The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1868-01-25

phe marsh woman at whose house herr motheT;
had died, had sent 1.-The little orphan out with;
these Christmas greens, to sell; the child had
lost hbn way, apd indeed, was afraid to go bacS
with the branches in her poor little hands, and
so had wandered on until she had fallen pow
erle4s p with cold, hunger, and fatigue, where
had found herr and where she would soon layot!
been beyond all consciousness of cold or wdarii..
ness otii 80 2aitiirnt , alt .ea-? s,rV U%
",And we will take care of her now, mother,gy
said, the children. HThc. fat, or said 20 !; he
told. us that the good Christ-ohild sent her, and
we are so glad she came" i..a i..,t, .3sS
"It is Christmas Eye, you know, mother,pYi
said the father, in Al low tone full Of feeling, as:
he met his wife's grateful eyes, which said as
pfaihly as words could have, said, how muGllll
her 'motherly heart had ycarned over tho little
waRdeerqerF, and how much she had longed for
permission to shelter it in her loving arms, So
that winter blasts should never again drive, tbeS
cold snow over the tiny, frozen form = 'N' 'Ts
'Hcre comes sister Meta Now, for the
Christmas tree, ut last! = 3.'t - s:
1 had seen many bright Christmas trec be..'
fore, and can look back On many morryi
Christmas Eve, but the scene that night whonit
the wide door was thrown back, was ccrtainlyl
the. most beautiful ever bchcld; of course
there was Something in the novelty and interest
of the occasion, and the unsuspectcd change
from my loneliness; but apart from that it was
Ia lovely sight In the middle of the wide
| room, with its high carved ceiling, stood the
Christmas tree, all silver blaze with hundreds
|'of tiny cindles, which shed n soft light On the
pure white dress, and sweet, fair f;celof sister.
Meta, who, with a beautiful silver wand, stood,
ready to discngagc the gifts from the magical
| tree. But what made the effect so strange and
beautiful was the figure of an angel, with whto
wings 'out'sprcad, aud garments rejecting the
silver brightness of the myriad tiny tarers !;
who lowered softly over the tree, and really,
looked as if he were indeed a visitant from the
bright angelic throng. ,4 n .7 u !,
While VIC gazcd in silencc for moment t,.ia
sisters soft voice raised tho notes of :. Christ
mas hymn. and the chill. voices took ,un
the ch9rusaia Z. a,ust of joyous, ,uel,.dyrwhisS
| sounG!-I like - waited melody from the angel
choir. iJas
The hymn soou died away, and after mo
mcnt's silence the mcrrimcnt began. The tree
yielded marvellous fruits toys, skates, books,
and tr:nkcts all imaginable gifts which could
crafty the taste Of German or American boys
and girls. Some Of the articles had slip Of
paper attached, with soue, appropriate words
!'With mothers love to her obcdicnt boy :"
''To the son who has learned to conquer idle
ness; "For the little hands that love to help
mother" apd on one '.Thc Christ-chill sends
thee this from the poor old woman. who had u
strong arm to lean on over the slippery stones "
| Even the strange guest was not forgotten
Several little tokens which Ncttics kind hand,
obcdicnt to her mothers thoughtful whisper,
have hung an'ids.. :hc :!c branches, found their
way to me, and arc still treasured up in memo
ry Of that Christmas night. Each child, too,
laid away from the store of treasures something
for the little snow-chid up stairs, and the pile
of gifts, thus laid aside, contain many Of
the most valued possessions of each generous
young heart. The fairy tapcrs at length be-
gan to burn low, and, at signal from the
ththcr, silence again succeeded the sound of
merry voices; then again, the sweet carroll
was waited up on the silver lighted air, and the
brooding angel seemed to me to join in the
heavenly melody.
Often as we stood around the tree, I had no
ticed the face Of Madame Lester, and won
dered that could have called it harsh Sad
it certainly was, but as one little hand after
another slipped within hers tho Christmas
| token, the hard lines softcncd about the CON-
pressed lips, the rigid features quivcrcd, and at
last Aunt Kutssfiae's face fairly softcned and
as she quietly brushed aside tear after tear. n
smile almost as gentle and loving as the moth
or = tremblcd on the carcworn lips.
AS We returned to the parlor after the hymn
had ceased, hor hand was laid on Kerr Kauc
mans arm, and with voice trembling with
emotion and long untouched feeling she said
"Givo ME that child, brother. You have
enough; let me take that stray lamb homo it
will pcrchance mako spring-time once more
in this Withered old heart. Your children
have taught mo tonight that it is not all dead"
iT ~ ~, IL, c,Al,o. r.