, 1885-12-25

I have spoken OF Unclo Adam a. an old
IA. He might better b. described as ons
.ho had never been young. In years he
R,n't nraily old but hs seemed Tar away
rom everything youthful; long past all the
oys OF life.
Cheerful was he always. unhappy never,
hough others, seeing only the outward
lhase Of his life. saw no pleasure or beauty
nit Poor and hard a IL appeared 10 them,
I held JOYS they might well have been en-
led; but they were JOYS OF the spirit only.
III. belonged To the peace man did not
na.r and cannot mar"
iple Adam lived alone In a tiny house
dos beside the church Of his care, His
mall front room was a workshop. where he
nsd- and mended shoes every hour Of the
lay aud evening when OIL duty at the church
fh- remainder OF his house contained the
machinery OF hi domestic economy. He
was his own cook, laundress and chamber
maid. and was suspected of being his own
taiior and shirt-maker. His garments gave
ao'or To this suspicion. They Ind no afi Ia
.ion with the prevailing mode whatever.
c mfprt, not Fashion, had guided the shears
wD-n they were cut. Cheap as we'll As be-
hind the times were they, but clean
Even 70 unobtrusive a person as the sexton
Of the Church OF the Puritans cannot escape
impairment comment There were people in
Flopigate who bothered themselves about
his private affairs. They kept a sharp eye
on his slender purchases, and decided that he
was starving himself in order to accumulate
money.
He was never idle. Early every morning.
the year round, he was at work, and the
lamp burned in his workshop every night til
10 O'Clock or later. All this brought in
money. What did he do with iti The idlers
CT the town. having no industrial demands
upon them, figured upuncle Adams income,
and decided that he didn't spend an eighth of
1t. some of the better class hearkened 10
This gossip, and concluded also that be- was Il
miser. They even expressed a fear that he
would be murdered for his hoard some
night. They pitied him for his passion for
money getting. but otherwise they found no
fault with HIM.
Coar-e young men who dropped into bis
shop on errands chaffed the old man about
hi concealed wealth. This he never re-
sented. but worked away in silence without
losing his temper.
As the holidays came nearer the sections
duties increased. The church was to be deco
rated, and extra work without stint came on
apaee. He was always cheerful and oblig-
ing, and always busy. The Sunday school
WIS TO have IA Christmas tree, with appropri-
ats services on Christmas eve. The ladies Of
the congregation, grateful to the sexton for
| Iii fatflfnf a.rxrt,.. t,al. -. . r.ra. o, .r.f
him a nice present, to be delivered from the
tree. They decided on a suit of clothes, as
the greatest novelty for him, though some
argued strongly in favor Of giving him the
amount in money, as more likely to please
his avaricious old heart
The Christmas tree was to be the great
event Of the season in F~loodgate. Everybody
was talking about 1t The services were to
he unusually fine. Mrs. Dunlevy WickershAm,
the wealthiest lady In the place, had prom
hed the Church of the Puritans a great
musical treat for that occasion. On the
steamer coming home from Europe she had
become acquainted with the new singer, Miss
Judith S%tanlini, and had engaged her to
sing.
This was, indeed, something splendid to
look forward to, The newspapers were full
OF stories of Stanlinis beauty and genius.
F~loodgzte was ON tip toe with interest
When Mt. Wiokersham's carriage rolled
away from the depot, bearing the famous
singer, women peeped at it cautiously from
behind their curtains, men stared openly,
and small boys followed it In n disordsrly
procession
ITnAIa Adam Nrau as nftah anfAFnagaN n -
anybody. He had put the finishing touches
to everything in the church, with a view to
making a favorable impression on the beau
tiful young girl who was SO good as 10
leave greater honors and come 10 Flood
gate to sing for the Church OF the Puri
tans.
as she very prettyF he asked anxiously,
as the troop OF boys who had followed Mrs
W~ickersham's carriage rushed into the
church during the afternoon preceding the
e~ventful evening.
oh, awful purity" answered the boy, with
The rcddest face, land she wore a whole lot
OF fur of7n some animile l never saw mol
heard of
The old mans eyes glistened. Cant you
tell how she looksf' he asked eagerly.
Like them pictures OF angels down in the
I ook-s,ore windows, on the Christmas card,
said another hoy, only angels never wear
hats She has a hat that beats 'em an
Uncle Adam listened with eyes and ears.
~ childlishly curious as any OF them Thus
encouraged, their Imagination grew heated
and each one added some graphic tribute To
the singers beauty, until she became some
thing more than mortal to all OF them, the
sexton included.
Wen all hear her sing. boysl Wen all
hear her sing" be said excitedly.
The church was Hblase with light early.
The wreaths and ~festoons shone green AMI
fresh against the pale walls, and
the '~umhrRgeous Christmas tree, loaded
with its gorgeous fruit, lowered ~
lar toward the ceiling that some Of
The children were distressed lost their pres
-nts grew too high to be reached at all.
I Eurtv too VIVA thu church ~rowaad M.