Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1866-12-28

g ~. 4sA4t AoAn n4LDf5 Iutl Will
] song, but not until daylight doth appea
+ and the lasses put on their best caps an,
. wreathe their best smiles to give them wei
, come. Now comes the Grape of the kisses
: The sturdy, handsome young beggars throw
down their meal-bags. rush IN among th,
lassos, and kiss them all around, amid sucl
a kelleching '-expresslye word that
and giggling as never was heard. Then The
mistress c. the house gives the Young Eel
low dram, and in the true spirit Of the
Saxon leidey, or lady, drops with her OWE
hands portion of meal INTO each bag. Ther,
are many good souls, animated by the feel
ing OF the time, who do good deeds and blush
10 let them known. Aware of this, the poo.
old widows, when they roceIYe the bounty,
take care 10 sift the meal, and oitentimes ind
IN the sieve a residGum o! shilings and SIX
Veuces.
\ marked feature OF the Yule festivities
was a grand tea breakfast to the servants
and dependants. At ordinary times the ser
wants breakfast consisted of oatmeal porridge.
milk, and oat-cakes. But on Yule morning
they had a breakfast of tea, white bread
that Is TO say, bread made Of iOur,-eggs.
and haddocks. All what is glorious "ploy'
the only English equivalent for this word
can think of is ''spree." and that does not
I quite express twas that Yule breakfast I,
I Ia my vision | can see Betty the cock at the
/ head Of the great deal-table, pouring out the
tea from a big, battered Britannia. metal
I pot, INTO cups OF all sizes and patterns: while
F d Wn the side are seated Tloughmen and
. T'oushJuys, each with = buxOm lass by
/ bis lde, all laughing, gIgglmg, and eating
T go one and the same time. There Is no stint
o. white bread and butter, but the allowance
. oi ,ta. which is a rather expensive article ai
I t.i1 time Of day, Is limited, and the infusion
soon Ialcs before the brisk and active de-
maDd. / remember something about It's not
being genteel 10 take more than two cups Of
tea, and to drink out Of the saucer, but as
tie tea comes but once year on this scene.
a'l such etiquette Is thrown to the winds.
can hear Betty saying now, Il declare
that Icon (Angiice. 'hJy,) GeoTdio has had
fourteen cups | don't doubt il. Geordle
bad been culping down cup after cup, and
-.uLing up for more with astonishing des-
rlteh. The color had gone out of the liquid
long ago: but what was that to GeOrdie or
Jamie. OF Jessie OF Jenny, go long a. It ran
out OF a teapot, and left some gr0uts at the
bottom Of tie cup TO tell Fortunes by What
rare fun We lad reading fortunes in the
cups L. afforded such a capital opp0rtu-
uity for lads and lasscs 10 lCok oy,r each
others shoulders, and get their lips aud
checks together. Aud when rosy cheeks and
H4In lips approach within certain range
Of each other, they are apt. like the magnet
and the DO Of steel, 10 cJmc suddenly INTO
collision. TneY sat long, with lingering
delight, 0Tlr tier tea breakfast Gong after
Ite leaves and the butter and the haddocks
lad disapPcarcd), to read the cups; and
great was the llu.htcr when the close juxta-
position of long stalk Of tea and short
stalk of tea, followed by q motley crowd Of
stalks Ol al siz 3, w4s declared to p3Ttend
the marriage oi Mile the grieTe (bsilif)
with Ami. tie little housemald
Il,rl IS 40 gong T. church in Prosby,e ter
llu Scotland On Christmas day. Ne religious
exercises oi any kind hold place in my me
m1rv % q. injection with old Iulc Il was
ucr, Is holiday in tLc sch0clboy' sense Of
tho word "a day ci play. The one amase-
mont especially associated with tie occasion
WAS q shooting a. which the highest
Tr-zo was "a gun, or a silver watch, and the
lowest @ bean kane. Do You know what .
bean kane is? lie; me whisper in your ear.
4 bone comh,-that kind Of comb which has
small teeth | remember Jamie coming
home iron the shooting looking very glum
and downcsst.
"Weel, jamie '' said Willie, "haye you
Won tie gum
"Na.'
'N0r the watch2''
ma
'iGyo Yc nae won onything
sou ay, We Just won the bean kane p"
"Wcel, ," sand Willie, who was bit of a
Wit in his dry way, "l'm just thinking
you'll be likely TO DO mair execution with
the bean kane than with the gun
Holly and mistietoe DO not enter into the
Scotch Christmas rites. When think Of
these things my vision changes to a farm
house in Kent, where spent my first Eng
lish Christmas. | am realizing what | had
often read of in books. 90 out to the wood
to assist in bringing home the Yule-log. |
am assisting an elderly spinster to decorate
the rooms with holly and mistletoe. | re-
member here, pleasantly, over nv cruel, how
| fell plump over head and cars in love with
her, though she was old enough to be my
mother, and made no attempt to conceal her
liking for gin-and-water She bad a girlish
way with her that captylted me,-a way OF
cycling and shaking her curls. was quick
to lea.n the privileges Of ar English Christ
mas, and kissed CT under sc mistletOe the
moment she hung it up. Ii was she who
started up, as twelve O'Clock struck on the
eve, to let Christmas IN. | ran with her to
the door, and kissed her again. | was very
happy then, for ! did not lind out until ai-
terwsrds that Miss Lzzy was giddy even to
the verge OF lunacy, and had loved and been
IN love a hundred times. On TwGlfih-nIght
she trysted me 10 the orchard at ten O'Clock
at night, and there, under a cherry-tree,
while the moon shone bright, she said -
Tom, let US be married, and fly TO fo--
eign lands"
had dreamt Of something of the kind ;
but this abrupt way of proposing to settle 1t
cooled my ardor.
..Give me, said /, "time for reflection"
d" Love-" she replied, almost fercelY,
''ncyer reflects -
Miss Lizzy had money, and her friends
found 1t e1pedient to prove, which they did,
that she was non c0mpoS. But she made
very sane remark that time under the cherry
tree, by the light Of the moon, when she
said that ''loTe never reflects" After long
experience | am prepared to say it does not.
For the first time IN nv life, at that Ken
tish farmhouse, heard the waits singing
the Christmrs carol for the first time l
went to church on Christmas dsy,-a church
decorated with evergreens, what sight to
me For the first time | saw the boars
head and the flaming Christmas pudding
brought in with due ceremony. English
people grow up from infancy accustomed to
these Christmas rites, and are little impress
ed by them. But upon the mind and sym
pathy Of an adult stranger they strike with
the force and charm of enchantment. The
very remembrance of that Christmas day
brings thrill of pleasure, which l fear no
Christmas of the future will ever stir, in my
accustomed breast.
This vision fades, and another rises in Its
stead. A pleasant fOregsthering oil chill
dren. and children's children, on Christmas
day round granddad's board. 1t was our
aged hosts birthday too. He was ninety
two wears OF age that very Christmas da5.
A little. feeble old man he was. almost as
belpless as q child, but still CHEEKY end
hearty. When the children and the grand
cbiIdren-the eldest child was threescore.
came in from church, they found the oid
80, seated in his armchair directly under