The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1908-02-14

\S..I spreads its charm
over the preceding week and the
week that comes after. For days and
days the Small Person sneaks into the
house with unnatural, unhealthy and
suspicious quiet, holding queer shaped
bullying packages under her coat or
struggled away in the innermost cav
erns of her absurd little muff. The
paste pot appears everywhere in the
house. The paste brush disappears
entirely and is finally found in a state
of suicide and the ink-bottle. You see
something on the floor that looks like
a cherry. You pick it up and it is a
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
way to hiding place under the din
ingroom table, where she sits for three
straight hours in a billowy pool of
white paper lace, big white envelopes
and numberless samples of scissors
Then, after these charming hours
of mysterious preparation, the great
day 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 it
will detach itself without the aid of
a paper knife.
At last! Hooray! The bell rings
At imminent risk of catching every
thing from a cold to a spanking the
Small Person dashes out of the front
door and fairly leaps into the mail
bag.
She energies looking like young
stationery establishment, nothing but
envelopes, big, little and middle sized.
With a squeal and a scurry she blows
back into the house and opens up her
treasures. There are paper trees filled
with brilliant paper roses, and be-
meath the forest trees sit little cupids
without no clos on at ALL" just as
If 1t 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
q 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. Vaien-
tines day.
While all this excitement is beating
the quiet home atmosphere into quiv-
ers you sit down in a far-away cor
ner and think of the time when you
were a little girl. Perhaps you didn't
have as much attention as the Small
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 have
much. 1t is from deprivations that
you learn what good things mean and
how much they mean.
Somehow your mind goes way back,
so far you wouldn't dare tell the
years. You wouldn't even guess them.
It seems so long ago that it must have
been another world, or anyway an
other life. You see a dingy old school
room. where the benches were fright !
fully hard and where the clock was !
so lazy it never moved its hands at !
all. The days were very long for a |
little tiny child who should have been
romping and playing out of doors.
One day there came strange whis- |
perings about st. Valentine. You won
dered If he we're the man who came
10 trim the trees in the orchard. 1t |
was all very new to you, because
everything was new. and you had so
much to get acquainted with in a big
strange world.
The other children talked knowing
lv about a st. Valentines box. Next
day they filed in one after another,
and into a big wooden box they