Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-12-16

| to his wife as regular as Christmas
came around. One year he bought a
new table for the dining-foom, and the
! next year he bought clock. In 1888
he told her: This year you get your
Christmas present in advance" Sc,
along in November, he had new fur
mace put into his house.
Last year he was as thoughtful as
ever. He gave her a beautiful brass
bedstead for his room. When he came
home he was beaming with happiness.
did you receive that little present,
dear?" he asked. Il told them to send
it up to-day"
Eyes, it cane this morning, love.
Was it for me?"
Eyes, dear
well, I knew that, and as I didn't
need any bedstead, Mrs. Williams took
it off my hand for twenty dollars, and
I've been down town shopping all at
terncon."
A child would rather have several
cheap presents than one big and ex-
pensive gift, and a man or woman
would rather have one trifie on
Christmas morning than many costly
things. A Christmas present has no
real value except as a token of love or
remembrance.
Think of the family in which the
daughter receives a diamond necklace
worth $13,800 and the only son is given
a certified check for $4,000, so that
he may have imported cigarettes for
New Years; motber receives Persian
lambs wool sacque worth S22 square
inch and father is given a walking
stick with $1,000 worth of rubies in the
! Christmas light or joy in such house
hold, with double guard of detectives
around the house and all the members
of the family counting up to learn who
came out ahead on the exchange of
presents?
Besides, what significance have gifts
| unless there is that little element of
sacrifice? The gift may represent a
sacrifice of time or sacrifice of mon
ey, but in either case it comes directly
from the giyer. If he had not given
it he could have applied it selfshly to
his own comfort or pleasure. 1t is a
part Of himself that he surrenders
willingly.
But the one who is abnormally rich
must exaggerate the value of his gifts
really sacrifices something to the i'm
pulses of his heart. Even then he
fails
So at Christmas time the very rich
people must either show barbaric gen.
er0sity or else get back to the first
principles Of present giving and make
with their own hands the things which
they would give to their friends
the pastor every Christmas does not
prevail in Chicago. When Chicago
was a smaller town the custom was in
favor, and for a time after the Fort
Dearborn massacre the joke about the
preacher receiving thirty pairs Of Slip
pers every Christmas was we'll esteem
ed
Some families continue to keep the
preacher on the annual list. Last year
a pious woman on TIE north side re-
minded her husband, just a week be-
fore Christmas, that ne must get some
thing for Brother Sharpley. Get
I something worth about five dollars, ;"
she said.
81 don't know what to get," he
said.
Get something" she said
He went to a book store and found
it crowded to the sidewalk with Christ
mas shoppers. At the department
stores the customers were standing on
the counters and taking down goods
themselves.
TN go and do my shopping at the
! places that are not crowded" said the
| man.
He found that he could be waited on
in grocery and hardware stores, at the
! druggists and other places, SO he start
ed in and spent his S. as judiciously as
possible. When he had made his pur-
| chases he put the articles into a box
and sent them to the preacher. They
were as follows:
Two evergreen wreaths.
A pound of borax.
A can Of tomatoes.
Full set of almanacs for 1897.
A stove-lid litter.
One bar Of soap.
| Two pounds OF dried currants.
Coil of clothes line
Flesh brush.
One bottle of household ammonia.
One sponge.
Half -bushel of potatoes.
Six candles.
POt-lifter