~ L famous writer, and has inspired ar OMEHOW or other, and at some time or other, the spirit of Christmas has i descended upon preity nearly every him to a. | Christmas story, Or an €535ay, Or a Sermon-- for your famous writers can be pious enough | when the spirit moves them. I Odd and interesting Christmases remain, embalmed, like rare and spicy fruit cakes of literature, i those pages which are too often left shut on library shelves; for we of this country especially are prone to make our own { Christmas, and to believe sincerely that no | other C hristmas can be quite so delightful or uite so happily picturesque. g Bus oh > Ay by some fortunate y Hance or some impulse of recollection, to hun) through the volumes for the Christmas which te would like to enjoy if we weren't so reso: lutely content with our own, it is astonishing { how wany differemt ways other Christians have had of makingsChristmas joyful--and | how every way, including ours, agrees with | the others in choosing for the best of Christe nas. that straightforward kindliness and sin | erity which lie back. of the best Christmas | sermon, and the best known, that has been | written. i It is as though that rare soul of Robert | Louis Stevenson's had been reserved to speak | 20 mankind after the-way had been prepared | for him by all the rest--after Thackeray's | shrewd good-humor, after Dickens effusive heartiness, after Irving's picture of jocund Christmas ospitality, after Hawthorne's | grim morality play, and after Wallace's vivid | picturing of the first Christmas the world be- | held. His immortal "To be honest, to be { kind" seems to have struck, fully and firmly, the great human chord that underiay | all those more impressive writings, although every one of them was true and often far more brilliant, | So, like the prehide: 'that 'gives the theme of all that is to come, here is the passage of Stevenson's "Christmas Sermon" that has gone around the world: DD est, to be kind; Ao-tarn a Mitle and 30. little lems; to make upon the whole a id happier for his presence; to renounce when that shall be necessary and not be embittered; to hip 8 few friends, but these without; capitulation-- above all, of the same grim coillition, to keep friends with himself--here is & task for all that a man has of fortitude and delicacy. He has an ambitious soul who would ask more; he has a hopeful spirit who should Took ffi such an' entéfpilse to be suceessful. There 18 indeed one element In human destiny that not blindness Htself can controvert: whatever clse we are intended to 0, we are not intended to succeed; fallure is the fate allotted. It is 50 in every art and study; it is so above all in the continent art of living well. Here is a pleas- ant thought for the year's end or for the end of life: only self-deception will be satisfied, and there~need be na despair for the despairer. Che Savigvry 2 hplace, tearihnle "Pen Hor" I WAS General Low Wallace who, In the most rev. erent spirit and with advantages of knowledge as to eastern manners and customs rivaling those of the artist Tissot, that a d the birth of the Saviour, in his famous story, "Ben Ae esunting the Siflioyttien which Jose ath-1y Dagonite. Sxper Fs ag anti Aho en s. Be? back joyfully to Mary and the te. ne a tithe while hy latter brought up fais, the women mounted on donkeys. The wife matroniy, & da were images ye, what she YOULL; and as they drew nigh the +l thei tv be of the humble class. dm 1 spoke." suid the Nasarene; as aad. Mnutterad. the Stewird ' 00] the: yo ote Saul." young kung Then to Joseph, % conducted Into a wid: passage paved Ss stone, Be, Tor eos they entered the reo he To a stranger the scene 'would have ean Srious: teed the jewens that yawned dsrkiy uj all sides, 3nd the Sour Atself, only t it Temark i they were. 0 Jane in the he cargoes and t noe or 4 passage ul the §hirhnce. they emerged lato the . Shue horses, Jankeyn, Setherad any 4 Gol 3 mong a the kecpers, met they. too, a or kept suen! Tasch. wert he of rs oF the: women 'had wills of their os tne i er y turned fate a Joining ths upon ho ¥ Jake; and he crawdad vard Soriy, "the stone blu everloo ug the ki ott the wi 10 the sav wast. salt Joseph, pmioticall ide ved tH Mary came | To His WOR >: cave to which we are going" he sald to her, he, wi oa 2 'and fo o om tho wail down in th le field below Ia, n e vailey, 0 drive his it for safety, and after he back to the ol" Soude att 3 Of anipials, day. Bet slept than one | Ah, here is the from ath running (iavazds the avas-iined for Mae yo i i THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG, TUESDAY, DECEMBER - sic N 19, 1011, Greafesl Stories by habits of life easily satisfied. To the Jew of that period, moreover, abode in caverns was a familiar idea, made so by everyday occurrences, and by what he heard of Sabbaths in 'the synagogues. How much of Jewish history, how many of the most exciting incidents In that history, had trendpired in caves! Yet further, these people were Jews of Bethlehem, with whom the idea was especially commonplace; for thelr locality abounded with caves great and small, some of which had been dwelling-places from the time of the Emin and Horites. No more was there offense to them in the fact that the cavern to which they were being taken had been, or was, a stable. They were the descendants of a race of herds- men, whose flocks habitually shared both their habita- tions and wanderings. In keeping with a custom derived from Abraham, the tent of the Bedawin yet shelters his horses and children alike. Bo they obeyed the keeper cheerfully, and gazed at the house, feeling only a natural curiosity. Everything asvoclated with the history of David was interesting to them. . The bullding was low and narrow, projecting but a Itttle from the rock to- which it was joined at the Year, and wholly without a window. In its blank front there was a door, swung on enermous hinges daubed with ocherous clay. While the the lock was being pushed back, the womer from their piilions. Upon the opening of the door, 'the keeper called out: "Come In!" The guests entered, and gtared about them. Tt becams ap immediately that the house was but a mask or covering for the mouth of a natural cave or grotto, probably Tory feet long, nine or ten high, and twelve or fifteen in width. The light streamed through, the door an over an uneven floor, falling upon piles of grain fodder, and earthenware apd household property, -- is, about the Christmas tree as Thackeray pictures it in the "Roundabout $apers" under the particular title of "Round About the Christmas Tree," just such an atmosphere: of' realisin applied to the world of these later days as is felt in Wallace's depiction of the first Christmas. Every ove has his little worries and troubles now, as all had thelr anxieties then, and it takes the Christmas spirit to gloss them over into cheer and hopefulness. His undertone of satire, never gentler or more friendly, i brings us all closer to the joys as well as the smal worries that surround the Christmas tree: The kindly Christmas tree, from which 1 trust every gentle reader has pulled a bonbon or two, is yet all aflame whilst I am writing, and sparkles with the sweet fruits of its season. You young ladles, may you have plucked pretty giftlings from it; and out of the cracked sugar plum which you have split with the captain or 6 sweet young curate, may you have read one of those elicious conundrums which the confectioners introduce into the sweetmeats, and Whict apply to the cunning passion of love. Those riddles to be read at your age, when 1 dare say they are sing. As for Dolly, Merry, and Bell, o are stafiding at the .tree,. don't care about 'the love-riddle pary but understand the sweet almond portion very wel They are 4, § and § years old. Patience, little Jiopiel A dozen merry Christmases more, and you will be reading those wonder- ful conundrums too. As for us elderly folks, we watch the bables at their sport, and the young people pulling at the branches; and instead of finding 'bonbons or sweeties In the packets which we pluck off the boughs, we find inclosed Mr, Carnifex's review of the quarter's meag; Mr. Sartor's compliments, and little statement for self and 'the young gentlemen; and Sainte-Crinoline's respects to the young closes her account, and will ladies, who in- send on Saturday, please; NS / RR N re a, a---- we stretch our hand out to the educational branch or the Christmas tree, and there find a lively and amus- Ing article from the Rev. Henry Holyshade, .containing our dear Tommy's exceedingly moderate account for the Tast term's school Expenses, ® tree yet spark! -, 1 my, I am writing on the Madame de | Bey cee; prying the center of the chamber. Along the sides were mangess, low enough for sheep; and built of stones lald In cement There were no stails or partitions of any kind. Dust and chaff yeliowed the floor, filled all the crevices and hollows, and (hickened the spider webs, which dropped from the ceiling like bits of dirty ltaen; otherwise the place wus clean, and, to appearance, as comfortable as any of the arched lewens of the khan proper. In fact a cave was the model and first sugges- tion of the lewen. "Come In!" sa'd the guide. "These plies upon the floor are for travelers like yourseives. Take what of them vou need' Then he spoke to Mary. *Can you rest hera? "Phe place Is sanctified." she answered. . . . . * . They [thé si rds] went through the courtyard without notice, & 1 there Were some up even then laiking about the Light The door of Cavern was ope! Was owning within, they entered uncerer , € the and the stolid Nazarene was 3 : va) he child is here." They were led to one of the mangers, and there the child was. The lanterlh was brought, and the shepherds The it was as t "orn $ the mother?' asked the watchman e women took the baby, and went to Mary, and put it in her arms. Ihen the bystanders littie one made no sign; * said a's epherd, at last répeated, falling upon thelr r 10 of th m repeated several times A Lord and Ills glory is above the eurih and heaven.' And the si le men, f 1 § robe and never doubting, with joyful fa ple aroused and pre and through the towr marah, they chanted the refrain to God inh Highest, and on . earth peace, good will towards men! and the Christmas Tree; vad Abovi the ChristmasTred day before Twelfth day, if you must know ft, but al- ready ever so many of the fruits have been pulled and the Christinas lights have gone out. Bobby Miseitdw, who has been staying with us for a week (and who-has been siteping mysteriousiy in the bathroom), comes to say he Is golng away to spend the rest of the holidays with his grandmother--and | brush away the-snanly tear of regret as part with the dear child, "Well, Bob, goodby, since you will go Compliments to gragdmamma they. .. anes' ' ATTA "Sr oF IAA ed Thank her for the turkey. "Here's --(A slight pee cuniary transaction takes place at this juncture, and Bob nods and winks and puts his hand in his walstcoat). "You have had a pleasant week Bob--*"Haven't II" (An exit, anxious to know the amount of the coln which has just changed hands.) Che Boar's Mead, from Washington Irvin ] 's"Chrisimas Dinner" ts UR own Washington living. in his "Sketch Book." O Has described an English Christmas dinper per haps better, and more pr tively of gin LgoyiLeni, any of "the English seives. Mow puch there is lu lhe dianer, k Jue Blin it auld be hard xebanged for bear's the *" sito of oid England the glorious brown turkey of tg native land: but this is the way Irving describes it: The dinner was served up in the great hail where the squire siways veld his Christmas banquet. A biasing. "cracking fre of logs had heen heaped on specious apartment, and the flame went So ing and wreathing up the wide-mouthed ¢ ho picture of the crusader and bls white HAS Te Prof ted with green¥ f: Che "wien 16 B haldin him, help nd in these umceremonious days; but a long, courtly, well worded one of the ancient school. There was Ba a use, as if something was expected; when oF Busia utier entered the hall with some degree of ustle Pe was attended by a servant on. each waxlight, and bore a silver dish, - en was gnormous pig's head, decorated mh rosemary, emon in its mouth, which was placed ith great Job mality at the head of the tab! Moiielt | thls cant made {is Appearsses, the bare struc a urish; at the conclusion of which the young Oxonlas. on receiving a hint from the squire, gave, with an of the most comic gravity, an oid carol, the firs a which was as follows: ay Sagut apri defero dens laudes domino, The boar's head in hand bring I, With garlands gay and rosemary. 1 pray you all Aynge, merrily Qui estes In convivio." The table was literally loaded with cheer, presented. an epitome of country abundance, in this dea- son of overflowing larders. A distinguished post was aliotted "to "anclent sirloin," as mine host termed it; being, as he added, "the standard of old English hos- pitality, and 5s joint of goodly presence, and full of ex- peetation." There were several, dishes guaintly deco- rated and which had evidently something traditional fn thelr embellishments; but about which, as I 414 not .foper leap within him PAGE ELEVEN. a Y like to appear dvereurious; I naked no questions, 1 could nq, however, but notice a pla, magnificently Gecorathd with peacook's feathers, in imitation of the tall of that bird, which overshadowed a considerable tract of the table. This, the squire confessed, with some little hesitation, was & Pheasant ple, though a peacock pio was certainly the most authentical; but there hed been such a mortality among te peacocks this season that be couldinot preven upon Jumselt 10 have one killed, - * . 4 inf Christmas festivity. Thevcontents had been prepared by 'the. squire himself yor it was a beverage, fn the skiliful mixture of which beparticuiarty PHL Skene; alleging that i was too abstruse and comples for 'the comprehension of an ordinary servant: was a potation, indeed, that might well make the heart of a being composed of the richest and aad Faciest wines, highly spiced and sweet with roaitsd apples ine ut the surtace. -.d, The gentiaman"s whole countenance beamed with & sereng look ind it, a5 he stirred thie nighty bowl Having rals it to his lips, with a hearty in of a merry C hristmas A svery she to follow his ex- So accordin, ° ve sty it "the ancient foundation s90d feeling, Rt wey together, id > shins ere was much lau and rallying as the honest emblem of Shstnae Sviaiity circulated, and was kissed rather coyly oe How easy It is a oe benevolent bel: to Situs easure around him; and DS how Jo is a kind urtain of gladness, making srything in its ant to freshen into smiles! The Torus disposition of the worthy squire was perfectly contagious. he was hb himself, pr Ms to make all the world happy. the little eccentricities of his eo did bat Season, oy a manner, the sweetness of his philanthro jy, ® After the dinner table was remov the hall wae given up to the younger members of the family, who, rompted to al kiga of notsy mirth by the Oxonian and easter Simon, made its old walls ring with their merri. ment as they played at romping games, Mawthorne's curisimas human Christmas feast which Irving tells of Is the 'Christmas Banquet" imagined by Nathaniel Haw- thorne in bis "Mosses from an Old Manse." It Is a story within a story, the latter merely the shell which serves to excuse and carry a tale of an annual banguet at which the conspicuous guest is Gervayse Hastings, typical of the cold, hard, souliess man of wealth and disginction, known not in New England only, but in old England anf, indeed, in all the world. It is, in reality, a kind of morality play, whose moral warns us to keep our hearts warm to others throughout the year lest, on occasions when we need them most, we may have no bewrts to feel and to enjoy: i In their own way these were as wretched a set of people as ever had assembled at the festivals There they sat, with the velled skeleton of the founder holding aloft the cypress wreath at one end Of the table, and at the other, wrapped in furs, the withered figure of Gervayse Hastings stately, calm, and cold, lmpregsing the company with awe, yet 80 little interesting thelr sympathy that he might have vanished into thin air without their once. exclaiming, "Whither is 'he gone?' "Bir." sald the philanthropist, addressing the old man, "you have been sc Jong a guest at this annual fes- tival, and have thus been conversant with so many varieties of human afiliction, that not improbably you have thence derived some great and important lessons How blessed were your lot could you reveal a secret by which all this mass of woe might be removed!" "1 know of but one misfortune," answered Gervayse Hastings, quietly, "and that is my own. "Your own!" rejoined the A eT hropist. "And IE GRIM and welrd contrast with the jovial, hearty, BANG . existence, Cc anavel jooking back on your serene and prosperous life, how can you claim to be the sole unfortunate of the human race™ "You will not understand' It." replied Gervayse Hastings, feebly, and with a singular inefficiency of pronunciation, and sometimes putting one word before another "None have understood !t--not even those who experience the like, It is sa chilliness--a want of earnestness--a feeling as if what should be my heart were a thing of vapor--a haunting perception of unreality! Thus seeming to possess all that other men have---all that men aim at-~1 have really possessed nothing, neither joys vor griefs. All things, all per: sons--as was truly said to me at this table long and loug ago---have heen like shadews flickering the wall, It was so with my wife and ghlidren--with those who seemed my friends; | 1 yourselves, whom 1. 'see now before me n 2 1 myselt any real but ain & = kadow UKs the rest.' "And how Js it with your views of a future Hfe™ inquired the speculative clergyman "Worse than A said the old wan, low and feeble tone, ' t con ve It earuvstly enough to feel etthie or "fe ar, Ml! he ia the wretoh« edness! Thi cold hex unreal life! Ah! It grows colder still." It so chanced t this juncture the decayed Hgaments of 'the skeleton gave way, and the dri pones teil to seti er in a heap, thus causing the da 4 wrekth of cypress to drop upon the table The atier tion of the con ny being thus diverted for a single instant from Gs fe Hastings they nvercstved, mn turning again ard im, that the ola man had undergone un change. His shadow had ceased to licker on the wall on in a hol . Converted "A Christmas ICKENS, If you recall, did much of the same thing D with old Scrooge, but he did not whisk him off into a doubtful eternity but a probable perdi- tion. After Scrooge had his scare with all his ghostly visitors, he became a converted Scrooge, a transformed Scrooge, a Scrooge so human that poor Bob Cratchit thought he must have gone stark mad. For thls is how the altered Berooge behaved: Scrooge was early at the office next merning. Oh, he was early there. If he could only be there first, and catch. Bob Cratchit coming late! That was the thing he had set his heart upon. And he did it; yes, he did! The clock stuck 9. No Bob. A quarter past. No . He was full eighteen minutes and 4 half behind his time. Ecrooge sé with his door wide open, that he might see him come into the tank. His hat was off befcre he opened the door; his com. forter, too. ie wag on Lis stool in a Jiffy; driving away with his pen, as If he were trying to overtake # o'clock "Hallo!" growled Scrooge, in his accustomed voice a8 Dear as he could feign it. "What do you mean by coming here at this time of day? "I am Very sorry, sir," said Bob. "I am behind my "You are!" repeated Scrooge you. I think you are. Btep this way, LR if you "It's only once a year, sir, ended Bob, appearing from the tank.' at "shail adr oe repeated i was mak- ing rather me orday, "Now, I'll tel yon w iria's y friend." sald Scrooge, "I am not Solng to stand this ry of thing any longer, he conti ing from his stool and there leap and giving Bob such a die n the waistcoat that he ak Main; "and therefore I staggered back Into the tank am about to raise your Bob thembled, and fst a ide nearer to the ruler. momentary idea of knocking Scrooge down and calling to the people In the a strajt-w Bob!" sald Scrooge. with an mistaken, he clapped tha him on the back. "A merrier Christmas, Bob, my go2d Tetiow, than I have given you for many & year! court f - crogge, from. aro, by Dickens raise yous salary and endeavor to assist your strug- gling family, dod we will discuss your affairs this very afterngon over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob! Make up the firen and buy another cosl scuttle before you dot another §, Bob Cratehit!" Berooge was better than his word, He did ital, end infinitely more; and to kindly Tim, who aid NOT DIE; he was a seeond father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good & man as the 890d old city knew, or any other good oid city, tewn or borough ia the good old world. Bome people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them Jiugh and little hecded them; for he was wise enough to khow that not hing ver happened on this globe, tor good, a which some people t have their ail or laugt nt in the outset, and, ki that such as these would be blind anyway, Le t ought It quite as well that they should wrinkie up their eyes In grins as have the in less attractive forms. His own heart ind that was quite enough for him h ng further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total-Abstinence Principle ever after. wards; and It was always sald of him thal he knew how to keep Christmas well, If any man alive: pos. sessed the knowledges May that be truly sild of us and all of us! And so, #3 Tiny Thn observed, God Bless Us, Bvery One