Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-12-24
OLD TOM ALLEN.
a Christmas story.

A Christmas story.
Tom ALLEN was a miserable old miser
Nobody doubted that, for everybody said
so, and what everybody says must be
so; and then everybody called him Old
Allen, instead Of Mr. Allen, or plain
Tom Allen; and who ever heard of old
Smith or Brown or Jones, or old ANY,
body else that was not miserable or
misery, which means the same thing;
and, besides, Old Tom Allen, or Old AL
len as he was called behind his back,
was cross, crusty and ugly to every one.
The children were afraid of him; even
the very dogs and cats disliked him, and
that's enough to condemn any man; and
SO Old Allen was feared and Stunned by
all except those pom' mortals who were
compelled to borrow money now and
then: and hard enough it went with
them, ! trow, when they were forced to
apply to Old Allen for loan, for he,
like most misers was rich, and owned
blocks of houses in the city, and broad
acres IN the country, and Government
stock, and railroad stock, and canal
stock, and all other kinds of stock, and
report said had thousands in gold locked
up in his iron safe.
Yet he never spent a cent when he
could help it; he lived miserably, he
dressed miserably, and was miserable to
his hearts content. But he did not
know it, and all the time tried to think
he was happy, and all the time kept try
ing to make himself happier by making
himself and everybody else more miser-
able; and this was Old Allen.
Now Old Allen had two brothers and
a sister, all poor enough; any one could
see that, but strange to say, they APP
peared to be almost always happy, and
this fact also added to Old Aliens mis-
cry. Not that he ever went to see them
far from it-but he could not help meet
ing them once in a while, and occasion
ally would hear others speak kindly of
them, thing he never did-in truth he
used to say:
Now, there's my brother Ben, he had
to go and marry a milk-faced girl; they
have half a dozen squalling brats, and
now he must work his life out of him to
keep them from starving, so I'll have
nothing to do with him.
g Then there's VIII must needs set him
self up for an artist, and goes round
without his dinner daubing over canvas
with bristles and lamp-black. I'll have
nothing to do with him.
Then there's Mary, worse than all,
married poor printer-has a bumped
back boy-faith, I'll have nothing to do
with them, for sure"
Now this was the way Old Allen talked
as he tucked himself in his miserable
bed, after eating miserable supper off
a miserable plate, which sat on a miser-
able table in his dark, cold, miserable
room; for he was too stingy to have a
candle even, or warm himself by fire
when he could 60 to bed ana keep him
self warm that way.
Out Of doors all things looked, and
were, different for it was Christmas Eve
The streets, and paven.ents, and houses
were covered with new-fallen snow, and,
for the matter of that, it was then snow
ing, and the gas-light from the corner
lamps and the gas-ight from the shop
windows streamed cut over the white
snow, like great clouds of gold and silver
and diamonds, as though they, too, had
just dropped down from the heavens
and the shop windows were full of all
sorts, kinds and descriptions of toys, and
cakes, and candies, and presents fol
everybody, and everybody seemed to be
out getting them.
Big men carrying bigger baskets, with
turkey.legs sticking out from under the
cover, with bundles in their great-coat
pockets, aud bundles in their arms: and
little men with, if anything, larger has.
kets and longer-legged turkeys, and more
bundles; and all sorts of women with all
sorts of bundles; and no end of children
with foretastes of nuts and candies il
their hands and mouths, and great ex
peCtatiOnS in their eyes: and all were
laughing, and talking and Misunderstanding
together, and all were 50 busy and 81
happy; and all this was what had driver
Old Allen so early to his miserable bee
IN his miserable room, and made him s
extra miserable on this particular Christ
mas Eve
After Old Allen had laid in his miser
able bed, in his miserable room. awhile
and had partially warmed his miSerabl,
body. he dropped off to sleep and thel