The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-24
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. DECEMBER "a. 1898

at least cents for that mess of leaves
and berries, all because it's Christmas.
Christmas is a nuisance, and seems 10
have turned sensible people into lot Of
jumping jacks"
All day he worked hard. The clerks
did not remember when he had been so
severe, and when at last closing-up time
came they all stole out in the night, glad
TO escape from a presence so chilling.
The effervescent office boy, with all the
exhilar4tion of youth, called out, "Merry
Christmas, Mr.. Slade," but received only
blunt, Get out, you young rascal" for
his pains.
''G'll discharge that boy the first of the
year, and III cut down the salaries 10 per
cent. My people must be overpaid to be
able to indulge in Christmas presents and
| tOmfOOlery.n He had never raised the
shade once, but when he turned out his
light glimmer from the other window
told him the little typewriter was still at
work. Il suppose that holly is withered
by this time. Such a waste of money"
and he hurried away to the place that he
called home, more and more disguised
with humanity in general and the little
| typewriter in particular.
Christmas morning broke cold and
gray. When Mr.. Slade awoke he remem-
oered that the grumpy housekeeper had
| gone on 10 spend the day with some dis
tant relative Of her dead husbands first
| wife, and he must look out for himself at
| some nearby restaurant.
Even she hasn't the sense she was
born with, y he growled, as he turned on
the water for bath, 'but must go gall
wanting out into the country to eat bit
OF turkey and mess of raisins and meat
| Just because IL happens to be Christmas.
| out on the streets he was confronted by
| groups OF children carrying palpably new
/ toys and dolls, families going to dine with
| grandma and grandpa and young men and
maidens carrying new canes and UNI
| brellas. just when he was about to turn
| into the first restaurant in order to escape
the irritating happiness of the passers-by
a voice at his side chirruped Mister,
don't you want ticket for free dinner,
It's only for poor folks, and you look so
hungry and so unhappy, l know my
mamma won't care" and a pretty little
| girl thrust into his hand bit of paste
board and vanished before he could get
over the establishment that such pro-
| ceeding excited.
Looking down at the card he read:
| MERRY CHRISTMAS.
| Annual dinner to the needy and distribution
OF gifts to poor children.
| ARTISANS HALL
| Please present ticket Dec. % o'clock.
His first impulse was to tear it up.
Then the instinct of economy came to the
fore and he determined to use it, ''Why
shouldn't be invited out to dinner as
| well as all the othersl A restaurant
dinner would cost at least dollar and
penny saved is equal to two earned"
AT 1 o'clock he found himself in the
center of struggling, pushing mass of
juvenile humanity endeavoring to get
into the hall, from which the odor of
| freshly-roasted turkey was already is
| suing. If he could have escaped he
would, for at the last moment an atom of
| self respect had crowded to the fore aud
| he remembered how mean thing he was
DONG IN thus usurping the place of some
| hungry person who could not even buy
| even loaf of bread with which to cele-
brate the day Once in the hall he was
bewildered by the bable of tongues and
the atmosphere of happiness that per-
vaded the throng. Sunken cheeks APP
peared to round out as the goodies disap-
peared and wan faces frightened under
the influence Of cheerful words and kindly
attention.
He had never been in the midst of so
much joy before, and somehow he felt
meaner and meaner every minute. No
one had paid any particular attention to
him, as his shabby clothes made him ap-
pear as only genteelneedy one, but when
once the children were all seated a Young
girl with bunch of holly berries in her
belt spied him, and coming up to him,
said, in gentle, womanly fashion:
Let me get you place. The others
are SO busy they must have overlooked
you"
The berries first attracted him, and
then his eyes Travelled swiftly to the
| smooth, brown head and demure face
that he knew so we'll.
"She bere,' he thought. "Why, even
on holiday she works instead of running
about like the rest"
81 may seem curious, miss" he said, as
she settled him before dish heaped high
with Christmas good things, "but who
gives all these-us poor peoplep He
corrected himself as he noticed her look
of inquiry "Who gives them this dinner
and the presents2"
"Oh, a lot of charitable ladies club to-
gether and get their friends to help them
can't help with money because 1 work
for my living myself, and am not very
well off, but help wait on the tables and
1t makes me so happy to see what little
IL takes TO bring a ray of sunshine to
those little folks that wouldn't have any
Christmas at all If they didn't get it in
this way" Times are hard" he felt
constrained to say, as the honest eyes
looked into his. Yes, that's So but they
wouldn't be so hard if everybody would
just try and help everybody else just a
wee bit,n
She vanished soon after this, and as his
place was needed by some newcomer
Slade passed out of the building and went
from there TO his gloomy home, where he
played solitaire all the evening. Some
how the cards were not as satisfying as
usual, for childish faces and a girlish
form would blot out aces and Jacks, and
by o'clock he had lost patience with
himself, so he blew out the lamp-it was
cheaper than gas-and retired for the
night.
Now, he didn't marry the little type
writer the next month or the next year,
nor he didn't become a changed man all
at once, but the lessons of that day clunq
to him, and the clerks gradually discov.
cred that they had misjudged "Old
Slade," and on the typewriter's desk a
bouquet would sometimes be found, and
the second Christmas saw family party
in SHADES gloomy home, which, by the
way, was no longer gloomy, and pretty
brown-haired woman responded to the
toast, MY wife,, while the children in
Artisans Hall had bigger dinner than
ever before through the influence of a
substantial check presented by Mrs.
Hiram Slade.
The slipper Trick
From the san Francisco Argonaut.
This vanished dancing pump was
slipped off the foot of an exquisite young
| man at a reception of one of the LEADING