The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-12-25
HIGHEST TREE IN TOWN.
A Christmas Story for Young
Folks.
Independent.
as

eAO 6AAAs
Violet Low. aged thirteen, sat with her
mother, in the tiny parlOr of their lofty home,
not far from the Battery, New York. She
had not lived long in town, or in the world
either, for that matter. In her own opinion
she was quite young lady. She could re-
member at least eight trees at their home on
the old Vermont farm, and felt quite sure
there must have been trees every Christmas
since the world began. Her father, Mr.
Richard Low, had lost his health, and had
come to New York as the janitor of one of
the new office buildings.
The Low family, true to their name, were
naturally of lowly spirit; and yet there
were very few families in that part of the
town quite so high up in the world. In fact
II Violet went to the window, she could east
ly look down on all their neighbors. Not in
any proud or ungracious way-she was too
good a girl for that-but for the excellent
reason that her home was on the ninth story,
and twice as high as all the houses in that
neighborhood
IL was a queer place for home. The
building was of brick and iron, and higher
than many meeting house steeple. On
every floor were long corridors, with many
glass doors leading to small rooms used for
business Offices, and on every door was a
sign. At each end of the building were ele-
vators that flew swiftly up and down all day
10 carry the crowds of people that swarmed
through the halls and Offices By night and
on Sundays and holidays the elevators were
at rest and the long corridors were silent
and deserted, and the only people in the
building were Mr.. and Mrs. Low and their
daughter Violet, tucked away in their tiny
home. one hundred and twenty feet above
the sidewalk.
1t was the day before Christmas. Violet
went to the window once more to look down
on those lovely trees. There was "a whole
grove Of them in plain sight in the street
below. 1t did seem as if everybody was to
have tree. There were people buying
trees; some little one; some fine, tall trees
for big families, and others content with a
branch. There was mite of child carry
ing sprig that was no bigger than her
hand.
Poor little man," said Violet HE has
picked up broken spray, and is carrying it
of into one of those poor tenements. Oh!
how fuDnyl He has met some other poor
children, and they have set up the sprig in
crack In the sidewalk, and are playing
Christmas tree around it,"
For long time she sat by the window
looking down upon the group of children in
the dismal street. From her lofty window
she could look far away over the house-tops,
over the masts of the ships at the docks,
over the broad river, way beyond Jersey
City to the blue Orange mountains in the
distance. Across the great bay she could
see the white villages on the hills of Staten
Island, while over all was the vast blue sky,
with long, feathery, white clouds, like the
branches of some gigantic Christmas tree in
the heavens. Some of the decorations of
this tree seemed to have fallen off; for here
and there the distant hills were touched with
snow.
"How fast the trees are going off They
will all be sold soon, mother. Don't you
think we could buy one tree-just a very
little one? Oh! OH That is too bad A mes
senger boy, running along the walk, trod on
the tree and broke it all to pieces, and the
children must be crying Those tenement
children do seem to have dreadful bad times
down there. There is nothing to be seen
but the dirty streets. They do not seem to
know there is river and hills and the blue
sky SO near"
Violet's mother left her work and came to
the window and looked down on the squalid
houses, the cherries streets and the forlorn
little children playing on the walks. 1t was
all very strange. Poverty and misery in
plain sight, and yet quite far away, as COM
pletely cut off from their pleasant home in
the upper air as If in another city
Just here the door opened and Violet's
father came in. He looked quite smiling and
happy, as if something very pleasant had
happened. Then he sat down in the big arm
chair, and took something from his pocket.
Il didn't expect it at all, and-and well-it
all came kinder suddenly-and--"
whats the matter, Richard? You look
as If you were going to cry"
"Oh! It's nothing bad. The folks in the
building started for home early this after
noon, as it is Christmas tomorrow, and ev-
cry one gave me something as he went out
the door-some silver some bills-and my
heart just jumped up in my mouth, seeing /
had never had anything like it before and
didn't know exactly how to behave. said,
oCntAOuCng 4 lOb d DtSSdT, anu SUmt
laughed and some said it was the regular
thing at Christmas, and must keep the
money and have a tree. And I said: Gen
tlemen, it will be the tallest tree in town.
And then one Of 'em kinder laughed and
said he thought it would be. Can't see why
he should laugh when felt teary all round
the eyes,"
That very afternoon the tree was bought.
Mrs. Low and Violet put on their things and
walked down the nine flights of stairs-foi
the elevator boys had all gone home to find
their trees-and then they took the elevated
road and went up town to wonderful Four
teenth Street to see the panoramas and cir
Gus and other sports of doll life in the win
dows, ard-best of ALTO buy presents.
When they reached home the tree had ar
rived. OF course Violet, for whom it was to
be decorated, was not allowed to see it until
the next evening, when the presents were
prepared and all was ready. She stayed in her
own room all that Christmas evening, won
dering if it would be handsome tree and if
many children in the world below had such
a good father as she possessed.
why! How very funny Those poor folks
down in that tenement are to have tree
Such funny little tree, only branch, three
feet long, set up on the table near the win
dow and with two candles | can almost
count the presents on the tree. Oh And
there's another tree in the next house."
Just here the door opened, and her mother
called her to come and see the Christmas
tree.
"0h! is that the tree? That stick?'
1t was dreadful. How could her father be
so cruel? Standing in the middle of the
room was spruce tree-if it could be called
tree. 1t had been fine tree once. Now
every branch had been roughly cut off, and
there was nothing left but the ragged stem
and little tuft of green sprays at the top
Candles were fastened to the poor bare
stumps Of branches, and amid the plume
like sprigs at the top could be seen some
presents.
1t was bitter disappointment, and poor
Violet sat down by this forlorn and nielan-
choly tree, and shed her first Christmas
tears.
"Never mind, Violet" said her mother.
at was beautiful tree when your father
bought 1t. 1t no doubt carries more presents
than any tree in the country, and there are
more children about it than were ever gath
cred round a Christmas tree before"
She couldn't understand single word her
mother said; and though her father began to
take down some Of the presents from the top
OF the poor tree, she refused to be comforted.
n'T'waa nnyvarful fine traa ,Ubo,, I