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Peace On Earth.
Millions of stars hang twink
ling above millions of babes to
night, millions of wise men from
the East, and from the West, the
North and the South are bending
in rapturous worship above the
cradles where sweet innocence
lies wrapped in the swaddling
garments of untroubled slumber.
Gifts, gold, the frankincense of
parental love are lavished in un
i-tinted measure upon those sleep
ing cherubs. Countless angels
hover in ecstacy in all the glitter
ing pulsing heavens and sing the
gloria in excelsis that burst from
the celestial choir nineteen hun
dred years ago. "Peace on earth,
good will to men !"
For nineteen centuries that song
has fallen on the ears of the awed
shephers watching their wayward
ii.>ckson the hills of time—"Peace!
peace!" Spears, battle axes, cata
pults, arrows, stuttering flintlocks,
percussion guns, rude cannon,
ron shells freighted with death,
machine artillery, mammoth can
k• ;>nry dealing death and destruc
tion miles away, have blown the
black hot breatn of hate in the
i ice of heaven's messengers of
peace and good will. All down
: ; ie centuries the din and clamor
of war's red legions has sought to
drown the song of triumph that
iirst woke the echoes among the
dumb, frozen crags of Judea's
hills. But with unwavering con
fidence and constancy the song
lias not wavered in a single tone.
God Almighty gave the word to
the angels to proclaim peace on
earth, and it will surely come.
A merry Christmas to all, peace
in your hearts, in your homes, in
the nation and in all the world.
Christmas at Stony Knob.
Wal, crissmus is over agin and
the fesstle seezun has left me all
but busted finanshully and mor
relly & fizzickly imbareist so to
speek. We sellabrated on thurs
dy nite owin to figgerin out the
date by a last yeers awmanick, &
so we wuz a little ahed ov Sandy
Claws' skedule, but it diddent
seem to make no diffrunce with
the eez & fasillity with whitch my
last summer's incum trickled out
thru the hoals in the bottom ov
my jennerosity.
When the shadders ov nite be
gin to spred thairselfs around the
landskape on crissmus eve, Dry,
and Fredercky, and the 2 twins
(whitch compozes my fambly sur
kle ov offsprings), thay ondrest
thair feat & proseeded to hangup
thair stockins. Jest to help out
the deluzion, i pulled off my boot
and hung my sad and solium old
sock longside ov 'em. Dry went
to look at the artistick effeckt ov
the row ov hoshiery, and wundrin
how the display wood strike the
fansy ov old Saint Nickodeemus,
when he begin to back off and
hold his noas as if thay wuz sum
offensiv fragrunce illuminatin the
atmusfeer.
"Now see heer pa," sez 'e "It
wunt never do to hav yure old
sock hangin up thare in that row
ov airomattick foot jackets, wy it
smells wurse 'n a hungairian hobo
drest in wet korderoy britches
with poal-catter ov rozes on his
hangkerchiff. Sandy Claws cant
git within a rod ov it. It has got
to cum down," and he got the
broom and poaked it down and
throde it in the stoav. I wuz mad
to hav my clothin creemated like
that and wuz goin to giv the fresh
yungster a good warmin when all
to wunst the smoak poord out ov
the stoav fillin the room with a
smell that droav us all out doars.
The dog staid in, but he koffed
up his supper. I hild my breth
and dasht in like dockter Kook
makin a dash for the big nale. I
coodent find wot wuz the rip till
I yanked the stoavpipe
chimbley, and then i seat,
hoal wuz chuck full ov ued ei
hly swallers whitch had bin su
kated with the fumes ov foot
mowth diseez from my wooling
sock. I pawed 'em out, stuck the
pipe back in and peece and har
muny wuz restoared. Dry wuz
lookin at the ded burds and sed
thay had bin asfixiated. I sez, i
dun no, mabey so, but after ex
zaminin ov 'em, i coodent see no
sines ov thair bein fixt in enny
sutch a manner.
Wal, the stuffin ov them stock
ins and the givvin ov menny uth
er prezents is wot nocked the
bunghoal out ov my finanses. I
dug up my last nickle for to git
my neffew Rastus Rott a set ov
boan coller S cuff buttons, and i
node di m well he'd ruther be
ketchi in bed with a nigger than
to ware a coller or cuffs. I need
a set ov britches mitey bad my
self. When Igo to meatin or to
the ladys ade, i hafto do like a in
jin on the ralerode runnin into a
stub switch; thay haint no way
to git out oanley to back out.
But it doant make no diftrunce
how bad we need things, prezents
must be giv or crissmus woodent
be no vvurse than ash wensdy. I
got a fue useful! and or» sntal
prezents as follers: a pare ov 15
sent galluses jest hart long enufr,
a cake ov tar sope, a bottle ov iid
dy pinkums vejjitable kompound,
and a campane push buttun to
ware on my cote barein the im
midge and sooperskripshun ov
Willyum Jinnins Brine.
I must acknollej that i wuzzent
tickled to deth with my prezents,
but i hav got the supreem conso
lashun ov knoin that i haint the
oanley feller that's drawed a boo
by prize out ov Sandy Claws'
grab bag. Thare's Dock Kook
hoo exspected a north poal in his
stockin, but the Coopenhagen
geezers giv him a frosty icikle. &
thays uthers to numrus to men
shun. How about yu ?
TOMM Y ROTT.