i SHOP-GIRL I
DM
ISIIIHIII >■ IMIYAIN an excellent short
litory published not
long ago, O. Henry
gave to his shop-girl
heroine a colossal char
■■■■■■ acter, emphasized that
JsA in her were combined
the notable attributes
of Hercules, Joan of
tr&*YflL yn Arc, Una, Job and Lit-
H Eg M tie Red Riding Hood.
And at this season of
the year—"glad Christ-
I mas days"—it easily
U j might aeem to a less
SMBHBUO2W s yin pa th etic person
than the regretted O. Henry that the
shop-girl most stands in need of the
strength of Hercules, the heroism of
Joan of Arc. the truthfulness and oth
er singular excellencies of Una, the
patience of Job. Think what it must
mean, from eight to six, or eight to
ten, as the case may be, to face and
serve the rattled throngs that are now
surging through the shops, think of
the strain on endurance and nerve, on
temper and manners. The wonder is
not that, she often comes up to the de
mands on her, bi*t that she ever does.
Some of the veterans, survivors of
many hard-fought Christmas battle
fields, are marvels; may be seen at
fag-end of day still alert, though droop
ingly so; still clear-headed, though
with conscious effort; still with cour
teous attitude in their serving, though
those they serve have lost the last
shred of any politeness with which
they may have started out.
Compare the manners of some
spoiled darling, some indulged, arro
gant child of wealth, with the dignity
and patience and sweetness often
shown by the girl behind the counter.
The one self-centered, of most restrict
ed vision, captious, petty; the other
self-effacing, far-seeing, charitable,
big. Caleb in search of a wife might
well pursue his quest along the aisles
of the big stores, find womanly Ideal
standing there behind the counter.
They are not all caricatures of fash
ion, with hair tortured into latest ex
aggeration, frocks cheap copies of
showy splendors; not all more given
to powder and rouge than to soap and
water. And in the attainment of the
so highly-desirable neatness and trlm
ness heroism again has to come to the
fore, it is no easy matter after long
hours of labor to labor more, take
pains for personal cleanliness, sew and
darn when eyes are heavy, back is
aching. Heroines every one of them
that make a good show.
I know a girl In a fashionable candy
shop that every other night washes
and irons that she may be presentable
the next day. Her moderate wage is
the chief part of the family support,
there is not enough money for enough
blouses to last the week, and so the
midnight laundrying is done as a mat
ter of course. Rut how pretty anil
and fresh the girl does manage
to look In her snowy white and well
brushed black; much better dressed,
she seems to me. than the woman of
fuss and feathers
What little mothers they are, a lot
cf them, simple affectionate, domestic
creatures--though so often character
ized Ss vain, shallow, foolishly am
Altious. thinking only of dress and
"dates." 1 know one girl that worked
in one of the department stores which
keep open evenings at Christmas time,
who the night before Christmas did
not leave Jhe store until midnight,
then after traveling an hour on the
street cars to her home stayed up
hours to trim a wonderful Christinas
tree for the children of the family, the
bunch of little ones the poor ieem al
ways to have with them. ! know an
other girl that at this season goes
down unusually early mornings to ar
range "stock." comes home unujually
late evenlnjjs; but after dinner cheer
full? dons kitchen apron and helps
with giant plum pudding and other
Christmas preparation that yearly Is
repealed In honor of old England and
the home left behind when there was
made search for fortune In the rich
land of America. Thesu are Just two
Instances, the one quite commonplace,
unherolc, hut you may pit k up a few
for your.-elf by ea\< stropping a bit In
your shopping; observing among the
buyers the many shopgirls purchasing
toys anil silver "pusner," children'*
THE IDEAL WORKSHOP.
IW
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Dbr A,/ r- \\
ifc|fb *5-" w j
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p.,. ;:|
Ai.il tli« julllt»t »uij | »t sttii »nk
111 on tu !bw fturltl.
p— r
I Christmas Day j
* *
t (
* »"***• »
* *
! To rule and reign tvtth gentle '
t stvay, i
J The King of Lorot tuas born J
t today. t
I No vtld.ee <u>alls enclosed him *
J round,
t Hut in a rr.Anger ivas he found? $
t That so the boastful luorld *
might see
t The greatness of humility. *
t i
I He came, a child, in Ivoely <
* grace. '
t That so a child might seek his J
t facei
* So poor tvas he, the humblest *
J born
' Might come, ivithout a fear of ■■
' scorn. 112
I To all mankind he sho<cjid thi t
i tvay, *
( And ushered In the datvn of t
t day.
! And so, uith grateful love. !
' and praise, '
We hail this blessed day of J
t days. t
J The children's fcry, the poor *
I man's feast,
t The star of hope to great and t
* least; *
j When holy angels come to j
t earth, (
J And sing anetv a Savior's *
\ birth! ;
gloves and sweater, or gray dress for
mammy, muffler for daddy.
Of course there is any number of
pert, incompetent girls that wait on
hapless customers, rather keep hap
less customers waiting, but they have
been pictured with enough frequency,
this sort repeatedly held up as typical,
thereby obscuring the virtues of the
many worthy ones following the pro
fession of "waiting on." For some time
past I have been gathering data, ma
king experiment; and have found it
the rule rather than exception that
courtesy meets with courtesy. "Soft
and fair go far in a day," not only on
highway but in the miles of space in
a huge department store.
A man said to me recently: "How
little of church Is brought Into the
Christmas of today." And how sadly
true this Is—"church" in this connec
tion standing for whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are good, of
full import to all religions. And bully
ing and bullyragging a shop-girl at
this season seems about as far from
"lovely and good" as one may wander.
Put yourself In her place, remember
ing previous failures of your own
when bodily weariness snapped
strained nerves, broke down poise.
Ye gods and little flshes, in what
condition Is the shop-girl to "enjoy"
Christmas! I am sure if I were she
WHiTTI HK
I V/' _
l
7^||.
r*3 \L
Sew and Darn When Eyes Are Heavy.
all I would ask of good tfaint Nicholas
woul<l be a ilurk. airy room far. far
awav from people (front man. nn<l es
pecially woman); a great, soft bed
where I conld stretch out long and
wide; silence and sleep forever and
forever. No dreauiß to disturb that
uleep; no vision of past haggling, no
vision of weurisoino "exchanges" to
come.
Hut the reality Is n long way from
tlis that I would ask. I*o you suppose
such a i>roud wage earner an she
would be content to let Christmas day
go by without displaying wealth and
power? No. every dependent In the
household irii:tt partake of her bounty,
every pensioner be given good proof
of what It means to have h«r dress up
and go down town every da*. Noth
in:; 'if niggard Is the shopgirl at
Christmas, she in as nine h a Lady
Mount if iil us any millionaires* of them
all.
What a creature 1 A "Herentea, a
Joan of Arc, a Una, a Job" at.4 a
l.ndv lloimtlful on eight dollar* and
has a week'
(Cnpyrlffht DID.)
fV: , i
noy J t
Atptes' Prayer.
Our litll* IIV• \I ir «I'l| \ *I« HAV
ing been reprimand, d bv her minima
for MUIE allgbt mi deed, went and
knelt by a chair and pra< <d as rol
Iowa;
"<>h. Lord, make me a good little
Ktrl. 1 want to bu a good Httlu girl,
hut I don't knott how I tut, if | bid
naughty. Pl« u»* send Santa t'taua ioat
the nuni',"'
Chrlatmaa Tim*.
I I it* often thought of i'hrltfHvitw*
time. wh«n It has com* round, apai'
from th» v*tu*ratli>u DUE to ita »a> r«M
nam* ai d origin, if untitling betutig
lug ••• It i h« a4t.lt irom that a a ,
good ttn»*. a kind, forgiving, chant
ai/lv, pl> t»«ut (line -Charles ldck<«ta
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1910.
ttf^Oß-SHORTS
■■BBOW, our baby had never
N encountered a locked
door. The lovesome
pit-pat of his busy feet
was herald at whose
MgMpMgl coming every door In
the house swung open
an <l over thresholds he
ifCTMLIiftV went Into assured wel
nffi IJ J® But we were plan
nlng a tree. And the
jSjGEx library door was locked,
jl He paused In his as
cent of the stairs to
button in a button that
would not stay buttoned. It required
much time and he sat down on the
step and with all his ten fat, wee fin
gers labored. Then, "Das a doodle
boy," he objurgated himself as he
resumed his climb of the stairs, the
button buttoned; "Das a daryln' ylttle
gentleman!"
He shook the knob. Waited, jug
ging on the toes of him and discours
ing to Nicodenius.
The door remained closed.
Two fat palms smote it wrathfully.
"Open," he commanded; "pease
open dis door."
Nobody answered.
"P-o-o-r yittle boy," he wheedled at
keyhole; "zero ain't nobody loves
Mm."
Nicodemus yapped and made feints
at desertion when a dog barked out
side. Fawned back, and licked the
fingers where bread and honey aroma
lingered. Sat up and waved an affable
paw at him.
He sat down on the floor and gath
ered his yellow dog Into his pinafore
and hugged.
" 'Cept Nitodemus an' myssef," he
said.
Qreat-grand came up the hall.
"Is you been a bad boy, dreat-dran?"
he said. "Is you all shutted out?"
Great-grand sighed.
"Seems like this horse Just will run
away," In doleful tone, "and I've got a
bone In my foot and I can't run after
him."
In a wink he was after the rampant
steed. Captured and mounted, rodo
It lordily hither and yon, and when
at last he came back from the breath
less miles we had slipped down the
back way and at stairfoot waited.
Slowly, with dignity, he dismounted,
put his steed in atall, came back to
stair-head, and, legs astride and head
thrown back, surreyed us from the
heights of remembered injury. Be
side him, perky, tongue lolling out,
Nicodemus squatted.
Ixrng legs gathered to his chin,
great-grand ranged himself on the top
step and twinkled.
"Yes, sirs," quoth great-grand;
"shutted us all out!"
Our baby nodded confirmation and
Nicodemus yawned In our faces.
"Me'n mys Nitodemus an' mys dreat
dran." he said. "An mys dreat-dran
Is dot a bone in his foot an' I needed
to kiss mys muvver."
But for three long days the librarj
ddoor remained locked.
And regularly, after each mornings
breakfast, he mounted the stairs and
tried the knob and cogitated to Nico
demus, and poked broom straws under
the door
Christmas eve wo sat about a great
open fire. Great-grand loved to dig
and delve In the rod-charred logs and
Imprison the swarms of rosy bees.
Fascinated, I would watch the swirl
ing upfled sparks, wondering what
phantasms of youth he saw nll-beautl
ful in them, what faces went past In
that rosy mirage that his own should
wear so tender an answering look
Into eyes he alone was seeing Some
times our baby would come to stand
between Ills knees. head leaned
against his shoulder, and from within
the encircling arms watch. Sometimes
hu would straddle one old knee and
snug his head under the down-leaning
old chin, gold hair and white hair com
mingled. and hand over the old hand,
help the poker that prodded fud piled
the enib»-rs And the wide eyes seemed
to be seeing with the old man's vision
Ing, so united he would sit.
Christmas eve we sat about the
great open fireplace. Great grand sort
ed and piled his red charred logs
Grandmother was watching, lost In
idleness. Grand father had gone down
cellar for apples and In my lap my
baby was telling me secrets. We
listened bevond the slnglugs of the
flames; beyond the dellcat soft slug
Ing nnd the slrhlng and the iatiglMera
of tliem, the wind In the chimney.
From the end "112 the new back log the
saps dirt tiled, all the summer's r tins
and dews and green growing In their
whicker whicker We had hated to
shut out the skies, so divinely near
ihey closed In upon earth, with their
starry strand* garlanding the rim of
hills Uur baby had seen his flr*t me
t> ur a leathered trull of ethereul tire
and a soundless splendor as the me
t. or bur.-»t an I bigg. at d Into a globe
of hhslan u/'ir»\ u. • ! u nt out \'i I
the black violet skies seeiued yet
itvwpller black with that blue glory
tmtnorled against them, and the stars
pallid and eold And my baby won
der< 4 If there might not be another
Christina* baby. In that blue glor> ll»
wondered shut her. If ».<d go out, w»
might not find a few boys and girls
and tables that got l»rt over, when
God lorg-it who had a*kc.| to have
some l«ft at their hous* s. 11.. wished
he'd been there that night St the o«
•II s hill, to stft» Ibe little child ffo's
hw could have brought It how* tn his
V eel's I .. H« I „ lh ,
lo had. And even hit tweets (relyhtvd
! babble picked up that blue sks'-mlatery
and wondered about It. And his eyes
were wide and fathomlessly sweet in
the firelight, and his hand clung all
the while to my face and deared it,
and wove heavenly weave into my life
In every least little touches of it to
my lips, my cheeks, and in the com
ings home of it to slip Into my bosom
and there nest.
Then we told him that It was going
to be the Christmas baby's birthday
tomorrow, and because we so love
God's little son we give, year after
year, all life long, gifts to him and to
each other on that day. And the
library door, tomorrow, would be un
locked, and a surprise inside for us
each and all.
"Dracious!" was his sole comment;
and slowly the happy eyes slipped
from us behind their curtain-fringes,
the little warm body lay heavy in my
grms. Slowly Great-grand unbuilded
the house of red embers, and coming
over took the little sleeper Into his
arms, rocked and crooned and hugged
and God-blessed him. And with
grandmother's kisses on the wee feet
that never were still save In slumber,
and grandfather's proud look Into the
unwitting face following after, I bore
him away to his crib; so loved, so
loved!
"Is Trismus turn?"
I wakened with the words break
ing the crystal of my dreams and klsß
ing themselves against my lips and
a fat white body embracing my head.
"Yes, sir," I managed to say through
the strangling arms of him. "Happy
Christmas, Bob-for-Sliort!"
"Happy Christmas, Bob-for-Short!"
echoed from the doorway; and "Hap
py Christmas. Bob-for-Short!" floated
In from beyond the east and west
shoulders of great-grand.
He shouted. He danced. Never be
fore had he been met by all the fam
ily at crib-side. He Jigged all over the
bed, trickling blarneyments and
laughters at the three gray heads that
waggled in unconscious tune to the
prancings of him.
Then, all his yellow body apant with
haste. Nicodemus hustled his fat self
up the Btairs Into the fun he was
missing, and In his wake, Katy from
her kitchen.
And with a "Happy Christmas to
yez, Mlsther Bob-fer-Short," she set
a gray kitten on the floor.
We were all very still, as he slipped
from the bed and approached the kit
ten. He had never owned a kitten. He
eyed it In raptured silence. "Meou,"
said the kitten.
Into his cheeks the red crimsoned.
"Oh!" he gasped; "wad you tall, titty;
pease wad you tall!" And she wagged
her tail and arched her back against
his feet and cajoled him, and as he
guthered her Into his nightgown and
the white fat bare legs ran with their
treasure, she broke into loud silken
purrings. And Nicodemus sulked and
fell into a helpless yellow bunch of
■J '* \"' - ■ ■
tenibflKwJS)
Ke Had Never Owned a Kitten.
protest, w hen the gray kitten was held
' to his nose tor a kiss.
And we all dawdled until Katy'a
bell rang third summons to breakfast.
He went up the stairs alone. Thon
Nicodemus. Then Great grand. Then
!I. And then the rest of hU adorers.
He stopped at tho door.
"Open the door, sir," said grandfa
ther.
"Turn on. muvver," he said, reach
ing hand Into my hand.
So we stepped over the threshold
together.
The room was darkened. The fire
light dulled behind a screen. In the
' center of the room a low. fair-branched
voting eedar trc gleamed like a great
Jewel.
My hand forgotten, he circled the
tree.
'Hound and 'round. And we after.
"Pus a mo* bu-tl fill drum." we
'-slight the murmur as he Inventoried.
"Mas a ylttle tend horse." He paused
to jog it and In ecstasy watch Its lull
g<» up and down. "Mas a ylttle toad
fro.l in ilit l.ld marble. Mow vim
*'l»is» It dot In?" Ho tarried to In
re*tl|ate, and set it rolling for the
tr|tt»-n to char" Nicodemus thought
It «i-. ui' u>t for him, nnd when he
■ dlliltd \. '' h til kitten, r 'Wed and
-eared and n utt ring h« (led to a dis
tune.. and vapp.d st hall and kitten.
*?i.j i' !• in*, i.terv *-nt on "Has a
I. M MUM, jrike 11. % 4 Ml ~ t .Iran Is
lot •• lie tnrrl Ito hunt a i" ket and
I.MIO it hi* w iich therein Put first
h. b. Id It ti. car And the reurmur
return. I: "Mat wstln is def an' dutu,
too Mas a [ Itine hut an' das a pit lire
hut an' das a |dtur. but. , . , Mr®.
And Christmas was on f< r Hob f<u*
Hhort New York Independent
ri*' J'i
one thins is bu|kt'sslbl«. to love, the
tnietitf.'si sn.l nuMif fervent let* la
puwerless to tvuki love
8 "God With Us" §
0 By A. D. WATSON Q
X The world had long been waiting Q
O The coming of the King, O
X When one sweet morn in Beth- Q
Q lehem, ®
X Ere birds were on the wing, Q
x The sons of God came singing X
Q Down from the skyey dome, 0
X And mortals heard the message: Q
X Immanuel is come. X
X Now let the ample standard X
0 Of righteousness, unfurld, X
Q Proclaim to every people Q
P That God is in His world; X
O Let every form of evil X
Q From earth be put away, Q
X That all may sing rejoicing, X
Q The King is born today. X
X The bright and solemn glory, X
P The angel harps glad ring, P
Q The strange, 3weet song of Q
P wonder, P
0 The cherub voices sing— Q
X These in our hearts abiding, X
* The Prince of Peace shall come, p
6 Make our glad lives His temples, Q
X Our happy hearts His home. X
OLD STORIES OF CHRISTMAS
Some Have Interest. Freshness and
Beauty That Keep Them Al
ways New.
There are some so-called "old sto
ries" that are really not old, for they
have an interest, a freshness and a
beauty that keep them always new.
Of such are tho story of Christmas
and all the legends and tales that be
long to the great festival.
There is a legend in Germany that
when Eve plucked the fatal apple the
leaves of the tree Immediately shriv
eled Into needle points and Its bright
green turned dark. The nature of
the tree changed and it became an
evergreen, In all seasons preaching
the story of man's fall through that
first act of disobedience. Only on
Christmas does it bloom brightly with
lights and become beautiful with love
gifts. The curse is turned Into a
blessing by the coming of the Christ
child, and thus we have our Christmas
tree.
The visits of St. Nicholas to the
homes of the people on Christmaß eve
as an annual custom grew out of a
festival in honor cf Hertha, a Norse
goddess. At this festival the house
was decorated with evergreens and an
altar of stone was set up at tho end
of the hall, where the family assem
bled. From Hertha's »fone we get our
word "hearthstone." On the stones
so set up were heaped fir branches,"
which were set afire, and through the
smoke and flame Hertha was supposed
to descend and influence the direction
of the flames, from which were pre
dicted t lie fortunes of those present.
CLOSE QUARTERS.
He eyed the Christmas tree with a J
look cf grim determination on his
face. It was a fine tree, tall and
ttraight, with many symmetrical
boughs— just such a tree as would de
light the hearts of his children. But
he chased them away as he prepared
for his work of destruction. Taking
off his coat ho rolled up his sleeves,
and with a hatchet ruthlessly lopped
off aii the branches. He eyed the re
sult with satisfaction. Then he took
up a saw and divided the tree In the
middle. It seemed heartless, but what
else could the poor man do? It was
the only way he could make the tree
fit, for he lived In a flat.
A REAL SANTA CLAUS
#>» » ■•»»»» •gp
j A Merry Christmas j
All over the country, all over the
world —a few years hence it will be
also all through the air —sounds the
greeting Merry Christmas! On the'
sea and land, in the palace and in the',
hovel, in the hospitals and in the pris
ons, in the asylums amid the orphans
and in the homes for the friendless
and for the aged, wherever even two
persons meet who know and love the!
story of Christmas, the greeting is ex-;
changed. Where can there be a par
allel to the universal greeting? Ia
there any other sentiment that ha»
the sovereignty of this cheerful and
heartfelt word? It travels through
the malls like nothing so much as the*
doves to the altars of which the Scrip
ture speaks, for surely the sentiment
flits from altar to altar of the hearts
of men and is as gentle aa the dove.
Grudges and animosity vanish before
the wafting of Christmas greeting, the
smile of hope illumines the counte
nances of those under the pall of de
pression, the dimpled cheeks of tho
babies seem like veritable nooks for
fairy hiding as the lips coo in response
to the Merry Christmas, with the little
emblem of the day that comes to the
infant from its loving parent. In the
days of romance hostile forces passed
upon the field, sheathed their swords
and clasped hands across the battle
line, greeting one another with the
sentiment of universal good will.
Merry Christmas has brightened more
hearts, has healed more
has brought more happiness to the
lives of men and women, has proved
to be the talisman 1c sentiment for
more home reunions than any other
that has ever been heard In this old
world.
Christmas stands for love and for
charity, for hope and for joy at the
fruition of that long-made promise of
the prophet of the coming of one who
3hould bring peace and good will to
earth; so the churches hold their serv
ices and the people congregate to
join In singing or to listen to the ren
dition of carols, some of which have
come down from the early ages of the.
church. The children have their
Christmas treats, and they are the
very merriest of the merry in their
participation In these annual school
festivals.
HIS VIBITING LIST.
Old Santa —My, my, how this list
: does grow. No wonder 1 occasionally
Uiias one.
HER IDEA.
"The custom of hanging mistletoe
on the chandelier Is foolish."
"I think so, too. It ought to be
hung In the cozy corner."