The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-12-25
A CHRISTMAS lsLEIeH-RIDE.

[Afr. Frank r, Stockton was out late one
Christmas Eve when he fell in with an old
gentleman who invited him into his sleigh.
What then happened he tells in Scribner for
January t.t-
The old gentleman pulled bag from
behind the seat, and taking it on his
lap proceeded to show me some Of the
contents. r.
"They seem to be old-fashioned toys, :"
I remarked.
eyes" he said with a sigh, these
new-fahgled affairs are of no service to
me. You couldn't get q paddle-wheel
steamer, with a real engine, intosa com
mon stocking. You'd ruin the vessel
or the stocking. And there's scarcely
girl in the land who wears a stocking
large enough to hold dolls trunk,
furnished with silk dresses, bonnets,
and all the necessary underclothes.
No, I have to cOnfne myself to such
things as bear q proper proportion to
the feet and legs of children. There
is one thing, said he, turning upon me
I his still Jolly old cOuntenance, So that has
had more inhunce than anything else
in causing the general Indifference with
which 1 am now regarded"
IL "And what's that J" asked.
"Furnace heat" he said. "What
sensible person, old or young, could
expect fellow with bag On his back,
! to come down a hue and through an
/ iron register !? 1t would be absurd to
/ try to make even a child believe that
anything of the sort is possible"
/ And then he put away his bag and
TOOK the lines again, with look of res
/ ignation.
cts all wrong, said [, 'aII wong
/ The old way was the best.
/ ' No doubt of it." said ne, g but what
can you expect? Everything old is
changing, changing, changing.
How about old furniture ?" ] asked.
&c That seems popular enough"
"That's changing, too, p" lac. answered.
"Ooming down cat of the. garrett into
the psrlor. As to people, in general,
scarcely know what to make of them.
There Will soon be no such thing as
Christmas. = Hereabouts it's losing
ground every year, ana New Years day
B is taking its place. The jolly old Christ
mas festivities are almost forgotten, and
the young men are satisfied to trOt
around on New Years day and nibble
cake and drink wine at q hundred diff
ferent places. while the women sit and
smile at a hundred different nnen-sOme
friends and some strangers-till the
( days done. What's all that to the grand
old times we used to have ? But, as
said before, what can yOu expect There
are men now, who go SO lar as to assert
that matter contains within itself the
promise and potency Of every form o.
n life Would ynu expect the children
of such persons to hang up their stock
! ings?"
I. No, I said. ST don't think ]
would" q "a ~s7f ~
"Of course not said he, with con.
siderable asperity for so jovial an old
fellow; g it would be entirely out o.
keeping. Go long, therei Get up,
Vixen Why, I tell you, sir, there are
not half-e-dozen houses IN that town
behind US that I could get into. If you
do manage to squeeze down a chimney,
you're pretty sure to land in kitchen
fire, or in a CELLAR furnace 1 hate
I furnaces ! They're the invention of the
devil, sir, and pure air and pure Christ
ianity are dying out with the open FIRE
;, places. Gro long, You BliZen 1 expect
= he next thing will be that the children
! WI leave off their stockings altogether.
saw that he was getting excited, AND
I did not wish 10 say anything thai
4 would further irritate hin, so 1 simply
u AOA4aA EACA OAAtss A4C eO0A4S-t W ~ Nl@1'---6
faster. ....FE
eyes, said he, whipping his rein
deer into a smart gallOp, " I'm going K
fine old farmhouse that stands dow
\ wonder in the valley. There the PEG
4 pie know how TO live. There are great
4 open fre-places with grand old wood
fires IN them-shIning brass andirons,
big back-logs, and a merry cracking
/ blaze. Hi there, Vixen! There the
t7children have been playing Wild rollick
ing games 81 thus evening and there
! they have hung their stockings by the
big fireplace IN the kitchen Go long
, there, hi ! hi %
The old man was now IN glow Of
delight. He cracked his whip end
shouted &c his reindeer. The gallant
Z creatures seemed to catch his eLthusi,
asm, and they dashed over the snow al
the top Of their speed.
y Isn't this-rather-Tapid p said l.
as | clung fast to one side OF the sleigh.
Oh, yes - he shouted, - this is the
right sort of driving. This is the way
people go when they want To get there.
Hat Hi Alvey with You, yau rasoals.
There's the house, right before Us e
Are yOu going t. drive-on top ?
said j, almost breathless ffom the ra-
pidIhg Of the ride.
Certainly" he cried. +" Bat you
needn't be afraid. / just take that shed
first, then up TO the root Of ths kitchen,