The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-12-29

moved from the primitive man that
they really felt 10 interest in his ac-
Itions 1T his customs, and they certain
lily did not Taught as they went to their
Chris.mas-feast, we we're about say.
but We had better name it simply
meal. And such 4 repast as it was,
WHAT COMPOSES MENU
First the dumb waiter served a pc
culiar looking drinking-fuid, which
seemed like water. It was in reality
condensed pepsin. Every one solemnly
drank his share. Then the meal prop
er began.
"Will you have some of the turkey,
Jimmy" asked the good Mr.. Jones,
beaming kindly upon his offspring.
Yes, sir" said Jimmy softly.
The paterfamilias then opened n
Iof the pill boxes labeled "Tinct. Me-
leagridoid Americanen," pulled out a
large pink bolus, laid it in the middle
Iof e china plate and passed it to the
Iexpectant James. In this name each
Eof the others were served their Christ
mas turkey. and each munched il
Icalmly, washing it down with great
drafts of pepsin. Celery pilules, cram
berry tabloids, beef extract, oyster loz-
lenges, ct cetera, followed each other
in rapid succession until the dinner
table began to look like a wrecked
drug store. Thus, without any mirth
or jolity, the meal progressed to its
Idismal end.
After the meal the children went out
no play. but it was too wet, and the
weather observer wouldn't dry it off.
They didn't have anything much 10
Fplay about, anyway, for children in
1855 won't care for play. 1t takes their
minds off of business. Indoors they
went again, and found their mother
and father sitting beside the imitation
Igrate fire, a made-up affair of ashes
Itos logs and artificial gas, and talk
ing over the old, old Christmas they
fused to have when they were young,
of the candies and apples n mince
pies, and the evergreen trees and the
,mistletoe and the holly.
Whats holly, JOhn?' asked Jimmy
in a whisper.
ooh. it was some kind of a deoora-
ton they used in those days; a--er-
sort Of leaf, | believe, Old English
lcustom and ve-e-ry swell. That was
before the electricity killed off all the
flowers"
Did they have real live flowers
Them queried Jimmy again.
"Oh, yes, the imitation article didn't
come into general use until twenty
five years after. Too much electricity
and steam now. They used to nave
trees in those days, too"
Trees? Like that bunch up in the
city park?" asked the wonderstruck
boy.
yep; lots of 'em, too. heard dad
say they used to be SO thick people
cut 'em down and used EN- for making
fires same as we use petroleum and
,radium and carbOnic essences now.
But these things had to have oxygen
to live. these trees; and it got so they
took up too much oxygen. Didn't
leave enough for the electricity. SO
the trees had to 90. | remember when
a two years old heard dad make
d speech in the city park n Sim
day against the destruction of the
trees-whole mess of sentimental stuff
as nearly as | can recollect. Nobody
paid much attention to him, except
70 call him an old fogey. The Presi-
dent of the Electric-Radium Power
Company got up and asked pop if he
had stopped to think how much mon
ley we would lose by allowing the
trees to grow, and of course that got
the crowd with him. l sometimes
think that if we had Don for any
poets nowadays dad would make a first
class poet"
What was mistletoe:" Jimmy in
quired.
OLD-TTME CHUMP.
well, now you have hit upon one
of the most amusing things of the
whole Christmas idea. 1t goes to
show what a bunch of downright
chumps they used to be. They were
long on tradition in those days and
there was some kind of a notion in
the heads of the old-timers that what
ever girl stood under a clump of mis-
Itletoe could be kissed gratis by the
fellow that caught her there"
"Faugh! Kissing!" commented the
younger brother.
Eyes, they didn't pay any attention
to germs or disease dangers. At that
time Spiegeldorf's theory of oscu-
lation baccilli was just in its rudimen-
Itary stage, and people didn't take up
with it readily. Some fifteen or TWEEN
ty years afterwards, however, they be
gan using sterilizers in kissing and
never kissed any more than they alb
isolutely had to. Later on, within our
iday, it got to be such a nuisance that
the whole custom has been gradually
dropped" Even as the cynical boy
spoke, w gray-heads were creeping
Icloser together in the cleaning and
two pairs of withered lips were greet
ing each other in a long sweet, silent
kiss. The youth coughed warningly,
and his parents looked guilty.
Jimmy took up the thread of talk.
I"Now, there was dad last night trying
to stuff our stockings with presents
candy and oranges and nuts. He
knows we don't eat that sort of food
nowadays. I wonder where hat GUS
tom originated"
I'm Germany" yawneh John. "or
Isome other stupid place.
Il don't know about this Christmas
business" continued the dubious jim
my. 1T strikes M a. a lot of rank