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Show I A Gift Fiom the Christ-Child. I "' "' J. Finn, in the Irish Catholic.) j. v ' r -oore. if j.ne ha(J ony known 1 ' ' ;i,'i'ig heroic virtue. She j"' ' sales wennan, a mere girl of 3 "s. ' 'i,n,Jy was what she sold. iL '" thf pwt;" rich women and :' ; -a,i girls, rosy-cheeked, smil-j-- 'I" her customers. But their ..a'". v ! r" IH't for her. They hardly t! , ',. ' " l'al'. slight child who took I v.. ',, "lM'',:' so intelligently and j ii. '. J ,h"lr lockages with such j :.!.,., ' s.s arui "ispatch. They found her J un. ;'.";, :,Ral,1(?: but this they took I rli...Tel'ii!"1' Vas she Rot Paid to be I v,;,s , i,r:'1 affaV-r She certainly I r ' u for service the mu- I l.ir's '.' 1 funi "r ?--r, a we-k. Two dol- I f-n, 1 !':,y ents! For this salary j m .,sv"' ,S ""'wd to be on her feet from 1 t;..;, """ 1111 dewy eve; obliged to be I "lit "m7krfUi- Punt''ual. day in, day 1 Ij.-.-L. i, ,n,ls s'lary she was supporting ? j,.jr' an aged me ther. V th i!h v,,unS?f!t in the service of at th ,Ftore- -be was more or less ' it! th,. an1 caL1 of evpry employe !!Uir,',i '"'J''''- Sometimes she was real re-al fa v" ln as many as three places itli 1);d,m,".,lme. and not being gifted; Rave lm Vlrtue of multiloeation, she ITh. v- annoyance to her elders, ''"t 'lrc vT n,0t iI!-n;Jtured, these elders. : th'-m 'V (1 d consideration. Some of , Maintain, i'Ut out because Esther j I "ajntd her cheerfulness; had she lost it and pouted, they would have been highly indignant. The Christmas- shopping season was at its height, and candies were in great demand. The confectionery store was crowded throughout the day; and if Esther, on the !!3d of December, lost n?r head at. critical moments and Ve th wrong package, no one should i blame her. However, the wrong person per-son did. She was a stout lady, running run-ning over with jewels, and quite noted as a leader in 'charities. "i!y time is too valuable, young miss," she said, calmly, "to be spent in rectifying your errors." Seeing the proprietor near, she raised her voice for his benefit: "I wonder that in an establishment es-tablishment like this they should employ em-ploy little girls who ought to be developing devel-oping their judgment in the nursing of dolls. I am very much annoyed very." I And the good lady hurried out to at- tend a. mothers' meetinrr where she was ! to address th-e assembly on the subject of "How to sympathize with and gain the sympathies of the poorprelasses." "Be cartful, Esther,", said the proprietor. pro-prietor. "You must keep your wits about you. I ctn't afford to lose customers cus-tomers like Mrs. Lloyd-Beemis." "Yes. sir," said the girl bravely, and she turned smilingly to the next customer, cus-tomer, who had been kept waiting live minutes. Esther had dealt with many customers custom-ers that day; but very few of them had shown her any sort of consideration. To most of them she was as impersonal as a s!ot machine. But the present customer cus-tomer was altogether different. From behind her gold-tipped eyeglasses there beamed a pair of blue eyes at once kindly and merry. The owner of these winning eyes was a young lady hardly out of her teens. "A pound box of your best candy, if you please," she said. "Yes, ma'am: 39 cents," and, as she spoke, the neat-handed Esther was wrapping the box. "Here's the exact amount. I hope you'll have a merry Christmas, my girl." said the young lady. "Thank you, miss: and I wish you , the same." Little Esther, who a moment before had choked back the teats, now smiled radiantly. "God bless her. God bless her." sang Esther's heart as the merry-eyed girl left the store. j Kind words butter no parsnips. True! but there are other things in this world besides the buttering of parsnips. Esther was putting the loose change to its denomination into the cash register, reg-ister, a )uarter, a dime and four 1-cent pieces. But as she was slipping the pennies into their compartment, one of them, fell to the floor. "Now, there," said a companion saleswoman. sales-woman. "Why don't you get a basket?'' Esther was accustomed to these little amenities. She stooped quickly, picking up not a cent, but a $5 gold e-oin. "Oh, lock!" she cried. "What shall I do? It's a ?5 piece!" "Do!" said her companion. "Let the person who gave it come back for it." "But she's just gone out, she just turned toward Fifth street. I think I can catch her." "If you dare to go outside this counter, coun-ter, I'll report you." said her amiable counsellor. The astonished saleswoman's mouth opened to deliver its owner of sentiments senti-ments appropriate to the occasion: but before her bruised feelings could be given incipient utterance, Esther, bareheaded, bare-headed, dashed from her side and rushed into the street. It was bitttr e;ola without, but, despite de-spite the cold, the way was thronged with shoppers. Abandoning the sidewalk, side-walk, Esther took to the street, and Fped along beside the curbstone, scanning scan-ning as she went the hurrying throng. She was within a' little of being run down at the Sixth street crossing by an expressman who swore at her generously. gen-erously. But undismayed, Esther hurried hur-ried on toward Fountain square. Like many girls possibly, like all girls Esther had an eye for ladies' hats; and there,ffar off, nearly a square distant, was a familiar hat familiar, because Esther had taken in its every detail whi!e handing the package of candy across the counter. Evidently, the young lady was going to board a car at Government square. A fruit vender interrupted Esther's meditations by running his cart across her path. He said things, too, but they were in a foreign language, and Esther, free of him. found that she had lost sight of the hat. On she went, nevertheless, almost at a run. people were loo busy to notice her. There is no solitude greater than the solitude of a crowded city. On reaching the middle of the square between Fifth and Sixth streets, Esther paused to take a. good look. The kind-eyed kind-eyed customer was not among those waiting for the cars on Walnut street. Going a little further, Esther's efforts were rewarded. The young lady, hat and all. vvas waiting for one of the cars I coming from Fourth and Walnut and I up Fifth, and turning west on Government Govern-ment souare. "Avondale or Walnut Hills. I suppose," sup-pose," muttered Esther. "Oh. I hope it's not Avondale. There's an Avondale car turning now. and if she takes that, I'm afraid I'll not catch it." She broke into a run toward the general gen-eral stopping place of the cars front- I ing the postoffice. At busy times people peo-ple may do almost anything they like on Government square. Quickly she sped: she was almost within reach of the Avondale car as the young lady stewped on. The bell rang. I "Hold on! hold on. cried Esther. I The conductor did not hear her tiny-little tiny-little voice, but he saw her. His face nevertheless remained perfectly stolid, and the car moved off just as Esther was within a few yards of it. Unfortunately for her, the roadway-was roadway-was quite clear, and the motorman put on a strong current. Nothing daunted, Esther ran all the faster. It was un-usup! un-usup! exercise for the frail -child; but within that little person was a store of energy. Before the conductor could quite realize what had happened, she caught the iron support and boarded the swift moving car. i "Halloa!" said a passenger on the I platform. "Am I in Cincinnati, or isn't I this Chicago?" "It's a dream." answered the con- ductor. - Meantime Esther hurried In. Pardon me," she said, addressing trie young lady in the hat. "but you gave me this instead of a cent." The car had now reached Fifth and Main. Wide-eyed, the young lady took the proffered gold piece; but before she ccu:d say a word Esther, taking ad- ! vantages of the momentary stop at the corner, hurried from the car into the street. "Poor Esther! She felt the cold now and she realized for the first time that she was bareheaded. But, most of all, her wrist gave her excruciating pain. She had boarded a running car successfully, suc-cessfully, but at the cost of a sprained wrist. When she got back to the store she was in no condition to work. "I wonder what he'll say to me?" she said. There was only one "he" in her youthful lexicon the proprietor. "Did you find the owner, Esther?" said Jie, as she presented herself. "Yes, sir. I had to jump on a car to do it, and I hurt myself. I'm afraid I can't tie any more boxes. My wrist is very bad." Esther's voice trembled. She knew 3t was the busy season. "You did a nice thing, Esther. I congratulate con-gratulate you. That's the sort of attention at-tention to customers that tvunts." Esther gasped. Could this be the stern man she so dreaded? "You look worn out, Esther. Suppose Sup-pose you take a rest till after Christmas? Christ-mas? Here I'll pay you your full week's salary, two and a half." As if apologizing to himself. he added. "After all, it's Christmas time." Esther, glad at heart, left the shop, but she did not go home' at once. She generally went to confession late at night, but now was a golden opportunity, oppor-tunity, and right goldenly did she use it. Esther was younger than her years; practically a child of .12 in innocence and experience. During the entire month of December she had besought the Christ-Child for a nice Christmas gift. Sometimes she wanted a prayer book, other times a new dress, again a bit of jewelry or a toy. Unable to settle the master quite to her own satisfaction, sat-isfaction, she had finally , left it to the Infant Jesus. In the beginning of this simple narrative nar-rative I said that Esther was practic ing heroic virtue. Other girls, it is Hue, were doing the same work in much the same manner. Other girls, stationed behind counters, continued to smile when they would fain weep. Other Oth-er girls were gentle of word and tone when exasperated nature called out for quite different expression. But these others, many of them, at least, were looking only to outward seeming. It was with them a matter of appearance.. They were polite under difficulties because be-cause it was a question of bread and butter. With Esther it was a struggle within and without; a struggle to bring the heart into accord with- the outward demeanor: a strusrele not onlv to look, but to be, gentle and sweet and brave and kind. In a word, Esther was constantly practicing purity of intention. in-tention. On this particular afternoon, the child was unusually devout; she besought be-sought the Divine Infant to give her mother and herself a nice Christmas. Perhaps there was an over-eagerness I in her prayer. Like the gentle sex in j general, when Esther wanted a thing she wanted if very much. On Christmas morning, Esther sat in a little room warming her toes at a little stove. Pier wrist was heavily bandaged, her face had lost nothing of its pallor, and her expression to tell the truth was anything but Christmaslike. Christmas-like. Her mother was seated near the window, win-dow, looking out into the deserted street. The day was foggy, traffic was at a standstill, the quiet was melancholy. melan-choly. "Well, my dear," said Mrs. Moore, "is your wrist giving you any pain?" "Nothing to speak of, mother. But it's such a funny Christmas. No snow, no Christmas tree, no gifts, no nothing." noth-ing." "You went to holy communion this morning, my little girl." "Yes, mother; but that's understood. Every Sunday is a Christmas in that sense." "Our Lord, when He lay in the crib on Christmas day, didn't get any gifts." "Yes; but He loves the poor. And we are so poor." "So was He. my dear." But Esther was not to be consoled. The poor child ' had set her heart on getting a prompt answer to her prayer, pray-er, and the heavenly mail had presumably presum-ably miscarried. "Well, my dear, I've been making ready for your Christmas this long time. You see, I can't give you pres- ( ents. but I'm going to tell you of the loveliest Christmas stories." Esther brightened at once. Going over to her mother's side, she threw herself at her feet. "Go on, mother; I do so love a story." Esther was a very little girl again. For over an hour did she listen with sparkling eyes to pretty legends and 1 ingenious fables. She forgot her disappointment,- and became again the happy Esther of other and richer days. Mrs. Moore had just finished a pretty little' story, and was clearing'her throat while endeavoring to recall another, when a flush suddenly came to Esther's cheek, a new light to her eye. "Oh, mother! There she is! Look! It's that nice, young lady. And I believe be-lieve she's coming in." There could be no doubt of it. It was the young lady, and in she was coming. Esther ran to the door and threw it open. ' "Merry Christmas!" she cried. "Merry Christmas to you and many, many more!" returned the young lady, as she entered. Her face was rosy from contact with the breeze, her eye, if possible, kinder and merrier than on December the 2.1rd. "This is your mother, is it? Mrs. ?' "Moore," prompted Esther. "Ah, 1 am glad to meet you, Mrs. Moore. My name is Laura Hartnett. I found out yesterday that Esther had hurt her wrist. The candy people gave me her address, and I would have come yesterday to see her had I the time. Here's a little bunch of violets I managed man-aged to get for her." Presently Miss Hartnett was chatting chat-ting gaily. She had the knack of being pleasant in a sick room. For several hours there was much laughter, and, despite the fog, the room grew radiantly radiant-ly cheerful. At last the parting came. "Good-bye, my dear," said Miss Hartnett, Hart-nett, as she stood at the door. "You and I are going to keep up our acquaintance, ac-quaintance, aren't we?" "If'you please Miss Hartnett." "And we're going to be friends?" "Oh. how I should like that!" Esther was lying in her modest cot at 9 o'clock of that evening. Her mother moth-er was bending over her. "Well, dear, are you still disappointed?" disappoint-ed?" "Yes, mother. I did pray so hard to the Child Jesus foi- some little present for you and for me. And he hasn't heard me. I felt so sure." "What did you ask for, darling?" "Oh, for a dress, or a jewel, or a nice toy, or almost anything. I left it all to ' him. And for you, I left it to him, too." ' 4 - - "Well, my rtnr. the. ch-iotlohiM has heard your prayer, and given you much more than you asked for." "What is it, mother?" cried Esther, sitting up, all eagerness, in bed. "Listen, dear; when you get to be as old as I am, you will understand. Now, you must believe. Miss Harnett came today." "Yes, and the violets were lovely. But" VI am not speaking of violets. In coming today, Miss Hartnett brought you a very beautiful gift. So beautiful, beauti-ful, my dear! and yet unless you are good and pure and unselfish, you will surely lose it. It is a gift which should encourage you to a lovelier life because be-cause no life that is not altogether i lovely deserves such a gift." "What gift was it, mother? Tell me." "My dear, today the dear Christ-Child Christ-Child sent you as his best gift a true friend." |