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Show ' J ' .. f HRISTMA3 balls are ringing. Ringing glad and gay. Voices sweet are singing Vfh Song of Christ5 i. p mas Day. "T Heart, what Joyous music, For thy part dost bring? Hast filled sad places Wlth'lovea carolling? -- ... TO THEIR CHEEKS THE WARM BLOOD . FLIES INTO HER EYES LOOK HIS. BU T TJIERE AJIE OTHER EYES. UNDER THE MISTLETOE! AS , (Bistmas . , Mr mix Hi i Christmas bells are ringing. Heart, what gift of thine Marks the day's sweet meaning Purposes divine? Th ChUdllk Ml 4. Christmas la not only th mile mark How dost tell the etory Of the heavenly birth of another year moving us to thought With Its streaming glory of It is a season, from Filling all th earth? all Its associations, whether domestic or religious, suggesting thoughts of Christmaa bells are ringing. joy. A man dissatisfied with hla endeavors la a man tempted ta sadness. - Ringing Joyfully, And In the midst of the winter, when Heart, a holy helper Thou thyself must be; hla Ufa runs lowest and ha la remindThou must follow, follow ed of the empty chairs of hla beloved. Him who Is the way It la veil ho should be condemned to Be loves advent angel' this fashion of tho smiling face. Noble Bringing Christmaa Day. al are disappointment, noble not to be admired, not even to be pardoned, If they bring bitterness. It Is LEGEND OP THE MAGI. one thing to enter the Kingdom of Heaven malm; another to malm your-ee- l! The legend of the Wise Men of th and stay without. And the King- East, or as they are styled in the oridom of Heaven la like the chlld-llkginal Greek, the three Magi, became, of those who are easy to please, who under monkish Influence, one of the love and who give pleasure. Mighty most popular during the middle ages. men of their hands, the smlters u." Th Scripture nowhere informs ns that the builders and tha judges, have lived these individuals were kings, or their long and done sternly, and yet pre- number restrlcted t6 three. The legend served this lovely character; and converts the magi Into klngs.giyes their among our carpet Interesta and two- names and a minute account of their penny, concerns, the shame were In- stature and the natnre of their delible if we should lose it From a gifts. Melchior, we are thus told, was Christmaa Sermon by Robert Louis king of Nubie, the smallest man of tha Stevenson. triad, and ha gav the Savior a gift of gold. Balthasar was king of Chaldea, and he offered Incense; he was a man of ordinary stature. But the third, Jasper, king of Tarshlsh, waa of high stature, a black Ethlope, and he gav myrrh. All came with many rich ornaments belonging to kings array, and with a multitude of people to do homage to the Savior, then a little child 13 days old. The barbaric pomp Involved In this legend made It a favorite with artists during the middle ages. The picture of The Offering of the Magi," which w publish, ta from a circular plate uf silver chased in high relief ahd partly gilt; which, la supposed to have formed From every eplr on Christmas ee, ' The Christmas bells ring' clearly out the center of a morse or large brooch, Their message of good will and peace, used to fasten the decorated cope of an ecclesiastic in the latter part of, the With many a pall and silver shout. fourteenth century. For faithful hearts, the angels song . Tbe Empress Helena, mother of ConStill echoes In the frosty air. stantine the Great, found what she conAnd by the altar low they bow , sidered the burial place of tbe three jin adoration and in prayer. kings, and their remains were removed to Constantinople and Interred tn the A thousand blpsafWles throng, church of St, Sophia. Later they wore Th stars AVe holy Blgns removed to the Cathedral of Milan, and And from rue eyes of every child Lookforth the Babe of Bethlehem. In tbe twelfth century to Colognejcbere But there are others, not, like these. they still lie, in a magnificent reliquary, Whose brows are sad, whose hopes enriched with gems and enamela These relics are enveloped in velvet and dee- are crossed. To whom the season brings no cheer. And life's most gracious charm lost. self-deni- REGINA COEL.I. AT. did hla (later wonder what could J o a a p h I ee . In a mild, allent lit- tle maid Ilk thee? And waa It awful In that narrow houae. With God for baba and 8pouaT Nay, like thy almple, female aort, each on flud Him la Iluaband and In 'Aptto I Son, iNothlng to the came atrang In thla. Thy wopder waa but wondrous bliss; Wondrous, for though ilYue Virgin live not but doe know i(!iowbuf non ever yet confeaaed) That God Ilea really In her breast, 'Of thin ho made hla apeclal neat 1 And ao, .All mother worahlp little feet And klaa the very Around theyr ,But, ah, thy little Baby Sweet, Who waTItTUeed thy Gcdl trod, Coventry Patmore, H E N Luclen da Hem had aeon hla c not last raked In by the banker and had risen from the roulette table where he had Just lost the 100-fran- fk rmtDa amall fortune fci he experienced a aort of vertigo and al most tell. With reeling brain and falling Umba he tottered over to the leather bench that encircled the room and threw himself on It For some minutes he gated vaguely about thla private gambling bell In which b had wasted the best years of hla youth, recognising on by on the plundered heads of - the players In the bold glare of the three great green shades. He heard the soft friction of the gold on the felt and realised hla loss, hla ruin; but he remembered that at home. In a bureau drawer, there were two army pistols which had been bravely used by his father. General Do Hem, In the attack of Zaatcha. Then utterly worn out, ha slept profoundly, He awoke with parched throat and - glancing at the clock saw that he had barely slept a bait hour. An imperative need to breath the night air came over him. The hand marked a quarter to midnight, and, on rising and stretchtng hla arms, Luclen recollected that It waa Christmas eve, and by nn Ironical freak of memory bo saw himself a little child again putting hla.ahoes In front of tho chimney nt bedtime. dust then old Dronskt, tho Polo, a Situ r of the place, In threadbare, braided livery, came np to Luclen and mouthed a few word la hla dirty heard. "Lend me Ove francs. Monsieur, Her are two days since I have been out of th club and 17 haa not turned up one. Laugh at ma If you will, but yon may cut off my fiat If 17 does not eume out In a few minutes, when the clock strikes midnight Luclen de Hem shrugged hla shoulders; he had not evenjbe wherewithal , In hla pocket t pay the tax known by tb house habltuea as Th dole's J fi Hi , ' lPenc. He passed Into the hall, put on hi Vat hla coat, then descended the stalra .with the haste of n will leave here and carry her home sleeping tn my arms. I will bring her own child, and can up, love her for her always, always." The clock struck 1, the quarter, th s, and Luclen half, the still sat at the table. A minute before tbe banker rose abruptly and said In sharp voice: Enough for th day, gentlemen; tha bank la closed. Luelen leaped to hla feet. Roughly he pushed the players aside as they lingered about, eyeing him with en rlous admiration; hurriedly he cleared tbe etalre and ran to the stone bench. Thank God!" he cried; she la still there!" He seised her hand. Ah! how cold aha is, poor Uttl one!" As he lifted her In hla arms the child's bead fell back limp, and she did ' not wakens. How children sleep, he snow. , Luclen de Hem felt mechanically for thought, pressing her to hla breaat for his vest pocket, and waa suddenly re- warmth; and, vaguely anxious, he was minded that a moment before he had about to kiss her lids to draw her from not even found n forgotten franc, nor this heavy slumber, when he saw with terror that tba childs eyes wete half a pourbolre for the valet. However, stirred by an Instinctive open, showing glassy pupils, extinpity, be approached the little girl, tnd guished and motionless. With terrible would perhaps have carried her In his suspicion Lucleh brushed her little Up arms to give her a night shelter, had with hla own, and no breath cams from he not seen something shining In ths them. While Luclen had been wlnnln fortune with th loula stolen frfm" old sbo ns it lay In the snow. her, this little beggar bad died of cold. He bent over. It was n gold loula Some charitable person, a woman, Hla throat contracted in awful agony, V and la doubtless. In passing by this Christ- he tried to cry out mas eve had seen th shoe lq front th effort he awoke from a nightman of th sleeping child, and had remem- on the bench at the club, where he had bered the touehlng legend. This gen- fallen asleep before midnight, and had erous alma had been given so that the jeen left undisturbed by the kindness little one might believe In tfce gifts of of th old valet, who had gone off last tb holy child, and In aplte of her dis- of all at 5 o'clock. His heart had bees tress retain some hop In the goodness touched by the poor bankrupt. A noisy December dawn was peering of Providence. A loula! It meant many days of through th panes. 'Luclen went put, plenty tor the beggar," and Luclen was pawned his watch, bathed, breakfasted, about to wakenand tell her o, when then went to the recruiting office, he heard a vole In hla ear, a drawling, where he enlisted in the First Africsa ' Chasseurs. thick voice, mumbling; Luclen de Hem Is now a lieutenant, Her ere two days since I have been out of the club. Ton can cut off my he Uvea on hla small pay and never fist It 17 does not come out when the touche a card. It appears that he saves something, clock strikes midnight, Then the young man of 23, coming too, tor not long ago, In Algiers, he was of honest stoek with magnificent mil teen y a brother officer who waa walkta a winding street of ttary record, never falling in honor, ing behind him alms to a little Spaa- Kasha tb giving thla young man suddenly conceived dreadrul thought, fell prey to n wild, hysterical, monstrous desire. Assuring himself with one glance that the street was deserted he swiftly stooped, advanced a trembling hand, and stole tha loula from the old shoe. With a wild rush he reached the club again, cleared the etalre In on impetuous rush, flung open the door of the reeking hall, and threw the gold piece on the gen, just Pa fas clock chimed the first stroke of midnight. street, a central one, walled in by high houses, waa all white. Multitudes of k cold stars shone In the purg-- d I sky. Tba runted man walked rapidly, revolving desperate thoughts to hla mind, and was more than aver drawn to the pistol box In hla dressing case drawer. 'Suddenly he stopped. He was cong ncene. fronted by n On n stone bench, placed According custom ' beside tha to the old-timonumental door of a palace, a little girl of 6 or 7, barely covered by n ragged black frock, waa sitting In tha snow, Sh had gone to sleep there. In spit of the cold, in a painful attitude of utter weariness, with her poor little head and shoulder propped In an angle of the ley atone. One of her old shoes had fallen from th foot which bung over and lay In the fevered person. During the four hours he had been In doors heavy snow had fallen and the asy blue-blac- Christmas In the country forty years ago was a different affair from what it la now.' I never 'think of Christmas In those days without thinking of a three-quarter- s, winter day, bright with snow everywhere; large drifts, through which tha horses floundered aa they drew the stout sled, oa filled with which was the wagon-be- d and bay, and covered with blankets buffalo-robewhere we cuddled down, as wa rode merrily away to apend Christmas at grandpa's Wa could hardly wait till the horse etopped, so eager wenp w to wish grandpa a merry Christmas;' but he was generally ahead of us with hla greeting of Christmas gift. That entitled him to S present Instead of ns; hut a kiss all around was usually tue way Wa paid off our indebtedness, while soma striped sticks of peppermint candy, laid up for ths occasion, were given us. Our aunts, uncles and cousins came next and for their share ef good wlshe lovely sun-shin- and heart-breakin- merry jokes. A bright firs burned In the fireplace, and there, suspended by a .stout string from the ceiling, was a great turkey full of dressing, and sending most delicious odor aa It turned kound'lnd round,' gradually browning before the fire, the juice dripping into a great pan on the brick hearth; and from this pan grandma occasionally dipped the juice with a huge Iron spoon and poured It over the crisp aides of tha turkey. Other preparations were going on meanwhile In tbe kitchen, where a cooking stove held the place were very of honor, as cooklng-stove- a rare In those days. Tha neighbors had come miles to see It. and express their fears as to tbe probability of Its blowTbla cook-atov- e, however, ing up. waa not equal to cookin' such a large turkey tn its amall oven. A coffee-boilsent out an odor of coffee strong packed 8 er - e, -- To whom that story, old and sweet. Is but a fable at tha beat; The Christmas music mocki their ears, And life has naught of joy or rest Oh! for an angel's voice to pierce . . Th clouds of grief that oer them rise. The mists of doubt and unbelief That veil the blue of Christmaa sklef i That they, at last, may see tha light Which shines from Bethlehem and unfolds For Christ the treasures of their hearts Richer than splcery or gold. ' ' Hope of th ages, draw Thou near. OFFERING OF THE MAGIS. Till all the earth shall own Thy sway. And when Thou relgnst In every heart. orated with embroidery and Jewels, a that only tba upper part of each skull la It will indeed be Christmas day. ' HE APPROACHED THE LITTLE GIRL. BRIGHT FIRE BURNED, and fragrant, while a long table covered vritkt snowy linen (the. work of grandma's own hands) stood at th farther end of the long.kltchea. waa. proA soon a tba turkey nounced done and the gravy made In the chair were placthe drlpplng-pala Exlta Gloria. and w were called table the near ed (A hymn dating from the 13th left to wait, .) to dinner. No on waa After grandpa auch merry time! and Christ la horn of maiden fair; asked a blessing oa the food, he bad Hark! tha heralds In the sir! carY(.d the turkey and supplied our Thus adoring hear them there, waiting plas 'bountifully with any In excelsls gloria! niece wa wished, together with all manner of good things In th way of Shepherds saw those angels bright. with vegetables. A rice pudding and plenCarolling In glorious light; pies pumpkin ty of raising, served for dessert, and God, Hla Son, ta born tonight. apples In excelals gloria! we our only sorrow waa that w could eat children dinner After little Christ Is come to save mankind, around In th kitchen, game Aa In holy page we find, ' olayed need when there waa that Therefor alng with reverent mind. the fireplace -no fire to th cook stove. Here gloria! corn, cracked nuts, told nopped we bllnd-man- 'e fsirr stories and played ' A Prior aa Klor'trlrUn. visited in one older Prince Victor Emmanuel of Napfe. buff whll th the time earn uqtil eepln'-room" th la said to be an expert electrician. to return home. experiments on all It application light, sound, motive power, and "You mutt dislike Newcomb tography, and was one of the first p,N Grlzxljr "I hate him as 11 A tsh beggar asleep under a doorway. The officer bad tba Indiscretion to look at ths money which, Luclen had given te poverty. He had put a gold loula In the child's hand. n. eta-tury- rosy-Cheek- ed u " -k- r.iiu'r -- Eleanor A. Hunter. , All on 17! Seventeen won. With a tujn of hla hand ha shoved the 38 loula a red. Red won. He left 73 louts on th same color. Again It appeared! Three times he put np the doubled (takes with the same luck. There was now a great heap of gold and bank notes la front of him, and ha began frantically to sow them broadcast over the table. Every com btnatlon favored him. Th little Ivory ball jumping about tha divisions of tha roulette seemed to be magnetised by the gambler's gase, ant obeyed It. 10 plays he had recovered the few thousand franca, hla last resource, that he had lost early la the evening. By punting 300 or 300 loule nt one would soon have far more than the heritage he had fooled away. In hla haste to play he had kept ou hts heavy coat, and the great pock eta were already crammed with rolls He now of bank notes and gold had to stuff them Into Ms inside pock eta, hla vest and trouser pockets, hla cigar can, hla handkerchief, and everything that could bold them. He still played. He still won; like a lunatic, like a drunken man! He threw the gold anywhere on the table with dis' v- dainful certainty.' In hla heart a redhot Iron was burn Ing; he thought only of the child asleep In th snow; of the little beggar h had robbed. "Sh is still there, of course;.., certainly, she must ta there! In n minute, when It strikes I I swear it ! man with a "' beard. r Toll Truth- - The Klg Km 114. King Rooster "Kedcombr Redcomb Yes, sire. K. R. What la the cause of this unusual excitement In the court? ' R. Tla tbe preparations for the usual Christmas feast, sire. K. R. "The annual feast R. "Yea, sire. Are we in any K. R. (anxiously) Immediate danger?" R. No, sire. It la only tha females and young males. K. R. And those hens who have been the pest of the court lately with their attempts to Imitate me. are they included? R. All, alre. K. R. Excellent! Perhaps thla may serve to teach them that they only deceive themselves by their egotism; that no matter how loud they crow, ths world' still regards them as hens. Q. r te a, a KutaH Data About Call fora la. An American geography printed tn 1813 contains this Interesting Information: California Is a wild and almost unknown land, covered throughout tha year by dense fogs, as damp as they era unhealthy. On the northern shores lira anthropophagi and in tha Interior are active volcanoes and vast plains of shifting snow, which sometimes shoot up columns to inconceivable heights. Th book adds that some of these statements would seem incredible were they not so well authenticated by trust7 worthy travelers, seen. fHE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. Qua of the greatest blessing the) Chrlatmastlde to ns la tha bring Christmas spirit the fulfilment to tha letter of the Christian law embodied In the Golden Rule. ' Thla la not invariably the case, bn! It la fortunately tbe rule in a grvai number of case. For a little while a month during the Christmas season, we are turned away from all spirit of avarice and selfishness. From tbe tluy toddler, who has for the first time begun to realise her responsibilities aa a member of the family, to the grandmother In her snowy kerchief and cap, we are all plotting and planning lot others. Going to the greatest pains to conceal all our doings in order that our gifts may be genuine surprises. If we are members of Cbrlitlan churches, we have the poor with ns at this season, as at no other. We think out their1 needs. It has been the rule la Christian churches of late years to devote the offerings of the Christmas fee to the mission school. Loving bands of Kings Daughters go about and gather all manner of gifts for those who are leg fortunate, ' for those to whotq ChrlBtmas otherwise brings only empty l&rdera and threadbare clothing. Th most sordid among ns, Uke Old Scrooge, is sure finally to have an Awakening of hla better nature, to find a drawing at hie heart strings more powerful than the tight drawn strings of tha moaag bags. ) 0? |