The San Francisco call., 1895-12-22

her up. Once in a while the neighbors
would show me a paper where there
would be picture OF her, and it'd tell
how she danced and sang and how much
people liked her. But | never saw her
again till one night last winter near
Christmas. I'd gone to bed. There was
knock at the door, and who should 1t De
but my girl? | saw she was IN trouble,
and when she saws to me, Mother, L m 8
bad girl, but I have come back to you,'
remembered that story in the Bible where
his father went far out to meet him, an L
never blamed her. She had a few trlnkets,
and they went first to get medicine. Then
came that awful night when her baby was
born. They both died. The poor little
baby seemed to know it wasn't wanted in
this world, an it just opened its eyes an
closed them again. But she, she said 10
me, Mother, | don't want you to forget
me, an promised her | wouldn't. An
to show l didn't l got this Grape bonnet
and that veil and wore them TO the funeral.
That was Christmas eve she died, nearly
year ago, and during the year have been
strapped pretty tight, and | bundled up
a lot of things and took them to the
pawnbroker so that l might square N.Y.
self with the undertaken. They was
things l didn't care for, but he>swouldn't
gimme enough on them, so | just yanked
off my veil and left it. An I have been
I'd get here in time to redeem it, cause l
kept my ticket; but | appreciate your
kindness, lady, an think you can under
stand why just when it was gettin' near
Christmas | wanted to have my veil on,
cause it seemed to tell those people who
knew her that, no matter what she was,
no matter how she acted, she was my
GIRL an l wore the veil in memory of her.
God give you and yours happy Christ
mas.'F
Will it come to you or to me unless we
have deserved it? The bells can ring,
the air can be filled with Christmas mer-
riment, and all around there may be ioy-
ful people, but the spirit of Christmas only
abides with those who have made some
body else happy. 1t need be only "unto
the least of these" but be sure that your
opportunity comes and don't let it go by.
To have the chance of doing kind acts and
to refrain from it, then can you expect
Christmas to come to you? To have it in
your power to make little child happy
and to push it away from you-can the
spirit of Christmas abide with you? To
be able to make women and children hap
py is the work of Christmas spirit wrought
out in men and women. 1t comes along
so quietly, it stands by you and it fills your
heart with loving kindness until you brim
over and share of your good gifts with
those who have nothing.
No matter who you are. make for your
self happy Christmas. | tell you 1t is
well worth while. You need not look far
to find some one to whom you can give,
for the one that you should help is always
close to you. Christmas is the festival of
the Mother and the Child, therefore make
some mother happy and make some child
happy, even if you have to go far to do it.
The shepherds travelled way over the des-
erts bringing their gifts to that wondrous
Child, and surely you can take little
trouble. No matter who you are. the fash
ionable woman or the hard d-hearted man
of business, let your hearts soften and
permit them to rule you for little while.
Such tanks will come to you if you make
merry Christmas for some one else as
you have never had before and the spirit
of Christmas will stand by you and
give you a quiet happiness that Will last
over ali the year. 1t is strange how that
spirit of Christmas brings up in our hearts
the desire to keep before us always those
for whom Christmas was made joyful
many years ago. There are process sions
of children who are thought of, and the
memory of each one comes back to the
mother heart that has each missed little
child. And that mother heart can SYM
pathize with the hard, communicating
old woman who longed SO for her black
Grape veil that she might show on Christ
mas day she had not forgotten her daugh-
ter.
None of us want to be forgotten, and all
of US, year in and year out, utter the same
prayer without knowing it, Lord, keep
my memory green" BAB.