El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-12-24

Is It really come again,
With its memories ana greetIng1
With its joys and with its pains"
Just one year ago Conchita. the ED
est of seven sisters-Evangelina, En-
riqueta, Josefina, Rub. CarIota and
Margarita --ConcIuded to surprise
her younger sisters by having a Christ
mas tree. They had come lately from
Mexico, where the revolution had
left them fatherless and penniIess.
COnchita and some of her sisters were
working in Fl PasO retail stores at 50
cents a day. Nevertheless they were
happy.
The bricklayer and the bOilermaker
are powerful and strong with a union
back Of them. Therefore, comparative
", only a few hours a day is all they
have to work. The shopgIrl. frau and
weak, with a figure divine" has 10
work all day and part of the night
As PerciYal in his Mexico" says
Some late afternoon you meet the typ
zeal Mexican beauty as she comes from
confession In soft black gown Co
quettishly and discreetly she fits BY.
You catch flash OF her dark eyes,
and, dropping your manners, you s.ars
and stare again adOringly after her"
COnchita is one OF these girls, now
working in the FL PasO stores, work
ing her life away and waiting for her
rich sister to take her late supper and
then make her purchases COnchita
bought a pine tree. toys, miniature can
Tor Christmas eve. Finally the day
came. but 1t was busy day, yes very
busy All day the boss, with his
round face, round as the silver dollar
which he gets, would walk I'D and
down the aiSles rubbing his hands and
saying step lively, girls; this is the
only Gay that we make expenses"
At noon COnchita did not get her
regular meal hour, but instead rthe
boss gave her 10 cents and said.
Hurry up, get a lunch. and come back
The same thing happened at supper
time
A Denver paper says: There is a
girl at some store standing on one foot
resting the blisters; there IS a cash boy
not for the SO that he wants to bring
home for Merry Christmas to a. house
full Of brothers and sisters"
COnchita worked harder and harder.
Eight, nine, 10, II Il o'clock; then the
store closed The bells were Ginning.
It was midnight. The Christ was bOrnl
The chOirs were singing. GLORY TO God
in the highest; peace and good viii to
men" What irOnyi Peace and good
will to men.
Conchita rushed home. one Of her
sisters was still working, because, as
We know, some FL PaSO stores viii
Christmas day-the hottest day in
Christendom-
The other five sisters of Conchita
had gone to midnight mass for as
Lummis expresses it: There is none
in whom the Wife-heart, the mother
heart is truer WOmanly. wonder to
find the philosophers so dumb about it
that even when OutcaSL. no woman of
Spanish blood falls to the Tileness
which haunts the purlieus Of any Eng
lish speaking great city; thanks to her
religion Years Of study have given
me time to respect her"
The hour had come in which COnchita
must fix the Christmas tree with which
she was TO surprise her sisters She
- III -
tree and trim it with the toys and can
dies But she remembered that she was
alone, and knelt down TO say short
In the awakening of a Nation We
find ITO no woman on earth is re-
hgion such a vital, ever present all
pervading actually, and that is why
the face OF the Madonna almost liter
ally is seen at every corner in Mexico
"Ohi you sisters Of the north! says
the Catholic Register, save the girls
feet and good humOr and she VIII save
When Conchita's sisters returned
from midnight mass, they found Con-
chita. in an attitude OF prayer by the
side OF her bed; But she was sound
child She had slept for
three hours with her shoes and dress
on Poor Christmas tree IT was all
forgotten!
OH you sister Of the north. do you
want to make a suitable gift for Christ
mas day2 Then give Conchita and her
sisters time TO have their Christmas
tree Do your shopping early and let
the man with the silver dollar
face close his store early. Yes.
sister Of the north, Just one day-the
hottest day of the Christan-Christ-
mas eve. Let al the FL PasO shop
girls go to their homes at seven o'clock
D. m that day. Then you win really
be honest with the world, and, joining
the angelic chorus can sing GLORY to
God in tie highest peace and good
win TO men"