The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-12-29
Written for the Journal
Mrs. jones' SOciable Christmas
Parry. ErEzs
BY THOMAS McAvoY.

The season of Christmas Is pre-
eminently;festive, and that heart must
be superlatively sodden the pulses of
which are not accelerated whenever it
returns. In European countries it is
celebrated in a far greater measure,
and with stronger outward demOnstra-
tiOhs of ioyousness, than In the United
States. Throughout England, partic
ularIy, the Christmas carol Is heard
| resounding on the streets, as 1t Is sung
by the unspoiied voices of uns0phis-
| ticated childhood, whose jubilee it is,
and who, In verse, identify themselves
with Him who, assuming mans ma
ture, chose to be born In a stable
| ut Bethlehem; and they describe
with enthusiasm His glorious
- La..-.c-~-I mission Of mans
redemption. The poetry may not
exceed mediocrity, yet its simple
4 pathos and unpublished metre answer
the purpose for which it was design
ed. The Juvenile Imagination is i'm
pressed with the fact of Christ's adj
vent, and q disposition is awakened
and cultivated to keep the sacred
holy day In affectionate remembrance.
All classes of persons in this coun-
| try are gradually shedding the scales
of that prejudiced puritanism which
saw nothing but Popery in the reli-
| gious observance of Christmas and
its o-relative, Good Friday, the sea-
| son of smiles and the season of
/ tears; and they are fast assimilating
themselves in holy day keeping to
their European progenitors. Hence
| the Sunday School exhibits its
crowds of youthful, joyous faces
as they meet t6 exchange
congratulations; and Santa Claus,
that child loving elf, regularly brings
to his pets their wished-for presents,
and their little hearts are gla1dened
to find on that eventful and delight
full morning their tiny stockings
bursting with Christmas benevo-
lenees. Then. only. think of the
smoking good cheer - the turkey,
goose, plum pudding, mince-pie -
| partaken In society knit together by
the ties of kindred or friendship
Yes, it is a beatitude to man that he
has the anniversary of his Saviour's
birth to commemorate, and heavy and
sad indeed must be the heart to
which Christmas contributes no ex-
hilarati0n.
Christmas night is embraced as the
appropriate occasion of merry max
ings, and although the holly bush
and the mistletoe are never seen at
our social gatherings, yet there is no
lack of innocent fun and happy heart
ed rejoicing. The time of year, too,
when the festival occurs, is propitious
for Christmas festivities. Our woods
are bare; the birds are gone; the
flowers have hid their blushing beau
ty. Winter holds all nature in its icy
letters, and the hyperborean blasts
render the blazing Christmas log an
indispensable requisite. 1t is CHRIST
mas merry making that | intend to
describe - not such a one as the
season consecrates, but such as de-
PRAYED education prefers to enjoyment
more elevating and more refining.
In certain town not a thousand
miles from Evansville, live an cid erly
lady and her daughter. The house
she resides in is situated in an obscure
locality. and Of the commonest char
acter. But, poor as the tenament is,
she is able to rent only the lower
apartments, the upper being let to
| colored family. Mrs. Jones, the lady
in question, is perhaps sixty years of
age, and. In word, appears filter for
the prayer and penitence necessary to
prepare her for death than to engage
in needless social merriment. The
daughter is perhaps thirty in years,
sixty from the ravages of dissipation;
and is, in appearance, a perfect fright
Mrs. Jones has son, sad reprobate,
who has a wife, and the family alto
gether form a shocking curiosity
The Sociable Christmas Party was
given by Mrs. Jones, and among the
invited guests were her son and his
wife. The amusements which she
provided for her guests consisted of
corn whisky and the skreaking strains
of fiddle, to which it was designed
the persons composing the "Soci-
able" should exercise their terpsi.
corean instincts. The furniture of
the apartment in which the :" hoe
down" was held was of the barest
and most forbldding description; but
the picture exhibited no incongruity
by any splendor in the costumes. CON
dition or manners of the assembled
company.
The party collected early, the fiddler
was at his station betimes, and the