HI I THE (fTRTSTMAS <JtOJ?E |W
! Christmas Gifts For All
LOWEST PRICES FOR GOOD GOODS
' Ji
> HANDKERCHIEFS ~*WL \\ A I f/Afliflfll PYWAN IVOEY- ''
; SHAVING BRUSHES, ' sfl^K^w!f J ? ll^ JAPANESE BOXES, !|
| COFFEE CUPS, Sll^^^^^^P^^^B ; V >S^> II PERFUME, y'
HANDKERCHIEFS, V*^^ ALKI SLEDS, No. 3, l|
For the Baby For Little Sister For Little Brother
SLAM BANG BINGO DOLLS, 20c DOLLS, 70c and up IVES MECHANICAL TRAINS, $1 up jl
RATTLES, 10- and upwards DOLL BEDS, 75c and up FRICTION TOYS, 75c and up \
STUFFED ANIMALS, 10c and up DOLL BUGGIES, 75c and up HOBBY HORSES, $2.00 and up !'
FLOATING TOYS, 10c and up DOLL FURNITURE, 15c and up BUILDING BLOCKS, 25c and up '!
CAPS AND MITTENS, 15c and 30c TOY KITCHENWARE, 15c BALLS AND TOPS, 10c and up ![
Xmas Candy 10c per half pound and up. Xmas Tree and Home Decorations |l
THOMPSON'S VARIETY STORE
The Place Where SANTA CLAUS Came J!
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| Christmas Dinner | ' t^^^m |
"" Hm* _mmß 'Ht^Bmmß'^ Mm mmF
§ Is always a big feature of I I jtSSt" ■ *: '
I Christmas Day. j -^^Ml
| We can supply the big fea- 1 ( y_ _' vT^IF^K AX '
§ lures of that dinner. § f T V'■ W«( _' '
i 1(1 send yout « ™Urn
(CITY MARKET I V™ *°™%aj3
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I Why Not Uive a Christmas Plant?! fefo ,ndt mgm
! NEILLS' GREENHOUSES ~l hUS 1 I.m*
I Phone 366 Pullman, Wash. - — .^^A^Aw^ ' ggC
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JCAP^
C> ■>■ JJLi."\ the '"'' town of
i 1* J ;.HflT "New France," a
j&&(09 I few miles from Que
JGSMjjfl JUL bee, there lived an
IS^gSjRgjMBsJS: old man by the
'""^SVyN name- of Perry Fan-
IssAgJ^ 1 ' lihlon. Be was
r*" __\ about sixty years
, mmmmms 0 f aKt>( v .,;_ __
old bachelor, who, with 'he excep
tion of a housekeeper, lived alone
In a great weather-beaten 0.-: l man
sion on the river road. 11.- lived
H very secluded kind of lit -. was
seldom seen upon the streets of the
town, and attracted very little atten
tion when he was seen. There were
hardly ten people in the place that
knew the man or anything concerning
his life, j
Yet there had been a time In the
life of Perry Fanchion when he had !
attracted a great deal of attention, !
and won the sympathy and pity of
the whole town. That had been over
forty years ago, and in the meantime
the town had changed from a village j
info a city. The old families had died
out and the younger generation hud
forgotten the history of Perry Fan
chion. j
It was Christmas eve night and bit
terly cold. Sleet and snow drove with
incessant fury against the great French
windows. The heavy old oak doors
rattled and shook, while the wind
shrilled mournfully among the many
old-fashioned gables and chimneys.
Perry sat gazing into the fire. His
hair was snow-white, his eyes were
dark, and tonight they had a tragic,
gloomy look.
On the old colonial furniture the
sinister faces carved th.-i.- grinned hor
ribly and the Iron claws seemed to
■'Well, Well—l Hope the Children Are
All in Bed."
grip the floor hard, as though they
were repressing some dark emotion or
evil thought.
Forty years ago this night Perry
was a happy man, for tomorrow be
was to marry the beautiful Miss Net- !
ly Leroy, daughter of the rector of
St. Agnes.
But that great factor in the events
of a man's career, fate, willed other
wise, for only a few days before the
wedding was to take place the brlde- j
to-be was stricken with a fatal illness
and less than a week later was laid
away in the village graveyard.
After the funeral Perry Fanchion
shut himself up, almost alone, ,n the
great house. Time moved on and peo
ple forgot! One by one his friends
left him, until at last he stood alone, a
stranger la a stranger world!
About this time the poorer people,
the destitute of the city, became aware
of the fact that they had a friend,
a very good mysterious friend, mys
terious because, try as they might (and
.lid) they never c^uld discover his
Identity.
One time when a severe landlord
was about to turn a poor family out
of the home they lived In, because
they were not able to pay the rent,
that family found the required amount
and a short note asking them to ac
cept the money as a gift, by the fire
place. Several times incidents like
this occurred among the unfortunate,
hut as to where these mysterious pres
ents came from, or by whom present
ed, none could ever tell. But the chil
dren Suspected Santa Clans of having
a hand in the matter.
Tonight as Perry sat by the fire he
was very sad aud very, very lonesome.
The town clock struck ten. Perry
arose, donned a huge fur coat to
play his little act bravely. A worn,
tired smile played around hi* usually
grim mouth as he thought of the scenes
of Joy and poverty he would witness
this night. He crossed the town with
rapid, nervous strides and entered a
little family burying ground. He was
gone for thirty minutes und when ho
returned his face showed traces of
deep emotion.
"Good-night, sweetheart, I have wait
ed forty years; surely the end cannot
be far distant!" he murmured as he
softly closed the gate.
There came a jingling of sleigh hells
— a sleigh drove up, he entered and
was whirled away over the snow.
In a tiny little hovel on the edge of
the city five little headed chil
dren, dressed in old and ragged but
clean clothes were grouped around a
small tire trying to keep warm. Their
mother was sewing for a living, her
husband having died several years ago,
leaving the children to ln-r to provide
for, and being it woman of good educa
tion, sho was trying to rear her chil
dren as best she might She was hav
ing a desperate Struggle and day by
day she saw with despair the fight
growing harder and harder.
"Mother, when is Santa Clans com
ing?" inquired little Billy.
Fur a while mother didn't seem to
want to say anything. A large tear
fell silently on her work. With a
hasty movement, almost angrily, she
brushed it aside.
"Perhaps he won't come at all!" she
replied with a little catch in her voice,!
"N-o-o-o-o!" came a chorus of un
believing voices from the fire.
"He is coming I"
Suddenly there came a jingling of
bells and a sleigh drew up in front of
the home.
"Whoop!" yelled Johnny. "Come on '
kids—Santa Claus! My eye 1"
In an Instant the fire was deserted '
and five little heads were peering eag- '
erly out of the door. j
"Gee willikins! Look at the toys!" I
"Well, well," said Santy in a loud '
voice, pretending not to see the little J
ones. "I hope the children are all!,
In bed tonight, for if they are not, 111
will not come again." M
Five curly heads vanished in a sec- !
ond, and when the old gentleman en- H
tered the room all were tucked snug- !'
ly in bed—that is all but Billy, who ,
in his excitement and hurry pulled all, <
the cover up over his head and left ' I
his feet and body uncovered. <
Santa Claus laughed and dumped the i
Santa Claus laughed and dumped the j
contents of his pack near the hearth. ' <
There were drums, dolls, tin soldiers, (
books, candy, nuts and fireworks. M
Just at this moment Billy's toe j
rubbed up a splinter, and there came ! (
a subdued grunt from the bed which N
changed to a fitful, sleepy kind of M
cough as the "old fellow" turned J
around. The snores redoubled in vol- l <
ume. Old Santy handed mother a' J
sealed envelope and departed before !J
she could Sufficiently recover from her (
confusion and surprise to thank him. I
It was addressed to her, so she broke H
the seal. The sum and substance of it ! j
was, that the house and property of j (
Fanchion and something like five nun- <
dred dollars were to be hers upon the i <
death of Perry Fanchion. - M
So at last the identity of the mys-
torious Santa Claus and the friend of L
the poor and unfortunate was dis- j I
closed. i
Her home was only one of the many ; J
to which lie had been that night. To- ' j
morrow they would honor him. They <
would come one and all to thank him, (
to praise him, to bless him—perhaps H
to beg for more as the case might be. ' J
The sleigh stopped at the Fanchion <
homestead and old Santa Claus paid <
the- driver and entered the house. I
Perry was weary and as be walked J
down the dark, gloomy hall he almost {
dropped with fatigue. Fatigue of the [I
body, weariness of the soul, the sore- '
ness of a broken heart, all conspired ]
against him! Wearily he slid out of!]
the disguise. Ills eyes wandered with A
a pitiful expression over the empty, It
dark room. None came to welcome P
him. No one to love or care for him. ,
She had gone on before. Perhaps she
was waiting for htm up there now. He
didn't know. The blood-chilling faces
grinned and the cruel claws gripped. :
He drew one of the heavy old chairs !
up before the dying embers and cast !
down, bowing his head far over Into i
the grate. Closer he huddled. What i
was this dreadful chill that seemed to :
be taking possession of his body? His i
great sorrow preyed upon him. j
"Oh, God!" he murmured; "I can \
stand it no longer."
Something gentle and soft stroked j
his hair! his hair that was white as j
snow. Two arms encircled him lov- <
ingly.
He looked up, at first unbelievingly, j
and then a wonderful smile lit up his ;
face.
"Nelly!" he exclaimed, joyously. "At
last you have come for me. I knew you
would! I thank Thee 0 —
His voice trailed away in the dis
tance.
The fire died out and the faces no
longer grlned, but seemed to smile
in the darkness. Far off, just as the
dawn was breaking, the chimes rang
out their message. Was it fancy or
did a soul far out ln space echo:
"Glory to God ln the highest and
on earth peace, good will toward men."
Perry was at rest I