The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1876-01-05
Vol. XII.

''anQ had to clear away lnlS moIA1uS
| mother y
"Well! Never mind, so long as
YOU are come" said Mrs. Cratcbit
s:Sit ye down before the fire, my
dear, and have a warm, Lord bless
ye."
mo, no! There's father coming,
cried the two young Cratchits, who
are everywhere at once. s'Hide,
Martha, hide"
SoMarthahid herself,and in came
little Bob, the father, with at least
three feet of comforter, exclusive Of
the hingehanging down before him;
and his threadbare clothes darned
up and brushed to look seasonable
and Tiny Tim upon his shoulder.
Alas for Tiny Tim, he bore a lit
tie crutch, and had his limbs sup
ported by an iron frame.
'Why, where's our Martha 2"
cried Bob Cratchit, looking around.
sNot coming?" said Mrs. Cratch'
it.
"Not coming" said Bob, with
a sudden declension in his spirits
for he had been Tins horse all the
way from church, and had come
home rampant. ':Not coming upon
Christmas day."
Martha did not like to see him
disappointed, if it were only in
a joke; so she came out prematurely
from behind the closet door, and
ran into his arms, while the two
young Cratchits hustled Tiny Tim
and bore him off into the wash
house, that he might hear the pud-
ding singing in the copper!
::And how did Tim behave?"
asked Mrs. Cratchit, when she had
rallied Bob on his credulity, and
Bob had hugged his daughter to
his hearts content.
"As good as gold" said Bob,
i4ard~ better. Somehow lie goSs
thoughtful sitting by himself so
much, and thinks the strangest
things you ever heard. He told'
coming home, that he hoped the
people saw him in the church, be-
cause he was cripple and it might
be pleasant to them to remember,
upon Christmas day, who made lame
beggars walk and blind men see.
Bob's voice was tremulous when
be told them this, and trembled
more when he said that Tiny Tim
was growing strong and hearty.
His active little crutch was heard
upon the floor, and back came
Tiny Tim before another woSd was
spoken, escorted by his brother
and sister to his stool beside the fire.
Master Peterand the two ubiquitous
young Cratchits went to fetch the
goose, with which they soon returned
in possession.
Such hustle ensued that you
might have thought the goose the
rarest of ali birds; a feathered phe'
nomenon to which black swan was
a matter of course; and, in truth.
it was something very like it in that
house. Mrs. Cratchit made the
gravy (ready beforehand in a little
saucepan) kissing hot; Master Pc
ter mashed the potatoes with IN
credible vigor; Miss Belinda sweet
ened up the apple sauce; Martha
busted the hot plates Bob took
Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny cor
ner at the table; the two young
Cratchits set chairs for everybody
not forgetting themselves, and
mounting guard upon their posts
crammed spoons into their mouths
lest they should shrink the goose
before their turn came to be helped
At last the dishes were set on, anc
grace was said: It was succeeded
by a breathless pause, as Mrs
Cratchit, looking all slowly along
the carving-knife, prepare d t<
plunge it in the breast; but whe1
she did, and when the long expected
gush of stmiing issued forth, on'
murmur of delight arose all around
the board, and even Tiny Tim, ex
cited by the two young Cratchlts
beat on the table with the handle
of his knife, and feebly cried: ''Hur
| rah!"
There never was such a goose
Bob said he didn't believe ther'
ever was such goose cooked
Its tenderness and favor, size ane
cheapness, were the themes Of uni
| 7ersal admiration. Eked out by tn
apple sauce and mashed potatoes
4 l.