St. Tammany farmer. [volume], December 18, 1920, Page 4, Image 4

About St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current

Image provided by: Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA

                
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS THAT PLEASE
JACOBS CANDIES Fancy Boxes
of all kinds.
These candies are too favorably known
for further comment.
FREUNK'S POST CARDS
15 cents a dozen to 35 cents each
The finest and best supply of fostt
Cards ever seen in Covingt(on.
- -..--FOUNTAIN PENS From $2.50
- The IDEAL Pen and an ideal line
For Lady or Gentleman.
= .EVERSHARP PENCILS 1.00 to 3.50
SGold or silver plated. Make an excellent
combination with Pen in fancy box
`'. e4; i STATIONERY 25 cents to $7.50
S6 " .It will pay you to look this stock over.
All Kinds of Imported Perfumes
K OD AKS Military Brushes, Etc.
To Suit Every Pocketbook We believe we have the finest assort
ment of Chri istmas presents in town
Ivory Manicure Sets
Djerkin Toilet Sets 1
Mary Garden Toilet Sets
LET YOUR SH IP COME IN
NEXT CHRISTMAS
J Our Christmas Savings Club
Now Forming
Save a Few Cents Each Week--- Get a Big Check Christmas
- * Commercial Bank & Trust Co.
Covington Mandeville
Christmas in Days of Yore.
There fle unny old and sta:ely cere
monies and niany historical events
Conlnected with (hristnas that are
well wvorth perusing, andll( thatl i'e us
gliiirtm .s .f " , e l lnriellt tinlle-s wheon
our ':fl lrs alnd nd o r f:.ther;' foref:,h
i'rs c(.u i:lit I pa e l :' r,'i ,, : e "
Substitute for a Tree.
We are not ginz to have a Christ
mas tree, writes a corresplondent. To
make them brilliant m:iny pretty little
ornaments are needed and they cost a
good deal. My plan is for a barrel
in place of a tree. I have the barrel
now in a closet. It is covered with old
dark green cambric and the day before
the great holiday I am going to pin
sprigs of evergreen and holly over it.
It will look pretty gay, I think, when
it is filled wi:; the gifts that are go
ing into it now, all prettily tissued
and tied, and my son as jolly Old,
Santa Claus stands over it to delve in
to its mysteries and to proclaim the
names of those who are to solve them.
I am sure we will enjoy our barrel as
much as we would a tree.
Best of All Holidays
l"AKING It all in all, it may
ýi he safely asserted that
s Chl'ristms is t111i merriest and the
: best of ;ill holidayv, and one
\ whl.hI is likely to he observed for
ages yet to come. Nations may
rise and falll, new beliefs and re
I liions may sweep away the old,
but that would seem, indeed, a
dreary and empty year which
brought no merry Christmas in
its annual round. May old Fa
ther Time long spare his holl
day to mankind to gladden the
hearts of all with its coming,
and may each Christmas be
still merrier than the last.
TOM AND THE HIGH COST OF
CHRISTMAS GIFTS.
(By Lysle Ferree Cass)
HIE1 Tini left the farm to
go to the city to mIIa.ke his
'fortune hlo did it conitrary
to thte oinoillsi heatl
slhnking and phophqide5
uf disaister of all the
IurIg lihitrs. Even lis fa
ther iand motlher. with past
years of toil rapidly be
gin;ilig to till uplon theil, \\ere pes
silnistic of his chainces oif sue'ess, nor
could they resist expressing their fore
bodings.
The old folks loved their boy too
well to reprlnch hitm for his desertion
now In the tirst Ilush of his young
manhood, but their hearts did ache at
thought of thlIe separation,
"You'll soon get tire.] of all that
burly-burly there in the city. Tom,"
his old father told him. "And when
you do, I want you always to remem
ber that we've still got a place for you
back here at tihe lI hoLun,-ea .: It
mayn't be as ilne ltd showy :s lois
you'll see there in the city, butll it's
more the sort that the goond I ,trd in
tended you for. Ma and I are hopinir
the best for you. son, but--when you
do find out that your fortunerl's no;
away off there--just pocke': your 1"ride
anid conie :bacik here to uis who love
you.'"
S' young Tom left the farill'll with
sillulig eyes andt a high heart :iil ad
verltured irito thIe grleat. fir-alr.;y city
In quest of fwiite aiil fortunre.
How Ihe fared thlier'e and all the sor
ry disA ptpoinlt llrents lthat repeati tedly
overtook him during thait year of a.
sence wnoul bte l a long anid hlarrowirng
story to tell. lie ctiased his rairrnbow
to its erid, yet folrund the fabletd pot of
gold not there as It. had so conrfidtlently
and hlatantly expecte(d.
Tom madle alpplications for all sorts
of office positions lonly to find himself
quickly rt--estred lbecause of his lack'
of experience in those spec..ic ii
"Well, anyway. I'm young and hus
nd used to hard manual labor,"
cTThe Standard
Beverage of
people who
demand llavor,
Quality and
Satisfaction.
Known everiwhere-Bui it
by the case for your home.
AN HEUSER-BUSCH
ST.LouIS
/.-i/or.s cordially inv/leod
to inspect our plant.
Covington Grocery & Grain Co.
Distributors, Covingtoi .
, . .. .. . S.F ..
Ton conslloledtt hille-el. "I aiin at le;sL
get a job with a contracting gang, as
a painter, or plumber's assistant, or
teamster. That will suffice to keep me
going for a while until the sort of po
sition I want turns up."
But even in those lines of work the
green country boy found himself stid
denly brought up short against a blank
wall. He had no references as to past
city employment and nobody would
hire him after once finding out that hd
had no union card.
Huddled in his shabby overcoat on
a street corner in the squalid section
of the city-the icy wind whistling
around him and biting through his
threadhare garmerts-poor Tom stood
on the evening before Christmas. won
dering where he might find ai shelter
in which to sleep tht. night without
freezing.
Just how long he had stood there.
shivering in the chill wind on the
street ctrner-littlerness agillnst the
great, unfeeling city rnnkling in his
heart-Tom did not know. tie was
startled from his moody re\vrie by
hearing a it harnse. wheedling voice at
his very elbow, saying what was in
tended as a confidential tone:
"How'd y'like a nice hot feed and
Some coin to jingle in yer pants, ho?
Ain't hungry, are ya?"
Whirlitig about, Tom saw that his
accoster was a In ulldt -sized, hlurly fel
low with a tough, .ucilenit visage and
hands slhvetd dtep inlto the side pock
ets of his citt. lie wore a battered
cap with the visor pulled low down
over his eyes andn spat tIalevolently
upon the sidewalk each timte before he
spoke.
"How'd y'like the idea. huh?" hle re
Iterated in his ratuotus, 'lcitilg voice,
sidling ctlosetr is lie stokte midl cisting
a wary eye tip mulil dl.twi th-ie.-nearl y
deserted, glo mny. wvin -l-sn,' td Silr'et.
Tout regard i tl'led hit! \xith Il s;iste and
uttndisgllisetd i: t rilus!. lie Ittloke l like
a typical thiiu. ILit miser-y cilnnot he
too fstitlilus aluro t the com.ai ;nvy it
keeps. Fitiliy Tonii scn('m\ld Ila:ckly
ani atnswe.red :
"What's thatl to you. antivtay?"
"\V'ell, yiou'r' outl:i hlick, ain't ch3:.
pal? Y'er on yetr toipers. stohy Ibroke
andi itntybe \withi ;li emptt y hitlly, too.
hub. ho? Well,. I net'-ed that imuch.
I ain't blin l yet I lin'I \\'ell. 1
need it pI f'or t ittlte I jo l t;;h "it an;1 I
we boIth C;n l lk :1 t la l iin I, o t of
It, see?"
"Youl--ytou itatc - -tiltt'ls.ltt.?" To-n-u
mIluterl''d int:l!l . -mwit h an1 invollln
tar"y o( ·ll'ntra tiona of his heart, l'.
"e'llu slh o t t cythin e lit, afe
crac'kilng or h"e:lki ito a ii.hIousel . I
din '1. Too many peop e "ayilnl up
with the kids , er i 'hrist lnls trees to
night. I in't a ks e . It it lil to hfo l
chaotes like tha. I n lle eiulli ws. We' ,
this l w;nte'l foI i' ;ine1na .soi i
sot it all easy l. farllit ai .a i tr. lYo
kand ty i iu of ori outlier i ill. the
to pay ftor r1'el lo ,.ie hive e eh i c ll
try vent dtI'V mo I han? t\','W l I'lfht
we'li si lit Ol the coin we get after.
w'ards. I've got another guy with a
flivver that's r'udy to mIlrt s about 2
o'clock :h7. morning to haul away the
stuff us fa-t as we pass it up to him
throtugh tl:e alley witdow\vs. We've
got it all framed fur a fake capture
and tyifng_ up of our other pal, the
night watchman, so that the baiils canti
get wise to I'im. \\We'+ willing to split
four ways on the swag if y' wanta go
in on it with us. \Whatcha say now,
bho, huh? Safe and easy as falling off
a log!"
The sinister appearance of the ruf
fian repelled Toni, and the very
thought of the crime they contemplat
ed struck him with fright. It meant
jail, disgrace, if they were caught.
"But I-I never have done any
thing like that in my life," he starIn
mered weakly, teeth chattering in the
biting wind. "It would be criminal.
The whisky doesn't belong to us. It
would be illegal for us even to try to
sell it afterwards."
"Pah!" spat the ugly-visaged man,
sneeringly. "You look pretty, a bird
like youse, talking that way about
what's lawful and all that! Lots that
these rich guys have cared how you
got along since you came to town,
from the looks of you! They've got
fine, warm homes and coin and every
thing. Wotta they care whether poor
bums like us have to go hungry or
freeze in the gutter on Christmas eve?
Why should you (-are about them when
they don't give a rap about you?
You've got to go on living, ain't cha,
huh?"
Tom hunched his shuddering shoul
deit against the wind, trembling as
much because of his own moral Irreso
lution as from the terrible cold.
"Well, ho, how about it? Are y'
on or are y' still so almighty particular
"How'd Y'Like the Idea, Huh?"
about how y' handle the stuff belong
ing to all them rich guys?"
"God !" groane'd p)oor Tom in the
abyss of his wretchlldness. "Yes, I'll
do it! I will! I will!"
The other clapped him roughly on
the shoulder with a saturnine leer and
attempt at jocenlar fellowship.
"\Well, I thought cha would," he
rasped hoarsely. "We'll meet cha at
the corner by the lumber yard at 1:30.
Don't you fail to he there now !"
"I won't! I'll be there all right !"
Tom muttered brokenly. Already In
his cringing soul he felt like the thief
he had pledged himself to become. Oh
heaven, if only
To kill time until the appointed
hour, he hug his numb hands deeper
down into his pockets and wandered
aimlessly on. He had no particular
objective In mind save only the need
to keep. moving lest he freeze or go
mtl with fthie 9i-i!!45 Mt w-oiti,
shrank from letting himself thilnk
the deed to which he was about t
party.
Involuntarily his dragging too
took him back into the more bril
ly lighted retail shopping di
where the crowds already had tl
hurrying home to their famlilesL
happy, expectant kiddies with the
day celebration in mind.
The hours dragged slowly b3
came near the hour for the stove
close. But still there was til
poor Tom had only had
have rushed ..b,. b.u~lg the
he wanted f*by the old folks
dren, and caught the midni
back to the country. He ea
reach there by morning and
a joyous surprise to th
But ah! Why drive hi
traction by thinking of
there was no chance that
And right then, suddenly, he
it lying there, almost at his very
a big, fat wallet, with not a
nearer than a hundred yards of
Plainly someone had lost it in
mad haste to get home.
Tom stopped and scooped it up
a flash. Around the corner he
titiously examined it. BIll
green and yellow, of large deno
tlons-they fairly stuffed it!.
were seven hundred dollars or
-a small fortune to the miserable
who had not even eaten for fou
hours. Money! Money! M
Far more than he possibly could
even in his most extravagant dre
With a gurgling cry, Tom stuffed
wad of bills into his trousers pocke.
threw away the fine leather purse
made a mad dash for the nearest dew.
partment store.
No need now to keep his sial~atr
criminal appointment-no more noe'
sity for
iut the most gladsome feature
young 'Tom's, homecoming that nests
' a. w his biu.shing announcemtnt ft
the old folks ti!at he had hadl ,nn1b
of the bil city: that he had formn
honll t"' i:y17. at, they hild prayvd I.,'
BOXES, OLD CHRISTMAS F
Ancient Custom at One Time De.W'
oped Into Demand as Right and
Became Nuisance.
SlE bestowal of Chris
S Ibioxes is of great antiqul
l and was formerly theboua -
of well disposed peo
, n hn were willing to connlt
ule something toward the Industri
Lnter th, e gift clinme to be deman
as a right and becamle somewhat
a nuisiince. l.onge ago the Roman Ca
oli prieslts haid masses for ev
thing, and if a ship went to the W
Indies they had a hbo in her un
the protection of somne patron sal
into which the sailors put money
other valuables in order to secure the
prayers of the church. At Chri.
mnas these boxes were opened and w5t
thence cailed (Christlias boxes. Is`
Engnlnd the ilay after Christmas l.
known as ":ioxing daliy," from thle
Christmnas lxe's whlich used to be iR
circulation,. anl in the British mtilý
snim can he st.,n boxes covered Wlt'
green c.lize with a slit in the side L
money and presents.