Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-12-24

self by taking great deal OF pains to select
! toys for the little folks. There is no trouble
about his Christina. dinner. He has half a
dozen invitations and selects the first one that
comes, for he would like to select them all.
And there he is the life OF the party. The
father OF the house calls him by his first
| name, slsps him the back and puts his hand
afectiohstely upon his shoulder. The chill
6ren call htn uncle and are proud to sit on his
knee. The mother thanks him for the presents
he made them. He has TO hurry away after
dinner to see another household, whefe he
undergoes the same delightful treatment.
| When he goes home late at night laughter is
still ringing In his ears and the smile is still
his face as he recalls the last joke that made
before he said goodnight. Does he ponder
sadly upon the loneliness of his room? Does
he reflect that be has to go to other peoples
houses to find the happiness that is not in his
own house? Why should he be giving toys to
other mems children? WHY should he not re-
cclve thanks from wife OF his OWN Well,
well; there are divorce courts, legal separations
and horrible family rows in the world AS well
az bachelors.
THE CHRISTMAS DINNER.
But he has enjoyed that Christmas dinner
and it was a success. When You stop to think
of it, what glorious thing the Christmas dim
ner is anyhow. 1t is n feast of a peculiar char
arter and holds no relation to any other feast.
What eatabcs il should consist of everybody
knows. There must be 8 turkey or 8 bir niece
of roast beef, goose. Ii is no time for
made dishes, and the services Of the caterer
must not be called in here. 1t is no Latin feast
but Anglo-Saxon repast. There must be no
insidious fricassee de poulet aux trUffies. which
entices you into indigestion without your
knowledge, but solid, plain-sr oxen dishes that
| give you fair warning when Won have had
enough. There ought TO be pudding rather
than ice cream and cake that is cut before
| your eyes,
1t must be eaten with your family gathered
around you, and some friend who has no family
or whose family is not with him ought to be
| hidden to the feast Never forget that Go in
search of the man who is going to dine on
| Christmas day at his boarding house or at a
restaurant and take him into the bosom of your
| family and let him share your dinner. Did you
| ever dine alone on Christmas dav among
| strangers? If you ever did then remember now
| how you felt and some poor mortal from
| the horrors Of such feast. The man who enjoys
it or is Indifferent to it is strangely constituted
! Nevertheless. 1t sometimes happens that the
best intentiOned people forget that there are
bachelors in the world and suffer them to en-
dure sad Christmas dinner merely because
they never stop to think; But there are some
| bachelors that 1t would be hard for any one to
| entice away from the settled gloom in which
they choose to live of their accord.
4 BARREN CHRISTMAS DAY.
For ;,starce tbere ia .be an. Tho, Er.s .,,,,x
'N'i0 - INC "'e 'N"' n'es aiohe
IN one small room ana SPENDS most OF his time
and all his thoughts upon his business or
home life be has none, and 1t is so long since he
ever had any that he has forgotten what home
life is like. Alone in the world he does not
mind it, for TO him life is the business world.
| or feasts this bachelor has no experience At
his boarding house there is turkey on Sundays,
and on Thanksgiving day he notices that the
table is more bountifnlly spread than it is
ordinary occasions He does not fully approve
OF these legal holidays He observes that his
clerks are excited the day before holiday and
do little work and that the day afterward they
have the hstess, mechanical manner of men
who have not had normal amount OF Sleep
Still, be accepts holidays as he does taxes.
They are to be avoided If possible, and no man
need undergo many Of them, but it is in
evitable that man should endure
some OF them. So. if the DAYS
of this commonplace and dreary,
what are the holidays. and what above all, is
the greatest holiday of all-Christmas day?
Let us see how he spends Christmas eve first.
| He comes home-or rather he comes to the
| place where he lives for he has no home-about