The San Francisco call. [volume], December 22, 1907, Page 10, Image 10

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
(rv^^/^\NE Christmas Eve Scrooge, art old man, still
tt r3r 3 •<Jr w^ ?>at busy in his office. The weather was cold.
#Yt *nd he. could hear the people m the street outside
—^J'^-'^beatingthcir hands upon their breasts and stamping
y their .feet upon the pavement to keep warm. j. ~
G> ' "AT merry /Chrbtmisr Uncle I'LT cried a cheerful
troice.. It wis Scrooge's nephew,
"Bahl'l said Scrooge. "Humbugr
"Christmas s humbug, Uncle?" cried, his nephew;
"you <lo not mean that, I am sure."
"I do.'l said Scrooge. " WTiat right have you to
be merry? You are poor I"
"Come, then," returned his nephew, "what right
have you to be so dismal?^ You are rich."
"Bah! Humbug 1" Scrooge returned;
"Do not be so cross," said his nepficw
VV •Tmy:Tim,^ttd i wheie;V.M»rth»r^ttiid
llxt. Cratchet -
"Here fs-.Martbar mother," said oneof the girls.
"Harrahr'*Tp€re'« such \ » goose. \u25a0 *rarthv"they
<01 ceUed.
"Here'comes father."
In came Bob Crttchet with' Tiny Tim .upon foV
shoulder. Alts, for Tby . Tim! "i. He was lame *nd
could notwalk. And now such."* turtle began j-yu
might ha\-e thought that » roast goose was the rarest
bird in the world., Mrs." Cratchet made the gravy,
Peter mashed the potatoes, Belinda sweetened the ap
ple sauce, end Martha wiped 'the hot plates.
Tiny Tim sat Reside Bob at one co*rner of the ta
ble, • and , the younger Cratcfrets gut chairs up for
everybody. Tiny. Tim beat the table with the han.ile
of his knife and cried •'•Hurrah! 1 ' And Bob said he
did not believe there ever. was such a goose cooked.
5.
3.
SCROOGE cilled his clerk and told him it was
time to shut up the office, and with a growl he
walked out. -- ; v
It was <krk and cold when Scrooge got to his
• home,' but he did not care; darkness is cheiip. He
closed his" door, locked himself in, and sat cfown before '-,
| the fire to eat his mush. It was a very : low fire for •
such a cold night, so he sat verj* close to it. Scrooge
spent little money. on coal and light; in .fact, fie was a
miserable miser." ' -,
"Humbugr* said Scrooge. " He took several turns;
around the room arid then sat down again, resting'
his head back in his chair. His glance rested upon'
the bell :that hung in the fooin. By and by this bell
began to ringV at- rlrst softly, and \ then ",ver/; lmidi^'
and so did ill the- bells in the house;'; Sounds like the
rattling of r/wny chains reached lii»: ears -from the
cellar'door, which. just then flew^ipen. Scrooge fell
Upon Jiis fcilecs in fear, and trembling and clasped his
fcands before nia.face. \u25a0
: "Mercy Vhe cried, r feanng some terrible thing was
bftppen.
>x. :
UJ DON'T know/what /to do," cried Scrooge,.
X laughing and crying in the same breath. "I
am as happy as a schoolboy. A merry Cliristnuis to
everj-bbdy! A happy Xew Year to all the world!.
Hcliohere! Whoop! Hello!" . ;;
Running to the window he opclted it and :']iut out
his head. *
''What day it is. my tine fellow?" he called 't(»ii;
. 'Today? Why; CHristmas I)sty!V
•Mt- is Christmas Day.'-V said Scj'oogeto liiitist'lf;
,*\u25a0 I; haven't inisscd . it. v The spirits have (lone it in ' mm •
niglit:. "They- can do Anything -they like. Of course
"Do you know the market down the next st retVt f" •
"I should hope l did," replied the boy. .
''Go and buy the biggest turkey you can get down
\u25a0there,*;- said Scrooge.: ;
T * \u25a0A.j.Xj *-J-T\^.ii \u25a0*\u25a0 S? J\s\J^i v^ j^L.4^/ _ O4^X\ L/xx 1 w^*^» ' rfl..-#
V*»\\"/. . T^clse can I^be/'-saitf Scrooge, ."when
I live, in such a world of fools/" - ; •
"Well, Uncle, Christmas -has never' done much
forme, but it makes me' happy tiyfctfp i£ and I say
again, a merry Christmas toyou.XJncle," '\u25a0
The clerk in the office said: "Same here!"
"Let me hear . another, sound from " you."_- said -
Scrooge, "and #oz* will keep your Christmas by losing
your job." • ' \u25a0 v
"Well, good-bye and merry Christmas, Uncle, and.
a happy New Year," said his nephew, and*left the room. •
"My clerk makes .fifteen^ dollars a week, and has
a; wife dnd children, and ho is thinking about merry.
Cfiristmas.* ' \VclI, I will give nothing to any one. . 1
M-ish to be lejft alone," muttered Scrooge. \
riT* HEN • came * the pudding, which ' looked like ii
A speckled cannonball blazing from the lighted
alcoho), and decked with Christmas liolly stuck m, the
top." . \u25a0
, "O wonderful pudding," Bob Cratdiut called. "A:
merry Christmas to us all. my dears, and God bless us."
"God bless "every one," said Tiny Tim. _
Then they had chestnuts, apples, cake and candy,
; and by and by they had a song, and they were all happy.
\u25a0 By this time it was getting dark and snowing;
heavily. The spirit took Scrooge along the street, and
the brightness in all the houses was wonderful.
"Spirit," cried Scrooge, "I am not the man 1 wa^. ?
Hear me! I will honor Christmas in riVy. -Heart and try
to keep; it." '.
Holding up his hands inqne-last prayer hc'.^iwj
the spirit's hood, and dress shrink "ami dwindle .away,
and he found himself in his own bed and in his own
room. , .:
z.
to.
4*
44 T AM the Ghost of Christmas Present," said a
•*- voice, and Scroog^looked and saw a figurt all
clothed in a simple green robe trimmed with white-fur.
j\ / "Touch my robe," said the ghost, find Scrooge did
as he was told. His room, the fire, x everything van
ished instantly, and he found himself in the city streets
on Christmas morning. The people were scraping
&now from the pavements, but on they vent until they
came to the fou/-roomed house of Scrooge's clerk. Bob
Cratchet. The* Ghost of Christmas Present and
Scrooge were invisible, but they CQuld see everything.
\u25a0There Mas Mrs. Cratchet, all dressed up in her best,
laying the table, helped by Belinda, her daughter,
while Peter plunged a fork into the saucepan of po*
tatoes. Two smaller Cratchcts, boy-find girl, came
running in,, calling out that they smelt roast goose*
and all the. small Cratchets danced about the table."
8.
iC \^ 0U are fooJi "g' t% called back the boy.
~ A "^*o. no," said Scrooge, "1 am in eanicst
I will give you fifty cents if you get it for me."
Tiiu %y was off like a shot for,thcturkey,;and in
a-shorttime was back with the ver>' biggest turkey
;\u25a0• \u25a0;\u25a0 "take.it :td Bob CratchetV' *vhisp er ed Scrooge.
rn(»bing his hands and laughing. /"He shan't know
vho-sent it It .is twice; the size of Tiny Tim/*
: \u25a0 -The. boy Hook; the turkey and off he sUrted -for
BobV: Scrooge dressed himself aU in his best tnd
went to church and walked about the streets and
u-atehed the people. He patted the-little chiidrc, on
bead as he passed, and wished every one a mem-
Christmas.. He ,raised v lJob Cratchet's salary and
gave many j^sents, \u25a0 ii n d promised many: more *
. He never saw the spirit ngai,y, but he lived a
an^i^vas^-^y
\ lft!: hC CwIIOW t0 Christmas weU.
May that be truly said of all of; us, ;a B i so, 8 s Tiny
.Tim said.God bless us eV«ry ciwi