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Polly and the
Mistletoe
Qs ll,
By OLIVE HARPER. i
“ ELL, Mirs. Li Hung Chang,
I believe 1 will,” said Polly !
Adams to a ridiculous |
china doll that sat on the |
chimney staring fixedly before her. i
It was neazly midnight, and the house !
was still. The Christmas tree stood all
decorated and with the gifts hung
upon it in the library, back of the par- |
for, and Polly had been sitting beside
the fire in her pretty yellow eiderdown |
pajamas. Pajamas were a fad that]
season among all her girl friends, and |
Polly always, as she said, “kept right |
along with the procession.”
Polly was tired, for she had been
busy all that day. They were not rich,
and so much of the running devolved
upon Polly, and the three boys were
home from school, and they had two
visitors to remain till New Year's. |
One of them was Archie—it is enough |
to call him just “Archie.” So, while
Polly braided the heavy mass of rich
brown hair into one long loose plait,
she glanced at the mistletoe and then '
at the sphinxlike face of the Chinese
doll as she said:
“Now, Mrs. Li Hung Chang, what
shall I do? Archie loves me. I know
it from a dozen—yes, a thousand—
HE WRAPPED THE SHRINKING LITTLE
FIGURE IN ITS FOLDS,
things, but he is so shy and timid.
Minnie Blake is engaged, and so would |
I be if only Archie had the courage of
a--a chipmunk,” she hastily added as |
she thought of her bare feet and pos- |
sible mice. “Now, if I could hang this |
mistletoe to the chandelier tonight in |
the excitement of seeing our gifts I |
could manage—1 know I could—to get |
him under it beside me. and the boys |
would do the rest, and then—well, the |
fce would be broken. 1 will if you |
say 80. Why don’t you speak?” i
Saying this, the dainty little beauty
stamped her foot, now in its slipper, |
which jarred the room ever so slightly,
and the doll did nod its head. Polly
laughed, half startled, but with new |
courage. She took the night light in
one hand and the bunch of mistletoe in
the other, with its grappling wires, and
stole downstairs to the library door
and on into the parlor, not noticing that
the library door had shut to with the
spring lock.
Polly did not wish to awaken any
member of the family, so she did not
switch on the lights. Her own tiny !
light but made the darkness visible. It
was fearsome down here all alone in
the dark, so she hurried and pushed
the side table over into the middle of
the room under the chandelier, with the
mistletoe on it, and then brought a |
delicate, long legged. gold painted chair,
on which she climbed tin'dly, listening
all the while for a sound.
The chandelier was high and Polly
not tall, so do her best, standing on her
tiptoes, she could not reach the fixture.
“I must get up on the table,” she said
to herself, “and I hope I'll not fall and
break my neck and rouse the house.”
Just as this very courageous little |
maiden stepped to the table with one
foot, while the other was still resting
on the insecure chair, there was the
sound of a latehkey in the front door
and then a blast of wintry wind and
two voices in the hall. They were
those of her oldest and most unbear-
able brother Fred, and the other voice
belonged to Archie Steadman. It was
too much for Polly. It would be awful
if Fred discovered her.
* She tried to step down from her in-
secure perch, but the treacherous orna-
mental chair tilted, and Polly came down
suddenly, striking her head against
the table. She was too frightened to
feel the hurt, for the noise was great
enough to startle I'red into saying:
“What's that? Burglars, I'll bet
Come on, Arch.”
Saying that. Fred bounded forward
and switched on the light and, seizing
a heavy cane from the hatrack, sprang
into the parlor. But Polly had manag-
ed to get on her feet and scamper to
the library door, dropping one of ker
slippers as she went and leaving the
lamp behind her: but, try as she might,
she could not open the library door,
and stood there pulling with a strength
born of desperation, while Fred said:
“Burglars! Here's the light. They're
after the gifts on the tree. Come on!”
With his cane swinging like an In-
dian elub, Pred sprang into the library,
while Archie, with his umbrella, fol-
lowed, cud both: advanzad upon the
burglars. They could hear the rattling
of the doorknob, and Fred shouted:
| to the other without moving from her
| are aot treating your sister right at all.
| present circumstances I shall ‘ask if
| you will accept it now and here, as
| with it you will have a protector.”
| and little by little her sobs ceased, and
| that he had a superb solitaire ring for
' her—one to make the heart of any girl
i proud, -and one in keeping with his
! him back, while friendly divinities aid
| eards are quite worth framing as little
“You may as well give up. You're |
caught!”
And tien the library was also flooded
with light, which was reflected from &
thousand gilded ornaments on the tree,
and by the illumination Fred and
Archie saw a miserable little figure in
yellow pajamas, huddled up like a cold |
duckling, with one bare foot and with |
its head down, in the corner of the door |
frame as though trying to hide. i
From her bahy days Polly had had a
queer habit of hopping from one foot |
i
oue slippered littie foot and one pink
bare one kept up the familiar hopping
movement. [red looked at the culprit
a moment and then sprang forward
and, seizing one shoulder and the long
braid of hair, turned her around to the
light, while the miserable girl covered |
her face with her hands. Fred laugh !
ed loud and long, saying: :
“Well, T'l be jiggered if it Isn't
place when frightened or angry. =
| Polly!”
Archie said nothing and was trying
to pretend that he did not know any- |
thing at all until he saw the tears!
streaming through the fingers, and then |
he said hotly:
“Fred, I am ashamed of you. You
|
Here, Pol-1 mean Miss Adams,” con- |
tinued he, at the same time jerking the
big maroon cover from the old fash- |
lened square piano, to the instant de- |
struction of two plaster ornaments.
“Here, Miss Pol—Adams.”
Saying this with a lordly air, he |
wrapped the shrinking little figure in |
its beneficent folds, while her heartless |
brother lay on the carpet in convui- |
sions of laughter. She sobbed out: i
“I—I—forgot—something—and that i" |
i why"—
“Ab, bosh! You just wanted to see
if Archie had put a present on the tree |
for you.” |
“Oh, Fred; don't!” she cried, while
: tears trickled down her hands.
“Mr. Adams, 1 consider your treat- | tervals around it are set lighted can
ment of your sister very harsh—very !
cruel.” |
“Well, 1 suppose she can't help be- |
ing a little fool,” continued Fred, |
i laughing still. 1
“Sir, another such remark concern- |
| ing this ang—ah, your sister—under |
| the
circumstances will
friendship. Pol-—-Miss Polly, 1 have
your present here. I was going to |
give it to you tomorrow, but under the |
sever our!
With a malevolent look at Fred,
Archie fumbled in all his pockets until
he found a small box. Then he reach-
ed for one of Polly's wet iittle hands.
Archie looked very imposing to Polly,
by the time he had opened the box she
sould see through her dimmed eyes
wealth. So she even smiled a little as
Archie, with one last look of defiance
at Fred, placed the sparkling ring on
the proper finger and then folded her
in his arms proudly and with a look
of ineffable happiness, though Polly
did look something like n noble squaw.
Christmas With the Mokis.
The whole affair has the character of
what we should call a mystery play,
the dramatic action representing the
fight of the sun god to return north-
ward from his home in the mountains,
Malevolent genili are trying to drag
him in the struggle. He wins, of
course, and comes back to Moki Land
to warm the earth with his rays and
to cause it to smile with fresh har-
vests. When those harvests are ripen-
ing in the following summer the snake
god, which controls the water supply
so urgently needed in that arid coun-
try, must be appeased by another cere-
mony specially devised for his glori-
fieation, the principal feature of which
is the famous snake dance, concerning
whieh so much has been written.—
American Family Magazine.
Christmas Post Cards.
The favorite Christmas post cards
have very little room for writing. The
entire back of the card is covered with
a “Madonna and Child” by Murillo,
Raphael, or, to come to more modern
times, Gabriel Max or Bouguereau.
The coloring is most artistic, and these
works of art. Some of these Muadon-
nas—for lusiance, the Raphael “Ma-
donna of the Chair”—are framed in a
wreath of glowing holly, which con-
trasts vividly with the colors in the
Roman scarf flung over the back of
the chair. Other subjects are to be
had. in these truly artistic post cards,
notably portraits of fair women by
Romney and Lely, Reynolds and
Gainsborough, Grenze and Le Brun.—
New York Globe.
Turkey Which Ended Long Fast.
An odd incident of the last Christ-
mas celebration in St. Louis was the
breaking of a month long fast by
James Barrington, who had been in
custody two and one-half years on a
charge of murder. Barrington expect-
ed turkey for dinner Thanksgiving day,
and when the jail rations were served
miaus the national bird he refused to
eat and promptly went on a strike. He
declined his provisions consistently un-
til Christmas, when he got the pined
for turkey.
The Giladsome Bells,
“Do you enjoy hearing the gladsome
Christmas bells?" we ask of our friend
who has retired from business pur-
suits,
“1 did last year, and that's the
truth.”
“They had a joyous sound then?”
“Y shoull say they had. They were |
the fire bells, apd my stock of unsold
but heavily insured Christmas staff
was burned.”--Judge.
| are carried, some are rolled, and some
—
IN A GERMAN HOSPITAL.
Where the Christmas Angel Visits
Sufiering Children.
In ene of the German hospitals of our
cbuntry is observed a custom quite in
accordance with the beautiful senti-
ment the Germans weave about Christ.
mas,
Christmas belongs to the children—
everybody knows that—but it belongs
to them in a deeper, more beautiful
sense than “everybody” knows. One
is reminded of it, however, if he wit
nesses such a scene as is portrayed in
this hospital on Christmas eve. One of
the nurses dresses in a long, soft flow-
ing robe of white, bearing in her hand
a fir bough covered with snow. The
snow is cotton sprinkled with diamond
dust. This is the Christmas angel.
The children are told of the gentle
visitor and wait in their little cots,
When darkness is outside they hear the
streins of sweet music in the distance.
The nurses are singing Christmas car-
als, nnd the sounds come through open
doors. Then the Christmas angel
soines. She goes to each little cot,
bending over each little form to listen
to the whispered secrets, Each one
tells her what he wants on Christmas
day. Then, with a tender word, she |
passes out, and to the sound of the car-
ols they all fall asleep—those who can
slip away from pain, .
When the day dawns all the children
are taken into the kindergarten, Some
can walk. Sure enough, each finds
there what he asks for—drums and
dolls ‘and trumpets and books. On a
long, low table is a plate for each one,
filled with candies and queer little Ger-
man cakes, On one wall is a tableau of
the Nativity made of small wax figures,
and a painting on the wall completes
the perspective of hills and shepherds
| and the guiding star. Hanging from
| the wall in the center of the ward is a
| large hoop covered with laurel. At in-
dies. It is suspended from the ceiling
by four wide ribbons. i
In the fever ward, where the con- |
tagious diseases are cared for, the little |
patients of course cannot leave, but |
they have their Christmas too. Two
large, fine spruce trees stand in each
end of the ward, brilliantly illuminat-
ed by tiny, many colored electric lights.
—Philadelphia North American,
A LOST ILLUSION.
Sadie's Santa Class Was Only John.
ny Smith's Papa.
The loss of part of Santa Claus’ dis-
guise at a Christmas Sunday school en
tertainment and the consequent dis
covery that “he was only a man after
all” caused one little girl at least
deute distress,
Santa Claus was one of the cherished
fdeals of Sadic's childhood, and Sadie
parted with her ideals reluctantly. She
was sure she heard the reindeers scam.
per over the roof every Christmas eve,
and the fact that even the gas logs
were a pretty tight fit for the chimney
did not dispel the illusion that somehow
Santa Claus, despite his corpulence,
managed to slip through the tiny slit
with his pack and leave presents on
tree and in stocking.
" So when she saw on the Sunday
school platform his hoary head and
beard, fur trimmed coat, fat stomach
and short legs and, above all, his pack
—she greeted the familiar figure with
enthusiastic applause. Unfortunately
for fiadie’s peace of mind, however, the
hoary hair and beard became entangled
in the branches of the Christmas tree
when Santa Claus began to hang up the
contents of his pack, and when he
withdrew his head, sans hirsute adorn-
ment, he revealed the familiar features
of a prominent churchman, Then the
assemblage was startled by a desolate
wail that suddenly rent the air,
“Oh,” sobbed Sadie, “there ain’t any
Santa Claus! He's only Johnny Smith's
papa!”—New York Press.
True Christmas Charity.
Last Christmas, says the Des Moines
Register, clad in rich raiment, Mrs.
Arthur Hyde, the handsome wife of a
Des Moines millionaire, faced a bitter
wind from noon until 5 o'clock in the
afternoon holding in her hand the regu-
lation Salvation Army turkey contribu-
tion box, which she took from the
hands of Captain Mary Taylor, after
telling the latter to return to the bar-
racks, eat her dinner and remain in-
doors until sent for. Attracted thither
by tho strange spectgeie, money of all
denominations was dropped in the box,
and when Captain Taylor came to re-
sume her work at 5 o'clock, besides a
well filled contribution box she receiv-
ed a large roll of bills from Mrs.
Hyde's own pocketbook.
A Strangely Wrought Reunion,
A joyful Christmas celebration in the
home of Adolph Gebhardt of Lincoln,
Neb. over the return of a long lost
brother was brought about through the
medium of a moving picture exhibi-
tion. Adolph was watching the enter-
taimment one nezht when he was struck
by the strange familiarity of one of the
figures. He returned a second and a
third night lL efore he was able to recog-
nize the features, and then he startied
the spectators by shouting, “It is
George; it Is George!” It was learned
that George was an actor in a New
York theater. Telegrams passed, and
George arrived in Lincoln on Christ-
mas day. They had not seen each oth-
er for nearly ten years, i :
The Fast Flier,
Time a-flyin' on so fast
O'er the frosty ways;
Christmas comin’ all too soon
These here later days!
Bearcely end one Christmas song
*Fore the next one comes along.
Yet, what matter? Let ‘em come!
¢ Christmas horn an’ drum;
We'll be boys forever! 3
Tirae is fivin' on ro fast, i
Maybe we'll get wings at last!
* Atlanta Constitution.
might of Dee. 25.
Al 432 ae
lair »
POPCORN AND CANDLES HUNG TO A PALM. |
N the Island of Yum there are thousands
of ticce,
The mango and banyan and date,
Bo the children of Yum cat the fruit that they
please
Ard cnjoy it, it's needless to state.
But when poor old Santa comes every year
Be struggles in vain to heep calm,
for popcorn and candies fooh awfully queer
Tih:=n bung to a cocoanut palm.
f L on the Island of Yum were to live,
Th: children L'd merrily teach;
T'd build ‘cm ail chimneys, and then I
would give
H nice palr of otockings 10 cach.
And I'd ocnd out a shipload of Christmas
treco, 100,
Hddressed 13 the children by name,
Hnd then you would sce what a time there
wouid be
When Christmas and Santa Claus came.
— Wallace Irwin in New York Globe.
The Chrictmastide Lesson.
The Christmastide celebrates the
birth festival of our Lord. The in-
carnation of Christ is the central
thought in the history of the world.
His birth has exalted the poetry, the
music and the art of the centuries. It
has changed all social customs and re-
ligious rituals, It has given a new
glory to human life and a new trend
to eternity. This is the time when all
bitterness should be forgotten, all fam-
ily feuds reconciled and all life glori-
fied. God grant that the day may
speedily come when the song of the
angels celebrating the birth of the
Christ may find its fulfillment through-
out the whole world.
“Glory to God in the highest and on
earth peace, good will toward men."—
Dr. Robert Stuart Macarthur, Pastor
Calvary Baptist Church, New York
City.
‘Caught Santa on the Street.
A Santa Claus from the Salvation
Army was ringing his bell beside his
fron pot in Fourteenth street, says the
New York Mail and Express, when
suddenly a little girl broke away from
her mother in the passing throng and,
rushing up to the pseudo Santa, grab-
bed him by his gown and began rapid-
ly to tell her wants. First she gave
him her full name and address, with
many injunctions not to forget. Then
she rattled off a list of things she
wanted, regardless of the attempts of
her mother to induce her to come
away and not bother Santa. The lit-
tle girl was persistent, the crowd gath-
ered around to hear her little invoca-
tion, and for awhile she blocked traffic
on that side of the street.
A Santa Claus Party. :
As the once popular “donkey party”
no longer holds forth for novelty, here
is something new—a Santa Claus party.
Take an old sheet and paint or draw on
it a Santa Claus. Have a number of
red caps cut from medium weight water
color paper and distributed among the
guests. Taking turns, let each one be
blindfolded and, walking toward the
sheet, try to place the cap on Santa's
head. The person succeeding ia the
winner and receives the prize of a toy
Santa Claus. The two who also come
the nearest might be given prizes of
reindeers.—Bee Hive.
Christmas In the South.
In the south Christmas is celebrated
as we observe Fourth of July. The
presents may be of the most inex-
! pensive character, but there will be a
The ery of “Christ
mar gift! resounds.
docs one hear “Merry Christmas.”
Chicago Record-Herald.
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Man or Bo
If it's for
you will find it at.
Faubles’
We will help make
your Christ.mas
shopping a
Pleasure.
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FAUBLES'
‘the Best and Big-
gest Store for
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