The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-20


 voice; none can read the description of the Christmas str~sts without a. new thrill of love for his kind. 1t is no won- der that England almost looked on of Charles Dickens. Had he written nothing else In all his life, "A Christ mas caroP would have made his nane immortal.
 Secret and seIf-contained sa an oys- ter, frosty rime on his head, shis eye brows and his wiry chin, old Scrooge sat busy in his counting house on Christmas Eve. The door of his room was open, that. he might keep his eye on his clerk. Scrooge had a very small fire; but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that 1t looked like one coal
 scrooee kept the coal box in his room: and so surely as the clerk ven- tured in with a. shovel .the master pre- dicted that 1t would be necessary for them to part TherefoFeg the clerk ,s Bob Cratchlt, wore his white comforter and tried to warm himself at the candle, in which effort, not being a man of strong imagination, he failed.
 IA merry christmas. uncie~ cried . cheerful voice. It was the voice Of scrooge's nephew. Scrooge giowered at the ruddy, handsome fellow, all aglow with fast walking, and snaried. fBahl Humbugi Merry Christmasl What right have you to be nqerryf What reason have you to be nierryg You're poor enoughw
 eCome. then". said the nephew laugh. ing. What right have you to be dismal? You're rich enoughr'
 eff I could work my will" srowied schooge, indignantly. every idiot whe goes about with Merry Chriatrnas' on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake Of hoi- iy through his heartp'
 "Unclel' pleaded the nephew. "oonei Dine with us tomorrow. I want noth- ing from you I ask nothing of you Why caDnot we be friends7"
 Good afternoopp said Serooge.
 '1 am sorry" said the nephew. But have made the trial Tn homage io Christmas and Til keep my Christmas hunnor to the last. So. merry Christ mas, unclem
 s6sood afternoon." shouted scrooge.
 The nephew left the room. but stop ped at the outer door to bestow the seasop's greetings on the clerk, who, cold as he was. was warmer than Gcrooge, for he returned them heartily.
 There's another" nuttered Gcnoose. My clerk, with fifteen eililiings a week. and q wife and family, talking about a merry Christmas. I'll retire Into Bed- lam"
 This Iunatlc, in lestinx scroage's nephew out let two other people in-- portIy Eontiemen, piease1sf Co behold, who now ,atsgd with thsiF hats eG. .hpw-- Iscroogs and Marley. believe" said one.
 .Mr. Marisye replied scrooge. ',disd seven years Rgo this yefy night" The pleasant gentlemen explained that they had called for q donation te a Christmas fund for the poor.
 Are there no prisonsT' asked Ecrooge Are the Union workhouses In good operatlon7" he demanded arx- lously. Nes 'sWe are sorry to say that they are and very busy answered they. "Oh!" said Scrooge. relieved. T was afraid that something had occurred t6 stop them in their usual course: iI help to support the establishments tnerl- honed. Let the poor go there. z Many cannot, and more would ra-1 sfer die," replied one of his visitors.
 f'Let them die then." said Scrooge. land reduce the surplus population. Good afternoon, gentlemen"
 They withdrew and Gefooge resumed his labors with an improved opinion of himself. The fog and darkness thick sned The piercing, searching, nipping cold increased: The lights were iiL and made the shops glorious pageants. The Lord Mayor gave orders to his fifty cooks and buffers to keep Christmas as n Lord Mayors household should. The little tailor. whom he had fined i've Shiiiings on the previous Monday for being drunk and bloodthirsty in the streets, stirred up tomorrow pudding in his sgarret, while his lean wife and the baby saIifed out to buy the beef
 Scrooge scratched on with his pen, counting up how much people owed him and making Fnemorahdums to come down on those who were behind, He permitted these cheerfuI labors to be interrupted only long enough to throw a ruler at frost bitten Christ mas Vail who had the ehfrontery to sing under his window;
 God bless, you merry gentleman.
 At last the time for shutting up arr rived. scrooge grudgingIy admitted the fact to his expectant clerk For a parting saiutation he explained that Mir. Cratchitt was picking his pocket of a days wages by taking a whole days holiday. Then he went sourly to his melancholy tavern for his meiari- choly dinner. while Bob Cratchit, roll ing his comfortera little more tightly around his neck to make up for a lack
 
 the end of a lane of boys twenty times in honor of it's being Christmas and then ran home as hard as he could peit
 Having swallowed his poor dinner and read all the papers and beguifed q few hours with his banirerss book Scrooge went home, Home" waa gloomy suite of rooms in a gloomy old edtfice, in which no one lived except Scrooge, the other rooms- being let out as offices. The yard leading into 1t was so dark that Scrooge, thousA he knew every stone, had to grope with his hands to find the door.
 Now. he had not bestowed one thought on Marley since his last mem ton of his deceased partner. Yet suI- denly. as he put his key Into the door. the knocker was-v-not a knocker. but Narley's face.
 It was not in lmpenetrable darkness like the rest of the place. but had dismal light about it. The hair was curiously stirred as if by hot air As Ecrooge looked fixedly at this phenome- non 1t was a knocIker again.
 His blood was conscious of a ter rible sensation to which 1t had been & stranger from Infancy. But he turn ed the key. walked in. lit his candle and ascended.
 When he entered his own rooms he double locked the doors and walked through his apartments to see that all was right. He had just enough recol- lection of the face to desire to do that.
 Quite satisfied he put on his dress- ing gown, slippers and nightcap, and sat down before the fire. All at once the bell that hung in his room began