Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1909-12-24
" FERRY CHRISTMAS"
BY LCE r. VERNON.
i Merry Christmas To all,

mas comes OUT once Il ycar-giOrV be-
and even Staid philosopher is com
PEELED to yield to the OvcrmaStering
influence of the alleged festive sea
son, be the extent. at least, that he
must strive to be ChriStmaSsy, when
so many subscribers to the WASHING
TON STANDARD are Worrying their
haraSSed souls in wondering what
SIZE Christmas present they must
send or may receive; whether it
will be as large as Scvcn-maSted
ship, or as small as Il thimble.
whether Il diamond or IA bag of
popcorn. However, may the 10
cund god, who, it is claimed. sit up
a!oft and look after the fate of Christ
mas revclerS, make this coming
Iulctlde of yours, like every issue of
the AsHINGToN STANDARD some
thing that will never fade from your
memories,
All the same, it is not particularly
easy to feel Christmassy just at the
moment. To begin with: don t
think that we. of this day and gene
ration, are so susceptible to the
subtle Iuletide influence as we ought
to be. We are too proSaic-too ma
terialistic. When | read of the man
ner in which Christmas was celebrat-
ed in the good old-fashioned DAYS |
am inclined to heave a sigh of regret.
The spirit of commercialism is
abroad. The ceaseless competition.
the struggle to live. seem to combine
in giving the death-hlow to many de
liThtful customs. We need another
Dickens, with his broad-minded hui
manity, to Danish cyniciSm and re-
kindle the glow of charity and mirth
However. you and |. in our wis
dom, VIII strive To welcome Christ
mas in n proper spirit. Being wise.
we will dwell for the time in the land
of romance and make belief where
every explorer is rewarded with per
prtual youth. \ little child shall
teach us. for Christmas, after all. be
longs to the children, and we clumsy
Old "Grown-upS cannot do better
than learn from their smiling lips
what Christmas is and how it should
be- welcomed.
One of the things they will teach
us. | hope. will be that the old
fashioned games should on no ac-
count be forgotten. Blind man 5
buff" and Hunt the slipper" and
Postot1ice. why, the very men
tion of them sets ones blood a-ting-
ling. How many years ago was it
that you played Postotiice," and
roguish little Mary brought you a
letter with six stamps on it? And
that double-dyed scoundrel. Willie
Jones. who was door-keeper, and who
would persist in keeping the door
alar, and peeping while you collected
the oSculatory postage outside !
Why. confound his impudcnce! The
recollection of it makes you feel even
now, that you would like to punch
his thick head!
And ForfetS' now. What could
be more wholly delightful than play
ing Forfeits, when the right girl
was preSent-aS she always was, of
course Then the game of Kiss in
the ring read the other day of
an unlearned Judge who actually in
quired: What is a kiss in the
ring p Just think of it! Why.
bless his ignorance, the man ought
to be amongst the wax-work figures
in display at the show of anatomy !!
What has he been doing with his
time? Clearly his is case of mis-
spent youth. You and |, | rather
fancy, can congratulate ourselves that
we are not so ignorant as that.
Many a time and oft have we imbibed
the nectar from sweet rosy lips-l
shall drop into poetry, if | go on like
this. We know thing or two not
| found in law boOks-don we?
From kiss in the ring to mistlctoe
is n natural transition, and an easy
one. obviously And the young men
and maidens who prove their intelli-
gence by reading the WASHINGTON
STANDARD will be delighted to hear.
| am sure, that the mystic plant will
be more in evidence this Yuletide
than last 1t has been 4 good mis-
tletOe year, and from the quantities
displayed, it suggests there cannot
possibly be girl in the whole Unit
ed States who will mourn unkiSSed
this Christmas. Which is as it
should be, of course; and for my part
| sincerely trust that in every dwell
ing where there are kissable maid
ems and what maidenS are not kiss
able ?-the plant, or its duplicate.
will be hung up in every available
spot.
BY the way, it is curious and, so
planned fact in psychology, that
maidens generally, and the pretty
ones in particular. are always totally
Obivious Of the presence of mistletoe
in room. Yet, somehow, their
wayward feet cause them to stray
underneath the mystic bough,' and
when some enterprising young man
asserts his privilege; they utter a
shrek Of surprise. Bless their inno-
cent little hearts They are only
playing the game taught them by
Eve. And Adam rises to the bait to-
day precisely as he did ever so many
thousand of years ago, as his children
have done ever since, and as they
will continue to do for all time
And while you are enjoying your
Christmas kindly and checrfully,
remember the mail carrier, who in
sunshine and storm brings you the
! dun from the grocer man, the baker,
the butcher and the candle-stick
maker; the letter from mother. IA
ther. sister. brother. or sweetheart,
who may be far away: and | must
not forget TO mention the dear old
weekly published in your Old home
away back east, for to many folk
! its news columns, of local matter
is in itself delightful Christmas
present. repeat, do not forget the
mail carrier, and what is more to the
: point, don't you dare forget the