The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1865-01-06

can help her, please do IT. and DO j
quickly
Blazius now announced the team, and
Santa Claus, blowing his nose fercely OIL
his red bandana, offered seats to the doll,
in his sleigh. -
Hastily equipPing bimselfin his furs fOr
his Dight-ride, while Topsy wrapped hel
mistresses in their opera eloaks, the old
gentleman handed them in politely,
though poor Clementine sobbed under
her hood all they way home. Tying his
team to the lightning-rOd, be helped the
dolls in through tie fue of Aunt Olive
room, and, dropping another story, made
his most unexpected appearance before
Myndert Won Troudelbedde and his droWsy
wife as they dozed before the ParlOr
CRATE. .-,....
Servant, SIR was the saIutatiOn Of the
Saint.
Now Myndert was not a stout old
Ducthman, as you may suppose, but a
descendant of a Dutchman the man
whose hand always weighed pound and
his foot two, when be balanced big bun
die Of skins which heWas purchasing of
some poor wretch of an Indian, and con
sequently Myndert was rich. Myndert
and his wife looked very much astonish-
&c, as we'll they might; Lut they had
been at Mrs. LatetoroOst's grand ball
the night before, and were too sleepy to
do any thing but stare drOWsily at the
apparition before them, and Myndert
stOlidly returned the polite bow Of the
Saint.
Santa Claus brushed of the coal SCOT
from his furs, threw back his capote, and
wiped his face. as he sat down.
i am st. NickOlas, at your service
and you are Mr.. MyndeTt Won TrOndel-
bedde, believe
Myndert nodded, in great amazement.
MY business is to talk to you con-
cerning Christmas, have been listen
ing all night to the wishes of every body
for the holiday season. Time was when
was equal to thedemand but it would
take stocking big enough for Giant
Blunderbore to hold all that the children
ask for, or a sugar-maple, if they have a
Christmas-tree and the wishes of the
grown folks absolutely have no limits
The children want gold and silver tea
sets for their dolls, and velVets and royal
ermines for themselves; and the grown
ups want every thing they ever heard Of
Now, Sir, it's time to stop this nonsense.
Children are just as happy with a rag
| doll or jack knife and handful of can
dy as with all this nonsense. And, if you
do tito get talked Of, you'd answer your
end far better to give the money to the
soldiers, or the prisoners, or the Orphan
Asylum, or to the poor at your very
doors There's the widow Petlibone,
in the next street, who makes your
shirts-she has daughter as fair as your
Bertha, and far whittier, for she's dying
dying, Sir, of the prick Of the needle
dying for the lack of beef and bread
for the want of fire and water, and the
very air Of heaven, Sir. And the women
who are making up your contract Of army
clothing are white and thin and hungry,
and your pay for sewing don't 60 up as
gold does, nor does beef and coal go down,
whenever that happens And besides
them, there's lot of blessed fellows just
released from rebel prisons. God bless
the boys! They're half starved, half
naked but their hearts are all right, and
give 'em a welcome home that the
country II be proud to remember. And
Major Summons, who was shot at the
head of his column In She,idans fight,
dye know how poor his family are going
tn be? And dye remember Private
Rogers, who was your book. keeper, who
died of fever; and his mother is old, and
lives down Five Hundredth Street, and
nearly starves with hunger and cold and
sorrow. He was her only son, but she
did not hold him back. Now, sir, you
meant to leave these and pass by on the
other si6a, while you was willing enough
to help me get the gold tea~set, and the
vel7ets and ermine, and pointlace and
diamonds, and fummery generally and
I've got to drive past these widows, and
see the pale faces, and hear the cold, rag
ged, little children praying for Santa
Claus to bring them their share of goodies:
and can't do it, Sir Il can't do it, and
you and yours are responsible
And the peppery old fellow actually
rose and shook his brown fist in the face
Of the gentleman with the blond mustache,
who began to fdget nervously.
4 don't know that you are worse than
the rest, Sir but you've all much to an
sWer for. What want done is something
efectual. Call meeting aud systematic
the matter. Raise sewing wages. No
danger Of gout from high living if you
double them. Give a thousand dollars
to the poor. It's only the cost of one
ball-dress, and see a little to its distribu-
ton personally. Look to it that the
poor, whom ye have always with you,
have a bit of beef or turkey on my
Masters birthday, and I'll take it kindly
if you lynch dozen or two gold brokers
besides. It'll help matters in the long
run. Now what will you no, Sir? I cant
do thing without your help. There are
as many slippers embroidered eacn year
as would supply New York if every man
was centipede, and hundreds Of poor
folk going barefooted. Why, Sir, think
that when the blessed Christmas comes,
and the odor of the fr~tree, and pine, and
the spruce, and the hemlock goes up like
an offering, and the churches stand open,
and the Gloria IN esceLsis peals up from
the organs you feel your hearts grow so
warm that you'd fairly run over with low
ing -kindness-I should indeed , aud
Santa Claus threw open his fur coat and
mOpped his forehead.
4 should think you'd remember the
blessed Babe of Bethlehem, and how poor
and humble both be and his friends we're,
and remember that the first Of all Christ
mos gifts we're for Him; and when you
say from your hassocks that you're 'misera-
bic sinners, try to take practical view of
the subject, and make an effort to do
better with the blessed Christ assisting
you. Why, Sir, on that day the dens
and holes Of the city will all be filed,
and they'll cry out, Merry Chrfstmas'P r
with their burning thrOais, and take my
Masters name in vain, and can't help
it, Sir. They'd not do so if thev'd a
decent Christmas at home; but they've
! only afeB cents, and whisky is not high
ss beef and turkey, nor does rum cost