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jinuALBtRTS "trwR- PAPA says at San ta Claus Is goin' to bring1 to me Another mamma, Christmas time. Ana papa says at she Is beautiful and good and kind And says she hopes at I Will like her awful much and learn To love her by and by. My papa's often seen her, and He says her eyes is blue. The same as mine is, and her cheeks Has dimples in them, too, And she ain't more an half as old's My other mamma was, And papa says I ought to thank Dear, kind old Santa Claus. But I ain't glad, and I don't want No other mamma here I'd rather have him bring me back My own sweet mamma dear— My nice, good mamma that is gone So far—so far away— I'll write to Santa Claus to bring Iler back to me to stay. THE LETTER. Dear Santa Claus: My papa says You're goin' to bring to me Another mamma, Christmastime, At's as sweet as she can be But I don't want no other one. Don't put her in your pack But please, good Santa, won't you bring My own dear mamma back? She said, before she went away, At she would take my hand And lead me out of here, some day, Into a happier land. So don't bring no new mamma here At's younger than she was To take the place we've kept for her, Dear, kind old Santa Claus. If you can bring new mammas round Why can't you find some way To bring a hoy's own mamma home And give her to him, say? I don't want no new mamma here, At's as sweet as she can be But bring my old one, Santa, dear, To papa and to me. —S. E. Kiser. in Cleveland Leader. WISHES HE TOLD THE TRUTH. Smith's Trouble Began When He Sold His Christmas Present. "It pays to be truthful," said Smith, as he picked up a cheap cigar after looking long ingly at the expensive brand he usually smokes. "Some time before Christmas I chanced to remark to my wife that I needed anew overcoat, but that I thought I would try and get through the winter with my old one, as matters were pretty close with me, and I couldn't afford it. "Christmas day, most to my surprise and consternation, my wife presented me with a handsome silklined overcoat that I saw at a glance didn't cost less than $50. However, I had to grin and bear it and try and figure out some way to pay for it. "One day I chanced to meet Jones on the street, and as he was admiring the overcoat an inspiration Hashed over me. "Jones is about my build, and, as he need ed an overcoat, I asked him what he would give me for mine. He said $25, and I ac cepted the oiler so quick that it made Jone9 gasp. "I figured it out this way By accepting $25 for the coat I could manage to raise the other $25 and thus get out of a situation that was keeping me awake nights. "I had to tell my wife some sort of a fairy tale, so I went home that night with a long face and a story about a sneak thief having stolen the overcoat out of my office' while I chanced to be away. I felt like a sneak thief myself when my wife burst into tears. But I burnt the bridges behind me, so I had to carry out my part. "My wife, while down town one day, chanced to run across Jones wearing the overcoat. She recognized it at once, and, calling a policeman, had Jones arrested. "There was nothing now for me to do but to confess the whole tiling and get Jones re leased from behind the bars. The result was that I had a bad hour with my wife and a two-days' struggle with Jones to talk him out of suing me for damages. "But the worst remains to be told. My wife had bought the overcoat from funds that her father had sent her. "I never want to see another Christmas again! I never want to see Jones again! I wouldn't mind if 1 didn't see my wife again until it was warm enough for summer cloth ing!"—Philadelphia Inquirer. A Profitable Combination. "Talk about luck! That man Denslow has it in triple-plated chunks." "How do you figure it out?" "Why, his wife was born on Christmas, and Christinas is also the anniversary of their marriage. You see, the rest of the year is pure velvet for him."—Cleveland Leader. ONE OF THE FOUR-FOOTED KIND. "Do you hang your stocking up, Miss Stout?" "I shall hang up four of them, Mr. Gos ling.'" "Good gwacious! And what do you ex •ct to "A pi Dealer. pect to receive?" "A piano, Mr. Gosling."—Cleveland Plain CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. Its True Promptings Would Make the Dag the Brightest and Best In the Year. It is the day of all the year best and dearest among the time marks of our recur ring calendar. It is the day for peace and harmony in every heart and at every hearthstone. We celebrate God's chiefest gift to man and discordant thoughts or con tentions have no place at the joyous fes tival. All should ring clear and true and sweet as the Yuletime chimes. The spirit of Christmas is that of Ilim whose birth it commemorates. It softens evil, sorrow and hopelessness with the magic touch of charity, for in charity is the em bodiment of all the Christian graces. It gives to goodness a brighter luster and to re solve a nobler purpose. It is a spirit born in every heart that can know its inspiration, without regard to creed or race or station. Of all the days to which man has given special observance, Christmas alone has grown in its power, its beauty and its value. It has been stripped of the grandly devised liturgy and dramatic representations that had their root in heathen customs dispelled by the true Christian spirit, but the change has been one of purification and marks be yond cavil a clearer conception of the sub- lime fact that the Son of Man is the Son of God. That which is divine in our common nature grasps its kingship with Him whose spirit is the spirit of the Christmas time. How potent, how more than human, is this spirit appears best in the universal obedience given to its sway. All, with un varying regularity and with hearty appro val, bow in glad submission to its estab lished customs and emulate the example, if they do not indorse the faith of those to whom it is indeed a holy day. Strange mir acles are wrought by this same Christmas spirit. It brings smiles to the face of melan choly itself. It gives life to a hope that seems dead. It exorcises the evils of hatred, malice and envy. To old age it brings the keen, fresh joys of youth and to childhood a clearer appreciation of the spirit that pre sides at their Christmas revels. But above all, this spirit which is the di vine spirit of Christmas, makes it a day of loving remembrance, of doing good to oth ers, of seeing that all about us have at least one bright and happy memory of the dying year. The admonition of this spirit is not alone for universal rejoicing, but for individual contentment and thanksgiving. There is an ideal reached when merry chil dren dance about the symbolic tree glitter ing with remembrances that fill the cup of childhood's joys, when each branch and twig yields some new triumph of discovery, when the sweet-faced mother and romping father feel not the burden of years, but are warmed with the youthfuiness which the spirit of Christinas makes perpetual. But the day fails of the fullness of its ob servance if something of the same bright cheer is not brought to every home and ev ery person. Those who move in the true spirit of tiie Christmas time realize upon this day, above all others, that men are the children of one God, one earth and one com mon purpose. Good will and self-abnega tion go hand in hand. They seek the poor and unfortunate as did He whose memory we consecrate. They would give repose to the aching heart. True to the promptings of the Christmas spirit, they would make it the brightest, sweetest and best of all the days that make the year. Detroit Free Press. The Festival of Motherhood. Christinas is the festival of motherhood. It calls our thoughts back to our own be ginning—to her who gave us birth—to her to whom above every other human being we owe all that we are for good—all that we might have been and are not. We recall her gentleness and patience with us—her aspirations and prayer for us. We plan and ^OURVHOLIDAY^ SUPPLEMENT.-^- think of what we might have been had she been other than she was. We would to God that we were more nearly what she would have us be. We say: "Would that all chil dren might be so blessed!" She Knew Him. Tom—Did you give Miss Gotrox a Christ mas present? Jack—I tried to. Offered her myself, you know. Tom—And she refused you? Jack—I suppose that's what it amounts to. She said she didn't believe it was right for a girl to accept very costly gifts.—Brooklyn Life. Keeping the Anniversaru. Age disowns novelty. It is true that, the more a wise man learns, the less lie tintls that he knows. Yet it is also true that, the older we grow, the more we see the world repeating itself. In new music we hear strains that remind us of old melodies the preacher's illustrations, the poet's similes, the novelist's plots, all remind us of some thing gone before, and seem like a revamp ing of old stories. And so when the Christ mas anniversary with its tales of the Christ- child, the New Year's day with its good res olutions and big promises and renewed-en ergies, come around, there are those who say: "Let us have done with these trite recurrences." But, if ever there was any thing in the old festival season, it is there still. There are new generations who find no stateness in the antique, hut to whom the same regenerative stimulus comes in the anniversary time. We lived because those who went before us helped us to live let us be a like help to those who are blos soming into younger life.—S. S. Times. English Christmas Custom. The Christmas tree found its way into England through Prince Albert, soon after his betrothal to Queen Victoria. A peculiar English custom is that of passing a sniali tree round the table after the Christmas dinner, from which each person plucks the gift previously placed there for him or her. Under the Mistletoe in the Sunnu South. An Enthusiast. Ted—Tom is a great observer of the Christ mas customs. Xed—I should say so. He'll kiss an ugly girl just because he happens to catch her under the mistletoe.—Judge. The Christmas Dinner Table. Place the table for the Christmas dinner in the center of the room, under the chande lier if there is one. and then see that it is perfectly level and the leaves well fitted, writes Mrs. S. T. Rorerin the Ladies' Homo Journal. From the chandelier hang a larg.' spray of mistletoe or holly tied with scarlet ribbon. If there be a mantelpiece in the room, bank it with holly and ferns. Ar range a pretty corner, blending all the greens used in decorating. Cover the table first with a heavy cotton flannel cloth, and place over it the spotless linen tablecloth. Place in the center of the table a mat of Christinas ferns, in the center of which stand a high fruit dish, filled with polished red apples, grapes and Mich other fruits as may be obtained. Cover the base of the dish with sprays of holly: on each side of this place cut -glass or china dishes filled with bonbons, olives and -ailed almonds. The water bottles and a dish or two of celery may occupy the other places. •vV* One Cause of Trouble. She—I wish Christmas really was a sea son of general peace and good will— He—Well, it might be if somebody hadn't introduced the custom of giving Christmas presents.—Puck. Jest 'Fore Christmas. For Christmas, with its lots and lots of candies, cakes and toys, Was made, they .say, for proper kids, an' not for naughty boys: So wash your face an' brush your hair, and mind your p's and q's, And don't bust out yer pantaloons, and don't wear out your shoes Say "Yes.sum" to the ladies, an' "Yessur" to the men. An' when they's company, don't pass your plate for pie again But thinkin' of the things yer'd like to see upon that tree, Jest 'fore Christmas be as good as yer kin be! —Eugene Field, Christmas at the English Court. There is one custom always gone through with Christmas eve at the English court— the appearance of the great baron of beef. This is cooked at Windsor, for the kitchen at Osborne will not accommodate it. Also there comes a big woodcock pie, a boar's head and the queen's plum pudding. This pudding is a giant, for after part of it has been sent to the queen for her Christmas dinner, enough is left to furnish dessert for all the queen's near relatives—and at the Russian court, in lloumania, at Sandring- ham and in Denmark portions of this gi gantic sweet appear every Christmas day. The Christmas dinner is served in the huge Indian dining-room, which presents a bril liant appearance. Gold plate is used arid gleams from table and sideboard—a yule log in the fireplace hiazes brightly, and the large party of relatives who have been asked to share the Christmas dinner includes many of the younger members ot the royal fam ily who on other days of the year are in bed at the dinner time of the grown-ups. There fore they especially enjoj the occasion Chicago Daily News. A Misunderstanding. "I notice Jenks doesn't speak to you. "What's the matter?" "I can't help it. 1 started to talk to him about Christmas decorations the other day and he thought I referred to the black eyes he got in a broil with a mutual friend re cently."—Judge. 'Twas Ever Thus. Ted—I've been trying to catch Dolly un der the mistletoe, but Miss Autumn seems to be the only one 1 can find there. Ned—It seems to be an instance of the wrong girl in the right place.—Judge. ^£N DADDY® Li E HAVE our share of ups and downs, Our cares like other folk The pocketbook is sometimes full, We're sometimes nigh dead-broke But once a year, at Christmas-time, Our hearth is bright to see The baby's hand just touches heaven When Daddy lights the tree. For weeks and weeks the little ones Have lotted on this hour And mother, she has planned for it Since summer's sun and shower. With here a nickel, there a dime, Put by where none should see, A loving hoard against the night When Daddy lights the tree. The tiny tapers glow like stars They 'mind us of the flame That rifted once the steel-blue sky The morn the Christ-child came The blessed angels sang to earth Above that far countree— We think they sing above our hearth When Daddy lights the tree. The weest kid in mother's arms Laughs out and claps her hands, The rest of us on tiptoe wait: The grown-up brother stands Where he can reach the topmost branch, Our Santa Claus to be, In that sweet hour of breathless joy When Daddy lights the tree. Our grandpa says 'twas just as fine In days when he was young: For every Christmas ages through The happy bells have rung. And Daddy's head is growing gray, But yet a boy is he, As merry as the rest of us When Daddy lights the tree. 'Tis Love that makes the world go round,, 'Tis Love that lightens toil, 'Tis Love that lays up treasure which Nor moth nor rust can spoil And Love is in our humble home. In largesse full and free, We all are very close to heaven When Daddy lights the tree. —Margaret E. Sangster, in W oman Home Companion. CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS. Gift Making One of the Most Gracious Features of the Season. "Gift-making is one of the most gracious features of Christmas, and one that 1 pray may survive all other outgrown customs," writes Florence Hull interburn, in the Woman's Home Companion. "When love and sympathy are close counselors there little fear that we shall make the mistake of leaving out of our little ones stocking the particular thing he has set his heart upon getting. And if his choice is beyond us to gratify, let us come as near to it as we can, and not convert this season into a sort of convenience for ourselves, thrusting upon his reluctant acceptance such prosaic arti cles as shoes, hats and other essentials of the toilet. Far prettier is the German custom of bestowing gaudy trilles that have no use in themselves, but are part of the glitter and fashion of the holiday. hen it is possible nothing is so good to have as the traditional Christmas tree. In after years memory hangs upon it fondly, and we bless in our hearts the kind hands that took so much, trouble to give us pleasure. "Then the stocking hung up on Christmas eve has a romance all its own. The break fast table dressed with holly-berries and gifts piled under snowy napkins is a graceful custom, and is far nicer than the blunt hold ing out of our gifts. Some trouble sho'tr.'i be taken to create the welcome element of surprise. all like it, but it is one ot the greatest delights in a child's experience. He finds out before we would choose to have him that what is looked forward to most eagerly seldom turns out well. It is -sad philosophy, yet true, that it is dangerous to set one's heart on anything in this world. But the love that hides its intention until the hour of fulfillment, and then lets out ts secret in an outburst of generosity. i.» the best substitute that is ever offered for the special Providence—Santa Clau.-, and ad other gracious myths. "An example of generosity is seldom lost upon children if it is true, not artificial. They are very willing to live up to their lit tle knowledge, if we allow them the chance, and part of our duty to the day is to en courage in our young people the same kind liness we cultivate in ourselves. It is so much easier to learn in youth to be genial, sympathetic and generous than it is after embittering experiences have hardened our hearts." The First Celebration of Christmas. Christmas was first celebrated in the year 9S, but it was 40 years later before it was officially adopted as a Christian festival nor was it until about the nflii century that the day of celebration became perman ently fixed on the 25th of December, up to that time it had beer, irregularly observed at various times of the year—in December, in April and in May. but most frequently in January.—Ladie^' Home Jour nal. 'U-Ps Made Him Wait. "Mrs. Hopkins, where is that Christmas present you said you had bought for me?" "Well. Mr. Hopkins, you talked so much about hard times that I put it away until your birthday."—Chicago Record. JUST LIKE A MAN. ill 'j mi it' "John is such a goose he gave dear mam ma half a dozen silver nutpicks and a nut cracker." "Well, isn't that all right?" "Poor mamma, she has dyspepsia, and hasn't eaten a nut for 20 years."—Detroit Free Press.