davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30

he could have brought II home &c his
own SETS house. lie wanted a baby
SO bad. And even his sweets-freighted
babble picked mp that blue sky-misterv
and wondered about II And his eyes
were wide and fathomlessly sweet in
the freight. and his hand chung all
the while to my face AMI deared it.,
and woye heavenly weave into my life
in every least little touches of 1t 10
my lips. my cheeks. aud IN the com.
ings home of 1t to slip into my bosom
and there nest.
Then We told him that 1t was going
to be the Christmas baby's birthday
tomorrow, and because we SO love
Gods little son We give, year after
year, all life long, gifts to him and to
each other on that day. And the
library door, tomorrow. would be I'M
locked. and a surprise inside for us
each and all.
"Draeiousi" was his sole comment;
and slowly the happy eyes slipped
from us behind their curtain .fringes.
the little warm body lay heavy in my
arms. Slowly Great-grand unbullded
the house of red embers. and coming
over took the little sleeper into his
arms. rocked and crooned and Rugged
and od-blessed him. And with
grandmother's kisses on the wee feet
that never were still save in slumber.
and grandfather's proud look into the
unwilling face following after, | bore
him away to his crib, so loved, so
loved!
is Trismus tum?"
| wakened with the words break
Ing the crystal Of my dreams and kiss
Ing themselves against my lips and
a fat white body embracing my head
yes, sir" | managed to say through
the %strangling arms of him. Happy
Christmas, Bob-for-Short!"
Happy Christmas. Bob for Short"
echoed from the doorway; aud Hap.
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30

by Christmas, Bob.for-Short!" foated
In from beyond the east and west
shoulders of greatgrand.
He shouted. He danced. Never be-
fore had he been met by all the fam
lily at crib.side. lie legged all over the
bed, trlekling bl~arneyments and
daughters at the three gray heads that
wagcled in unconscious tune TO the
prancings of him.
Then. all his yellow body apant with
haste. Nieodemus hustled his fat self
up the stairs into the fun he was
missing. and IN his wake, Katy from
her kitchen.
And with a Happy Christmas to
yez. Misther Bob.fer-Short, she set
a gray kitten on the floor,
We were all very still, as he slipped
from the bed and approached the kit.
ten. lie had never owned a kitten. He
eyed 1t In raptured silence. "Meou,'
said the kitten,
Into his cheeks the red crimsoned,
OH" he gasped; "wad you tail, titty;
pease wad you tall" And she wagged
her tail and arched her back against
his feet and cajoled him, and as he
gathered her into his nightgown and
he white fat bare legs ran with their
treasure. she broke into loud silken
purrings. And Nicodemus sulked and
fell into a helpless yellow bunch OF
protest. when the gray kitten was held
TO his nose for a kiss.
And we all dawdled until Katy's
bell rang third summons to breakfast.
He went up the stairs alone. Then
Nicodemus. Then Great-grand. Then
l. And then the rest of his adorers.
He stopped at the door.
open the door. sir" said GRANDPA
Their.
"Tum on, muyver." he said. reach
ing hand into my hand.
So we stepped over the threshold
together.
The room was darkened. The fire.
light dulled behind a screen. In the
center of the room a low, fair-branched
young cedar tree CLEANED like a great
jewel.
My hand forgotten. he circled the
tree.
'Round and round. And we after.
"Das a mo- bu-ti-ful drum we
caught the murmur as he inventoried.
'Das a yittle tend horse" He paused
to log it and In ecstasy watch Its tail
go up and down. "Das a yittle toad
frod In dat bid marble. How you
s'pose 1t dot in?" He tarried to In
vestigate. and set it rolling for the
kitten to chase. Nicodemus thought
1t was meant for him. and when he
collided with the kitten, cowed and
scared and muttering, he fed to a dis
lance and yapped at ball and kitten.
And the inventory went on: "Das a
dold waths, yike mys Dreat-dran is
dot" He tarried to hunt a pocket, and
deposit his watch therein. But first
he held 1t to ear. And the murmur
resumed: Dat waths is def an dunn
too. Das a piture-but an das a piture.
but an das a piture-but. Ora.
cious!"
And Christmas was on for Bob.for.
Short.-New York Independent
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30
USE OF WORD "SCALAWAG"
In the South 1t Does Not Garry Re-
proach of Dishonest Character
Old Political Term.

A New York woman talking with n
southern woman mentioned a we'll
known lawyer, a native of Virginia,
but now "a resident of New York.
Yes, | know him. said the south
ern woman HE was a scalawag."
oh" gasped the New York wo-
man. Surely not. At least. | W
have heard a word against him. Are
we talking about the same man? !
always have understood that the ~
l mean is a mar of unimpeachable
honor"
The southern mi smiled. Yes,
we are talking about the same man."
she replied; but | see We do not at
tach the same meaning to the word
~'scalawag. Evidently with you 1T
means something d~ishonorable, or at
least reprehensible. Did you eve
hear the southern use of it before?"
The northern woman shook her
head. 81 never heard it used in any
way except to indicate q man who
would resort to trickery, or even ac-
tual dishonesty, to attain an end
81 never have heard 1t used that
way In the south. There it is an old
political term. 1t originated just be-
fore the war. Down in Virginia, in
those days, a man who had originally
been a Democrat, but who became a
Republican, or at least a Union man.
was called a 'scalawag.'"
"Oh-same as those we called Cop
p~erheads' In the north"
was no %reproach implied by the word
in war times, but not the reproach of
a dishonest character"
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30
False Hair Supply.

Most of the best true false hair
now worked up on such a grand scale
comes from the southeast corner of
Bohemia. In this hair-raising region
the human hair market is a too com
mon sight. and the getting ready of
he stuff for the white world market
Is a big and diversified business. The
supply Is helped out by cargoes from
China. and large quantities of China
hair 1t takes, too, at that. 1t comes
packed in straw in bales averaging
100 pounds in weight. Chink hair, as
everybody here knows, is a bad black.
intensely so, and in such color is no
use or value at all. So the first thing
to do is to make it a missionary blond
by bleaching it-in a pretty strong bath
of peroxide of hydrogen and ammonia.
This kills germs and makes the hair
pretty safe.
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30

forever. No dreams to disturb that
sleep; no vision Of past haggling, no
vision Of wearisome exchanges 10
come.
But the reality is a long way from
this that | NO I'D ask. DO you suppose
such a proud wage Garner as she
would be content to let Christmas day
so by without displaying wealth and
power? No, every dependent in the
household must partake of her bounty,
every pensioner be given good proof
of what it means to have her dress up
and go down town every day. Moth
ing of niggard is the shop-girl at
Christmas. she is as much a Lady
Bountiiul as any m~illionairess of them
all.
What a creature, A Hercules, a
Joan of Arc, a Una. a Job" and a
Lady Bountiful on eight dollars and
less a week.
Copyright, 1900
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30

ate evenings; but after dinner cheer
fully dons kitchen apron and helps
with giant plum pudding and other
Christmas preparation that yearly is
repeated in honor of old England and
the home left behind when there was
made search for fortune in the rich
land of America. These are just two
instances, the n quite commonplace,
unheroic, but you may pick up a few
for yourself by eavesdropping a bit in
your shopping; observing among the
buyers the many shop-girls purchasing
toys mt silver 'pusher,' ehildren's
gloves and sweater. or gray dress for
nanny, mufler for daddy.
vi course there is any number of
pert incompetent girls that walt on
hapless customers, rather keep hap
less customers waiting, but they have
oeen pictured with enough frequency
thls sort repeatedly held up as typical.
thereby %obscuring the virtues of the
many worthy ones following the pro-
fession of waiting on" For some time
past have been gathering data. ma.
King experiment; and have found 1t
the rule rather than exception that
courtesy meets with courtesy. Soft
II fair go far in a day." not only on
highway but in the miles of space In
a huge department store.
A man said to me recently: How
little of church is brought into the,
Christmas of today" And how sadly.
true this is-"church" In this connec-
ton standing for whatsoever things are.
lovely, whatsoever things are good, of
full import to all religions. And bully
ing and bullyragging a shop-girl at
this season seems about as far from
lovely and good" as one may wander. ,
Put yourself In her place, remember
Ing previous failures of your own
when bodily WEAKNESS snapped,
strained nerves, broke down poise.
Ye gods and little fishes, in what.
condition is the shop-girl to enjoy
Christmasi / am sure If | were she
all | would ask of good Saint Nicholas.
would be a dark, airy room far, far
away from people drom man. and es-l
pecially woman) a great, soft bed
where | could stretch out long and
wide; silence and sleep forever and
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30
< aNouTSHrr%s
s
z~N~N~pR "~S"~~SN

Y an excellent short
story published not,
long ago, o. Henry
gave to his shop-girl.
heroine a colossal char
acter, emphasized that
In her were combined.
the notable attributes
of Hercules, Joan of
Arc. Una, Job and Lit
tie Red Riding Hood.
And at this season of
the y~ear-"glad Christi
mas days'-it easily
might seem to a less
syn pat h etic person
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30

than the regretted o. Henry that the
shop-girl most stands in need of the
strength of Hercules, the heroism of
Joan of Arc. the truthfulness and 9TH
err singular excellencies Of Una. the
patience of job. Think what it must
mean, from eight to six, or eight to
ten, as the case may be, to face and
serve the ratified throngs that are now
surging through the shops, think of
the strain on endurance and nerve. on
temper aud manners. The wonder is
not that she often comes up to the de-
mands on her. but that she ever does.
Some Of the veterans. survivors OF
many hard-fought Christmas battle
fields, are maryels. may be seen at
fag-end of day still alert. though drooD-
ingly so; still c-lear-headed. though
with conscious effort: still with eonr-
teous attitude in their serving. though
those they serve have lost the last
shred Of any politeness with which
they may have started out.
Compare the manners of some
spoiled darling. some INDUCED. AFRO
giant child of wealth. with the dignity
and patience and sweetness often
shown by the girl behind the counter.
The one s~elf-centered, of most restrict
ed vision, captious, petty; the other
self-effacing. far-seeing. charitable.
big Caleb In search of a wife might
well pursue his quest along the aisles
of the big stores, find womanly ideal
standing there behind the counter.
They are not all c~aricatures of fash.
Ion, with hair tortured into latest ex-
aggeration, frocks cheap copies of
SNOWY splendors; not all more given
to powder and rouge than to soan and
water. And in the attainment of the
so highly-desirable neatness and trim.
ness heroism again has to come To the
fore, II is no easy matter after long
hours of labor to labor more, take
pains for personal cleanliness, sew and
darn when eyes are heavy. back is
aching. Heroines every one of them
that make a good show.
know a girl in a fashionable candy
shop that every other night washes
and irons that she may be~spresentable
the next day. Her moderate wage is
the chief part of the family uppor
there is not enough money for enough
blouses to last the week. and so the
midnight laundrying is done as a mat.
ter of course. But how pretty and
sweet and fresh the girl does manase
TO look In her snowy white and well
brushed black; much better dressed
she seems TO me, than the woman of
fuss and feathers.
What little mothers they are a lot
of them. simple affectionate, domestic
creatuFet-though so often character.
lied as vain, shallow, foolishIy am.
bilious, thinking only of dress and
dates" | know one girl that worked
in one of the department stores which
keep open evenings at Christmas time
who the night before Christmas did
not leave the store until midnight
then after travelling an hour on the
street cars TO her home STAYED I'M
hours to trim a wonderful Christmas
tree for the children of the family. the
bunch of little ones the poor seem al
ways to have with them. know an.
other girl that at this season goes
down unusually early mornings to ar.
range stock" comes home unusually
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30
S88SUH@
CHRISTMAS TIM e.

| have often thought of Christmas
time, when 1t has come round, apart
from the yeneration due to its sacred
name and origin, If anything belong
ing to 1t can be apart from that-as a
good time. a kind, forgiving, charit-
able. pleasant time.-Charles Dickens.
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30

our baby had never
encountered n locked
door. The lovesome
pit-pat of his busy feet
was herald at whose
coming every door in
the house swung open
and over thresholds he
went into assured well
comes.
= But We were plan
ming a tree. And the
library door was locked.
He paused In his as.
cent of the stairs To
button I'm a button that
The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30

Christmas Day


To rule and reign quhh gentle
sqUay,
The King of Lore quas born
today.
No paLace UaHs enclosed him
round,
But In a nianoer UaS he found:
That so The boastfuI 1uorld
might see
The greatness of humility.
He came, a cbHd, In Lopen
grace,
That so a child might seek his
face;
So poor qDas be, the hun1blest
born
Might come, quithout a fear of
scorn.
To all mankind be sho4ued The
qDav,
And ushered IN the daqUn of
day.
And so, quhb grateful Iope
and praise.
We hail this blessed day of
days.
The ehldren's Joy, the poor
mans feast,
The star of hope to great and
least;
When holy angels come to
earth,
And sing aneqD a Sapior's
birth!
Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-06

cess INDUCED her temper the worse it
grew, until people began to fear she
might do herself great injury. There
were many consultations among the
high dignitaries of the court, but no
one could suggest a remedy.
Now it happened that just at that
time there occurred many terrible
storms, when the waves rolled in with
terrific force and threatened the lives
and property of many poor fisher folk
This was an added cause for worry to
the subjects of the princess, and they
were sorely perplexed.
One dull. gray day, as the princess
strolled along the shore, followed by
her favorite little maid of Japan, she
saw the storm clouds surge up and the
waves begin to boil and bubble with an
angry moan. The princess was very
much frightened, but even more angry
and said with rising temper to SUE
Sen, her little maid:
"HoW dare the. sea behave in this
manner when ] choose to walk abroad?
All should be smooth and blue. and
sunshiny when / am on the shore!
Command this angry weather and sea
to give place to sunshine!"
You see the princess in her anger
really lost sight of the absurdity of
her command, so accustomed was she
to having all quail before her terrible
temper. But little Suie Sen was very
wise. and she suddenly thought of a
way to make the princess ashamed.
Complete this story, telling what you
think little Suie Sen had thought of
to make the little princess be a better
ruler. The complete story must be re-
ceived in this office not later than
Thursday, November II, for publication
November 81
Stories for this contest must be not
less than 200 nor more than $50 words,
and must be addressed to Aunt Laurie,
l.erald Junior, The Herald, Los Ange-
les. Cal. For the best unfinished starry
the prize will be Herald Junior em-
blem pin,
Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-06

Gwendolen lived with her grandpar-
ents in a little seacoast town in Maine.
Nearly all the people in the village
were fisher folk. and made their living
by going out to sea in stout crafts and
returning laden with macllerel and cod,
which brought them good prices. But
Gwendolen's grandfather had been a
sea captain in his youth, and now was
ending his days near the great rolling
waters he loved so well.
Now Gwendolen loved stories as
much as any little girl or boy of her
age could, and when she tired of hear
ing tales of the fisher folk of strange
adventures in times of storm, she loved
to coax her good mother to spin her
a seafaring yarn. This she was usual
ly very willing to do. and many were
the marvellous things she learned
about the countries far over the sea
One day when the winds blew with
cutting blast from the east and the
angry breakers were more than usual
ly high, she told her legend of Japan
which she never forgot all the years OF
her life.
The good people who dwell near the
coast of Japan repeat this legend to
their children as a warning to them
to control their tempers. 1t is said
that once upon a time there lived in
a beautiful castle by the sea a power
full little princess, who was fair as she
was powerful. She had many attend
ants any everything that the heart Of
a child-even that of princess-could
wish for.
But with all these things she pos
sessed something else that her people
would have given many millions of dol
lars to cure her of. This was terrible
temper that broke forth at the slight
est provocation. No matter how small
a thing went wrong in her dominion
she would Immediately begin to fret
and scream at such rate as to terrify
her devoted subjects. 1t became very
serious, for the more the mighty prln-
Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-06
HER NEW MOTHER

her grandfather read that now Blanche
was to come and live with them, the
little girl danced around the room sing
ing. my dream has come true. I
have a young and pretty mamma to
call me darling Blanche!"
Then her grandfather looked very
wise and said: Dear little girl, you
are filled with joy, and it is right you
should love your new mother, but per-
haps she may not love you just at
first. In case that should happen do
not become unhappy; be dutiful, be
cheerful, be useful, be obedient and
feel sure all will be- we'll"
Blanche was to goNto a good country
school, which was only a mile distant
from her fathers farm. Her grand
father had given her an Indian pony,
who was to carry her backward and
forward every clear day., so now the
little girl was travelling to her fathers
home, her heart filled with joy and de-
light, but when she reached the noun
tain station she met with a sad disap-
pointment; her father and her new
mother, whose name was Meta, were
there to meet her.
Her father gave her a loving greet
ing, and when he said: blanche, here
is your new mamma" Blanche ran to
her crying: Dearest mamma, l hope
you will love me-" But Meta replied
Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-06
JUNIORS APPRECIATE
THE HERALD PRIZES

Dear Aunt Laurie:
l wish to thank you for the book I
received for first prize in the unfinished
story contest. i have read 1t through
and ii is fine, but Aunt Laurie, there
must be more of the Hester books"
somewhere, because it ends up funny,
and on one flyleaf it gave the
name "The Coming OF Hester" If |
should happen to win any more prizes
| would like to have one of those
books if you know where they can
be found. With my best love to you,
l am your niece
BERTHA WRIGHT.
1901 Birch street. San Bernardino.
Grade T. age II; First street school.
books and if l get any of them 1
will remember your request. | am
glad you enjoyed it SO much.
Dear Aunt Laurie:
thank you very much for giving
me girls prize in the limerick contest
October g. / have read the book,
which is entitled Red Maggie" and I
think it very nice and funny.
October 1s was my birthday and I
was 10 years old. My birthday win
have made it holiday because Colum-
bus discovered America on the 18th.
IRENE NJ. CHARNOCK
Pasadena; Washington street school;
age 70; grade 6. r. F. D. No. 2.
Did you put the red cellulod over
each picture in the book? That is what
makes it so funny, l think You are
lucky to have your birthday on a holi-
day each year. 1t might come on a
schoolday, you know.
Dear Aunt Laurie:
1 wish to thank you for the honora-
BILE mention of the limerick contest.
and am enclosing now limerick and
a Halloween letter
CHARLES OLERICH.
L. A. H. S., grade BIO. Age Is. 232
Parkside avenue.
Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-06

One beautiful fall day many years
ago a little girl whose name was
Blanche Gaynor was travelling with
friend of her fathers. For several
years she had been making her home
with her grandparents, who lived IN
the far west.
When Blanche, who was now I years
old, was tiny baby she had met with
n great nlisfortune-she had lost her
mother by a sudden illness. She could
not remember her, but she had always
cherished a sweet idea of young and
pretty woman bending over her and
calling her darling Blanche So
when her grandfather read letter to
her from her father saying he had mar
ried again, this time very young girl
ony II years old, and had bought
small farm in the mountains of Vir-
ginia, she was wild with joy, and when
a:<:~.S: S:f:<:>tHs:t<>2 90: <:'&:'%N:I":
explained by, this little legend Per-
haps | will be able to find the real
ending to the story in which l think
YOU will be interested.
Don't forget my office hours, boys
and girls, from 1920 to 1890 on Sat
urday and after Monday l want to
see YOU all some time. Lovingly,
AUNT LAURIE.