davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

Some of the biggest and oldest of them are 80 feet
In diameter and at least 5000 years old. SO you
see many of these Big Trees in Sequoia and Yosem-
lite national parks were not even middle-aged when
Christ was born In Bethlehem.
This particular Sequoia Christmas tree was
planted in 1890. From a Seeding it has grown
to a height of more than 60 feet. A thousand
years from now it will probably be nearly 300 feet
tall and have a diameter of Is or 20 feet.
One wonders if there will be a similar Christmas
celebration in Yosemite valley then-a thousand
years from now. Why not? Christmas will still
be celebrated then-if the world endures. And
our nineteen national parks have been set apart
by congress as public Fairgrounds for the people
forever. So, If the United States of America en-
dures, why not a Christmas celebration in Yosem-
lite A. D. 1922? All that seems to be necessary
is the planting Of a Sequoia Seeding every thirty
years or So
Christmas and mince pie! Nobody ought to
have to tell anybody that Christmas is the time for
mince pie. Why, the two go together-just like
Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie and the Fourth of
July and spring lamb and green peas. The first
mince pie of the winter should grace the Christmas
board; any housewife who gives her family even
n taste of one before Christmas day should go with
out a new Easter hat-that's the punishment to
fit the crime. And any man who eats mince pie
et a restaurant or at his club before Christmas day
should go without mince pie all winter.
However,, If he Should, his punishment would
likely fit the crime. For nowadays the making of
mince pies is largely a lost art. The ordinary
restaurant mince pie Is nothing but minced fruit.
There is a saying that every really good woman
cook must have a temper. Maybe. Certainly she
should be nice and plump-as If she ate her own
mince pies and thrived on them. And it's easy
to tell by watching a woman make mlnce pies
whether or not they're going to be a success. If
she goes at 1t, you know, as If 1t were sort Of a
religious rite-as If the fate of the nation hung
on her work-why, all is well.
"Pies like mother used to make" Tenderloin Of
beef and Northern Spy apples and real cider and
everything else to correspond Maybe mother used
to bake her pies a dozen at q time and set them
away in a cold store room to freeze. Maybe
mother got her mince meat ready and set 1t aside
in a big stone jar to ripen. 1t doesn't make any
difference. They were real mince pies when they
got to the Christmas dinner. The looks of them
The smell of theml The taste of them Yum,
yum There's a memory a fellow can carry With
him TO his grave.
Do you remember Izaak Walton's friend DIR. Bot.
teller and his famous appreciation Of the strawber-
ry? We'll, It's quite evident the good doctor never
sat down to just the right kind of a Christmas
dinner or he would have ignored the strawberry as
unworthy of his cleverness and would have said In
stead that doubtless God could have inspired some
heaven-born cook to make a more appropriate des-
sert for December 25 than mince pie but that doubt
less God never did.
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

est library of which any record Is
available was discovered in Assyria a
rev years ago and consists of Baby
lonian books inscribed on clay tablets.
supposed to have been prepared for
public instruction about $50 b. G. II
is said that Pisistratus founded a IL
orary at Athens about 537 b. c., al
though there is no clear evidence Of
the fact. Strabo says that Aristotle
was the first known collector of a IL
prary, which he ~bequeathed TO Theo-
phratus 322 B. C., AID this library at
length found its way to Rome.
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

was conquered, and fed, a fugitive.
In 1905 a moderate Christmas din
ner consisted of 16 courses of differ
ent kinds of meat, not to mention
heavy desserts. From December 16 10
January 6 open house was kept, all
kith and kin, servants and strangers,
being welcome to carouse in the do
nestle circle.
Much musvard was used in sauces
and drinks ito provoke a noble thirst"
Ale, cheese, toast sprinkled with sugar
and nutmeg, and sausage were served
at all times.
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

Regina picked up her ak and with
much dignity swung 1t again.
Il say, there, you-that tree belongs
to mel" The man was coming toward
her.
Regina stopped and turned. "This is
perity.
The approaching man whistled. His
speed quickened. He made an invol-
untary movement to raise q cap that
in his haste he had forgotten to put
on.
II beg your pardon" his voice had
lost the gruff quality. II thought. you
were a man-but-that tree is mine. /
brought it up from my fathers garden
in the South"
David Langhorn spoke rapidly. Re-
gina's face was rather startling in its
beauty, and he had a desire to cover
her embarrassment. II have. taken
very special care Of that tree"
Every special" Regina said coldly.
81 have lived here a whole summer
and no one"
II have been away-lately."
II don't see why you leave poor liti
tie trees around in vacant lots" Re-
gina put in hurriedly, because she
felt like crying now that her precious
tree was taken from her.
"This is my lot" Langhorn told her.
eff you had chopped it down."
II wasn't chopping it DOWN." Regina
cried Indignantly. II was going to
put 1t very carefully into this tub"
She stumbled over her words, but de-
termined to tell this very good looking
man with the red hair that she was
not a female George Washington.
II ordered a Christmas tree by ex-
press. and it didn't come. My Sun
day school class-12 little girls-are
expecting a tree tonight in my house,
and now" Words failed Regina.
She bit her lip and looked appealingly
up at Langhorn.
The man laughed because 1t was
the safest thing to do for the present.
"And l have brought down IL little
settlement boys with the same prom
ise-and marry a tree have l got. l
reckoned on getting n In the vii
lage."
Regina laughed, and the whole
world seemed to echo with the laugh.
II have tried even the department
store!" She gazed into David Lang
horns eyes. II am sorry for the poor
little souls whom we are disappointing
my class worked so faithfully all
last summer.
"By Jove," David said, II read once
of some people who had a Christmas
tree out of doors They had great bon
fires and the tree was lit by a thou
sand candles as well as the stars, and
a Santa Claus drove up over the real
snow! Couldn't we do something like
that"
with this treel How perfectly
glorious" Regina, beside herself with
JOY, began to shovel away a greater
clearing. David took the shovel from
her.
my Riddles will do that-it will be
the treat of their lives" David
looked seriously at Regina. "Now go
home and get warmed up. "This aft
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20
VIRGINIA CHRISTMAS CAKE

Cream liz cupfuls powdered sugar
with l cupful butter. Add . we'll
beaten egg yolks, / cupful sifted -four.
~ t%easpoonful ground cloves, l tea
spoonful each powdered cinnamon
and ground nutmeg. Add the 6 stiff
iy-beaten egg whites and another
cup -four, " pound each seeded and
chopped ralsins and cleaned currants,
and Il pound shredded eitron. all
well-dredged with -four. stirring we'll.
sake 2 hours in a steady oven.
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

Sunday school class q glorious tree,
and that now there was no tree for
them. :
She argued with herself that she
might have known that the New York
shops could not be relied upon to send
q tree to- the suburbs at SO short a
notice, but that did not help the
situation.
Regina shrank from facing those II
little girls whose smiles would vanish
In childish disappointment when they
learned that the tree they had been
promised was not to be theirs.
The tears brlmmed over and fell.
Regina's vision was cleared and in
the clearing she gazed directly at the
miniature fir tree in the vacant lot
next door. A sense of keen delight
swept over Regina. After all, her chill
dren would have a tree!
Some 10 minutes later Regina ap-
peared in outdoor costume. She had
put on her gymnasium suit, high rub
Der boots and her fathers great top
coat. Over a riot of curls her. snug
fur cap fitted closely.
"You look for all the world as If
you deserved -FOUR nickname" expostu-
lated Regina's mother. Regina, l do
hope no n will see you"
Now, this nickname to which Re
gina's mother alluded with distress
had been bestowed upon the girl by
her father. 1t was Tommy-no more
and no less-Tommyl And Tommy
stood for tomboy. You see, the girl
was no dollhouse flower, even if she
did teach a Sunday school class and
weep with disappointment. In fact,
her father insisted that the nickname
fitted-and secretly he was proud that
it did. For Regina was distinctly able
bodied. She could ride and swim.
She could handle a 20-gauge shotgun
and a casting rod. She was a notable
mountaineer. She could paddle a canoe
and sail a boat. And she cared a lot
more for out-of-doors things than she
did for dances and for social functions.
Her idea of happiness was a camp
in the woods.
There's no nj for miles around"
Regina laughed, and shouldered an ak.
"Unless people who live In the bunga-
low turn up771I will have the world to
myself" She picked up a big tub
with her free hand and trudged off
toward the fir t~ee In the vacant lot.
Regina's eyes were too intent on her
mission to see that a thin curl of
smoke was twisting from the chimney
OF the bungalow that rambled in the
lot beyond the vacant one.
Regina drew lear the coveted tree
and her heart expanded lovingly.
what a little beauty" she ex-
claimed half aloud.
The little tree stood not much high
er than Regina. Over its branches a
veil of smoke seemed to linger. After
a moment spent in admiration the girl
put down her big tub and began to
clear away the light fall of snow from
about the roots Of the tree. Her
cheeks were g~lorlously red and the
sparkle In her eyes rivaled the day It.
self.
When the snow was cleared Regina
swung the great AK into the frozen
earth. The ground scarcely respond
ed to Der strength. She swung
again.
"Heyl What are you doing to that
tree?"
Regina dropped her AK and gazed
In the direction Of the deep, gruff
voice. A mar was standing on the
veranda Of the bungalow.
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

Night Before Christmas" The children
march in procession from the hand
some stone edi1ce of the Church of
New York city, and In the cemetery
which lies between that t~horoughfare
and the Hudson river, gather around
the grave. If the weather be not too
wintry, Christmas hymns are sung and
the poem is recited. beginning:
Twas the night before Christmas. e
all through the house.
Not a creature was stirring, not even u
mouse.
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

ernoon l will call properly and in the
evening-Christmas eve" he did not
finish with words, for the hearts of both
David and Regina were overlooking
with tidings of great joy.
That evening Santa Claus drove up
through the crisp snow and opened
his great bags before the little tree.
II was a wonder tree there in the va
cant lot, and 1t was hung with a hui,-
dred electric bulbs. Six bonflres
reared their flames skyward and
around and about danced and capered
"a joyous children.
And when the moor was high in the
heavens and the spirit of Christmas
had entered into each heart, David
and Regina drew the band of children
about them and led the young voices
In the singing of joyous Christmas
carols. And especially did this one,
which Regina sang, please the chill
dren:
1t came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious SON. of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
Peace on earth, goodwill to men,"
From heavens all-gracious King;
The world in solemn stiffness lay
To hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled.
And still their heavenly music floats
Ger all the weary world; 81,
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on lowering wing,
Ina Axrar npor tee I2ohal -co1,r6o
The blessed angels sing.
Yes, with the woe of sin and strife,
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong:
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love song which they bring:
Oh, hush the. noise, We men of strife.
And hear the a-Sels sing!
And We. beneath life's crushing load.
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toll along the climbing way,
With painful steps and slow
Look now. for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing:
Oh rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing!
And this one:
Hark, the glad sound! The Savior comes.
The Savior promised long;
Let every heart prepare a throne
And every voice a sonsl
He comes, the prisoners to release,
In Satan's bondage held;
The gates of brass before him burst.
The iron letters yield.
He comes, the broken heart to find
The bleeding soul to cure,
And with the treasures of His grace
To aurfch the humble Door.
Our glad hosannas, Prince Of Peace
Thy welcome shall proclaim
And heavens eternal arches ring
With Thy beloved name.
But ever a Christmas tree celebra-
ton must come to an END. By and by
the children were sung out and the
fires began to get low and the voices
of Regina and David trailed off into
silence, and the two just looked at
each other.
Don't you think we'd better take
the children in nowY" said Regina
at last. 1.-The fires are getting low"
David was silent for a long mo-
ment. Then he said slowly and rev.
erently:
1.-THE fires will never burn low-Re-
gina. This is the night when the
| Great Spirit Of Love was born into
our world"
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20
ARE in CONSTANT FEAR OF DEATH

long; there was too much revolution
and intrigue for that.
Once, says Mr.. Curle, there was a
banquet at Tegucigalpa, the capital.
The man who happened to be presi-
dent on that day attended it and sat
next to the consul of the United
States. In the midst of the banquet
the electric light failed, and the room
was plunged into darkness. Fearing
. plot, the president sprang to his
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20
Incident Shows Dread and Suspicion
That Is Part of the Lives of
South American Rulers.

The proverb of the crown and the
uneasy head might well be twisted to
apply to a Central American presi-
dent. Certainly the president of
Honduras that Mr.. j. ii. Curle de-
scribes in This World of Ours could
not have felt at his easa for very
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

feet, but the consul seized his arm.
"Sit down." he whispered. "It is
safer"
The light returned a few moments
later. The consul was sitting calmly
In his chair; beside him sat the presi-
dent, wiping the sweat from his brow /;
every other man in the DON was on
his feet, guarding himself with drawn
revolver.--Youth's Companion.
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

This quaint and pretty ceremony,
originated by Rev. Milo H. Gates, not
only keeps alive the Christmas spirit
In the hearts of the children, but is a
deserved tribute to the best-known
Christmas poem In the English lam
guage. It's history is not only roman
tic, but as there is question rs to its
authorship it has become the subject
of serious literary inquiry.
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS FEAST
History Credits King Arthur as
Originator of the Present YuIe-
tide Dinner Fashion.

Ct: e.; E; &: e. : IS; 1. s.: Geo. r: !: !: +; 4: ; q ;
Christmas feasting took
firmest root In Merrie Old England.
In 97S A. d. Alfred was surprised by
the Danes in tire midst of such a FIST.
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20
TRIBUTE TO POEMS AUTHOR
ShIfdren Gather Around Last Resting
Place of Writer of might
Before Christmas"

ALT.Y1 ITH their little feet crunch
~ ing in the snow. hundreds
H. Of children gather on
~ Christmas Eve around the
last resting place of Gle
ment c. Moore, LID, who for nearly
a century has been credited with the
disputed authorship of "'Twas the
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

Vanilla extract a be made arti-
fcially in the laboratory from oil Of
cloves, eugenol or other substances.
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

EGINA gazed despondently
out of the window.
A light snow was fall
ing like millions Of spark
ling diamonds and pearls,
yet Regina saw nothing.
Her Christmas tree had
not come!
It mattered not that the
day was a wonder day
and that the eve Of
Christmas was close at
hand. Nothing mattered
to Regina save the fact
that she had nromispd her
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20

Libraries
The word library is taken from the
Latin word 'fliber," a book. The old
The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-20
BY JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN

knows, paid homage to Jesus
ut his birth. Their story is told
in part thus In the Gospel ac-
cording to st. Matthew:
Now when Jesus was born
In Bethlehem Of Judea In the
days of Herod the King, behold,
there came wise men from the
East to Jerusalem.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-05
KENDALL AND KOEHLER'S
EXCELLENT RADIO BOOK

With the continued steady growth
OF enthusiasm for radio and the conse
quent enlargement Of knowledge there
has come an evident demand for books
taking up the phases Of the subject,
but still dealing with them in manner
| so simple as. to be understandable even
| to the novice.
There have been many more or leu
successful attempts to fill this deman |,
but 1t cannot be denied that the really
good books In the primer class are few
and far between.
1t Is a pleasure to b. able to find a
volume of this kind and it il still more
gratifying to find one written and pub.
lished In Philadelphia.
Radio Simplitied" John Winston
instructor IN the Y. NJ. G. a. Radio
School, and Robert Ralph Koehler. di.
rector Of the Y. NJ. c. A. Technical
Schools. fortunately fills this need.
Its 971 pages are literally crammed
full Of fascinating radio material and
all Of 1t is described in u way that any
body can understand.
In addition to this the authors have
hit upon the happy idea Of giving all
hook ups both in the form of radio
symbols and In the form Of picture
diagrams SO that those to whom the
symbols are simplest can use that part
Of the illustration and those to whom
the symbols are so much Greek can
hook their apparatus up by means Of
the picture form.
The volume covers virtually every
field In which the beginner is likely to
be interested. and while It does treat
OF the theory az much as is necessary
this IN done only to an extent required
for an understanding of the hobby.
Principal stress Is laid upon the actual
huilding Of the apparatus and the
hooking up and use of the apparatus
that Is bought. Even the man who does
not know the difference between
variometer and vacuum cleaner will
find 1t a perfectly simple matter to in.
stall his own set from aerial TO ground
after careful rending of this volume.
1t Is not too much to say that this Is
really the most satisfactory book for the
beginner that has yet appeared.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-05
EDWARD c. RANDALL WRITES
MORE ABOUT THE AFTER-LFE

Edward G. Randall. a lawyer. Of
Buffalo. author Of "The Dead Have
Never Died." In which he reported the
result Of his investigations into the
after.life through the assistance Of a
spiritualistic medium, has returned to
the subject In another book. Frontiers
Of After. Life" (Alfred A. Knopf). The
new book contributes nothing new to
the subject. 1t Is merely an assembling
of cumulative evidence In support OF
the proposition set forth in the title
Of bis first book. He says that he
has talked, voice to voice, with the
dead. and that they have reported to
him the conditions In which they have
found themselves. In his earlier vol.
Time he reported that many Of the dead
were not aware for long time that
they had died. One man, killed in an
accident. went TO his office every day
and tried to tell the people there what
to do about his business. They paid
10 attention TO him and acted as though
he were not In the room. lie scOlded
them, but they appeared not to hear
him, and he was shocked and surprised
some time later when another disem.
bodied spirit told him that he was dead.
In the new book he writes about the
homes and occupations Of the dead,
their intellectuat progress and other
kindred matters.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-05
NOBlLlARY TRIO HONORS
NORTHERN AFRICA IN BOOK

A travel volume along very personal
lines IL "Three Travellers In North
Africa" Uippincott). 4 couple oi
years ago the Hon. Agnes Leigh. ne.
companied by her brother. Lord Leigh
and the Hon. Emily Ward. ventured "a
Northern Africa. When the tour was
ended book was the natural sequence
and as 1t had been Il friendly sort OF
trip tho book was made II friendly af.
fair. The Hon. Emily provided the text,
copying mainly from her daily diary.
Lord Leigh supplied the illustrations
from the innumerable snapshots he
Ind taken and the Hon. Agnes was
called upon to complete IL perfect day
by writing the preface.
The little volume IL more for con-
sumption by the friends Of the travellers
than by the general public. The Hon.
Miss Ward has not the gift OF mar.
ration. True. u bit of human feeling
crops to the surface now and then.
Also, when it was rainy or the tram
was not on time she dclved into his.
tOric tones and lengthy quotations
were added to finish II chapter. Eng
lishlnen. Of whom, It has been said
they. dearly love q lord. will relish this
nobillary volume. aud doubtless. Amer.
iee. Anslophilss will patiently Join IN.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-05
PEKOTTO PAINTS AND PENS
SPANISH SITES AND SCENES

Ernest Peixotto 10 an artist Of no
mean attainments and bis recital Of q
trip through Spain and Portugal Is the
work Of the artist rather than the ra L.
contour. While most Of his enthusiasm
10 given to tho beauty Of the famous old
cathedrals Of these two Old World
countries, he has not neglected at least
q heeting compliment to the people who
add to the flaming color Of the ensem.
ble.
Lisbon, Cintra, Alcobaea, Thomar,
Coimbra and Bussaco all lend then.
selves as models for the ready sketch.
Ing pen Of the artist and the many full.
page illustrations that adorn the book
are probably its most enjoyable fea.
The architect will appreciate
Through Spain and Portugal"
(Scribner's) more than the casual seek.
er after Information about alien shores.
but even in bis repeated and sometimes
highly technical descriptions Of his IA.
vorite ruins Mr.. Peixotto is seldom
boresome.
Like many other travellers, he saw a
bull fight and bis description can be
added to the hundreds that have gone
before and hundreds that are sure to
come later. Travelling Through Spain
and Portugal makes up in artistic
merit what II lacks in q certain sort OF
popular appeal.