The Gree
Christmas
Ta,
~~ —
@'' WAS not a very cheerful
boy that was looking out of
the window at what little
dirty ice the winter. thaw
had left upon the hill in
front of the house. Through
the fine coasting days he
had heard the happy noise of the
sledding while the doctor had said
that he could not go out and join in
it, and now, though he might soon be
out of doors again, there was no surety
of as good a hill again and small pros-
pect of sport.
It wasn’t a very cheerful house,
either. Mr. Bondage was a chainmak-
er, and when he came home from his
iron works he always seemed to bring
his business with him. The house of
Bondage was big and strong, but it
was hard, and still, and dark, and too
orderly. From the outside it looked
like a fort, and inside, the chairs stood
at attention, like svldiers. The par-
lor was a solemn place, where the
stiff furniture was seldom prevented
from looking at itself in the gilded
mirror. The dining room didn’t get
the sun until towards evening, when
the motto, “Be Good and You Will Be
Happy” could be as plainly seen as
the one on the oppesite wall, “Chil
dren Should Be Seen but Not Heard.”
When the boy put on his hated bib
there, it exhorted him with, “Don’t Eat
Too Much.”
Chained to the fr.»nt porch was an
iron dog, whose fixed and ferocious
snarl was a standing insult to all the
village dogs that could get through
the iron fence to dispute with him,
There was some fun abeut the place;
it was when a surprised dog retired
from the attack with a new respect for
the tough guardian of the Bondage in-
terests. IIven the iron-clad knight in
the front hall seemed to laugh through
his visor then.
Besides all this, Ishmael had had no
Christmas. Mr. Bondage did not be-
lieve in Christmas; to him Santa
Claus was a foolish imagination and;
a hurtful superstition. He had joined !
“The Society for the Prevention of
Useless Giving,” and was glad to be
called a Spug. On December 25th he
had presented to his son a picture of !
himself, standing in front of his office |
with the scowl upon his face that rep- |
resented his idea of~the expression of |
greatness, but the only ‘omfort of-the
day for the boy had been the sweet
contents of the small package that his
mother had smuggled into his room
just before daylight.
But Ishmael Bondage had an Aunt
Sarah! And Aunt Sarah had the
pleasantest home in the country. It
was a low, wide, rambling old house,
in the midst of the trees and hugged
by the climbing vines that loved it.
There wasn’t a place in it too good to
be used and in its snowy whiteness it
seemed to shine out upon the fenceless
grounds with an invitation to the hos-
pitality of its gardens and the good
Aunt Sarah Carried Ishmael Off.
cheer of its friendly owners. That
was the bright spot for Ishmael. When
he went out there his aunt would hang
his Fauntleroy suit up in the closet
and give him a leather suit that could
not be torn and tell him to go it. He
could eat without a bib and there was
not a motto in sight. By the time that
vacation was over he was a real boy.
The other boys stopped calling him
“Sissy” and no longer asked him if
his mother knew he was out. Indeed,
he up and thrashed a bullying boy who
had knocked over one of his compan-
ions who was about half his size. Af-
ter this there was nothing that he
could not have among his crowd. So,
every vacation sent a prim but joyful
boy to Aunt Sarah and closed with a
more robust but rather dejected one on
as way home,
But Aunt Sarah also had a mind of
her own. She had so much mind that
ane had concluded thai winter to go |
gnd give Benjamin Bondage a piece
off 1t. She considered ishmuel’s sraze
and situation and resolved to give hig |
father “a2 ood talking to.” When she
promise Tey and the children frou
appeared Mr. Bondage felt that his
time had probably come. When she
had finished he knew it had. She told
him that he had forgotten that he
was ever a boy, if, indeed, he had ever
been one, that he had made himself
into an iron man, that he was blind-
eyed and hard-hearted, that he seemed
determined to fasten all his chains up-
on Ishmael and make his son as stiff
and cold as an icicle.
Mrs. Bondage, behind the door, ex-
pected her husband to object in loud
and angry tones, but, to her astonish-
ment, he was silent. He seemed to
remember an old motto, “Discretion
Is the Better Part of Valor,” profitably,
and did not interfere, even when Aunt
Sarah, flushed, but triumphant, carried
Ishmael off.
There was some winter play left and
to come at Sweetfield, but Aunt Sarah
wasn’t satisfied as easily as that, for
she had made up the rest of her mind
into an idea that Ishmael should have
the Christmas that he hadn’t had, af-
ter all. It wasn’t much of a Christmas
day when the belated Christmas tree
blossomed and bore fruit, but it was a
fine tree. The snow and ice had dis-
appeared and a warm wind made the
late winter seem like early spring, but
Aunt Sarah said that evergreen trees
kept Christmas all the year round, and
that every day was their day. Cer-
“A Wonderful Pocketknife—"
tainly it was the most interesting tree
that Ishmael had ever seen, from the
bundle at the bottom, through ail the
ornaments, lights and gifts, to the mys
terious package at the top of it shone
with kind and thoughtful love and
sparkled with merry wishes and glad
the neighborhood who had ¢o
share the joy and the presents that
Aunt Sarah had prepared were won
dering what would be found in that
last parcel at the top, until it was
taken down, and then a part of the
party, at least, was surprised when the
wrapping was taken off and a wonder
ful pocketknife, beside a first-class
football, conveyed merry wishes frou
Mr. Bondage to his son. Aunt Sarai
said afterwards that at this she near-
ly “went oft the handle.”
When May came it seemed time for
Ishmael to go home, but he was not
very happy at the prospect. Indeed,
he was rather unhappy about it. He
felt something like one on his way to
jail, and even shed tears at the
thought of leaving Sweetfield, so that
a squirrel, seeing him wiping his eyes
under a tree, exclaimed “Oh, what a
rainy boy!” but the day came and
Ishmael went.
Another surprise awaited him, how-
ever, for, as he neared home and en
tered it, everything seemed changed.
The house looked sunny and pleasant
in its new colors, the fence had disap
peared, the iron dog had been moved
to the barn, and the mailed knight had
gone down to the ironworks to be
turned into plowshares.
When Mr. Bondage went out {to
Sweetfield to visit his sister and to
report upon Ishmael’s progress, Aunt
Sarah had her reward. “It is all you:
doing, Sarah,” said he. “I needed
someone to show me up to myself.”
“Well, brother,” said Aunt Sarah, “A
Stitch in Time Saves Nine,” as the
proverb has it, and you certainly will
be proud of our boy yet, as proud of
him as I am of my big, new brother.”
When December came blustering
around again and brought Santa Claus
and all his load of love and jollity.
there was no place that more warmly
welcomed him than Mount Freedom,
as Mr. Bondage’s home had come to
be called, and of all the happy Chrisi-
mas parties of that year, none was
fuller of mirth and good cheer than
the one at Mount Freedom. They
danced about the tree and under the
motto that hung from the top of it
with its message of good will to every-
body, the football was kicked all over
the floor and they shouted in their
glee. The squeaking toys, the tooting
whistles, the happy songs, all made
the time as merry as it ought always
to be, while the gifts spoke messages
of love.
Ishmael had prospered enough in his
studies to make a picture of Sweet-
field. It hung over the mantel shelf
in the living room and under it he had
written, “The Home of the Green
Christmag.” When anyone asked him
about it he would teli them how spring
once came in a wintry time; he woud
hi Christmas comes pvt
once a year, it sometimes comes twice,
and thar whenever it comes it brings
wooa cheer: but ne was never ahle to
make a picture of nis Aunt Sarah thav
seemed to him good enough.
v while
ATA
Sunday, tract in Ferguson township;
$2,000, 2 >
_ Annie P. Lucas, et ber, to Mrs. An-
oe Cartwright, tract in Moshannon;
Real Estate Transfers.
"Elizabeth Haines to John W. Cor-
man, tract in Howard township; $150.
Ellie Wolf to William Wolf, tract
in Bellefonte; $1.
Daniel Irvin Johnson's
George C. Meyer, tract
township; $450.
T. B. Ulrich, et al, to F. S. Ulrich,
tract in Millheim; $1.
Charles Ulrich, et al, to T. B. Ul-
rich, tract in Millheim; $1.
F. S. Ulrich, et ux, to T. B. Ulrich,
tract in Millheim; $1.
Wm. W. Keller, et ux, to Jacob W.
Sunday, et al, trustee, tract in Pine 3
L you al ’ Philipsburg Coal & Land Co., to
Grove Mills; $700. Esther Bostright Frank, tract in Phil-
Harry G. Sunday, et ux, to Jacob W. ipsburg; $700.
A A. Stover, et ux, to Baird Sto-
ver, tract in Haines township; $550.
Harry Dukeman, sheriff, to A. B.
Budinger, tract in Snow Shoe town-
ship; $300.
John M. Hartswick, et al, to Rebec-
ca R. Smith, tract in Ferguson town-
ship; $450.
Annie Finberg, et al, to Moshannon
National Bank, tract in Philipsburg;
$46,000.
Exrs., to
in Patton
Re AH Ey.
iNet Contents 15 Fluid Draotms ASTO RI A
TR 0) For Infants and Children.
reve t Mothers Know That
Genuine Castoria
similating thefood by Regula- |
Always
ting the Stomacts and Bowels of L Bears the
rT :
5 Signature
| Thereby Promoting Digestion}
Cheerfulness and Rest Gotta
neither Opium, Morphine ns
Mineral. Nor NARCOTI
Zecipe of Old
sod
Reais Salts
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Peppermint
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TIT TIS
_ALGOIiOL-3 PER GENT. jj
AVegetablePreparationfords-,
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In
Use
For Oven
Thirty Years
‘ASTORIA
THE CZINTAUR COMPANY, NEW YORK CITY.
fr, ) |
Wintergreen Faro ; i
A helpful Remedy fof fi
Constipation and Diarrhoea
and Feverishness
Loss OF Supp ”
restiting therefrom InITE TL" J
FacSimife Signature of
Wrapper.
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RUNABOUT
New Price
F. O. B. DETROIT
Where can you find a greater
value than the Ford Run-
about at this new low price?
We believe, without question,
that it is the most economical
means of transportation sales-
men can employ. Time-saving
—absolutelydependable travel
at the minimum cost. Terms
if desired.
Beatty Motor Co.
Pa.
Bellefonte,
———————————————
The Christmas Store
for Shoe Buyers
Give Useful Gifts....
....Shoes, Rubbers, Slippers
Ee
FR
ik
Just a few of our{Special Bargains: =
Ladies’ Best Quality 4-Button Arctics $4.00 ft
4.75
1.00
3.50
p= We have everything you need in the shoe
line and—depend on it—our prices are the lowest.
. .
Boys’ 12-inch High Top Shoes
Ladies’ Silk and Wool Hose . . .
Growing Girls’ School Shoes .
Ha
+
Ei
Yeager's Shoe Store
THE SHOE STORE FOR THE POOR MAN
—
]
ST
Bush Arcade Building BELLEFONTE, PA.
58-27
{ [—
nk
SAS
e for High Class Job work.
|
an’ offic
Lyon & Co.
Lyon & Co.
Delightful Christmas Gifts
By the Score, for Family and
Friends, and at LOW PRICES.
HOSIERY! HOSIERY!
Big Holiday Values in Silver Star Hosiery,
Silk and Wool Hosiery.
$1.50 ladies black silk hose, 3 pairs for
$1.25 ladies woolen hose, black, cordovan
and oxford -
$2.25 ladies fine cashmere hose in colors
75¢. Men’s silk hose, all colors and black
50c Lisle hose - =
$2.75
5
$1.50
50
25
LADIES AND CHILDREN’S KIMONAS AND
BATH ROBES
Ladies silk crepe and cotton kimonas, all colors.
Cotton from $1.00 up; silk crepe kimonas for $5.50.
Ladies bath robes from $3.00 up.
Children’s bath robes at $2.00.
Bed room slippers to match.
COATS, SUITS, Etc.
A December sale of women’s and Misses’ coats,
suits and dresses. These garments are all of this
season’s buying, and the prices will make them with-
in the reach of every economical buyer.
We invite your inspection.
« Lyon &
Lyon & Co Co.