M W i t M A I 1 r jMk hr P 5 rfz fiMtr If1 I r pP fni TP Ji O0fn n a arl TliouorKinjg A Maid is ttie Jjk JZytfifvy VV -re c Jl M 25 sSfjS3 i r r i 1 t -I r mmn f rfsSl s Ho cl tlmt roahititc lo rest who 5a viouT Shalt be of fie gSJ JWM East and the West tiaMe u iai to Je sua Who diccfon fhe fcStggffl vp chorus lril x i7 Tree And hd raised up a lad dcr cf mercy for me yMv L rf j I M fhiiotfccran3 Cofcc arcrtt gar of the iint TJbilCins s art rclroctn inc ditcrti long- m tlc Ijrfiohnixl Tjj tJic monjrer 1fA sec i a sfirinc Zrls Clofbcr ie coplop 1f5c Ifoli O s smlies In3 rouncl the som t t ong cr orcltnttlin for bc toolioo 3ouJn atcs o cms on fIJciCJn7 lfi rourtJ tJbilc rtEabc rahes Wi murrli rfiofonc of 1hcm bnows JVkI fic lookioc ap Stholdefin3clf croconcD taQi VtLyoA S3 ishcsclvjog s fo3ohbmort have come from ofor Obrougli i7jcasurl Bttcrrs 7cir g ude aas a s tor voo briqtf fo inc scincbinc fo po our Ii ghr tuTilch mode nfght as 3oy ana mode oy ol nioHf tZXhtoJu -And lo the star which they saw la the east went before them whis pered the boy gazing upward at its pure white light in the hush of the Boly Night But mankind said the old man sadly has not followed In all the Christmas eves since it looked on the ghepherds in that field of Bethlehem it has looked on men doing evil some where to their fellows Its light has oeen dimmed by the lights from camp fires of armies and from flames of burning cities I am old and it is weary waiting for the fulfillment of the promise The star is beautiful and splendid said the boy with shining eyes Undimmed I shine said the Star And He in whose sight a thousand years are but a day sees mankind look toward me every year with new in telligence and love Ages have passed and other ages still must be before the Word shall be fulfilled But every Christmas eve I shine upon a world that has moved forward step by step Greater grew the radiance of the Star until the world sank away and still and pure it shone over Jerusalem Whose calm and faithful eyes are these that look toward it from a cell Stephen lies there soon to be taken to the city wall and stoned to death Atrnin it shines unon the Holv Citv surrounded now by a Roman army under Titus Before another Christ mas eve Jerusalem shall be no more The temple of the Most High shall be razed and Titus leave nothing on Mount Moriah save a little heap of ruins And again there is a Christmas eve 3ix hundred years have passed The hristian world has fallen far away from the Sermon on the Mount Hatred and intolerance have OTted the cause of Christ into a cause or shedding of blood from Bethlehem jo the far isles of Great Britain Christmas eve 800 A D and Rome t celebrating the Holy Night with onderful splendor Princes and war lore and priests throng its streets reatest prince of them all before rhom even the mighty Charlemagne ows is the Bishop of Rome Leo III his is a Christmas eve destined to o more than any other Christmas eve h many centuries that have been or t are to come to change the his- ry of the world For to night Char- magne and his magnificent court ve agreed with the bishop that on ristmas day Charlemagne is to be wned Augustus Emperor of the est and Protector of Rome The ply Roman Empire has begun Shining for the first time on as in the New World in 1492 the tar sees Columbus and his crew turn Iward it from their small craft as cy roll in the great blue serges of e tropical ocean off the coast of yti It may be that there is too uch Christmas eve cheer aboard the tnta Maria For before the Star has vYuS85 STAR IN THE Wondrous Story of the Centuries That It Told to the Boy Who Gazed at It set she is a hopeless wreck on the rocks of the beautiful island The Star is to see many cruel things in the New World after that Its serene beam shines on Montezuma in 1519 a prisoner in the bloody hands of Cortez It shines on Cortez again with his men in the next Christmas eve lying before Tezcuco which he is to enter and plunder before the end of the week On the Christmas eve of 1529 and for ten Christmas eves thereafter the Star looks on an American Odyssey It is the Odyssey of Alvar Nunez and his three companions sole survivors of the expedition of Pamfilo de Nar vaez wandering along the northern coast of Mexico through Texas to the Rocky Mountains and thence to Mexico trying to find a way to take them back to Spain They spend one Christmas eve in being worshiped as demigods by a tribe of Indians They spend many others in working as slaves Twelve years later the Star shines on Hernando de Soto lying in camp in the Chickasaw country It is the second Christmas eve away from his wife the beautiful Dona Isabella and he is never to see her again The Star looks down upon him in 1541 near the Mississippi with his great expedition scattered and all but de stroysd but the dauntless heart of him brave and unf earing Chrismas eve 1542 finds no such person as Her nando de Soto Captain General of Cu ba Adelantado of Florida on earth In 1567 the Star sees a gathering in Antwerp It is a terrible gathering that conceives a thought of inhuman wickedness and ferocity Yet out of this Christmas meeting shall a great freedom be born For it Is that of the Spanish rulers in the Netherlands and at it is adopted the decree of the Inquisition that condemns all the in habitants of the Netherlands with but few exceptions to death And the War of Liberation follows It is the first to break the cruel and deadening power of Spain In the New World the Star looks on the colonists of Jamestown stealing out on Christmas eve in 1G07 to get corn from the Indians by strategy Two years later Christmas eve sees them suffering grievously for food again Anno Domini 1C20 and the Pilgrim Fathers rest from their labor of build ing the settlement which they have begun that morning Christmas eve 1C75 and 167C sees PofeAt at Ofc crown for Chrtst iV3fU Rcovcn loSoy ohc cross i on carrhi citl on earth if shall Joy vsill Cbnat ccmc ooom and oil sin sncll havt ceased UtJ it armt ore a coidc as riictcrcirfram Ibt Sest psfcyM cA if itmtistt OoAjafrd I6u3 UsSJt3 8 telfeji iltij3 war in the New Vorld In the first year the New Englanders instead of gathering around sociable fireplaces are abroad driving before them the remnants of the Wampanoag Indians whom they have defeated in a great battle near Narragansett bay and in 1G7G the French are taking Cayenne in Giana after a stubborn siege In 168G the Star shines on grim and moody faces in the town of New York Sir Edmond Andross the first royal governor and vice regent of New Eng land has just arrived and is making a roaring Christmas eve of it Two years afterward the Star gleams on his royal master James II spending his Christmas eve in the French court a fugitive driven from his throne in England Sitting with a few companions by a camp fire in the primeval wilderness of Pennsylvania a young surveyor looks up at it in 1753 He is George Washington nine days journey on hi3 way home from Lake Erie where he has been to carry a message to the commander of the French that will end finally in the French and Indian war Indians are prowling on his path that night but he looks as serenely at the Star of Bethlehem as if ha were gazing at it from his home in Virginia Fourteen years later two other young surveyors pass a similar Christ mas eve in the wilderness They are not to become so famous personally as that other surveyor but their names are destined to be linked for ever with a great cause They are Mason and Dixon sitting under the Star at the end of their trail They have reached a warpath and the In dians have forced them to stop thirty six miles from their objective point But they have practically run their line and they finish it on Dec 2G Christmas eve 1773 and there are bands and flying banners in Boston Young and old mechanics and royster ers and citizens of substance are marching together Singing God Save the King they head straight for the wharves where two teaships are lying Some of the chests go over board still to the accompaniment of the loyal tune The others are left on the ships but the vessels are forced to return home without unloading Lieut John Paul Jones in his new uniform and clothed in his three-day-old dignity as member of vhe Corps of Naval Officers appointed by Con gress swaggers around proudly on Christmas eve in Philadelphia in 1775 Anno Domini 177G sees 24000 men crossing the ice covered Delaware And in 1777 the Star shines on Val ley Fon2 where men sit around piti able fires in rags penniless hungry freezing but unfaltering Christmas eve 178H George Wash ington has surrendered his commis sion the day before For the first time in seven years he looks up to the Star without heavy care Alone save for her babe upon her breast Lay Mary while the morning star Late lingering led the sagos to the West Presaging fates that loomed afar A mothers love is neer in accents told When nestling close lier first born lies FAse words were gems that strung on gold Straight from her soul to God would rise Ko cold to Mary or her son came nigh Altho a jagged cleft appeared Torn thro the wall that faced the eastern sky For wind and snow the babe revered The Virgin drew the slumlring child so near Her breathing stirred him as a sigh Her heart His ri sidle and it pulsing clear A psalm hushed to a lullaby And all her thoughts dwelt in the coming years When Christ His mission should begin And trembling fiom her lips her feais Leapt forth to One who cleanses sin iwirt as the mother prayed the pale browned Dawn Crept soft and kissed Nights purple cheek So woke from frosted sleep tU eclipsed morn But dull with shadows gray and bleak That cast full on the cloud encumbered sky An outline like a mauve touched floss And Mary gazed and with an anguished cry Ceheld in woe ah God a cross A cross gloomed on the Orients hih ex panse That Dawn upon whoso bosom lay The irmine stole of rojal eminence Erst Hung in joining night and day To conquer dark with light the signal read But lost to Mary was the pledge Her eyes grew blind and burned with tears unshed She felt the piercing thoin crowns edge As if upon her tender brow it prest Her lips paled as a death Uower wreath Knd in each hand theio pearled a fated crest That hid the crimson mark beneath rut now Dawn held her breath her reign at flight And rose fhe sun to keep lii Tr blazomy of lire and aiiiirnl Ight Ensheathed in srow lae d amethj jt - - - And all the canopy grew radiant A flaming easel where unfurled The cross in glory gainst the firmament A rainbow promise to the world And Marys fears took wing as now apice She saw the cross resplendent grow Behold The Christ child wakes and smiles into His mothers face And in His eyes the Virgin sees the suns reflected glow Emily Ruth Calvin J 5 A Christmas Message A touching story of two friends is lold by William Beatty Kingston in his Journalists Jottings They were two officers in the English army who quar reled about some trifle and although they had been the closest of comrades became in consequence entirely es tranged The fact of their separation was extremely bitter to both of them and one Christmas day one of them received from the other a card hear ing a dove with an olive branch The recipient kept the message by him for a twelvemonth and on the following Christmas sent it back to his fellow officer who in turn laid it aside for a year and then dispatched it on the next anniversary Through three suc cessive decades at each Christmastide the mute messenger was regularly sent in token of continued friendship until a year came when it was forgot ten because the present possessor was too harassed by financial losses to re member it In the course of the Christmas week however his wife came upon the card and sent it off to aer husbands friend with a newspaper cutting referrelng to her husbands bankruptcy The returning post brought her a letter enclosing a thou sand pounds and explaining that the sender had just come into a fortune and that in return ror this- trifling sum intended for his friend j rescue he should keep the Christina card as Us most precious possession Slfnffelj - J Christmas in Various Lands f9ffyamiMJi Christmas conies but once a year and it is observed as an occasion of general rejoicing in every civilized countrj In Germany the chief celebration is held on Christmas eve This is the time the Christmas tree is lighted and the presents distributed Many of the superstitions of the North German peasantry at this season of the year are of a curious character Old wives tell young maidens that if they are desirous of ascertaining the trades of their husbands they must on Christmas night listen near the large kettle walled in the stove If the water in it makes a roaring noise he will in all probability be a black smith And there are various other tones of the boiling water by means of which other trades may he deter mined Again to find out what sort cf weather it will he during the iiext j far one must on Christmas eve take on onion cut it through into twelve equal parts put salt on each one and then place them in a row The months corresponding to the cups in which the salt is the following morning if found wet will be rainy In France Christmas day itself Is very little observed From the mid dle of December the streets of Paris are lined with booths where every sort ffli VP WA f 1- II Xyiiti v -- mrnii - m NBfiEir fr m em MS Mi -V M - AC rtZ vt 4T TTY rrrt SiiVi lv vrzhmm of toy and decoration are sold but these are intended for the New Years occasion when the French ex ciiang gilts and good wishes On Christmas eve there is midnight mass at the Madeleine to which immense numbers flock The high altar is pro fusely adorned with flowers and the building decorated all over The peo ple enjoy the music which is very fine but the day possesses no deep significance for thern In some of the country districts especially in Nor mandy and Brittany more attention is paid to the celebration of Christ mas The i arish churches hold espe cial services in honor of the birth of Christ In Italy the churches are illumina ted with thousands of wax tapers To bring the scene vividly before the mind of the reader the folowing de scription by a traveler and an eye witness of one of the churches near Naples may not he out of place The hgh altar was blazing with light On the right lay the presepe manger and on the left stood erect a wax figure of the Madonna while around that impersonation clustered the young country girls A magnifi cent flaxen wig covered the head of uur jauy arm ner cmna blue eyes stared straight ahead of her into va cancy She was clothed in a splendid white satin dress wore a jeweled necklace around her throat and had Sfei mi costly rings on her fingers The pre sepe was on this occasion the great object of attention to all the worship ers It had been expanded from the stall like manger surrounded by fig uresthe Virgin St Joseph and the Shepherds common to all Italian churches at Christmas to a miniature Bethlehem into which was crowded nearly every known animal Trees and flowers bloomed all about and even the star was not forgotten This painted in gorgeous colors was at tached at the end of a pole that pro truded from what might have been the market place of the city The manger itself was empty as the placing of tho figure of the bambino holy child within it is a solemn ceremony re served for the early hours of Christ mas morning The dress of the country people also awakens in the mind touching re flections it is I am assured exactly the same as that of the Shepherds at the time of our Saviors birth and dates back upward of two thousands years It is a sort of smockfrock or tunic drawn tight around the waist by a leathern thong and a cloak over that No shoes people in general go barefoot Country Named for Christmas South Africa was discovered by the Portuguese who were searching for an ocean road to India Bartholomew Diaz was the commander of the two Utile ship3 that formed the expedition in 1S4G Eleven years later De Gama took another Portuguese fleet south He discovered Natal on Christmas day and thus named it in consequence Christmas Greeting i - - wi lw anuieu witn much as a Christmas present - T once ag n The Christmas chimes that Peal forth in merry glee Rng out a song so joyous still A half sad meiou with memories The vear so fraught Does slowly ebb away Into a deep and dark abyss Nor comes another day MIi m - r Wy How silently It takes Its flight llow Utile- docs It know That miinv bursts of melody t I Must suiely with it go Etornltv will have its own And soon this year shall claim And i lasp the son ows and the joys Lnto itself again Another vear doth beckon all WheiHh bright hopes now dwell Ob make them servants to your will Thej anish ah too well Ii Kohlsaaf Seheunemann Margaret Wilson sat by the win dow in the front room of the diminu tive flat It was Christmas eve and she was lonesome O well she would make the best of it She would keep up a sort of forced cheerfulness and forget she was alone She angirly brushed a tear from her cheek As she did so the bell in the hall whirred noisily She went to the speaking tube and called a dispirited Kello Heo came the cheerful response That you Margaret Merry Christ mas Kindly unlock the door and Ill ascend She opened the hall door and waited on the landing Presently from the semidarkness of the place Jack Carl ton appeared puffing prodigiously Margarets face brighttned percept ibly at the sight of him I didnt expect you he said What he exclaimed I desert you on Christmas eve Never She led the way to the front room and lighted the red shaded lamp Carl ton threw off his overcoat and lounged comfortably in a morris chair May I he said drawing a cigar from his pocket She nodded To tell the truth shp said I al most had the blue devils when you came You must entertain me All right he assented affablv Wham I do Sing No she said Tak xnd make me forget its Christmas time Nonsense said he Christmas is a necessary evil and we must face it the best way we can O I brought vou some holly wreaths In a moment ho was hanging them in the windows Say he said over his shoulder I had a present to day Indeed she said From whom Someone who loves me Strange person she commented Exactly he said It was from myself She laughed Havent been feeling Al lately so x uiuppeu m on Dec Higglns this morning he went on What do you imagine the idiotic old pill slinger told me That you are as careless of vour health as cf your language I pre sume Never my lady he replied Told me my breathing apparatus was out ot gear again nothing serious but a ittle care needed Paraphrased Gree ley and told me to go south She was silently watching him Therefore Little Willy hieth him to he agents of the steamship line and buyeth himself a ticket for the boat ot Monday next The same he pre- jus to xm mj sorry- she said For me he said Look dont know what Easter Key here fa ifk That is where Im going where I ws two winters ago you know You Jo Vi A WeSt ami froin S Old Jeff takes you over to Easter in a crazy old launch Youre no enS seasick going over but after therc 0 its all white shelly heath with big blue rollers coming in and palms standing out against the skv and green green everywhere YoU laze around and fish off the reef down there you dont care whether o not you get a bite and shoot at the edge of the ga swamp And be fore you know it your tubes are welt and you wonder whether it 4 better to go back or to laze here the rf - could see old Easter he said Ive halt a mind to develnn i chial trouble myself she auhed Say do he said looking at her S0 earnestly she flushed Dont be silly she said Look here he said v vni confession you have the bdeTifa loneliness Now rm rol i you a Christmas Present tatwllfm you of them rid forever er th at is If youll accept it dnvhe tat would tii7 J bne said I he sai1 heres t if s the other ticket 1 Sh Certah cUoaed this mTrSns bUSht two She raised her hmii f a ue s r SOn west ashed t didnt the cure a UI033 3n she i il t r1 i s V i 1 i i t