The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1901-01-10

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pain at his heart, II prayer from .
creature so vile as he would be heard
and needed by the Great Helper beyond
Christmas! and for the first time for
years the tender significance of the
word penetrated his dull senses, and he
felt, with a glad thrill, that the One
who could help was once poor babe
born in a stable, lowly carpenter, a
man of infinite sorrows, acquainted
with direst grief, and that thought
brought him near unto Him; confidence
took the place of doubt, and, with .
heart torn by new emotions. strange
and sweet, he hurried to his miserable
home. - ...
"They may be within" whispered
Hope, as he opened the door, and that
hope redoubled as his eyes fell upon
his wife sitting in front of the newly
kindled fire, but that hope vanished
when she turned upon him her stony
face, her anguished eyes.
II have inquired at every house." she
said, wearily, in answer TO his breath
less question, "but no one has seen our
darlings."
The father could do nothing but
groan.
At this juncture neighbors fiocked
in, kind neighbors laden with Christ
mas cheer for both bog and mind.
Wallace flushed as he ate the food thus
provided, and loathed himself for rob-
bing his home Of food and every COM
fort. That day and another passed and
NO news OF the lost children.
1t was now the day before New
Years, and into the town came many
farm wagons, driven by ruddy-faced,
genial old farmers.
The season had been unusually mild
and the first day of the new year bade
fair to come in disguised under the
mantle Of spring.
Hey, what do you say?" queried
bluff old Farmer Brown, "a leetle gal
and boy lost from this yer town? Jest
describe 'em, mister"
"Wall, never, and it's from this here
town they strayed," he continued, land
I've been a-lookin' in another direction,
the little feller not KNOWN the town
he come from, but always p'intin' to
the north"
well, well! Johnny and May"
"Yes, that's them!"
"Why, bless your soul, them little
ones l found a-sleepin' snug ez snug
could be 'mong the hay on Christmas
mornin'; and the first thing the boy
says, says he: is this Bethlehem, sir? !?
in jist the sweetest way Imaginable.
Bethlehem says 1, struck all of a
heap, for seein' as it was Christmas time
knowed right away what the boy was
thinkin' on; so l says, says l:
mo, sonny ez grave ez airy owl,
this here amt that holy place al ALL
"'Then come on, May says the
plucky little feller to the gal; we must
hurry up or the wise men will have give
all their gifts away before We get
there
".What wise men be you lookin'
fer?' says I. as though not comprehend.
in The little chap hesitated fer a
minute. and then says, he, a-wipin' the
tears from his tired and hungry little
sisters eyes, says he, conhdin' like:
b "'We are goin' to see II the wise men
won't give US some Of the gifts, sir,
what they bring to the young child in
the manger every Christmas; some Of
the gold and other nice things. We
weren't born in 4 manger, sir, says he.
quite humble and mournful like. but
we are as poor as He was, and father is
SO bad that Santa Claus won't come to
our house, and"
The listener turned very pale and
stifed the groan which arose to his lips.
"'And so,' the boy went on, May and
me made up our minds to foller the
star that had peeped into our window
all that night; just like the star nam.
ma said that moved on before the wise
men, and so we got up real quiet, an
out we went, and, sure enough, the
star kept beckoning us on and on, and
we walked and walked until all at once
1t growed dim and at last it went out,
and May said it meant for us to stop
Just where we was, for that must be
Bethlehem, and so we laid down in the
barn, meanin' to 60 into the stable
after restin' bit to worship the young
child, too"
Tears by this time streamed from
the eyes Of both men.
my Johnny, my little May" cried
the happy listener. Thank God!"
"And what do you suppose they ex-
expected to fnd in the stable ~ gifts?"
he asked of the farmer after . pause.
''Oh, they looked for turkey to
dinner, and = sled, and beautiful tree
all gold and silver, like one of their
little aeighbors always gets from San
to Clsus, ~ dolly. and massy only
knows wAsG eiss. They got all the tur-
key they wanted, you better believe" Z"
chuckled the old farmer, "and Johnny
said II mamma had only been along
he'd concluded it was just ez good ez
Bethlehem, anyway"
And then Mr.. Brown, after Q little
talk with the shame faced father, dived
into his pocket and brought out WELL