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Show ALONE AT CHRISTMASTIME By S. BARING-GOULD V I J Is thjjro cun theio be a man moro lonely than ono leturned from a far countryi who has been out of his homo land fcr 20 years, and comes back when his parents aio dead, ills old friends dispersed, and tho old nost lias passed to other occupants'' And can hl(i loneliness bo more emphasized than vylien Ms lutuiu s)iici unites with Christinas That was my condition when 1 re-vlsltei! re-vlsltei! the mother country With n boating heart nud straining eyes I had looked for tho tir.st sight of dear old America niter having left It as a lad, hardly a man. some '.'( )eurs ago. I was back --not to home I had no homo now jv heart began to fall mo, my splilts decline, when 1 leached tho little couuti) town near which I had been bom. and vvlieie I had Heeled Heel-ed the golden hours of childhood No ono knew inc. In the chniehynrd I laid a wreath on the graves where lay dear old father and mother. I looked nt our house It had been rebuilt re-built nnd was occupied by strangers V"You Are Very Good." sPMhrougli tho village. TbiUlUln shops had fresh unities over them. The old rector who hud baptized me waB dead, The old school was" gone. Tho nncleut church hnd been renovated. reno-vated. The vlllago Inn was in new hands. Tho old Christ mas wns no moje. No frost, no snow, no Icicles; only sludge nud n drizzling rain. I returned from no visit to tho village vil-lage In deep ilepiessloii l would haste to tin; rooms I hnd taken in a hoiiso In tho town and spend my Christmns Kvo with iu pipe nud glass alone, with not oven an old dog to Ho nt my feet and look up with speaking speak-ing eyos Into my face ami sympathize with mo in my solitude I would pass tho evening before the lire, looking Into the red coals, not building castles nmong them, but watching tho tumbling tum-bling down of old cottages, old farms, old reminiscences, Into ash. I had dnno well In the other land, and had returned, not a rich mnn, but with n competence It hud been my wish, in) ambition, to settle In the village about which clung all m.v sweetest anil holiest thoughts, to iiuv thero a llltlo land, to tread the old paths, ramblo in the same woods, look upon tho samo scenes, dwell among tho samo people ru make a homo In tho samo place Hut now 7 Could it bo? As I walked back to my lodgings, through tho Htteot and by tho market place, folk were hurrying In all directions, direc-tions, some with bunches of holly in their hands, a girl or two with n sprig of mistletoe slvly hid In her muff, a man wheeling a Christmas tree on a hariow. butchers' Ikijs carrying Joints I for tho moriow'h dinner Plum pud- dings unil mince pies weie dlspla)ed In the confeci loners' shops. Tho I chemist, tho halidiesser, tho seedsman, seeds-man, the draper had stulTed their windows win-dows witli toys, toys, toys. Ho who ' hud come to earth ns n little child had tilled evei.v heart with thought I of the little ones, ami doslro to mnko Christmas a d.i) of Joy to them. I ! had no tiny ones of my own, no little ' nieces and nephews no small cousins I for whom to provide an) thing. I was alone utterly, desolately nlone As I pursued my way I saw a tall, slim gill walking before mo with a I basket on her nrin, and I noticed that i the bottom hail como out, anil that tho contents fell on tho pavement. Of this she was unnvvare. I stooped and picked up a llttio woolly lamb, then n something wrapped In paper then n silver match box breaking out of Its covering. Gathering them together, I ran after tho girl anil mopped her. "I.xcuso me." said I. "Aro you n female Hop o' my Thumb, dropping tokens whereby our track my bo known"" I showed her what I had collected Sho eoloied and thanked mo. Then I recognized liei as tho daiightur of my landlady. You must nllow me." said I, "to tie my handkerchief round tho basket, mid to uirry It for you. I bollove Hint wo go the same way." "You aro very good," she roplled Wo uro nlKiut to havo n ChrlstmnB treo for tho children this evening, "nnd I hnvo been making some trilling purchases ns piesents for my brothers and sisters, nnd for jmpn and mamma, who must not bo forgotten " "There go tho candles!" I ex- Vlalmcd, ui a cataract of red. yellow and green tnpors shot out of tho has ket. "And there's an orange!" said she as one of these fruit Isiuureil foith nnd fell, and rolled avviiy Into the ' gutter. I Wo weie forced to stoop nnd col 1 lect the Hi-atteied wax lights, nnd then to tie my largo handkerchief about the basket. "What a fortunate thing," said I, "that I have got a good sled 'kerchief In place ol one of the miserable little I rags that do service nowadnys That Is, because I ding to old customs, and when I was 11 hoy my mother always al-ways gave me something Hint a dishcloth dish-cloth In my pocket." Then we proceeded on our way, nnd 1 when we went Into tho house, she received re-ceived the basket from mo. nuil again tluinkeil me. "You must not remove Hie 'kerchief till all Is unpacked," I said, "or them will bo another ills-chin ills-chin go of the contents, and then tho children will see wiuit you hnvo provided pro-vided for them" "Shall you bo dining out to-mar- H row?" nsked the girl. H "1 oh, I have nono to dln H with. I know no ono hero." "And this evening. Hhnll you be H going anywhere?" H "I oil, no! I have novvhero whlth- H or to H So we parted, and I ascended to my H loom. I mado ip the fire, and sat BH down nnd reread the newspaper. BH There was much in It about the ap- IH proachlng feast. I had the Illustrated VH papers They hnd Issued Christmas H supplements, with pictuies of happy H family gatherings, of Old Father I H Christmas, of waits and carol singers. I H I might perhaps hear the -vails nud I H singers. I should certainly hear the H Christmas bells That would bo nil. VH I hnd done with my papers. I sat H before the flro In a blown study, and H my spirits sunk lower nnd ever low ; H cr. I recalled tho old Chrlstmnses I H had spent at home with mv parents. H I remembered how I had looked .Into ,H my stockings on the morning to ' If Old Father Christinas tiad vlslUd M mo In the night and had hit thcte ""'1 .some proents for the Hood Hoy. ' H Alas! No Father Chilstiuns would M visit mo now. All that was of the H past tho utterly and irrevocably H I did not light my candles. I could " rend no more. 1 needed no tight for H my thoughts, they wero too dark to H ho Illumined thus H As I stood thus musing, I heard a J tap nt my door, and shouted: "Como H in'" There ensued delay, and I called H again' "Como Iu!" : H Then the door opened and I saw H somo little heads outside, with golden H curls mid Hushed cheeks, and a child's H volco said' "Please. Mr. Wluit's-your- H name, will you come to our tiee down- (H As I hesitated, the child said: f hl "Please Annie told us to ask you." ' H And then I saw the tall girl whom ( .H I had assisted draw hack Into tho 'H dark behind them. ll "Most ceitnlnly I will, nB you aro so kind ns to Invite me" lil So 1 desconded. and there were my lil landlord nud landlady, radiant with fll happiness, nnd tho live children H danced before me and said: "Ho li H 001110; Is It not nice!" Ilehlnd, pros- fiiH ently, entered Annie, somewhat shy- 2H ly, nnd pretending she had como from AH tho kitchen. Il I was witness of the delight of tho J llttio ones over their presents the 'H I 8aw the Tall Girl. H woolly lamb, a small cart, a cannon, H a doll tho fnther over 11 pair of warm B stockings of Annie's knitting, the Hl mother over a shawl, nlso of her HBl work; and I stood smiling and happy, Hfl when up sprang one of the children HHl anil plucked from tho tree tho silver SBa Hi "Tills." said the child, "Is for Mr. Bj Whiit's-hls-unmn Sister Annln said BH It was for BSj I was moved more thnn I enn say. BBj So -some had been thinking of me, HHJ iiough I was only a lodger. 'H lyiok here, ay'" s.ild tho father, mH vou're a Htiauger In the country, and Bhj it such a tlmo as this there must ba HHJ 10 strangers. Yon must really tiup HJ villi us, and illno nlvo with 111 to- H inoriiiw. 1 enn pidinlHo you a good HHa dinner, for It is of Annie's making." HHa All wiih ehiingisl I wtis a stranger HHJ mil they took me trr I was lonely HJ mil thoy iiiailo of me u friend, HH t'hrtsttnns day, in-30 p. in. H I returned to my room upstairs, HHj made up the lire and seated inysolf HHJ j -leforo It. I had spunt n very pleasant HH ' lav and a pleiusnul evening beforo H j lnii 1 did not now feel so dlscour H ' iged so hopeless. That was 11 nice HHJ I family, very friendly and considerate HHJ Mid I begun to build In tho flro. I Etl no longer saw only ruins. I saw, m WRm 1 were, a pleasant home rise out ol EMJ 'be coals, nnd a pleasing faco looked HHJ up nt me out of them very much like H thut of Annie. Ah! If the old home HHJ vwih gone, might I not build one thut HH would he new. I need no longer live M in tho past, hut look to the future, and HHJ next Christmas, ploa-.o Coil I would HH not bo alone, that is If Annie but I HHl cunnnt sny will consent to put an HH end to ni) lonelluoss and help In H1 building up a future HHJ |