Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1885-01-02
A PERFECT CHRISTMAS.
CHAPTER I.

L a PERFECT CHRISTMAS.
CHAPTER I.
There was not larger house in all
ie valley than Grandfather Vro ans.
Yrs Old and comfortable. and seemed
liz sound asleep. with snow blan-
all over it, roof.
Nothing Shor, OF real old-fashioned
, 'ris'mas could wake up such house
that.
ihrlStmas was cominC'
Unless Santa Claus and the Simpsons
ID the Hopkinses should forget the
ssf'ay of the month. they would all be
ere at waking-up time tomorrow
orning.
'Jane." said Grandmother yrooman.
!, hat~zfiernoon. 10 her daughter, Mrs
HARDY. who lived with her Jane. I've
got 'em all fixed now jus, where they're
going to sleep. and I've made mp bed
son The floor in the siorc-room.
Nv hy. mother. who's that for2'
You wait and see. after they get
here. and we've counted en-"
"Anyhow. there's cookies enough.
and doughnu,s
@.And the pies, Jaue2"
:. And I'm glad Liph gathered such
alles Of butisTnutS
s@Oh, mother" exclaimed little Sue.
Il gathered "a many as he did. and
sseeh-nuts, and hiCkory-nuts. and
80 you dill. Sue; but wonder II
wo turk.ys II 60 rpuud. with only two
sair of chjckens?'
Mother. said MR. Hardy, ..,he
s,lum- pu,Iiing9'
''fes, bat all those childrrn' do
hope they i gci here 70 nigh. in time
for N io Know here I'm going to pu.
en-
NJ the very minute. awav M The
unrfh road. two miles nea3.r town.
there was a sort # dot uu the white
ruad. II YOU were far enough AWAY
f-uul ., Is looked like black dot, and
did ~ seem to move. The nearer you
- Z. i ihs tnnaisr il ios,<ed sld
: -. yA,.:Azss- xloax
"a ''7F'nsis' sfna'sfF.'T - fu'
Yer, small udsssd. for an, body
close up "a i; ~oul.s .ave seen that il
vs. Swear oil isy in "a queer little
.u.f uf ~ s. trimmed with rcd lie
had uu 81 ar-u gray cap. and rSh; IN
q msti.y ut ia- front ~ u were
wog Ar,i , pair a.: lclier~-'-b. \ - but
there "a a< robosiy with the gray dot 10
explain that those iwo letters Stood sor
.pruhaa Asylun No. nor % tell
huv easy /; Was .or bly--t ) wears
ujf. v.sh al gAc heal .fntirr his gray
cap il.3 u 6rs<,mas ideas. fo ;urn the
Uguug corner where the roads crossed
.ough ~ the great Orphan Asylum
Kuiilur. That was wha: ac hasi done.
aoi lie hlt walked - and o1. wonder
ju. Rhy she biS building JrA no, come
jn ,i-hr, ua:il his small les we're get
TIM LstyI. aui h,. brave. bright little
hIavk rHy. wvur all buj ready Tor . pry-
'aE .ps|.
Just rs hc got thoroughly discnur-
arci Ar gaur 'o 'hr e,i~~ 1T the woods.
" mere there = s~i q wood slcs.a with
( tv" tpr-~' r. fret; ~ s.. drawn close
yo i~ r,..I--.-v a@j Asarvd wish great
-Te.. ..# .-aad hr# Sra -,
'ta. ~.v.-.s' prr3sy utgh tul. grand
fatav-, a- s.l "a g.yag. boy IA voice
brs ond the fence. and very much
older one seemed to 20 right on talk
ing.
Your gran mother. Lirh. ,he al
wls> iid mix the l,.,t miucr pies. and
She can stul turkey hetiern'n any
one know
/ "Grand!a,hcr. IL you s'po>e they il
al come?
.-ttra~s they will. Tha, there spruce
II do for the Christmas tree. Your
grandmother said We must fetch a big
one
That's a whoppcr. But will Joe
Simpson and Bob Hopkins be bigger n
they were last summer
"Guess thcy'y grown little. ! hey Il
grow this time. II they eat all their
grandmother II want EN- to. Hello.
Liph. who's that out there in the road?"
Guess it's boy"
81 declare ii it isn't ore Of them little
gray mites from the 'sylum. Way out
here, | say. bub."
I'm Bijah.
There was "A scared look in the black
eyes, for they had never seen anything
j quite like Grandfather Vrooman. when
he pushed his face out between the
branches.
T., trees all looked as il they had
boards Of snow. but none had longer
or whittier one that Liph's grandfather.
"Bijah." said he. Ibid YOU know
Christmas was coming?'
BE here tomorrow. piped the dot
in gray, land we're going to have tur-
key"
You don't say! just you wait until
| cut tree down, and I'll come out
and hear all about il.
"IS vour name Santa Clause
did you hear that. Liph? The little
chap miles from home, and | don't
believe he knows it.
''ls that your sleighP'
"lcs. Bijah, that's $ my sleigh
Those amt reindeers, and you re
bigo-r'n you used to be"
Hear that. Liph?'
Bihh had not the least doubt i'm the
: world but that he had discovered Santa
/ Claus in the very act of getting ready
! for Christmas, and his black eyes were
growing bigger every minute, until
| Liph began to climb over the fence.
Then he set off on run as fast as his
legs could carry him.
Hold on, shouted Liph, 1--WE won't
hurt YOU"
LET him co." said Grandfather
Vrooman. Hes on the road to our
house. Wen pick him up"
Took me for Santa Claus, Ideclare!
Liph, this here tree'll just suit your
grandmother.
1t was splendid young spruce tree,
with wide-reaching boughs at less than
two feet from the snow level. Grand