Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-12-25
Maine GOSSIP
Christmas in the Forest

Swiftly by fir and cedar
Under the tasseled pine
The fairies follow their leader.
King Frost, through the still, white
Of the moon as her rays are beaming
Where the parted boughs give
The Frost Kings gems are cleaning
For this is Christmas Eve.
Close in the thicket keeping
Resting until the dawn,
The mother deer is sleeping.
Her cheek on her half-grown fawn.
The grouse by his sleek mate EeStleS,
Whs:e the shadows pictures weave.
Uns<ared by the nuntsman's Whistles
For this is Christmas Eve.
The fox in his den is lying
The squirrel dreams in his nest;
And the duck to the dark pool flying.
Sinks down with peaceful breast.
The tawny cougar blurring
The light where the rocks upheavc,
are softly. drowsily purring-
For this is. Christmas Eve.
Midnight! There comes a thrilling,
A dumb prayer upward gone
From the beasts man hunted,-kllling,
All the years since Christ was born.
No words may the hunted borrow,
Yet rises that pleading call
To Him Who marked with sorrow
Each little sparrow's fall.
Rainbows of radiance tighten
The snowwreaths on the Dough
But there comes no sound to brighten
The deer that are feeding now.
For man has learned the reason
The Prince of Peace was born.-
rh Fsr c THIS has cH IF MORN
BY Lou Rodman Policy in Our
Dumb Animals.
Christmas travel on the coastwise
boats out of Boston the past few
days have been unusually heavy for
the season of the year. The steam
ers. Belfast, for Penobscot River
ports, and the Governor Dingley, for
Portland, left Boston on Friday with
almost capacity lists.
A major of the United States army
stationed at one of the forts in Port
land harbor was a visitor in Saco and
inspected the Sears Roebuck shoe
factory. formerly occupied by the
Saco Shoe company, with the in
tention of recurring the building for
an emergency hospital in case OF
war.
The original badge of the Grand
Army of the Republic was adopted in
| 1866, and a change was made in 1t in
October. 1868, by the National Coun-
| Gil Of Administration. Another de-
sign was made on recommendation
| of the Department of New York, Oct
q. 1869. Several changes were made
In 1884 a bill was passed giving
captured cannon as material for the
badge.
| The light on the monument in Bel
fast harbor has gone on strike agar
and as the bay is clear from ice with
considerable shipping at present it i.
to be hoped that it will not be ne.
elected and allowed to be out of com.
mission for any length Of time as ha.
frequently been the case in the past
The light Is keeperless affair ant
the visit of the government tender Il
necessary to refill the gas tanks.
French Catholics are protesting
against the name "Holy Cross" fol
the new parish recently established
on West Rose Hill near Lewiston
and are insistentf that it be changed
to "St. Croix." Recently an in.
dignation meeting of many of IT,.
French members of the parish wa.
held and a committee appointed Il
wait upon FIR. Drain, the pastor slnt
II need be upon Bishop Walsh, ii
their effort to have the French nam,
supplant the English name of til,
parish. They contend that the parisl
In, made up principally of Frencl
Catholics and that the wishes 6
the majority of, the members shout,
prevail.
Portland won high honors in tn
third annual Live Fox Show of tn
American Fox Breeders Association
which recouflv clooad az poS%o,> MI,