Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-12-28
A CHRISTMAS DINNER.
BY CHARLES DICKENS.


.r. -'uo( - l.". tkTT
BY CHARLES DICKENS.
n.s a Christmas timei That man mustgbe
4 a misant thrope indeed, In whoseEbresst
"a something like jovial feelinglis not
q rousedr lin whose mind some plea SAINT
Il associations are not aWakened --by she
n recurrenee of Christrnass There Iare
people Who wiz tell you that c Christinas
y is not to them lat it used to be; that
each succeeding Christmas has found
some cherished hope or happy pros
pect, Of the year before, dimmed or
passed away; that the present only
a., serves to remind them of reduced cir
cumstances and Strengthened incomes
of the feasts they once bestowed On
'rE- hollow hiends,s and of the cold looks
- that Tneet thenInow,, irra adversity and
a54.. bp-~+ misfortune Newer heed such dism4i
"reminiscences. There are few men who
have lived long enough in the world,
na who can. not, call up such thoughts any
z day in the.year. Then do not selectthe
~ Amerriest Of the three hundred andsixty
MS five for your doleful recollections, biit
'@'a~ = draw Your chair nearer The blazing fire
fill the glass and send round the song
and If your room be smaller than it
was 81 dozen years ago, or if your glass
I 2, be filled with reeking punch, instead
b 81 = with sparkling wine, put good face on
the matter, and empty it off-hand, and
fill another, ana troll off the old ditty
you used to sing, and thank God it's no
worse. Look on the merry faces of
your children Gf you have any as they
sit round the fire One little seat may
be empty; one slight form that glad
E ."' dened the fathers heart, and reused
the mothers pride to look upon, may
not be there. Dwell not upon the past !;
think not that, one short year ago, hel
fair child nowresolving into dust, ssat
hnfora yTnI, +bob r,f
upon its cheek, and the gayety OF in
.a,4a fancy in its joyous eye.7 alRefiset-lpon
-4 %y0ur present Blessing Aof swhit ssveRy
szzsr - man has msny-notaen your past n4fss
fortunes, of which all men have son1e.s
: r,, Fill youf glass, again, with merry face
Z 4 t.and contenteG heart Our life on it, but
'% your Christmas shall Be merry, and your
New Year happy one.
..g-sr { gs Who eanss be insensible to- the out
pourings Of good feeling, and the hon.
est interchange of affectionate attach
ment, which abound at this season of
- the yearP A Christmas family party!
We know nothing in nature more de-
hghtful! There seems a magic in the
very name OF Christmas Petty jeal-
ouses and discords are forgotten; So
'cial feelings are awakened in bosoms to
which they have long been strangers !,
father and son, or brother and sister,
who have met and passed with averted
gaze, or look of cold recognition, forz
nopa; m0asis sSts oaerh oas R aas sstafn the b,
anim0sities in their present happi-
.~y~a rsnessr@ Kindly hearts that have yeafnetl,
~H Stowards eachother, but shave been Hiv4ls
s1- - heldaby fafse nosiens of pride aud Self.
dignity, are again reunited, and all is
Kindness and benevolenee! Would that
Christmas lasted the whole year through
(as it ought), and that the prejudices
s,,.G -nsau5 ,ah l1fo
nature, were never called into action
a." among those to whom they should ever
{ Z. be strangers! p 81! - 81" =. o.
The Christmas family party that we
fT mean is not mere assemblage of rela-
..-. tions, got up at a week or two's notice,
- originating this year, having no family
precedent in the last, and not likely to
be repeated in the next. No. 1t is an
annual gathering of all the accessible
members of the family, young or old,
rich or poor; and all the children look
forward to it for two months before-
hand, in a fever of anticipation. For
merly it was held at grandpapa's; but
grandpapa getting old, and grandmam-
ma getting old, too, and rather infrm,
they have given up housekeeping, and
domesricated themselves with Uncle't
George; so the party always takes place
al Uncle Georges house.. but grand
mamr. sends in most of the good things, i
and grandpapaalwaysa aoslz foddle doWn,1
all the way to Newgate Market, to buy
the turkey, which he engages porter
to bring home behind him in triumph, |
always insisting on the mans being re-
wyarded with a glass of spirits, over and
above bis hire, to drink. "a merry
Christmas and q happy New Year - to
Aunt George. AS to grandmamma, she
is very secret and mysterious for two or
three days beforehand, but not suffi
ciently SO to prevent rumors getting
afoat that she purchased a beautiful
new cap, with pink ribbons, for each of
the servants, together with sundry
books, and pen knives, and pencil
cases, for the younger branches; to
say nothing of divers secret additions to
the order originally given by Aunt
George at the pastry cooks, such as an
other dozen of mince-pies for the din
ner, and large plum-cake for the chill
dren.
On Christmas Eve, grandmamma is