The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-23

like Melville Shaw's, and Mrs. Shaw
told me this afternoon that her gro
ceryman sold it to them. She says 1T g
so tame that the, boys can swarm up its
him pony and little light wagon2
Wouldn't be be crazy with dellghtY
He forget everything else in the
world. -
You don { know what you re say
ing, Margaret. The last thing | should
do would be to use a cent of that money
for Dick. The trouble with you is you
think only for the moment, when re-
ally You should look ahead little. Dick
trusts me-thlnks the sun rises and sets
in me That s as it should be, but by
and by, he III know me as l am, and
Will he trust me then2 1t will be my
fault if he doesn 7, and l intend he
shall. You'd heap him with all
kinds of gifts at Christmas time, gifts
paid for by money his father got for
a vote-a vote he wouldn't have needed
money for if it were straight-and If
Die could understand, where. would
I be9 Margaret, I can't do 1T.
If I can t leave Dick anything else,
I can leave him good name. He'll
value it some day if he cant now
You understand. don't you, Margaretf
There S so much about us every day
to blind US to the real things of life
make choice, Margaret Each
OF us has to do that-don't you see?'
Jacob bent forward eagerly, pluck
ing at her dress and pleating it be-
tween his fingers. as he talked,
Margaret had fallen back in her chair
and was gazing into the Goals. There
was silence between them, and they
might have heard the boys hoarse
breathing, had they been less absorbed,
Then Margaret spoke:
"But we shall always be poor, Ja-
COBB"
It was half question, half a state
ment. and Jacob heard the pathos in
her voice. 1t told him a sadder truth
than he liked to face. She had either
not understood, or she had wilfully mis-
understood. and the result was the same
in either case.
He did not answer her and something
! in his face kept Margaret silent.
All at once it seemed to the man
| that they were enveloped in a new at
hung upon him for days was gone; He
remembered suddenly the great birth.
| day so soon To be celebrated. Could
| there be anything in Christmas, after
all9 OF late 1T had seemed to him
| that the Christ ideal was crowded out
| by the commercial spirit. Men and
women gave rich gifts that they might
| thinking Of what he was to receive. In
such condition people forgot that all
| were akin and that Christ was born
| to teach men how to live In peace and
brotherly love. Pure JOY in the simple
| things of life was possessed by the few.
| Nature with her enchantments of beau
ty and immortal illustration spoke her
oracles only to the open mind Where
was there comfort for the great mass
of humanity. or if there were comfort
in the Christ ideal, why did not more
| find it2 Weren't most of them like
Margaret and him, hungry and rest.
less. and covetous of material things
| Certainly in n sense 1T was true that
"surfeit of too much had left them
starved with nothing And, true, too,
that
| The longing for the thing remote destroys
| The power OF happiness In simple joys
What was the reason that the world
| had swung so far from where 1T was
when Christ was born7 And
vet, had it2 Possibly he saw only the
evil aud therefore could not estimate
the good, Perhaps Margaret and he
| were like so many others-understand
ing much Of truth and yet not living
up 10 that understanding. Wash t 1t
worth while then-if only once year
to stop short off, to put aside the
worry and fret that dogged ones feet
both day and night. and remember and
make a festival of Christmas day!
Just as reminder, say,-or-
"Jacob! What the matter with
Dick1'
The fright in Margaret's voice
brought him out of his musings in a
flash. She slipped forward on her
knees beside the child and looked at
him earnestly, AS she did so he moved,
| .l- IL Il.
| breath with a rasping sound that
| brought Jacob to his feet.
Lift him up. Margaret, while | tele-
phone the doctor.
He rushed into the hail while she
raised the child s head and placed n
pillow underneath. AS she did so he
threw back his head and gasped for
| breath.
ooh, Jacob. what can we do for
him2 He can't get his breath Oh,
Dick, darling Look at mamma! Can t
! you speak
In frantic haste they applied such
medicines as they had. but neither had
dealt with the condition before, and
| the hoarse rattle III the child S throat
sent their hearts into their mouths with
| fear.
And then in the midst of their anx-
iety the doctor came.
"Oh, doctor. what is it9 Will he
die?"
Margaret grasped Jacobs arm aud
clung to it as she asked the question.
The doctor turned his grave eyes up.
on her over his spcctaclcs.
"It is Group, madam Have you
plenty of hot water''
But even the doctors skill did not
avail to afford relief Nothing served
to loosen the phlegm in the child s
throat, and his struggle for breath
was pitifu to see His eyes were set
and his face terribly congested, Mar.
garet was terrified. Surely little Dick
was dying. And though Ne worked
! faithfully, she constantly entreated
| the doctor 10 save her child S life.
Jacob was pale and dry.eyed. A great
fear gripped HIM and his love for the
child became q pain agonizipg in its
intensity. Everything was blotted out
of his mind but the welfare of his child
What of money, their material needs
The possibility Of what they might
have! All was nothing The man and
woman We're for the moment shorn OF
the superficial, and they looked into
each other g eyes for strength and hope.
An unspoken prayer was in the heart
of each. They lowered over the boy
beside the doctor watching his every
| movement. anticipating his slightest