Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1892-12-15
NOT EXACTLY NEWS.
A Few General Remarks and Familiar
Rehectionc.

| Robert Anderson, substantial farmer
of this place, tells singular story of his
coming to this country. He was na
/ tive of County Tyrone, Ireland, and came
to America in 1S49. On leaving his coun-
try letter addressed to John William
son, New York, was put into his hand 10y
a relative of the party addressed, and the
request was made that he deliver it. Mr..
Anderson landed at old Castle Garden
one rainy night. He was, he says, about
as green as it is possible for country
Irish lad of twenty years to be. Next
morning he left the landing, and started
to look up Williamson. He soon saw
man standing in a doorway, and by
an inexplicable impulse he crossed the
street and made inquiry of the man re-
specting the person he was looking for.
The man of whom he inquired turned
out to be the identical J John Williamson.
He received his letter, and helped the
young Anderson as native of his own
country in old Ireland.
The Rev. DIR. Riker, of the Trinity
Street NJ. E. Church at Wheeling, preach
ed a sermon recently on the subject of
dancing He declared dancing to be of
wrongful tendency. His description of
dancing shows him to be man who has
not tasted of its pleasures, but his con-
clnsions will better commend themselves
even to votary of the May pleasure.
He said indisputably that it was waste
of valuable time, and that most church
es were opposed to it. But he did not, so
far as reported, make the best point
against it, which is its ineXcusable bad
taste. Dancing offends delcacy far more
than it Offends morality. The modern
dance is morally harmless, but it essen
italy undignifed, and to fastidious
delicacy somewhat repulsive and vul
gar. Those who oppose dancing by al
leging its harmfulness are laughed at by
its devotees. The attack had much bet
ter be made on its picturesque absurdity.
This is the season of the year when
ones mind stimulated by the beauteOus
things to be found i'll the shops, turns to
the thoughts of gifts. Gift-giving is a
beautiful custom. The idea is to show
to the person to whom you make the gift
that you have some thought of him,
some regard for his tastes, and that you
are therefore willing to be atsome trouble
solely for him. The value of gift is not
in coin, but in the self sacrifice that is
made by the giver. This self sacrifice is
of two kinds. At first thought it might
be supposed thatsthe woman who puts
into her gift the beautiful ideas of her
brain and the delicate skill of her hand
does actually put more value into the
dainty present than the man who at
once buys something and is done with it.
But this view overloOkS some important
features. There is known to the human
mind no occupation more positively dis
tracing or better adapted to drive d
man temporarily insane than that of Sc
lecting Christmas present. From the
time it dawnS Oh man that he will make
a present until Christmas Eve, he has no
peace of mind or comfort of soul. I'm
less he is peculiarly transparent and sim
pie he knows that he must not call in the
help of a friend, for no friend will keep
his secret. He therefore nurses his per-
pleXity in silence and alone, until driven
to the verge of chaotic madness, he finish
es up by buying some particularly insane
trifie, which in a more lucid state of
mind he would at once have condemned
as idiotic Hence let those who receive
some excessively bungling, awkward and
gift, not suppose that the
giver rushed away at the last moment. |
and bought his present without consider
alton He has probably worried himself
to idealess insanity, and bought it while
in that condition.