St. Landry democrat., 1890-01-04
snow there steals to me a strain from the

| II was IUe CAIN anu SlleuL Ilgul-
Seven hundred years and tifty-three
Had Rome been growing up in might,
And now was queen of land and sea
No sound was heard of clashing wars,
Peace broOded DER the hushed domain,
Apollo, Pallas Jove and Mars
Held undisturbed their ancient reign,
In the solemn midnight,
Centuries ago.
1t is the calm and silent night!
thousand bells ring out and throw
Their joyous peals abroad and smite
The darkness, charmed and holy now.
The night that crst no shame had worn,
To it happier name is given,
For in the stable lay, newborn
The peaceful Prince of earth and heaven
In the solemn midnight,
Centuries ago.
1t is we'll known that the finty heart of
Old Scrooge grew tender, and heaven
knows it was hard enough, as he recalled
the Christmas carols chsnted at his key.
hole the night before. They must have
been chanted with wonderful sweetness to
send the skeleton hand of the old repro
bate down into his pocket in search Of a
penny for charity. The world is full of
Old Scrooges, and could they be reached
by Christmas carols, as was their ancestor.
one might wish that Christmas would
come oftener than 'once year"
The advent of the patron saint of chill
dren is variously observed throughout the
| world In the Rhine countries he is Sun
| der Claus, and some one fttingly arrayed
impers0nates him for the amusement of
the children. The night before he is sup
posed to descend the chimney with his gen
erous store Of gifts, the little ones may be
heard singing:
Dear Santa Clar J, for the childrens sakes,
Bring us nuts ar !sugar-cakes.
Throw them into my apron here,
And help to swell the Christmas cheer.
In Belgium the children have pretty
custom Of filing their shoes with hay, oats
and carrots for St. Nicholas's white horse.
They then lock the house and go to bed to
discover in the morning that the proveuder
has vanished, and that the shoes are filled
with Christmas goodies. In France, it is
the Jesus Balm bin, Christ, Child, who
comes. Among the Alsatians, q beautiful
young girl personates this character, and
with bell in one hand and swe3tmeats in
the other, she goes about the village dis
tributing the coveted gifts among The chill
dren. All over Germany Chris mas is Gel
ebrated with much ceremc'4y and hun
0reds of little wooden shoes wait for kriss
Kringle's coming, TIL is nothing that
clings so tenaciouslv y the childish mind
as the sdvent Of christmas. Is there
resder who doe LOT recur to this memor-
able season a. iG came to him years ago
with longing FOR its repetition, with all
of it's infaniile fancies and expectations?
[ dare ay that many an old c0dger feels
like hanging BIS stocking alongaide the
little ones in the nursery, and living over
the time when:
1T was the night before Christmas, and all
through the house
Not creature was stirring, not even mouse.
Some one has Suchingly said that
Christmas and Music are wooded for all
time. The golden hearted bells ring out
no sweeter story than that one whir the |
centuries have brought across n ,nep-
herd guarded plains Of Judea. acre are |
few poets who have not write '7f Christ |
mas, for the holy week and Its .sweet, |
sweet story" have touched their hearts and |
inspired their Tyres. The following from
is in keeping with the time:
heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play.
And wild and sweet
Their words repeat,
OF peace on earth, good will to men.
Ard thought how, as the day had come
The belfries of all Ghristendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
No other legend could have given the
world day replete with such glory and
beautiful thoughts; none could have in
vested the story of humanity with such an
holy interest. No city gave US Christmas.
To no popuious mart of trade is the world
indebted for that season when the heart of
man warns toward his fellow man. We
receive Christmas from the hamlet, not
from the palace. We catch the soft strains
of the first Christmas carol from the kline.
licked manager; and the voice of the virgin
mother singing her lullaby to the most
precious of babes, echoes in all the bel
fries of Christendom.
Hear the wind outsidel I pile my Yule-
sticks higher and, as the snow beats against
the windows of the old parental residence,
she blaze roaring up the chimney still
keep the old wide fireplace of my fathers
i take down another book of Christmas
poems and read to the cracking fire:
The nights clear the breezes rest
Deep in the valleys of the West,
And naught occurs to mar the mild,
Sweet story of the Christ-bora child.
Hark Softly DER the sheeted plain
Steals Peace on earth, good will to men,"
And winters bells that ring at times,
Make glad the heart with Christmas chimes.
We will not discuss the story advanced
By some that Christ was not born SO near
,he close of our year, because it is the
.ainy season in Judea, when shepherds DO
1ot watch their focks. We leave this to
others, for we would not mar the blessed
lime with depression of this sort. Rath-
,r les us plant the Christmas tree; plant it
n heart and home, and bless anew the day
which makes all mankind better for it's
having come to us out of the darkness of |
Saturnalia
)nce more, then, in the old, familiar words,
Age cannot wither them, nor custom stale,
70 each Merry Christmas, and may all
An opening year of happy omen hail
md as we seek the individual good,
May we nelp on the era, long OWNED,
If glory to the Highest, peace on earth,
And good will re-uniting all mankind
II. @. Harbaugh, IN BRAKES.
A Great Event
Wyoming Territory, after twenty years
experience of woman suffrage, has adopted
State constitution which guarantees per-
onaI. legal and political equality to p