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The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1915-02-04
Rules Governing the Contest


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The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1915-02-04

paid February made prior
jan ,19
Force paid during March, four hundred votes
Fore paid during April three hundred votes
paid during May two hundred votes
dollar paid during June hundred votes
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
"CHRIST'S POOR" At CHRIST.
MAS.

One Of the sweetest OF all the
Christmas superstitions is prev
alent in parts Of Germany.
Long ago poor little clock
maker who loved above all things
to go to church received Christ
mas gift Of large red apple.
He was supremely happy be-
cause he had something to give
to the dear Christ Child. Hasten
ing to the altar Of the church, he
placed the precious apple on the
marble hands Of the Babe In
Mary's arms. .#-
Instantly the tiny fingers closed
over it and smile Of heavenly
joy swept over the chubby face.
This happened long, long ago,
but the people in the vicinity still
give to Christ through his poor
ut Christmas time, believing that
the gift bestowed upon lone Of
the least Of these" is received
by the Christ Child himself, and
rewarded by the same blessed
smile which brought joy and
comfort to the little clockmaker.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
SONG OF THE TREE.

Once out Of midnight sweet with mys-
terry
The wonder Of all wonders came to be,
So shall the dawn marvel make Of me,
For when in all my beauty am born
In the first glmmer of the Christmas
morn,
Angels Of innocence in mortal guise
Shall look upon me with their faithful
eyes;
And. looking, see
A greater thing In me
Than the bare figure Of a tree.
Behold! in every limb
thrill with praise Of him
For whom stand in memory.
Kings of the east and wise men three
there were
Who brought to him rare frankincense
and myrrh.
So do my balsamed branches when they
stir
In the warm airs that move about this
room,
And render forth their homage in per-
Lift up your hearts anew, o, careworn
men!
Look up with glad, believing eyes again;
And looking. see
A greater thing in me
Than the bare figure Of tree.
Behold! in every limb
I thrill in praise Of him
For whom stand in memory
Tom Daily.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
Il aSSe; SsSss SS::StSSs;tSsSs 3k9SsS{2l
Why We Hang Up Stockings.

The custom of hanging up the stock
ing on Christmas eve arose from an
incident in the life Of the good St.
Nicholas. One day when he was over
taken by a severe storm he took refuge
in a convent, and the next day being
Christmas he preached a sermon to
the nuns which they liked so much
that they asked him to come the next
year and preach to them again. On his
second visit which was also on
Christmas eve, before going to bed he
asked each of the nuns to lend him
stocking, and he filed the stockings
with sugar plums.
In the making Of mince pies, which
form a part Of a regular Christmas
feast, mutton was the only meat for
merly used, as commemoration of the
focks that were watched on the holy
night by the shepherds Of Bethlehem.
The spices were supposed to be sugges-
tive of the wise men from the east, the
land of spices.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
Different Sorts Of Christmas.

Each stage in our progress from the
cradle to the grave has its different
Christmas. Old age forgets itself. the
ghosts which haunt its memories. and
enters into the young creatures hap
piness with a relish second only to the
child's. The grandmother no longer
wishes sleds or hoops or gingerbread
monkeys for herself, but she looks
with love and wonder upon the little
beings who respond so radiantly to
these objects of domestic manufacture.
Between these generations stand the
parents. with their own lives of hustle
and responsibility and desire. their
own games and gewgaws to pursue,
but yet with beginning Of the change
from living for themselves to living in
their young. Norman Hapgood in Col
lier'S
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
What They Did
To Santa Claus

The children came down with cheer
blithe and bold,
Their curly locks cleaning in auburn and
gold.
They ran with delight where the gifts were
displayed,
And. oh, such babble of gladness they
made!
They gazed on the tree with its glory of
light.
Its trinkets and baubles and ornaments
bright.
They emptied their stockings and. dane
ing with glee,
Brought back the dear child world to
mamma and me.
There were dolls with bright faces and
books full Of song,
Tin trumpets and drums. blocks and bon
bons a throng.
And there by the chimney. with arms full
Of toys,
Stood Santa Claus watching the girls and
the boys.
They spied him-they rushed with volley
of cheers;
They pulled off the wig that curled white
round his ears;
They poked at his eyes, gave his whiskers
twist .r
And laughed at the shape of his chubby.
fat fist.
They tore off his coat. rolled him over the
floor,
Jumped on his legs, banged his head
'gainst the door,
Pulled his nose till 1t cracked, pinched his
cheeks with vim,
And laughed till the tears made their
bright eyes grow dim.
Then he burst with a thud. and again
rang their shout.
ON, on went the wild, merry frolic and
rout,
AS they formed in battalions, while each
bold brigade
Snowballed with the cotton from which
he was made.
Baltimore Sun.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
THE MISTLETOE.

With Christmas cheer the hall is bright,
At friendly feud with winters cold;
There's many a merry game tonight
For maids and men, and young and old;
And winter sends for their delight
The holly with it's crimson glow.
And paler than the glistening snow
The mistletoe, the mistletoe.
The mistletoe, the mistletoe!
The wan and wanton mistletoe!
Chance conner to our festal ewes,
Dear crimson breasted holly sprite!
Thee, Robin, too, the hall receives,
Unbidden, whom our hearts invite.
And, perched among the Grumpy leaves,
He cocks his head and sings "Hullo!
The mistletoe, the mfstletoe
Hangs up above, but what's below?
Oh, what's below the mistletoe?
The mistletoe. the mistletoe!
A kindly custom sanctions bliss
That's ta'en beneath the wanton bough.
Who laughs so low? Why, here 1t is!
Look, Jenny, where I have you now!
Dear bashful eyes, sweet lips-a kiss!
All, cheeks can mock the hollys glow!
For what's below the mistletoe?
All, ha! Why, it is Cupid o!
All, ha! Below the mstletoe
IT'S Cupid o, it's Cupid o!
Temple Bar.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23

In lower latitudes, where the wealth
er bureau makes even no pretense at
supplying snow, says the New York
Sun, the celebration of Christmas takes
on a different manifestation. South of
washington Christmas has always been
the day Of great noise, the day set
apart for the clangor of bells, the
shrilling of trumpets, above all else the
firecracker.
In the social conditions of the south
before the revolution the day Of noise
and crash Of gunpowder was the 9Th
Of November, on which day all loyal
subjects were adjured to remember,
remember the gunpowder treason and
plot" The. celebration of this noisy
execration of Guy Fawkes by the loyal
cavalier families Of the south estab-
lished winter holiday Of which noise
was the predominant characteristic.
After the southern colonies had Joined
equal hands with the northern in the
long war, gunpowder treason was no
longer the theme for celebration. But
some celebration there must be to
provide for the noise which had be-
come habit in the early winter. In
the earlier times Christmas had been
a day of sobriety out Of doors, of lavish
hospitality within.
What more natural. then. than to
postpone the racket of gunpowder day
until the next holiday in course and to
give Christmas an outdoor element
which it had never possessed?
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
CHRISTMAS DUSK.

Come, little boy, to mothers knee,
The Christmas twilight trembles down
With rose tints for the Wondrous tree
And rose glow for the snow clad town.
And all is marvelous-but you
Most marvellous of all to me.
For l may hold you as do.
AS Mary held him on her knee.
And he was sweet and he was fair,
AS are all mothers little boys;
His lips. his smile, his eyes, his hair.
To Mary were her chiefest joys.
And she would sing to him as 1
Sing while the sun dies in the west;
1 hear your weary, sleepy sigh
AS Mary heard his on her breast.
And in the after years, 1 think,
When he was treading sorrows way
And held the bitter cup to drink
She brooded on the happy day
When he ran singing through the room
And found a hundred things to do
To drive away all chance Of gloom
And was little boy like you.
So drop your toys and let US sing
The songs that heart and home have
blest,
For love is more than anything
And life is work and play and rest.
And Marys was the mother heart,
A heart of love all fair and fine.
That into tender throbs could start
For just little boy like NINE
Across the years I reach to her
And touch her white and empty hands.
Down all the ages seems to stir
A message that she understands;
The subtle rapture that keep
Shrined in the very soul Of me.
When may hold you here. asleep.
AS Mary held him on her knee.
Wilbur D. Nesbit in Harper's Weekly.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
Christmas I'm
The Farmhouse

When as child you read stories Of
houses were decorated with holly and
mistletOe and the people had such jolly
times putting them up, didn't you look
around your own house and wonder
how that would look if trimmed with
those same greens? And didn't you
long to smell their spicy fragrance and
to have hand in putting them up
where you thought they would look
the best? And didn't you long to feel
that peculiar Christmas spirit that Is
In the very air in cities and villages
for more than a week before Christmas
day itself? And then did you just
settle back and say to yourself: "Well,
it's no use.
"As long as live on a farm Christ
mas must be just the same as it al
ways has been-an exchange Of gifts
and afterward an unusually big din
nerT'
I want to tell you that you are mis-
taken-that you can have just those
very same things, even to bringing in
the old time Yule log, If you are 50
fortunate as to have an open fireplace
in the farmhouse.
City people pay from 35 cents to 81
for q small house Christmas tree, and
every one who can afford it buys q
tree every year for his children. How
often do farmers children have trees?
And why not? Because the parents
say, 1--WE haven't gifts enough to make
pretty tree" Many people never
put gift on-simply make it Il tree Of
beauty for the children. Strings of
popcorn, wishbones and canes gilded,
gold stars-anything bright and shiny
hung on tree delights child-a bag
of popcorn with few candies in It
tastes five times as good If it has only
once hung on a tree. Even if the gift
must be underwear, shoes and things
actually needed to wear, have them
come as surprises and in as "Christ-
masy" looking packages IS possible.
It is well to keep the Christmas spirit
IN the nome.
1t seems a pity for us country people,
surrounded by these beautiful things
deemed luxuries by our city friends,
to make no use whatever of them and
to let our lives become so common
place. Christmas is not solely a day
for gift giving and receiving and eat
ing. 1t is day for doing everything In
your power to add to the joy of the
children-a day to remember the feeble
and lonely old people-a day to think
Of the strangers and the poor. If you
haven't money to spend for gifts for
them you can give some of yourself
and of your own home Christmas
cheer. There are homes that it IS an
inspiration to enter, because Of the
Christmas spirit they breathe forth. I
trust the farm homes will not be lack
ing in Christmas beauty or Christmas
cheer-that all Of them will truly
keep Christmas" - Bertha G. Mark
ham In Country Gentleman.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
Fasting At Christmas.

When Cromwell ruled England he Is
sued an edict against all festivities ut
Christmas. The festival was altogether
abolished, and the display Of holly and
mistletoe and other emblems Of the
happy time held to be seditious.
In 1914 the Long parliament com
manded that Christmas day should be
observed as q strict fast, when all peo-
pie should think over and deplore the
great sin of which they and their fore
fathers had been guilty in making
merry at that season.
This act SO provoked the people that
on the following natal day the law was
violently resisted In many places.
Though these scenes were disgraceful,
they served their purpose and put an
end to an unjust order.
When Charles II. regained the throne
the populace once more made Christ
mas time Of rejoicing.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
The Sentries'
Christmas Dinner

Raymond p. Sanford, robust and
healthy undergraduate Of Cornell, lived
for scientific purposes on s. cents
week, his food including buttermilk,
lentils, peanuts, raisins, cabbage, pep
pers, oatmeal and apples.
II thrive on this fare" Mr.. Sanford
said. II admit, however, that to stick
to it takes will power. l have to gov
ern my sybaritic propensities. must
not initiate the young sentries.
"There was once a Christmas
masquerade ball in European palace,
you know, and squad Of young SEN
tries stood guard out in the snow.
swell, as the ball progressed the con-
duct Of certain guest disguised as
Santa Claus astonished and perplexed
everybody. This Santa Claus would
dance with the prettiest women for
fifteen or twenty minutes, and then,
hurrying to the buffet, he would drink
q bottle of champagne and eat lobster
salad, Ices, caviar sandwiches, truffled
turkey-everything in sight.
1.-THE host, after several hours Of
such gluttonous and Incorporate con-
duct on the part of the Santa Claus
guest, conferred with his butler and
to his amazement learned that the Of
fender had by actual computation de-
voured forty sandwiches, sixty ices and
eight quarts Of lobster salad, while he
had drunk thirty-one bottles Of cham
payne and ninety glasses Of punch.
1T seemed incredible! Yet there he
was, as vigorous and fresh and sober
US ever, now whispering compliments
in a pretty matron's ear, now rushing
to the buffet for more wine and more
lobster.
Puzzled and vexed, the host took
Santa Claus by the arm and led him
into a recess.
"'Show me your invitation card he
said.
"But Santa Claus, alas, had none.
"'Then unmask"
"Dolefully the spurious guest obeyed.
"'Why, you're one Of the sentries!
eyes, sir
"He was indeed one Of the sentries-
one of the squad Of sentries stationed
outside in the snow.
"These young men had hired cheap
Santa Claus makeup and, DOMINIC It
one by one, had each enjoyed brief
but delightful share Of the Christmas
festivities-the dancing and lobster and
champagne in the ballroom. Wash
ington Star.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
The Cruller Lambs.

Our Kitchens nice round Christmas time!
I can't see in tn great big pot;
It's where tn crullers-they cum fun
An what's inside is dreffle hot!
I mustn't stand&too near tn stove
Cause "spatters'' might get on my
dress.
My mother thinks that things round there
Would burn her little girl, I guess.
An so stay real close to her
When she puts aprons round her waist
And rolls tn rings out on board.
Sometimes she let's me have taste"
An then, you see, I'm helpin too,
help her member she mus make
A lot of little cruller lambs
I like that kind Of Christmas cake!
TIL lamb when he goes in tn pot
He's yellow, an he looks all fiat,
But when they lift him out Of 1t,
WY, he's all brown an round an fat!
I have to wait till he's cooled or
Fore can have my lamb to eat:
An mother. she puts wool on him
VIII sugar-thats what makes him sweet.
An after when my father comes.
get q lamb for him to see.
My mother laughs at how he does;
She says he's 'big a child as me"
She don't like lambs in bed, I guess,
But father says to let me keep
Il squeezed all tight up in my hands
An that's tn way went to sleep!
Marie Louise Tompkins In Harpers
Weekly. Z
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
Christmas Of the Shetland Island.

VUT1eT'aS u e"o 07Ssa'0 1S'0''70'
A scene less pOpulOus but not less
striking is old Christmas eve, the 4th
of January, when the children and
young men of Lerwick, in the Shet-
land islands, go a-guizing. The chill
dren disguise themselves in strange
dresses, parade the streets and invade
the houses and shops begging for offer
ings. At o'clock the young men,
coarsely clad, drag blazing tar barrels
through the town. blowing horns and
cheering. At 6 o'clock in the morning
they put of their grimy clothes and
dressed in fantastic costumes go in
groups to wish their friends the sea-
sons compliments.-Harp Magazine.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
rha First chri.tma. 1res.

1.-THE Christmas tree was introduced
into England and thence into America
by the Germans" said q dealer in toys.
II am going to sell Christmas trees this
year, and recently have been trying
to find out who the man was who first
exploited the tree outside Of it's Ger
man motherland. want to use this in
formation in an advertisement, but
have not completed my researches
yet. have got as far back as the
time of Henry VIII. I have copied In
my notebook an account Of Christmas
tree that was trimmed and set up be-
fore that king" The dealer then read
aloud the following paragraph, point
ing out, as he proceeded, the quaint
ness and charm Of the old spelling:
"Agaynste the XII daye, or the daye
Of the Epiphanie, at nighte before the
banket in the Hall Of Richemonde. was
pageaunt devised like a mountayne
glisteringe by night, as tho it had bene
all of golde and set with stones; on the
top of which mountayne was q tree Of
Eolde, the branches and bowes frysed
with golde, spredynge on every side
over the mountayne with roses and
pomegarnettes. The wiche mountayne
was with vices (screws) brought up
towards the skynge; and out Of the
same came ladye apparelled in cloth
Of golde, and the chyldren Of honor
called the henchmen, which were fresh
disguised, and danced a morice before
the Kynge; and that done, re-entered
the mountayne; and then 1t was draw.
en- backe, the wassail or banket
brought in. and so brake up Chris
mas !"
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
The Charm Of Christmas.

There is something in the very sea-
son of the year that gives charm to
the festivity Of Christmas. In the depth
Of winter, when Nature lies despoiled
Of her charms, wrapped in her shroud
Of sheeted snow. we turn for our graft
f1cations to moral sources. Heart
calleth to heart, and we draw our
pleasures from the deep wells of living
kindness which lie in the quiet recesses
Of our bosoms. Washington Irving.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
A Happy Tree.

"Oh, look at mel" ... ..
Sang the Christmas tree
A Jolly young evergreen
I'm dressed up here
For a show, that's clear, ,.. .
And I'm anxious to be SEEN.
To grow In wood
Is very good =
OF air you've a trihe more
But declare
It cannot compare
To a block on the parlor floor!
You may stand In the cold
Till century old,
Not a blossom to speak Of comeR
But here in an hour
I'm all In flower
With mittens and dolls and drumA
I know SO we'll ..
And daren't to tell
So much that I'm like to burst;
There's mystery hung
Or a secret swung
On each branch from last to flrsG
How I'd love to shout
All my feelings out!
But I daren't even cough;
And just the half
OF great big laugh
Would shake all my candles on
So have to hide
All the fun inside
Till I'm full as can be.
Whatever folks say,
I'm king Of the day!" 4
Sang the jolly Christmas tree.
YOUTHS Companies
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
THE OLD CHRISTMAS HYMNS.

= 1t is good TO think of the old
. time Christmas hymns again as
; the Day approaches; good to get
. out Worn hymn books, the pref
; tiest for the piano rack, with
. tunes as well as words, and play
and sing them over, just as we
/. should re-read, il pleasure and
duty join hands, the story Of
Scrooge and Marlcy's Ghost.
1t is even good to recall the
. titles more or less familiar to all
Of us, according to our bringing
. up. There are "IInil to the
Lords Amounted" "As with glad
. ness men Of old did the guiding
star behold" Angels from the
. realms Of glory" and "Hark,
what mean those holy Voices"
each reiterating in rhythmical
melody the story Of the ancient
. chroniclers.
In the little church where the
> 1aring star poised Il bit INSTEAD
!. lily over the white head Of the
: beloved pastor, "Oh, come, all We
. faithful" ushered In the day,
; and no matter how fast sped the
.. minutes. how near the approach
> Of the dinner hour, or how eX-
. pectantly youngsters thought Of
: unritied stockings, if the early
. morning service invited them
: there was always plenty Of time
. for "Joy to the world, the Lord
: is come" when marshaled on
!. the mighty plain" brightest
and best of the sons of the morn
ing" "Hark, the herald angels
sing" 1T came upon the mid
night clear" and that best loved
Of all, "While shepherds watched
. their focks by night"
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
Santa In the City.

Santa Claus touched the button
which summoned his foreman.
Eyes, SIR" said the foreman, coming
in from the shop.
"What are you working on?'
doll flats, sir" ..
Santa Claus turned in his chair and
regarded his foreman dOubtfully.
doll flats!' he exclaimed. You
mean doll houses"
mo, SIR" the foreman answered.
'These are for city distribution, where
the children don't know anything about
houses."-St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
~ ~ ~ ~ s;ixkkk kxiikk ~ kzssSkk..1
Before the birth of Christ

Before the birth of Christ
the ancient Romans INDUCED
at the midwinter season in a
festival from which it is sup
posed that many Of the pres
ent day traditions sprung.
Presents were given and re-
ceived. An expression Of mu-
tual brotherhood was shown
in the custom Of the masters
and their slaves exchanging
places and the former waiting
upon the latter.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
CHRISTMAS CRACKERS.

Do plants for making pretty gifts
grow up to Christmas trees? .
And are 1.-The seasons greetings .
sent by salt sons Of the seas? .
Are YUle logs cut from snow drift .
wood by Yuletde washed ashore? :
And would you stub mistletoe .
against a parlor door? .
If Eve had tried from holly twigs .
party gown to weave
DO you suppose that Adam would ..
have called her "Christmas Ever
st. Nicholas in autosleigh defies po- .
lice and laws.
Do regulations as to speed contain
Santa clause?
--Lippincott's Magazine. .
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
In Holland-but always on

Dec. 6 instead Of the 25thV
the little boys and girls put
their wooden shoes in front of
the hearths instead Of hang
ing up their stockings, and the
good old patron Of children
comes and fills them, and
there Is general gift giving.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
~ ~
1t was in New York, O

1t was in New York, or.
rather, New Amsterdam. that
Santa Claus. made his first
American appearance In some
thing like the garb and man
ner now familiar to all Of us.
From the Netherlands the
Knickerbockers brought with
them the Christmas of love
and sympathy in religion. of
comradeship among neigh
bors and &C festiyity in the
family.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23

When the dawn creeps up
from the darkly slumbering
ocean Christmas morn and
speeds brightly around the
world, circling it with a gold
en- girdle Of light, myriads of
bells in many lands awake
and from steeple to steeple
ring out the glad tidings that
'the Messiah Is king
Elolse Boorback in Crafts
man.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-23
\ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ykx ~ XXI

" 4
ii There are many beautiful 4
Y stories associated with the
n origin of the first Christmas
y tree. One legend says that on /
& the holy night all nature, even
Y the animals and the trees, /
was rejoicing and that the /
y cedars, instead Of pointing /
their branches upward as q
y pointed, slender trees, spread {
their branches wide to pro- 4
y tect the mother and her new /
i born child. I