Evening Star Newspaper, January 13, 1929, Page 25

AROUND THE CITY BY NANNIE dren was held in a school house, with a fat, red Santa Claus to preside at a tree all gilt fringe and shiny balls, and with a hil- lock of presents at its base. Also, there were baskets piled with packages and a table heaped at one end with warm lit- tle neck scarfs, and gloves and stock- ings, and the like, and ice cream in a freezer, with wooden plates on the side. About 40 little people came, some in groups, most of them in couples and a | few of them alone. And all of them | were dressed in their shabby best., One child must have had a mother with a memory for past and happier childhood parties, for she wore a white frock and blue sash, with a wreath of flowers on her head. Thrown across her shoulders was a somewhat raveled sweater, worn with the nonchalance of an heiress who owns an ermine wrap. Most of the girls, however, were dressed in warm clothing, and the boys had on neat, white shirts regard- less of the state of shoes and knickers. ‘The little girls who ventured in alone ‘were taken in hand by sponsors of the party, but it chanced that two small, shabby boys, who had no friends to flock wit introduced themselves to each other by punches delivered and returned and a clinch to find out which was the better man. This prelude set- tled, they fraternized. and when the time came to join the others at the tree their names might have been Da- mon and Pythias, though, to stick to history, one was Jimmie and the other was Bud. Santa, being a wise man who knows | all about children, and having none of his own, welcomed the two shabby, lit- tle boys with the exhilarating news that he had a whistling top for one and a one-blade penknife for the other, with- out in the least realizing that no boy wants a top when he can get a chance at a penknife. Both boys extended hands in the direction of the knife, but each was quickly withdrawn, as Bud, the smaller and shabbier of the two, said to Jimmie: “You pick first go.” “Go ahead, yourself,” said Jimmie, “and then you can cut my scarf in Balf and both of us will have oue.” “Oh, you wicked little boy"—the anathema came from a middle-aged lady in charge of the scarfs—“to ruin your pretty present like that”—though no one seemed to be paying attention to her. Santa, for one, was so im- pressed by the generosity of the young- sters that he lifted both hands in the air to attract general attention, and then voiced admission that in all his service to the little people of earth, he had never before seen a child that did not grab for every gift in sight.” Thereupon, he waddled to the table. ! CHRISTMAS party for poor chil- took one of the few scarfs left and|™ gave it to Bud, whose thin bit of a neck needed it. Then he fumbled among his treasures and, finding an- other knife and another top, sent both boys on their way with full hands. “Those two kids are great friends.” he chuckled to the middle-aged lady, who was not yet pacified. “I bet they grow up to be neighbors and comrades, and maybe will one day give Christmas parties to poor children in memory of this one. And I bet the presents will be whistling tops and penknives.” “And scarfs?” added the lady. “Undoubtedly. Exactly like yours.” And the middle-aged lady smiled with a friendliness that resurrected a long- Jost dimple in her chin. But Santa was no prophe the two shabby little boys got outside they began to fight, and Jimmie, being large enough to have reached the teeth-shedding age, walloped the other out of both knife and top and sent him home with a punch in his eye and a torn shirt for his mother to spank him for. But that wasn’t the end of the story, for little Bud took off his scarf and when he got home said to his mother: “It was a fine party and Santa Claus sent you this scarf.” ‘Which is nothing to tell about, ex- cept to show you any Santa that boasts of his knowledge of children doesn’t know what he is talking about. The only thing that anybody could say is that two lawless little imps had, for a time, been caught in the glamor of the Christmas spirit, and in some way an- swered to the friendly warmth of a gay little scarf that shared its comfort be- tween them. As for the rest:— Boys will be boys. o XX E% OLD. ugly and poor. The three-ply | tragedy is so monotonously univer- sal that it is merely mentioned by way of introduction to a woman who was on_her way to midnight mass. She smiled as she limped along, as et, for as|. | droopy, unresponsive faces on the way. * K Kk % | tidy up her desk and go home, in case | call cn her that she tried to concentrate LANCASTER. as if the coming of the Christ Child was verily the Saviour who would soon translate her world-beaten body into that place we know as heaven. And no youthful beauty in ermine ‘c‘r:::fl have a happier thought than He had a mild, absent face, with loose lips and slack muscles. She was a positive bone, with good, red hands that showed a judicial capacity for housework and the spanking of babies, And both were chumming along in the pre-Chaistmas dusk, as gay as a pair of old larks. The loose lips had quirked into a humorous remark, and no sleigh bells that ever jingled-through a poet’s im- agination were ever so joyous as her chuckle and the retort that went with it. Comradeship! And comradeship, as you doubtless know, is the most beautiful thing in the world. It is the loss of comrade- ship that fills the world with lonely old men and women. Youth, in its formative stages, can outlive the death of parents, husband or best friend, but as we mellow into age, we want the understanding warmth of comrade- ship—be it mate, child or a mere soli- tary, like one’s self. And it is because of those who lack a comrade to companion them along the Great Road, that we meet so many R R R L L L L LR LR L LR LR R R LR LR R LR R R R LR AL WOMAN was pegging at really re- markable copy that the Sunday edi- tor would blue-pencil the minute he laid ¢ eyes on it, when: All of a sudden, an invisible fan whir- red a long, narrow shiver down what one valued authority defined as her “spinald colume.” Then the shiver blazed into a fiery trail with wiggles to it. Next came a round pain the size of a dime that camped on the back of her neck. When the dime developed into a quarter she knew it was time to the flu got her. After she left the street car she had to pass “Blank’s Funeral Parlors.” In gilt letters across a window that showed candelabra and a metal wreath, such as they have in Paris shops—with a gray hearse at the door. And the driver was so suggestive of that other person- age who rides a white horse and who might be coming to make a personal on the more comforting view of a ton of beautiful coal that had just been dumped across the way. But you cannot shove away sinister ideas when your dear back is a play- ground for ice and fire, and old man Pain is hammering at every bone in your body—so, when a buddie woman happened in by happy chance, the suf- ferer voiced apprehension. i “Marthellen, that is a very nice fu- neral parlor around the way, but if I die I want to stay here in my living room till the very last second, along with my old paintings and the rest of the beloved junk. I will hate to leave these poor old dolls.” Marthellen, being as cheerful as a! stream in Summertime, agreed that it would be hard to leave the dolls, but ot_worry— “Tll put them in with you.” “Oh, will you? That will be a great comfort, only you raustn’t—I've got so used to thinking of them as alive.” “That’s all right. They will die when you do. Tl fix them in, all right.” “Thank you so much, honey—I never even gave it a thought, though I have always intended to have sister’s palette put in with me—and her photo- graph—" “No reason why you shouldn’t. Il tuck in the dolls and the palette and picture. Anything else? I can pack a whole lot of things in with you.” That started the two of them to gig- All of which would be too ordinary to tell about, except that: When King Tut's tomb had been cleaned out like unto a New England parlor and the explorers, artists and philologists had outreached each other in the making of books and movies and Sunday features, concerning the val- uable finds lidded in with royalty turned dust, you couldn’t expact such ultra- minds to bother with anything so com- mon as human nature and yet, why may not have Pharaoh have said to his queen: “My dear, I hate to leave my black onyx cat and my ebony gods and the couches and chariots I am used to—and my robes and jewels and food.” And the queen told bim not to worry, as she could pack a whole lot of things in with him. And it was so done. Just human nature—that inscrutable, sometimes bad, but mostly good and never indifferent power, that came into the world with Adam and will stay here until it follows the last man to his judgment day—the longing of all of us, Tegardless of time or station, to take with us on that lonely, scary- strange journey, something—anything— that has been part of us because: Because we are afraid to go home in - $79 Bed-Davenport Suite, neatly upholstered. Imitation leather. $198 Frame Top Bed-Dav- enport Suite, in Jacquard velour. 5 i # & up Consists of Metal Bed with cane paneied wood s 45 finish ends, - dresser and irk chest of drawers. Nicely = finished in oak. : $39 Circulating Heater $32.60 Heats several rooms $29 Kitchen Cabinet $22.80 Porcelain Top $35 Gas Range JANUARY 13, 1929—PART T. Save 20% to 40% on Bed-Davenport Suites $124 Bed-Davenport Suite, upholstered in better grade velour. ; $239 Bed-Davenport Suite, in mohair and marquette com- bination. OFF All Floor Bridge Table Boudoir (0%t025% DISCOUNT ; On All : All Bedroom 0Odd Pieces Reduced to Reduced to . Save 20% to 40% on Dining Room Suites i i $89 Dinette Suite, 6 pieces, nicely finished in walnut. $159 Dining Room Suite, 10 pieces of genuine walnut. 122 $12.50 Portable Phonograph and 6 Records Save 20% to 40% on Breakfast Sets $24 Breakfast Set, 5 pieces, nicely finished. Reduced to . $ 18—.'.9_9 $32 Decorated Breakfast Set, 5 pieces. $2 4 ;6_0 $39 Decorated Breakfast Set, 5 pieces. 329 & $7.50 Davenport 56450 Console Phonograph, 6 Rec- ords and Torchiere $129 Dining Room Suite, 10 pieces, finished in walnut. $198 Dining Room Suite, 10 if; pieces of genuine walnut. 149 — $595 Oil Heater $3.89 A splendid heat etver. that burns the | roTiable snd jost unt §14.50 Cook Stove ¥ $11.95 An ideal wood or coal burner. $19.50 Walnut- Finished Cedar Chest $20 Double Day-Bed With Mattress $15.89 Table Well made and nicely finished in_mahogany. $4.50 Tile- Top Table $3.95 though her thoughts were happy ones— the dark. $2 6 60 A splendid range at this reduced price. What Good are Good Times Without a Good Time? Your passbook shows how much you've got...your checkbook shows how much you’re getting out of it... money is wealth...a good time is riches...all collections and no recol- lections make a misspent life... Atlantic City not only fills the lungs with ozone while you're there...it fills the heart with longing when you’re not there ...and far from costing money, you can make money out of it...you will learn to look to the sea as the source of serenity and supply...it is really Good Business in the Sense of a Good Time!! e $7.95 Console $4.50 Smoking Table and Stand Mirror $3.90 $4.95 Nicely finished in jshed in ‘mahosans. Motk Save 20% to “ on Living Room Suites $119 Living Room Suite, 3 $139 Living Room Suite, piccesiof attractivesvelours Jacquard velour. Reversible $67 cushions. s98 $149 I:iving Room Suite, $225 Living Room Suite, combination mohair, rever- | 1009, mohair, reversible sible seats. cushions. Save 20% to 40% on Bedroom Suites $95 Bedroom Suite, 4 $119 Bedroom Suite, 4 pieces, neatly finished in | pieces, nicely finished in walnut. walnut. 67 79 $139 Bedroom Suite, 4 $179 Bedroom Suite, 4 pieces of genuine walnut. | pieces of genuine walnut. Chair ) Reduced to Reduced to $9.40 g 98 139 — NATIONAL Furniture Company, 7th & H Sts. N. $60.00 Secretary $39.60 Carefully Selected Mahogany LOWER WINTER RATES SAME OCEAN AS USUAL! T g S e s e ATLANTIC CITY B Al B e R ) Write to cAny of the Following for Rates or Reservations Venecrs $11.75 Boudoir R R R R A R LR R L o R SR R R S LR < » MARLBOROUGH-BLENHEIM-4-E AMBASSADOR-E MORTON-4 BREAKERS -5 PENNHURST-4 e ST. CHARLES-A CHALFONTE-HADDON HALL-4 SEASIDE-4.E e SHELBURNE-E \ LEN HALL-4 STRAND-A-E GLASLYN-CHATHAM-4 HOLMHURST-4 3 TRAYMORE-A-B KNICKERBOUKER-A-E S WILTSHIRE-4 LAFAYETTE-A s = Ll L [4—American Plan ~ E—European Plan 4-E—Both Plans) < > Y Home of a Hundred Hotels Offering the Comforts of Home © COPYRIGHTED, ¥. 1. 7., 1929