The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-12-29
An Aftermath of the
Christmas Shopping

The hurry of Christmas shopping and get
ting the packages off and thanking ones
stars that everybody has been remembered
and that Christmas comes but once year,
has its aftermath just as other things have.
A predetermined woman who had fin
ished shopping, and indeed, the Christmas
dinner was sitting quietly in her library,
as if the unexpected wasn't gong to hap
pen.
1t was the night before Christmas.
Two parcels were left at the door by the
expressman. From two people," she
moaned, Ito whom 1 have not sent one
thing" They were two exquisite gifts from
two friends she had made at a summer
pace last season.
The very fact that she had failed to re-
member them marred the pleasure of the
evidence of their thoughtfulness.
She could not Danish it from her mind
and allowed the mementos intended for her
pleasure to produce quite the opposite eff
feet.
rs it too late?" she asked Ito select
something and send to them?" She turned
this over in her mind twenty times.
wait and send them something New
Years." some one suggested, with wild
hope that she would not do anything
palpable.
wait until next Christmas" said her
husband, Win MS nanuS IN MS pockets ana
so the matter was discussed at length by
the unhappy creature.
There lay the two dainty little gifts and
two cards. "A Merry Christmas said one.
with love and wishes for joyous Yu!e-
tide" said the other.
Was it happy? Was it joyous?
The woman presently took the tiny bit OF
cardboard in her hand
"A merry Christmas" "A joyous Yule-
tide she said aloud The bit of card
board breathed a sentiment. 1t was as if
something had spoken to her heart. 1t was
a lesson in itself
Presently she spoke again: 81 am fright
fully ungrateful,'' she said. 81 am fright
fully snobbish. Here two friends have
sent me two lovely gifts, and two fond
hopes for my happiness, and l have allow
ed myself to be miserable about it,
She was thoroughly pentitent. But for
all her good intentions, she weakened
every now and then.
And at times now she has the appearance
of wishing that she had been entirely neg
lected If her two friends could have seen
the despair with which their gifts were re-
ceived they would have no doubt offered
an apology for being so thoughtless.
The children, when the day begins to
wane are amusing illustrations of the af-
termath of Christmas.
On one of the Highland cars Christmas
night a little child nesting in the corner
was making the most frantic efforts to keep
awake He had lived lifetime that day.
It was his fifth Christmas, and it had been
a happy day for him. From the early
morning hour when he had tumbled out OF
bed and caught glimpse of the great tree
loaded with presents to last for year ne
had no thought for anything else. he
had been dining out too, and now snugly
warm his one thought seemed to be to keep
his ewes open. He would thrust first one
chubby hand and then the other in to his
ewes and wink desperately. His nurse had
some distance to walk from the car and
she gently admonshed him not to go to
sleep. His efforts to obey were comieal
and pathetic.
Poor little tired child! So afraid to go to
sIeep So afraid to rest his weary little
body against the side of the car. He
swung first one little foot and then the
other. He clutched bag of candy in one
hand and drew a little pathetic sigh.
The lights in the car presently went out
and the car stopped. When 1t finally NOV
cd on the lights showed a little tired child
in the corner of the car and firecracker
would have failed to awaken him.
Like Santa Claus, he had postponed the
Inevitable until the last moment