Huntsville gazette., 1881-12-17
Christmas Gifts.

christmas Gifts.
There is one period of the year at
which no man is as rich as he would like
to be. Under the pressure of the de-
mand for Christmas gifts the purse of
fortunatus would run dry, and the fabu-
louS wealth of Cr@sus was preserved in
tact mainly because in his day the Gus
tom OF Christmas presents was
unknown. For it is the rule of the sea-
son that the gifts which each one de-
siresto make are always the gifts which
are beyond his means. The schoolboy
who by heSoie efforts has saved up q
dollar out Of the scant allowance with
which to surprise the parental heart, al
ways finds that the present he had his
eye on costs 50. Enamored adolescence,
seeking some suitable testimonial for
the queen of his affections, may strain
his pecuniary resources as he will, the
gift that tempts his desire is always the
one that lies just beyond his purse. As
for paterfamilias, on whom falls finally
the burden of that buying which now
fills the street with dainty footsteps and
lines the counters of retail stores with
rosy faces, it is a well known law of
providential compensation that the large
families always come with small for
tunes and that the most generous heart
always goes with the hghtest purse.
The condition of paterfamilias pocket
book on the day of the Christmas is
something over which the angels weep.
The philosophers of society have not
yet invented any guage or instrument
by which we measure human happiness
as we measure the temperature of the
air, or the courses of the wind. 1t has
been assumed that matrimony and pros
perity go hand in hand, and that in any
nation the greater the number Of mar
riages the greater the volume of
happiness indicated thereby. There
is much plausibility in this view,
but the records of the divorce
courts show that there is considerable
discount to be made from that estimate
of happiness which is based on the list
of marriages. But the gifts which are
given at Christmas, unlike marriage
promises, are never taken back. and as
they represent the expression of genu-
inc and unalloyed happiness, it might
be safe to estimate the comparative fe-
licity of the human race by the extent of
its Christmas giving. If this is the true
theory, then are we this year happy
nation, for never in the annals of COM
merce has the world gone 50 enthusias-
tically and unrestrainedly into the busi-
Lonely inueeu must De Une IuU luu
pitiable the condition of the man who
sees the Christmas season come without
a call on him for a present. The isola-
lation of St. Simeon Stylites on his pill
lar or of hermit in the desert is not
more complete than that loneliness
which at q time of universal rejoicing
secludes the solitary or the misanthrope
from that most blessed companionship,
the companionship of kindness. 1t is
not in the richness of the gifts that the
blessing consists, for it is the general
experience that often the ''most love
with the least gift goes" and in thou
sands of households and in hundreds OF
thousands Of hearts the deepest feelings
are those called forth by some unpre-
tending token. But amid the universal
rejoicing to have no one whose fond
ness may claim a recognition, to know
no tie that may be strengthened by the
reminders of the season, is to be lonely
indeed among the crowd and to be un-
blessed amid a general benediction.
The custom of giving presents is evil
IDENTIFY on the rapid increase in this
country, and so far as it represents
natural expression of kindly feeling 1t
can hardly gain too wide an acceptance
But there is one species OF Christmas
gift which is equally odious to gods and
to men, and that is the testimonial OF
esteem' which is apt to be given about
this time of the year by subordinates to
their, superiors. The public service
suffers most from this nuisance, and the
public sense of propriety is offended on
reading of an official receiving a costly
present from deputies who owe their
position to his favor. In workshops and
private establishments workmen who
want to stand well with their employer
are prone to fall into the sin of getting
up a testimonial and requesting that
report of the presentation be pupilsned
in the papers. Such gifts are not gifts
at all, and should be confiscated IN the
interest of public morals. They are
kind of tax, and the worst kind OF tax
a forced contribution on those who are
neither able nor willing to bear it, and
they resemble the gifts which under
despotic governments are rendered to
kings and judges, and others whose fa-
vor is worth purchasing. The rule OF
Christmas present, OF of any other gilt,
should be that it be freely given, and
that it should come from the one best
able to give it. Both of these conditions
are violated by the testimonial nuisance,
which we would gladly see abated; but
with that reservation one may safely
wish increase and favor to the custom
of Christmas gifts.-St. Lou6s Gto6e-
Democrat.
THO e,,,o1Ioot MON aftondino the At