Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-12-24


and thanksgiving. Ny friend, there is
nothing quite so fine as to have sim
cere gratitude. 1t need not take the
form of thanks in. words, but IL you see
IL in a look, il you see it in an action.
IT viii give You the purest happiness
that ever came to you. But there will
be no Merry Christmas for you, for
yonr neighbor, or for me If we are
simply foolish. II we only give to those
who already possess. II we only make
happy those who are well acquainted
with happiness. If we only find our
Merry Christmas surrounded by those
we love; and those who love us. We've
got to go beyond that. We've got to
lift tho burden off the back or tbs soul
OF some poor struggling ant, and teach
1T what Merry Christn as means. We've
got to feed 1T well, and we've got to
give it, not only that which is useful,
but that which is luxury.
| wonder IL you ever saw, AS l did
once. the face of a child, when, at a
charitable Christmas,tree dull, dark,
woolen dress had been given to her She
needed it, OF course, and it undoubt-
eddy was generous to give it to her;
but the dress might have been bright
and with it there could have teen a
bit of folly, toy, box of sweets, or a
book full of gay pictures. All the year
round the ants work for the necessaries
of life. When you are generous to
them let them know how its pleasures
tasts. Pure folly is good-good for
everybody the folly of the Christ.
mastide makes us young again. When
we give to somebody who will really
enjoy IL the smartly dressed doll, the
wonderful get-up of the soldiers, or the
ship that will sail all round washtub
and back again, well, it may be folly
stockings and rubber shoes and UNI
dershirts are more sensible. perhaps,
but somehow they are not Christmas
gifts. What a hypocrite a little child
must have become when he can be
thankful at Christmas time for use
full present! Too many of the so-called
charitable institutions make hypo-
critics of children. Fancy giving a
boy, who had looked forward to pair
of skates, or bicycle. or something
that was intensely boyish in its posi-
bilities, a duly bound Bible, because he
could recite six hundred verses from
| the Old Testament! should feai that
| hoy. l should conclude that he would
| be so conversant with some Of the ven
geance expressed by tho great soldiers
OF tho old time, these soldiers who
Numbered forth their belief in a
| reyengeful God, that he would live up
| to some OF the verses be had learned.
| One verse is enough for any of us.
but how few of us explain in ourselves
| all its beauty! IL we could only manage
to think OF the last part of it Just now.
| You know the verse / mean? "Thou
| .balt lnya tho T,prl tho (ynI p,ifb n n
| thy heart, and thy neighbor as thy
seif." Your noighbors are all around
you now. They are the poor, hard
working ants, and gift TO each one
means for you the being happier man
\ or woman and the certainty OF a
MERRY Christmas. Give, and give,
and give of your plenty to those who
have but little. Teach your little
children to be really generous, not to
give in a condescending way, not to
Give in patrunizing way, but TO give
as God gave that first Christmas Gift.
That Christmas that came with good.
will to all the world. Not just TO the
kings and princes and to the rich Of
the earth, but TO those who were in
lowly places and who were Gods own
people-the puor How can the angels
sing their song of happiness when they
look down on world so mean and 60
full OF selfshness? Make it easier for
them, my friend. Give so joyfully and
so merrily, and so certainly to those
who need gifts. that, like the quite
beasts in the stable, there will come h
you, as in dream, the sound of the
melody, that first echoed through the
world 80 many hundred years ago.
You can be SO happy when you are
generous. You can be so glad when
you give and give freely. And you
need not be rich, my friend, to do this.
What seems 30 little to you becomes sc
much to somebody who is poorer than
you. No one ever gave with free
heart who did not receive great gift
in return. Ii may be long coming.
You may not know ii when it does
come. But oftenest ii takes tho form
OF quiet pleasure that pervades your
whole soul. That is the blessing OF
God resting upon you. The recipient
of your gift may forget, but God never
does. His thanks stand forever. and
are written opposite your name in the
great Life hook How can you refuse
to be generous on Christmas Day? How
can you draw the strings of your purse
and the strings of your heart go closely
when before you there must come, il
only in the very name of the day, the
memory of that first Christmas gift!
There will never be another like it,
but in our poor way we can initiate il
by offering of our very best A mean
gift is worse than no gift at all. Will
you give u thought. or better still,
will you lift the burden for this one
day from some poor art? II you dc
this tho angels will sing song in
praise of you--a song that will echo
and re-echo throughout heaven until
your name and your generosity are
known to all the jewellers therein. You
will do it, AM surc. You are good
and kind. but sometimes Just little
thoughtloss. But to-day you will re.
member. And because of the good gifts,
far off, making bow, her best bow, and
saying God bless you and give you q
Merry Christmas is Bah.
DEATH OF cob WELSH.
Was Prominent PhiiadeIphian and a
Director of the Pennsylvania Railroad.