Ee ——————————— What Grandpa Knows. OME folks say "at Red Riding Hood She didn’t live at all nor go Down where th’ wolf was in "at wood, But grampa says ‘at it is so! i An’ some folks say ‘at Goldilocks Don't meet th’ bears an’ run away, A-bumpin’ into trees an’ rocks, But grampa's seen her many a day. My grampa takes me on his knee An’ tells me all "bout Puss in Boots An’ "bout th’ fairies you can't see For their in-vis—their funny suits. An’ he knows where the beanstalk is ‘At Jack th’ Giant Killer climb’ To get 'at gold an’ things o' his, ‘Cause grampa's seen it many a time. An’ Cinderella, too, my pa Ist laugh an’ say 'at he don't know, But grampa—w'y, my grampa saw Her slip "at slipper on her toe! An’ Simple Simon—would you think He never was like some folks say? But grampa only laugh an’ wink, ‘Cause he has seen him many a day. | CAUSE GRAMPA'S SEEN IT MANY A TIME. ‘At Alferd Brown, 'at lives nex’ door | To us, | don't like him, 'uhcause He say 'at he don’t think no more ‘At there can be a Santa Claus, But grampa whisper in my ear ‘At Santa will find me all right, ‘Cause he has seen his sleigh an’ deer An’ pack o' playthings many a night. My grampa knew Boy Blue an’ all Th' children 'at live in th’ shoe. When Humpty Dumpty had ‘at fall He's standia’ close as me an you! An he say ist to don't buhlieve Th' folks 'at say there ain't no chime | O' reindeer bells on Christmas eve, ‘Cause he has heard 'em many a time. —=Chicago Tribune. THE PRESIDENT’S CHRISTMAS | How the Big and Little Roosevelts | Celebrated Last Year. i President and Mrs. Roosevelt had only the immediate members of their family to celebrate Christmas. Just before going to bed on Christmas eve the children hung their stockings in the president's room, and bright and | early the next morning they were up | to claim their prizes. Everything that was ever designed for a Christmas stocking found a place in the line that hung from the mantel, and when the boys awakened there was a merry scramble to see just what was inside. After breakfast the president, Mrs. Roosevelt and the children went to the library to eschange presents too big for the stocking. Each member of the family had a special corner for his or her gifts, and there were any number of mysterious little parcels to be opened. This very pleasant little ceremony took the en- tire morning. After this the president walked to his church, Grace Reformed, and the rest of the family went to St. John's Episcopal church. In the afternoon the president, Mrs. Roosevelt and the children went over to the home of Captain and Mrs. Wil- liam Sheffield Cowles, where they al- ways spend Christmas afternoon and where there is always a tree for the Roosevelt and Cowles children. They were joined there by Representative and Mrs. Nicholas Longworth. and a little family reunion was held. After the visit to the Cowles’ the president played tennis with his sons. At night was given the Christmas dinner in the private dining room. Among the few invited guests were Senator Lodge, Dr. Rixey and family and Mr. and Mrs. Longworth. The string section of the Marine band fur- nished the music for the evening. | | | | 1 From the Yuletide Cynic. | Thank heaven, it isn't only the aris- tocrat who can have a family tree at Christmas. i 1 i Be Christmas white or Christmas green, It's all the same to you If Christmas finds you all serene And doesn’t make you blue. It doesn’t take a magician to trans- | form a small boy into a turkey gob- | bler. i When Santa Claus comes down the | chimney he chases many a man up the ! spout. It's the vanity of the sex that prompts the female turkey to wonder | pow she is going to be dressed for the Christmas dinner. sso ————————————————— —————— A | Christmas om S || Taft's Ranch. = ECRETARY OF WAR TAFT is part owner of one of the largest ranches tn Texas, the Coleman Fulton ranch. so called. a 175.000 | #-ve “farm” eleven miles from Corpus |. ‘heisti on the Sap Antonio and Aran | tas Pass railroad. One hundred mes | are always and 250 men sometimes i | employed on it i F Y Oo VU A E — : | “1 was so fortuvate as to have the , y b | pleasure of seeing a unique Christmas | tree on this ranch,” writes Mary Elise Muncey in the St. Louis Glohe-Deme- erat. “Christmas morning. though warm, was foggy. and a slow rain fell, Fr gos re but by 12 o'clock the sun came out, (ia ; | and the people at the ranch house be- XX * gs | gun to make thelr preparations. Ever | | i i { { | | since early morning the employees | from the different farms had been com- ing in. All kinds of vehicles were | pressed Into service. Some came oR AND DON’T KNOW No RR Tag | re mar ch. a What He Would Like | fore, a growing Christmas tree, Just iu font of the louse was a large mul AUBLE STOR FOR MEN AND BOYS SHOULD BE “1 SAW WHAT I HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE, A GROWING CHRISTMAS TREE.” berry tree. The ladies of the house Jie J | came out about 2 o'clock and deco- A ) rated the tree, with the ussistance eof we : some of the men. Even the men re- LET | quired stepladders to reach the top- ih | most boughs. First, the ladies gave ; | = thew some artificial icicles, which they Fy * ar pe “JL | hung on the branches in great profu- gion. As the sun was shining brightly | by this time, it gave the icicles a very | glittering appearance, and the wind, commencing to blow, shook them gen- tly. making the illusion more perfect. | Then leng bright ribbons of many col- ors were suspended from the topmost limbs and fruit and candies tied om with ribbons of the same color—or- anges with orange ribbon, apples with ved ribbon, limes with green risbom, ote. Small toys were suspended from the tree; lurge ones were at the base. it presented a very gorgeous spectacle, ¥ and the sight of the happy children foes that surrounded it made one wish to . (BN { be a child again to enjoy it to the ut- WE H AVE E Vv E RY T H IN G " a | termost. But the best was yet to come. THAT MAN OR BOY WEARS 5 g “lu the front yard were the presents : : jutended for the grown people, and ay cach man received one. One was a fine | surrey. Five were each given fifty and | seventy-five dollar saddles. Several married men got handsome metal beds steads, with springs and mattresses. | Twenty or thirty fine hats, costing | §7 apiece, were distributed and many other articles, all the best of thelr kind. I saw a young man who re- | ceived an all leather suit case. This Jagt item may seem strange on a ranch, but there are many polished gentle men among the employees who would consider suit cases very necessary should they have occasion to visit the city. “All this while music was to be heard from a band stationed on the front porch, where many of the visit- | ors were seated. After the Santa Claus | of the Christmas tree had retired and ! the presents to the grownups had beem distributed all repaired to the poreh "and frout yard to see agnin the glee- | ful children and the tree, and surely i€ was a thing of beauty and, with its | fruits and flowers, looked as though it had been transplanted from fairyland. “The people that came frown a dis- | tance departed before nightfall, but | those that lived near by remained for an evening of music and good cheer, and thus ended a happy Christmas day.” % THE KIND OF MERCHANDISE 2 THAT YOU WILL LIKE AND I> CN HE APPRECIATE . . . . . . . os “The Queen's Christmas Card” Queen Alexandra has not given up ber interest in behalf of the unemploy- ed. Last Christmas she sanctioned & unique plan to raise more funds for them. This was in the shape of the issue of a Christmas book, consisting of poems, stories, sketches, drawings and music, which was entitled “The | Steele Christmas’ Card.” Algernon | Charles Swinburne, Alfred Austgn, the | poet laureate; Thomas Hardy, Marie Corelli, Hall Caine, George Meredith, Arthur Wing Pinero, Sir Laurence | Alma-Tadema, Edwin A. Abbey, Wil- | linm Holman Hunt, Sir Edward John | Poynter and Sir Edward Elgar are : | among the host of those who contrib- | uted. The production of the book was | | practically gratuitous. 1t sold for { half a erown, and the proceeds were devoted tos the queen's unemployed fund.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers