Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-12-27

that might be dangerous.
All this delighted the little boys.
They could not understand what was
going on. Perhaps they suspected q
Christmas-tree, but they did not know
why Christmas-tree should have SO
many chips, and were still more aston
ished at the hump that appeared in
Elizabeth Eliza's room. 1t must be a
Christmas present, or else the tree in 8
box.
Some aunts and uncles, too, arrived q
day or two before Christmas, with some
small cousins. These cousins occupied
the attention of the little boys, and
there was a great deal of whispering
and mystery, behind doors, and under
the stairs. and in the corners of the
entry.
Solomon John was busy, privately
making some candles for the tree. He
had been collecting some bayberries, as
he UNDERWOOD they made very nice
candles, SO that it would not be neces-
sary to buy any. ~ -
The elders of the family never all
went into the back parlor together, and
all tried not to see what WAS going on.
Mrs. Peterkin would go in with Solomon
John, or Mr.. Peterkin with Elizabeth
Eliza, or Elizabeth Eliza and Agamem-
non and Solomon John. The little boys
and the small cousins were never al
lowed even to look inside the room.
Elizabeth Eliza meanwhile went into
town number of-times. She wanted
to consult Amanda as to how much ice
cream they would need, and. whether
they could make it home, as they had
cream and ice. She was pretty busy in
her own room; the furniture had to be
changed, and the carpet altered. The
"hump" was higher than she had ex-
pected. There was danger of humping
her own head whenever she crossed it.
She had to nail some padding on the
ceiling for fear of accident.
The afternoon before Christmas, Eliz-
abeth Eliza, Solomon John, and their
father collected in the back parlor for
q council. The carpenters had done
their work, and the tree stood at it's full
height at the back of the room, the top
stretching up into the space arranged
for it. All the chips and shavings were
cleared away, and it stood on neat
box.
But what were they to put upon the
tree?
Solomon John bad brought in his
supply of candles, but they proved to
be very "stringy" and very few Of
them. It was strange how many bay
berries it took to make a few candles /!
The little boys had helped him; and he
had gathered as much as q bushel of
bayberries. He had put them in water,
and skinned off the wax, according to
the directions, but there WAS so little
wax!
Solomon John had given the boys
some of the bits sawed off from the legs
of the chairs. He had suggested they
should cover them with gilt paper, to
answer for gilt apples, without telling
them what the were for.
These apples, little blunt at the end,
and the candles, were all they had for
the tree.
After all her trips into town, Eliza
beth Eliza had forgotten to bring any
thing for it.
"I thought of candies and sugar
plums," she said, "but concluded if
we made carmels ourselves we should
not need them. But, then, we have
not made carmels. The fact is, that
day my head was full of my carpet. I
had bumped it pretty badly, too"
Mr.. Peterkin wished he had taken,
instead of a fr-tree, an apple-tree he
had seen in October, full of red fruit.
"But the leaves would have fallen
off by this time," said Elizabeth Eliza
"And the apples too" said Solomon
John.
cit is odd I should have forgotten
that day went in on purpose to get the
things" said Elizabeth Eliza, mushingly
But I went from shop to shop,
and didn't know exactly what to get. I
saw great many gilt things for Christ
mas-trees, but I knew the boys were
making the gilt apples; there were
plenty of candles in the shops, but I
knew Solomon John was making the
candles"
Mr.. Peterkin thought it was quite
natural.
Solomon John wondered if it were
too late for them to 60 into town now.
Elizabeth Eliza could not 60 in the
ucAt mOIuluS, IOI GucIe Was w Ue d
grand Christmas dinner, and Mr.. Peter
kin could not be spared, and Solomon
John was sure he and Agamemnon
would not know what to buy. Be.
sides, they would want to try the candles
tonight.
Mr.. Peterkin asked if the presents
everybody had been preparing would
not answer? Elizabeth Eliza knew they
would be too heavy.
A gloom came over the room. There
was only Pickering CLEAN from one of
Solomon Johns candles that he had
lighted by way of trial.
Solomon John again proposed going
into town. He lighted a match to ex-
anime the newspaper about the trains.
There were plenty Of trains coming out
at that hour, but none going in except
a very late one. That would not leave
tine to do anything and come back.
awe could 60 in, Elizabeth Eliza
and l." said Solomon John, "but we
should not have time to buy anything"
Agamemnon was summoned in. Mr..
Peterkin was entertaining the uncleS