Sheltered within the hollow of her arm J
The Son of Man lay sleeping. On her
cheek Cr
She felt his warm breath stirring, like
the faint
And fragrant breeze that fans the
silver leaves
Upon the slopes of Olivet. Her eyes,
Still shadowed with the pains of moth- Apf
erhood,
Dwelt tenderly upon the placid brow 44
And cherub features of the infant fr
Christ, ®
The babe in swaddling clothes, whose
destiny
Led to Golgotha's summit, where the
Cross
Was yet to groan beneath the sacred j
weight
Of his perfected manhood. All the cave C?
Was luminous with starbeams, and her
face,
Like some pale lily, drooping on its
stem, ' i
And washed with heaven's dews. ©»
gleamed pearly white
In that strange radiance. Somewhat $
apart
And leaning on his staff, the carpenter, rf
Joseph of Nazareth, musing, stood:
"Lord, who am I?" he marveled in "y
his soul,
"That thou shouldst deign from thy
exalted place
To cast thine eyes upon me and to say #
'Behold! he shall be warden to this Asx
pearl,
Thi« pearl of perfect womanhod, ££
more pure
Than any of the daughters of mankind ggr?
From the beginning of the world and \
down
Through all the ages that are yet to
dawn!
Lo! shelter she shall find, and sus- "£s->
tenance
And one round arm encircled the fair tyft
child |p
As If the newly-awakened mother love
Lay listless, with transparent fingers
curved
As though she clasped some blossom
in her sleep— /
Some rare, sweet flower she was fain F&
to keep °3"
And cherish always. Joseph took the £s*,
hand /,
And held it in his rough, toil-hardened
palm, A
Wondering at Its softness, the blue
veins
That threaded all its whiteness, and j??
the bloom Sp
That made a sea-shell of each finger
tip.
But he forebore, though sore his heart (f
--did yearn,
To clasp the little sleeping new-born
babe
Whose golden head lay pillowed on J
her arm,
Thinking: "It were not well for her
or him
That he should waken suddenly." A
sigh
Heaved the soft breas* of Mary, and
her eyes, Y*
Like heavenly blue flowers, opened £%&
wide,
Meeting the gaze of Joseph,, as he v pj
knelt
In reverent adoration. Her low tones
Thrilled like aeolian strains; her ten- /
der smile
Flooded his soul like sunshine as she
spoke:
"Joseph, my husband, I have dreamed ,»
a dream!
The Angel of the Lord hath been
again,
Saying: 'Behold! that which thou hast
brought forth *7s
This night is the Redeemer of the
WorJd—
Even Messiah!'" But a grave voice
cried
Aa she ceased speaking: "Peace to all W
within!"
And, 10, there stood upon the thresh-
old one J
Who bore much gold and frankincense
and myrrh
In his two hands. And Joseph an
swered: "Sir,
Peace be unto thee, now and ever
more!"
And. 10, there came two others bear
ing gold
And precious spices, who likewise J,*
did say,
"Peace and good will!" And Joseph
made reply:
"Peace unto thee and thine forever- pj
more!" c?"
Then spake the foremost stranger:
"Where is he, r
Born King of Jews this night in Beth /
lehem?
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY DECEMBER 24, 1908.
Three kings are we that come to wor
ship him,
For we have seen his star in the Far
East
Beyond the deserts. We have jour
neyed far,
Star-led, and, 10, It standeth o'er this
roof,
A sign celestial!" Then each laid
aside
His mantle and his sandals, bowing
low
Before the mother and the holy child,
Crying: "All hail, Redeemer of the
World!
King of the Jews, all hail!" and they
did break
Boxes of precious ointments, and the
air
Was heavy with the perfume of rare
gums
And costly spices, cinnamon and
myrrh,
And sandalwood and cedar, and the
scents
Distilled from blooms In gardens of
the East,
And ambergris and frankincense and
nard,
And they laid down their offerings of
price,
Soft yellow bars and bags of shining
dust,
All Intermixed with amethysts and
pearls
And carbuncles and diamonds and the
pale
Lack-luster topaz. And the foremost
guest
Unclasped the heavy chain of beaten
gold
That hung about his swarthy throat
and showed
Its curious pendant, fashioned In
strange wise
And hammered from a nugget, soft
and pure,
For uncouth semblance to a rugged
cross,
Speaking in awed, low tones of
prophecy:
"A voice cried in the desert wastes,
'Arise!
Take of pure gold a nugget large and
bright
And hammer It into a massive cross
Such as the common criminal, con
demned
To die, yields up his shrinking
spirit on,
And hang It to the chain about thy
neck,
And when thou comest to the jour
ney's end
Lay it within the mother's hand, that
she
May read therein a sign.' Lo, I have
done
According to the word!" And Mary's
eyes
Grew wide with terror, as her fingers
closed
About the gleaming symbol, for she
saw,
As in a dream, three crosses on a hill,
And, nailed between two thieves of
aspect vile,
Upon the middle cross, a tortured form
That moved her strangely with a
sense of loss
And woe unutterable, for multitudes
Surged round the sufferer and scoffed
at him,
Crying, in mocking tones: "Hail, King
of Jews!"
But he that hung cast downward pity
ing eyes,
Full of meek pardon and of tender
love,
Gasping: "Forgive them, Father! Oh,
forgive
Thy children, for they know not what
they do!"
And in those dying orbs compassionate
She saw a semblance of the holy light
That shone within the eyes of her
fair babe,
And moaned: "Take it away—the
cross of gold!
I shudder at the phantasies it brings!"
At which the strangers out of the Far
East
Arose and gave their blessing to the
child
And passed into the night. And Mary
slept
The 6leep of sweet forgetful ness,
while he
Who stood in place of father to the
babe
Watched the sweet pair until the morn
awoke
The songbirds In the clustering olive
trees
And tinged with light the roofs of
Bethlehem.
LI LIT A LEVFR.
y Th| Place to lay Cheap S
5 J. F. PARSONS' ?
COMES
RHEUMATISM
LUMBAGO, SCIATICA
NEURALGIA and
KIDNEY TROUBLE
"l-DROPS" taken Internally, ridi the blood
of the poisonous matter and to Ids which
•re the dlreot causes ol these diseases.
Applied externally It aOords almost In
stant relief from pain, while a permanent
oure 1* being effected by purifying the
blood, dissolving the poisonous sub
•tanoe and removing It from the system.
DR. 9. D. BLAND
Of Brewton, On., write#:
"I bad been a sufferer for a number of yean
with Lumbago and Rheumatism In inj arm*
and lege, and triad all the remedies that 1 could
gather from medical works, and alio consulted
with a number of the beet physicians, but found
nothing that gare the relief obtained from
"5-DROFB." I shall prescribe It In my praoUoe
tar rheumatism and kindred diseases."
FREE
If yon are Buffering with Rheumatism.
Neuralgia, Kidney Trouble or any kin
dred disease, write to ua for a trial bottle
of "•-DROPS.and test It yourself.
"■-DROPS" can be used any length of
time without aoqulrlns a "drag habit."
as It Is entirely free of opium, oocalne.
aloobol, laudanum, and other similar
Ingredients.
lsr|«aiss Ilettla, "S-DHOPB-fSe# Daaea)
(I.o*. Far Bale by Drmgglete.
BWAIIOI RH ID MATH OUR! COMPACT,
Dept. 80. lit Lskt ItoHl, I
IfniMA Donot* Gives y° u tha reading matter ia
m M5«7 IIIIITVCr * *WfMw£m which you have the greatest in
' ■ 11 terest —the home new*. Its every »
issue will prove a welcoma visitor to every member of the family- It
should head your list of newspaper and periodical subscriptions.
G.SCHMIDT'S, 1 —
*"n nr" T-° FOR
FRESH BREAD,
popular
n NUI
CONFECTIONERY
Dally Delivery. All orders given prompt and
skillful attention.
Enlarging Your Business I
If you are in annually, and then carefully
business and you note the effect it has in in«
want to make creasing your volume of bust*
mj/BSj W& more money you ness; whether a 10, 20 or 30
8? JJB will read every per cent increase. If you
qSUKKM word we have to watch this gain from year to
ffßflsay* Are you y° u W 'H become intensely in-
KB fIH spending your terested in your advertising,
f&J gfl money for ad- & Q d how you can make it en
f# ll vertising in hap- large your business.
®j hazard fashion If you try this method wo
<3? "ffii as if intended believe you will not want to
for charity, or do you adver- let a single issue of this paper
tise for direct results? goto press without something
1 Did you ever stop to think from your store.
how your advertising can be w pleased to hava
made a source of profit to T ou call on us > and we will
you, and how its value can be take pleasure in explaining
measured in dollar and our annual ,on tract for so
cents. If you have not, you many inches, and how it can be
are throwing money away. in whatever amount that
Advertising is a modern «eems necessary to you.
business necessity, but must If you can sell goods over
be conducted on business the counter we can also show
principles. If you are not you why this paper will best
satisfied with your advertising serve your interests when you
you should set aside a certain want to reach the people of
amount of money to be spent this community.
JOB PRINTING
can do that class just a
little cheaper than the other fellow. Wedding invitations, letter heads, bill heads,
sale bills, statements, dodgers, c»rds, etc., all receive the same careful treatment
—just a little better than seems tjecessary. Prompt delivery always.
If you are a business man,
did you ever think of the field
of opportunity that advertis
ing opens to you? There is
almost no limit to the possi
bilities of your business if you
study how to turn trade into
your store. If you are not get
ting vcur share of the business
of your community tl\ere's a
reason. People go where they
are attracted where they
know what they can get and
how much it is sold for. If
you make direct statements in
your advertising see to it that
you are able to fulfill every
promise you make. You will
add to your business reputa
tion and hold your customers.
It will not cost as much to run
your ad in this paper as you
think. It is the persistent ad
vertiser who gets there. Have
something in the paper every
issue, no matter how small.
We will be pleased to quote
you our advertising rates, par
ticularly on the year's busi
ness.
.. i i
MAKE YOUR APPEAL
to the public through the
columns of this paper.
With every issue it carries
its message into the homes
M and lives of the people.
Your competitor has his
store news in this issue. Why don't
you have yours? Don't blame the
people for flocking to his store.
They know what he has.
3