Morning journal and courier., 1882-11-20
Chrastma an En Central Africa.

From the Drawer of Harper'a for December.l
 Christmas is delightful season in Christian lands, especially when the balance of presents and dinners Is in ones favor, and the tin horn crop among the children has been a failure Very different is Christmas in heathen lands, where the of the stocking are unknown, and Christmas trees are hung with unfortu nate travellers and unappreciated missionaries instead of glittering and showy presents Think of Christmaehin the region of the north pole, where the night lasts for six months, that even the ablest of the Esquimaux can not distinguish Christmas eve from Thanks giving night, nor Christmas morning from Washington's birthday or Decorationday Even more depressing is Christmas in Central Africa ,as a distinguished English traveller once discovered to his mingled sorrow and danger.
 The traveller was a good and noble man. He was engaged in discovering fresh lakes, new kinds of cannibals and original sources of the Nile in the heart of Africa, and his only desire was to do good to the human race | and to prove that the maps made by other travellers were all wrong He had been three years in tho Dark Continent, and, having suffered necessarily from fever starvation the rude embraces of lions and elephants, the bites of deadly serpents, and the cruelties of native kings, was nearly worn out. He ar | rived late one afternoon on the shore of 8 mighty lake which no other white man had ever seen, and which was at least 800 miles distance from any of the various localities in which European map makers had previously ! placed it. He lay down under the shadow I of the trees, faint with all the various things ! that predispose man to be faint in Central | Africa, but exul ing in the thought that he l would compel the map makers to place Lake 1 Mjambwe where he wanted it, and not where | they selfishly imagined that 1t would present 1 the most picturesque appearance. Suddenly ! he remembered that it was the 24th of De ! cember, and that Christmas eve would natu- ! rally arrive in the of tho next two l hours The thought saddened him. He ] glanced at his bare feet-for his supply of
 stockings had long since given out,-and he 1 thought of the happy homes in England, | where the children were preparing to hang l up their mothers largest stockings. while he must spend the blessed Christmas season | among savage heather and untraiued animals He felt at that moment that he would give his new lake for an hour in his English home l and he covered his face with his hands and ! sobbed himself asleep.
 When he awoke it was broad daylight. The l woods were vocal with parrots who incessant ! ly remarked, "Polly wants cracker, " ant
 ostriches and other tropical birds, each sing ing st the top of it's voice. On the bosom O.
 the lake fioated immense native canoes bear
 ing parties of exeursionists, the music O ! whose accordions and banios came over tn,
 water to the wearied traveller. He was hun
 gry and felt in his pockets for his quinin
 pills, but they were all gone. He tried t'
 rise to his feet, but he was too weak ant
 rheumatic to rise without help, so he sunl
 back, murmuring, "Tis lard, lard indeed t.
 die on Christmas among the heathen.'
 The sound of womens voices reused him
 Three native women, clad only with tn
 tsetse and pombo worn by their sex in tha
 part of Africa, emerged from the forest on thei
 way to draw water from the lake They sa'
 the traveller, and one of them, moved wit
 compassion sang, in low, mournful tone l t'The poor white trash done come to Africa
 He hasn't no mother for to fry hominy fo
 him, nor no wife to send to the store with
 ,ug." Enfeebled as he was the traveller kne- ! that this was wrong for he had red MunQ