The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1886-06-13
A MIDNIGHT VISIT.

II IA A14tA ~ IA l. AOA 4
a STORY BY THE AUTHOR OF BEAUTIFUL
SNOW"
Copyrighted, 1885. bys. s. Mcclure
.sDo / believe in the verify Of Santa
CLAUSE Certainly do; as eertsinly as ]
believe IN my own existence; I've seen
him."
you're joking, or else you've got .
story to tell"
I'm neither joking, nor have | story
TO tell, said the old gentleman.
Mr.. John Rickaby, one OF our oldest
engineers and most ingenious inventors,
30 me, as we were discussing holiday GUS
tems one Christmas Eve, being guest
Ii his luxurious home in Connecticut.
II wish you'd tell me all about it. Mr..
Rickaby, /" said, laughing. 81 have always
looked upon the matter as mere legeAd
and poetic fancy.
Legend it may be, and poetic fancy,
toe" he said, little testify; but never
kheless it is a palpable fact, and there is as
certainly q spirit Of Christmas as there is
q Wandering Jew, or patron saint Of
anything. have no objection to telling
you all I know on the subject, but while
/ am speaking from the standpoint Of
facts and am pledging my honor for
them. dou't care about being laughed at
directly to my face. have lind 100 much
of that from thosc who know nae most
Intimately. and ought TO understand me
better.
~ lace was s'rslgss 70 = n0noh'' anu
sssa, % sa~ss'y = p D; "M. 49,. ahau
assale 5gu ~ n.ca ~ .ns -, snali
70. lsugu, ann snss sascsvl ~ '1n Xii LII
aowese' iIApl ssAs.s 10y sesm. : ,l a.,
Doilevc slnp'J ~ ocmlss IT, ~ ausniu'
m rs q mn. JONI 81, n.sespy
! sn:ll nos s9,I ~ ia 49, .ls .npsgD-
AD'e " imposslSte, ~ ncAasJ. g'sins
me : glance. as .1ougns, sus q sne cor
4ef 9, ms eye, - 70 uss 81 sus y wa,
I might De guylsg MIN. sLxL on'y seal
~ rnae eay sseSsea yguI oei ~ - sua.
Seeenuary 0an's Visas Z ~ = ~ mai aau
no splrit, ana nos' accorulnS 70 my loea'
ysiy losaS'e MAa - I'M
shcugns lol = noL.ens, anu co9lu nos
seip agreeing With nun, our iuea OF
Sen'a ClauS was ,i aisef Sasnens Moore :
3anoaru. II 10 hssie oio Ias nan, MnoSe
race pe'laye only gooo Iy!hg, revenng,
snn ana letiisy- setnin9 spiritual mourning
p0ei,c, ana, as consequences, notnlng
anseinsn. ms mlgas pe mistaKe on
inc part OF tae historian. me artist OF the
verse maker. Let vs. near what MI. John
fuc9aoy nas 20 say ABOUT ~;
iouli give me cseois, suppose, ior
not pe!rg a. actual 1901, seeing that I've
Made hah q upzel lnVentions N my hIe
shai have benefited the human race and
made me rich; but ABOUT tnlFty-nve or
forty years ago, II was not looked upon
as fool. was regarded generally as only
one remove from 1t, and | not only had
not grown rich, but bad hard struggle
for brea<i, to say nothing of butter. In
fact, was very poor, and. what was
worse. very much In love. / was trying
10 make my first invention on the steam
engine, with which you are familiar, but
though Il seemed all perfectly born In my
brain, and as simple az A B G, it stuck
there, and would not come out upon paper.
"Fhie was the war thinrs stood with me
IN the Winter OF ISL. was engaged to
Beatrice, and had been for two years. The
dear girl did all she could to encourage
me, and bade me keep good heart; but
her father and mother were not Of the
same way OF thinking. They sneered at
me, called me q dreamer, said would
never earn my salt; and when Bestrices
sister, Josephine. married prosperous
cashier OF bank, and aswell-to-so coffee
broker proposed for Beatrice, and was
rejected, matters looked pretty dark for