The Sioux County journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1888-1899, December 21, 1893, Image 3
Orriic mi. Ckrihtmaw In I!e hlehem! What memories, what sacred tradition tho word evoke! Where el-e can the feast of ('hrUtmm be so sublime and divine' Where else, can mortal feel himself ho near to hi God' lWhlehein in a' ways crowded with strange from every part of the world on Chi lstma Kve. They cmie - the e pilgrim of piety or curb sity along the romantic and singular route from Jerualem, and spend the night in the holy ceremi nials, departing the next day. Th smart merchant from New Yo.k City e'bows the Kussian landl rd from the Volga or the Montenegrin with his lelt filled with anci-nt naggers and oii-toN. The Turkish soldier ke -p or der with jierfect gis d humor and with a certain contemptuous indifference which is apt to tell a little upon the nerve of pirns Occidental, when they oterve it for the first time. The Church of the Nativity is tho gnal of all the e pilgrims. Certainly thin li the most interesting place in Holy. Land. There all the divergent Chriiliun factions meet at a common source at;d there th-y learn tolerance of and rc.sp ct for each otht r. The Kmeior Hadrian, iu the coun-e of tho fecund century, is mi id to have surrounded the place where stood the THE LATIN PATRIARCH CONDUCTING THE FRENCH (ONHI LTO THE GROTTO OK THE NATIVITY. stable of the nativity with a wood sa ered to Adonis, and even had tho wor ship of Venus publicly celebrated theie. Two centuries later the pious Helena raised a church, and of the an cient stable of course nothing abso lutely authentic remains. Nothing is more singular in Holy Iand than the entrance to the sanctu ary of the Nativity. At tho end of the straggling hamlet the st reet spreads out into an ob ong square which opens ott an esplanade covered with great stone (lugs. This is the "atrium" of the ancient basilica, in the middle of which stood the baptbmil cisterns for the ablutions which the Christians of old were re iiired to practise before entering a church. A mats of white tomb walls in one i-ldo of the es planade: on the other ari-es a high wall which might belong to convent or prison. A few windows dot the wall hero and there. Hut there are no mens of any door. After a little search one finds a black hole, like the entrance to a cavern, and presently he sees eople creeping into it, almost on all fours. Now and then the gallant Oriental on guard will offer hU hand to a lady to help her down. That is the principal entrance to tho sanctuary of the Nativity. Doors wore suppic-seil in the days when Mahom tncdan intolerance was greater than it is now, and when it was necessary to wall up doors and to allow communica tion only with the upper stories, as the monks in Mount Sinai do nowadays. Gradually there grew up around this basilica a colony com pi mod of the three principal sects, the orthodox Catholics, the Creeks, and the Armonians, and convents wero built in such numbers that they overshadowed the church. Tho Interior, however, still reserves iti ancient form. Once out of the gloomy entrance, one finds himself in a great hall traversed by four colon nades and surmounted by a modern roof, tho beams of which appear. Here and there, at tho bases of huge red monoliths, crowned with Corin thian capitals, in a framework of old mosaics on a gold background, people are kneeling or sitting squatted on their huuiichos; soldiers of the Sultan are peacefully patching their shabby uniforms, women are nursing their babes, Franciscan and Creek monks THI.KHKM MOTIISa CI1AD1.IK0 USB CHILD. pass talking and gesticulating, and merchants beseech you to buy oranges, rosaries, mother-of-pearl ornaments and sweetmeat. Time was when the Arab also stabled their sheep In the sanctuary. This was due to the fanati cism of the Greek monks. Fifty years ago it pleaded them to separate the nave from the choir, and thus one-half of the oldtMtchurch In the world Is ex posed to the vandalism of the Ignorant psasAsnW. There U a lefeod that a "Sultan of gjrpt" osmm tried to omt off the beau- ' j i 1 ' tiful mon iliths to ornament a palace at Cairo. Hut a serpent came out and bit the first workman who laid a pickax j at the c dumns. und the ret of the j workmen refused to work. l'as-1 ig two skepy Turkish soldier whose guns are leaned agiinst the wall, the pilgrim do eends by ciicular steps to a door hieh ojK.ns uion a nar rower staircase, at the foot of which ine finds two more Turkish soldiers, in gala uniform with rifles on their i-houl-ders. In tho Mnnger. On the left is a niche lighted by a great number of hanging lamps. Ite neath them sparkles a great silver star, fixed in the pavement, on which la the inscription: I lie de Vlritlne Marl Jesus Ihrlslut natus eU We are in the sacred stable. "Here Jesus Christ was lxrn of tho Virgin Mary." It is a grotto to-day, but the erudite i-ay that for thousands of years grottoes have served for stable) in 1'a.U es:ine. The splendid gallery which extends for foino disiance, glistening with mar ble and light., scarcely recalls the jkv erty and humility in which the Savior was born, everything Is in maruie here, even the margin of the miracu lous well which sprang into existence to slake the thirst of the Holy Family. All the 1 1 ct-j have harmonized in the decoration i f the grotto, but they are not to lie trusted to agree o well In the church. The presence of the Turk ish soldiers is a proof of this. I at ins, Creeks, and Armenians have their Ixaindaries well defined in tho body of the church, and at Hot hlehem thev are prone to quarrel. There have Veen . battles in which much blood has teen shed. Kaoh lamp in the grotto is marked with the name of tho Beet to which it belongs. Tnere are stairways t- the grotto, one belonging to the Latins, the othor to the Creeks. N'- long ago tho Ar menians tried to J.ilargo their terri tory in tho church. They spread a carpet on the Hags belonging to them. Next day tho carpet had encroached a little on the rival territory: the next still more. The othor sects saw the trick, and in the night cut the carpet in pieces. Franre I'rrnKlm. When Christmas comes at Bethlo hem the French Consul is in his glory. EVance is the protectress of tho Holy A somas or nr.Tiii.enrM. Places and of the Oriental Catnoncs, and all governments in Francis care fully keep it up. This privilege wai confirmed to France in HH2 by tho Con gress of Herlln. The old ceremonial, established br ordinances of Louis XV., has been strictly maintained. The lo cal clorgv pays royal honors to the Consul of France. When he is in stalled a Te Deura is chanted. In the processions at Hethlnhem. at the Holy Sepulchre and elsewhere the blue cushion on which he is to kneel is carried before the Consul. On Christr mas Kve the French Consul comes from Jerusalem to Hethlehem to take part In the ceremonies of the sacred festi val. The Turkish authorities place at his disposition a detachment of caval ry and twoollicors, who escort him with drawn swords. Surrounded by his eight cavosses, on horseback, in their handsome levantine costumes, and by his consular stair, and accompanied by the suiHsriors of tho convents and by the pilgrims, ho makes a sens ition as ho arrives on the esplanade. The sheiks of Hethlehem go out to meet him, flourishing their guns, and wel come him in. There is a roception at convent, and the Turkish bund some times pli.y the "Marseillaise!" The i J'tin patriarch then arrives, and at 10 o'clock at night a pontifical mass is celebrated in the church. The sumptuous ornaments worn by tho pa triarch and his assistants on these oc casions were presented by tho late Marshal MaoMahnn, In tho name of the French Hepubllc. The first ceremony ends at midnight. A ling procession, brilliant with ta pers, then descends into the grotto of the Nativity, The patriarch carries In ) is arms a waxen image of the child Jesus, reclining upon pink silken cush bms embroidered in gold. Before the nlohe of the manger the patriarch hands the "bambino" to one of his deacons and then recites the Kvangel of the Natlrlty according to St. Luke. Until two in the mornl. g I Jm the psalms and songs continue, and are finishel by a Te i)eum. Ail IJethle- hem wake the whole night lonir and camps, by t!)e light of ta,ers, tround ti e immen- church. The spectacl ) in merry and picturesque when dawn breaks over ti.is extemporized camp. Such are Christmas Eve and Christmas Morn at liethlehera CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY. Where the Holiday I Alwara Knthuaiu-' Untlly ObHrfrd. 1 Hill STMAa prep- arations go on no less vigorously in the country than they do in town, but they are less evident there. Nevertheless the spirit of Christmas is abroad there as well as in town. There are great ex- peditions to tho woods for running cedar or ground pine, for spruce, and fir trees, for branches of hem'ock, cedar and pine. In some lucky neighborhoods the holly grows, and sometimes the mistletoe, with its mystic, poetical associations, is to lie found. Oftn the little church must bo adoned for the great feast day, and this cannot be done, as in the city, by hands of paid professional dec orators. In the country it must be a labor of love, and busy hands must work early and late to make the trim ming of the church attractive. Then, too, the duv before Christmas the ( 'hristmas tree, chosen and marki d Ions' before, must lie cut and carr ed home with almost as much enthusiasm as attended, In old times, the bringing in of the Yule log. It is not only in the decoration department that there are great labors on foot the day tiefore i Christmas. The kitchen is a veritable hive of industry. The mince meat h.'.s been prepare 1 days ago and has been ripening in a great stone crock in the cellar; but to-day the pies are to be made oies of many kinds, as telits an American household. Crullers and doughnuts are to be mixed and fried, cranherrv sauce t be, compounded, the materials for the plum pudding to be prepared, cakes, jellies, blancmanges, tarts anu other gisjaies orougui w state of nerfection. Outside of tho kitchen there is an air of subdued mystery. There have been restrictions laid upon nearly every memtier i f the family concerning his or her free a 'cess ti some pa-t of the house. The eldest bov, whose chie desire for months has leen a bicycle is warned to L'lve the woixlshed a wide herth. Tho closet in the guost chanx ber is forbidden ground to the mother, while none of the children are allowed ti) go near the linen-elosot, where mamma hus stored her gifts. Kvervthing in the house is in a state of shining cleanliness by the timo the day fulls. The house is fragrant with odi rs of spruce an l pine and looks s ; very bower of greenery by the time that the tinkle of the sleigh lells it more probably the rattle of tho wheel for In tho-e degenerate days snow does not always come for Christmas announces the arrival of the guests. From the city come the scattered memtiers of the (look. who would travel any distance rather than miss assem ling for Christmas under the home roof tree. They come with laden armf and gay greetings, bringing in a rush of colli air and a fresh influx of the Christmas spirit. They are full ol stories about the trip in the train, ol the country people and their parcels, of tho children going home to granil father's for Christmas, of the parties ol young people eager for a day's skating or coasting, of tho crowds of vehicles awaiting the travelers at the stations, of the merry greetings, of the spirit ol lovo and good-will that seemed to bn.od over everything and ever body. After dinner comes the great event of the day the event for which the children fondly believed Christmas eve was first devised- hang ng the stockings. Then there is tho repetition of the never-old always charming poem, "Twas the night before Christmas." This is fol lowed by an.d. us conjectures as to how Santa Claus will manage his sleigh and reindeer if there is no snow on the ground, and then the little nes are tucked away and left, "while visions of sugar-plums dance through their heads." With tho first break of dawn on Christmas morning there is a rustle of excitement through tho house. Ohostly forms flit through the halls and happy voices shout "Merry Christ mas'." from door to door. Then come the hurried dressing, the jolly break fast, the exchange of gifts ana all the dear delights of the day of days. There is no sound outside to distract the attention from those joys. The solemn silence of the country in winter surrounds them on every side and makes sweeter the mirth and cheer within. A few Christinas Hoot's. Don't give a bottle of perfume to a lady unless you are sure it is the sort she prefers. Don't send a box of ruled writing paMT to a newspaper correspondent; she would rather write on the paper In which the grocer does up his tea. Don't give a cookery Ixtok to your washerwoman: she would much rather have the ingredients. Don't give a new pair of ill-fitting gloves, or a justrlsjught fan that you lind you don't like, to people who y u thinK wifl appreciate these things. They won't appreciate them. Good Housekeeping. Talking Through His llaf. Fuller Briars Say, bubby, I'm Hantv Claus. Hee? Homebody stole my clo'es an' reindeer. Jus' give me a nickel an' I'll give yer tw.cet as many thing nex' Chris rails. -J,'' umsm UT ill sound or y irumpeu uiukd. Mov who iDunaer ings heard afar. Aozel' whispers made It Known, And the nblolng of a tar; Not with banners fair unfurled Came ihe child of our delight. In the tlllnes of the world. In the sllenee of the night Not In pillared palace tail, Wl.b its tapestries of soli, Bui within a stable's stall In the nieekness manifold; Not In pomp of proud estate Came tl;e child of our delight. Known to shepherds, watching late. In the silence of the night Yet or. all the anxious earth Neversurb a birth had been! Nvr a momentous birth That could nie in so much to men. All ihe stings of Death were shorn When the child of our delight Came, and Life and Hope were born In the silence of the night Following the wandering star, W tad men brought unto His feet Precious favors from afar. Ince nse and franklnceone sweet. (What things precious shall we bear To the child of our delleht Praying that he Bud them fair. In tho silence of the night?) Now Cue sound of trumpets blown. Anl t'ie thundering beard afar. From glad steeples make It known Of the shining of the star! Be the banners bright unfurled To Hie Lord of our delight. In the gladness of the world, In the glory of the nlxht! A. W. Kbllaw. NORA'S VICTORY. T was Christmas and the occasion was to be appro r riately observed by tho people of Tnompson's Cor ners. All the children, and old folks, t oo, had fathered at the school house t o take part in the exercises and wit-ne-B the distribu- t.iim of nresents Vi7c from a frorireons Christmas tree. Nora ' tumult out there in the house, the ex 11s wai managing the evening fes- , hausting heat, and the flavor not quite iv ties She had leen busy for days of the poorest. But what was this on and davs with trips to town and joui-' the window pane Her name She nevs to the school house. , bad not written her name She had i,iBt nf it, all Nora had written -she hail written "Ed Morrow ...., onH t.hn what Christmas , ,,! ,,.r heart was gentle, as i hearts should be, when her tancy con jured up the star in tho East; whon t hat finer ear which never bends to less than heavenly music caught the rhythm of that anthem which 11 lied the sky one distant night in a distant land. Yet one thorn troubled her. She tried to forget Ed Morrow and their quarrel, but the thought would come back and confront her. She remcmbeied how happy she was in the summer time, when she walked with him along this same plain road and thrilled as a good girl will when tho angel of true love troubles the waters of her waiting soul, li.. Vmrl u-nndored awav with the sun, as the summer ended, and she heard of him now and then from friends who drove to Hendricks County. Once or twice he hail drifted up to the borders of her neighborhood, but she never saw him. Humor, that agilo assassin, declared he was "going with" Eliza Haines, and honest Nora could w onder. i tho millet, of her oain. what he found in the girl to admire. He would come to tho Christmas tree, and she must sutler in silence while that brazen creature sated her eyes with looking upon her. Everything was as ready as it could Vie at tiio school-house. The day had filled the eye of Christmas lovers. Snow lay deep upon the ground, and through it the sleigh tracks had beatr en like a sort of canal between high banks of white. Sleighbells rung a greeting to laughing parties, rich with life and hungry for enjoyment. Nora did not conduct the exercises. She only managed the manager, sending the Sunday-school superintendent upon the narrow stage to ask fur order and announce successively the programme numliers. In I no iana we always aimed to min gle some portion of the intellectual with all our carnivals. There were debating societies and the "reading part" at singing schools: they were declamations and original essays at every gathering, till the sun of compo sition waxed warm and full in the season of revivals. To-night, l)e sides the distribution of present, there weie songs in which Nora had trained the children: recitations in which the children had mostly trained themselves; a tableau or two and a jubilant chorus. Nora, looking through a peep hole in the curtain, saw Ed Morrow sitting close up to the front, but far away from the women. If he camo with that girl he had done the very ungraceful thing of leaving her to shift for herself in a stranger com pany and pushed his way to the point most near the woman whose heart hail followed him in all his wanderings. He could not soo her and she stood for a moment until time came for the outer curtain to rise, filling her hungry eyes with the blessed picture of his stalwart frame perched up there a little higher t'liin the test, his handsome face laugh ing aliove a brilliant scarf, his bearded lips parting to return a greeting from sonm of the farmer boys. For Ed was a favorite everywhere. Incn she moved aside into what might lie oalleu j the dressing-room, w hile the children I sang: In a manger, laid so lowly, Came the I'rlnce ot Peace to earth; While a rholr of angels holy fang to celebrate his birth. She tried to forget the man out there beyond the curtain: tried to join her heart with the swinging rhythm of the carol; tried to think of that older, better time when a still and starry night like this brought the era ol love, not ine season oi pain. line was In the far, chill corner of the room, for the moment alone. Tho whole busy house was behind her. He fore was the frost-painted window, which curtained the outer night and hid its glory from her brimming eyes. Hbn was as distant from all familiar oeneti as Judea's plains were distant from this humble celebration of their i Christmas birth Aad she wrote his name with the our of hertujlng fork on the thick, white frost f the win dow pane. Almost instantly the song was ended. The curtain iell'wijj ihe slov.d. o bedient movement of tvros' curtuius every wbefe, and the children rus'ied from toe narrow stuge to seJts by the.r parents :n the crowded house. Then came t ,e evening's great event. Dia pe.ies w hich reached from the ceiling were Darted and drawn aside, revea ing the Christmas tree. It was Noras work, and s-he knew the whirlwind of cheering down there in the house held something of compliment to her. It was noisy and rude: she knew that. But she knew as well that hir labor was rewarded, for she had added an hour i f enjoyment to scores t lives. From that time on she had no mo ment to herself. The piesents were distributed, each pupil of the Sunday school was wall remembered, and si lent charity did there, i s it does in the laced and flowered churches of tne city, its silent mission of blessing. Time and again, as the girl passed nere and there deftly directing her clumsy iier curys, who carried common messages, she saw the black eyes of Eliza Haines: Baw the lifted, proud face, and fancied she read some lesson of trouble. Hut she could not rise to the level of sympa thy. She had lost so much to the gau dy worr:an, suffered so much at the shrine of the buxom beauty, that she could rot quite hear the echo of that midnight mandate: -l'eare on earth." Fortunately, as she saw, moment after moment, with a woman's swift vision, that rising cloud of disappointment in her rL'il s countenance, she thought it was because no present had been be stowed. Never thinking that Kliza might bo mourning a thrall's enfran chisement, Nora almo-t came to the point where she wished some pre.-ent might be found on the bending branch es of this woman whose Christmas was j surely not a season of joy. Hut that brought with it the fear that such a present might mean t jo much. And j every strange parcel handed up to the j Superintendent that' he might read j the name of the favored mortal, gave j Not a the haj.piest pain. How easy for Kd to have humbled her and exalted Kliza by the simple device of sending to the tree a wide silk handkerchief, a box of candies or a toilet case? The busy moments were over at last, and Nora turned a,'ain from the littered stage and passed into tho dressing room. There seemed no reason for it, but he heart wa; crowded full of most untimely sorrow. She came close to tho cola winnow ana trica to lorgei tee im there in tho mellow sou of the ('hristmas frost. And here above it was her own his in the fair, round lines of a girl's chlregraphy, hers in : tho strong, rugged sweep of a man's swift hand. She turned with a start ' and a little scream, and there was Ed Morrow, with his arms alwut her and his lips on her brow Ed Morrow, who said nothing, out comiorieu ner wun ed ner wnn the slow, quiet p: cssure of his left hand, while hj took up the tuning fork from the widow sill and swung a circle clear around both names , engraved on the frosty pane. Nora had llown in an instant from the last dav of the Christian year quite to its first, then back again. And on the way she gathered something of the spirit which had always armed her. "What made you writo my name above yours. Ed?" she asked, as she stood alone before him. "Because it belongs there," said the young man quickly. "Eot's commence to-night and never quarrel any more." j That was their compact and they j passed together out through the house, trading swift compliments with a hun- ! dred friends, till they reached the door. Then, just as they stepped from the battered threshold to the creaking , snow, a woman turned upon them, flashing a face thut was rich in its : beauty but marred by its hate. "1 wish you much joy," she said, with jeal ous bitterm s i. It was E.i.a Raines. Uncle Zeb Turkeys com' high dis y'ar. Brother Way back Yea, day's high, but wa'i gwlne to hab 'em. ! I I Turkeys Come High. ft 2i i1 dm ii, inn postmen. pontuien. They keep oar be arts agog. More popular tiaa must men. As steadily toey jog. They bring us Joy sow sorrow. They bring us peace and pain; But ve are glad to morrow To welcome tbsai again. Her form behind the shutter The pretty girl in stalls; Her heart is in a flut ter. Whene'er the post- 'A man calls. i. And if ber lover's mis sive Does not arrive In time. The wretched letter- carrier Feels guilty of a crime! Be brings us bills that make us Feel very, rery blue. And swagger Invita tions To "swell" recep tions, too. fometimes a check Of value From publishers not blind. But oftener tho p eu Respectfully de clined '1 he time of Merry ChrUtmas Is bound to make him sad. For. loaded like a wagon, Are quire sumcieut cause No reindeer carry him about This modern Santa Claus It may be but a fancy. But I shouldn't think, I own. Somnambulistic postmen Were ever, ever known. A .1 H I'm u i, rn nil ftnat ,, mun's baby hit i j a i. in vvuuiu over ucva t To make Its wearv father li Trot with It half tho night! PRESENTS FOR OLD PEOPl-E. What to Give Grandma and Grandpa few Christmas. It As hard to select presents for those who have passed the sunny side of life and who no longer take an active inter est in its frivolities, its fads and ita changes of fashion. Grandma and randpa are dear old. people, with earts as young as the youngest, and i . , K, . :..-t.hin ; ' ce expect graddpa to begin wearing a new style watch-chain. in a new way, nor will grandma wans a set oi me new-iangieu uuirpiua. ! "Such things are pretty on young peo ! pie," says grandma and grandpa, with ; a smile and a sigh. "But the old way I is the best for us after all." What, ; then, can one select for the occupants I of the armchair? What can one give ' them which will ba just the thing needed for comfort and luxury? Grandpadoes not care for many orna- ! menis, qui ne is iodu oi a nice iiecaura. (.kit him one or two, just like those he j usually wear.s, and give them to him j with a gold-letter pin standing for his last namo, which can he meu lor a scarf-pin if he fancies it. He probably has a cane. But has he a nice black silk umbrella? Has he a storm-coat? Does he own a pair of the new kind of high cloth overshoes? Has he a pair of lined gloves for cold weather? Has ho a cap which sits snugly on his head when the wind blows? Notice the styles in these things, gently sound his tastes and buy accordingly. If he likes to smoke notice the style of his favor ite pipo and get another just like it. Get him a pound of his favorite tobacco and put it in a fine tobacoo jug. So much for grandpa! Grandma likes neck trimmings, if they be after her style. Observe and select the right things. If she has no chair of her own in the dining-room, give her one which shall be more com fortable, porhaps, than the dining chair. Give her an individual set of pretty plates, cup and saucer and but ter dish for hor own use. Notice If she has plenty of cushions and footstools ia her room. There are little creature comforts, too, of which grandma Is very fond. She could make use of a tiny gas stove for warming teas and broths. And a broth-cup, with a saucer which fits on top, is sure to bo treasured. Warm, soil suppers, gay to oenoia; lamb's wool petticoats, snug woolen jackets and great downy robes for the bath are deemed very delightful for grandma, who should have every sim ple luxury. Both grandma and grand pa have foibles. You probably know what they are. Watch for them and then it will be easy to select your gift. At Yule-Tlde. Helzho, the Winter! the bluff old fellow. In meadow and field be roars amain. ine maple, tmib mra was uoca u in yeuirw, lias doffed Its leaves in the Ktisty lane. Hol-'ho. Sweetheart! I will find thy tippet. Thy dainty hood for thy golden head, And out in the frosty air we'll trip It, And over the stubble gaylv tread. Heigho, the Winter! be brings the holly, The frolic of Yule's enchanted tree; And tho mlsi letoe now, by my folly. There will be a kiss for thee and mel Heigho, Sweetheart! with a "Hey dowa derry" We'll sack the wood of Its treasures now. But oh, there's never a bramble berry Ia half so red as thy Up, I vowf Nelly Booth Simmons, in Ooday's, A Christmas Card. I have no purse of gold, my dear, Wltb which to buy you dainty things! The purse Is empty, and the gold lias flown away as If on wings; So, sweetest wife In all the world, Tho' you possess the greater part, I'll give to yon on Christmas Day Another fractlom of sty heart Thoughtful Haabaad. Tse trying ter raise money nouga ter git my wife a new drees for Ohruw mas, sah," aald Unci Ebony to Mr. Feathers tone. "Ah, I aw: you wast me to give you some ehoi ato do, ma ele, ehy" ''Well, no, sah: I tor. perhaps you ecu 14 git da oil lady u at washta', mh."-&k Emit. I? the lit 7 c mm I o mum mi mi m