The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-12-07
THE GRAFT OF THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT
The Season When Your Relatives and Friends Send
You Old Things You Don't Want-The Ap-
peal to the Childs Imagination.
~ ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.

~ ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.
in despair"
Upon this text this column once ami
madverted at length otherwhere.
But it is worth quoting again.
For it refers to the hated Christmas
present
This is the time Of year when you
| take a paper and pencil and add up,
| subtract, divide by three and one-half
multiply by forty-nine and two-thirds
and then decide it will be impossible
to give either Sal or Marguerite a sin.
gle thing.
Although. hold, why not take that
pink thing Sal gave you last year and
which you have. never used because
you were somewhat doubtful as to its
exact identity-for it might be any.
| thing from a stove-lid to house
afire-and make it over into a lamp
shade for Marguerite. Excellent idea!
But how about Sal? Won't she re-
cognize 1t?
You decide in desperation that you
OOu care IL sic uOcS IOu CdI al
ford to spend another cent and If Sal
gets mad because you don't give
her anything. you can't help that.
Still you do remember that Sal
did give you the pink thing and that
Marguerite presented you with half
dozen green candles-left over from
her last party-when you knew per-
Ia all ohn IN
brass bowl bought at the charity ba-
saar and which was marked three dol
lars. OF course you don't know that
she actually paid three dollars for it
but you have no evidence to the con-
trary and 80 when you received the
six green candles wrapped in purple
tissue paper and tied with light blue
piece Of baby ribbon with card bear.
ing tho strange legend, with love
from Marguerite" you threw them in
to a corner of the sofa and never no.
ticed them until a week later when you
were cleaning up.
So, after all, why worry making over
the pink thing Sal gave you for Mar
guerite.
Why not send Sal that yellow bowl
Cousin Jane gave you last year and
which Sal may think is a jardiniere.
For it was nice of her to give you
the pink thing. Think of Marguerite 8
nerve sending you those beastly old
green candles! She can go to the
any place-and stay there for all you!
And then you sink back and reflect
on the Righteousness of it all.
OF your feelings on Christmas morn
ing when you beheld the weird assert
ment of junk, each in turn Invested Of
It's paper cuticle!
How you gnash your teeth when you
think of the old things given you by
those to whom you have presented
chef d. oeuvres-upon which you
spent time and thought in trying to
get something they really would care
for!
How you rise up and execute dou-
BILE shuttle Of disgust when you think
Of the strange objects of wearing ap-
parel sent you by your loving rela-
tives, of uncanny ornaments for heav-
en- knows what disposal which may
or may not have been purchased at the
ten cent store: of hand made jewelry
that looks as If it were chopped out
with an ak. of odd jugs and bowls and
curious pot-shaped receptacles which
have the general appearance of dat
ing from the stone age!
OF satin pincushions with love from
Cousin Williams wife, of bags to
hang behind doors with the best
wishes of Aunt Martha, of mysterious
things to put on bureaus purchased
At church fairs, OF books you have
already read or don't care anything
about, of stockings from Uncle Jerusha
which never fit, of thick handkerchief
that make your nose red from your
sisterin-law who could afford to buy
you one trimmed in rose point-of all
the odds and ends tied with gilt cord
from people you don't give hang for
you and only sent them because they
thought you would send them some
thing-of the whole dreary mess of
christmas cheer"
Is there anything more maddening
than the useful present?
How charmingly excited you be-
come when a messenger boy runs up
the steps, rings the door-bell with a
sharp jerk or two, throws a package
| into your hands and retires imperti-
nently to the outer world
A package wrapped alluringly in
white tissue paper and tied with red
and green ribbons with a piece Of hol.
ly tucked coquettishly into the loops.
| You rush into he-dining-room
say-and with trembling fingers un.
wrap the lovely thing when out rolls
"A union suit or a flannel petticoat
or a half dozen pairs of thick stock.
ings or package Of paper bags for
cooking. or a pair of bedroom slip
pers-you know how it goes.
These are from great cousin Ellen
twice removed, who has the erroneous
idea that you are about to go on the
county and that to keep the family
from eternal disgrace she must stock
you up with the barest necessities.
The whole matter OF the exchange
Of gifts on Christmas has become q
sort Of social graft, has resolved it
self into q bowling farce, has evolv
ed into a CHASTITY kind Of comedy. has
in fact, lost all its beauty and signifi
| c4nc0