The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1897-12-22

me take up my Jacket, the signal Tor
his departure. VIXEN TIE tr;l!npng of
uumistakable ard evidently stout boots
sounded without, and with prodiGicus
crash of the screen dcOr there entered
into my sauctum S!alw"rt Captain Hale
of the good ship Monhrgan, arravrG IL
snowy linen and crowned with Il broad
pith helmet accompanied hy stout and
Jolly Mrs. Hale, carrying 4 biz basket
and a brown eingham umbrella, with
her cheerful face hcaning from the
depths of q real old fashioned sunbonnct.
Good evening, SIR" they both call
ed out, and Mrs Hale added: "Wish
. YOU a merry Christmas, Mr. 3. My,
amt it hotn subsiing into the BAN
boo chair which l had placed for her
under the punkah, with Il 'pica, hon.
bre" Easter man), to old Pedro, the
cooly, who redoubled his efforts with a
disappearing grunt.
Good gracious, Mr. B." exclaimed
Mrs Hale, "don't, for PHYS sake, make
that poor Old feller work so this hot day
on my count Stop it, " shaking her unl-
brella vigorously at Pedro, who took
this for signal to 90 faster still, and
the big fan Tapping maGly back and
forth till called. "Despacio" tgently').
The Monhegan had been in the bay
for a month past under charter to nc
for Boston, and was now cleared and
ready to sail the next day had spent
many pleasant hour on board with the
captain and his wife, rejoicing in the
homelike feeling it gave me to hear
their good old Yankee forms of speech
: The very sight of their healthy faces,
Drowned by the sun in many seas, did
me good in my weary exile, and their
presence seemed to dilfuse all atlnos
phere of the breezy pines and wind
swept shores of Maine And how good
their primitive, shipboard food was aft
er months Of awful Spanish cooked din
ners Oil shore!
And now the sound of their hearty
voices seemed to give the earthquake
rent, dingy walls of the old Office build
ing pleasanter aspect "You see, Mr..
B." said the captain, 1--WE kinder
thought we'd drop in and give ye the
good wishes of the season fore goin
round to do cur Christmasin. Fact is, -
he added, smiling, the cid lady can't
{ get on without celcbratin Christmas,
no matter where she is, and she's al
ways bound to give some presents to
folks If we're at sea, she gives 'em to
my crew, and if we're III port like this
she hunts up poor folks and gives 'em
/ to 'em, heathens and all Amt that so,
mother?"
, Mrs Hale nodded. That's fact,
father,'' she said. why, 'twouldn't
seem the least mite like Christmas if l
couldn't give presents, whether l be
home in Boothbay or not. AS for hea-
thens, tha: don't make bit of differ
ence. It's Christmas jest the same,
whether they know it or not, and 1t
tickles 'em jest as much to get presents,
and me to give 'em. And you re jest
the same, John. You know you be. y
well. l don't know but what be,
Maria" acknowledged the captain, and
they went Oh 10 tell Of their queer ex-
periences while "ChriStmasin in out of
the way Chinese and African ports with
chuckles and pcals Of laughter that set
Pedro grinning by force Of example,
though be couldn't understand y word
And speakin Of that, Mr.. B., >" said
Mrs Hale Il thought maybe | could
make it little more like Christmas to
you and them other young men here
away from their owr folks. so made
you this" And with that she extracted
from her basket the very grandfather Of
all Christmas plum puddings-the first
one had seen for three years. "Maybe
tain jest what you'd get at home,
she said, holding it out with both hands
while the captain lowered beside her,
six feet of genuine delight at my sur
prise, - cause | didn't have just the
right fixin's, but guess it'll go down
pretty well. There, take it and don
bother to say one word. And | knew
the kind old soul saw that for the mo-
ment l could as easily have flown as
uttered the thank:; felt.
Trust the old lady to know what
boys like, ," said the captain. we had
boy once ourselves He'd be jest about
! your age now," he added in lower
: tone, glancing at his wife.
, We've got hill now, John, as I've
always said and always will" said
! Mrs. Hale quietly, rearransing her bas-
; ket.
The captain went OH in answer to my
wondering look: You see, our boy run
/ off when he wa more'n l3. He'd
! been kind of wild, as boys be, and I'm
afraid was little harsh to him Any
way he went off without word, and
we amt never heard Of him since. |
feel pretty sure he's dead, but mother
here sticks to it he ain t. -
And I'm goin to stick to it, John,
till know for sure" And then with d
CHEEKY smile at me: {" 1t kind Of does me
! good to keep loohin forward to sccin
Rufe again some day. Now, come along,
/ John; its gcttin late. y
l slipped on my jacket, whcrcupon
Pedro vanished, ard accompanied the
worthy couple down to the door Of the
building. On the stairs Mrs. Hale turn
ed and whispered to me: John talks
as if he didn't care much about Rutc :
goin off, but now he really does, Mr..
B. If he could find our boy. 'twould
take ten years off his age and mine too .
l did not doubt it, and retraincd
from saying that l thought it would
probably add ten years to Rufe,s If ho
could realize the sort of mother and ia
ther he had left so many years ago.
So l bade them good night, promising
to see them in the morning and with
hearty thanks for their thoughtful kind
ness, and watched them as they trudS'd
away toward the native quarters, their
sturdy figures towering above the mot
lev crowd of natives and Cinnamon
who throngcd the narrow street and
filled the air with their uncouth gabblc.
l sent my groom home with tn" pre-
cious pudding. and, mounting my pony,