The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-12-21

Ever help send off Christmas
boxes. Jim?" asked the senior partner.
who is married.
Not that anyone ever heard Of"
answered the Junior. who is single.
you don't know what you've
missed" replied the married man.
why, if was out of a job at this
season of the year I'd start out with
an equipment something like this:
Three weights of wrapping paper;
ditto. string; a table of mail and ex-
press rates; some excelsior for pack
ing a pastepot and-patience."
The bachelor looked puzzled. His
partner stopped to light a fresh cigar.
I'D go from house to house, doing
up Christmas parcels for women. The
season is necessarily short, but I'll
wager l could work eighteen hours a
day and within a week, some appre-
ciative husband would offer me a life
job.
You see, it's this way. Sunday
evening at our house has always been
dedicated to rest and reading, but last
night. just ais l comfortably set
tied, my wife hustled into the room
with that expression on her face
which comes but once a year-and
then Just before Christmas.
Theodore. DEAR she said, L do
wish you'd pack that box for Seattle,
II must go tomorrow. '(My hero was
hunting for his sword just at this
point and 1 chung to the book I
think I've done my duty in buying
brother. You might at least pack
them
That touch of martydom won out.
Down went my book. 'Trot out your
stuff l said, cheerfully.
Jim, there are just five people in
Harry's family, but in two minutes
our library table looked like a bar
gain counter. And behind the mess
sat my wife, her lap full of white It's
sue paper, and red and green ribbons
and sprays of holly.
II told her that the first thing
needed was a box, and she suggested
the box / keep my trousers in. Now
that box is one of my weak points.
l don't know what ii originally con-
tanned and don't care, but it's the
best receptacle for trousers / ever
saw; just the right length and width
and it slides under the bed to perfec-
ton.
Il refused to sacrifice my box, and
concern that my last suit came home
in. It was one Of those things with
flaps on the corners which double up
like an envelope on the slightest
provocation. We finally decided to
paste the flaps, and held each one till
1t dried.
Heavy paper? There wasn't a de-
cent sheet in the house, so she sug-
gested FASTING three pieces together
TN. a a. Il NlaA
were kept out of mischief for
five minutes, during which time
wandered into the pantry, looking for
that nice ball of string In the right
hand corner of the left-hand lower
drawer.
ut was a nice ball. made ND of
every conceivable sort of twine, from
tinsel cord off candy boxes to light
weight rope, all carefully tied to-
Irvine and knotted 1t to the best of my
ability.
ION my return to the library,
found the boys sitting on the seams
of the paper so as to press EN- Ted
dy was so delighted with the success
of the scheme that he beat a tattoo
with his heels and hole through the
paper.
II said we'd better let the question
and roped. BY this time my wife had
laid out all the packages, each one
tied with ribbon, and insinuated that
1t was time that l got down to bust
ness For variety and clumsiness,
commend me to that collection Of
Christmas gifts; and every other one,
according to my wife's statement. was
breakable.
"'Oh, Theodore, do have a care.
That's papier mache dog for the
baby. Or Oh, that's one of those
dear bisque figures
1T took a five minutes argument 10
convince her that each breakable OBJ
ject would have to be packed sepa-
rately in small box of its own in cot
ton batting. Item Dabs of cotton sll
over my smoking Jacket.
Just as 1 got the package decently
balance, she dived under the table
and brought forth forgotten treas
ure, miserable Jaek-in-t he-box,
which lowered three good inches
above every other gift. 1t was no use
to balk. She had picked it up at
bargain at the lucent store, and to
Seattle it had to go. l repacked the
whole blooming outfit and roped it.
Then we harked back to the paper
problem With the best intentions
she had pasted patch over the hole
left by Teddy's exuberant heels, and
the sheet looked like a crazy patch
work quilt. With the first folding of
the stuff, every seam ripped.
"A timely inspiration saved the day,
or, rather, the evening. Hal remem-
bered that Williams, the stationer
across the street, sold big sheets of
wrap piping paper to the boys to cover
their school books with. He started
over there, but before he struck the
first landing, my wife called him back
You'd better go yourself, Theo-
dore.' she said. That Williams got
all tangled up about our newspaper
bill last month, and made me pay 1t
twice. He doesn't know how to keep