The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-13

anu M worn n broken. II
was the negro quarters, where broker
window panes were stuffed with old
rags and the window curtains were OF
paper, dirty muslin or pieces of faded
red tablecloth.
The Heavenly Messenger plodded
down a side street, stamping his feet
to keep the snow from caking on his
shoes. He came out of the dark under
the rustllng trees, whose icecovered
limbs creaked and cracked In the wind
dolefully, past an electric light
dimmed by millions of swirling white
flakes, her into the dark again.
Suddenly a house doomed up before
him that seemed to be settling into the
snow like a ship on the brink OF
laundering. Even as the Christmas
Angel lit the first match, shielding II
from the wind, and holding it close tC
see the house number, the door was
opened. He had been expected. An
old negro man bowed him in. His face
wars sad and wrinkled, and his hair
the color of wood ashes. He wore
enormous carpet slippers and a check
cred shirt, open at the neck, showed
underwear of coarse red flannel.
"We-all been 'spectin' you, sab y
he %quavered. sill gran'chil' sick In
Chicago hospital. Ellen! Ellen!" he
called, shrilly.
A slow, heavy movement In the room
beyond, and a stout 'mammy" came
into view, breathing heavily as her
weight threw her slightly from side to
side, as she walked.
"De lettah Gomez" asked the old
woman, haltingly. She rubbed her eyes
and blinked for a full minute before
she could see the writing. Woman
like, she turned the pages and read
the last paragraph first.
"Its from de nurse" she announced,
"Praise de Lord, de chile am safe an
SCUM; out OBJ all dangah, 1t say! Now
1t suah will be Christmas JOY wifi u.s.
Although he could not write, the old
negro man proudly touched the pencil
as his name was written In the boys
receipt book. Quite warm, now, and
minus one of his glad tidings, the
Heavenly Messenger departed into the
falling snow, which soon swallowed
him up, and then quickly covered over
his footprints, as If in fear he might
be followed, and some harm come to
him.
The next message of glad tidings
was delivered to a stenographer tucked
away in a back room of a rather
dilapldated-looking rooming-house. II
was a letter from home. She knew II
would come at the last moment. Yes,
she had been crying, and 1t wouldn't
have been like Christmas at all, had
it not been for the Christmas mes.
senger.
"I'm so tired of the Office grind" she
confided, more to herself, than to the
boy. "I've written Dear Sir a hun
bred and fifty thousand times this
week, I'm sure"
Then she Strengthened his necktie
patted him on the head, and the angel
trudged down stairs and out into the
night again.
Next came a letter for the head OF
a family in a magnificent home
where the Heavenly Messenger passed
a relay of servants before reaching
the person named in the address. That
worthy held the portieres aside and
stepped forth in evening dress-a seri-
GUS man, with gray hair. He signed
for the letter, : then looked at the
Christmas Messenger, inqulringly.
"Come in here son." he directed, and
led the boy into the library. The ROOF
was d confusion of dazzling women
and holiday decorations. An ever
green tree that reached almost to the
ceiling was loaded with toys and
Christmas presents of every color and
kind, while other parcels and pack
age were heaped on the floor, at the
foot of the tree.
"a little girl" the man was saying,
''our daughter, an only child: she
seems discontented-nothing makes
her happy. Now, just suppose you
were she; do you think she will like
all this?" And all the women listened
eagerly to hear what the boy would
say.
81 would, but maybe-well, there's
too much of disappointing to the
gaudy toys. 81 remember my baby
sister got a lot of fine toys when dad
was living, and she left them all and
went into the kitchen to play with
some new tin pans and things mother
had just got from the store"
The star of the New York Opera
company dabbed at her face with a
rabbits foot. A fine Christmas, this,
she reflected bitterly; snow three feet
deep, Broadway hundreds of miles
away and the show going to pieces
this very night. All, mel
She signed for her special delivery
letter while the Christmas Angel
stared curiously at the bare walls of
the d-ressing-room.
The star gave the messenger a quar-
ter and he passed on his way.
"You will find him in room three
forty-two,' said the night clerk at the
Commercial hotel. And the Christmas
Angel found him, a young athletic
travelling man. He was just un~packing
his grips and the very first thing he
took out was a picture in a silver
frame. The ANGEL studied this picture