The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-12-24
Interesting Story Tells Circumstances
Of How Learned Professor Has
Written Tale Of Patron Saint
That 10 Immortal.
CHILDREN HONOR HIM
Every Year They March In Procession
20 His Grave and Pay Tribute
and Honor to His
Memory.

there any one who Is not familiar Win
this famous old poem that tells about
the prancing and dancing reindeer, and
Santa Claus with his little old fat
stomach that shakes like . bowl Oh
Jelly. And yet docs any one remem'
Der the authorf
Clement Clarke Moore was the son
OF BENJAMIN Moore. bishop OF New
York. from 1901 to 1911. The bishop
was a very learned man and had peen
a teacher of Greek and Latin before
going to England to prepare for the
ministry. The son was born IN New
York, July Is. 1779. and was gradu-
ated from Columbia university IN 1887.
He was educated and prepared fcr tne
ministry, but never took orders ana
devoted himself chiefly to oriental and
classic literature and science, and IN
1921 he became professor Of biblical
learning at the General Theological
seminary in New York, a position In
which he served for nearly thirty
years, and In 1850 was made professor
emeritus. He published Hebrew
and Greek Lexicon" the first OF It's
kind ever published IN America. and
a volume entitled George Castr1ot,
Surnamed Scanderbeg. King OF Al
bania," and also volume OF poems.
He Is, among those who write with
authority, credited with being the
foremost Hebrew photographer Of this
country.
But how many of his fellow Ameri-
cans know him because of these
works? How many homes, or even
public libraries, are they in? He was
a good man. a great educator, but, IN
all the years of his teaching and
study, he never did more to brighten
or make better a human life nor to
make his own name enduring than
when he laid aside his learning, one
cold winters night, and wrote to
gladden. q little boys heart.
For a Little Boy.
In the professors family, in 1922.
was one whose little head had not yet
become so cramrned full OF learning
that he had forgotten there Is a Santa
Claus; whose heart still held faith
and, through this little son the great
professor learned anew the joys of a
firm belief in that mysterious elf, or
spirit, or goblin who at Christmas
time comes to those who. because Of
love and faith, kindness and I'M
selfishness, deserve to entertain him.
To anuse and entertain the little boy
and because he himself could enter
into the Christmas spirit. DIR. Moore
yisualized "St. Nick" and wrote OF
him and his reindeers and his sleigh
full Of toys.
The word picture he painted Is au-
thoritative.
Ask any true believer and he will
describe, In childish language, the
same "joIly old elf" seen that Christ
mas night in the Moore household,
nearly century ago.
Like many another great man and
learned man, the good doctor was not
little ashamed of this verse of his.
1t never appeared in any of his pub
lished work, like the lexicon or Gas
triot, Surnamed Scanderbeg." but
some way it reached the desk of the
editor of the Troy Sentinel in Deem
Der, 1923 and, perhaps the editor had
a little boy of his own, it was pub
lished anonymously. From the first,
the verses were popular. Where one
read about him who was surnamed
Scanderbeg, thousands read about st.
Nick. 1t was not until 1914, twenty
five years later, that DR.. Moore
acknowledged the authorship.