The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-12-25

at the door. the gruff and threatening
sound of his voice, all announced the ap-
nroseh of the divine evening" Each one
of rs. II he could have expressed his
soul would have said with the poet:
walk and live in my starry dream.
Tho long-for evening arrived After
the short December day-too long for
our imnatience-the shade deepened, the
stars came forth. In the room which
grew darker and darker, the children
were gathered together Papa used to
hold me on his knees. I can still feel his
chin brushing the top of my head, and
priclxing a little. And we would ask:
why is mamma not in the room? Has
she gone, like the last year on the same
occasion, to call upon that old lady in
the neighborhood? VIII she miss the
lovely Christmas Lady again? What a
PITY"
Suddenly the ringing of a bell resound-
ed in the corridor drawing nearer and
nearer and nearer. The door opened,
with an effect of mystery. Yelled, silent,
the celestial lady entered, carrying, like
torch, the diminutive hr-tree.
Each of us said his prayer. Oh. those
little artless, simple minded prayers! 1
have begun once more to say them. II
l become old l shall end by saying no
others The good lady listened to them.
At their close, her voice was heard gen.
tie, with echoes In 1t of another world.
And mysteriously as 1t had come, her
white form withdrew. leaving in our
souls for weeks to follow, a luminous
wake
Later, upon such a day, having grown
bigger and become a narrow observer
of all things, l looked closely and long
at the lady through her veil She had
lost a tooth In exactly the same place as
mamma light flashed upon me.
Mammals absence at every visit of the
gracious lady completed my illumination.
Without disturbing the faith of the
younger children, l was from that day
forth fixed In my conviction. The Christ
mas Lady was mamma.
The years have passed. Almost all of
the guests of those far-away Christ
masses have entered the eternal habta-
tions. When the fir trees are lighted to-
day. and my thought follows each be-
loved member of my family, 1t flies to-
ward the absent in the land of the con-
soling mystery. l feel their souls sur
rounding ours. And as the thrice happy
ours of childhood, heaven and earth
seem to draw near to each other and
mingle. Slowly in the heart of the ma
ture man a union has been effected be-
tween the ingenious, forever holy and
well founded faith of little children and
the discovery of the keen-eyed older boy.
The Christmas Lady, I believe in her.
There was truth in what happened. The
Redeemed evening skies verify are indi-
cations of her labor of love. We are
remembered up there. Further than our
eyes can reach, an invisible loving kind
ness is watching over us and preparing
what shall gladden. our hearts. The
eyes of the children saw truly. They
penetrate farther than the astronomical
glasses which pretend that there is moth
ing in the infinite. For what sweeter
proof of what goes on up there, what
better Interpreter of his intentions, what
richer dispenser of his gifts, has the
Father in heaven sent us than our
mothers? 1t is therefore true: 1.-THE
Christmas Lady is Mamma" sister of
the angels, beloved messenger of the
good God.
We are told that no plummet has ever
fathomed the depths of certain lakes
The reason is perhaps that the line was
not sufficiently long. But this is sure:
One deep there is which no fathoming-
line, however perfected, can sound. It Is
the maternal heart, and 1t is filled with
love.
My God. devoutly I wish that all the
children should have beautiful Christ
masses, and that in this cold world.
gloomy as certain December nights,
those we call the grown-up should
be able to find back In the depths Of
their childhood soul, a luminous refuge,
warm, radiant with love and with hope.