The Lamar register., 1918-12-25

visited the pleasant old white house
that had been their mothers home. and
1t was IL happy party that surrounded
the dinner table that night. Mrs.
Midgely. too, almost forgot to be wor-
ried as she smiled at her sisters high
spirits.
Next morning after Judith had
kissed the four children as they left
for school. she turned to her sister and
said:
Anne. dear, we must take nn In
ventory of stock and see what we can
make for the-kidlets for Christmas"
There is nothing" said Anne.
"We1 find somethingr" determined
ly answered Judith.
You can make things out of com
raratiyely nothing" laughed Anne.
hut you can't make them out of abso-
lately nothing"
Yes, We cant I'll send for my
yarns and knit cap and mittens for
cn'h child. They are using bright col
"rs and combinations of colors. In
tnnt way we can use your leftover
ynrns. too. Wen have plenty without
'hN lhE any hi'Atg anu 4 hiil
I've done lots of this work for the Red
Cross"
She made looms with empty spools
and pins, from which each child helped
to make round string which they
worked on at odd moments. They We're
tn lie sewed on the mittens. No more
hunting for the "other mitten." The
children were entertained with the idea
Of being useful and OF helping Aunt
Judith.
The sisters looked up discarded dolls
and sewed up legs and arms, painted
The faces and restored the hair. En-
fire outfits Of clothes that could be
taken Off and put on were made from
bits of cloth found In the scrap bag.
and they crocheted lace enough for the
trimming. These were for the two lit
II" girls. Martha and Peggy. aged sew
en- and nine.
How 10 make eleven-yenr-old Ralph
hrppy with left-overs was the problem.
Then Judith remembered that years
ago she hnd been the recipient OF II
stamp book which she had not used.
She wrote her father for ii. and then
Invested in some mixed stamps for
Ralph TO make beginning with. A
few new puzzles and toys from the
tcn-cent store made Il goodly array OF
bright things for Tommy, who was the
youngest child.
''Nnw for the dinner" said Judith.
Lets not try TO have the usual Christ
mas dinner. but think up something
different"
81 did 50 want to ask Mr.. and Mrs.
Lnmhcrt." sighed Anne. "rhcy came
from England several years ago. and
are 50 alone at Christmas time. ! had
hoped to have them. hut of course I
cannot do 1t this year"
THAT gives me the very idea. Anne.
Wen invite them and surprise them
with n regular English dinner-roast
beef. Yorkshire pudding and gravy.
and nave roly-poly pudding for des-
sert."
The days flew by with the sisters as
busy as bees. Anne was never happier
IN all her life. She had not time for
replnlng. and found that by simply
making the best of everything she had
no real troubles at all. Henry. too.
caught the spirit Of hope. and remark
ed TO his wife:
at won't be long until we have made
up for lost time. and like my new
position better than the old one. be-
cause II has more OF future to IT,"
The Lnmberts were delighted with
the invitation. as they We're expect
Ing lonely day. far away from Merrie
England.
One day. when Judith came In from
shopping. Anne met her with the news !:
"a nephew. John Leigh. has surpris-
ed the I.amberts. He has seen service
In France and II sent here by the
british government on a mission to
Washington. He has weeks vaca-
tlou and has come TO spend II with
them. Insisted that he come to our
Christmas dinner. and they are all
going to call tonight"
"Huw interesting" exclaimed Ju-
dith. "Perhnps he can advise me about
my Red Cross work"
Everyone was delighted to meet the
handsome young soldier and eager to
hear stories Of "over there" from one
who knew. John became great help
to Judith with her plans for the chill
dren's Christmas and her Red Cross
work In fact, he thought Of 50 many
things that he came TO the Midgely's
at least once day and every evening.
TTn trimmed tho ybfIn UuJftI