Show Merry Christmas and Paid in Full How Silas Vaughan Contrib Contributed to Yuletide Cheer of the Needy By FRANK HERBERT SWEET 1 T WAS an eloquent O plea for the public building an urge for lt Its beauty Its It value alue to the town townY Y t the h e educational ii 1 gift to the eyes of o l T i youth routh The speak speak- speaker speaker er was hypnotic ne He had been heen engaged for tor that Purse strings were loosened Money Ioney poured floured freely freely twenty twenty fifty a n hundred live hundred And AntI It was Christmas They went to Silas Slins Vaughan the grocer leader a wealthy man of ot the town People looked surreptitiously to tot t see ee what munificent sum he ho would give At first a hand liand went tent Into hIs Ills pocket like the others then lien came out and 1 I the arms were folded There was an audible le gasp asp from watchful eyes More pleas came more solicitors went round man to m man man But Silas sat there arms folded rigid unmoved Times are too hard hartl he was heard to say In ha answer to an nn Importunate beggar It Is la a bad year fur for such u a building Not ot bad for me and nil those who yIeld to noble Impulses said a n neIgh neIgh- neIghbor neighbor neighbor bor In a n voice that nil could hear h mr The next day was Christmas with the grocery and drug stores open for tor tora fora to a n few fe hours Silas Vaughan went vent to t this his desk and took out twice s a-s many man bills Mils as ever er had been allowed to nl as cumulate before Times Tines were hard and more were obliged to charge Fully ully l halt half of the accounts were s e- e heeled from the others others and antl severs l words written at the bottoms That t took nearly an hour bour Then ho he Upped d the Into his Ills pocket put on hl hi s hit hat and coat cou and amI went out g the store to the clerks It was nearly flexing closing lo time Ume when h he e come back buck This he be led with wit h |