Capital city courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1885-1893, December 20, 1887, HOLIDAY NUMBER, Image 1
S) arier. HOLIDAY NUMB BR. 3U I Vol. 3. No. 1 EXTRA Lincoln, Nicuwasia Tuusday, j IDicotCNtmcu no, iwy7 AN ODE TO A TURKEY. 11Y W'AI.T MAHO.V, "Written for tho Clitlsimn Couhikii. A High for tho grim old turkoy, Tho relic of nges gone), That lived through tho elreur Thanksgiving, To perish on Christmas eiawn. Tlio wavM were wild, tho skies wore ilark, when Noah lanilesl his famous nrk ; tliu liiss- ing rain In torrents fell, tho nik was tossed by heaving swell. Ho hennl tho shrieks of those who tried, by cllinhlng trees to dodge tho tldo, of thoso who tiled to gnln tho shore, l)iit oidy sunk to rlso no more. For elays mid da)s tho torrent poured, for days and days tho billows roared; at last old Noah landed Hat upon tho heights of Araiat. Ho open Hung tho heavy door, to lot his elreus roach tho shore : then canio tho beasts nbrenst in pairs, tho chipmunks and tho olar lienrs J tho os trlch and tho kangaroo, tho Jointed snako from Tlmbuctoo j and at tho end two turkeys came tho initio was gray, and hnlt and lumoj IU head was bowed, It oyes wero blind, it was tho father of Its kind ; and wo shoulu happy lie, I say, tohao this noblo fowl to- -day. ' A sigh for tho gray old turkoy, Tim relle of ages dark, Tho parent of modem turkeys, Tho iMitron of Noah's urk. CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS. MY II. T. DOU11INH. Ho was a oor, forlorn looking sort of an Individual and ho looked ovcti moro forlorn thin ho really was as ho shambled along one of our streets tho other evening. U ery oneo inawhlloho would stop, look into tho brilli antly lighted shop!) resplendent In holiday nt tlro end filled with happy things of gift-seek -crs, only to turn away and resumo his weary walk. Hit tattered clothe, his almost shoe less feet and his hardened visage all botra) ed tho fact that ho wo a nonielexn wanderer. Despite tho ravage of exposure and general Bhlftlossnos-s it was easily soon that ho was yet a young inn, not even thirty at tho far thest. Sitting hero by my lhuldoto-ulght,wlth tho warmth of tho glow Ing lire encompassing monbout, whllo without I hear tho wild wind whistling, tho imago of that lonesome-looking nguro lonesome iiiougu on u croweioei nrcot comes up lcforo mo. What caused hlui to become a wanderer upon tho earth ? Why docs ho chooso to lead tho life of a nomad, unloving nud unloved I Alas 1 No one can tell and fow tako trouble to inipilro. Perhaps in years gono by ho was tho Idol of somo lov ing mother in some happy homo. Somo guardian angel may have whispered sweet lullabjs into his childish ears and soothed his troubled fears as only mothers can and do. Somo fathci's hands may have guided his youthful foot btejis In the labyrluthlan paths of knowledge, and stavcel his hands with the wise counsel of experience. Homo sisters clinging love and sweet companionship may once have held him close to tho magic In fluence of tho homo circle, and kept him from tho bane of evil companionship. Pel hups in some far-oil" eastern homo an nged father, a white-haired mother, a alt and watch for their boy, tho prldo of tholr hoarts.tho Joy of their early married life, whoso childish piut tlo still rings In their ears. They watch and wait for him ; but ho comes, not, nor will he. Tho wasted years of manhood test ujiou his head with added weight, and the Jojs, tho hopes of his earlier life aro but dead sen fruit on tlio lips of time. Hut not knowing, still thoy wait and watch and yearn for his return, until llrst one anil then the other sinks beneath tho weight of jearsj diopinto tho nameless sleep and aro laid at rest bui oath tho waving grasses and given sod that grace the city of tho silent, llaj Ih, nolxxly knows and nobody cares. Ho Is only a tramp Whether tho force of adverso cir cumstances, tho sw coping awuy mid bren ing of eorytlo that held him to tho things he cherished, whether the Inscrutable, workings of 1)1 vino Providence, or tun moio woiltlly but equally invisible wot kings of tho unwi It- ten law of capital and lalwr, forced him out into tho worl 1 to prey upon anil In rutin u 1)0 kicked and culled by tho moro earthy of 'us, wo aro not awn re. He It as It may, he, and hundreds, nay, thousands like him, aro turn ed loose uiou Immunity. You, w hoso hi Ight homes ring tonight w 1th tho merry laughter of happy volcosj you, to whom Christmas Is but tho harbinger of joys to come as well as Jojs present, look ujion this poor outcast In pity. Turn him not uwny from jour door In those glad times of festivities. Hols only a ti amp. True, but ho Is oiio of tho same great hi othoi hood of man to which you and 1 and all of us Moug. For him no Cluistmus dinner Is spieud, for him no gifts are brought, for him nololng woulsaiosolan. Ills life Is a blank. Hols only u tramp. On this precious Christmas evening when the Incense of giutoful thoughts mid pin) crs rise fioiu tho altnis of many happy homes, let time Ih) mingled with them an cilsou for tho outcast and tho waudeur. And In the midst of our holiday lejolilug ruiiciulcr thattheio aro many to whom Christmas Is a sti auger and its icputcd jo)s but a in)th. Tho lire on the health burns low, tho wind louder and louder whistles as It sweeps thlo' tho baio limbs of the maples, and lit fan cy I see tho poor uufoituuuto, shuttling and shambling, fade ft mil my sight as ho seeks thu icposo of some secludesl nook wheio wild winds blow not, Won lor If in all their Chilstnius put chases, our readers will think of tho humble news paper sciiho Hememlier oiiroll'ieo Is now In tho now lluir block, or our postoirico drawer, which is qultadiiigo, Is number 01, or if nii csnury wo hiivuun expiess wagon that will call for all laigo packages Hut wo want it distinctly understood, diamonds will not bo eo'eptwl. THIS FAST. V Written McliiUy for tho Christmas Cuuiukii. All sllentlybcilraped In trailing garb And shrouded In the sable shades of night, Willi solemn pace Ihe Old Ycnr stalks aw. ly, And sweeps the threshold of the sombre Past, i Farewell, old friend, and, tlio' thy reign Is o'er, And Youthful Hope imup the car of Time, Tho' bright and beauteous be the lovely Ik) Amid the garlands of the coming ) cur, And like n star o'er dark-rolled waves at night Throws n long gleam athwart thy shadowy realm L'on jet, oh Secrl While nil the busj world Ilestows no thought hut on the Future hour, Let nic, with thee, In att subdued delight, Dwell In the dreamy valleys of the Past. ,,, s What tho' the sun of Hope In billllanee sheds ' Ills glories o'er the Future's fairy fields. Humbly I'll walk with thee where Sorrow'sjnoon In midnight silence walks the blue serene, And where the myriad silent stars appear To cli.inn the chaitcncd vista othc l'ast. What tho' frondescent In the Future jear, The bursting verdure decks the nulling earth, i $v . -. f 1A - Vt - , 1eL tJ I V --v MHtikm Ur A ml Ti liei f the m i fail Ui ill sftn . 7'n ciiirm lic cnifciiril ' ittu oj tin J'ihI Yet still, Old Year! with thee I'd choose to tonin, Like Dante with his Virgil, thro' the nroo es 'Neath which th' autumnal trcisures of the l'at Lie thickly strewn where softU -tinted lcac All miitclj plead for notice as ou pass, And gleam with richly painted breasts, and thus Rciuirioriii the matrix of the mind A thousand mellowed thoughts that hid gone b. ' I'U said "All is uncertain 'neath the sun," Hut jet, oh Paraclete I 'I hy Kingdom stands. Lternal in petrean posted Past The waves of Violence and Accident In ulii roll on they cannot change the Past, Nor can we by weakness - e'en should we choose, Forego one single Item of thy power Not awful Fate herself can wrest from thee A single moment of thy changeless reign-, Hut Mem'rt'fe harp and long- limiting wires, Shall seem to ring along thy corridors; And, like a long swept wave, come rolling up To present hour thro' poitals of the IJast. t -It. M. R. FKIOIC PiVIC OlCNTH CHRISTMAS ON THE MOUNTAIN. IIV II, M, MUHIINKI.U Written fur Iho C'lirlsltuns L'nmilKii, When thoNim ioho this UlirUtmas morning iiN)ii a Chrlstmns day not many years ngo It roundest tho southern side of tho "hump" and sliouenlowu through Ihoktvn, frosty nlr iis)ii mi old homestead and farm lions') Hint sevineel to hnvo cIIiiiIksI us high as It was pemslblo to get, ill) then uggesl, rough and timhoicil side of tho old mountain, Ago nud des-uy murkeel this only sign of el vllluitlou that, In tho win in hummer da) s nmrkeel more than tho halfway Miliit totoiitlslH making thoase'eut, nud as slessl out III the) finell, silent suiroillldlilgs, hImiwi tho jeillow birches, the le)illless bench ami the lilnrk e-edurs, It looked nliovi) the) rewieh of Clulslmas cIiist nud Christmas clilines. For two long months tho drifts had pi lev I high along tho mountain sides and the dreary olevd I'lemeiits had supplailtest the sighs of summi'i' lirecxcri In tho scatfeteel pines, still higher on the inouutalus, feir many brief, early winter da) s. Hut, If the) old heimratooel lookesl dresiraud froj'ii far up tho mountain, tho paiiomnm was n grand one from tho old fm in house, looking over tlio toi of tho tlni iMiiesI hills olT Intel tho valley, where, two miles dlstjint, at the very fKit of tho moun tain uewtled tho iiulet village) that, for nearly aceutiuy, hail giowu as unchanging ns tho mountain alsivo It. It Is In no way neccsary that this llttlo village) Is) e-iillod by name, but If you wish, call It Undeihlll, Ironi tho homest'-nd on tho luouulalu tlio long wicalh. eifstnokei nscoudlug from thuclustcreel houses of tho village, grew Into small clouds In tho still morning nlr, nud tho village church spires and tlio dome on a llttlochurch slightly seilaUsl from the) others, shone In tho sun's rays like buruishis! silver. Heyoud tho vil lage tlio I and wiio widened nud a long whllo lluo marked tho frozen rlvoryind itlll Iwyonil, fairly resting on the horizon, was tlio long w hlVo plain of frozen lako with, rising still boyond It, In ludlstln?V lines o( 'u'itio ncAl-cMy ellseernahlo from tho blue) of tho sky, woro the long line's of mountains lxyond its west ern shore. Tho old homestead that, on tho eminence, overlooked this vista, hael IU history. Uou this western sldo of thu mountain, In tlio ilays of tho revolution, a detachment o'f (lioon Jlountalu Isiys had built signal fires to warn tlm scattered inhabitants that Horgoyno.wlth hlsarmyoflnvadoiii from tho north, was skirting tho lako on his march southwarel. From one of tho signal stations tho fo'ii-st had lieon fired mid It was urwn tho black clearing mmlo, that n ploneer, after lndcienilciieo hael. Issjii gulnisl, planUsl his homo in tho wilder ness, anil for n century fathers, sons anil giauelsons, "content to Hvo whore llfoleguu," hail wnmg from tho cold, rugged mountain side, all that their fnigal necessities demuuel isl. Tho old house had grown from a block houso of I. ;h to a farm house) of no mean pre tensions that, for many ye-ars, hud enjoyeel thu distinction given by n redcoat of paint, but, us many of Its occuiwiMts hael ilono, It was now going back to childhood and the nsl was rapidly ellsapisaring, and tho loosenesl ImanU leveahsl tho ancient timbers of IU early )enrs. At tho old farm houso on this particular CluistmiM morning, of all who had cnllod tho olel place homo only two remained, and for tints) score jours their homo had bes.-n on the mountain. It was tho father anil tho mother who, like countless other fathers mid moth ers, hail been left buhliiel when thu children hael Mown out In tho world from the homo on tho mountain. It Is needless to say that on this Christmas morning they thought of Christmas days In tho years long gono by, when the old homo mug with l.iughtcr on n Clulstinas morning, and tho llttlo homo pres ents went around; In tho years Iwforo a llttlo yellow haired girl hail been lalel in the church )ard under tho hill and Ixifore n sturely Imy went out Into tlio world, and Into the west, to Join tho push and throng of modern da)s. "It has Ihiii so Jeing sliu-o wo I unci heard freiu Charle," the mother had said several thin the ilay liefore, anil then was Just such a m islful look, us coined only to mother's o)i-(, as she moved from place to place in tho old homo on this Clulstinas morning, Tho gesNl old custom of church upon Christum day hail not Ihs-ii liaulshisl In the llttlo villa" uniler the hill, and its the almost Indistinct chimes of the liells III thu llttlo town culled to them on tho mountain, thu father assumed gooel cheer and brlghtemsl thu hopes of tho mother, who hud Ik-cii all thu loin; vears un and ilovvu liesfelo hlui, with tho prophecy that the mall that day should bring them n letter, and there was u cheerful t-clm to tho prcphocy lu tho distant w hlstlu of a train that echoed along tho inouutalus from the lino of road beyond tho hills and tho river in tho vulley. It might not have Urn, but still it seemed to the father mid tho mother that thu whlto hainsl man who sjioku to his ooplu on that Clulstinas iuoniin,j, that ho, too. was holdlinr a lamp of piomlse to them its ho Sxko of tho faitu of the fathers, of thu faith that follow ed en, brought jo) not sorrow , and of the ilay star tluit should in iso in their hearts. From thochurth it wasbut a few stejw to thn vil lage store that possessed Uio aelelenl dignity of post olllto, niiil tho father thought vvlthn sinking Ixviit of tho loneliness of tho ilay, end tho home, and the mountain, If tho letter dlel not come . and ho went to tho fur md of tho llttlo store w hero tho rows of Ikixcs stixxl be fore a table and n chair, and ho looked through thu glass and arouul thu groat ivl number that half covered thu little seninro of glav. ami thu letter wins there! It Is necdlcta to dw ell upon the hupplnei thu lest of that Cliilstnmsdaylu the old home on the moun tain, tor the Clulstinas gift that came that ilay was pilceless to them, for It tolel that nil that was left them on tho earth hail not for gotten thu old home, that a lioy could liecomo a until, ami a wanderer anil )et that at tho Cui 1st mini tlmu hu woulel not forgit the, fath er and the mother and that they loved hhn evi'ii as tho Chi 1st child lovesl humanity hi the long ago w hen tho moi uhig stars sang toguh er. And If thu wamhrer from his mountain childhood homo could havo steii thu father nud mother in the twilight looking from the nluilovv over tho elarkunetl panorama of tho morning, up at thu staiv lu the upper I elght-uj ho woulel have known that thu most pihxled .J gift at Christmas timo is a letter home. ' T h'