The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1908-02-07

N9sHHHAy airy. 1t is so won
SEsHIRly derful that 1t
p WV spreads its charm
Ger the preceding week and the
week that comes after. For days and
das the Small Person sneaks into the
hoaa tth unnatural, unhealthy and
~, &uls quiet, holding queer shaped
lagA packages under her coat or
fNbA ID away in the innermost cav
8ib9A her absurd little muff. The
II ~ Dot appears everywhere in the
Il ~ The paste brush disappears
EaAely and is finally found in state
bf suicide and the ink-bottle. You see
something on the floor that looks like
! a cherry. You pick it up and it is
red paper heart While you are look
Ing at it the Small Person trots into
the room, gives you one mysterious
glance, Immediately separates you
from your treasure and scampers
away to hiding place under the din
lngroom table, where she sits for three
straight hours in a billowy pool OF
white paper lace, big white envelopes
Ind numberless samples OF scissors.
Then, after these charming hours
of mysterious preparation, the great
lay approaches. The mail man Is the
Kris Kringle, the Santa Claus, the
good fairy. With Bonded shoulders he
plods down the street, while the Small
Person has her nose glued so tightly
to the window pane that there Is con-
siderable question whether or not 1t
will detach itself without the aid OF
o paper knife.
At last! Hooray! The bell rings.
At imminent risk of catching every
thing from a cold to spanking the
Small Person dashes out of the front
door and fairly leaps into the mail
bag.
She energies looking like a young
stationery establishment, nothing but
envelopes, big, little and middle sized.
With a squeal and scurry she blows
back into the house and opens up her
treasures. There are paper trees hlled
with brilliant paper roses, and De-
meath the forest trees sit little cupids
without no clos on at all, just as
If it were not February and chilly.
Great big, beautiful white swan cars
more beautiful even than a new au-
tomobile-are dragged out OF their
white castings, and 10! when you touch
a little spring somewhere the swan
cars are filled with flowers and all
sorts of wonderful, exquisite, beautiful
things, like birds and jewels and low
ing hearts. Oh, it is very, very de-
lightful, being a child on st. Valen-
tines day.
While all this excitement 3 beating
the quiet home atmosphere into quiz
ers you sit down in far-aWay COT
ner and think of the time when you
were little girl. Perhaps you didn
have as much attention as the Smaii
Person; perhaps things didn't some
how come your way-and perhaps It's
because you had so little that you
are ready to make any sacrifice SO
that the Small Person shall nave
much. 1t is from deprivations that
you learn what good things mean anu
how much they mean.
Somehow your mind goes way oack'
so far you wouldn't dare tell the
years. You wouldn't even guess them
1t seems so long ago that 1t must nave
ben another world, or anyway an
II err life. You see dingy old school
n n, where the benches were fright
hard and where the clock was
s8R Ivy II never moved its hands al
The days were very long for a
4 tiny child who should have been
ug and playing out OF doors.
day there came strange wills
about st. Valentine. You won
( he were the man VINO came
the trees in the orchard. II
very new to you, because
ne was new, and you had SO
get acquainted with in DIE
world.
Ter children talked knowing
/ st. Valentines box. Mex
3 filed in one after another
i big wooden box tnes