The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1898-12-21

~Os..t( lcb w II ION tnutu
w Toms earthly pill
grimage al 20 shattered cent cigar and
perforated tlntype of his little daughter
Mabel. The cigar was the last token OF
affection given by Mabel to her father be-
Sore he marched away TO war. Many
night, when aching for "a smoke, had Tom
taken the poor cigar out of the pocket
book which he always carried over his
heart and by the magic of its fragrance
had conjured up the tear wet face OF his
little girl as she had placed it between his
lips, and after looking at the cigar and
surreptitiously kissing it he had always
carefully wrapped it up in its covering of
tin foil again and restored it TO his pocket
His comrades in Company II all knew
the story of the cigar, and when his body
was found in the chaparral and the shat
tered cigar in his pocketbook it was han
died with tender, reverent care, as sacred
thing, TO be returned to Toms wife in the
tall east side tenement in New York city.
There was mourning in the house of
Tom Rafferty, widow for many days after
the tidngs of his death, together with the
pocllAbook, reached New York The
mer9 I'll forgetfulness of childhood saved
Mabel from the brooding sorrow which
consumed her mother. But why her ia
ther had not smoked the cigar she could
not understand Neither could she APP
preciate why he had not taken it TO heaven.
The idea of her father being happy in
any place where he could not smoke was
ridiculous TO her childish fancy, for she
could not remember her father in his
hours of ease without a cigar in his mouth.
But the cigar, with the hole made by the
Mauser rife ball through the middle, was
placed, with the other little mementos of
the dead man, in the bottom drawer of
the bureau, where it was hidden from
Mabel's sight for many months. Her
mother, however, saw it very often. When
weary of the terrible fight with poverty,
in the evening when Mabel was asleep,
Mrs. Rafferty, often took the cigar out of
its hiding place and caressed it with lin
gering tenderness because it brought back
sweet memories of her "brave lad, " as she
was fond of calling her dead husband.
1t was June when Tom was killed, and
now that her pay was stopped poverty
pinched the little family sorely. Espe
cially was this true when the winter
months came and the expense of fuel was
added to the general outlay from Mrs.
lRafferty's slender earnings, and when De-
Cember came she told Mabel Santa Claus
-ould probably not pay them his usual
COit because he had gone away to a far
7 adtry and could not get back again in
nd won't papa have any Christmas
cat eithery" asked Mabel anxiously.
Eleoo, my dear, replied Mrs. Rafferty,,
quivering lip. He is in heaven.
Nech Claus never goes there. But never
Gent Mabel. we won't worry about it. "
A.. all the time Mabel was thinking
Ail Li'tched her papa would be in
sehn thrfc eli
lily his cigars. And with tb3
the cigars there flashed across
-d plan so bold, so audacious,
Jarly took her breath away. For
--for the carrying out of her
,ne fell asleep before she had time
PLEAD it TO her mother
-. as "a sorrOwful Christmas eve for
GEL Rafferty,. She was now living on
SHHes. She recalled the happiness of
>s--ous Christmas time when Tom
u Is With her Moved by an uncontrol
liable impulse, she took out of the bureau
all of the mementos of the departed-the
tear stained package of letters he had sent
her from Cuba, the picture Of Mabel with
the bullet hole through the breast and,
last, the cigar Overcome by her grief,
she threw herself upon the bed, forgetting
in her anguish TO replace the keepsakes in
CUSTOMARY 0lUlHR pldCb.
Christmas day broke bright and clear
over the city. In her preparations for
breakfast in the kitchen Mrs. Rafferty, for
got that she had left her precious memen-
tos exposed upon the bureau. just as
she closed the door softly behind her on
her way to the grocery Mabel awoke.
While putting on her clothing she saw the
cigar upon the bureau. She peered into
the kitchen and saw that her mother was
gone. With her heart beating lively
tattoo against her ribs she seized the cigar
aud ran down the stairs.
Pedestrians paused as they saw little
girl fit by with eager face and disappear
in the crowd. How she got there was al
ways a mystery, but within an hour after
leaving home she stood before a delivery
window in the New York postoflice. The
top of her golden head just reached the
window ledge The clerk looked down
into pair of wistful blue eyes.
please, sir" said Mabel, II want TO
send Christmas present TO my papa. T."
Where is your papa, you little cherub?"
said the clerk.
"In heaven, +" replied Mabel simply.
"In heayen ~ echoed the clerk aghast.
Eyes, and mamma says Santa Claus
never goes there, SO l want to send him "A
\ Present all by myself. Mamma don't
I 1now anything about it, and nobody don't
Nnow but me- l want TO send IL all my
Self" And she laid upon the window
le-lge little roll of brown paper. The
D1rk opened it and displayed "A most dis
Equitable cigar He bit his lip. He had
"a little daughter of his own at home.
Seeing his hesitation, the tears filed Ma
bells eyes as she exclaimed:
"Oh, sir please do send It Don't the
cars run today My papa can't get no
cigars in heaven, cause mamma says they
don't sell 'em. DO, please, sir, send il
It's mine. l bought it for papa before he
went TO war What time does the car go?
I'm afraid my present will be too latel'
BY this time the clerk had recovered his
self possession. He picked up time table
- the Hudson River railroad and appar-
lntly read from it:
First mail train leaves for Paradise
today at 1890 o'clock. Little girl, your
papa will get your present before supper