Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-12-19

an "OO0o dtlu SldIE LIN SnoW.
leach me through turning
From fear to find release,
Ana steadfast. with sweet worship
To greet the Child of Peace.
BY Theodore Bates Cogswell.
she loved his quaint, little son of
hers. She was proud of his yellow
curls. and his strange ways, and when
she looked down into the small, anx-
ious face upturned to hers that morn
ing, she caught him impulsively to
her breast and Rugged him so tightly
that mother and son in a moment
We're laughing in high glee.
Many were the consultations Mrs.
Murphy and Goosie held the next few
days concerning the approaching festi-
val. AS the holiday neared h boy
became greatly excited and the jour
neys home from the nursery enhanced
the little fellows high spirits. The
passing crowds, the brightly-lighted
streets and the store windows gay in
Christmas garb stirred the boy. In
great glee he would pluck the feathers
from his mothers shawl as she was
Fastening home with him in her arms
and send them fleeing high into the
air.
"Mither, dear" he confided to his
mother n night as they were en-
tering Limerick court, Its thinkin' l
am I'll niver be crying agin."
Mrs. Murphy smiled and made no
answer, but she Rugged Goosie in .
manner that made him wonder.
Christmas week proved a busy one
at he Murphy tenement. Each of the
three rooms must be made sweet and
clean for the gay day that was COM
ing. and Goosie's clothes must be
washed and mended and neatly pressed
and it must all be done after a long
days work among the feathers. loo
sic lent his small strength and a world
Of encouragement.
Its not KNOWN I was. mither
dear" he explained, in the midst of the
preparations, how the dirt gifts into
the corners"
When the days that remained before
the day of all days to Goosie could
be counted on the fingers of one
hand, the child was nearly beside him.
self with JOY. When his mother was
carrying him to n fro from the nur-
sery, his feet and hands beat fast time,
so that she could scarcely keep him in
the folds Of the shawl.
The day before Christmas Mrs.
Murphy and her Sol were up before
daylight. There "a work to be done
which Mrs. Murphy wished to finish
before she started for the nursery with
Goosie. The little fellow was very
talkative and kept plying his mother
with questions.
Its thinkin. I am, mither, dear, who
made the Christmas?" remarked
Goosie.
Its the birthday Of the Blissid vir-
gins son." explained Mrs. Murphy, as
she poured the water from the kettle
into his tub.
His as is in the pictures?" asked
Goosie.
THE very same" responded the
mother.
Goosie pondered. The real meaning
Of the day was not clear to him, and
he intended to ask further questions
when his mother, who was ready to
hang out the clothes, asked him to
open the door.
The Murphy tenement was on the
top floor Of a three-story block. The
back door opened onto the roof Of a
two story building which adjoined the
one in front. A large clothes reel on
the roof Of this building was available
for drying purposes. Goosie opened
the door and his mother stepped out
with her basket Of clothes. The boy
followed.
It was a cold day. and the wind came
in heavy gusts, which caught the
dampened clothes and snapped them
out like whipcords. The swapping
clothes, the bare roof and the biting
wind contrasted .harshly with the
warmth and coziness Of the little
kitchen. Goosie shivered and chung
to his mothers skirts.
"Mither, dear" he demanded anx-
iously, " it's tomorrow the Christmas
is, and it's a-holdin' me in your arms
. yer'll beg
:. Mrs. Murphy had two clothespins in
her mouth and her hands were full OF
. clothes. With one hand she reached
for the pins. One OF them fell to the
roof and rolled near the edge. The
wind was tugging at her skirts and
snatching at the garments in her hands.
Mrs. Murphy heard the boys question.
but all her life the demands OF business
and the pressure Of hard work had re-
ceived her attention frst.
BE LOVELY. swatic, and fetch mither
the clothespins." she urged.
Goosie loosened his grasp on her
skirts and stepped gingerly toward the
errant pin. There was an anxious look
upon his face. Tho Joy OF Z whole day
with his mother nearby to cares, him.
was GOOD fortune that might prove a.
elusive ~ the feathers he had chased %
many times. and he wished to hear
again from his mothers lips that to-
morrow Wa really and truly the day
Of al days.