davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17
Choosing Ia Confu.ing.

''You don't know how / dislike to order
meal at cafe, she said. Il neveR
could do it gracefully"
1t was very frank confession, and id
came from one who had been bred to po-
lite living, SO that so far as the edibles
themselves were concerned or the man
ner of serving there was nothing in them
that could surprise her. 1t was the
choosing them that was confusing. Elab~
crate menus at cafes and hotels are verse
than Chinese puzzles to those who are
not used to deciphering them, and the
only way to learn how is by practice. or
course not all persons have occasion to
dine at such places sufficiently often to
enable them to handle menu like an old
practitioner, and when they do they are
embarrassed by it. But there is no oc-
casion for tit is not disgrace not to be
able to glibly translate the linguistic glib
berish of bill of fare. 1t argues neither
ones inability to speak French nor that
one is not used to good living. Why il
the average waiter were given a straight
order in real Paris French he wouldn't
know whether to bring an order Of mixed
pickles and tea or to call a policeman.
The truth is menus are not written in
TSnCu, HOT III any Ole lduB uhSc-IueH
are kind Of circus day combination Of
English, Italian, Russian, French and
other tongues. Besides, much Of the
nomenclature is taken from proper names,
such as the name of the chef that Gre
ated the dish, the name Of the city or ho-
tel where it originated or in honor OF
some guest Then different chefs serve
the same dish under different names, and
Ii one does not happen to know the hotel
or cafe there is really no knowing exact
ly what one has ordered until it is
brought on. In such cases the only safe
way to do is to drop the handles of the
names altogether-call a spade spade.
and if you want duck or chicken, say
duck or chicken, and don't disturb the "a
las" from their resting place in cold
type.-Detroit Free Press.
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17

Guilty was greatly increased. In order to
help him out the jeweler gave him an il
Illustrated catalogue and told him to select
the design he wanted and he would send
to the city for it. Harry acted on the
suggestion and worked over that cata-
logue for almost a week. He marked at
least 20 designs of pins, brooches, brace
lets and such trinkets before he decided
on brooch, that took his fancy He
then took rubber and erased the marks
he had made before designs he had re-
jected and then sent back the catalogue
by messenger with a note saying, Get
me what have marked"
On the day before Christmas the jew
eler sent him package and with it bill
for $40. Harry expected bill for only
$40, so he opened the parcel to find out if
possible what was the cause of the extra
charge. He then found that, besides the
brooch, the jeweler had sent him a brace
let he had adr, red very much and which
he at first thttlght of ordering. But he
didn't order it, and, besides, not being
able to afford it, he had no intention of
being imposed upon in this way. Taking
the jewels with him, he hurried to the
dealer and asked him to explain.
why, | sent you only what you order
ed" protested the jeweler.
81 ordered only the brooch" said Har-
ry.
"Pardon me-" said the jeweler. "You
sent me word to order what you had
marked, and l did. You marked both the
brooch and the pin"
"Oh, no: didn't" replied Harry. 81
rubbed out all the marks l made except
the one for the brooch"
Instead of pursuing the argument the
jeweler went to his desk and brought
ont the marked catalogue Sure enough,
the two items were marked. He had evil
IDENTIFY overlooked the mark before the
bracelet when erasing the others.
"But l don't want the bracelet" he
said.
81 cant help that" replied the jeweler.
"You ordered it, and l simply filled your
order"
"But you surely are not going to insist
that take itf''
There is nothing else left for me TO do.
The mistake was your own. and can't
be expected to bear the loss. The jewel
is very pretty one but | could not hope
to sell it here within year, and | must
pay the New York house for il"
"Well. ! call that skin game" said
Harry, losing his temper The jeweler
promptly lost his temper also. and they
INDUCED in rather undgnifed quarrel.
Finally Harry paid the bill and exclaim-
ed as he did so:
"If live in this town so years, I'll
never buy another thing here"
"Well. I'll not be losing my best Gus
toner" replied the jeweler, with a sneer.
When Harry reached his room. he took
out the two jewels and looked at them.
They were both very pretty and tasteful,
but he felt that they were more than he
could afford just then.
"Why." he said to himself, II might
as well have added $40 more to the
amount and bought her the engagement
ring"
Having the jewels, he decided. OF
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17
but the thoughtfulness that prompts

but the thoughtfulness that prompts
them"
AS Harry recalled his quarrel with the
jeweler and his reglet that he had not
spent $40 more and got an engagement
ring, instead Of the two presents, he
didn't feel quite so proud of himself as
he did at first, but he wisely concluded
to accept the good that the gods had
sent to him, and he let Jean praise him
to her hearts content.
He felt, however, that something
should be done in the way of atonement,
so he went around to the jewelers. next
day and, after apologizing profusely for
the many unkind things he had said
when sthey had quarreled, asked for a
catalogue from which to select an en-
gagement ring with solitaire in it that
he can order as soon as he has saved up
enough money or secured the promotion
to the position of manager that he is
waiting for. Jean, of course, is very
happy and thinks, after all, that it was
not such a hardship to have been born
on Christmas, as it enabled her to dis
cover what noble, thoughtful and gen
erous fellow her fance is, and he, hav-
ing had such a narrow escape, will
doubtless be very careful to show the
qualities for which he accidentally
though perhaps justly, gets credit.
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17

and asked her to explain, but much as
she would have liked to warn him of
the snare into which all her previous
admirers had fallen she could not do so,
for she had registered vow to keep her
secret. She did promise, however, that
if he escaped the danger she would ex-
plain everything to him after Christmas.
IF you love me truly and are the no.
BILE, generous soul / believe you to be
there is no danger" she said to him.
81 am not so sure Of my nobility and
generosity" he said "but am very sure
that love you, and l will walk as cir
cumspectiy as | can"
As the Christmas season came around
Jeans anxiety increased; but, like the
healthy, big hearted soul he was, Harry
practically dismissed the whole matter
from his mind and went his way as if he
were not undergoing a test on which his
whole future happiness depended.
As the little jeweler in the town did not
have very large assortment of presents
Harry found it difficult to select a suita-
Bile one fer Jean. He wanted to give her
something out of the common run, but as
he felt that in view Of the necessity for
saving money toward housekeeping he
must not spend more than $40 his diff
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17


was a special service held in the great
Cathedral of San Ignatius for the SOL
6iers of the American army. There was
d grand solemn high mass, and Rev. Fa-
Their McKinnin of the First California
conducted the services. The great
cathedral was crowded. There were
profuse decorations for the occasion. and
the great paintings and fine lstatuary,
which since the surrender of the city
have been stored away owing to the oc-
cupation of the church as barracks by
the Spanish prisoners, were brought
forth. There were services in the diff
ferent other churches. and these were
also attended by our soldiers.
The principal feature Of the day. how
ever, was the dinner. and every COM
mand had a change from the plain bill
of fare provided by Uncle Sam to some
thing more palatable and appetizing. 1t
had been long time since the men had
partaken of q meal under something
like civilized Surroundings, and there
were many things to make Christmas
dinner enjoyable.
Christmas day here in the Philippines
could not have been more perfect. The
weather was fine. In the morning there
were cooling breezes. and later the sun
poured its rays straight down. The
sentinels were kept busy in lodging the
heat and hunting the shade. All duty
not absolutely necessary was dispensed
with for the day. There were all kinds
of sports in the different commands. A
great field day had been arranged to
be held on the Lunetta, but owing to
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17
Family Government.

1t is not 'all in the child by any
means. With the majority of children
there is a natural impulse toward that
form of independence which brings the
child into conflict with the parental dis
cipline, no doubt, but it is very largely
the nanny in which this discipline is ex-
ercised which determines whether the
parent of the child is to be the real
master Of the situation In one home
The word Of the mother, expressed with
kindness but firmness, is the accepted
and respected law of the child. In an
other few are the minutes which pass un-
punctuated by reproofs, threats, scolding
lin none of which has love or dignity
share The threats fall on callous ears,
for long experience has shown the child
that they are mere words" AS is well
said by recent writer: Everything has
been said as a matter of custom, without
any intention of carrying out the threats.
Instead the child has received endless
sermons upon his disobedience and OBJ
stinacy. The recriminations, the re-
proaches, last so long that the small Of
fender gets irritated with the everlasting
seedlings, and the parents, on their side.
lose what little authority they have in
continual nagging and fault finding. Soon
other incidents present themselves, to be
followed by fresh disobediences and
still longer discourse. There is never
monent Of respite for anybody. All, il
the child does not become enraged it is
because he is thinking of something quite
different when one is finding fault with
him."-Good Housekeeping.
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17
the unsettled state of affairs it was

the unsettled state of affairs it was
postponed.
The natives celebrated Christmas
with many queer ceremonies, and with
them the joyful Pasco Dias was great
day. The Flipinos know how to enjoy
a holiday as do no other people. They
have their holidays every week, but the
greatest of all are Pasco Dias and holy
week. To the Filipinos Christmas was
week long, and there was another week
of preliminary rejoicing For more than
a week before Christmas the early morn
ing hours here in Manila were filled with
music. Bands paraded the streets in the
different parts of the city. The bells of
the great cathedrals rang out their mel
low monotones to awaken the people for
early mass.
Music was one Of the principal features
connected with the native observance of
the holiday season. There are few peo-
pie more unsteady inclined than the Fill
pinos, and on all occasions music is a
principal feature with the natives. They
have all sorts of brass, string and reed
instruments, and some OF the latter are
most rude contrivances. They make
reed instruments from sections Of BAN
boo, and these are of all sizes and con-
sequently of all pitches. At the holiday
season one has a chance to see more Of
the musical instinct than at any other
season of the year. All day Christmas
these native bands played in the street.
They lent their aid toward making the
festivities Of Christmas eve and Christ
mas night enjoyable. All through the
holy week Manila was filed with music.
Christmas, or Pasco, as the Spanish
is, had its good things for old and young.
The children were at the height of their
joy, for Juguetes, the Santa Claus Of
the Filipinos, came throughout the land
and everywhere distributed good things
For week before Christmas figures
Enthusiastically dressed to represent Ju-
quotes were hauled through the streets
on decorated carts. Everywhere these
we're followed by crowds of native chill
dren.
When the people of the Philippines
turn out to enjoy a holiday, they are
clad in their best and ARREST attire, and
especially is this the case at Pasco sea-
son. Early on Christmas morning the
streets were filed with natives of all
ages and both sexes. The men were clad
in the customary ermine garment and
the women in bright colored frocks, with
an embroidered piece of pima around the
neck. The little pickaninnies were
dressed in tasty style, as Filipino styles
go, and were as happy as the rest.
The natives all attended the church
ceremonies, for with them, as with us,
these are the real features of the day.
All through the holy week the church
festivities continued and ended only with
the advent of the new year.
With our soldiers the principal ques-
ton at Christmas time was as to going
home, for all were thoroughly tired of
soldering in the tropics. The bright
prospects for the speedy return of the
volunteer forces was another cause of
rejoicing and making merry. When
another year has passed and another
Christmas season is celebrated in Ma
Mia, this city and the Philippines will
have been brought more fully under
American influences and will have EN-
barked upon new era.
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17

about Christmas and New Years it is
greatly desired for the crops, but ordi-
narily from week to week there is an
unclouded sky. A cool, pleasant breeze
blows from the west. In the house it is
not only cool, but cold, so that little
summing is pleasant, and at night, espe-
cially far up in the country, fires are
welcome. Cool breezes during the day,
sweet scented flowers birds singing and
rocks cawing in the trees add to the
charms of India's most agreeable sea-
son. Then Europeans, so far as circum-
stances permit, get into the open air and
move freely about, with everything in
the climate to favor their travelling.
Europeans usually observe the festive
season somewhat in the same way as we
do in America, but a Christmas day in
the tropics is fact hard to realize. The
scenes, climate and general surroundings
are so very different from what we are
used to here. Picnics, tennis. shooting
parties on elephants and rides and drives
through country avenues take the place
of sleighing, skating and coasting.
There are Christmas decorations pecul-
lar to India, for the natives dearly love
all tokens of feasting. They place tall
plantain leaves and punches of fruit in
the gateway as symbols of plenty and
hang up wreaths of laurel and India jas
mine or strings of small lamps and of
those great orange marigolds which they
offer at-the shrines Of all their gods.
An attraction for the little folks is
found in the great stands of Christmas
cakes and trees. Ornamental cakes
which are supposed to be especially dear
to English hearts are made by the ma
tives. The number Of these that are pre-
scented on Christmas morning by native
tradesmen to their employers is startling.
As many as a dozen have been seen on
one lady's table. Besides these. trays OF
all manners of candies, fruits, vegetables
and flowers are presented, sometimes by
the servants themselves, who come to
make their salaams and generally expect
to receive some Christmas backsheesh
money or Christmas boxes" Native
princes and nabobs send presents of a
like nature to their English friends. The
contents of the trays are often most ar
tistically arranged.
The churches are decorated. but what
an upheaval OF all ones cherished senti-
ments and memories! In the place of the
holly and ivy. flowers of brilliant hues
are seen; instead of furs and plaids, sum
mer gowns and hats are worn; in the
place of rosy, frost kissed cheeks. there
are pallid and sun bleached ones.
The roast turkey and beef and blazing
plum pudding are generally Forthcoming,
served by native walters in their white
raiment and bare feet. The festivities of
the day are usually wound up by dinner
party in the evening
c. B. ETHERINGToN.
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17

the engagement with him. Surely, if
you loved him, you didn't break off just
because he was one present short"
II never loved him."
"But you were engaged to him."
Eyes. but didn't know then what love
means. Even if he had passed my fool
ish test | would still have parted from
him, for | did not know my own mind
when l coasented to be engaged to him."
"But it was at Christmas you broke off
with him. Wasn't that because of the
test? ?"
"Well. yes, it was, but he failed in his
requirements in a way that | had not
previously dreamed possible. Why, that
man actually brought me an engagement
ring for Christmas. and it was to serve
as an engagement ring. Christmas pres
emit and birthday gift NIL in one. That
was beyond anything in the way of true
economy that had ever heard Of, and it
opened my eyes to the kind of man he
was. But you must always remember,
dear, that it is not the presents ! value
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17

the difficulties, the day was rightly cele-
brated, for American soldiers, especially
those engaged in this war, do not do
things by halves. This first American
Christmas celebration here in Manila will
be long remembered by those who partic-
ipated in the festivities of the day, and 1t
will not be the last by many unless pres
ent Indications belle themselves, for
American customs are fast becoming i'm
planted here.
While the men of the Eighth army
corps, the army of occupation in Manila,
had been looking forward to the Christ
mas season for a long time, it was net
until week before Christmas that the
real preparations for the proper observa-
ton of the season in the army were TAX
en-. When on Thursday before Christmas
the st. Paul came in and brought from
the friends and relatives of the men at
home so many kind membranes, it was
at once decided to have a big Christmas
celebration. All kinds of presents were
received in the mail, and nearly every
man received a box of eatables. At once
preparations for a real Christmas obser-
walton were begun, and there was feast
ing throughout the army.
On Christmas day all business was
suspended in Manila, and all observed
the day. In the morning there were re-
ligious services held in the different COM
mands by the chaplains, and these were
largely attended by the soldiers. These
services recalled to the men the many
things which they have to be thankful
for. Although they have undergone all
the trials and hardships of a campaign
in the rainy season Of this tropical eli
mate, the death list has been very low,
and the men have endured the hardships
remarkably well.
Aside from the services held in the
several commands of the army, there
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17
Women md TIPS.

A woman once said that the biggest
proof of moral courage was not to fee
an unsatisfactory porter, She had risen
to that height just once in long, brave
and useful life. chipping in return for
good service is holy JOY and privilege, =
she said, "but when we give tip that
we know is undeserved we're acting
from mean, cowardly vanity. We can't
face the idea of what that miserable
wretch will think of us. We're afraid
he'll consider it stinginess rather than 3
just punishment, and so we put up mon
ey for his approval if we can't conscien-
tiously pay him for anything else, and
he laughs at us inside as he pockets the
coin and gives us Il flip or two of his
whisk broom to help US delude ourselves
into the idea that he was not undeserv-
ing.
And it's the same way in cafes. I've
had waiter bring me my meal any old
way, leave me without water, ignore my
reckoning glance, give me the hot things
cold and the cold things warm and then
at finger bowl time suddenly become my
devoted, obsequious slave putter around
me Strengthening dishes and moving my
glass from one side to the other and
tucking me into my coat with such a
frankly mercenary change of attitude it
was all l could do not to ask him where
his sense of humor was.
"And yet when he came running back
with his little tray of change, full Of af-
fable Difference, ready to serve me with
his life if necessary, the poor, mean, fiat
terable part Of me would get down in my
fingers, and I'd leave part of the change
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17

IS d gu b t full
whether the orr
ent ever before
saw an American
Christmas, and il
is certain that the
capital city of the
Philippines cele-
brated its first
American Christ
mas this year Of
our Lord 1898.
1t is also certain
fhot IN e,,;+o oP
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17
YULETIDE IN MANILA,
HOW THE AMERICANS CELEBRATED
CHRISTMAS IN 1898.

Religious Services In Camp and mt
tae Churches-An Extra Good Din
ner For the Eighth Army Corps.
Friendly Filipinos Toasted High.
BY W. G. IRWIN, TENTH PENNSYLVANIA VOL
IT1yT,FEPg
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17

he patient with him until he could af-
ford to get her such an engagement ring
ms he thought should be placed on her
finger she was almost moved to tears,
bnt would not explain why. The truth
was that she reciprocated his love SO
warmly that she would gladly have mar
ried him out Of hand and avoided the
christmas test. but now he was laying
himself open to it. Indeed he was -ap-
proaching it with even worse prospects
than any of his predecessors. Harry
snsnected the cause of her uneasiness
The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-17
DINNER.

DINNER.
SOUP.
Cream OF Celery
FISH.
Fried Soles. Sauce Tartara.
EHTREE.
Mushrooms on Toast
ROAST.
Wild Turkey, Wild Plum Sauce.
Quails in PURGE OF Chestnuts.
SALAD.
Lettuce Salad with Small Balls of Cream Cheese.
HOT ESTREAET.
Mince Pies. Plum Pudding in Burning Brandy.
DESSERT.
Pistache Ice Cream White Cake Branded Fruit.
Fruit and Coffee.