San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-03-11
with Enme ana one n.-.s Oily asouna as y

4
is passing through the city, and it is that that
smells good"
"Gran'ma, why does St Nicholas smell
good when he passes through the cityF'
Because Papa JAMS cooks his sweetcake
men In his oven. And there are some for six
SOUS and some also for franc Do you want
| to drink littleg"
"Gran'ma," replied the child, 81 have had
a dream. dreamed that st. Nicholas came
| to find me in my bed And he had great
beard, like the image of the good God that
| godmother Dictus gave me. And l said
Good morning, ST. Nicholas, patron of
! good children And he spoke to me just
this way; 'Cornblossom, am your patron,
indeed, because you are good little girl and
! love good little children. Come with me-
And said: To go where, good St NichoaSr
And he answered me: To 60 and play IN
Paradise Then mamma and papa and
| gran'ma gave me white dress and told me
that they would come by and by. And when
| | went into Paradise there were little girls
and little boys playing. They took me in
| their arms and told me that they played that
way night and day, all the time, and that
| they had playthings that the good God gave
them, playthirgs even more beautiful than
those that papa gave me last New Year And
the little girls lad dolls as big as themselves
that made reverence and that said, Thanks,
madam And then st. Nicholas embraced
me and said: 'Amuse yourself | love you,
truly You shall have dolls, too, and they
will also say, Thanks, madame."' And
then, gran'ma, snelt something good and !
woke up"
Here is Dr. Trousseau coming to say
good morning, Cornblossom," says Gran'ma
Jams, suddenly. DR.. Trousseau pushed the
door open, AMI going straight to the bed,
said:
1T is Papa Trousseau. How do you do,
mademoiselle' Let's try the pulse. Hum!
huml And the tongue' Your cheeks are
flushed, little one. You have had little ex
element. Oil see, St Nicholas'
DR.. Trousseau put his head on the childs
heart, then he laid his ear there, and his eyes
suddenly began to roll around under his great
gray eyebrows like the ball in cricket. At
this moment Jams and his wife entered in
Indian fle on tip-toe, like ghosts and hold
ing their breath Then DR.. Trousseau began
to puff out his cheeks so as not to let them
see his uneasiness Next he took his hat and
umbrella and ran to the parsonage to notify
the vicar. Now the vicar loved the Janses
very anu SOLleIlIneS went IueTe Oh
summer nights to eat tarts with them.
When the clock struck 9, Cornblossom woke
up.
"Gran'ma hasn't st. Nicholas come yet9"
NO Blossom, not yet; but he is passing
across the square,"
"Ohl granma, let me see st. Nicholas pass
across the square,"
Blossom, keep quiet; St Nicholas gives
81; ,,bo 10, -
"OhI gran'ma, | hear little Paul on the
square crying out: st Nicholas is passing
behind Canu the butchers house; and little
Marie answering him. No. he will not pass for
an hour"
Papa JAMS, hearing them talk from below,
came up stairs, and having wrapped Corn
blossom in a wooden petticoat, carried her to
the window, the little white curtain of which
he raised Snow had fallen in the afternoon
and there were nearly three inches on the
ground. The houses on the square stood out
in black under a white wig against a red sky,
from which the fakes were still falling, as
falls in May, under the clippers shears, the
fleece from the sheep Lights were moving
and the gas jets in the shops reproduced in
red the shapes of the windows on the white
ground in frost. But what COrnblossom
looked at most of all were the big umbrellas
of the market women who, wearing wooden
shoes trimmed with sheepskin with the wool
left OH and their hands under their aprons,
were seated, in the middle of the square, before
tables covered with serge tablecloths of blue
and white check, on which were spread out
lions made of barley candy, flags of Our
Lady of Hal. wooden headed dolls, macarOni
cakes and other toys and toothsome delica-
Cies. And while the snow danced in little
balls which powdered the umbrellas and
caused the candle wicks to sputter, the poor
children, half asleep, and sucking their
thumbs, dumbly stared in turn at the knick
knacis in the shop windows and the market
women who, with diStended cheeks, pulled
into their little earthen chatting dishes out of
which flew showers of sparks. Now and then
Cornblossom heard the rattling of a door in
the street, and sometimes neighbor left his
house to go to the wine shop sometimes a
neighbours wife, in wooden shoes and basket
in her hand, after taking care to lock the
door, Travelled along on the side where the
umbrellas were, and at other times she
heard only the scraps Of talk lingering in the
air. But the snow deadened all these sounds
and made them seem as soft as velvet.
II still see old Lisbeth very we'll, ;" said she,
''she is sweeping the snow from before her
door and she has set near her bucket of Gin
ders to throw on the sidewalk when she has
got through sweeping see Mr.. Onuzel, the
pastry cook. too, walking with his hands in
his pockets and smoking his pretty china
pipe, and he is looking away over at the
sweetcake men that papa made this morning
But | am very well satisfied at not having
seen St Nicholas and | am going back to
bed"
Papa Jams laid Cornblossom in her bed
again and kissing her said:
sleep we'll my Blossom. Your papa will
make the house look very fine to receive st.
Nicholas, and we will put under the mantel
piece the pretty red carpet with black flowers
that we put in the window between two can,
dies when the curata goes by with the nroceS. |