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1 I B
A Happjr New Tear.
Coming, coming, coming!
Listen! perhaps you'll hear
Orer the snow the bugles blow
To welcome the glad new year.
In the steeple tongues are swinging.
There are many sleigb-bells ringing,
And the people for joy are singing,
It's coming, coming near.
Flying, sighing, dying,
Going away to-uigbt,
Weary and old, its story told.
The year that was full and bright.
Oh, half we are sorry it's leaving;
Good-by has a sound of grieving;
But Ita work is done and its weaving:
God speed its parting flight!
Tripping, slipping, skipping,
Like a child In Its wooing grace.
With never a tear and never a fear,
And a light in the laughing face;
With hands held out to greet us
With gay little steps to meet m.
With sweet eyes that entreat us.
The new year comes to its place.
Coming, coming, coming!
Promising lovely things
The gold and gray of the summer day,
The winter with fleecy slugs;
Promising hwlft birds gianring.
And the patter of rain -drops dancing,
And the sunbeam' arrowy lancing,
Dear gifts the new year brings
Coming, coming, coming!
Tbe world Is a vision white;
From the powdered eaves to the sere
brown leaves,
That are hidden out of sight
In the steple tonsues are swinging.
The bells aro merrily ringing,
And "Happy Nsw Year"1 we're singing.
For the old year goes to-night.
-Harper's Young Peopia
BABY DEBS GOOSE
mm
mums
1HRISTMAS is just
'as ruuen (Jtinstmas
at tlie Boon Island
; light-house as it is
anywhere else i n
fworld.
And why not?
'There are six chil
idren there, though,
iand a mother and a
father; and if they
cannot make a
Christmas, then no
body can.
Why, Baby Deb
alone is material enough of which to
make a Christmas, and a very rollick
ing, jolly sort of Christmas, too; but
when to her you add Tom and Sue
and Sally and Ike and Sam well,
the grim, old light-house fairly over
flows with Christmas every 25th of
December. Ah, then, if you suppose
that that cunning old gentleman,
Santa Claus, docs not know how to
find a chimney, even when the cold
waves are pelting it with frozen
spray-drops ten miles from land, you
little know what a remarkable gift
he has in that way!
And the Christmas dinners they
have there! The goose the brown,
crisp, juicy, melting roast goose!
What would that dinner be without
that goose? What, indeed!
r But once they turn pale at that
lighthouse now when they think of it
once they came very near having
no goos foe Christmas.
- It came about In this way: Papa
ah, if ou could only hear Baby Deb
tell about It! It would be worth the
Journey. But you cannot, of course,
to never mind. Papa Stoughton
the llghthouse-keepei-, you know
had lost all his money in a savings
bank that had failed early in that
December.
A goose is really not an expensive
fowl; but if one has not the money,
of course one cannot buy even a
cheap thing. Papa Stoughton could
not afford a goose. He said so said
so before all the family.
Ike saj'S that the silence that fell
upon that lamily then was painful to
hear. They looked one at another
with eyes so wide open that it's a
mercy they ever could shut them
again.
"No goose!" at last cried Tom, who
was the oldest.
"No goose!" cried the others in
chorus. All except Baby Deb, who
was busy at the time gently admon
ishing Sculpin, her most troublesome
child, for being so dirty. Baby Deb
said "No docjse!" after all the others
were quiet. That made them all
laugh, However, when Papa Stough
ton explained how it was, they saw it
as plainly as he did, and so they
made no complaint. Only Tom fell
a-tbinking, and when the others saw
what he was doing they did the same;
the difference being that Tom was
trying to think what could Be done to
get the goose anyhow, and they were
trying to think what he was think
ing about, so that they could think
, the same. ..,,',
All except Baby Deb, of course;
who being only four years old, gave
Hieett tety little concert)- about the
4io3ser0tbef Her own thoughts
txattTf lwrtlae,
..." f
"We must have a goose," said
Tom.
"Oh!" gasped his audience, moved
mingled amazement and admira
tion.
Tom looked at them with great
firmness and dignity.
"Ever since I was born," he went
on, "we have had a roast goose for
Christmas."
Ever since he was born! It might
have been a hundred years before,
from Tom's tone and manner, and the
audience was tremendously impressed.
"And," continued the orator, "we
must have one now. We will have
one now."
They almost stopped breathing.
"I have a plan." They shuddered
and drew nearer. "We all must con
tribute!" "Oh!" in chorus.
"Do you want goose, Sue?"
"Yes, indeed."
"You, Sal?"
"Yes."
"Ike?"
"Do I? Well!"
"Sam?"
"Yes, sir."
"Me, too," said Baby Deb, with
great earnestness; for it was clear to
her that it was a question of eating,
and she did not wish to be left out.
"Of course, you, too, you daisy
dumpling," said Tom. "Now, then,"
he continued, when order was re
stored, "what shall we contribute?
I'll give my new sail-boat. That
ought to bring 50 cents."
"I'll give my shells," said Sue, heroically.
"My sea-mosses," sighed Sally.
"You may take my shark's teeth,"
said Ike.
"And ray whale's tooth," said Sam.
The sacrifice was general; the light
house would yield up its treasures.
"All right," said Tom. "Now let's
tell father."
And father was told, and for some
reason he pretended to look out of
the window very suddenly but he
did not, he wiped his eyes. And Mam
ma Stoughton rubbed her spectacles
and winked very hard, and said:
"Bless their hearts!"
"And what does Baby Deb contrib
ute?" said Papa Stoughton, by way of
a little joke.-
"I dess I's not dot nuffin," was
Baby Deb's reply, when the matter
was explained to her, " 'cept 'oo tate
Stulpin."
Oh, what a laugh there was then!
For if ever there was a maimed and
demoralized doll, it was Sculpin. But
Baby Deb was hugged and kissed as
if she had contributed a lump of gold
instead of a little bundle of rags.
Papa Stoughton and Tom were to
go out to the main-land the first clear
day to buy the goose; but alas! a
storm came on, and they were forced
to wait for it to go down. It did not
go down; it grew worse. The wind
shrieked and moaned and wrestled
with the lonely tower, and the waves
hurled themselves furiously at it, and
washed over and over the island, and
no boat could have lived a moment
in such weather.
If a gocse be only a goose, no mat
ter: but if it be a Christmas dinner!
- Aii, then!
Yes, they had good reason to feel
dismal in the light-house, It was no
wonder if Ave noses were fifty times
a day flattened despairingly against
the light-house windows. Yes, six
noses, for even Baby Deb was Anally
affected; and, though she did not
know the least thing about the
weather, she, too, would press her
little nose against the glass in a most
alarming way, as if she thought that
pressure was the one effective thing.
It took some time for Baby Deb to
realize the importance of having a
goose for Christmas; but when she
had grasped the idea she became an
enthusiast on the subject. She ex
plained the matter to her dolls, and
weather within a week, and it lacked
only three days of Christmas. The
others gloomily gave up hope, but not
so did Baby Deb. The truth was, she
had a plan, and you know when one
has a plan one has hope, too.
Mamma Stoughton had only recent
ly been having a series of talks with
Baby Deb on the important question
of prayer, and it had occurred to
Baby Deb that the goose was a good
subject for prayer. It was a very
clear case to her. The goose was
necessary. 'Why not ask for it, then?
The great difficulty was to find a
secret place for her devotions, for th
family very well filled the light-house,
and Baby Deb had understood thai
praeyrs ought to be quietly and se
cretly made.
The place was found, however.
Just in front of the light-house was
a broad ledge of rock, generally
washed by the waves, but at low
tide, even in this bad weather, out ol
water. The other children had been
forbidden to go there because it was
dangerous, but no one had thought
of cautioning Baby Deb. So there she
went, and in her imperfect way
begged hard for the goose.
Christmas Eve came, and still there
was no goose. Baby Deb was puz
sled; the others were gloomy. Still
Baby Deb would not give up. It
would be low tide about seven o'clock.
She knew that, for she had asked.
She would make her last trial. She
had hope yet; but as the others knew
nothing of her plans, they had abso
lutely no hope. To them it was cer
tain that there could be no Christ
mas goose.
Seven o'clock came, and Baby teb
crept softly from the room and down
stairs. She opened the great door
just a little bit, and slipped out into
the darkness. Really did slip, for it
was very icy on the rocks, and p he
sat down very hard. However, she
was very chubby and did not mind it
She crawled cautiously around to the
big rock, the keen wind nipping her
round cheeks and pelting hsr with
the frozen drops of spray. She knelt
down.
"Oh! please, dood Lord, send us a
doose. WTc wants a doose awful.
Won't you, please, dood Lord?"
Thud! fell something right along
side of her.
"Oh! What's dat?" she exclaimed,
putting her hand out. "Why, it's a
doose!"' she cried, with a scream of
delight, as her hand came in contact
with a soft, warm, feathery body.
She forgot to give a "thank you" foi
the goose; but she was thankful,
though not so very much surprised.
She really had expected it.
It was a heavy load for Baby Deb,
A
"IT'S TCMIIED, IT'S TEHMED."
Oll! rLIAiC DOOD LORD, MUD A DOOM"
was particularly eapllcit with Scul
pin, wilh whom, Indeed, she held
very elaborate and almost painful
conversation. ,.. .
One thing became' very certain.
There was very little prospect of clear
but she was excited and did not no
tice it. She made her way into the
light-house, and, step by step, patter,
patter, she went upstairs and burst,
all breathless, into the sitting-room,
crying exultantly:
"It's tummed, it's tumrned," as the
great goose fell from her arms upon
the floor.
Well! if you think they were not
surprised, you know very little about
the Stoughton folks. What they
said, nobody knows. They all talked
at once. But by and by Papa Stough.
ton had a chance to be heard.
"Where did you get it, Baby Deb?"
he asked.
"Why, I p'ayed Dod for it!" an
swered Deb.
"Paid Dod?" exclaimed Papa
Stoughton.
"Paid Dodd?" chorused the family.
"'Es," responded Baby Deb, con
vincingly. "Dod ze dood Lord. I
p'ayed to him. Hosended it tome,
des now."
More questions and more of Baby
Deb's exclamations revealed the whole
story. Funny folk, those Stoughtons
but they spent the next ten minutes
in wiping their eyes and hugging and
kissing and making up new pet names
for Baby Deb.
Papa Stoughton did say to Mamma
Stoughton that right, as they were
going to bed:
"A wild goose. It was blinded by
the bright light, and broke its neek
by flying against the glass. And, af
ter all, who shall say that 'the good
Lord' did not send it?"
At all events, not a word of expla
nation was said to Baby Deb, and no
one contradicted her when she said
at dinner next day:
"Dod's doose is dood." St. Nich
olas. It is announced that a New York
thief is a descendant of Henry Clay.
This cannot elevate him to the plane
of the morally pure kleptomaniac. If
he really descended from Clay, the de
scent has been too great and rapid to
leave any room for pride, and If he
didn't descend from Clay he Is un
truthful at well as light-fingered, and
not bettering his case at court,
Victoria saya to many poets ire
putting forth their claims for thoms
butta of wlire and that pension that
he will not appoint a new laureate
Just now.
enea'h the blue Judean bky
Three crowned kings swiit
ly strode.
Each with bis gaze fait fixed
ii non
A ,V,a, hi-lf-htlv plowed.
They wandered o'er the chilly plain,
Their feet were weary sore;
They sought a King long, long foretold.
And costly gifts they bore.
Foft raiment Jewels rich and rare.
And ointments subtle sweet
They carried in their hands to lay
Low at 1J is royal feet.
They heard with awe such music pour
As ne'er reached mortal ear
The angels chantiig strong and deep
gphere calling upon sphere.
Lower and lower sung the star
Within the azure air.
Thrpe crowned kings trembled at the iht.
And followed swiftly where
It hung above a stable shed.
With rays effulgent, mi'.d.
Where, housed with lowing herds, they
found
The mother and the Child.
Three crowned kings fell upon their kne?s
With meekly reverent grace;
They knew Him by tho liug-llt brow,
The glory on His face.
IO', we have found Hli whom we sought;
We know llim by the sign.
But how unmeet this lowly place!
How rude and coarse a shrine '.
They spread their costly treasures thero
About sweet Mary's knee.
And there tho Christ mass first was said
For Mm the one In three.
And e'en as on that Christmas eve.
Long centuries ago.
We seek Mm whom the three kings sought.
We hare not far to go.
For where the poor and needy are,
The weary ones and weak.
We find Him whom the seers foretold,
Tho King whom nations seek.
And who so doth Ills Christmas feast
With the cold and hungry share,
Ix: he will find tho Christmas King
Partaking wllh them there.
Inter Ocean.
TO SPEND CHRISTMAS.
SoTTlfl
M
NVITED me to
spend Christmas
with 'em, eh?"
aid old Mr.
nott. pausing in
his task of solder
ing a new tin bot
tom into a super
annuated wash
boiler. "Well, it's
the first one of
our relations as
has ever took so
much trouble as
I that for us, eh,
J old woman?"
Mrs. Knott,
who might have formed no bad model
for the Witch of Endor, as she bent
over the fire of sticks, in her old red
hood, from which escaped gray elf
locks innumerable, uttered a signifi
cant snort whicli might have been
construed into almost any meaning.
"What d'ye s'pose they expect to
get out of us now?" demanded the old
man.
"He's your own sister's son, Heze
kiah," said the woman.
"Sisters' sons ain't different from
other folks, as I knows on," said Ilez
ekiah Knott succinctly. And this
'ere's a selfish world."
"Ain't many people selflsher than
you and I be," observed Priscilla, his
wife.
"But it beats me what they should
waste a two-cent postage stamp on
askin' you and me to come and eat a
Christmas dinner with 'cm for!" said
the old man. "Me, as is in the rag
business, and you as is only my
wife!"
"It's just possible they wanted to
see us," suggested Mrs. Knott, who
by this time had blown the flreinto a
full, uncompromising blaze, and now
leaned back against the door-way,
satisfied with the result of her efforts.
"Tell that to the marines," was
the comment of her incredulous hus
band. There was no denying that the dif
ferent branches of the Knott family
had been sorely scandalized when
Hezckiah boldly bought a horse and
cart and went into the rag-and-bottle
business, instead of preaching the
gospel, like his elder brother, or ac
cepting a clerkship in a village store,
like the younger one.
"I hadn't brains like Bill, nor capi
tal like John," said this black sheep
of the Knotts. "And I allays liked
bein' in the open air. And, arter all,
there ain't so much difference be
twixt sellin' wares out of a waggin',
and handin' 'em across the counter,
is there?"
The Baptist minister looked stead-
"WVITEtJ ME TO BIMtSD CllltlXTMAR WITH
'EM. Kill"
fastly the other way when the sound
ing of divers and sundry bells an
nounced the coming of the tin-peddler's
wagon; the budding merchant
desired his wife to have nothing
whatever to do with Hezckiah' help
mate. In a social point of view; but
the shrewd New-Kng!andcr only
jailed and shrugged hb shoulders.
Taj ipettln' mv 'vlnV nnvwav N
said ha "The best on 'em can i oo
more than that."
Mrs. Knott, who was a silent, phi
losophical sort of a woman, toiled
away in her kitchen, scouring up the
rusty pots and kettles which Hezc
kiah brought home, cleaned the shab
by suits that were given in exchange
for fresh tinware and crockery, and
presided over the sort of second-hand
store, which, after awhile, Hezekiah
set up by way of disposing of his sur
plus wares. And in time people got
into the way of going to "Knott's
place" for cheap goods, second-hand
articles, and all manner of odds and
ends. Prices were always reasonable
there the articles were varied and
unique and there is no one who
likes U-tter to save money than your
average country farmer.
The Baptist minister had sur
rounded himself with the "I-am-holier-than-thou"
atmosphere, the
storekeeper had undoubtedly the ad
vantage of gentility, but it is ques
tionable whether, after all, old Heze
kiah was not the happier of the
three. Dav after day he was on the
road. He knew the orchard where
the reddest apples grew, the copses
where bubbled out the clearest
springs, the shadowy thickets where
the brown-coated chestnuts rattled
down at the touch of the earliest
frosts.
In his quaint way he studied Na
ture, and rejoiced in her mysteries,
and cared little that he was outlawed
by his kith and kin. And those were
not altogether wrong who declared
that he shouted "Ra-a-gs old ra-a-gs
bottles and tin-a-a-ware!" all the
louder when he came past the stiff
lilac bushes of the parsonage garden,
and trudged beneath the shadow of
the country store where his brother
practiced the great principles of "ex
change and barter."
But Jonathan, the only son of the
old man's only sister, had always sur
reptitiously delighted in the myste
rious contents of the basement where
these second-hand goods were packed
away. Hehad helped his uncle tinker
up the old clocks, mend the battered
tea-kettles and saucepans, and sort
out from tho rag-heap all that prom
ised to be capable of some rejuvena
tion. When he married the district
school teacher, however, Hezekiah
shook his head doubtfully.
"We've seen the last of Jonathan
now." says he. "Mary Mix'll be a deal
too genteel to let him associate 'long
of us any more."
But here on the top of all this came
the invitation to the first Christmas
dinner in the young couple's new
homo.
It had not, however, been sent
without some discussion.
"What!" Mary had exclaimed. "In
vite the old rag-and-bottle man?"
"He's the jolliest old chap you ever
knew, Mate," pleaded the bridegroom.
"And Aunt Yiuey's a regular brick.
1 wisli you could see the big ginger
cookies she used t' bake for mc."
"Hut if they come, Tnclc William
and I'ncle John will keep away,"
argued Mary.
"Ltt 'em," was the curt reply.
"I'ncle Kiah's the best of Ihe lot, ac
cordin' to my way of thinkin'."
So Mary acquiesced in her hus
band's wishes, and the Invitation was
duly written and dispatched.
"It's 'rayther a joke, you an' me
bein' invited out, old woman," said
Hezekiah. "We'll go, sha'n't us?
Hev' we anything fit to wear?"
"I guess we can make out," said
Mrs. Knott.
"And I'll tell ye what," said Heze
kiah, "we won't lic.bcat in manners,
not by noliody. We'll send a Christ
mas present to the bride. There's
that old cast-iron wood-stove that I
bought at Hound's Hollow, with the
bunches of grajK-s on the door. She
shall have that"
"La, Hezekiah!" said Mrs. Knott,
"what do you suppose she cares for an
old second-hand rattle-trap like that?
It's mor'n likely she's got all the
stoves that she wants."
"A stove's a stove, anyhow," said
Hezekiah. "And I mean to send it
to her, so you may just stop your
clack, old woman."
Mrs. Knott, only smiled. She was
used to the pertinacity of her
spouse, and she gave way with a good
grace.
"Oh, what a pretty little stove!"
said Mrs. Jonathan, when it was car
ried into the neat best parlor on
Christmas morning. "And how
brightly it is blacked!"
"Just like Cncle Kiah!"sald Jona
than, who was polishing red apples,
sorting out the fattest and largest
nuts, and sharpening the carving
knife for the coming feast. "Mitrht
ha' known he'd send something dif
ferent from anybody else. But, since
it's here, I guess I'll put it up at
once. It's prettier to look at than
that air-tight thing; and we. can
start a tire right off,"
"But he sent word," interrupted
Mary, "that we weren't to light the
lire till he came. He wanted to show
us the valves and dampers and
things."
"Docs in; think noliody knows how
to start a fire but him?" said Jona
than, laughing. "No, no: on a cold
morning like this we can't afford to
wait."
And so, when Uncle Hezekiah anil
Aunt Malvina arrived in a cumbrous
little buggy drawn by the business
pony, the parlor glowed with tropical
heat, and the little stove' presented
its most hospitable aspect
im ye merry Christmas. Jona.
than and you, too, Jonathan's wife,"
was Uncle Hezekiah' greeting, as he
trudged up the steps.
"And many happy returns," court
esied Aunt Malvina, who carried an
old china sugar tow! in one hand and
ts corresponding cream pitcher in a
basket In the other. "Will you plce
we vc took in trade"
M.. y came forward with a beaming
Mii.lc and both hands held out.
10 Wr-l-
Phrlstmac sunt, anri ,...i
---v uutie,-
"Hal-loo !" said Knott,
around him. "So you started
did ye?
"es, Lncle Klah," said Jo '
'i siarxea it. uo you
J
supl ,
'.
fro fWrt 1
fc7 off imi
f'-'l VI f iTT
U- V. kilM'I'f'll U1 .. I
"TOC'TI BUHSEI) CP TOra CBBlJ
wanted to give my relatives i
welcome, ehf
Uncle Klah clicked his
against the roof of his mouth.
"Dun no jiothin' about that
he. "All I know Is that you'vebi
up your Christmas present, da
ing orders this sort o way."
"Eh?" said Jonathan.
"I'ncle, what do you mean?"
Mary.
Uncle Kiah stamped around!
room ana tore nis nair in an eel
of rage.
"The fools ain't all dead yet!'
he; "that's plain enough. Id
out to give you and your wife hi
hundred-dollar bond for a Chri
gift and 1 picked it into th
stove-pipe, with a lot of waste-d
to make sure there shouldn't
mistake about your gettin' on It,
so it's gone up chimbly, with the
of the sparks and smok-e!"
Jonathan grew livldly pale,
uttered a little shriek of
For a moment tho Christmas
seemed to have faded out of all
hearts.
For a moment only, however,
Viney came promptly to therd
"You're right there, Hew
Knott," said t-he. "The fools
all dead, so long's you're left if
for nobody but a fool wouM
thought of tuckin' hundred
bonds up into the elber of al
stove-pie. And it's lucky for
and these young folks here tit
happened to want a little wasti
per to wrap round this 'eie old
in my basket, and took the stl
outen the stove-pipe ain't it nJ
She extended the basket to
Knott. Old Hezekiah pounced'
it like a starved cat on a mouse,
dragged the paper wrapping forti
"Here it is now the veryhuna
A. .11..- v im L. 1 ij
uuuiir ijonu. ut- Mineaeu, Wiitii
triumphantly above his head.
merry Christmas! Hooray, Jon
a mnrrv Christmas! Old wra
to his wife, "you're the sensible!
the lot!"
,i n , , i.
nm so uicy an sat. aowo w
first Christmas dinner that
Knott had ever cooked with brl
faces and joyful hearts.
"Uncle," said Jonathan, "how a
Mary and I ever thank you ford
generous present?"
"Don't say nothin' more about
said Uncle Kiah. "You're the
BBHE IT ID NowTlir. VKBT AM
DOI.I.AK BOND!" I
one of our relations as ever
to spend Christmas and I gW,
can afford to make you a presents
old woman?" It
And AuntVlney smiled "T'j
sent. Young Ladies' Bazar. HI
A rNiQ.CE feature of the )
palgn was recorded in IdahB
one citizen watered his wif'l
inree nunc. The iaay wjtfl
what aggrieved. Sheaverwjj
put her up against three
reuccuon mat ner womaBr-j
fair valuation she 'was' Lb
four mules that ever kldf"'" tir
sustained her, and tho
clared off.
Walter Dekakt has w'i
novels for a time and l JL'iC
one-act comedy. The avera
1st never feels ko like t""'
wag trying to plow with At
ho crdeaor to put n g
creatidna upon the W rd,
k and move so as -
"5
them
dramati
.manager.
IS VRRl
too oni lead
i
-if
J