Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-25
A GOOD BOYS REWARD
Howard Fielding ellis Of a Christmas
He Can Never Forget.
HE PLAYED THE LITTLE ANGEL
While Zig, lub6erly Liar Got All the
Iresents in light.
CHURCH RIVALRY IN GOOSE FALLS
WRITTEN FOR THE pIspArcu

|
About dozen distinguished people, in.
cluding myself, were invited by publisher
to write the stories of our most memorable
| Christmas days for use on the present festaI
| occasion. 1 accepted the invitation and at
once began work on a story left over from
last Fourth of July. 1 took out the fire.
crackers and substituted snowballs, and
was engaged in changing the character of
George Washington into that Of Santa
Claus when received this note:
Never mind your Christmas story. Have
decided to have them all strictly truthful.
Can you suggest man wao can tell the
truth, to take your place in the symposium?
VIII you hunt around for a day or two, and
find man? We can afford to pay him $40
more than we offered you. If he amounts tc
anything, and won't take less. Sorry that
there's nothing in it for you, but another
time, etc, etc.
This came by messenger, So cents, collect
and knew by that and by the handwriting,
and by the modest, kind and charitable
nature of the sentiment, that it must be
from the publisher 1 do not think that
even the loss of the % cents-which I paid
in the belief that the note contained check
hurt me worse than the assault upon my
veracity. 1t was very un Just; and, to prove
that it was, sat down and wrote the follow
ing yarn which bears the stamp of truth
upon its face.
The Riches OF Lite.
The events which shall describe were
driven into nv memory particularly har,l
because they were of the sort that children
are supposed to forget Immediately In the
days OF which write the care of me, as is
usual with orphans, had devolved upon that
one of my relations who was least able to
bear it. My Aunt Martha had seven chill
dren of her own to provide for. and the
eighth was child OF calamity, the writer
of these lines. didn't mind poverty much
in those days. Most of the things wanted
were free. The essentials oflif as they appear
to healthy boy, are thin ice and frozen
snowballs in the winter, pond with deep
holes In it as place to acquire the art of
swimming in the summer and another boy
to fight with all the year around 1 had
these simple necessaries, and seldom crayed
the luxuries of life. True, at Christmas
time would have been glad to get more
presents, but as some of my more fortuna G
companions were much smaller and weaker
than myself 1 was able to use their TOYS
almost as much rs they could.
But grieved along with the other chill
dren, when, in bleak November, it began
to be whispered about that there would be
no Christmas trees in Goose Falls. The
churches had sworn off, But as Christmas
approached there was general feeling of
uneasiness lest somebody should break the
boycott, tor, Of course, if any church had a
tree all would be forced to do it There
were rumors of tree plots immediately after
Thanksgiving. and every society suspected
the others OF secret preparations with the
design OF capturing for its Sunday school
those children whose love Of religious in
struction could be awakened only by the
hope of spoils. However, nothing definite
was done, and the young Goose Fallers
viewed the cherries prospect with dismay.
Genius for the Emergency.
At this point Providence raised up for n,
prophet in the form of William Jennings
He was IA years old, as big as the side of
house and as awkward as a young calf.
When he sat down he looked as if he had
been poured from some gigantic receptacle
over all the neighboring furniture. This
popularity had earned him the name Df
"Sloppy." He was a boy to be enyied At
Christmas time, for he held more candy
than any ten of the Others But he was the
only one of US who showed no sorrow at the
prospect of Christmas without trees, and we
couldn't understand it. Urged to explain
his calmness in misfortune, he uttered. on
the 10Th of December, these memorable