I SORROWS OF SANTA I
t
-*♦ »*4 »*♦ »* »*« »*« y »*« y •*« •'< ■*< * y .
I CHANCED into Santa Clans' home one
day.
And tin se are the words I heard him
say:
' Vh. me, the times, the manners, the men!
It used lo be all so different when
"I was a young man In iho long ago
Anil sped with my rclndee. 1 over the snow.
"Then every home In every land
Gave unto me always a welcome hand,
"And chimneys then in the days gone by
Were not over small and not overhigh,
"And the stockings they used were the old
fashioned kind,
All hung Inn row and so easy to find.
"Then the gilts were .su simple and all in
good taste,
I'rom the gingerbiead man to the doll
made of paste,
' But now it' so different. ll' iglio, hear
me sigh!
1 mourn for the days in the l-and of
Goneby.
"For now I'm kept busy from early till
late
"n my earnest endeavors to be up to date.
"I've trimmed my old I sard in the new
Vandyke style.
And Instead of a 1 nigh I've a simpering
smile.
V
"I'VE CEASED TO WEAK AU, SIY OLD
FASHIONED CLOTHES."
"Yes, I've ceased to wear all my old fash
ioned clothes.
And I've got on long shoes with the sharp
pointed toes,
"And my reindeer and robes and my beau
tiful sleigh
With my gingerbread presents are all laid
away,
"For I ride nowadays on a bicycle swift
And I'm puzzled to know what to bring
for a gift
"To the girls fin de slecle. and as for the
boys.
They've no use at all for my old fashioned
toys.
"And the houses have changed. In thosa
things called a flat
I :n kept busy guessing Just where 1 am
at.
"Kxeuse me now, please, if I speak very
low;
I've come to my last and my cruelest
blow.
" Tis th. v.-or-t. though what I have told
you is bad:
My v. it.- has acquired the new woman
fad!"
Ami ; hose wer« the words I heard him
: ay
hen I ehaneed lit Santa Clans' home
one day.
—Detroit New3-Trlbune.
«N ODD BELGIAN CUSTOM.
A !*!<*( nr<**<|tit k ProcoNNion oil <'hri*t
man Kvf.
In some old Belgian towns a beau
tiful spectacle may be seen on Christ
mas eve. Amid the sound of drum,
cornel, eyml .- I and a whole orchestra
of instruinetiis, with the chanting of
caioK a long, gayly decked procession
marches through the principal streets
children < 112 all ages, each division
dr< ssed in ii clal color (white, blue,
pink or yellowi. and all bearing some
badge or emblem or grasping some
bright ribbon attached to shrine or
crtteilix. rite effect of grouping and '
color is very artistic. Here and there I
In the throng older, stronger hands
i» .MI - aloft pr< eiotis relies, upon which |
t!- si,, i tutors reverently gaze. Many
hove features ci ,ic into view as the
fpfoci -ion pa-.es along, but the pret
tiest -ight is ii -I, 'in of beau l ifill c!iil
<lren in fantastic dress mat' hlttg over )
tiie (lower strewn pavement, each
small person'gravely al (orbed in the
special part it perform- Pittsburg
I Mspateh.
CANDLESTICKS AS GIFTS.
Amlt|ii<- IrciKun-N Wlileh MHI He
I'oliiol 111 JIIII Lx liii|l«l.
Candlesticks are decorative, utilitarl
tin uud thoroughly good form. What,
then, could be more acceptable for
'Christinas gifts'?
A pair of highly polished brass can
dlestlcks give an air of distinction to
even the liumhli -t surroundlngM. Their
polish reflects the thrift of I lie house
keeper mid their presence denotes her
good tn -te.
The t'l'iiu lie nHtl<|i» candlestick
with their < 111 it 1111. simple out 11 ne>> ut
preferable to the more lumb rii affair;,
tlmi are apt lo le a trifle t •» ornate
for!'• .11 d >ll. . I I lie . .111. htlekN
th> lr uro *ut I.' und uut H v i>.ami nd I
May lt\ the clever ami industrious cut '
Iretor New York J our i ml.
I A TROPICAL 1
I CHRISTMAS I
I I
How the Day of Days Is Cele-
♦ brated In Jamaica ♦
J- |
CHRISTMAS with the mercury
at i)o degrees in the shade and
soaring away out of sight
when exposed in the open!
Tin* burning, almost boiling, rays of
the sun boat vertically down from a
deep blue dome of sky that is untieeked
by a single li lin of cloud, and reflect '
back with added intensity of suffering
heat from the parched, baked ami
/•racked <arth and from the surface of
a : ea Unit shimmers like molten lead.
< 'hristin:'. a land of perpetual suin
-111: r. and ,i ho: wave at that, where a
linen suit fi .•!> like a buffalo robe and
the liter" 11... rltt of a blazing Yule
lw ahtiii-i induces an attack of fever!
'i iu> pal :tdar i.iay insist that it is the
2."tli of I> c"inl (r. Lan to a stranger
fmin tii M'tli. -ays a newspaper cor
i" spondciit from Kingston, .lamaica. to
wlinin tin' word "Christmas'' has a
jli'gle or s'.-ighbeils and the sharp,
keen rit.g of si ate blades on the Ice,
there i t: r• 1 < 'lirist mas in the
strange countri< .. of the tropics.
In Km.ston, the capital of Jamaica,
the preparations for Christmas begin
several wed s before the event. The
shopkeepers lay in extra supplies and
provide special attractions, pretty
much after the manner of the New
York stores. Among other things they
import large quantities of sweetmeats
and candies from l.ondon, .New York
and Paris, including chocolate creams
and other . onfectioncry which New
Yorkers ;i • accustomed to getting,
"fresh every hour." Iji .lamaica you*
are rca. <>uabi\ sure of getting these
delicacies fresh every ('liristiuiis.
Chocolate grows in great abundance
all over the island, but it must goto
London or Paris or New York to be
manufactured into candy, or even into
the preparations for breakfast bever
ages. That is one of the expensive
peculiarities of the country. The
Christmas market is the great feature
of the day, and almost the principal
event of the year in a certain sense.
Everybody goes to market on Christ
mas day, and between the hours of 0
ajutd !) in the morning all the fashion
and beauty of the island's capital are on
dress parade through Victoria market.
The stalls in the market are gayly
decorated with flags, bunting, palm
branches, colored paper. tinsel and an
lip UNDER THE MISTLETOE.
wig? DuY)AffHO KfcllU \KlflY)\/ Wood ami leather Novelties. This is the first time anything in thi> line, h uid-inade leather -oods has S|Bjk
| IJ I Uql (LJJllj 11 UI li« ,Hl " <,is l'' a > Cf ' t,lis c °u»ty« Call and see the designs. w
\\\ (i. 15.viK. 1
A "I'I'CSITK HANK, I-MIKIKII'M. I'A. ARTIST AM. ARTOoOhS I.KAMiR. Z
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, i HURSDA\. DECEMBER n, 1902.
A NATIVE DI'DE IX HOLIDAY I>I:KSS.
abundance of flowers. A brass band
occupies a prominent position in the
market building and discourses music
of great volume ;md variety and more
or less melody. After the crowds fair
ly take possession of the market the
performance of the band appears to be
mostly pantomimic, for nothing made
by the hand of man can for a moment
compete in noise producing capacity
with the average .famaican negro.
The West Indian negro's great weak
ness is a love of gay apparel, next is a
predilection for ecremoiiiousiicss, and
the most prominent a Miction is garrul
ity. In the crowd that surges past one
through the market and the surround
ing streets may be seen every variety
of apparel known to civilized and un
civilized man. The country people
wear little or nofhing, the coolies as
little as nothing, but the town negro
wears everything he or she can put
011, without any regard whatever to the
climatic conditions. They take their
notions from the English fashion pa
pers, and heavy woolen clothing is all
the style. The writer has even seen
sealskins worn in Kingston 011 a day
when the thermometer registered 1(0
degrees in the shade. Here is a stylish
saddle colored gentleman wearing loud
check trousers, patent leather shoes, a
striped flannel shirt of three colors, a
crimson ai.d Kick s.ish around his
waist, a blue English cricketing cap on
iiis head. In his hand he carries an
Immense cane, while screwed into his
left eye is a circular piece of perfectly
i plain glass, through which he glares
I stonily 011 the throng. Not long ago
; the single eyeglass became very popu
j lar among Kingston society darkies,
but they could not get along with tho
glasses that magnified, so some enter
prising merchant imported a lot of cir
cular pieces of plain window glass
and all the dudes wore them, happily
»nd idiotically.
The C'aune of Ills («rlef.
The danger of explaining all one's
troubles is illustrated by an incident
from Chums. A kind hearted old gen
tleman had found a small hoy crying
and stopped to see what was the mat
ter.
"Why are von crying, uiy little lad?"
he asked.
"Boohoo!"' said the boy. "Hilly Wells
hit me, an' father iiit me because I let
Billy hit me, an' Billy Wells hit me
again because I told father, an' now
father 'll hit me again because Billy
Wells hit me the second time."
A Sailors' Fish Test.
Sailors have a very simple and what
is said io be a very effective way of
determining the edible or noncdible
qualities of any new varieties of fish
they may happen to run across. In the
water in which the fish is boiled is
placed a bright silver coin. If the coin
retains its natural color during the boil
ing process, the fish is good to eat, but
if it turns dark the food is rejected.
I No CiiiiHr For !lii»i lo Complain.
"Set* hero!" remarked the tfiu»st to
' the new waiter. "There doesn't seem
to be any soup 011 this menu card."
"Oil. 110, sir," replied the waiter
nervously. "I didn't spill it at this
table; it was the one 011 the other siili
or' the room."—Cincinnati Commercial
Tribune.
A I. on/A Wait.
Physician (looking into his anteroom,
where a number of patients are wait
ing)— Who lias been waiting the lon
gest ?
Tailor (who lias called to present his
bill)—I have, doctor. I delivered the
clothes to you three years ago.
When We Ileally (nn't niamo Them.
Sometimes in our more tolerant and
forgiving moods we don't blame people
for what they do. At the same time
we cannot help but feel that they
ought to have bail more sense.—ludi
anapolis News.
Ilril nn<l Inflamed Kyelldn.
Red and Inflamed lids, lids whlc.
look as though the person had been
keeping very late hours, says a recent
periodical, and lids which have little
crusts formed during the night at the
root of the eyelashes, are usually nil
indication of a low degree of astigma
tism. In some cases no relief is had
for this condition till proper glasses
are procured. A large proportion of
tlio eases, however, will be cured by
the following ointment: Yellow oxide
of mercury, three grains; yellow vase
line, one-half ounce; mix thoroughly
and apply a very little to tlx- edge of
the eyelids each night.—Jewelers' Cir
cular-Weekly.
The l.Jlllit.
"Don't you think," said the soulful
young tiling, "that a ruined old church
with the ivy clinging l<> its crumbling
walls comes nearer than anything else
to realizing one's ideal of patient res
ignation V"
"That's wiial it does," replied the
young man with the camera. "I don't
•know anything that will stand for be
ing photographed half as often."- Ex
change.
\(i CnuMe I ''of Woe.
Stokes—Speaking of mourning, if
your rich uncle were to die, should you
put on black?
Bickers Certainly not. If he left
me something handsome, why should
I he such a hypocrite as to don the
garb of woe? On the other hand, if
lie left me out of his will, how could I
consistently put on mourning for such
a curmudgeon?— Boston Transcript.
Kxtrn I.imited.
Patron When was this chicken
killed?
Waiter We don't furnish dates with
chickens, sir. Only bread and butter.—
Pittsburg Press.
G. SCHMIDT'S--''
—HEADQUARTERS FOR
lIIP ''>• : :
FRESH BREAD,
|| popular P ™^.
1 • "
W CONFECTIONERY
Daily Delivery. All orders given prompt and
skillful attention.
fp2S SHSHSHSH SHS"HSaS? SB 52 at, SI
j|j You can look the counly over, and you
(n will no', find a more complete, up-to-date n]
(II line o( GENERAL MERCII ANDISfi. In
"] Ol'R m
jjj Fall and 1
| Winter |
| Stock g
is now in, and ready for your ril
Oj inspection. ' "]
Cj DRY GOODS, n]
"] HEAVY ALL-WOOL SKIRTINGS, g]
n\ READY-MADE SKIRTS. ft
"5 nl
iu LADIES WAISTS. ETC. lr
Hr
ul Our Notion department is rO
[H full of new tilings, and lots [{]
nj ofbargains. Wc have added
K! «
Qj MEN S, BOYS'AND YOUTHS' OVER [il
r 'i m
Ln COATS AND READY MADE KJ
pj tn
Jjj SUITS. jj.
|j J. E. SMITH,
p! 5j
yl Sterling Run, *»a. ni
i°SH aSHSHS-HS as ES ESH ST? TOE sai
s" The Place to Buy Cheap S
\ 18 AT }
l J. F. PARSONS' \