The San Francisco call., 1910-12-25
(ONFESSION Qs,aY!I.,;|j6I| / .,;|j:I|
APARVENUJE3t DzpS q
V s&-.s:s & =. s...1.. , sa..s ! 81

z NE decided 10 give myself Christ
mas present. For the first time in
= years I'm going 10 be perfectly hon
est with myself. and unburden my soul
Of all the deceit and dishonesty that's
in ii. When 1 sit sometimes in one OF
my velvet-lined autos, or at one OF my
big dinners, with gold plate and cut
glass all over and think that my chauf-
feur or my butler is ten times more
honest and decent and G0d-fearing than
] am, ] get fairly sick with shame.
And yet my silly pride keeps me from
ever cOnfessing all the poor and mean
and sordid Christmases I've known, and
the years in between the Christmases.
To tel the truth. I'm terribly vulgar.
! tell people now nay mother was
Packard, OF Virginia. She was a Pack
ard, all right, but she wasn't from
Virginia. She came from q little shift
less village ia Pennsylvania, and her
. father was the town barber. Her
mother was a farmers daughter. and
had been out al service till she mar
rled.
Ny mother went out to work, too;
she left school when she was l.; and
she married my father, who was just
an ordinary laborer, when she was IS.
But IN the years between that she
was cook for q family in a city near
her home She married my father. as
I said, and started up housekeeping in
TWO rooms 81 s. a week. Next year
nay sister Elsie was born, and two
years later I was, and the year after
that father cied-run over BY a horse
and carriage. but they got away and
no one ever caught them.
Ny mother didn't know how to do
enything but hOuseWork; so TO keep
Us with her-eVery body was trying to
make he- send US TO an asylum-she
woman and worked in private homes
sometimes by the day. The first Christ
mas i reTnem Der was during this time,
when / was years old and Elsie was
s We lived in one room; Elsie and I
slept al the foot Of mothers bed. and
We ate our dinner on the table by the
stove.
That Christmas we hadn't a thing to
eat but one can Of corn 1t sounds
funny now; but mother was almost
crazy. She never had enough pride to
suit me. and she kept wishing some
one would give Us a dinner out Of
charity. Just as shed said that for the
hunoreoth time, one Of the people from
the aid society Of the town did come,
with chicken and a lot of other
stuff. Mother cried and Elsie cried;
but I was like father, awfully proud
and j pounded the lady with my little
fists. ] remember she called me "an
Christmas No. I.
The next Christmas Of any Importance
was seven years later. The ones be-
tween were just the same. sometimes
charity and sometimes Just nothing 10
eat. The Christmas ] was -. a man nv
mother worked for offered me a posi-
ticn running errsnds in his drygoods
store snd I left school and took H.
Christmas day I brought home my first
TWO dollars Proud? Well, I never nave
been so proud since.
Christmas day two years from that
was our first without mother: and three
years later Elsie was married. L was
Harry's idea TO be married that day;
he always was romantic, poor chap.
I've sometimes been glad that he and
Elsie settled in Australia before I was
married; IN actually afraid Of what
I might have done When I think that
] might be capable Of being snobblsh
enough 10 cut my own sister, 1 fairly
shudder
after that / went as apprentice to
dreSsnaker. I remember the only
Christmas I spent with her. There
were three OF US girls living with her
in the house. and though she had
plenty Of money she was the stingiest
one duck for all Of us-imag ginel one
ducki-and then made stufting enough
for about twenty, so that we should
have lots TO eat"
The next year got my first start on
The upward path. left the dressmaker
and went into a department store as a
cloak model. don't think I men
toned that ] was pretty. but j was; 1
must have been. or ! would never have
got where did Anyway, I know I
was; that's twenty years ago. now,
and I'm still good looking. You see,
I'm being perfectly frank.
I had lots Of funny experiences at the
departnent store, and some that might
no- have been 50 funny il I hadn't
had fathers pride back OF me. One
r-hrfsfmas / remember. a fellow that
used 10 come there with. his sister and
then started sneaking in alone with all
SORTS OF excuses-lDts Of them did that.
suE used 10 let them because / loved
~ sec The foorWall6er get mad: he had
a. awful case on me-wanted me to go
Ut 10 dinner with him Christmas DAY,
and when I wouldn't. ne showed me A
diamond bracelet and-oh, wen, what's