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

ago the gas fire in the asbestos grase
had Oeen turned out in the Jones home
and the two little Jones youngsters
were supposed IT, be in bed and asleep.
However, these we're wise little emil
dren.
hey knew there was no such thing
as Santa Claus and that if he had
ever had reindeer he had abandoned
them some time ego when airsn.os
came into style. So the little Jones
boys were sitting up waiting for the
event Johnny Jones was 10 years
Old and his brother Jimmy was 8.
So 'aere they ga, smoking cigars 10
keep awake and waiting for the myth
zeal gentleman to arrive. If they lost
much sleep they would merely take a
ilS>;:r-building tablet and not 20 20
be ar all. Sleep. -Ou know, is mere
1y va liable be, ause it rebuilds waste
tissue; when you are tired that mete-
ly means that % tissues are dec0m-
posed The jones boys knew all this,
50 th2J didn't care a rap Whether they
went 10 sleep or not. Johnny had
Il who're box of the ne'er-sleep tablets.
Jimmy looked y his watch and yawn-
ed. Ceei" he said, the Ol0 n.aa
late tonight L 'spose he's trying 10
work I'D a reindeer effect. Wonder
why re doesn't take the trolley car
and get out here"
May De he'll take my advice mex
year. said Johnny, AM Instead Or
OOInr kh~nron I'll &ls~
he'll lust give each a check at. Ieli.
us 20 so buy what we want with It
| don't like all this doggoned sentl-
me1t, but he's 30 Old-fa:,. -. You
CAM talk him out of i Hes All
the time spouting about Ipa good old
days Ct yore fifty years ago. You know
yourself, Jimmy, that all they were in
those days were a lot of superstitiOus
old cranks n numbskulls with a
half dozen unexDloded theories"
AS the boys ceased talking the door
creaked the least little bit and was
silly opened about a third of the way
when Jimmy exclaimed: "Oh, shucks.
dad, come On in and get through with
your stocking stuffing and let's go 10
bed. We're tired of waiting for you,'
The door opened and a rather Woe
begOne and crestfallen Santa came in
to wnere the two boys sat. He was
dike1 out in the conventional Mr..
Claus garments and presented a fan
taStic figure on the two modern little
boys.
'Father!" said Johnny, re~prOvingly.
You look absolutely ridiculous; you
ought to be ashamed of yourself, and
if you're not. | m Come on, jim"
And the two SIalked out of the room.
The elder Mr.. Jones looked after them
in mite silence. heaved a sigh, shook
his mead and began to unload his pack.
TO ERADICATE SNOW.
The next day there would have been
snow only the people of 1855 cOns;d-
cred snow a nuisance and so had the
weather observer to disseminate Their
mal-electric currents through the at
mosphere and melt the fluffy white
flakes into a drilling rain. This saw
ed the trouble of shoveling the snow
off Of the walks, and also kept the
old men from getting out and threw
ing s1owballs at the children.
One year the electric-thermal appa-
ratus got out CT condition and they
had 10 have SNOW, and it was at hat
time the old-timers got out in the
hdIuS anu dIlSSo III lllduC VI
themselves, packing the stuff into hard
round pals and hurting it at each 9th
er and at the children in great de-
light. The children. however. treat
ed such actions with silent contempt
and disgust and stayed indoors play
ing poker and bridge whist. So they
had no snow on this Christmas Day Of
which we write. The rain came down
rtooI;1y oil lau Tho nonnl0 U01lnnt
have allowed it 10 do this if they had
not been In such great need of wafer
at that time. They had a special ap-
paratus by which they could have dTle1
the rain before it had fallen through
three strata, turned it into steam and
then have blown away the clouds Of
steam by the new nebular eccentrifu-
gal process. However, the rain came
down and the Jones boys stayed in
doors, reading and smoking.
The first thing an old-time stranger
would have aoliced about the place
as unusual on a Christmas Day-there
was 10 Cdor of cooking. No luscious
aroma of baking turkey assailed the
nostrIls and watered the mouth, no
spicy pumpkins pie or ninee, no siz-
zling and frying and broiling and
Sl6WiuS anu Oo4lIiS IL 49,
heaps Of juicy viaEds, nc grooming Ia
BILE. nothing Of the sort. Instead when
dinner time came, the pater-famiiias
called the farnily into a little room,
in which was n small round center
table. Upon it were laid ou severa!
little p~asteboard boxes and cartoons, all
labeled with long Latin and Greek
names, "Tinct Meleagridoid. America
nea," "Lact. Pegs. XXX" etc.
There was not that healthy animal
glow upon the features of the Jones
children which used to play about the
faces Of the ru1dy youngsters some
fifty years before when they all sat
down at the Dig Christmas table and
peere1 at the steaning turkey through
waving plumes Of celery and over lakes
and seas of cranberry sauce.
There was none Of that ripping
LAUGHTER which had put the diners in