I.
Deworraiic, Wald
“Bellefonte, Pa., December 16, 1921.
mama
me
FAMOUS CHRISTMAS POEM AND
HOW IT WAS WRITTEN.
Dr. Clement Clarke Moore, who
wrote the most popular Christmas po-
em, lived in New York in a big, old-
fashioned house, long since leveled to
the ground. Dr. Moore had children
of his own, and, says the Springfield,
Mass. Republican, it was his custom
every Christmas season to arrange
some entertainment for his little ones
and their friends. In 1822 he wrote
the poem which formed the chief part
of the household entertainment on the
“Night Before Christmas.” He never
dreamed that it would become famous,
or that the world would remember
this classic childhood verse and forget
his laborious work in compiling a
huge Hebrew-Greek lexicon.
NOT WRITTEN FOR PUBLICATION.
The publication of it never entered
his head. In the following year, how-
ever, a young woman from Troy, the
daughter of Rev. Dr. Butler, of that
city, was visiting at the Moore home-
stead, and, in talking over plans for
Christmas, the good doctor showed
her the verses he had written the pre-
vious year. She was so charmed with
them that she requested the privilege
of copying them, and took them home |
to use in a children’s festival.
Then, feeling that others might al- |
so like to use the poem, she gave a’
copy of it to the editor of the Troy
Sentinel, and the complete poem was
published in that newspaper on De-
cember 23, 1823, the first time that it
appeared in print. When Dr. Moore
heard of it it is said he was inclined
to be somewhat annoyed. Its instant
popularity amazed him, and when it’
began to be copied into foreign lan-
guage he was still more surprized.
Dr. Moore never received one cent for |
the poem, but he had what was to him
the greater satisfaction of knowing, |
in later years, that he had given hap- |
piness and pleasure to thousands of |
persons, and perhaps deepened their
appreciation of the Christmas season.
POET'S HOME,
Dr. Moore’s home until its demoli-
tion about 1850, to make way for
modern improvements was one of the
historic landmarks of the city. The
original farm consisted of many acres
bordering the river in the vicinity of
Twenty-third street. It was origi-
nally bought long before the Revolu-
tion in 1750 by Major Thomas Clarke, !
a retired British army officer. He
named his farm Chelsea, as the re-|
treat of an old soldier, and the name !
Chelsea was afterward given to the
little village which grew up there just
north of the older Greenwich village.
His house was a modest frame
structure, which was burned shortly
before he died, and his widow built
the more celebrated stone house later
known as the Moore homestead. Their
daughter, Charity Clarke, married
Bishop Benjamin Moore, and in the
big house which originally was a two-
story stone structure, Clement Clarke
Moore, the author of the Christmas
poem, was born on July 5, 1781.
DR. MOORE'S CAREER.
Dr. Clement Clarke Moore was
graduated from Columbia in 1798. He
studied for the ministry, but never
took orders. In 1818 he gave to the
General Theological Seminary the en-
tire block now occupied by its build-
ings between Ninth and Tenth ave-
nues, Twentieth and Twenty-first
streets, and in one of the rooms hangs
a fine portrait of the worthy doctor,
and every year at Christmas time the
students decorate it with greens and
holly. For thirty years Dr. Moore
held the chair of professor of Hebrew
and Oriental languages in the semi-
nary. In St. Peter's Church, near by,
in Twentieth street, between Eighth
and Ninth avenues, to which Dr.’
Moore gave liberally, is a tablet in
memory of his many good deeds.
Dr. Moore died in Newport in 1863.
The New York Historical Society has
a copy of the celebrated Christmas
poem written by Dr. Moore at the re- |
quest of one of the officers in 1862, :
and with it a letter by his nephew, T. |
W. C. Moore, relating some of the cir- |
! And laying his finger aside of his nose,
A STANDARD FOR
‘ Luckenbill materialize.
flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St.
Nicholas too,
And then in a twinkling I heard on the ;
roof |
The prancing and pawing of each little
hoof. |
As I drew in my head and was turning |
around, :
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with |
a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head |
to his foot, !
And his clothes’ were all tarnished with |
ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his |
back, !
And he looked like a peddler just opening |
his pack. !
His eyes—how they twinkled! His dim-
ples how merry! |
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like |
a cherry! i
Hiss droll little mouth was drawn up like |
a bow, |
|
And the beard on his chin was as white !
as the snow; |
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his |
teeth, |
And the smoke of it encircled his head !
like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round
belly
That shook when he laughed like a bowl
full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly
old elf.
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite
of myself! °
| A wink of his eve and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to
dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight
to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned
with a jerk,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave
a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of
a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out
of sight,
“Happy Chirstmas
good-night.”
eel meee
to all and to all a
EGG PRODUCTION.
The all-important question of how ! er
many eggs a flock of pullets can be
expected to lay during each month of
the year is answered by county agent |
J. N. Robinson, who offers some new
figures that will be of interest to all |
Centre county farmers and poultry-
men. Taking as a standard the re- |
sults of an egg laying contest In’
which over 5,000 birds were trap- |
nested and in which all breeds were |
represented, it is found that the fol- |
lowing production per pullet can be
expected.
For the month of December seven
eggs; January, nine; February,
twelve; March, eighteen; April, nine-
teen; May, twenty; June, eighteen;
July, seventeen; August, fifteen; Sep-
tember, thirteen; October, seven and
November, five.
These results are some which any
poultryman should attempt to dupli-
cate. When it is realized that the av-
erage egg production in this State
per hen is about seventy-five, there is
considerable room for improvement.
A study of the above table will show
that one reason for this relatively
high egg production is the fact that
during the months of July, August
and September, the rate of produc-
tion was kept up. Good housing and |
more than anything else, good fecd-
ing, are directly responsible for this
condition.
A TOUGH WINTER,
SAYS GLOOMY GUS.
Hamburg ladies, skirts all aglow, :
Don’t mind the weather so the wind don’t
blow.—O0ld Georgia Song.
It’s going to be rough on skirts,
ankles, noses, and in fact, the tout en-
semble, if the dour predictions of Gus
Gus is the
self-appointed weather prophet of the
Philadelphia and Reading Railway |
“and not even the most confirmed op- |
timist could ever say to him “Hail
Brother.” '
The December program is as fol- |
lows: December 5, unsettled; 6,
| yarn.
| so up to the housetop the coursers they i BLIND GIRL PICKS COLORS BY
SMELL; “HEARS” BY TOUCH.
Janesville, Wis.—Overcoming the
handicap of blindness and deafness in
a manner which has astonished med-
ical authorities here, Miss Willetta
Huggins, sixteen years old, student at
the Winsconsin School for the Blind,
has learned to “listen” to the conver-
sation of others through her sense of
| touch. She is a wonder child of the
country and is said to be far in ad-
vance of Helen Keller in some things
she can accomplish.
Recently two examiners came to the
school to have a talk with Miss Hug-
gins and see her demonstrate her
strange powers by the sense of smell
and talking with people with her fin-
ger tips.
“How many people are in this
room ?” asked a visitor.
“Three, when I counted,” came the
correct answer.
The girl can also tell colors by the
sense of smell. Recently when she
was invited to visit Governor John J.
Blaine, Willetta conducted a long con-
versation with the Governor by means
of placing her fingers on the Gover-
| nor’s head so she could get the vibra-
tion of his voice.
“What is the color of my suit?”
asked Governor Blaine.
“It’s gray and black—a mixture.”
' answered the girl, to the astonishment
i of those in the room.
To test her powers further,
Huggins was locked in an absolutely
dark bank vault and given six envel-
opes containing different colors of
She correctly wrote the names
on the outside of each envelope.
Every month shows some new de-
| velopment of the strange powers of
+ Miss Huggins.
| a person’s conversation by placing her
hand on the talker’s throat. Now her
powers have so developed that she |
| places her hands on the
At first she could read
speaker’s
head. Recently she conversed with a
| man by means of a ten-foot pole. She
had the man place the pole on his
‘head while she took the other end in
her hand. She then read his conver-
sation and answered him.
By the same strange sense of touch
: she ‘can also conduct a telephone con-
versation by placing her fingers on
the diaphram of the telephone receiv-
a girl of sixteen years, robust and has
Miss |
‘Miss Huggins is of normal build for |
a healthy color. She walks with 2
gait as steady as a normal person.
The girl was placed in the school
when it was known her sight was fail-
ing. She became totally blind while
in the sewing room one day. Soon a
second infliction was imposed upon
the blind girl. She became deaf about
a year after she had lost her sight.
Miss Huggins is able to make her
own dresses, operate a sewing ma-
chine, cook and even play ball in the
yard, dodging trees by her keen sense
of smell. She has been considered a
wonder child by scientists and doctors
who have witnessed her strange pow-
ers.
“The case of the girl is certainly in-
teresting and may open a new field
for the blind and deaf as a means of
overcoming partially their handicaps,”
said Dr. F. R. Lintleman, a specialist,
who examined Miss Huggins.
The best job work can be had at the
“Watchman” office.
PRESERVING JERUSALEM.
Holiness in Jerusalem is closely as-
sociated with its material remnants of
the past. Governor Ronald Storrs,
who describes himself as the successor
of Pontius Pilate, seems, therefore, to
| be justified in his rather drastic re-
| strictive measures to preserve the an-
cient holy places in an environment
consistent with their meaning to the
| world. His refusal to permit the con-
struction of tram lines to the Mount
' of Olives and to Bethlehem and his
| prohibition of bars throughout Pales- |
tine have had wide approval.
his prohibition of the use of stucco
and corrugated iron within the walls
| of the holy city, as well as the des-
truction of any existing buildings
without his permission. Though this
conservative policy may be petrifying
| to the spirit of modern “progress,”
still preservation is, after all, the
main interest of the world in Jerusa-
lem. Commerce and material prog-
ress may well pass by this island of
the past. There is room outside the
walls for all that is new. As Jerusa-
lem is a holy city for Moslem, Jew
and Christian alike, it might well be
definitely set aside by common agree-
ment from the ravages of peace-time
' commerce and from war. Had such an
‘agreement been in effect bombs would
not have been dropped in Gethsemane.
Fo ha
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FacSimife Signature
oem ——— :
Bears the
Signature
CASTORIA
For Infants and Children.
Mothers Know That
Genuine Castoria
Always
In
Use
For Over
Thirty Years
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Visit our store before you make your purchases in the Shoes =
you need for Christmas presents.
Ladies’ Felt Slippers, all colors - - $2.00 y
Men’s Leather Slippers, good quality - 2.50 a
Children’s Rubber boots - - - 2.00 oh
Children’s Shoes, good quality, sizes to 11 2.00
Warm Slippers for cold feet - - =: 1.25
We have so many bargains, that we cannot tell you all about
them, but we ask you to call and we can prove that we can save
you money.
Yeager’s Shoe Store
THE SHOE STORE FOR THE POOR MAN
Bush Arcade Building 58-27
BELLEFONTE, PA.
Come to the “W
A rrr mmr
atchman”’ office for High Class Job work.
cumstances under which the poem was : irs
written. In the letter Mr. Moore says | ORY oy i a :
that his uncle told him that a portly terrific blizzard over country from 12
Dutchman living on the Chelsea es- to 14; fair and cold from 15 to 20 in- i
tate first suggested to him the idea of clysive. The white Christmas will
making St. Nicholas the hero of this have its way paved by a snowstorm
Christmas ballad. The poem follows: phetween the 15th and 23rd. Christ-
A VISIT FROM ST. NICHOLAS.
‘Pwas the night before Christmas, when
all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a
mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney
with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be
there.
The children were nestled all snug in
their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in
their heads;
and mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my
cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's
nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a
clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was
the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw open the
sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen
snow
Gave the lustre of midday to objects be-
low,
When what to my wondering eyes should
appear
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny
reindeer,
With a little old driver so lively and
quick,
1 knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they
came,
And he whistled and shouted and called
them by name;
On Comet! on Cupid!
Blitzen!
To the top of the porch, to the top of the
wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away
alll”
As dry leaves before the wild hurricane
fly
When they meet with an obstacle, mount
to the sky,
on Donder and
| mas day will be cloudy, then a terrific
' cold spell until New Year’s day, when
. rain will fall. Seven severe snowfalis
| are predicted in January.
Just when the robins will nest Gus’
| doesn’t say. If it all turns out as
| badly as Gus predicts there won’t be
any robins.
Praises Our Architecture.
ture, Liverpool University, has just
paid a tribute to American architec-
ture which he said was purer and
more stable than that of England.
“America does not seem to be swept
set by individual contemporary archi-
tects,” he said. “American architec-
ture has been in the last 30 years less
self-sufficient and less insular than
British.”
The American architect deliberately
sought his inspiration in the work of
the Italian, French and Spanish
Renaissance, Professor Reilly said.
One had no fear that Fifth avenue
would at any moment be spoiled by a
' glazed terra-cotta building, with gro-
tesque German detail, yet who could
say the same of Oxford street or the
Strand, or any leading London thor-
oughfare ?
mesa lemme.
CASTORIA
Bears the signature of Chas. H.Fletcher.
In use for over thirty years, and
The Kind You Have Always Bought.
————— pe —————
!' — Suheeribe for the “Watchman?
as our country has been by fashions
|
Liverpool, Dec. 12.—Professor C. i
H. Reilly, of the School of Architec- |
ss ASTORIA
Exact Copy of Wrapper. THE CENTAUR COMPANY, NEW YORK CITY.
I
A Business Manager who disburses
funds at your direction, a secretary
who keeps your accounts, a sleepless
sentinel guarding your funds, a car-
rier who delivers to all corners of the
country—all these and many other of-
Handling Your Funds.
and cheaply.
The checking account is only one of
the many mediums through which this
bank serves its customers, There are
many other ways in which we can be
helpful to you and it would be our
Pleagkre to serve you in any or all of
them.
pre. | mses.
CENTRE COUNTY BANKING CO
60-4 BELLEFONTE, PA.
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Lyon & Co.
Christmas Gifts
fices are performed by the bank.
Money which you wish to send with-
in this city or to distant points is con-
veyed by your check simply, safely
Lyon & Co.
Help to Warm Old Friendships
and Strengthen the New......
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Our low prices will help you fill your list quickly. 1
Bath-Robes for ladies and children. Bed-Room ¢
Slippers to match.
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Indian Blankets, beautiful combination of colors.
Teddy Bear Blankets, all colors.
Children’s Angora Suits, Brown, Navy and Rose.
Leggings, Mittens, Sacques, Gloves and Sweaters.
A silk dress is always acceptable.
Canton Crepes, Satins, Charmeuse, Radium, Crepe
de Chene and Georgettes, all colors and black.
Gloves, Kid, Fabric and Woolen.
Hand and Bead Bags, handsome Pocket Books,
Tes grass and fancy Baskets, and Trays. Boudoir
aps.
Necklaces, Jet and Pearls, and all colors in Beads.
Waists and Overblouses, Ladies’ Silk Waists and
Overblouses in black, white and colors.
A beautiful line of fine Voile Embroidered Waists. $
FURS
Furs, Coats, Suits and Dresses reduced.
We have made clearance sale prices on all Furs,
Coats, Suits, and Dresses, that will make prices low
enough for every one.
SPECIAL
Taffetas and Satin Dresses at less than wholesale.
LINENS
Table Damask and Napkins to match.
Maderia Embroidered Luncheon Sets.
Pillow Cases, Center Pieces, Tea Napkins.
Shop Early and Shop Here.
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