. ~_l;i5.-_rrr

riatmaa

w. oi H w A G T ‘r u ti

Our Ch ristmqs Story

BY F. F. FIELD

swirling, cddying drifts piled up

swiftly under the onslaught of u late December snow storm. 'l‘hrough it speed a sleek, powerful cur. Even ice-rimmed ruts and frost eu the wnidsiiicld tailed to diinimsh its sPCCd.

‘ v were already far into the .\l.uiii'..ii!is was apparent t0 the occupairs from the rapidly dc- iliiiizii: tin! u: "re and presently iuli a small town the uncertain,

. was identiﬁed as th~.ir de inzituiii.

Another mile lzpped by and the chauﬁeur slack-exam soevd. Head- lights gleamNl flirt if: the driving snow" to reveal‘ ii ~if_.li which rend: SAINI-YFCRIULI.

"Herc we are, sir." he said as he s 1g into the broad, sittpiiigtlrive llnidiiii: to the “Big Iiouse."

R. Iifontagile Ctirrington righted fiimseli‘ from his hall-reclined pos- ltlUIl on the buck seat, stretched and glanced at his luminous wrist i arch. “lIerc already? Not bad iiin Roberts." he conceded.

"Nut but! sir. Hilrti (iriving to- nis. . though." With expert hands he guitietl the long limousine under the ptll‘il.‘<t‘tli'll(‘l‘l', pulled it to u linl‘ and sprtuig out. to open the rear deer.

C'-.iri"i~;tﬂri stepped from the car nurl t.otl ivariiv thriuuh deep s "Yiuii better‘ come in. Ibhcrts. I may be a couple of li-'~li'

. he brushed a few small sizow from his overcoat. and "ll‘\‘:‘_\'C(i without curl "ty the ordered cleanliness so typical of ho" tals. The faint but familiar odor oi alcohol and anaesthetics tiermczited the place.

A piurutg orderly stopped and

" to him. "How are you, Mr. C.u lngtoii? Your daughter's ex- tou. I think. Will you sit ' ll moment’? I'll tell the

. pe hert.“ He indicated a .. “able chair in the reception .1». and hurried dawn the long

{ton slipped from his coat. rii till. a fashionable double- A4lh(l worsted failed to conceal .e:.iil'.: of thirty-eight years iof the good things of . ~ Wlls a till], wiall set-tip man ii.. hr; rliu-p-rww, SllCKlOWCfl eyes marl iast-t-bizmg hair bore mute shy to t‘. life e-pent in hard,

-entljv. ' returned. ' tlziiiifliurs rvutiy now, Mr. . Will you come this .,..

;t'in followed and entered . llZ(ll("\i"(l. lie closed it buiriitl llllll. From her rc-

.-: 1'. tiled hospital ileti up at him. arms

i.c. " he exclaimed. B. lizuliii; his features. “How you? Gad. you're looking like ‘ clolic s." A. silt‘ rciiliczi in a gentle, husky

mire Ieolretl ill. the beautiful --Iirutlr<l mild that was his fillll"l1lfl'. l7‘s.];iti~ hi1 silggestion iii." '21" lcrkrd ro well. he noticed that. her ehcfks still bore the

h"l",l‘.i"lli"il mini‘ yiecullnr to tuber-

she smiled.» "It's Gee. it a [vcar since you uicrc here, . look." ah" added. pointing to .\1l calendar. "it's. only a week." only wish r could be with you day my dirliniz. but. you v (liddvi; got to corn enough money to g"t you wcll again And hwy-Jet's grt dnvsn to business. “You ltneiv. I suppose." he said.

It was her father's turn to look troubled. Here he was-the great R. Montague Carrington, with ev- erything he could ever hope for, wealth, social prestige and the Dower that only money can wield. Yet with all that he could not bring his little daughter the health she so earnestly desired. That a child should ask for health-a pair of shoes that she might walk again and play with the other kids. Was there no JUSUCE? Must this little blond tot. g0 on suffering when the best of medical attention was hers to command. He knew only too well/that in the gray days of De- cember andJyes-even when the sun had shone in June last. sum- mer. and the summer. before that, Irene had prayed ln her childish, patiit-Hc way for just one thing——a pair of shoes and the right to use them.

He sighed and turned towards the darkened window. Like a stricken man. he rose slowly from the chair. The blood drained from his face. He clenched his hands tightly, but he did not feel the ﬁnger nails bite into the palm.

Little Irene heard him walk to- ward the window and turned her face to watch his movements. He looked out into the darkness and passed a hand wearily over his face. Finally, he turned to the bed. Bravciy, and like the sports- man he was, he tried to smile, but there were tears in his eyes.

“Im sorry, darling," he said simply.

The wind had abated now and the snow was falling softly. adding to the white mantlc that was vis- ible even in the dim light.

If.

Christmas Day dawned crisp and clear. A fresh snow during the night had erased every soiling mark on the ground. Not even the ski trails were visible in this new world of white. '

Stockings had been hung up by the staff and decorations were in place-evergreens and holly and- yes. even a little mistletoe here and there. Large Christmas trees are around in abundance-and lent that Yuletide spirit that only 2t Christmas tree can provide.

In the Sanatorium. the Christ- mas season seemed to take on an even greater signiﬁcance for the background is essentially one of sadness. For Irene Carrington. the event seemed but a short break in the terrifying monotony suffered by the bed-ridden. The fact that her entire family forerook their home and spent the clay in her room meant a great deal to her and her suffering would have been that much more intense had they not been there. But still the thought of more months to come- lylng upon her back and doing ncthlng~almost stunned the small child's mind.

This year. her family arrived soon after breakfast. After their greetings were over and her mother and father had apokena few words of encouragement u» their precious child, Irene was asked to hide her face in the blankets while the Christmas Tree was brought in from the hall.

This was an annual event, and one that always received an en- thusiastic response from the child. It was real fun, she thought. to hide in the blankets and then look up and find. the Christmas 'I‘rea --laden with all sorts of toys and good things to eat-standing at her bed-side.

With the preliminaries over, Irene opened her eyes in amaze- ment at the wonderful tree that stood beside her. Amid the smiles other parents and relations. aha

Her Christmas Present Was A Lovely Daughter

Mrs. Burke wept a little as shc trimmed the Christmas tree. "This will be the last time," she thought. "Next Christmas I'll be all alone in the world."

I-Icr son whistled as he shaved. "Getting dolled up," his mother thought. "All for' that girl!" She held a bright bulb aloft as though she must dash it to the floor, thought better of it. and hung it on the tree.

“Ready. mother? I'll drop you at church on the way over to Dor- othyb."

"In just a minute, con." Oh. my son, my son, why must you leave mo? Your ﬁrst Christmas seems only yesterday.

The beautiful old anthems filled the church. "God so loved the world. that he gave his only be- gotten son——" The text: “More blessed to give than to receive." Sacriﬁce. I must; give up my son. His happiness means more than mine.

They were waiting for her in front of the church, young and happy. "Say, mother, Dorothy-"

“I couldn't have you spending Christmas alone, Mrs. Burke. We're all going out and celebrate. You see-my brother got married last. summer. and I know just how we felt; that we were losing him, and so forth. But I really gained a dear sister, and so I want you to be just my other mother. and think of us both as your children."

Joy swept back into Mrs. Burke's heart. .

"Such a wonderful Christmas present!" she cried. "A daughter!" -Heien Galsford.

Christmas Decorations Well, another Christmas has

mllcd around and most of us are busy at this time of the year get- ting our homes decorated for the Yuletide season so that. we may be proud of it when the time for pur- tics 211d visitors ccmcs.

Erich year the question confronts us: What decorations shall we use? A few weeks ago most of us thought that we would think up some new ideas for Christmas, 1936. but as the time draws near we are busy with other matters and usually lct the old holly, Christmas tree and mistletoe suf- ﬁce.

Vllth so many things to do, it is sometimes difficult to find time to go ill extensively for new sugges- tions in decorations. There are prcseiits vto purchase, ‘Christmas ckiltes and puddings and other good things to eat. to prepare, Christmas cartlr. and gifts to address and mall ~——llll(l~—0ll-——il. thousand and one things to d0.

So tlie suggestions we bffer her“ ‘re simple ones, the majority of \‘.l ch may be Iirepared by the kiddies so that the grown-ups may give their time to more engaging occupations. .

First of all. every home needs a Christmas tree to set off the prin- cipal room lll the house. Today, it is a simple matter to get a nice tree. One merely telephones the grocer and hc sends over one as you wish, according to size and price. This should be left in the cold air as long as possible for the snow and cold keeps it fresh.

Once in the house. it should be set up in a decorative stand and then the decorating commences.

Joan’s Unexpected Guest Was Her Yuletide Love

Nina had gone with her Donald to Chicago; Vera to her Granny! house to meet. her fiance and Dora. she had cone up w 141"" M Bob's fraternity dance. Joan won- dered l: my girl had ever had such a lonely Christmas holiday in PM‘ spect. .

“Gee, there's that little crlwl! boy down there in that roomlﬂl house on the corner that mliht Y!‘ lish some nice food. I've waved It him every morning for the last six weeks. I guess we know each 0th" well enough and they do say hll mother takes that. early b"! m" town to scrub floors. every day in the week," she t/Jld herself as she was about to dIOD 03 3° 5399p. Christmas eve.

It was scarcely daylight when Joan had gone to the little corner rooming house, slipped a. little note of invitation under the door of the cripple boy's room, and was on her way to the store for acup- ply of everything that belongs in l. traditional Christmas feast, plus l. few gifts for the lad.

There was barely time to ex- change her house dress for a street frock so she might run down to the corner to push the youngateru wheel chair to her house as she had promised. But. at the very moment she stepped forth into the hull, she met not only her guest- to-bc. but a splendid, handsome young man.

“You see, miss, I got the invita- tion-the note was tucked under my door, but I gathered at once who you meant it for so I deliv- ered it to Jimmy and made friends with hlm--we've been tcgctherthe past two hours, taking a short ride

.Chrz'stmas At A Canddian Mme

map tn the from: futuou of Northwestern Quaboc and Ontlﬂﬂ where the bulk of Canada's PI"- loua and’ base motala mlnlﬂl VP"- atlona are carried on. Q10" l" W‘ day thousands of men colebratlni Christmas-many of them far fmm loved ones and surrounded only W their fellow workerl.

sonic, it u true. an 1011mm enough to be attuned with one of the bigger companies around which good-nixed wwm and W"! cities have sprung up WW1 m! prosperity that [has {attended the mine‘: prosperltv- ‘lbw. v1 wilt"- are with their families and an celebrating this Christmas D8)‘ much in the sumo manner u our- selves.

But imagine, if you can. a hi»! wilderness of green and white. Perhaps several hundred miles separate these far reaches of the hinterland from the nearest town or city. Buried deep in mow and pine or balsam trees lioa a little camp. There is the cook-house and one or two small but comfortable M at 50 below-log cabins. Perhaps but three or four men are present. ‘They have pushed in from their small exploration camps on snow-shoes to headquarters for their Christmas celebrations and mall. _

A few years ago. they mliht have done the same thing. But. no mail would have awaited them, most likely. no communication with the outside world existed. Today, however. thank: to the nir- plane and the radio. all thin has been changed. Instead of sitting hunched around a fire eating moose steak m- anything alas the chef might. have been able to af- ford from his meagre stocks, the)’ feed on the beat of fresh foods brought in a few hours previously

by an airplane equllll-‘Md with lkis- .

And they no longer feel lonely: no longer do they luck word from

homo and the outside worldl Ibr today there are few mining

camps that are not equipped with.

a. good receiving radio set and m the majority of the larger centres surrounding the mines there have been set up short-wave transmis- sion stations.

Take for example the chibou- gamlu mining area in Northwest. em Quebec. Situated some hun- dred and twenty miles from the nearest. town, miners no longer-m forced to do without. those little luxuries that. make life worth living.

Not only in Chibougamau itself but In St. Fellclen on the wooded ahorea of Lake St. John and in Oskllaneo there are broadcasting stations. Over the ether waves. the men employed in this region receive not. only news of the world, but are able to converse indirectly and sometimes even directly with their wives and families.

Imagine a miner sitting in one of these cabins miles from civiliza- tlon-a distance that not so long ago would have been covered by canoe in two weeks, and now takes but an hour and a half by ‘plane -and getting a message something like this on Christmas Day:

"Have a. message for Smitty if he's listening in. Your wife and the two kids came over to our place for Christmas dinner today. Smitty, and we all had a swell time together. Just thought you might like to know that we're taking care of them."

What a change in a. few years. And with a tight belt following a Christmas dinner that the chefs in these camps certainly lmow how to prepare. and after listening to a message like that. any man would sleep well and be readv for his Job in the piercing cold the next day.

The airplane and radio have in- deed wrought a great. change in the bush on Christmas Day!

A CAROL Col-M. Holy child, and bless the humble Book ‘mint tel"; mankind ‘HM blllillll of Your 10v . Grant that. the milliominttw world may look upon each ma. inmlm! ffm’ . Heavn above. Pour Your sweet inﬂuence on W"? word

'I_‘hat those who rend ml? U19" that they can live Only lf in their aoull the! we be stirred By that sweet. teaching only Yo" can give.

0h, Holy Child, m my You bless the art whereby men carve the statues of Your form; let each cold image ltlr in n"?! heart, A love for You. with M1101‘ worship warm. Send out Your lesson to all than _ who stare Yet do not ace Your mellm in the atom; Teach chem to know You. IWI each how to can.

To know their wcrthlounell. and ‘

to atone. on, Holy child. blou wary wllﬂ

Dﬁl That leads t-hl ﬁlling 0f Yﬁl-lf Chrlstmal Owl? Let every luart-ltring understand. and fool i

rest l: wrong. Bless every earthly thing in baud! of man

THERE CAME A KING

There came a King to Bethlehem Town, Two thousand years gone by. Who had no ermine robe or crown ‘n: mark his wyaltv;

Who found no throng to pave his

road With pc-lnu 0r carpets say. . Nor palace rich for his abode, / Nor courtlerl to Obey; -

Yet empire vast awaited Him On mountain, moor and main: Even Europe's tangled forests dim

Held subfects for his reign-

[And soon confusion ceasedtohold Uninterruptcd powﬂ‘. And. some of earth’! OPPWSSIO"! old Begun to cringe and cower.

There came a King to Betlllfhvm Town. I'm thousand years gone by and angels from theheavens SPOKE

dawn A NR1 PTWPhNY-

That while the red sun's centrhl ﬂame Should warm the central spheres ‘Ihouglz every other kingly namﬁ Ina dud among dead 3M“?

This King would hold Hi5 5W9 IND The wenknela of decay. Becculc the eternal power of love Should bus Hi5 thmne away.

There came a King to Bethlehem Town

DECEMBER

e "it: i i Bil‘

would like S: ‘trt to bring me. and thatfs. .. thui s :1 pair of shoes just m I can ivnlk again and play with the other kids like I used t:>. Oh. daddy. I'm so tired of lying here with nothing to do."

_____.-_

rli-y eyes looked about the room. Her glance 9a: a question. What did it. mean‘! Was this some mean Joke? Or had her prayers been answered at. last? she could not. fathom ft and at last took re- fuge ln tears — great, uncontroll- able aobs.

Her mother moved to the bed- side and slid to her knees beside the child.

"Mummy! darling mustn't cry like that," she soothed.

"But. Mummy. what does it mean? Arc they for me to use?" She tried in vain to still the sob-s that shook her little frame, to stop the tears that. still welled up in her eyes. .

“Yes. my precious. They are for you. You are golngto walk again and play with the kids like you've been praying torso long. Now let daddy tell you all about it."

Carriniiion at on the aide of

"So when I left you I went down to see the doctor and told him that there must be something W0 weld do: there had to be. While we all wanted to sec you let well. I told him. we couldn't. leave you alone here any more. Wall. ho looked wise and scratched hi5 116M.” Carrlngton imitated the doctor much to the child's amuse- ment, "and finally said there was only one thing to do. We could ta-ke you away from here and go down south to live-in Arizona P°Ylml1s~and you would be ab‘e m

but on your shoes. walk about and

even play with the kids a. little as

1M1! u you promised to rest a great. deal the rest of the time. Now, how's that. honey?"

Irene looked closely at the shoes

again, smiled and said:

"Daddy. I want heavy heels so

_1' can make a lot of noise when. I. walk!"

the milk bottlca should be collect- cd, dried and put. away until sev- eral dozens have been accumulated.

A few days before Christmas these should be colored either by pasting brilliant paper on them, covering them with silver tinsel, crayon ci- aluminum paint. Punch two holes in each of these and string them about the room. Then with the slightest breath of air in the room these began to ﬂicker about and catch the light, making all in all a very nretty scene.

A new idea. if you have the DBUEIICC, rocm curl desire to build a real Winter cffcct, may be ob- tained by building a little snow scene in the room. This might be (one at the ﬁreplace, but in this country mcsi. of us need that for

open 13g firm at Christmas time.

A better way would be to ap- _,_pr0pl'l8t0 one corner of the room and from about three feet up the arriving with his reindeer and

and hail the first stranger f Jen. You see. I don't want any turkey left over for turkey huh, tomor- row."

Three parwok of Joan's ram feast, but the fourth guuhthoulh

unseen, was present. too. Dove wu

there uninvited. But. that fourth

remained forever and a day, upon

invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Larry King who never forgot to include little Jimmy Jordan at their spec- ial occasion ‘ ‘ " the y"? aroundl-Luelln B. Lyons.

walla lot flow down to the flog I stream of white cotton. giving the effect. of a hillside covmdfn mow. If n. large piece of backboard ll placed under the "mow" a rel-ll! ﬂne scene can be effected by the use of a. little house act on the aide of the hill, aleigha or Santa Ollul

their stoma! bum. Lucy latmdju.

sleigh. ‘This could sully be lul- pended above the houu on a um. Light win. with the uu of a little ingenuity, lightl could be made to flicker from the little hmuu and oven amok: from tho chknnﬂl. I9 that the HUM dost u naiiymm umly than that fa the daytime. With a little can and thought. a formerly bare oornn om be made mm a really buutiful wintlt some.

UIIIIITMAI WAD-RING

"De ulflnh man," nld Uncle Iben, “musn't be surprised if do only way he can be aura of l ‘Marry Ohrlatmu’ ll by talkln‘ it into n phonograph record."

'~ That help; ul all to wcnhtp Ind - .. .‘.‘ “qth a ttrln. " m: it‘: Christmas exclaimed in sheer 10y at the Mm‘ T.“ momma ye.“ Iorilelsbylaks i . next zvrmk. Daddy." wants to know spectacle The wondmuc O06, lWId H001“! And lg: H0 "WM- mda" p9 . what. Santa Claus is ‘o llfilf’; this ~Oh aaddy mummy "-5 Just wgﬂﬂbggn-u ‘m : - - ' .. ' The angels’ pmnhwy- m. , i 43h" I'M Mm‘ W W" W! Lvgauzzrluli oh. gcie, Margie’? In, Whollvo for V .. . . _ W3» e _ -e u! She tllfllf-(l her htnrl to lift‘ \\'i‘1- stretched her arms to }thcm and | v "'15- Md "m. n" century ye t w “.5 ri 1w rnri looked o-l; itztti the cath- hugged them both unm they had - i-ié-vi- H1] power complete shall 87°“- Pfllli! Ill! l1. A nun to break away m, f”, o; “m,” his daughter's bed. He reached The old idol o.’ candles for llght- and now rm turning him over to ‘ S110“! [LAKES And all earth's aceptered tifllfmes Pri ti‘ iii l11'-'i'"i" tiir 1mg _.un°¢a¢.-d_ down and ldaaccl her flushed fore- lug effect has golic out of style for you. Miss—Miss—" ._._....... - 301°" 113mm" l“ ‘W’ ihnie \'.'t‘l‘r‘ it r.. ill llrl‘ eyes. ‘vim (mun-sh lack o; momma“ head and then said: the modern cotter-ii electric lights "Jonn Burke and you arc-ll" .. .-.-,.. ' ‘ .. ' Bil ti ndlh ' w _ llzi . livxnﬂv hlulvifllflu vile o, yjrdprnntag’ she began to m“. Darling, when I was here last really lend more encliuntmeut to “Larry Kins. Miss Burkcgund this mfmyo: nuuﬁw “rm. The Great Champlaln “l ask-t. . 1~l i \\t .l. 0D,... H". many parcels m“ weigh, week. I couldtnt bear to think of the scene and "re less dangerous is Jimmy Jordan. With your per- Th. new‘ ‘ u mm. _ Asill" lit M l" '-~"<t "ll and on down the stout boughs. Prc- yo“ Mn: 1n bed up here-all alone than the ﬂirkcms candle». it is mission, then, I'll return for my . m l“ h"'k“"l ‘l’ " h" l 4'“ “"4" senilv. she came to a. box It was "my lﬂncer. You known, daddy not necessary to go any further charge 1am- m the day, what Md ‘nm, “n” Samuel do Ohlmvlllﬂ- u" F m I cheeks ‘Oh dmltlt‘. I'm so fool- “Tapped mm particular ‘can ‘m; and mummy didn't like it any with regard to Christmas tree dc- ' hour do you s“, “now?” with dumwa.‘ ma“ mirth. UIDIONI. who Ill l0 Prmnlnenl’ n I lsll. wi It ~.- all the \~.~.1-.~ up charm and he, m“, mind mm“ more than you did. We wanted our corations. 10m ,,,,.,,,,,,',.. “I; 1 my b. the only dlyl 0f Canada. died o‘ g hlTf‘ from iii t-Jy to see nv- anti [q grasp I sped,“ slgntﬂcwce little Irene at home with us so A novel idea for decanting the govbold a; go agglyunnlng 319:1] “ﬁnd” “nigh Ohrllhnaa Day. i635. in what waif rvk nae nhzr tilrilirrls, and I from it. for with an almpgg that we could all be together ‘and room-to be used instead or the where?" Th. uxwnianmd’ than the little French town ivc l. rtart to til‘. lin yirry." shr- sob- troubled.’ questlonln! klance she have a lot of fun." conventional twisted serpentine ~To the lunch Wllon if you 5mm "I" a u‘ Qubw‘ chmnpmn w“ l wlsd 2 lWl began much mo" cncgupy u, “n. The tear: vlero drying now, and garlands-ls the use of little discs must know» m"), lcknéwledled_ HQ!!!‘ their ﬁr! govgrnol‘ and a hardy and intros“ f ‘ll/ll... Tot; nil riuht. Ii‘f‘llf‘- But tie the bright ribbons and pccl of! the little face was breaking —o0i0rcd and strung about the “your “i; mt, 1r you don't stay up“ m n“ a explorer for the France hedﬂgom “ll-lie "Wllblllll! Dllilflfs tlﬂfllllll?" the colored paper Wrapping; bravely into smiles. Her father room. For aaeveral weeks before to h ye Chl-mmu dimm- with up so wall. Bo laid the foun ‘ d ,..[‘.,€‘X‘_:i.'1"‘;;n,y"; h“ tlrllfillx- She opened the box and with Cbntlnued: ' Christmas. the cardboard tops from I'm :01“ right out into the street us“, m‘ of the city of Quebec M14 "5" i_ 1 ‘ii Li’ i. .

the around 1°‘ ‘he “mm” ‘hill? He w” enema‘! in ckaﬂnglnnt. forests in the new land. in Trim he m‘ “a” o’ when ‘nd “wt plenary also achieved fame l“ mstln nf work and la the Indian nah I

his day.