Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-01-02
THE ORPHANS HOME.
How the In mates spent Last Chri,t
mas Day.

How the I'm mates spent Last Chrf {.
mas Day.
There are at the Orphans Home in
this city somewhat over seventy boys
and nearly forty girls as inmates. They
are all waits, who would fare badly in
this busy world were it not for the kind
ness of few ladies who labor necessarily
for this home provided for sach as
these. The holidays are times when
the fatherless and motherless feel their
forlorn condition keenly, and there is no
charity more blessed than that which aims
to brighten the world little for those
poor children bereft of all the natu raj
affection life brings with it.
Well, the other day, week or so be-
fore Christmas. one of the members of
the County Grand Jury went home after
spending the day in the jury-room and
discovered the parlor was converted
into dolls reception room, where dolls
of all sorts, shapes and sizes were dis
played with the color effects of a big
rainbow, on all the sofas, chairs and
tables in the room. He asked what all
this meant, and his wife said that she
had been up at the Orphans
Home, where che found up
ward of thirty little girls who
did not ever hope that kind old Santa
| Klaus, in spite of all that was said about
his tender heart and love of children,
would take the trouble to visit such q
place as an Orphans Home, where only
such little girls as had no friends in the
| world were to be found. The good lady
could not bear to think that the old
Kris Kringle should suffer SO much in
reputation, or that these little girls
should be allowed to live in such hope.
less atmosphere when other children
were made to feel all the blessed in
auences there are in warm affections
and loving hearts; 30 she had gone to
the doll stores and gotten q couple of
score of dolls to gladden. the hearts of
the little girls.
What put this in her head more par.
ticulsrly is that she had found one little
girl at the Home with a few rags, a
needle and thread, making a dress for
her doll. She asked the child where
the doll was for which she was construct
ing the trousseau. "Ohl" the waif re-
piled, "Santa Klaus might come up
here. He is not very likely to take the
trouble to do so after he has been at all
the nice houses and left so many pres
ents for rich children. He will be tired
and glad to go home. But if he ia not
very tired, and is near here, he just
might stop in and, maybe, leave me
doll. Perhaps he does not know about
me. don't suppose any one ever told
him Of such little girl away here in the
Home, with NO mother or any one to
speak of her. But 1 thought he Just,
maybe, might stop here" So the kind
lady had gone away and bought two
score dolls, had them dressed and was
to send them to the Home on Christmas
eve.
This good deed put thought into the
head of the good juror. There were the
boys. He learned there were twice as
many of them as of the girls. So he
went back to the Grand Jury room next
day, and during recess he told there
of the four score little boys in the Home
with no one to send Santa Klaus to see
them. He taxed each juror big silver
dollar, put three or four In himself and
mad over twenty dollars in jiffy. Then
he went to toy shop and bought nearly
a dozen marbles for each boy. To these
he added top with its string. Then he
got big lot of candy, a sack of walnuts,
raisins and barrel of apples. He had
81 so left. This he converted into dimes,
which gave him one little silver piece for
each boy.
Thus armed he went to the Home on
Christmas Eve. There was little party
in there by this time. Tom Goss, Joe
Mutually and DR.. j. S. Crawford were
the trio who steered old Kris Kringle to
the Home. They had taken some one
and disguised him for the occasion
This stimulation of Santa Klaus duly ap-
peared with big, long sack containing
all the plunder, excepting the money.
He came into big room where all the
boys were assembled, and told them he
had something for them. Yhey were all
to stand along one side of the room,
while he passed down the middle and
distributed the 'plunder" along the
hoor. No one was to stir until the word
YVES given to scramble. Oh, yes, the
boys understood it all perfectly.
Oh, yes, they would do as they
were told. That was all right
so far as the programme
on paper goes. But before the social
was fairly open the entire army of
urchins was fat on the floor grabbing
for all in sight. Such a sight was never
seen before. Bedlam and Babel we're
confused for a solid half hour. Old Kris
was evidently not accustomed to the
ways of the waits. It was such a divi-
sion of this worlds goods as makes men
anarchists or at least Bellamyites, who
want new deal. Kris was a commun-
ist for the time, and explained that
he had certain number of marbles, q
top and string, several apples, an abund-
ance of rsisins and moro than plethorA
of nuts in that sack for each boy. He
then made the important announcement
that in small wallet which he displayed
there was 10-cent piece for each boy,
but that it could not be had until each
boy had his share Of the "boodle," and
to this end he commanded all the stuff
to be placed in pile for fairer distri-
button. Up they came with very differ
ent expressions of countenance. The
big greedy fellows, looking like mil
lionaire monopolist, being relieved OF
the proceeds of some big combine, and
the smaller and less aggressive members
of the community wearing smile that
told too plainly their appreciation OF q
paternal government as contrasted with
unrestrained individual effort. Some
young men of large grasp and
hard hearts had as many as
Twenty marbles and one sinner who
seemed to have gone in for a corner IN