The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1883-12-27
LOTS OF GOODNESS
Left in the Heart of the Human
Animal When We Come TO
Look Carefully.


There Is more brotherly love and uplitt-
ing OF spirit in a good fat turkey than in all
the Christmas stories that ever were penned,"
said the gruf old gentleman with tho fur
collar. Holiday literature Is not
10 my caste. It is usually OF forced
growth. Written to fit the day, 1t
has a flavor Of unnaturalnesz The hero
of the Christmas story Is either translated
on that day. or he hns a streak of perfectly
phenomenal lack It's nsvsr so in real life.
In fact, pleasure is more evasivs on Christ
mas than at any other time, Notwithstanding
all the exeravngant sentiment set a1oat
about the goodwill business"
To which the man with the red comforter
replied: "But isn't it q good thing to have
the stories come out right It's pleasant to
know that make-believe people find ono day
in the year Joyous. There are 50 many wor
blankets hung around on the other 384"
81 would rather have my slice Of goodwill
cut up and given to me every now and then
than to have a big chunk Of IL on Christmas"
continued tho fur collar. All this bluster
isn't sincere. Plenty Of people give presents
because it's expected OF them. not because
they have a feeling Of tenderness towards
their fellow mortals- And how Is humanity
benefited by a squirt of generosityr'
at ISN'T perfection, this world isn't" re-
piled the red comforter musingly, wi there'x
hOS u ROOuncz8 III tus Dufuhn animal nICer
all Nobody but the babies cares for pres
ents particularly, but it's a pretty custom to
give them We're likely to grow so despica-
bly, selfish II there was no Christmas to re-
mind us that We could mako somebody else
glad. And when you come right down to
solid facts. the dear, grotesQue old
myth, Santa Claus, has dons more
toward expanding tho human heart
and keeping it tender toward the children
and the poor than all the srrnons What
would wo do without this good genius of
Babyland who fills tho stockings while
their owners are away In the " Beauttful
Land Of Nodf' Tho simple, unquestioning
faith they have in him Is worth more than
the crowns Of kings There is no danger of
the earth being made too good by a gush Of
generosity. We still have all the old scourges
and n few new ones. Tho Russian exiles
still toll in agony In the Siberian mines. The
gaunt wolf OF famine still prowls through
the streets Of great cities and on lonely coun-
try roads. The forked tongue Of the hydra
headed devil OF slandor strikes here and there
doing It's blasting work The north winds
sting through the beggar's rags. The
olden track Of sorrow In the houses
Of th- rich and the novels of the
poor. And the old, old marplot, Death, is as
formidable as ever. oh, no, there Is no dan
ger of the grim old world getting too good
even for a day, but through the leaden sky
there CLEAN such stars of promise that one
can almost forget that Christmas treos are
sawed off at the base and have sticks for
roots"
He smiled and then sighed as he added In
conclusion 'But there Is some good will
among US, some generosity, some unselhsh-
ness. some almost f~rfect love, and some
| hapa FOR tho fttfnra NJ tho ta1- We ranft oil
have full Christmas trees any more than we
can all nave continual joy and riches and
contentment. 1t isn't in the plan; but it's
something for a few to have pleasure. 1t has
been said that II you make children happy
while they are children you make them happy
twenty years later by the memory OF it The
ain of sorrow will fall upon them soon
enough. Care and grief, old age and death
are waiting for them down the road"