The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-24

the old Dutch families there were cruller
mountains to eat down and cider oceans to
drink down, but not much of the children's
CHRISTMAS as now recognized. II l were
looking for an enemy of his jolly majesty,
had come to quite the wrong person, for
Jennie June had talked Christmas and
written Christmas and she thought that
when she went to live in Rockford, ILL.,, it
was she who introduced there the custom Of
receiving holiday calls.
She who has not heard Jennie June talk
Christmas has missed something. The
difficulty is am afraid she forgot l was
there, and talked straight out Of her own
Christmas enthusiasm, 'reminscing" in
utter oblivion of any listener. Under the
circumstances l don't know that | ought to
tell, but perhaps you won't tell her that
did tell you.
She was quite sure in the first place that
in great heart-winning myth there could
be nothing but good, and that Santa Claus
was no deception. You might tell the
children what story pleased you, but they
would only look up and lisp mamma Tanta
Caus"
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas" she
said. without touch of mystery. There
was one year when | was quite girl when
| was staying over the holidays in the
house Of lady who was an invalid and who
had gone away leaving me in charge.
There were only two of us, the servant girl
and l, and thought there never was such
dreary time. The girl had a lover and he
gave her bouquet. That was her Christ
mas. She gave the flowers to me and that
was mine. | felt as if l must make Christ
mas for somebody, but the only person
could think of was q little girl in q family
knew. So had the servant bake a cake
the day before. and l got up at 8 O'Clock
Christmas morning and carried the cake
and the flowers AID prowled about the house
looking for a chance to get in. l found my
way into the kitchen and then up to the
dining room aud put the things on the girls
plate, and walked back again before day
light and climbed the stairs in the dark to
my lonesome room. 1t was three months
before anybody guessed where the gifts
came from. Then son came homo and he
said, Why, Jen, anybody might have
guessed it was you"
There was another Christmas story too
pretty TO leave out which slipped into the
air. II used 20 know, when | kept house
for my brother, a woman who WAS saint.
She bad when a girl great desire to edu-
cate herself and she worked in the Lynn
factories to earn the money until she was Is.
Then her mother was taken sick and she
spent the whole fund which she had so pa
tiently gathered on doctors and nurses and
medicines and in the end, on a grave. Then
SIZE had TO take up her burden. There was
q ne'er-do-well father and a little sister
crippled from birth. She worked for them,
kept the family together and put by every
thought of herself. When knew her she
was getting old aud rheumatic | asked her
ope daF, How do you keep Christmas,
n ncyp She said, 4 have never had
Christmas present in my life I hadn't
much money to do with, but | bought a
very large pair OF stockings-she was big
woman-and | slipped one of them into the
toe of tn other and filled it up with trihes,
nothing of much value, but things to eat
aud one or two pretty things. How |
was get it to her without her knowing it
was problem. | walked round to her
house very early Christmas morning on the
chance that she might / g out. and sure
enough saw her leave the house to fetch
kindlings for the breakfast fire. l lodged
in, hung the stocking, and then out again.
When she came back / peeped through
the window and saw her find 1t, wonder
over 1t and then drop down in a heap on the
floor aud cry. That was enough for me-"
When Mrs. Croly remembered my pres
ence-I am not SIRE that 1 wasn't on the
edge of crying too-she repeated her con-
viction that there was no harm in Santa
Claus. Her family of little folks used to
hang up their stockings regularly and each
had in addition char in the sitting room
set out as a receptacle for toys. They would
wake up at urearthly hours AMI run gu t
barefooted, and when she hurried after
them to pack them to bed, they would coax
her into joining with t1em, aad for hours
there would be pandemonium. She was in
clined TO agree with au ex-co1sul who ac-
counted for the saturnine Spanish character
by the fact that there was no Mother Goose
in the Spanish language, and first, last and
always She believed in his Christmas ma
eSty.
What ought parents to do if children
begin to question Is there Kris KringleP' "
"Tell them the gifts come from a good
spirit, the spirit of love, the same spirit that
was in Christ aud that is in fathers and
mothers now"
Mrs. Croly, if remember, wrote story
once about what Christ did and where he
went on Christmas day.
Here is q scrap of letter which speaks
volumes on the other side. 1t comes to me
from the west from a young girl whose
family immigrated with me in the Storage
of the Aurania. santa Claus is coming
to our house this year. We are going to
keep Christmas because we are glad we
have come to this land. The first three
months are over, we are getting acquainted
and We are glad we arc here. We wouldn't
60 back again for much. We don't wonder
It made you laugh to see tho sailors run up
the Stars and Stripes off Queenstown"
Aud so Kris KrIngle is safe for another
wear. ELIZA PUTNAM HEAToN.