Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-03-16
A Timely Story.

A little incidence came to our knowi-
edge the other day which, at this time.
may be worth telling. Just after the
holidays, in 1873, physician in one
of the large cities, while making his
daily rounds. gave description to one
of his patients of the almshouse which
he had visited that day, especially
dwelling upon the pitiable sight of so
many children to whom Christmas had
not been. even name, but had passed
in all the dull misery of other days.
The lady to whom he spoke was "a
hopeless invalid unable for years to
leave her bed; she was Strengthened.
too, in means, But hearing the story,
she determih d that the next Christmas
should bring little pleasure to at least
some of these little ones whom society
had thrust out of the pale even at
their birth. She had that inevitable
storehouse in her family, the '.picce-
bag" brought and emptied on her bed,
and began to make rag-babies, knitted
mittens, balls. etc J., etc. the thousand
inexpensive little trihes which requires
only labor and patience to make them
precious to any child. She had a
whole year in which to work: her
courage and zeal grew with every day !;
her friends became interested and
brought in their contributions of vel
vet, cloth, yarn, etc, When she had
provided some little gift for each of
the children, she began to work for the
insane ward, then for the hospital.
Of~course, as nothing is more con-
tagious than charity, the idea spread
among her neighbors. One brought
socks, another comfortable undercloth-
ing, an old lady knitted jacket, her
son collection of pipes, one house
keeper pile of chromos and old prints,
another II cartload of old magazines,
until by Christmas, although the aims
house has as many inhabitants as a
fourishing town, there was not for
whom this woman had not little gift.
When the day came it was observed
as a holiday, the keepers making an
effort to bring the wards into a con-
dition of unusual cleanliness and to
provide dinner better than the ordi-
nary fare. The Christmas presents
were given from the unseen friends,
she lying in the far off little room
which she was never to leave alive
aud with each gift was some message
of Christian kindness which told of
Him who was born on that day and of
His errand here.
All this happened last Christmas,
and was the work of one crippled poor
woman. The birthday of Christ is
coming again, and in every town there
is an almshouse, asylum, or Jail filled
with the miserable, the guilty, the poor
the very class to whom He came
first and in every one of these towns
there are communities of men and
women who profess to follow HIM.
When one woman can do SO much to
give significance to His birth to thous-
ands of these His bretheren, what
may not these communities do? Chris
tians, as rule, do not visit the prisons
or almshouse. What if they made
Christmas Day an exception to their
usual neglect? Let them go, not with
stern rebuke or tedious sermons, but
with some cheerful, tangible, live re-
membranee of their Master, which will
gladden. aud soften the hearts of those
who know God only through the hard
justice OF men.-N. Y. Tribune.