The gold leaf., 1892-12-22

good supper was soon finished, and the
cold rain and sleet outside, joined to the
warm blaze Of the coal inside, caused the
eyes to droop, and soon she was curled up
in the corner asleep again.
"Wcll it does knock me out" said Dick
What do you think it means anyhow"
IL don't know" said Jack dreamily.
There is something uncanny about it all.
She will unfold her wings and quietly
fly out the window before we know it, l
guess"
1t was nearly daylight when little Fay
opened her eyes and sat up. 1t was snow
Ing and the flakes were coming down thick
and fast. and the sight made her heart leap
for joy. The weather was just like that of
a year ago, and she remembered overy cir
cumstance connected with that fateful
Christmas eve On and ON went the train.
After awhile they entered the suburbs
of Il great smoky city, for now it was broad
daylight, and even the sun was trying to
come up, and she could see the intermina-
bic row after row Of houses, with the
smoke from their chimneys curling up
ward in the still air. Presently they came
up to another station, and she heard
voice back on the train call out Grand
avenue
Grand avenue! Grand avenuep whis-
pered the Spirit of Steam as it came in
through the cab window and wrapped her
in its arms. This is your place! Come
down the steps and will hold you in my
arms
And when the old engine pulled out from
the station. and Jack and Dick found their
strange passenger missing, they looked at
zach other. but said never Il word.
And Fay was standing in a snowdrift.
it was very cold, and she followed two
men going up over the hill She remem-
bertA Grand avenue and the kind old gen
tleman who had told her to run home, but
how could she find her way? And while
she was thinking, and her fingers and toes
were growing cold and her lip was be-
ginning to tremble, she heard the chimes
of the church and saw the spire that the
kind old gentleman had pointed out to
her, and away she went on the wings of
the wind!
In fact, the wind would have to have
very large wings and work them with pro-
digioUs force to go half as fast as shs did
And when she did get into the yard of the
old house it seemed as if she would never
be able to reach the door, for Fido would
not let her by, but just pushed her down
and played with her and kissed her and
just barked and barked till he cried. And
when she couldn't get the door open and
ran and knocked ON the window, and saw
papa ard mamma sitting by a Christmas
tree just like the one a year before, and
they both sprang up and screamed and ran
to the door, and she felt their loving en-
braces and tender kisses, her heart ran
over with tears of love and happiness.
Ah, but wasn't that Christmas! It
would take a thousand yule logs to equal
in Fay's eyes the little lighted tapers hang
ing from the limbs of the evergreen tree;
it would take hundreds of wassail bowls
to compare with the sugar plums and can
dies that delighted her eyes. And then
the dolls, and the wonderful watches with
real hands, and the tin tigers and lions
that looked SO fierce you could hardly
recognize them, and the candy mice and
pigs that deserved to be eaten and met
their deserts. and Noahs ark, with so
many animals that you could not tell what
half of them were, and ever so many Won
derful things besides!
And when at last she lay so sweetly rest
full in mammals arms, with papa looking
fondly down, every bell in the city seemed
to know it and shouted out the glad It'd
lngs as loud as its brazen throat could yall
only gradually quieting down in it's excess
of joy to join at the close in the harmonious
refrain-"Peace on earth! Peace on earthp'
HARRY w. COCKERILL.