Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1913-12-17

me ABOUT uCsSCnf1StmaS. - There S1Sn,
Christmases any more. Old Scrooge
may have been of in his day. but IN
these modern days Christmas iss get
tin to be the next thing to hum
bug, says /. With everybody q .wor-
ryin' themselves gray and chasin'
their feet of with Christmas shop
pin, Santa Claus programs and TOM
foolery. With gift giyin' mere
formality, the real Christmas spirit is
no more. In our day, Malindy 2 says
and some how somethin' kind o.
choked my wind pipe, I'm our day
Christmas brought the best and high
est joys we knew. There was
feelin' Of home contentmen Of
cheer and neighborly good viii.
There was the cracklin' Of the burn
in logs in the fire place, the white
scrubbed floor, the Christmas tree,
the joy of the youngsters. Outside
in the starlight night there was a
jingle Of sleighbells and as the peal
of the old church bell rang out thru
the still frosty air, there came a
peace to the heart that was beyond
human understanding. = "And nova
days; says /, "it's the hurry and sour
ry Of business with everybody after
the almighty dollar It's an everlast-
ing struggle to keep up in the pro.
cession. Women, slaves to vanity,
are a frettin' themselves nervous a.
bout dress and fashion "A lot Of the
weaker minded ones give way to hob
BILE skirts and other dern fool skirt
contraptions
"The daily papers are full OF mur-
der and graft and scandal and pic
lures of prize fighters, vaudeville
dancers and other rot. ....
And the young is brought up =on
movin' picture shows and comic sup
plements.'
What can you expect? You cant
sow cookie burs and reap wheat. It's
an age of foolish frivolity and the
deep beautiful spirit Of Christmas
cant get breathin, room, = says /, and
I must have gotten quite eloquent by
this time fer the old cat sat up and
looked at me. =z=s:.==zs .=.=s
Malindy kept right on with her
knittin' and says, says she. ..Itt
may. be true that there be q lot Of
men, evils as has developed IN our.
day, Il don't deny st. But may tbs there
are some. old q ones that have been
killed of, too. Chattle slavery was
abolished and the damnable liquor
traffic is being out lawed at good;
rate. One wrong is being rectified
after the other. Women don't wear
hoops nor bustles anymore, nor the
men powdered wigs like George
Washington did. It seems to me that
if there has been a change fer the
worse it has been in you as much as
anywhere.
81" II you want to kill the Christmas
spirit there is nothin' can do it like
gettin grouchy at the world you live.
in .
Well sir, folks, I laid awake think
ing till most. ten O'clock that night
Maybe Malindy was right Maybe,
the Christmas spirit was q dying in,
me too, only fer different reason.
A man can worry about getting sick
till the worry makes him sick. Maybe.
I'm worrying about the back Of lack
of the right spirit in the world till I've,
lost it myself. *1-
Next day hitched UP the old gray.
mare and drove to town. bought q
really steam engine, little flying ma
chine, jumpin jack and each a pair
of skates fer Hirum's boys; doll
that closes her eyes and talks fer the
girl; and q peck Of nuts and candy.
got it all hid up in the haymow. I
got q fine silk dress pattern fer Ma
Indy and vesworked out the follow
ling poem and pinned to it:
ITO Malindy Bluestem, out Of sight.
That girl Of mine who is always right,
With q wish to you for q Christmas
bright.
(You may hobble the skirt of it just
q mite, ifyou want to.
Your affect ctionate,
SILAS.
2. Deacon Doolittle helped me
some on the poem. ST..