| Show j 1905 by story pub co cold cheerless and desolate the rambling old farm house stood in all its dearl ness outlined against a gray wintry sky once ah years ago there was corn fort love peace happiness within its walls but it was so many many years ago that the oldest inhabitants of the surrounding country had al most forgotten about such things peeped their unfruitful heads above the snow reaching from the dilapidated porch leaning like an old man propped upon two sticks down to the brol en gate defending from its rusty hinges fasten led to the rotten post barns burst ing with decayed hay toppling and careening to the tour winds of heaven but solidified upon their foundations with the loads and tons of the wasted harve stings of years stood out like grim silhouettes of despair and ruin against the chill landscape and above all sailed the moon pal lid lady of the night and ohp smiled serenely down upon the picture of fruitless harve stings this goria of neglect and ruin within the farm house the paper hung from the crumbling and blacken ed walls in tattered malodorous rib tons rats gnawed at the doors of cupboards long since barren of food and the marauders dragged from old bins that had not been replenished for years cobs and made merry with the bouldy mouldy remnants of bygone feasts through the deserted chambers only to tease tantalize and fret the heart soul and brain of the only human hab bitant of the place david dreams the recluse the miser diadem and cuss em they re stealing food my food would growl the old recluse tossing uneasily upon his dilapidated bed up in the attic and the stars that peeped through the dust laden panes of glass in the root blinked at him and mocked him as he shivered among his rag the old man would rise light a tal low dip and go down the narrow back stairs leading to the cheerless kitch en and chase the thieving marauders through the hole in the celair door he would nail a p ece of tin over the hole and mumble with toothless jans there they 11 not come again until they gnaw another hole drat em cuss ema back to his attic he would crawl but before falling upon his ragged old bed he would open the little cache in the chimney wall and fondle and caress the roll of musty rotting bills and rusty ns and say its all mine all mine my krecl ous darlings did he like a child undisturbed and if he dreamed he only dreamed of good cheer comfort ease and plenty as he lay stretched there upon the bed which he shared with the vermin alone with his beloved money greed was his god hunger his hand maiden and he must work and toil unceasing dig and use thrift else the gaunt wolf will come and snarl at his door Q in the entry leading to the musty cellar hung as it had hung for two bears a petrified slab of bacon david dreams would pet and pat it as he passed it he would fondle and ca ress it smell of it and lick his thin blue lips and mumble what a glorious feast III have sometime but not now not now and the slab of bacon would swing and bow and beckon beneath his touch when he kaied the tallow d p over it gloatingly but the rats wanted it too for two years the tantalizing morsel had hung there in the dark entry beyond their reach climb as they might its all mine all minel they could not reach it it mocked them fretted and bothered them but the bugs and beetles the ants and the vermin could reach it and they feasted away at its goodness until it was but as a shred well it was real good of mr dreams to send us this lot of money my but it almost takes my breath away and him such a miser poor man he went wrong when his wife died and when his son ran away to sea I 1 fear the world will turn about to day david dreams has sent bough nough money to pay for all this nice dinner we are giving to the poor this christmas day my but the money smells musty the coins are all rust what a lot of clity money it Is never mind money s money I 1 guess we made a mistake when we called him an old skinflint of a miser he s sent us more money than all the lest together money enough to help us out on the new church money enough to buy a new organ and a carpet for the sunday school well have a fine library and lots of things I 1 tor one shall pray for david dreams before this christmas day passes and the preparations for the grand christmas feast went on the pots give me back my bacon and ettles bubbled and simmered the turkeys were browned to a rich hue and flavored to the proper point the tables groaned beneath the load of good things and the old town hall was merry from foundation to roof this glad christmas day and while the feast was on an old and stumbled downia to tt i 1 1 l ia I 1 1 ae as he stood there leaning upon his two sticks and he looked like a demon of wrath as he fastened his eyes upon the merry ones give me back my bacon I 1 m hun gry you have taken my food david sit down and eat with us it you are hungry we are all so thankful to you for sending us the money I 1 sent no money I 1 sent the bacon I 1 was forced to send it by the ghost of david dreams he came to me last night and made me do it you talk strangely david dreams you surely sent us money it s a lie a blasting lie you can not tool me with our cant and whine parson give me back my bacon you must be dreaming david dreams stop dreaming dreaming ah it al comes back to me now I 1 did dream that I 1 was forced by the old david dreams the david dreams of other days to send he bacon tor the christmas feast I 1 did send it or thought I 1 did I 1 I 1 made a mistake and sent the the money david dreams the money is here yet you can have it all back but see the good it can do look at the poor people feasting as they never have before see the glad light in eyes of the little ones does it t touch your heart and make it warmer than it has been tor many a yeara be one with us s give up the old greed and become aa a little child sweet and innocent onca will you david david dreams faltered his limbs shook under him and his heart flut his eyes became moist and a strange lump came into his throat and choked him he fell upon a chair and bowed his head and one of the little tots came and bound her warm arms about his neck and press ed a soft kiss upon his grizzled cheek the ice melted away from his heart and the warm blood flowed through his veins as it had not for many a year when he lifted his face it was another david dreams that looked at the good people gathered there and after he had made merry with them all and enjoyed to the full the newness of his awakened heart he went back to his home now no longer the home of desolation and ruin for every nook and corner of it was light ened by the glorious light of kindness love tor fellow man and a sincere love for the god who opened his eyes this christmas day |
