The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1872-12-26
LOVE 1'lareOUGm FIRE.
'rhe .nrisinse>' Christmas Part,

The Parkinses had a party last Christ
mas eve.
1t was not children's party, for in
the first place there were no children in
the family, and even if there had been,
it is quite probable that instead of hay
ing a Christmas tree Of their own, they
would have gone 10 the little festival OF
the Sunday school to which they-allow-
ing them 10 have been in existence
would have naturally belonged.
1t was not a German" The Parkin-
ses, although very respectable, and in
deed very nice people-Parkins is at the
head of the old and well-known retail
carpet warehouse Of Benjamin +. Per-
Rins Il Co., and has nimbly turned his
> honest penny in his day-they can hard
" be called fashionable, and | doubt
very much whether the young ladies
knew the German If they had known
H. am not at all sure that Mr.. and Mrs.
Iarkins would have approved Of it
They certainly would not have furnish
ell the champagne, because Parkins is
tcettotaler.
The Parkinses' party was a-but per-
haps the better way,,wilI be to describe it.
The idea originated with Miss Fanny
Parkins.
And here l should like to draw pic
ture Of Miss Fanny. Prudence forbids.
| remember that the sun, the photo
grapher's journeyman, has never sue
ceeded. He has got the dimples and the
ascending curve of the nose tip, but the
expression IS not in the least like hers
Imagine, if you please, Miss Fanny.
As l have suggested, Miss Fanny was
delighted yith the theatricals, and would
have been very glad to have turned her
own home for a season into temple of
IhespIs. But this was not to be thought
Of. Parlins, pere and mere-I beg the
readers pardon; Anglo-Saxon is much
better-her father and mother we. e old
fashioned people and were never seen at
the playhouse. And besides, Pamela
would never countenance it. So Miss
Fanny, after Il good deal of thought
which she broke off many times to
cr0tchet little romances and hang them
up in a secluded corner OF her brain, de-
termined on a compromise. They would
have tableauXi
And this leads me to remark that the
reader has not yet had the pleasure OF
an introduction to Miss Parkins, to
whom | have alluded above as Pamela
Miss Parkins had arrived, an uncertain
number of years before, at the age of
discretion, and was indeed pre-eminent
for that quality. She had come TO rule
the house i'll all matters OF moment, and
her words Of wisdom were looked upon
as reVerently as We're the utterances of
the Deiphian oracle, and, unlike them
had besides the merit of being ineligible
and to the point. | hasten to record nv
opinion thar Miss Parkins was a girl
should say woman mean a young
lady OF remarkably sound common sense,
and | may add that on beholding her
one Involuntary looked at her hands for
mits and was rather surprisedto find that
she did not wear them.
Miss Fanny Parkns preached the sub-
ject to Miss Emily Parkins, who was in
years between the two sisters, and had an
acquiline nose and, if | may so express
myself, a slightly aequiline temperament.
Miss Emily was on the instant greatly
taken with the idea. Then the two sis
ters laid siege to the sensible Pamela.
and advancing by regular approaches,
carried one position after another until
= she surrendered at discretion. And then
Mrs. Parkins was consulted, and having
3NNiANt tAAett tiiiCla ttstAA DCCl induced TO
ook favorably on the plan, she also con-
sented as matter of course But all
this was work of some time, and so if
came TO be December
One evening early in that month Mr..
Parklns having swallowed his tea and
toast with that haste becoming a man
who knows that time is money, had set
tied himself in his easy chair, with his
legs on another chair and his Evening
Bowhard before him.
MIR. Parkinsi" said Mrs. Parkins.
who, by-the-by, WIS rather stout lady
IN good health, and a cap with gay rib
bOns.
Mr.. Parkins put his finger on the par
agraph he was just then perusing, and
looked up.
''The girls want to give party Christ
mas eve. What do you think of it,"
"A Party, humph | should think
they'd better. And Mr. Parkins, who
really meant it to be understood that he
emphatlcaliy thought they had better
no., took his finger OFT his paragraph and
began 1t over again. But he was really
startled and found his attention altogetf-
er distracted. The idea was novel in
that family.
L should like to know what put that
into their heads, he said shortly after.
why, Fanny thought, >
'Humph, [ thought it was Fanny"
said Mr.. Perkins Then Fanny depre-
catingiy explained that Emily was quite
rs anxious as she was to have the party.
and Pamela, when her opinion was ask
ed, said calmly that she thought it was
on the whole good plan, because the
girls saw very little society, and the
whole family needed such a thing once
in awhile to freshen up their ideas bit.
As for the expense, it would consist
mainly of the pay of three musicians;
the supper would be chiefly of home pro-
duction. And Mr.. Parkins finding Pa
meIa against him, presently veered
around like a ponderous old weather
cock, and consented. Then it appeared
thai tableaux wants were to be includ-
ed N the festivity, and Mr. Parkins again
derlurred; but we need hardly say that
no nan can successfully contend against
fou women. When he finally gave up
fur her resistance and returned to hia.