Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1891-12-24

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Nj @ECv5 rI N "a tllF HEUpir Cl
/ faI--L1 AChristen 2 ia
MG ElY will, within the
GPl+4gDI w next few days,
@IN-}IHL/ both make and
H r---I receive At least
4 ktD E one gift in honor
VI Of Christmas ~
I<y9g2 27 of the New Year,
W besides ia some
cases supernu
merary presents incident % birthdays
and weddings
II that visitor from another planet w
whom We often refer could drop inf
during the present holiday season, lie
would echo the old Roman cry, "How
these Christians love one anotherr and
60 back to Herschel or Mercury very
favorably impressed with the brotherly
kindness and large generosity existent
upon this little globe of ours.
But say he came in March, while the
east winds blow All along our Atlantic
coast, or III November, when chill f0gs
and nipping frosts and leaden skies inn
duce misanthropy and inHuenza. would
ne have been as favorably impressed
And yet, why not? Why does all tue
world bloom with love and good will
shown in the practical form of spending
its substance upon presents, making en-
tertainments and feasting its friends ez-
actly in the middle Of the winter, in the
last week OF December and the first week
of January:
"Why, on account Of Christmas and
the New Year, shouts somebody
"Don't you keep Christmas" "Oh, yes,
with all the rest Of the world, but some
times cannot help asking myself why. Il
always did ask why about everything
When was very little girl my father
(at Christmas, Of course,) made me a
I present Of a lovely French doll with
golden curls and sky blue eyes that
opened and shut, and a rosy mouth that
H also opened-th that is to say, one could BY
a string under the skirts pull down the
4 lower jaw, producing a startling grimaee
and the sounds "Ma-mal Pa-par' an
accomplishment described a. talking.
Well, played with my dol awhile,
opening and shutting the eyes. eToi.ing
the extraordinary effort at speech. and
then began to inquire 'why:"
\ Nobody could tell me, and proceeded
to find out for myself by the aid Of pair
Y Of scissors. found out, and my father
Y coming into the room discovered me
sitting among the ruins Of my doll a
\ string and some wires III ~ Gaand and
an air of disnay upon my face. With
Y one glance lie took in the whole scene
and quietly remarked
/ s.Well, Floy, you've found out why
and you've ruined your doll You won't
4 have another very soon. my dear, but
when you have | advise you not 70 look
below the surface. Take pretty things
On their face my child. ami they'll last
the longer
1t was sound advice, ana although !
did not see the why at the time, when
was a little older | picked the speech 70
n pieces just as had the doll, only instead
of spelling it ! found out the real use Of
it, and have benefited by it ever since.
But whats bred in the bone, You
know, will come out once in awhile at
least, ana still say why sometimes. wy
in this matter Of making presents
How many motives there are for keep
ing up the practice First Of all, love VI
affection. Every one of Us has some one,
OF it may be we have several fellow
beings, to whom it il delight and u
4 privilege to make presents. Sometimes
\ there is one to whom i'll making gift
we typify the gift of our very self. -An
that have and own is thine, dear love,
we sing in the depths Of Our own heart,
and from those depths springs the im-
pulse to lavish whatever we have or can
" procure Of costly on rare Or beautiful at
the feet Of the beloved.
You all know what mean but the
most of You read the words with a smile
and sigh, saying, All! that didn't
\ last long" No, it didn't; 1T never does;
but while it did last it WAS the very
crown and blossom Of present making
\ But next to these ecstatic love gifts
( come the presents Of affection; those
that we give to our parents, our children
our near relatives and our true friends
Z if we are so lucky as to possess any such.
v These are honest gifts; real expires
4 sions of a desire to demonstrate our af-
fection and to give pleasure to the object
of it, They are good deal calmer ana
more rational than the love gifts; we do
not quite mean or desire to lose sight Of
the price Of what we purchase or its pro
portion to our means; we do not (meta-
phorically) sell the clothes from OFF our
back to buy bouquet or a jewel, but
cheerfully give what we can properly
afford in justice to ourselves ana to our
other friends. 1t is all very consistent.
the sweet folly Of love outstrips sober
reason, but affection quietly walks hand
in hand with that calm goddess and
/ listens to her counsel and warnings.
Next in the scale come the gifts OF
kindness, Of beneyoleuce and Of charity,
and these also are honest ana worthy, If
so be they are given in sincerity. we All
know persons for whom we do not per
sonally care very much, but whom W.
pity because they are old. or lonely. or
sick, or have but few friends and few
means of attracting them, and to give
some little present to such a one is
kindly and graceful act; il has always
seemed to me duty for those whose
lives are passed il the sunshine ana
amid all the sweetness and brightness of
life to act as moons and shed, if only a
reflected radiance, upon those shadowy
lives creeping along through the deserts
Of life
A little gift at Christmas time to such
one brings happiness lo Cwo nearIs A
only fJr few moments, ana these are
not tie gifts Of benevolence which e.
presses Itself in giving dinners and warm
clothing and Goals to deserving persons
who need them, in paying quarters
rent for so-e struggling young couple
or in doing something handsome for
those in ones employ; kindness is what
we show to those id our own social posi-
ton, to those not in need of any material
help. while benevolence is u more expen-
siye and also expansive quality. and inn
plies really benefting those upon whom
we bestow our gifts. ana then there il
charity which is almsgiving. either per
sonally or through institutions, to those
really and ayowedly in need of 1T.
A great many persons make charita-
bic gifts who never take the trouble to
be benevolent, far less to offer those gifts
of kindness whose value depends upon
the tact and personal feeling with which
they are offered
I1,,+ ,.,,& ,.,,-, l,.tF 49,. -. I 7.