Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-12-26
THINGS GENERALLY,
By MAX ADKIER.
[ From The Danbt,rn Ne,cr.l

From the Ddnbtrrg Netgs.l
Peter Lamb, Of our village. Is not going to
have Santa Claus for his children this Christ
mas. Last Christmas he undertook to represent
TIE character himself, and after dressing him.
self in fur cap and buffalo robe, and loading
himself with toys, he went up to the Roof Of the
house, and climbed into the chimney, to which
he had fixed q rope which hung down the fiue.
BY some means he managed to get into ths
wreng fue. and instead of coming down into the
room where his wife and children were waiting
tor him, he tEmbled clear 70 the kitchen and
rolled out on the floor with yell. The hired
girl was sitting there cOmmuning with her
lover-s REQ aired man named McGtnnis.
When Mr.. Lamb arrived she screamed and
tainted, bEt Mr.. McGinnis was not at all &c tred;
and g. he supposed that the intruder was
burglar, he attacked Mt. lamb with the poker,
eEptted the coal scuttie on him, kicked him
through the door and then handed him over to
a passing policeman, wRO took him to tue sta
ton, where he wOdld have been locked up all
night II the magistrate hadn't recognized him,
When he got home his wife and children ere
sure he had been s1ifccate1 in the iue, snt Mrs,
Lamb was in awful distress because she didnt
know whether she ought to have the side of the
house taken out that night, or to go out to huot
up morning Innet % wear II church next
day. The energetic McGiunis had gone home
20 gladden. his family with Mr.. l. aU b's bundle
OF toys, and the servant girl haI given notice
tha. she would leave at daylight. So this year
Mr.. Lamb has tod his little ones that the fiction
about santa Claus is a wicked AM degrading
superstition, and he is going to hang taeir
presents on a tree.
in recent volume by samuel w. Fran
els or New York, I tni tbs somewhat startling
staten mt that "a rooster crows in 2. time" 1
have never observed this. Wasn COJieg's rO04-
tsr-th4t wOufsri rooster vita tia fJI-horQ
voice and prst5rnatITal propensity for Gro ~
Jog eight times IN a mincts-Vsei to distarb me
early in the mDrujng, IL n5vsr occurred 10 IN u
TO neat tune wh,ie hs shTieksi, Twas not All
m @ted so mach by desire - s>CertTu hi :
rhythm as by longing TO mItiilts him Win \
bOOti9ck. But do not dOuot the statement of
De. Francis. IL may b , true. Ii it IL, | wau5tp
attention ~ a z ina ia
waltz time, the Am 4ricl1 rooster wOuii seen
t. have SOM kind OF a mysterious sym pathy for
that fOrIa Of dance. What the nature OF the
relationship Is do not pretend I'd say. never
saw rooster waltz; L never heard OF enc that
could waltz and L am rather inclined to believe
that that peculiar and dizzy whirI has never
been attempted By any sober min led and re-
spectacle chicken. think il is dOuDttui, also,
If any rooster ever wrote a waltz II one ever
did, he must have published 1t anOnymDualy.
And "a for a rooster Growing 4 waltz, and FUN
i-hiDg dance-music for an evening party, that
seems to me- 70 he unlikely, partly because an
ordinary bird does not crow in sufficiently
continuous strain, and because any one of them
Is apt TO be poor in getting up variations ana In
modulatiBG into minor keys. | would like ID
have talk with Mr.. Francis upon the subject.
Did eEer tell you about Hutnagles ele-
plant? year or two ago, Hufnagle's circus
and men sgerie winterel near New Hope, "A viii
lage about twenty miles from Pnilaielphis.
The elephant was placed I'm the stable of the
Rising Sun tavern, and he seemed To be quito
comfortable, although he Quilted the build ug
before Nc AL Oe6n IN IL q week, ana refused 10
allow a horse 70 enter it. SO, when the spring
came, the landlord was glad to think that II At
Dagle would soon take his eleph ant out AMI q1it
the neighhOrhood. When the day of departure
came, the entire caravan was put upon the
road, except the elephant, and he refused to
bulge. Tie Establishments OF Hufnage, the
wild and frantic oaths OF the landlord, and con-
tinual prOdding with the persu lslve ptchfOr6
were in vain; the elephant had made up his
mind TO stay. The landlord was pretty nearly
crazy, and some Of bis friends though he would
SUlri64 WI nj " a hat
he ought 10 buy that elephant and keep IL
around the place as kind OF a pet for the chill
dren. Hufnagle said it would amuse the little
folks. and perhaps the landlord might sell it at
a bargain to some circus man who was short OF
elephants. The landlord said he would emf
CRATE TO Australia if thst elephant was not ont
OF the state in tTenty-fOur hours. He wouldn't
take hin Is gift, If he hal his trunk packet
full or diamonds, and his tusks were
male Of gold. Then Hafnagle CON
Guided TO try strategy with the beast.
lie had cattle car run Alongside the platform
at the railway station. and then he bought about
fifteen bushels of gingerbread and apples. These
be laid along in path from the stable to the
station; then he placed more on the gang-Dlank
and on the platform, and then he lined the Car
com pie tely with the cake and fruit. When the
attic nt.on OF the elephant was directed to me
delcacies, he trOtted ont OF the stable and pro-
ceeCed to follow the gingerbread route, con-
Stunning il a. he went. lie ate his way to the
station, be slowly asc5ude! the platform, he ap-
preached the car, and then placing his fore feet
in the car, his hiud feet remaining upOu the
platform, he reached around with his tTunk ana
ate every gingerbread and apple in the car.
When the car was stripped clean, the elephant
backed out upon the platform, and to the dis
may OF HurE3gle made q b5s-iiEs for homo.
The land ora had invited a dozen OF his friends
10 come into the bar-rOOm and take something
to celebrate his GeliVeraHce from that aGsnrsel
beast; and iGst as the glasses were replaced upon
the counter crash was heard in the direction
OF the stable. The party rushed out. The eie-
pnaDt had smashed the stable GOO1, anu there
he was, il the old place, making Wy with a
couple of tens of hay. That uiga- he was poi
sJned, and there are people whO trace A c0u8Cc-
ton between the fast aud tie cigcIms taHcs that
he landlord vas seen the sam. evening rJl.ius
a barrel OF rychuine ~ IA adjac5nt n!li. And
the primo pa! merit OF this story is that 1t is ex-
acty Irue.
1t may perhaps be interesting to the frien ds
Of Mr.. Keyser &c learn that his family will be
compelled 10 buy all their saus9ges and mince-
meat this winter. Mrs. Keyser made sausage
and mince-meat on the same day, and by some
mistake her hired girl put the cider and the
sugar into the sauSages and the sweet mari oram
and pepper into the mince- meat. COnseQ uently
they had one meal OF sweet and succulent sau-
sages and q single dessert of hot and herby
mince pies; sfter which Mr.. Keyser magnani-
mOusly gave the whole stock OF pie stun and
sausages TO the poor. There are probably more
sick and demoralized paupers around New Gas
tie than in any other ighbor hood in the
known world, and keyser Is no longer bothered
with beggsrs.