Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1900-12-13

IN huge barn away out on Western
row, which seemed to have been built
to tit it. a good big room was parti.
toned OF for me inAone front corner.
The cages were ranged along the side
walls, with runway behind them. and
in box stalls across the farther end
were the zebra, the elephant. the cam.
Ell and the sacred cow. A monster red
hot stove stood in the middle OF the
central space, with q large bunch light
over it. Altogether 1t was as warm,
bright. clean and CHEEKY a place as
you'd want to see, as every body said
who saw it, and we had good many
visitors. - 'ESs,tsz ss
j Gagged animals become restless If left.
alone. and | never went out more than
an hour or two alta time. but even at
that | took a good many long walks
for exercise and to see the city, leaving.
black Sammy helper nd the two
cage cleaners for the animals ITO look
at But as time ran along to near
Christmas ! seemed to. lose heart for
going out much. Something in the
air made me feel myself, more than.
ever before. a hopelessly lonesome.
homeless total stranger. .
The stores were brighter and ga ger
than had ever noticed their being
%befOre:t the streets full ief happy faced
people carrying bundles of Christmas
presents: the windows of homes adorn.
ed with evergreen festoons and Christi
mas wreaths: the shopmen's wagons
busy delivering good things for Christ
mas dinners and Christmas trees. stss
The Lord knows didn't begrudge
5anybody's happiness, but It all made.
me feel unutterably sad In all the
world knew of no one whose eyes
would brighten or lips smile a welcome
for my coming AS for sharing in the
general JOY Of the Christmas season, i
might as well have been that ornary
Acamel-th meanest .dispositioned beast
alive. to my thinking as a man with
heart to feel his loneliness. Every
other man had friends, even poor old
black Sam.
And what made 1t harder to bear
was that home and love belonged in
my past and l could not forget them.
When came back to New York after
q winter engagement with 'Bentley's
Aggregation in the West Indies and
South America, L found my dear wife
Lizzie had been run down By a Broad
way stage and killed. And what had
become Of my sweet little baby girl
Jennie, only years old. nobody could
tell me. That was.a dozen years back,
but never since, have felt any less
heartsick and lonely than when my
grief was fresh. and in the winter
along about Christmas, I always feel 1t
most.
The animals, as ] sat brooding By the
stove, seemed to know l was In trou-
BILE and feet sorry for3me. They would
stand still q long time looking at me,
and the elephant, I'm sure. tried to ask,
by his little sqneals, what was the mat
ter. Only that mean camel screwed
up his nose scornf ullike, as II he didn't
care q cuss who felt bad, which he GER
tainly didn't. sff Efsss .s. &
Friday morning, the third day before
Christmas, Jack Henderson, young
reporter. dropped in. as he often did.
and happened to remark: III seems
hard to be imprisoned for life without
an occasional happy day to vary the
monotony Gagged animals ought to
have holidays"
That set me thinking after he was
gone, and ISmade up my mind the men
agerie under my, charge should. for
once anyway, have q Christmas. CON
gsidered what every bird and beast In
the lot liked best and mostly never
got, and all those things meant they
should have on Christmas day. That
afternoon went out buying and laugh
ed to myself when thought was ac-
tually purchasing Christmas presents
for q lot OF folks who would be sure to
appreciate them.
got for the birds all sorts Of choice
fruits nice seeds. ants eggs, meal
worms, and 90 on, according to their
several tastes, and for the monkeys
more fine fruit, fig paste, candy and