Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-12-24
copyrighted, 1861

| copyrighted, 1861
| The spirit OF inquiry, like reform, the cholera
and the historic wind that bloweth, has way O.
suddenly making itself known In the most unex
pected places. This is the only reason that car
| be given for its appearance on Cat Creek Mo-
several years ago, In the cabin OF Nimrod Cumplin
and for Nimrod's daughter Piney to startle he1
| mother with the question:
Mother, what's this here. Christmas all about
anyhow"
Mrs. Cumplin who was frying venison steak.
over fire OF hickory Goals, was so amazed by tht
daughter, and in so doing allowed a particularly
nne steak, which She was in the act OF turning, t.
glide on the Old iron fork, miss the frying and
eur PHYS sake, gal what's the good oskeerin' the
life most out o. the only mother you've got to YOU
Jerks comm on me SO sudden with an ontaod is
question like that. And you've made me Spite the
| best chunk O. venisOn In that there pan. Twas
one o. them pieces that your father specially likes
too.Just where the side leaves OFF and the ham
begins You mind this fry1n' now, till go see Ell
| there's another one"
| Mrs. Cumplin went out and looked In the family
reirigeraLor-a barrel out OF DOORS the northern
side OF house. and covered with short logs to
front OF the fireplace and attended to the sizzling
! sp.ntterng contents Of the frying pan, but she
gave most of her spare seconds to contemplation
the nre In this she displayed correct taste, for
lne nre was the prettiest thing in the room. The
log CABIN OF settler" may be made as pretty as
oOudoir fun OF brfc-a-brac If its owner has de-
sire for elaborate interiors but evidently the rage
Tor decoration had never come within interesting
distance OF the Cumplin domcile, for the only re-
nei 20 the dark gray OF the log walls was Occas-
ional bit OF yellow1sh gray, showing where bits OF
bark had been torn OF to quicken slow fire on
mornings when the family woOd-pile had been sud-
bed In one corner OF the room, but the framework
was invisible, and the coverld was about as darkly
III ind TIxoro NaAI
that led to the loft above which was Piney's bed
chamber, but that too was gray and dingy from
w or sa1 split rom thick Log
was without cloth, and the cups and saucers
were Of dreadful notified gray that is highly pop
corning to its owners, SIT don't show dirt"
The girl found the fire so interesting that she
continued TO stare at It until her mother, return
Ing with duplicate OF the lost steak exclaimed:
Fur pity sakes, gal, what are you lettin' all
the dinner burn to a crisp for?r
pushed aside but as soon as the work at the fire
peated the question:
anyhow" ''-''
.sYou know, just as well as do, said her mother.
y ou,ve seed fourteen or fifteen Christmases
TO know what they're about"
"But what's Christmas for?- persisted Piney,
''that'S what want to know"
''What's it fur" why it's fur men to fire off
christmas guns on, an'-an drink mOre'n ordinary
an.an Iur women to cook mOre'n usual, ef theirs
any 1Ig moren usual In the house. That's all'
'gTts ez fur ez knows on, Except in some parts of
Ihe country the children an ntggers say 'Christ-
they've a mind TO-" -
"But how didit begin? What makes men fire guns,
and drink more than other times. and women COOK
InOre?" WIN
''Cause they want to be more than usual glad.
pos. Mems way OF dom IT Is to make noise an
in-that's all"
,Bgt what do they want to get gladder forsn
asheG rne GIL why isn't one day just as good as
"Weli, pears TO me it's because that's the day
the good Lord wuz born in the world; 1 don't say
amt preached anythfn' about it long ez he's hen
ho.dln monthly meetin'S up at the Forks But I
Want TO kn0W what's been putin all this talk in
81 don't KNOW" said the girl! sexcept heard dad
TALKING 10 Jed klpner about want1n to be sure to
n 1 pienty OF powder an caps for Christmas, an
Jed sald he'd been up to the Forks store an seen
Captain Martins wife givin' the stOrekeeper an
awful big order to git Christmas gifts for her young
9 9inS Wnan Is CHRISTMAS gilt, anyhow?-what
MIS- Cumplfn seemed to struggle with her mem
DRY iOr Two or three minutes, then she replied:
SWELL most generally it's money or somethin,
pooly. Young Iellers give ther gals candy or rib
DOns; II they're rust rate fellers they give 'em
DreaS pins, or SOmethin' like that"
"What did dad give YOU when YOU was vouno
gal, mother?" The girl sprang from the block
stool on which she had been Sitting, placed her
In front OF her mother, bent very ungracefulIy in
order TO get her face close to the kneeinc fe-ure
ee,ore her ana Iroionsea her question with an
MIS- Cumplin suddenly found that the venison
10 10 the pan required the closest attention; ner
daughter however, was not thinking OF venison or
any hing else except the subject OF conversations
so she continued:
80, ao nsrnmammy-tel Inc. Tell your very only
some hot Goals not far from Mrs Cumplin,s face
93esan 10 Mss systematically, for big tears were
"Mammy." exclaimed the girl, putting both
hands upon the head which, though not Vet Old
was dngy gray, as everything else in the room
wiped her eyes with 1t, and said:
he give me the breas pin wear whenever po
10 meesin am body that SEE there's ever any In
tne Meetn mouse that can beat it don't know
notnln at all about breas pins .!Thatis what he
give me; When I'm dead an buried want that
Dre1S pin buried with NE, an on me: it's the-the
only pooty thing ever hed-xcept YOU
~, Did 1l dad ever give you anything Christmas
"ShO! VI course not. What would a man want
herr '' "oo so'
''Then all Christmas out here Is gotn, to be this
it, - '''' ''' '1' ""u se''in oruhA. Is That
-, .Of course it is. For pity sakes, GAL yer don't
that way alters, do yer? Ell yer don't believe me
Just see what yer dad'll bring home from the
Forks store to-day-two pounds @ gunpowder. in
lnstld OF only a flask"
Piney went TO the window, not so much to look
LOT ner rather as to change the object OF her gaze
while looking at nothing In particular She felt
certain, as children often do in matters which they
out uliniy understand, that something more was
gong on In the world than she saw that she de-
served IL, was not getting ii, and felt aggrteved
AS sht looked out she saw her father coming
Inc gunpowder was not visible, but the lug OF
, when hef mother had spoken was so large as to
pc simply obtrusive. Ptney ran out to meet him
threw rev her arms around his neck, and exclaimed:
Dlu you brlng me a Christmas gfft?n
MIL (tInpIln WAS so amazed that bfS
1ugLuniOrtunately 1t did not break For his
0aughter 10 almost strangle him with her strong
Young ariS was not OF unusual occurrence but to he
asked Tor Christmas gift was to be suddenly
brought face to face with the unexpecfed
.'Cnr1s mas g1ft?" he echoed. "Why OF course
nOt-ieaStwayS, mean didn't think ur IT, didn't
Know you wanted one. Gals don't GIT Christmas
gifts from their dads, except when they're ba-
dad?D ~ ""' ""o''
MIN Cumplin had stopped to pick up the lug. but
ne strengthened himself, wrinkled his forehead
scratched his head looked into distance and tried
all o.ner popular methods OF refreshing his MEM
oryi o o was nnally obliged to reply:
'.Neither canL"
Mn abruptly picked up his Jug and strobe home
,, s tne things!" asked his wife, as MIN entered
"Yas; hyar's the whiskey,r MIN replied. dron.
pinE tne Jug ana Throwing himself In leaning
position against the chimney
Pears 10 me, said his wife looking up from
What Is IT," e o ~ '''
The mandid not answer. His wife looked at him
as earnestly as hopeless eyes could look, and con-
"WhOs been a-rtlin' yer,
"P1ney," was the reDly 0She wants O chr,v,,,,o,