The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1884-12-26
OUR HEARTS DELIGHT;
The Things That Happened on Christ
MAJ da7.
BY FRANCES a. HUMPHREY.

1t was the night before Christmas,
1883. ], who am "gran,lmamma" now.
was then :; somewhat Disseminated,
fairy-loving little gypsy of nine. l Was
standing by the west window watching
the sun as lie SLOWLY moved on to his
setting.
ayes. wish something would happen
besides stockings and goose and blaz-
ing pudding" 1 .aid, petulantly ITS
been Just that and nothing else all my
life" (By stockings" l mean. of
course, the stockings we children used
to hang on Christmas Eve by the side
Of the nursery fireplace,
Papa laughed. Such long life,
too, Gypsy" he said. Mine miser-
able years, isn't it? BY and by, pet.
you'll he glad of the wears wherein
nothing happened.
"Praps so!!' | replied. But l just
wish could see Cinderella or Jacks
beanstalls or something. O. papa, aren't
the Arabian Nights true? Bel says
they're stuff but believe in the sing
ing water and talking leaves. and 1 Just
wish we could find that enchanted city
you and j, papa-where everybody
las been asleep ages and ages, and we'd
wake the sleeping princess and she'd
show lis the diamond trees and we'd
pick lots and bushels of 'cm--why don't
diamonds always grow on trees any
way and-and--O dear, l wish some
thing would happen!" and down
dropped the sun behind the hills, and
mamma called me "romanccr" and
whiskcd me to bed. That night
dreamed that big rcc's egg hung over
grandpa's din Mg-table and it was stuck
full of diamonds and they sparkled and
glazed so that We didn't need any other
lights.
Christmas morning dawncd clear
and frosty. On Thanksgiving Day
we always dined at Grandpa Cush-
Jugs, and on Christmas Day with
Grandpa Waterman. 1t was capital
sleiglins and papa drove his span of
bays, and sat ON the front seat with
him. 1t was ten niles to Grandpa
Watcrman's, and as we drove up to
the door there stood Grandpa, and
Uncle Ned and Will and Tom and
late and Rose and Faith-it isn't
Worth while to go over the whole
list of cousins; there We're fifteen in
all. Dear Grandma stood in front of
all the rest with Aunty Delight Just
behind her.
> Now we children neye: called any
of our aunts "Aunty" but Aunty De-
hight, and we had all sorts of pet
NAMES for her, such as Hearts De-
lisht," delight Of My. Eyes" and
"Fansy," which is Ladies' Delight"
you know. Cousin Will, who was
the Oldest of lis co1,sins-he was five
years older than ], used to say the
name Just suited her, because she
had purple lights in her hair Just as
the pansy has, and black eyes soft
as the velvet of the rapsy, and sunny,
sparkling face just like the pansy's
face when it looks up to the sun. And
there is another old fashioned name
for the pansy, "None-so-prettv," and
that always said suited her best Of all.
The long ride and the keen winter
air had given me an excellent appetite
for the Christmas dinner. Grandma
Watcrman:s mother was an English
woman, and grandma tried to keep up
some of the old English traditions COLI
ce:nng Christmas. She always had a
fat goo:e stuffed with apples on her
Christmas table, and huge sirloin of
roast beef, to which she added the
American turkey, and that dish be-
loved OF us children, and of all chill
drcn-chicken-pie. Her blazing plum
pudding always had sprig of holly in
the top, and her mince pies were of the
rlummiest. I do declare, here, that
never have | eaten such delightful.
delicious mince pies as my Grandma
Wa:ornsan's. and ! suppose that you