The Republican journal., 1914-12-31
Christmas Week in Boston.

Midway between two interesting
sevents, the historic significance of
Thanksgiving and the joyful season of
Christmas. the city of Boston crowds
numberless festivities. The former
holiday we have experienced. and the
New England habit of gathering fami-
lies together begun at that first Thanks
giving in Plymouth and in many cases
holding them over the latter holiday, &C.
counts in measure for the crowds that
must be entertained.
Being one of the crowd | am led to
wonder how far we have fallen away
from the original Thanksgiving. Presl-
dent Wilson, In a home of plenty and
position the highest in our land, said in
a proclamation of unusual length: cit
has long been the honored custom of
our people to turn in the fruitful Autumn
of the year in praise and Thanksgiving
to Almighty God for His many blessings
and mercies to US as nation. Our
crops will feed all who need food"
Gov. Bradford in 1921, with neither
wealth nor an enviable position. but
with an equally thankful heart said:
4'God has blessed our summers work,
sent bountlful harvest, brought US
safe to our new home and protected US
through a terrible winter. 1t is fitting
that we have time for giving thanks
to God for his mercies to US. What say
you? Shall we not have week of feast
ing and thanksgivlng?"
We are told that at daylight Wednes-
day morning roaring fire was built In
the fireplace in Elder Brewster's kitchen
and the Goals placed in the brick oven.
Priscilla Mullens shall be chief cook"
said Mistress Brewster" no one can
make such delicious dishes as she. - Did
Priscilla's art have aught to dc with the
regard which Miles Standish and John AL
den felt for her? And did Priscilla, con-
scious of her art, use it to influence the
much-quoted words of her decision,
"Why don't you speak for yourself,
john" Who shall say? So Priscilla
and Mary Chiffon measured and sifted
flour and cut cookies and tarts; at anoth-
err table Remember Allerton and Con-
stance Hopkins washed and chopped
dried fruits for pies and buildings and
out on the sunny doorstone Love Brews-
ter and Francis Ellington sat cracking
nuts and picking out the plump kernels
for the cakes Priscilla was making.
With the exception of the brick ovens
our housewives did the same and the
Pilgrims piece de resistance was tur-
KEY, albeit it was wild. One item
suspect our housewives would object
to,-the extent of their hospitality-f
it is said that with Massasoit and his
brother came nearly hundred Indians.
As a part of our holiday entertain
ment we chose to visit the Publishers
Cooperative Bureau, book show,
planned to facilitate the sale by local
booksellers of books fresh from the
press. The exhibit is held in the newly
built, centrally located and ornately fur
nished building of the Paine Furniture
Co. No books are sold. only inspected.
The hope is to induce persons to buy
books who now go to motion picture
shows, or who automobile Unfortunately,
or patronize the theatres too literally,
or who read only magazines and news
papers. In short, to restore book read
ing as one of the habits of intelligent
people. and to this end the bureau, back
ed by Publishers and the Authors
League, finds its way from city to city;
now guest of a city club (Cleveland)
now of board of trade (Springfield)
now of a newspaper brooklyn Daily
Eagle) and at last-in Boston,-of a
firm of furniture designers, makers and
vendors. Comfortable divans and easy
chairs, beautiful rugs, convenient lamps,
walls lined with a double row of paint
ings and epgravings and comely girls
acting as informants about publishers
and prices, entice the curious onlooker
into becoming browser. The man who
comes in to run over tt e titles of the
books stays to sample their pages. If
the book reader is interested in the proc
esses of bookmaking, if he is of an anti
quarian turn of thought, it he wishes to
compare notes about men and move
ments of the past, if he wishes to post
up on factory administration and bust
ness efficiency, or if he wishes to read
about Europe's Armageddon, he will find
table specially spread and manager
able to enlighten him and while he
browses there, his wife and daughter
can do the same in special collections of
Juveniles, poetry, or of books on domes-
tic economy which they can see and care
fully examine before buying. The Bu-
reau was established in August of 1918,
its work is wholly promotive and educa-
tional and aimed to create an appetite
that can be satisfied only by more init
mate knowledge of books. Nor was this
all. At $50 we were comfortably seat
od in the larue well-filled hall tn listen