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About The Wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-???? | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1905)
PHELPS-BURRESS CO. COAL a a MONARCH $6.5Q Best Stove, Range or Furnace coal for the money Other grades of coal at lowest market prices. FROMFT DELIVERY 206 FRATERNITY BLDG. Auto 2321. - Bell 129 Hoppe Handles Howard's Hot-Draft Heaters ', eft See our goods, get our prices before you buy that bill of hardware. Remem ber the place. A large display of the best Stoves, Ranges and Heaters in Lincoln is what we have to show you. Hoppe's, 108 North 10th St. Protected by Block Signals The first railway in America to adopt the absolute Block System in the operation af all trains was the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway It to-day has more miles of road operated under block signal rale than any other railway company. The St. Panl Road was the first railway to light its trains by electricity, and it cow has more than 400 electric-lighted passenger cars in daily service. , Three trains from Union Station, Omaha, to Union Station, Chicago, every day. For time table, special rate write F. A. 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L McCOY 1529 0 St., Lincoln Tie Waits put fomifEeriNelodr No festival of the whole year is so generally honored as Christmas, and by reason of Its general observance there has crept Into it so many cus toms and practices that it Is almost past any one's ability to catalogue them. There is no other festival, per haps, so old, and yet so ever new, as this one is; no other day in the lohg year so wistfully looked forward to with anticipations of happiness; but it has changed like everything else, and is a Very different day from -r.hat it once was. Christmas customs, or rather some of those adapted to this time of year, are far more ancient than the festival itself. It is common knowledge that the mistletoe, for instance, is a Christmas fixture, derived from the Druids, who are also responsible for the Yule clog or log. The custom of singing carols formed an important part of the day's celebration under the Saxon kings, and the mince pies are believed to have been a remnant of cakes consumed at the Roman win ter sports, always held at this time of the year. In order to do no violence to the customs of the people, the primitive Church selected the time of the Roman Saturnalia for its Christmas celebration. Almost any time of the year might have been sel ected, for there Is no authority for Dec. 25 as the date of Christ's birth. In the Middle Ages. While the yule flog was burned upon the hearth upon Christmas eve, and maids were kissed under mistle toe in the dark ages, Christmas was still a religious festival. In order to make it attractive to the people, and also to instruct them . in the . Bible stories, plays were produced with creat splendor in many a great cathe dral. As the liturgy of the church was in Latin, so, too, were the Christmas plays, but they were easily under stood by the people, for even if the words escaped them the costume and the action conveyed a deep meaning. As a rule, there was little literary merit in the plays, having been writ ten with the sole idea of conveying in struction in a pleasing manner, and often containing farcical scenes, which one may well believs were well received by the crowds that fill THE LIGHT AND THE SONG Not for One Day, but for All the Days The fcrst Christmas dawned on the world I i a flood-burst of light and song There had been darkness on the hills and in the hearts, and brood ing over all was a silence -made heavy v.ith the worn-out jangle and strife at men; but suddenly, over the hil s f Bethlehem, the sky was aglow with light and the air tremulous with song. The watchers on the weary, wind- ed tho cathedrals at Christmas time. Two of the earliest Christmas plays that have come down to us &i to be toumi iu the few fragmentary works of Hilarius, a monk of the twelfth century, who is said to have been an Englishman, and who is known to have been a pupil of tk-e great Abel ard. Of the three mystery plays which he is thought to have written in collaboration with Jordanus and Simon, probably brother monks, two were evidently played during the Christmas season, namely, "The Im age of St. Nicholas," most likely pro duced on that saint's day, Dec. 6, and "The History of Daniel," which seems to have been intended for Christmas presentation. "The Image of St. Nicholas" shows more real dramatic ability in its con struction than these early productions usually do, for, while its plot is not complicated, there is undoubtedly a plot. In brief, the story is as fol lows: An actor, representing an im age of St. Nicholas stands in a shrine and discovers half a dozen robbers, who have stolen a treasure box which had been hidden in the shrine for safe keeping by a barbarian. The latter returns, and, finding his treasure gone, bewails his loss, and. Whipping the image, demands the return of the goods. The image then goes to the robbers, and telling them that they will not thrive wlt'-i the stolen goods, they give up the treasure to its owner. The latter, out of gratitude, kneels to the image and adores it, but the saint then appears to him and bids him to worship God alone and praise only the name of Christ. The bar barian is then converted and closes the piece with adoration. "The History of Daniel." "The History of Daniel" is a piece in two acts, and was, no doubt, pro duced with considerable spectacular effect for the time. In the first act we are shown Belshazzar's Feast, and in the second, which deals with Darius, King of the Medes and Per sians, we are shown Daniel denounc ed and sent to the den of lions. At Daniel's prayer "there shall appear an angel of the Lord in the den, having a sword, who shuts the mouth of the lions." Darius, . finding Daniel saved, puts the latter's envious ac cusers in his place and leads Daniel to his throne, ordering the people to adore the true God. Daniel then de livers a version in rhyme of the phro- J swept hills lifted glad and surprised eyes to the light that never was, and their hearts took up the rare new music of the angel-song of Peace and Good-will. Christmas is still the light and song of the world. Across the skies of hu nan thought and endeavor the clouds it doubt and fear go drifting past; ie hilltops are storm-tossed and the lis phecy (chap, vil., 13-14) of the coming of the Son of Man, and to close the play another angel appears, singing, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy," etc., "which being finish ed," continues what might be called the. stage directions, "if it was done at matins, Darius begin 'Te Deum Laudamus,' but if "at vespers, 'Mag nificat Anima Mea Dominum.'" "The Slaughter of the Innocents." Another early Christmas play Has been found' in an old Orleans manu script. It has for its- subject "The Slaughter of the Innocents," and was no doubt, frequently played during the Middle Ages in one or another French cathedral. In France and on the continent generally the plays produced were usually the effort of a local learned doctor, although at times copies of popular dramas were made for use by neighboring towns. In the play just - noted (Interfectio Puerorum) the part of the innocents was taken by the choir boys, and the other characters, Including the wom en, were represented by monks. In one part of the church was erected a manger; in another a throne for her od. A distant corner was supposed to represent Egypt, and for fear these distinctions might not be apparent to the beholders, signs were hung over these crude pieces of scenery bearing the names of the places represented. Like most of the mystery plays, the story is briefly told and numerous anthems are interpolated for the benefit of the choristers. Wakefield Shepherds' Play. Toward the end of the play the boys (the innocents having arisen from the dead) go into the choir; Herod's throne is then taken by an actor, who represents Archelaus; an angel bids the Holy Family to return from Egypt, and then the precentor begins the "Te Deum," and so the perform ance ends. Some of the finest comic touches to be found in these old religious plays are to be found in the Wakefield Shep herds' play, written about the year 1400. The first scene opens with three shepherds watching their flocks, all of them complaining of the cold night. A character called Mak takes part in their rude sport, and upon opportunity steals a sheep. Mak's theft is subsequently discovered, and he is soundly thrashed, a piece of "business" which was certain to arouse laughter in a medieval audi ence, for it seldom fails to amuse a modern one. There are certain parts of this comic scene . that . would . be valleys are dull with gloom and the weeping rain; but high over all there shines a light that never goes out, and down through the shadow there floats the rainbow that never with draws. The toiler turns from his lonely furrow, and in that Christmas Light finds the strength to endure and the hope to overcome. Not yet has the noonday come for him. The curse of Cain is still unlifted, ana in the sweat of his brow he eats his bread. Selfishness and greed and wasting strife still add to the primal burden and make the heart less brave. Class wars with class and man with man in the inevitable quest for enough or in the unsatisfying lust for excess. The hands are hard with the tools of toil and the hearts are hollow - with the pretense of trade, and, when, all Is over, to what purpose has it been? But, without flaring, without fading, the love-light of the Bethlehem Star i leads to the life of Peace and Goodwill. considered too broad nowadays, but it must be understood that at this time the plays had passed out of the church, and were now acted on the movable platforms in the public streets. This frolic is followed by the serious scene. An angel appears, singing ' the "Gloria," after which he announces that Christ is born at Beth lehem. So the shepherds go to Bethlehem and make such presents to the Holy Child as lie within their powers. One presents a "bob of cherries," another a bird and' the other a tennis ball; "Acts of the Apostles." During, the reign of Francis I. in France, the presentation of a grand mystery of the '"Acts of the Apos tles," given during the Christmas sea son, was made the occasion of a spec tacular proclamation ,in Paris. In an account of this procession around the different quarters of the French capi tal, which is found in a rare little tract published in Paris in 1541, we learn that the procession started out at 8 o'clock on the morning of Dec. 16, attended by "officers of justice, plebeians and others having the regu lation of these, rhetoricians and gen tlemen of the long robe, as well as of the short." They were preceded by trumpeters and the mayor's archers and at every crossway or public place repeated the proclamation in the King's name. The day fixed for the performance was the feast of St. Stephen, Dec. 26. Under the Stuarts. Christmas masques, mere excuses for gentlemen and ladies of the court to attire themselves in fantastic, gor geous or bizarre costumes, were long popular in Italy and im France, and Henry VIII., having paid a visit to the neighboring realm, imported them into England. During the reign of Elizabeth masques, the work of poets, and in the form we now know them, came into prominence, and the greatest writer of these pleasant but trivial en entertainments was Ben Jonson, ho wrote about three dozen during the reigns of James I. and Charles I. . ' These were sumptuous spectacular entertainments, in which the cele brated architect, Inigo Jones, was employed to devise "the machinery," or scenery, which was certainly more elaborate in those days than had yet been attempted upon the professional stage. While the first Christmas kept by Henry VIII. cost 584 19s. 7d. for "disguisings," the masques of James I. for tm year 1609, nearly a century later, cost 4.215. And the Christmas Light shines steadiest, even as of old, over the place where the young children are. It is not by the might of armies nor by the power of kings, but by the simple life and the simple mind, that greatness comes to the world. A little child shall lead them. Once in the noisy round of "the year the hearts of men are young again and their voices lilt the Christmas carols. Not for one day, but for all the days, and for the darker nights of the hard and troubled after-years, the home light of Christmas is a lamp to the feet and a light to the path. Not shy and evanishing, as though it were lost and out of place In a world like this, but with the mild persistence of strength and right, the Christmas Star still marks for men the way back to the place of the Child. The mys tic light and the song of Peace and Good-will have kept unfaded the vis ton tiplendiU, and touched the lowliest lot with life's wonder and bloom. These masques, or disguisings. were participated in by the ladies and gentlemen of tLe -court; in fact, we find James'- queen, Anne of Denmark, appearing with her ivory skin black- . ened to represent a negress from the Niger. The young Prince Charles, afterward the ill-fated Xing Charles I., aiso took part in thesn Christmas fes tivities, as did also the Princess Eliza, beth and Prince Henry. The Twelfth Night Revels. Twelfth Night was the usual time for 'these Ghristmas revels at White hall, and, in fact, had been for cen turies at the English court. Although Henry VIII. is credited with having adopted the old Italian custom, as early as" Edward III.'s time we heard jot ludi, or plays, exhibited at court in the Christmas holidays. In 1348, when Edward kept his Christmas at his cas tle at Guildford, the dresses for the maskers consisted of buckram tun ics of various colors,' masks of differ- . ent similitudes, namely, faces of wom en and men, heads of angels, "mu6e of silver," and mantles embroidered with heads of dragons, peacocks and swans. It is not known that the en tertainment consisted of anything be yond the most primitive kind of pan tomime and posturing, and it is very doubtful if they even suggested the drama as we know it. No court entertainments in Eng land that had gone before equaled in magnificence the masques written by .Tnhnann finri Haatvna hv Tnlffn Im 0fi which made the holidays an annual pleasure to James I. and. his queen. King James, notwithstanding the fact his name is inseparably linked with the , choicest English version of the Bible, was given to luxurious pleas ures, and his young queen, Anne, nad the reputation of being a most grace ful dancer at a time when dancing was regarded as one of the fine arts. Christmas Masques at Whitehall. King James ' loved pleasure and Queen Anne nearly made a bankrupt . of him to pay her jewelers. She loved progresses, as they were called, and in one of her royal visits to Bristol spent $150,000 on a costly presenta tion of a masque. From this it may " be imagined that the Christmas masques held at Whitehall, wUere the king then lived, must have cost an ' enormous outlay, in fact, it is known that one cost $22,000. Ben Jonson wrote twenty-nine masques for his king, most of them being produced at Christmas. The Christmas season usually' be gan on Dec. 16 and -lasted until an. 1 6, although in Elizabeth's day, the sea son had been known to last for full six weeks or until Shrove Tuesday, her- alrllnc ilia .siminor nf T snt nut n BtATI in the mrrvmaklnm. o ine viciorian era. r. A growing body of the people in ? these days took ho part in the merrl- ' ment of Christmastide ; in fact, their long-drawn faces, sour looking all the year, were almost unbearable at the season of joy. Alarmed at the goinfes- S on at court, mortified at the Keen- V tiousness of "the ruling class, they i .vowed worldly joy '-was a detestable ! thing. Life to them was a stern ex-1 istence. Even in Elizabeth's time r these Puritans had begun their pro-1 tests against Christmas celebrations, f and against royal pageantries, and in i the time of James I. their voice grew : . so loud that they were caricatured in some of the masques at court, i They continued, these stern old roundheads, to grow in number and -in power, and, having made an end ot -King Charles I. in a most effectual ti manner, put their ban on everything that England loved most, including t Christmas. ;' , Under the Commonwealth they;- stopped the decoration of churches, at Christmas, and sent a crier about J London with a proclamation to the!" effect that "Christmas day and all f other superstitious festivals should be put down and that a market should f be kept upon Christmas .day." Per-! ' sons who insisted upon attending t church on'Christmas day were imme--diately arrested.' As for the Lord of Misrule and Father Christmas they- were nanisned, and the Parliament by , its own act crossed Christmas off the--' calendar. For- ten long years Eng-;' land, so closely .allied with the ob servance of Christmas, was throttled, but Christm. j was only in exile; he returned with the royal family when r' the Restoration was accomplished. The days of the last of the Georges I saw the departure of many time-hon- ored Christmas customs in England, and the arrival of some new ones. The ; singing of carols was one of the first to go, and later in the century the waits disappeared, although a few stragglers now and then annoy Lon doners in the Christmas season, until a bobby tells them to move on. Some of the old etchings by Sey- fe mour, the first illustrator of Pickwick, ; which are reproduced' on this page, give a spirited idea of how old Christ- -mas was observed in England in the i early days of Victoria's reign, when the spirit of the season was still alive and modern ideas had not yet shoved I the old customs aside. 1 Who doeth right deeds is wise born. and who doeth ill deeds vile. Sir Ed win Arnold. AT CHRISTMAS TIME Within an old cathedral dim , Tho white-robed choir chant a hrnm. That old, old story o'er again. Of peace on earth, food will toward man. A holy aileaco Hlla the air, And every head is bowed in prayer. While from the tower tho joy .holla chime At Christmas time. ' Far out upon the briny deep The mariner his watch doth keep For his brififht. aiiidins: Bethlehem The beacon light that shines afar; And, as be sees it kindly rays. He thinks of home and other days, Of loved ones in a distant dime At Christmas time. rtfir.rP.sy - - m Again at tho old homestead's door Dear friends and kindred meet once more, To ait around the hearthstone's slow. And hark to bells across the snow. They talk of youth and hope and love, And gently speak of those above. The missing ones, with faith sublime, At Christmas time. Inex Max Felt.