The Portland daily press., 1886-12-25
CHRISTMAS WINDOWS,
BY f. CAVAZZA.
Written for the PRES,

Christmas was coming, and near at hand.
Proof of this fact, the shop windows filled
with holiday wares, brilliant Jewels, glory of
wrought gold the moonlight CLEAN of silver,
the many faceted radiance of crystal, softly
tinted silks and velvets for festival garments,
and laees like the traceries Of Jack Frost's
symphonies in white.
In the windows of the toyshops, it seemed
as if Santa Claus had set open the gates of
Fairyland. The dolls were holding their
Christmas revels; here group of French
bisque beauties of high life visited charm
ing creature of their own kind, who stood
gracefully, with her long train Of rose col
ored satin over a petticoat of plush, and a
tiny fan in her little hands. Here two or
three chubby boy dolls were dragging a little
sister upon sled; and there group of pref
ty babies, just old enough to walk alone, one
would say, surrounded the cradle, all blue
satin and lace, of wee-wee waxen baby In
another window was Santa Claus, who had
stopped his team to take in a crowd of dolls
that. with arms upstretched toward the kind
ly old saint, were pleading for ride.
In the next window was floor, laid in GU
riDus mosaics of bonbons, the sparkle Of
crystallized sugar. pink, white, or amber,
contrasted with the sober brown chocolates.
Upon this delicious parquetrie was set a
little chair. elegantly upholstered, and
mounted upon this was a doll attired in the
extreme of fashion, holding her dress tightly
around her pretty feet to escape from the
chocolate mice that surrounded her-the very
heroine of the latest story of a certain mod
ern novelist. And indeed the window in
which she stood might well have been named
the Mouse trap, cunningly baited as it was
to attract the bright eyed, shy children, who
stood outside it, calculating what could be
done with few pennies or wishing that PEN
mics were theirs whereupon to base such
calculations.
In window a little farther down the
street stood a beautiful Christmas fairy
dressed in a trailing white gown that
spar1led with crystal beads. a coronet of
strange star-shaped snowlakes was on her
hair, and in the hem of her gown were
caught some dragging sprays of holly. Above
her head. against festoons of cloudy gray
tissue, hung silver stars, and in her hands
she held carelessly magnificent necklace of
diamonds, a clasp of pearls, a rose of rubies,
bracelet of turquolses set with brilliants-
for she was not only the Christmas fairy, but
also the advertisement of great jeweller,
who had imported this exquisite being from
Paris, together with consignment of jew
els, opera glasses and porcelains.
In front of this window stood, with many
other persons, in the chilly December even
ing, man and woman, clearly defined in
the cold, luminous circle of the electric light
Polly" said the man in an undertone
Il should like to give you that bracelet if
the rent were paid and you didn't need new
calico dress"
1--WE will play that the bracelet is on my
wrist, and the receipted bill in your pocket,
john said his wife, "Thank you very
much for such a fine present"
She laughed as she spoke, and frightened
her hold of her husbands arm. The hus-
band laughed too, but not as carelessly as
Polly had done, and leaving the window
they turned the corner of the street, and
paused before another shop This was an
old-fashioned wooden building, its window
was not lighted from within, but an electric
street light cast the outer edge of its rays
upon it, SO that its contents were recogniza-
bic. 1t was small variety store, suited to
the needs of the humber neighborhood, Of
whc the fashionable frequenters of the
graEd street and its brilliant shops knew
nothing or little In its window were thread,
needles, tapes, buttons, handkerchiefs, a
small assortment of ornaments in celluloid,
newspapers and periodicals, and some tired
looking sticks of candy that leaned against
the sides of their glass jars with an air of
hopeless waiting for purchaser. John Van.
lyme turned the key in the door.
Here" said he, little bitterly, there we
are, at Vanlyne's variety emporium"
But, since there is nothing without its
compensations, the creak THAT the clumsy
key made in the somewhat hard and rusty
lock- had caught the attention of four little
ears-pink, shell-shaped possessions of the
Vanlyne twins, who came trotting to meet
papa and mamma. Silvia and Rosa, three
years old, and lovely as if they had been era
died in silk and swansdown and fed from
golden spoons, instead of sleeping in pine
wood crib and eating their bread and milk
from blue and white crockery cups. Silvia
was blonde with large hazel eyes, and Rosa
had dark eyes that matched the rings of her
hair. Behind the babies came Jane 0'Nell,
young woman who lived in the same house,
and ha6 brought her work down to the first
floor to take care of the twins, while the
father and mother went out for a stroll
through the Christmas streets.
Jane had told them how beautiful it all
was, how well worth seeing, in the evening
under thousand bewIldering lights, with
the gay crowd surging to and fro before the
brilliant windows. She was a slzillful seam
stress, and worked in one of the great shops
Her speciality was children's clothing, the
quaint coats, the dear little dresses that half
confuse our ideas of time, and seem to brins
back again our little great-great-gr GRANDPA
theirs and grandmothers by some elfn pro
cess of restoration.
Polly Vanlyne had called to see Jane al
the shop where she worked. and had OBJ
served there such things as fired her fancy
Silvia and Rosa should and must have new
coats and bonnets; and therefore Polly, fol
the first time in her married life, had kept {
secret from her husband. Jane had asked
and obtained work for her friend in knitting
and crochet; and when Polly had earned
her modest pay she said she would like t,
take it in goods. Favorable terms wer
given her, so that she bought at half price
remnant of .feecy cream-white wool, enougl
for two little coats and the relative bonnets
and also a few yards of narrow rose-colore'
ribbon to make a many-looped knot TO
Rosas bonnet and of pale gold-color tina
would set-off Silvia's golden fuffs of hair.
The pearl buttons for the coats-Polly ali
stracted those from the stock of their owl
store, and felt quite guilty as she did so, al
though the fancy goods were her own de
partment; and John never noticed the sudde
blush that made his Polly look like a youn
girl again, when customer CHANGED to asl
for pearl buttons large size. 1t is so uncom
Portable to keep even an innocent secret!
With the aid and counsel of Jane ONE
with whom Polly was accustomed to eS
change neighborly favors-the coats an
bonnets were finished successfully. Jan
had cut out the little coats, for Polly declare
she could not and would not venture to pu
scissors into that lovely cloth. The caps
which came very nicely out of the pieces
Polly felt competent to cut those; but int
the undisturbed Wilderness of that preciou
piece of wool no scissors of hers were Dol
enough to go.
q A. 1 4 70 hoA nl,o