She used to work
beside me, too, and she had her steady
company just like any nice girl—his
name was Billy Flaherty. A kind-
hearted, good enough boy, but Katie
she didn’ seem to know what was good
for him. So when they started a sort
of a club, Katic was very proud be-
cause her Billy was made one of the
officers. 1f you lived down here, miss,
you'd see what the clubs mean, and
you would do just as I do, you'd say to
your gentleman friend. ‘lfyou go with
the “gang” you drop me. Stay away
from them and bave an opinion of your
own and not be run by the ward heel-
er!” Well, Billy went with the ‘gang’
and they took to calling Katie the Pride
of Pell street, She was very proud of
it, and she stopped working and bad
a lot of fine, new clothes and was going
to excursions and dances given by the
‘gang,’ and she thought that was all
there was in life.
“One night, about two years ago,
there was a row, and a German bar-
tender was killed, and the blame of it
was put oo the ‘gang’. Billy could
prove he wasn’t with them, but some:
how, because he had no pull, I suppose,
he gotsentup fortwo years. He wrote
me a letter, and asked me to bring Ka-
tie up to see him, and Chimmie took
us; and when we got up there I took
out of my pocket this little crucifix,
and I says, ‘Billy Flaherty, your moth-
er and mine come together trom Coun-
ty Roscommon, and when I was a lit-
tle girl your mother gave me this; now
it don’t make any difference to me
whether you're right or wrong I'll do
what I canto help you, but I want you
to swear the truth on this, and remem:
ber that God and your dead mother are
hearing you.’ Then, mies, he took a
solemn oath that he wasn’t even near
the place, and I said to him, Don’t le
them make a thief and a liar of you 3
here, and you'll have friends to stand
by you whenyou come out. Then Ka-
tie she took an oath that she'd be true
to him. Well, miss, for about a year
she used to work beside we, and she
used to go up and see Billy whenever
she could; and then she stopped work-
ing‘for three or four days, then she
stopped altogether. I hunted for her,
but I couldn’t find her, but one day
Chimmie saw her walking along the
Bowery at night, all dressed in a silk
frock and a gold watch on. I don’t
know who it was—I don’t know what
his name was—but Katie hadn’t much
sense and she loved fine clothes, and it
seemed such a mean thing for a man
to take advantage of a young thing like
her, who hadn't courage to resist temp-
tation.
Just then a voice that I knew to be
Chimmie’s said : “Damn him!” And I
echoed that wish. “Then,” continued
Maggie, “I heard of her going from
bad to worse ; I heard of her being in
the opium joints, and, asthe day came
for Billy to get out, I wondered how it
would all end. Last night, when it
was blowing so hard acd Ghimmie and
me were silting here busy making
some paper dolls for the Christmas
tree that the little lame boy downstairs
is going to have, somebody knocked at
the door, Chimmie opened it, and in
tell Katie. Poor, pretty Katie! Not
even enough clothes on Ler to keep her
warm. Coughing so, she hadn't the
strength to stand up. I put her on a
chair and made him go outside. She
lookea at me kind of vacant like—peo-
ple + ho smoke opium look that way--
and then she says, with a funny laugh,
‘Mag, I've come to meet Billy, I am his
girl” Then she fainted right over. I
got him in, and I says: “This ain’t a
time for standing on ceremony. He
picked her up and laidheron the bed and
then went for the dispensary doctor. I
got one of my nightgowns on her, and,
just as you see her now, she has been
ever since. The doctor, he looked at
her, and says he: ‘How old is she ?’
Says I : ‘Seventeen last Easter.’ says he
I can’t do anything.’ Says I: ‘What's
the matter ? Says he: ‘Men, whisky
and opium.” And he went away, and
Chimmie and I have been taking care
of her all to-day, and I wouldn't have
sent for you, miss, but, here's some-
thing I tound in her pocket.”
She handed me a much crumpled
piece of paper, on which this was
written ;
‘*Dere Katie,
“i will get out erly crismas mornin.
You be at mags. Ive kep mi word an
am honest. iam goin to marry you.
you was allus billy’s gurl.
“your friend,
“B. FLAHERTY.”
“You see,” continued Maggie, ‘‘he
will be here this morning ; it's this
morning now—don’t you hear the
Christmas bells ?” The door opened
and he came in—this he being Chim-
mie—he leaned over and kissed Mag-
gie, and he said to her: “It's a sad
Christmas for you, my girl, but you’re
doin’ God’s work. Yes, miss, there's
not a girl in this house that would
have taken Katie in; but my Maggie
is one of God's women, who can be
with sorrow and sin and come out of
it as pure as the Virgin herself.”
We four sat there together—Chim-
mie and Maggie, the little dog and I,
all watching the sick girl ; every few
minutes her lips were moistened, and
about 2 o'clock she began to talk so
we could understand her. She said:
“What was I made pretty for if I
wasn’t to have pretty clothes? He
says there ain’t any harm—he says I
look lovely. Yes; I wish he would
give me some more whiskey. I don’t
want to think about Billy—poor Billy,
but Billy conldn’t get me a silk dress.
I won’c go to see Mag ; Mag, she'd say
to me, stick to your work and be an
honest girl, for Billy’s sake. Honest
girls don’t get watches and diamond
rings. Why don’t that fool of a China.
man cook that opium for me—I'd
say my prayers, I ain’t forgotten, but
God ain't looking after me. He's too
busy ; He's forgot me; He's thinking
about people who've got homes and
people to take care of them. I'll go to
Maggie; Mag:ie’s always my frien’;
I'm so cold ; I wonder if she'd let me
lay down on her bed 2”
After this the eyes opened wide,
and she called ont, to the top of her
voice: “He rays He'll forgive me--I'm
Billy’e girl!”
And then she wasetill. Aad the Jit-
tle dog's moan told us the truth.
The clock rang out its alarm at 7
o'clock; at 8 Billy would be there.
Katie was stretched out on the bed
looking as innocent as she did the day
that Billy left her. In one hand wasa
bit of blessed palm, and at her head
burned the two candles! on her breast
was the crucifix. And so we waited
for Billy. Chimmie heard him scream-
ing “Merry Christmas” to somebody
on the street and went down to meet
him. How he told him of the sorrow
that awaited him, I do not know, but
when he came in, this rough boy of
the people, he knelt down by the dead
girl's side and cried as if his heart
would break. Then Maggie spoke to
him. “Billy, you once took one oath
for me, and I know by your looks
you've kept it; now yon have got to
take another for Katie's sake, you
have got to promise on the crucifix
that you'll never let anybody speak to
you about her----you got to keep her
name go sacred that if a man or wom-
an starts to tell you anything about
her you will walk away, and you have
got to promise to stay with Chimmie
until atter she is buried, and then this
lady, Katie's friend and mine, is going
to see that you get good, honest work
way down South where nobody will
ever know anything about you.”
He looked startled, and asked: “She
dido’t never do anything wrong?”
Maggie answered, “Look at her. Her
last words was, “I'm Billy's girl.”
That satisfied him, and he swore to do
what was asked of him on the crucifix
that lay above the heart of his dead
love.
Leaving the men to watch her, Mag-
gie came home with me. She looked
at me in the face and said: “Did I do
right? I didn’t lie,” I kissed herand
from my heart I said: “If there were
more women like you the world would
be better every way.”
That's the story of a Coristmas Eve
—it’s the story of what, but for the
grace ol God, might come to your girl
or mine. Its the story of the weak-
ness of one woman and the bravery of
another—it’s the story, the true story,
of a little,ignorant, beautiful girl made
pure aod good by God and depraved
and wicked by man. But, as Maggie
says : “It is God who will judge her and
not man.”
The bells will soon be ringing all
over the world proclaiming good will.
There are thousands of happy girls
who are just poor Katie's age! I
shall have a dinner party to-night—
Chimmie and Maggie and Billy, and
to-morrow we will see that beautiful
mortal frame of Katie's laid in the
ground, and I, I can only think of one
thing, of one promise; “Though your
sins be as scarlet, I shall wash them
whiter than snow.”
God bless everybody, give them a
merry Christmas, and make them gen-
erous with good-will and forgiveness.—
Phila. Temes.
‘
——1I heard the bells on Chrismas day,
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men !
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had roiled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men !
: — Longfellow.
CHRISTMAS AT BETHLEBREM.
JERUSALEM, PALESTINE.
This quiet little hamlet nestled
among the hills of Judea, its very name
calls up holy associations— Bethlehem!
Beit Lahn is the Arabic, which may
be translated ‘House of Flesh,” and
in truth here it was that “the word
was made flesh” and in this “gecodly
land” dwelt among men. Filled with
thoughts of these—the most weighty
events in the world’s history—the writ-
er, who had left cherished friends and
the dear native America behind to wan-
der among the scenes of the old world,
set oul from the holy city last Christ.
mas eve, with a trusty Arab guide, for
the birthplace of the Saviour.
We had been detained until after
dark by a hard raion of some hours du-
ration, and the sky still looked forbid-
ding, yet with good horses and rubber
outer garments, we hoped to escape se-
vere wetting. The guide, Gabriel, or
some traveller has named him, “the
Angel Gabriel,” led the way from the
Jafta gate along the side of the dark
valley of Gihon, across the Hill of Evil-
Couneel, and out on the Way of He
bron. Upon starting I had asked him
why he took his gun, and had received
the reply : “I like to have it along.” 1
suspected the reason, however, and left
most of my money in safe hands in Je-
rusalem. When we were fairly away
from the city the guide said : “No talk
now, one cave, sometimes stop robbers
in it, and if hear strange tongue, think
as some pilgrim come to Bethlehem and
got plenty of money.” At the same
time Gabriel's gun was elevated, stock,
first, across his shoulder, so it could be
easily distinguished by one crouching
near the road, and hie head turned
each way from time to time. After
rifting some time in silence, he said:
“Ouly one more place, then all danger
it past and wesee Bethlehem lights.”
Sire enongh, as we ascen led a little
hill and passed the Covert of Mar Elias,
| the lights of Bethlehem shone before
us. Just then the bells began to ring
---the sweet, joyous chimes of Bethle-
hem—and I called to the guide to wait
a moment that we might hear them
better. A bright star stood over the
place, shining down as I thought that
star which led the wise men eight
een hundred years ago might have
shone down on those travellers from
the far East.
The whole of the little village came
to our view at once, the most distant
houses being on the top of the hill and
the rest closely perched on the north-
ern slope, facing the Jerusalem road.
Entering, we threaded our way through
a narrow, walled, and winding passage,
leading sometimes under archways and
sometimes between gloomy-looking
stone buildings. It was dark, for who
ever heard of street lamps in Asiatic
Turkey ? This, though it could hardly
be called a first-class alley. so narrow,
crooked and full of rats is its way, is
the principal street of Bethlehem. It
passes around the hillside about half
way up, and at the further extremity is
the Latin Convent (monastery, proper-
ly called), while beyond that connec-
ted with it in fact, is the Church of the
Nativity, on the supposed spot where
the stall and manager were. This is
the oldest building in the world erec-
led by Christians as a place of worship,
having been built in the early part of
the fourth century by Helena, the
mother of Coustantine,
When the valiant Baldwin came here
to be crowned king ot Jerusalem it was
in all its glory still, but pow much ot
its magnificence has departed. The
mosaics and many of the gold and sil-
ver ornaments are gone, but one sees
some beautiful hanging lamps of gold
and silver, some fine Corinthian col-
umns, and the cedars of Lebanon are
still in the ceiling. The chimes soon
pealed forth again, and we repaired to
the chapel of the monastery, where the
solemn services were about to begin.
Some forty priests, at their head the
bishop of the monastery, all in gor-
geous robes, celebrated high mass.
The grand old Latin hymns rung, and
reverberated in rich tones through the
aisles and halls of the massive stone
building. My guide secured a good
seat for me and kept me posted as to
the time I was to go here and there to
gain an advantageous position.
But this was a strange gathering of
people from all parts of the civilized
world, and few ot those present knew
what was coming and where to go. A
little after midnight the procession was
formed, and proceeded to the ‘Grotto
of the Nativity,” the bishop bearing in
a cradle the small silver representation
of the Holy Chiid, which, with many
ceremonies, hymns and much incense
burning, was deposited, first, on the
supposed exact spot of the nativity,
now marked by a silver star, around
which are the words, “Hic de Virgine
Maria Jesus Christus natus est’ (Here
Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin
Mary,) then this graven image was
placed upon the spot said to have been
occupied by the original wooden man-
ger in which Christ lay, which man-
gen it is also said, is in the Church of
anta Maria Maggoire at Rome, and
is only exhibited by the pope on Christ-
mas day.
After breakfast we attended another
service held in the chapel, and paid a
second visit to the “Grotto of the Na.
tivity. This grottois about twelve by
fourteen feet, and from its farther end
a narrow passage leads through sever-
al smaller chambers, some of which
seemed to be natural caverns, while
others are composed of masonry.
Among the latter is the room in which
St. Jerome passed the greater part of
his busy life, and in which he died. A
tomb has been erected to his memory
here, although 1t is said his remains
rest in Rome.
There are among the rock caverns
the chapel or altar of the sheperds,
that of Joseph, and one tothe Inro-
cents—twenty five thousand of the in-
fants murdered at the command of the
cruel Herod having been cast here.
The authenticity of many of the
places now pointed out of those men-
tioned in the Bible may reasonably be
doubted ; yet there can be no less doubt
regarding the exact location of the
birth place of Christ, for Bethlehem is
not like Jerusalem, a city which has
been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt,
nor has 1t been enclosed by walls, whose
limits have been (on some sides, at
least) subject to change. Itisextreme-
ly possible that the Bethlehem at the
! beginning of the Christian era was not
greatly different from the Bethlehem
oi to-day. In Bethlehem there was
but one spot of note to identify and that
was known and marked at least as ear-
ly as the first part of the second centu-
ry, and the same spot was pointed out
to the famous Helena by the persecu-
ted Christians of the early part ot the
fourth century, and this very church
erected over it.
Some object, however, to the view
that Christ was born in a grottoor cave.
It is very common at the present day,
even among the better class in Pules.
tine, to attach stalls for domestic ani-
| mals to the house occupied by the
' family, and most frequently the rooms
on the ground floor are used _as stables
or storerooms. Barns and granaries
detached from the dwelling houses are
rarely seen, but more often the next
room to the kitchen is a stable; with
perhaps the family bake oven built in
one corner.
The finding of a natural cavern to
serve as the stable room, is considered,
especially by the peasant class, as quite
a fortunate circumstance, and is forth-
with taken advantage of by placing the
house, if possible, in such a position
that the cavern will form a side or
back room. :
And as few customs have changed, °
particularly those connected with
household or agricultural matters,
since Bible times, we are left to con-
elude that this manner of building was
common then as now, and that the
manager was in just such a cavern as
is now pointed out at Bethlehem.
But, however much the discrimi-
nating traveller may doubt the
correctness of the traditions regarding
many of the localities that will be
shown to him, however much he may
doubt the positive assertions of the
guides, or however much he may pity
the credulity of the majority of pilgrims
yet in all his journeyings in the Holy
Land nothing will be more noticeable
than the remarkable fidelity of the
manner, of living, of working and of
dealing, the forms of speech—in short,
nearly all the customs, and even the
superstitions of the people of to-day to
those spoken of in various parts of the
Bible. So striking in fact is this sim-
ilarity that there is scarce a scene in
the Bible but that is made to seem
more ‘real by viewing the life and the
land of which that book is a wonder-
ful record.
In Bethlehem itself there was much
to interest one--in the market-piace,
the workshops, the narrow windin
‘ways, bordered by quaint old buildings
of stone or adobe, while upon the sur-
rounding hills the eye rested with
equal interest.
There were shephereds with their
crooks, tending their flocks of long-
wooled sheep and watching their herds
of black and white goats skipping from
rock with agile feet, mules laden with
stone building purposes, others bear-
ing branches of wood for fuel, and still
others with sacks of grain or some of
the food products of this now over-pro-
ductive country. But as busy as any
among the workers are the makers of
wood, bone, pearl and metal ornaments.
Most of these derive their support from
the numerous pilgrims who annually
visit Bethlehem, and nearly all of
whom take with them some momentos
of their visit.
The return journey to Jerusalem was
undertaken on the afternoon of Christ-
day. A heavy and driving rainstorm,
cold enough to be disagreeable, over-
took us, and we were glad to seek
shelter for a time in Rachael’s tomb
which stands by the wayside.
At last, as the sun touched the west-
ern hills, we approached the walls of
Jerusalem and were rewarded by a
magnificent view of the sunlit Golden
City.—Home Journal.
Fraternity.
A Sentiment Sometimes Forgotten on Other Days
Than Christmas.
How closely the sentiment of Christ-
mas comes home to us ! And why ? Be-
cause it is that of fraternity. It is the
day whichis every year consecrated to
recalling the central trath that all men
are brothers. Do we sometimes forget
it on utherdays ? -In London in the
Whitechapel region, in New York when
there is striking on the railroads, is there
an active an efficient sentiment of frat-
ernity ? Is this humming city a hive of
peace and good-will, and do brethren
dwell tegether here in unity ?
The burden of Christmas is fraternity.
The feast of gifis commemorates the
charity that never faileth. Perhaps
there is not a general going to church.
But the lesson of the day is preached by
the thoughts and associations. by the
sentiment of the day. The bells that
ring on Christmas eve and chime on
Christmas morning, the universal good
wishing and worship of Santa Claus,
they are the modern way in which we
hear the notes of the angelic choir—
peace on earth, good-will to men.
And, brethren—for somehow the easy
chair seems to have ascended the Christ-
mas pulpit—how much we do heed
them ? How much of the Christmas
epirit and Christmas eonduct do we car-
ry into every other day of the year?
‘We go out to dine, and how many of
our neighbors do our tongues spare?
We differ upon public questions from
Doe and Roe, and how mueh of their
characters, their motives and their lives
do we leave ? We know the immense
poverty and suffering which starve and
grope and die all around us, and how
much do we remember and relieve
them ? How often is that Christmas
turkey which we sent to Lazarus on
Christmas morning reduplicated on oth-
er mornings of the year ? Peace on
earth, good-will to men. It is not the
lesson of one day, but of every day. It
is a sentiment, but it is not sentimental-
ity. Progress, invention, discovery,
enlightenment, enormous prosperity
and unprecedented wealth, they are all
refuse and worthless, except as they
promote peace and good-will among
men.—George William Curtis.
Tommy's Enjoyable Christmas.
“I had a boss Christmas,” said Ben-
vy Bloobumper to Tommy Hojack.
“So did I,” replied Tommy.
“I had as many oranges and as
much turkey as Icould eat,” Benny
went on ’
“Get any presents ?"’ asked Tommy.
“Yes. Papa gave me a pair of
gkates, mamma gave me a pair of ear-
muffs and Uncle Henry sentme a
book.”
“Was that all ?"” asked Tommy.
“Why, yes ; that was about all,”
replied Benny, with some misgivings.
“Then just listen to what I had.
Pop gave me a safety, Mom gave mea
magic lantern, [ had a big box of can-
dy trom Aunt Sue and a drum from
Uncle John and alot of oranges and
dates, and I had turkey and cranberry
sauce, no end; and I had an awful
stomach ache and two doctors. I guess
you can’t beat that,” —IHarper's Bazar.