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page sax the acton free press thursday december 3m ims lira henry brower was obviously wry much annoyed or so one might gather from her terse remarks real ly ahe exclaimed atmppias in this country iff too ridiculous i am quite sure a lot of these so called shortages are quite preventable imagine a christmas market without a turkey that is except for the one marked sokr vhy just a few weeks ago henry when you and i were driving through the country we saw lots of turkeys you remember dont you henry brower looked up from his paper yes my dear we saw plenty of turkeys thats true but i dont think we saw as many turkey as people and if fifty per cent of the people were on the market for tur keys oh you men and your statistics interrupted his wife i tell you hen ry this is serious here ve are with the kings and the mackenzies in- lted for turkey dinner on christmas day and no turkey to feed them and it isnt as if that were all 1 tell you most of the time yesterday i uas shopping for things i couldnt get and then to cap it all 1 dropped in to see mrs char who as you know always helps me out on spec ial occasions and mrs char had the effrontery to tell me hhe couldnt oome said the spirit we will enter but you must understand that the kingdom of understanding has no knowledge of tme it to the past forward to the future er remain with the present here wc look towards the immediate future you will notice it is christmas day at elwoods home elwoods why they live on our street it was their son who was killed in a bombing raid last fall my but what a dreadful christmas it will be for them will tlt said the spirit lookl again mrs brower the younger 3 wood children vrre sitting expectantly at the table as daddy carved the inadequate chick en their eyes were listening with excitement for after dinner they were going to unwrap the present under the tree handmade present which they had made for each other so that the money they would have otherwise spent could be saved for war savings stamps young frank who had just joined the air force and his gill friend who wat beside him had also agreed to the family itact it was mother and leads idea and was meant as a tribute to their jimmy who had given his all now the plates uerc amply served and attempted to resume his slumber but bis wife shook him again no henry you really must wake up i want you to do something for me on the way tor your office well what is it and did you have to wake me up in the middle of the night to tell raer -oh- henry it hat the middle of night its morning and i want you to stop at the butchers and order me a leg of pork a leg of pork exclaimed henry now thoroughly awake yes dear a leg of pork so i can put dressing in it and roast it for christmas dinner when we have the king and the mackenzie here you know i have come lo the conclusion that it is very poor taste these days to make any attempt at an elaborate spread and i am quite sure our guests will feel the same way henry looked at his wife in stunned astonishment welt hi he darned was all he found himself able to utter come this time as ahe had promued with the simple family fare then to help at the hospital just imagine there was a pauw as if by common after all the work i have given that i consent each pair of eyes looked to- ward jimmys picture on the wall woman to let me down like that ingratitude thats what i call it perhaps she wanted more money my dear suggested mr brower thats what i thought u i offer ed her more but ahe said no it was not that she just felt she was needed more at the hospital really i be lieve this war has gone to peoples heads you cant depend on anyone any more of course i know we have to do all we can and 1 am sure rto one helps the lied oros any more than i do but after all this is canada not england or ftussla and x am quite sure there is plenty of thing the storekeepers say they havent got if they would only release them for instance mrs court bought jcllypow- ders at the b and c store yesterday but today when i asked for some oh no they hadnt got any i was quite sure they were holding hack so y offered them twice the real price if they would let me have just two backets you what asked henry unbe lievingly i offered to pay them more ktammered his wife somewhat taken aback by her husbands expression but alma that was awful whv- thats the very kind of thing that leads to inflation for heavenk take dont try anything like that ngnln now look here supposing we thresh this dinner huklness out you have invited the kings nnd the macken zies for christmas dinner all right you cant get turkey so what well nil you have to do is look around for something else thats all chicken goom duck or or pork or something he concluded uncertnlnly then he brightened again and ill tell you something else you dont need to worry about getting mrs char or anyone if you just get a simple meal you know something you can prepare yourself then bill jim and x will wash the dishes now hows that for a solution to your vex- aclous problem oh henry exclaimed hu wife you are quite impossible as if there were nothing more to getting dinner than putting it on the table and wash ing dishes afterwards heally i dont know what 1 am going to do and i am quite sure i 4hall never sleep to- nlghtl well almabrowr wvnt to bed that night and henry said fcneslepth xery well indeed but mrs brower said no she had hot and she didnt see what henry could know about it anyway because every time she look ed at him he was sleeping like a log and she also claimed she hadnt luvn dreaming either but she admitted what happened may have been a visitation according to her account next mor ning this u what actually took place she was turning restlessly in bed and looking enviously and resentfully at henry sleeping as if he hadnt a care in the world while she was still worry ing away trying to figure out how to gtve a really sumptuous dinner with out turkey or jellies or hi rod help suddenly she heard a voice calling mrs brower mrs henry brow er and again it came mrs brower mrs henry brower yes said alma i am mrs brow er but tell me who is jt calling and what do you want and where arei you for i cannot see you no you cannot see me mr brow er for i am a spirit the spirit of understanding and i have come to and will take you to famllar you places so that you may see them again but with different eyes then there tame a cold wind that made alma brower shiver with ap prehension and it stayed with her un til they reached the shelter of a mod- est home where the atmosphere sud denly changed and alma felt as if something were warming her blood ilk old win then proudly hut with a husky voice daddy quote tiny tims wieclal pray er which seemed so appropriate for this special occasion cod bless us everyone he said and n fervent amen was heard in unlwm from those seated around the table i would you call that a dreadful j chrutmas mrw brower nsked the spirit noo it isnt dreadful nt all said alma wonderlngly why they even j looked happy yes agreed the spirit happy with an inward peace and then he added come we will make another call oh i know this place said mrs brower it is the home of mrs char and x know ahe always makes so much of christmas for her family but what has happened i dont understand where is mrs char and look at the children they are eating bread and jam surely that isnt their christmas dinner t came here last night replied the spirit and mrs char was explaining to her children how badly she was needed at the hospital it seems the staff wanted to give the patients n q treat but without oxtroheftj they couldnt do it the chalih1ldren hocnuse they had so little knew the value of nn extra treat nnd bemuse they nlso knew that many of the patients wore sick nnd suffering they nil agreed to post pone their simple celebrations uhtll the day after chrlstmns and 1 thought mrs char was un grateful whupcrcd almn come said the spirit tertely we will make yet ntiother visit this i mo the house at which they stopped was an ornate duelling in deed the home of the joneses of the district a little ripple of ex citement ran through mrs brower the whole neighbourhood was some what in awe of the joneses but they had always been respected that is until recently when rumour had gone the rounds that a country store could be pretty well stocked with provisions that were stocked away in the jon eses basement certainly the dining table today bore little evidence of a shortage of either rationed or unrntloned goods a maid who was obviously nervous was watting on the table when whe withdrew a famil argument w again resumed selective service ia3 caught up at lust with gilbert the eldest son now mother nnd son were both urging mr jones to use his in fluence to get his won transferred ton safe job but mr jones was un expectedly adamant perhupa some inner shame perhaps the memory of the sacrifice given by other promising young men had made him realise that his son if only for the sake of his own selfrespect should at least take his chance along with the rest of the toys of his generation norman the second son had his own personal grievance he had jut turned sixteen and had been confid ently expecting a coupe for christ mas but what had he got a movie projector and a war bond kid stuff i well hed show them he had date tonight at the casino and by the lord harry he wasnt going to j hurry home either hed show vnem he wasnt any kid mrs brower turned away from the unpleasant family scene come she said to the spirit of understand ing i want to go home but there was no answer from the spirit and suddenly mrs brower re alised she was at home yes and there was henry still sleeping she looked at him happily henry was really rather a dear and as it she wanted to make sure she shook him vigorously henry wake up huh was smatter its early yet and henry rolled over know rqijlrmknt fl ready on national rail unlm wlta the first swirl of knowflakcs operating and mechanical forces on the can national railways tense bit and cas a wary eye on the baro meter irioi to that a lot of inspect ion and preparation has been under way th real battle of the railway a gainst the winter snowstorms begin nlng in the spring and summer months when all anowflghtlng equip ment goes into the companys shops to receive complete overhaul old man winter may now offer his worso wiyreu said c k mccoy assistant chief of car equipment for the not lonal system who explained all aux iliary equipment consisting of nine types for a total of 271 knowplow usually has a lot of work to erform from december to april in clearing tlic right of way of snow and sleet during those five months of last win ter train mileage operated over can adian national hallways totalled t26 762 the far greater part of whlcn was accounted for by knowplows and work trains transporting crews to the battle with snow drifts uintkh cfjotiiefl ktoioixy ibacxical now is the tlmo when inhabitants are changing into winter clothes tills does not only apply to the ind ian nnd the trapper but to humor ous wild creatures some of which brown hares nnd weasels and mott led ptarmigan arctic grouse will quickly acquire coats as white the snow that will blanket their homeland specimens of these ani mals in the royal ontario museums study collections show various stages in this change it is not accomp lished by some mysterious transmut ation of colour in the old coat as has been supposed by some people it como about by the replacement of hnlr or feathers a doffing of the old nnd growing the now winter clo thes for wildlife unlike those of hu mane are not designed to bo re pealing the ttyle for this year as every year will bo strictly practical the sunday schoolj lesson farm implements hcarcti london cp british farmers will lay almost anything for old art icles at nn auction sale of old im plements in essex a twohanded motor driven cultivator which the auctioneer expected to go for 90 w was bid up to nearly s10000 before it was sold kiiakk tnoti kiiipment to western brekdeu in prvwar days shipment of silver foxes provided considerable traffic for canadian national rallwuys express according to harry e whlteman thy tormina agent but these shipments diminished to such a rate that whim a consignment of six sliver beauties passed through the central station other day they attracted the attent ion accorded to rare sights theno rarefullycratodsllverf wcamt from fnrm in prince edward island nnd the lake st john district of quebec and were being shipped lo a hieedor at swift current sak they travel led in jtyle on the express car of the continental limited provided with a plentiful supply of concentrated food tablets and these with mensural supplies of water made up their rat ions for the journey may need wheat the present situation in sicily and southern italy carries with it con siderable interest to north american agriculture durham wheat for maca roni or bread is the principal variety of wheat grown in sicily and about onethird of the agricultural area of the island is used for wheat produc tion the prewar acreage was close to 2000000 acres and produced about 12000000 bushels however neither sicily nor southern italy normally produce sufficient wheat to meet local demands and with the most of the 1943 crop probably lost through the war there should be an outlet for north american wheat in the island of crete while grain is produced heavy imports are re quired because agriculture is confin ed largely to scattered plains and only about third of the total area of the lsland is suitable for agricul tural undertakings the principal crops are olives grapes ahd other citrus fruits coits great love and his cikt golden text for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever beueveui on hint should not perish but have eter nal life jno3 16 lesson textatatt 2 12 time b c places jerusalem and bethlehem exposition i the wise men seeking jesus to worship him l 2 the certainty and exact and verbal accuracy of gods- word come out conclusively in this passage seven hundred years before mlcah had pro phesied that he who was to be the ruler in israel whose goings forth have been from of old from everlast ing was to come forth out of bethle hem mlc 3 2 but the who was chosen to be the mother of jesus did not live in bethlehem but in nazar eth but men who were utterly un conscious of gods purposes and pro phecies by many decrees and in many ways worked together so that mnry was brought u bethlehem at the time of our lords birth ami thus gods word was fulfilled and hu eternal plan carried out tluko 2 1fi i 76 10 the sure word of pro phecy spoken over aven centuries lie- fore by a man who was borne along by the holy spirit as thus fulfilled to the very letter in pile of all the cunning of great men through their very wickedness gods purposes and words were fulfilled theui wise men from the east wore the ancient magi we are sure thnt be that lives up to the light that he has will got more ac 10 15 3032 but the man who refuw- to live up to the light that he has v ill lose even that light matt 25 29 2 the 2 11 12 so because they studied the ktars and depended upon the stars for guidance god led them by n star god always meets a man where he is we should imitate god in this our attempt to lead man into the light the light that led them on was dim only starlight but it was the best they had and ns thoy followed it faithfully cod gave them fuller huht that of hu revealed word and following that they find him who is the light of the world jno 8 12 in their earnestness to find the king they took n long weary journey but their labor was abund antly rewarded n herod seeking jesus to kill him 38 the tidings that came to herod that the king was como should have brought him joy but in reality they troubled him for he wanted to be king himself so many a heart to day that ought to welcome christ ns klng jrfjt is troubled nt the declaration that christ is king for we wish to lw king ourhclves cut not only herod was troubled but all jerusalem ns well jerusalem the city of the great king whose whole glory was to center in him was un willing to receive him when ho came was troubled nliout hu com ing instead of rejoicing nt it 3 no 1 11 herod thought the proper place to go for information about thcr christ was to the scriptures in that he was right uno 5 39 if he had studied the bible as he ought for himself it would not have been nec essary for him to go to the chief priests and scribes to tell him but runyn kings and many common people instead of searching the scrip ture for themselves depend upon the theologians for their information herod was very thorough in his search to tlnd out about the christ be gathered nil the chief priests and all the scribes he inquired diligent ly of the wise men ho told them to go and senrch diligently he laid his plans with great skill he was bound to make sure but he had left god out of his calculations so in spite of his thoroughness they nil came to nothing the scribes were well hi structed from the scriptures and per feci tyorthodox thoy knew just where the christ should be born but the had no interest in his coming there is much of that sort of scrip ture knowledge and orthodoxy still it did the scrlles no good chrut must be born in bethlehem for thut it was written by the prophets and whatever is written in gods word must come to pai hi the wise men finding jesus 912 as soon as the wise men have re ceived the desired information they start immediately to find the king whom they sought again god leads them by star and leads them to the very spot where the young rhlld was they were more accustomed to being led by stars than any other way and god adapts his leading to our necessity while herod and jerus alem had been troubled at the thought that christ was come the wimj men of the east rejoiced with exceeding i great joy to and him i those who enjoy the largest priv ileges oftentlmes least appreciate j them and those who have the least light are most eager for more matt i 8 10 11 there h an eagerness to j hear about christ today in heathen lands thnt is sometimes lacking in j socalled christian lands there is no greater joy to the true heart than that of finding jesus when they en her worship may not have meant to them ail that it means to us but it is right to worship jesus heb 1 6 when they had worshiped they presented unto hlra their sdfts that is the true order first worship then giving they save itlra their very best gold and frankincense and myrrh p 72 10 ilk note the conduct of the wise men 1 they sought jesus 2 they found jesus 3 they rejoiced over jesus 4 they worshiped jesus 5 they gave gifts to jesus wintek keeping op house plants one common cause of failure with houseplants in the winter is that they are kept in rooms that are far too warm sixty to sixtyfive degrees is the ideal temperature for house plants a good rule to follow is to try to keep the room as cool as is consistent with personal comfort as a general rule flowering plants need all the sunlight they can get especially during the winter months kerns should he placed where there will he an abundance of light but not direct sunlight foliage plants are more tolerant of insufficient light but in winter time they may he platvd in direct sunlight windows should ixr tight to prevent direct draughts on the plants a dry ntmosplure is to 1m avoided because it not only stunts the plants but favors the incnnw of certain pests kuch as red spider and thrips mois ture in the air nmund the plants may he increased by standing the pots in shallow trays filled with wjbleu gravel or uou nnd keeping this mix ture molnt a mixture of two parts iood gard en loam soil one part rotted manure and one part sand will generally fulfil the soil requirements for potted plants tiiim will allow both nlr and water to pass through the soli rea sonably well kurt her provision for drainage may he made by plnclng u layer of small stones or similar mat erial on the bottom of the pots where the holes nre to curry off the txcess water tqu ami nans wkabs cambridge england cp the submarine shark was bo and machinegunned for six hours after being sunk off norway in july hmo said torpedoman joseph coleman when he arrived here after being rep atriated from germany how the submarine had been lost had prev iously been a mystery important changes in train service there will be certain in train service between decem ber 24th and january 2nd consult your local c n r agent for full information canadian national rys difficult operation london cp an operation to open tuclloru of n newlyborn girls head to allow normal expansion of the hraln threatened by the itoneb o the tkull closing up too soon haf been performed in britain for the first time nt great ormond street hospital here the operation was u success oil iilm that iong distance call iiomr at flirifl- mas is tlio big even of llio day ilvsroiiiiliiig on it fjctm make sum tlut lie and thousand like liim wont io liaauoitite4l it means giving up our own christmas telephoning no that warcrowlrl lines will he free lo handle thr fluoil of holiday greetings front naval army and uir form mmu across the country it means sending tur chrilmia message ly mail should you find you tnumt tcfepltouc- oiitoflown try lo do so us many days lieforw the holiday us possihlc and especially avoid all noncmteiitiil call l dimtmit or warhusy centres winning the war is a nonstop jolt and urgent message nt u it go tli rough 0 4c 5iv u utiss tered the house they fell down and worshipped jesus they saw mary his mother but they did not worship our meiinf ant js tint htaruttst stntvtt by ttw hand of gad ar cliihtcr of htura in a winter uky s hhudowtf of dihtk drifting into night tdiiminer of hiiow in the hturlight on field und roadway und roof glow of lighted windows patterning th ilarkneaa and dthtmtt chiinet trembling through the htillnetui v chritumuhtide und the new year beckoning a fitting neaimu for quiet thought and thank fulnetm v for peaceful dayt and quiet kiighu for home hccuro and the laughter of little children for food enough and to spare for the right to live an tree men live l4 wi ltt grateful lar for thti ikounty of the harvest gath ered in for the fertility of our field for the rich rehourcet of mine and forest and waterway for the glorious strcngthoth canada lt us nv thanks of all we have endured the hucri- ficcs wo have mude of unaccuhtomed tank und hterner effort and of our high reholve that freedom nhall forever live let u be prtmtl jr in all we shall endeavour in all we must achieve in journey through the darker daya that come before the dawn in our unshaken faith in victory let us be unafraid tgf nigh upon two thousand years ago a star led the wise men to the- manger- throne at bethlehem there to hail the advent of the prince of peace so may the steadfast stars inspire us to mightier effort and to greater sacrifice that evil may be overthrown and that the day may awiftly dawn when war is not and hale it dead when nation ahall in contort tread the quiet ways of peace the hydro electric powei commission of ontario jfemsa 4c