C CHINAWARE, NUTS, etc. and kinds Xmas and New Year in all Goods election i LADIES SOLD ONLY AT YEAGE BELLEFONTE We ' DOES YOUR R STOVE NEED REPAIRS? It will not be long until — the chilly blasts will make the stove the means of com- fort. Is your stove ready to make fire in, or does it need repairs. See toit now, before the rush season will mean delay. Probably you are thinking of a new stove for the com- ing winter. We handle the ! World-Famous Red Cross Stoves and Ranges, Come in and let us talk it over. T. L. SMITH CENTRE HALL ———— OU can get them by ad- vertising in this paper. lt reaches the best class of people in this community. Use this paper if you want some of their business. J Aged A RENE 5% BSURD as it may sound to every one, the bluejackets still believe in Santa Claus. That rotund, rosy-cheeked lit. tle old man pays as much attention to the thousands of boys on board the warships as he does to the thousands of, perhaps younger in years, boys and girls ashore. Instead of coming in a sleigh with reindeer and merry bells, he comes in a precarious-looking boat, fully arm- ed and convoyed, with the of musketry and the loud blowing of horns of horns is a universal custom all coun tries and On Christmas day officer of the fur tree hoisted boom The with the boy with the bluejackets is the highest junior blowing gf of and colors too ranking to his his flag staff, he Santy fleet, and all flags are to the masthead With and the rest of the about the ships distributing the gifts with which his argosy is laden His method of dolug this as much red tape as the old admiral of the fleet in the time of Queen Bess All the and lieutenant, his aide Cruises among ia fraught with Was ever Dutch greetings of the mbolical of austere rank bounty that can be gether gre paraphernalia sy gotten to ised ns adorn HALL, PA. ode] EL AGSAN 7 pi VPA Yi XL TLV Vg C4 CHI rR PY «TIRE PRY y ( 2d ” Yoie3 IY i LAG «SIG wild Ir nents and no end is expended on the ri boat to BOINeLins ib and out and aft “AY ITM QT BaD the sal main battery the boatswain in his approaches and an from the uting battery and heavy manned and fired by Prosit,” who is a ponderous man in the way he throng the revolver pose also, and are of Der official garb and daring the ships swer the poop The galuting takes place hailing distance, and all faugh at the tiny sounds, strongly contrasted in their minds with the salute of the big guns which they are accustomed to hear. Next the boatswain gets up in the bows and resting one hand almost oti top of the foremast and lifting a me gaphone as long as himself to his lips, calls out at the top of his voice “Ship, ahoy!” The quartermaster anawers from the bridge “Hello, hello! Der Prosit > Aye, aye,” the boatswain returns alongside,” calls the quartermaster. Then admiral of “Der Prosit” rises in the stern, some ten feet aft of the boatswain in the bow, his head on a level with the topmast, and bawlis out throuzh his megaphone, "All hands fursl sall, With that the crew, consisting of one man, who also acts in the capacity of foghorn, gets amid ghipg and climbs the mainmast, which sways 10 wnd fro as if about to capsize the entire craft and pulls down all the sails “The vessel is vianding to.” he then calls out to the boatswain, who reports to the admiral over the crew's head, who in turn reports to Santa Claus, sitting in the stern sheets at the tiller. All these orders are given and carried out in the most solemn man. per, to the merriment of the ship's crew looking on from the rail above The crew of “Der Prosit” then gets out oars and pulls alongside while on deck the real boat swain's mate pipes eight side boys to stand at the head of the gangway and salute the admiral and Santa Claus when they come aboard. The presi dent of the United States only rates six side boys when he comes aboard, while Santy has his eight, besides his are petty officers while the pres ident's are only good-looking apprentice boys. As the argoay draws alongside the boatswain pipes the long. low tune and three short blasts char acteristic of the coming aboard of great men. No less a person than the captain of the ship meots the admiral of "Der Prosit,” his wife, Santy, laden with a huge basket full of presents, the bostawain and the crew, while the bugler sounds three portentious ruffles and the ship's whose crews sides salute with a shot Der Prosit’ is hands have a before within Come the deed the officers are all present, for they believe in Santy as well as do the crew. When the ad miral's wife, some fair faced sallor with Manila rope hair and a tawdry skirt, swings aboard hold ing her train high and exposing a generous view of red stocking to the eyes of the sallors, a great laugh is evoked and a shout goes up, “higher, igher,” or “Oh, you Kiddo!” The boatswaln in command of the erew shouts to his one man for, “Attention!” then puts him through a series of gymnastics of a peculiar and Intensely funny character, The admiral, as if not thoroughly taking in the landscape, lifts a huge ® ra wine his eves and makes a pretense of getting bearings by scrutinizing about h Presently he reports to the sailors Santy who has dex ed his basket of presents ars ino the | lashed together, pair of binoc bottles m of two quart his oh 1 the quarter deck, “Sir, | see we are now in the n Can ibal {ales Santy begins then to pick up read the names aloud iving them Der Prosit” and the admiral's the who distri} presents and to the and even te ites them accord crew of wife, admiral himsel ngly. cutting many ridiculous capers The a type th They presents are of at bring laughter: gotten up and made by friends of whom they with an wards characterizing the ambition, the the standing jokes that mark the the captain is a four striper he will probably get an admiral's star, unless he has some other whim by which he is more properly known. When he is presented with this he can only blush in the presence of everybody, and take dose as Santy is supreme op Christmas day ilut the greatest gift that falls to the lot of those who fortune or slip have come It is customary sSanty tw the captain and ask him to books In the face of everybody mas day the are the sent idea to whim or those to are receiver it his Santy can bestow through sone in line for punishmem walk up to whitewash” the and on Christ captain can not very well refuse this although some captains have seen to wince and cough before granting the immeas urable favor. The report book, in which all pun ishable acts are entered, is swept clean and the culprits are reinstated to first-class standing and enjoy all the privileges held by their wore for tunate shipmates who have not fallen before the multiplicity of temptations that dally assail the mano -warsman. The event which forms a background for all this merriment ig the regular “big feed,” as the sail ors call it. For the last week this has crept inte their conversation Ple, turkey and plum duff are the three great delicacies to the sallors, and they have more respect for them than for the three graces, ‘What kind of a feed Is the commissary gonua band us?” one eallor asks of another. During this time of anticipation excitement runs high and the commissary is a very much respected person. In fact, he is never a retired person, for his billet is a hard one to fill to the satizfaction of every one who eats at the general mess. Thers is always some old tar or other who imagines himself to be slighted by the quality of his food, and the apprentice boys take from him the habit of com. plaining with very little reason on their side. Quarrels often result and have to be referred to the “mast,” where the first lleutenant (first luff) settles the matter In favor of the commissary, so that the sailor arranges a private settlement with the commissary later on where the first luff has nothing to say about It, The burden of the repast falls naturally upon the cooks and meas attendants. It is far from an enjoyable affair with them, although they are an mis for boldly request been attendant : is turned nes are het where stiealn other the skinners When they are done to and fro in nearest six-foot masher proceeds to flakey mass fit for a King pee 1a} + shit migei the ship nsel the rex wit) urs Wild all the while, his, and tak pound who paces EAaLiey nounts upon the ing a great them int But this y a white ¢ not all he has to do, e ither The browning in the long ovens and he assistants have continually to open the doors probe with long forks into the swelling breasts and ascertain when to take them out The mess tables are all numbered zo that each sailor knows just where to go when he gets down through the hatchway, and he doesn’t waste any time getting there on this occasion. It is indeed a singular and lively scene on the gundeck at this period Every man's plate is heaped to the brim before him and all apply themselves with a dar ing and disregard for mere stomachs that would make a dyspeptic wince and turn his head. Dozens of tables dangle from hooks between parallel col umns of who seem only restrained from eating each other alive by the flimsy, vaciliating boards port the food When these ravenous appetites have been slaked and even those who have the dilating gow of an anaconda are put at rest, or in pain, as the case may be, some of the “old shellbacks’ will begin to grow reminiscent and tell of the Christ. mases they have spent in lands where there were no turkeys nor anything else fit for the "big feed ™ Says old Pete the sallmaker’'s mate I mind the time down in Darien, when the steward had nothin’ in the storeroom but a ton of crusty hard biscuits full of bugs, so when ¥' busted ‘em with the handle ‘ve yer knife they went whimty nifty in every direction--under yer plate, behind yer cup, up ver sleeve and around the mess pans Rut, mates, that was a Christmas fer yer life! We couldn't eat the buffalo meat, it was that much like bolt rope, so we drunk or coffee and engaged ourselves in bug races down the table. By tryin all the bugs out we got some speedy ones. And they was speedy. | had one that could trot down that table—trot, mind y' like it was Maude 8S herself. The devil of It was the bloody bug wouldn't keep in the course between the plates. She'd break fer a hole near the finish. 1 bet big money on ‘er, though, and after loosin’ 20 bones by her duckin’ but of it when she was two whole plate lengths ahead, mind y'. 1 figgered 1 could head her off the next time and win anyhow, so 1 put up 50 bones—50 good cold plunkers on that skinny little runt of a bug, and etrike me blind! you ought a seen that race! Go! That cussed little bug slid down that mess table like it was on ball bearings. | headed ‘er off at the hole with a plece of tack and she run clean again the bot tom board ofthe table an’ butted ‘er brains out, kicked over on ‘er back stone dead. But that race! Whew! | raked In the coin from the cap- tain of the hold Christmas ! Well, strike me, fel Jers! That was some Christmas even if we didn't have any eats.” turkeys are and his three sailors which su: ers
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