The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-12-29
Just as I Am.

!: Just as ] Am. ):
Christmas is all over, and all that
remains are the presents. These have
ranged from the five and ten-point
checks, down to little toy horses, tin
horns and dolls-all perishable, but
of all the little dolls will live longest
in human heart and human mind. A
little child bending over it's pretty
doll and caressing it-that is a sight
to summon the angels. This doll love
reveals the spirit of mother love that
blossoms with angelic reality in years
to come.
The spirit of Yuletide fingers, alas,
all too briefly. ''Cut it short!"
"Boil down" and some cry ''Cut it
Out" while others might just as we'll
cry out the cold, bitter command.
'It's the Apirit of the age" you say?
Yes, it's true enough. The CONNER
cial spirit dominates the Christ spirit
Or the Nativity spirit. Call it what
you will, it's that spirit that has pene-
trated the world since the night that
the Star of Bethlehem shone with such
splendor. So many don't like to re-
fer to it as the Christ or the Nativity
spirit. They just say it's the Christ
mas spirit and let it 60 at that. About
all the scripture they get is what a
the minister reads at the funeral, or
perchance brief scr1ptural quota
tion found in the tombstone makers
book Of appropriate quotations.
A commercial age indeed! We can
not wait for the tapers to burn low.
The tree is cut, and finds it's way into
the home. There is rush and run
ming to and fro, exhausted nerves and
over excitement, the climax is reached,
the candles are lighted, the pretty
tree sparkles its welcome, the presents
find their respective owners, and what
to the mills and factories, stores
and counting rooms, and to the world
again, to make up lost time. In the
meantime the little children take their
new toys and settle down for a little
solid comfort. And why not, Christ
mas is for children, anyway. The old
folks haven't the time to appreciate
it. They must wait until they are
dead. In the meantime the undertaken
and the probate judge stand waiting,
while the old sexton with shovel raised
listens for his cue. Take more time
and let us not be in such a hurry to
cut out the Christmas spirit.
The next number on the program is
New Years Day. The orchestra will
play two-step, and Old Father Time
will appear on the stage for a very
brief engagement. He will go to the
blackboard erase 1904 and write down
1905. The whole board with it's maze
of figures and problems of the old
year will be cleaned off and we will
start all over. The columns of
figures, and long resolutions will
make their appearance again. The
pretty miss will attempt to figure out
the difference between simple plow-
man with big heart and the over-fed,
over-liquified heir with q big purse
and several club memberships. The
S12-a-week clerk will attempt to deter
mine just how he will be able to sup
port a $4,000 girl on his narrow
guage salary and steer clear of the
, bucket-shop, or the mad house. The
silly old man will start at the board
in a vain endeavor to try and harmon
ize the difference between a few feet
this side OF the grave and rich
young widow. An old bachelor will
try all kinds of mathematics and rea-
soning to find out why all girls are
just horrid, while long row of males
and females will stand awaiting their
turn to find out why one and one and
a marriage license seems to make two
and divorce attorney. 1t will not be
long before the board will be covered
with many unsolved new problems,
and the audience will long for the
curtain to drop.
JEFF.
ANOTHER INVENTION