The weekly Panola star. [volume] (Panola, Miss.) 1857-1881, 1871-01-28

RHhf - - I'M
"Unole Hcfbeu will 800 ,r1 o.. f,
Chrsimas story Pleas d. The
speaker was onis a iIlIe maul nf IA yrs-s
oil, bat a doEcn 49,. ccho--i ihr o.
quest
II was Christmas and Ne wcre gathered
accoriing to time hunnrvi cBsihm. nanla
blazing hV under my g~rlndhihcrs rsai
We wen a merry rsgty, comprising sumo
fifteen cousins n az agc., with their ~
spcctive parents AMI unmarried unclrs and
aunts Jncic Herbert otherwise Mr. Her
bert MilWAnl, was our uncle by marriage
only. a. the husband ~ our aunt Alice
hut though thus oay i1diUcty related %
US, | think he wsS With The Younger onos
At any nate. the best beloved at all Per
haps because he had M children II his
own, he was always specially sympathetic
in youthful tmdbies and specially lenient
10 yoaihlul misdoinVS However grave
the %oiiense, We wer always SURE ii uncle
Herherts inrrtssipu though he never
failed privately ~ mlHl0nish the Offender
very gently but 81 gently and seriously
that hts quiet wopls would bring tears IN
eyes too proud 10 weep under the sevcres,
punishment ard tame The most rehcAlious
spirit to Submission and repentance He
could be very merry at tunes bat there
Was a gravity mingled even with his mcr.
riment, As of oue 10 whom the mere sol
emn aspects OF life arr always present. His
devotion to his wife was remarkable, even
TO our youthful eyes. No one could say
that his affection wa dcmons,mlive, AMI
yet no one could be In company of the two
together, even for an hour, without feeling
that Aunt Alice was more precious 10 her
husband than anything else in the world.
Wherever his eyes wandered they always
seemed TO come hack 10 her rs their rest
ing place and however deeply, TO all ap
pearance, he might be- engrosscd in con
vcrSation with others, he was ALWAYS able,
by some magical process Of intuition, "a
divine her wants OF wishes, and silently 10
supply them Her rirs werc the walmcst,
her silks the %soitest notmag was too
costly, no trouble too great that minis.
tered to her pleasure. 1hcp seemed 10 be
no such thing as forgetting, no possibility
Of mistake, wherever she was concerned
If she had lOuGd q four lcaved shamrock,
and had good fairies constantly attending
her, she could hardly have been served bet
ter Nor was Aunt Alice bchiadhand In rc.
turning her husbands devotion lie was
many years older than she, but | fancy the
difference In their ages increased, il any
thing, her pride and pleasure Ia his love.
She never did anything tindccd she Ind no
needl To test or draw attention to his de-
v%otion, but she quietly abandoned herself
10 his tender care. She seldom thanked
him in words, at least in company, but he
was thanked enough by the look of per
feet love and perfect peace which was the
habitual expression Of her gentle gray
eyes.
On the present occasion Uncle Herbert
was seated in a high. backed oaken chair,
with Aunt Alice on a iuo!stool beside him,
and the rest of the party grouped around
In a eemicircle before the blazing fire.
The candles were not yet lighted, but the
dancing fame shed a ruddy light through
out the room, ihmwing into bold relief The
carved work ol the oaken furniture, and
Frightening With a genial glow the red
berries and dark green leaves Of the Christ.
mas evergreen, II was just the moment
for a fire Idle story aud rs Uncle Herbert
was known to be learned in legends and
German fairy tales, which he was won't To
narrate with much quiet humor, our little
cousins request met with general approval.
Uncle Herbert did not Immediately reply,
but sat apparently rejecting; and the flick
ering fire light, playing over his face,
showed Us that he was Ia u serious mood.
Aunt Al &C glanced up at him inQuiringly j;
aud thought u myself that | had never
seen her bright young face (for she was
many years younger than the rest OF our
aunis and uncles) look more perfectly
beautiful than il did that night; and /
caught myself wondering, half uncon-
scionsly, how il had come 10 pass that she
should have married one so much older.
aad to all appearance 50 unlike herself, as
sober, gray headed Uucle Herbert.
"Well, my dears," said Uncle Herbert
al last, II will tell you a story, a true
story. don't think 1t is quite what you
mean by a Christmas story but the events
about which | am going to tell you hap
ptned at Christmas-time, on this very
night, indeed, twenty seven years ago"
We all settled down 10 listen, and after
q minutes pause he went o n
ut was Christmas eve, or rather Christ.
mas day, for twelve o'clock had struck,
and the few people left in the streets were
getting fewer and fewer, till it seemed
as though the policemen and the waits
would shortly have London to themselves,
II was a bitter cold night, and snow was
beginning + fall. Most of the houses
were dark and silent, though here and
there lighted windows and stray sounds of
music and of happy voices showed where
a household was seeing Christmas in, and
giving a merry welcome to the happy sea.
SON.. Out of a brilliantly lighted house in
one of the West End streets there came q
young man who looked as though he felt
but little share Of the general rejoicing.
He was barely twenty years of age; but
though so young, his cheeks were flushed
and his gait unsteady with wine, and hi:
face was contracted with look Of hopeless,
despair, And little wonder The house
which he had just left was a noted gaming
house. He had been tempted by bad com
panions and had gambled and lost-los
far more heavily than he could afford. Ont
sin brings on another. In the vain hop
of recovering his losses-with the insane
persuasion, common 10 all gamblers, tina
he must win In the end If he could bu
play q little longer--he had taken withou
leave q large sum OF his employers money
had staked II, and lost. And then, all a
once, . horrible reInorse, a mad despair
seized upon him. Now that ii was toe