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* ' !/ c t) i \ v . *> \ . . How Christmas Came to Millicent Ann By Fullerton L. Waldo MilMcent Ann had an old dH, a ears, for a mother can hear her ch'JM great deal, and the three children the oJ&era in searching the nooks and It wa* unbelievable. Father, mother, j very old doB, for i*-4iad belonged to calling when nobody eise can. \ danced together while their father corners of a house so barren that the the babies and Millicent Ann had to her mother before her. The doll's "Why, what is this?" said a soft whistled a tune that he remembere.1 hunt was easy. keep pinching themselves to make name was Dora, and Dora was as rag- end sympathetic voice to Santa Claus |from the time that he had work and The spoons were rattling in empty s/(a ^ they were not dreaming. The ged and as dirty aa Millicent Ann her- a few minutes later, iwas paid fee it saucers when there came a knock at beautiful lady must have imagined, 1 elf. But as you have seen a dog that i It was the voice of a very beautiful Mmieenit Ajin gave her father a pec- the deer. or f^und out about the whole family, i faithfully stuck by a poor faori&y that and richly clad young woman, damtily ture from a life-insurance calendar] A caller except tike landlord, to There were warm things to wear for! maltreated and unJterfctl him, 80 Dora stepping across the suiewalk to her;tv.at sihe had fcund in an as-h barrel.! whom they owed $17 was a highly everybody soft furry things like' the dott went on living hopefully and ; limousine and pausing to drop a coin j Sarah Jane and Ba<by Jim each gat a unvsual event. this Christmas e-#ei's own things 1 phwdrily wni* people who never to-aeh- into Saatu's kettle 'pair of etodangs rhat their mother, "MiHy, you run and see!" said her that Mr*. Dobson had told the children ' ed a sponge to her smudged and sooty , With the hand that was not hidden had made, and a sf-ek of ltmon candy mother, nervously. "TeM him well I that princesses wore in the fairy face or thought of giving her a new by the enormous white muff she point- and a green a-ppfe. M&icent AMI got gueis j t oon't make much dWcTOKe tales. Mrs. Dobeon had to remember dress- or a new wig that d!ld not *ow ?** tne 1 P. dilapidate. I tonn or a pa.- ot red tlannei mittens made what you tell him. We can't say any the stories, for they had no books in the cheesecloth here and there whsre J ***" ^'f 5 ^ "J5 fl . amon f u* 11 !! 11 ^! m 1 i^iPL!^ an un<lersl ?' rt . the.more'n what we've said already only the house except a Bible and a few oOd the hairs had come away. . raete at the "bottom at the kettle. ; rest of yh-Kh her father continued to . it does seem too bad he shou'd come almanacs. Then there was a most j For the fact i*. in Miliicent Ann' S ;^o^mu^ have 'been very much w* Mother end fetter had; noting in when weV e makin' believe were wonderful dinner, part of it all ready' there was no money to be Mt~ < th ^ ( .^ >nt ^ at t .v bet r en r l fT W f"* ^ f*^ 1 ,* kuM - rfcey hevin ' our Christmas dinner." i to eat-a rurt turkey with potatoes, . i .1 i i j i n*V1t1*B CHCf rfwr ooflxirA orw> Ttno KJ*I*IT ITITI . n.-i I i>.i r>in<.*-* .>* loi.i.l K..-.# i_~.x._.i ^a -i .* & _ _ . , . " it was a other vegetables and oranges. MiUJcent Ann roee with her cheek* turkey and cranbeny sauce, and went to where Dora sat and threw her arms around the do!4 and aiui ki&eed her. "You did it, Dora; you were the one that bri.tght us Christmas. Wasn't rf:, nsother? Isn't sihe the mct beaiu- t.Lfuj-st. loveliest doU there ever wa in all the world?" * The Kanomaker of London, Eng>- when f l*t foot and held her up to , the mornirjg's boreakfast. tered away on a bcdiy that had been, fed once and for all with sawdust, and never cried for cold or for lack of a baked- potato. There were too many little laving bodies in that h<*ise , that were always wanting something ; too many small hands to be mitten- j ed and feet to be shod. Worse than that, there were voices that were lift- 1 ed as quickly as the flame of kerosene I leaps from a soaked stick when] anything went wrong and some-hing ! was always going wrong. Miiilacent Ann was eight, and Sarah j Jane was four, and Baby Jim was two , so Miilieent Ann had to do all the] gwing in and the giving up, and about ; all she had left in the world was thej, turkey-red dress she wore, and Dora the doll, and a strong faith that every dog she met was her friend, and a 6>mi'.>e that wouldn't come off and found an answering smile even in the set and' frozen, expressionless features of Dora, Hwl'icent Ann believed in Santa Clauj, as she believed in fairies. She had never nvet a fairy, but she had seen and spoken with Santa Glaus. He stood on a cold, windy corner, dressed in turkey-red like the stuff of which her d'less was made, and he had a Itoiig white beard, and he rang a be'.l to call attention to a kettle by his Bide, and every now and then Milii- oent Ann saw somebody pause and drop something into the kettte in- stead of taking something out. Mil'd- cent Ann wished that she diared to peep over the edlge and find out what it held. "Where's thu sleigh 'n' thu rein- deer?" she asked, not doubtfully, but hopefirl'ly, as though he had them hitched somewhere just out of sight and might ask her to take a ride. "Had to leave 'em behind," said Santa, in a thin and quavery but good- natured voice. "Aint yc<u got any presents for people In there?" asked Millicent Arm, pointing to the kettle. Santa Glaus shcok his head. "That's to buy things with," he said. "That's to put thing* into, not to take 'em out. It's the Salvation.. Army," he exp alined. Mil'licent Ann bad no idea what thej Salvation Army meant She did not see any sign of a soldier or a g"un. She wouW net have been afraid any- way, for the eyes of the saint were miid and blue as the sky, and it was plain that he was fond of Httle girls, and would protect her against an army, if one came. "If somebody goes 'n' puts somep'm in that kettle, does anybody get it 7" "Yes," Kid Santa. "We give peopte bread and' meat and chickens and po- tatoes and shirts and stockings and shoes and things." "Can anybody put samep'm in?" "Ye," said Santa. MflHcent Ann was lost in thought. "Don't you ever get cold 'n' hungry sometimes yourself waitin' for peopte to put things in?" "Oh, yes," said Santa cheerfully. "I don't mind." "Why not?" persisted th littl* girl " 'Cause it's for the Lord." . Millicent Ann lifted her eyebrowe t . _,.. . in surprise. "I dfi-dn't know you work- ""pitying ^daylight ed for anybody." Wt r "' *? read the letter i - * ., ". lm P r isoned m Dora's dress. . Here," she said 1 to Santa ,>h f ^ be<J , instead *l When ** **> r with an ex- Christmas turkey. For dessert there : beautiful young lady y ** ^'^ c 8 " 1 without mHk from! "Does this doily live hare? What a feast it was! The beautiful 900,000 pianos annually; last asked lady would not stay to share it with _ ---- _. y I the beautiful one, holding out Dora, them. But before she went she took world, with an afvexage annual pro- duction of 500 instruments. This would mean a normal production at year, only however, production reached 700,000. GOLD, FRANKINCENSE ha _ ! * P* 1 * d Santa stopped' rin>gin.g his beii tong enough to laugh heartily. Then he grew solemn ag&in. "It'a ttoe best job there is," he said'. "I'll beR my father about it," siacd t the chilA "Do you think the Lord * couW find somep'm for ham to do, too?" "Ain't pot no doubt about it," Santa! H* me - i*??* know aid' positively %* "^y^ & httl * snrt Miltcent Ann went home and wrote wlUl J 1 "* 1 " w ** he: a tetter cm a piece of brown paper, with the> family pencil: "dear lord: , . a *>har bill, "you take " have the doll." hal *y kn * w what to| gaf t of such magnitude. ! >w. >W he said fer-j you can have the dol'l and j was there. was talkin' in an' then ! T\e Beautiful Lady put Do.ra inside ' her muff. No doubt the quarters seeui- ! ed diark and cramped : , and> Dora won-! i am sorry I aint got mMhing to dered wfcew she' " ~w^" ^^-^1 ! put in only my doll d-ora p;lease be v}Mt a ^^ ^ yi^t.^^ lux . ; g^od to her tord becauz she aint nefer urioU(SDefts for one accuatooi^ ^ ^^i ^, _ , . J, 1 m-^%.fcW 4.V*. VUV t*V.UK>L.VIIl<.-U W> M'itlXI bin away from me befor and pieaz , b^,^ and ^^^t from e > sent my papa and' us wmtbtar to ea,t b,^ MiJliceTit Ann! anythin nobody cits- wants will do yours truely Arm Dobson. MiiHdcent Ann! So Dora journeyed in darkness, ami did not see where the Beautiful Lady went and what was purchased, for sh* eight yeans oM 4013 Pearl Street; was hidden behind a cushion in the P s if tflfiere is anybody Poorer than limousine for about twenty-four oc giv it to ttiem" hours. She did not know till after- Then ahe took Dcxra in her amis and ward, went back to the corner. The letter was &tu<c& in the front of Dora's dreas, but Dora was innocent of her fate. Santa Ctaus arooodi with has bade to , ._ w __ d curb, and MtU'Mcent Arm wae- the friends of Santa. Clau-s in return Through the stable's dusty spat Wavering sunbeams shine, Where Madonna, filled with grace. Bending o'er the Christ-Child's face, Happy in that hapless place, Sings among the kine. "From the East the Three Kings came. Guided by a starry flame, Where in Thy nativity The Most High o'ershadows Thee. ! They were very old and wise. Knowledge filled their lips and eyes. Yet, my Babe, they offered Thee Precious gifts on bended knee ; Could they bring Thee all the gold Costliest kingly coffers hold, Still with Thee my arms I fill With a goodlier treasure still ! "Myrrh and frankincense and gold Alf their gifts for Thee I hold; Gold, because a King to be, Tribute thus they offer Thee ; Myrrh yet wherefore should they bring Myrrh to Thee, who art a King ? Speaking with its bitter breath Of the sepulchre and death Thou, the Son of David Thou, With God's promise on Thy brow Thou, God's own interpreter Wherefore should they bring Thee myrrh ?" Hushed the song, the sunbeams fled. Dark and silence came instead. In Madonna's eyes the tears Told of coming suffering years. Till upon a day to be She should stand on Calvary. With its shadow overcast He should answer at the last That one question troubling her "Wherefore should they bring Thee myrrh ?" Robert Gilbert Welsh. The Pleasant Way. A pleasant, way is the Christmaa way. With youngsters dancing upon it, And the lilt and lift of a music gay, And the joy of tile world to sun it; A pleasant way, as it keeps its faith In the old drem and the fine, With childhood brimmed and the rosy wraith Of the hove that grows divine. A pleasant way, where the plodding throngs Go by wfth hop and skip. And always breatlhdng the song of songs And whistling with puckered lip, A fairy way fur the hosts of strife To find when tine time draws new, So beautiful witfi the dreams of Hfo And sweet with the Christina* cheer. My!" saad Millicent Ann, plnsh- For tine next day, which was Christ- ' ing with her apcon, "Ain't this i-e mas, found Mttliroent Arm at home, not i cream good ? Choc'lut, too. My fav'r- dartng to expect anything would real- ly come from Santa Claus, or any of it kind!" The babies giggled. They both .ihiitclhed their lemon candy wihile they ashametl' to let him see that she wa '. for the sacrifice of Dora. Her mother made way with the oatmeal, as though crying, o s* went all the way around and father and Sarah Jane ami Baby ; the candy might take wing* like Dora tbe block and tiptoed 1 up behmd hdan Jim were making a txrave show of if they let go of Jt for a moment. while he ceaaeliesiaJy tinkled! ttie beffl , OhriBitmaa, and MiUicent Ann was For the disappearance of Dora had and lifted tihe loose grating on the helping with all her might, hut the made a senis-atfon. Millicent Ann kept ketbte and ptopiped the doHy in. Then beat that all contbineri' could do was a stiff upper lip and told nothing. She gently. "I read your letter. See what it seemed to MiH'icent Ann perhaps he ran away with her flngera in hear pitiful, though they all laughed a ' wae, if any thiiivg, more dil'agent than I've brought." I from the outdoors and the exercise. net by one leg, Imt just as carefully ' Mr. Dobson aside. | A pUntsant way. where the people crs though she were handling a baby. ] "My father wilt give you a position ! u/jt-J*^!.,. With a cry of joy and thanksgiving l on the railroad," she said, "tf you will ^ W , J ** r^^* ^^ T*, , a:, once, MWdcent Ann reach-e;i for the come to his office at 9 o'clock to- The old "^ e y llr f' the Iad doll, aivl clag-peil her to her faded morrow and brjvg thds card : ." ^* ' HJS9 ' Then she remenvbercd that sihe At that remarkable Christmas feast ' And above them fch* bright bhie to be ddsaippointed because Dona Dora sat at the head of the tb!e m | skia. A way that is rich with the hopes of things And stored with the <i reams of men, And a voice of life's beautiful *onr. that sings Of a King that, shall come again. bad come home empty-handed. wcuM an old abandoned high choir. Her I thought maybe Santa Clauo [ waxen features ax-fcuaMy seemed to j have relaxed' into something like a ' f know," s<aid the beautiful lady smile there \v color in her cheeks, Good for the Christmas party. BoHt. half a pound of white sugar with a little water until it is of the consist- ency of thin syrup. Cut up fairly mall some tinned pears, apricots,. peaches, cherries anything in the fruit line, almost. Pour the syrup over the fruit, and some well-chopped nuts, and place in ice to freeze. When i wanted, fill some custard-cups with, j the iced fruit, placing a little whipped ' cream on top. The prefix "0" before the twines of 90 many Irish famiKes is an aibbre- viation of the word "Ogba." meaning i