Evening Star Newspaper, December 23, 1934, Page 71

r _ _ _ _ _ _—________ ____ _ _ __—— Had just settled our brains for a long Winter's nap— When out ¢: the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from our bed to see what was the matter, Away to the window I flew like a flash, ‘Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash. The moon, on the breast of the new-fallen snow, Gave a lustre of midday to objects below; When what to my wondering eyes should appear But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver, so lively and quick I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name: ‘Now, Dasher; now, Dancer! now, Prancer! now, Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Dunder and Blitzen!— ‘To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall! Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!’ As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky, So up to the house-top the coursers they flew, With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas, too. And then in a twinkle I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot; A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. His eyes how they twinkled! merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry; His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard on his chin was as white as the Snow. The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath. He had a broad face, and a little round belly That shook, when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump—a right jolly old elf— And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself. A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head, Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose. He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle; But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, ‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good- night!"” His dimples how O MANY the author of a poem means but little, just as to some the name of the creator of a famous painting, or the architect of a notable building means substantially noth- ing. And. so although this poem was as well known once as “The Star Spangled Banner” or “Home, Sweet Home,” few could mention the writer of it today, without being told first. Moore, who wrote these lines to read to his children, composed many other poems, and even published them in book form, but none except this one ever gained popular favor. It is not a classic, and authorities on the subject do no attribute to it any particular poetic merit, but thousands of capable men and women today of literary and poetic talent would just love to do as well. Many poets had a hard time acquiring an education, but not so with Mr. Moore, since his father, a distinguished prelate of the Episcopal church, was fully able to give his only son a college course, and as fine an education as any young man of his day might wish to obtain. So we find him graduating from Columbia Col= lege in 1798, when in his 20th year. At first, he thought he would follow in his father’s footsteps, and enter the ministry, but although he was educated for these duties, yet he never took orders, preferring to devote his time to the pursuit of Oriental and classical studies, and probably, for relaxation, wrote verse, his first lines being published in 1806. One of the outstanding features of Dr. Moore's life was the present he made, in 1818, of the entire block in New York City bounded by Ninth avenue, Twentieth and Twenty-first streets, and extending to the Hudson River, as a gift to the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal church, in which institution he be- came professor of Oriental and Hebrew lan- guages in 1821, continuing there in the same field during the rest of his life. Dr. Moore’s father, the Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, administered the communion to Alex- ander Hamilton after his fatal duel with Aaron Burr, and is said to have been one of the assist- ants at the inauguration of Gen. Washington as the first President. Clement C. Moore, the poet, died at Newport, R. I, July 10, 1863, and although the writer looked through a leading New York daily of that time, a Newport paper, and in the Wash- ington press, yet he was not able to find there an account of his death. And although this might seem strange, still it should not, for this was a very critical period in the history of this country—when, as Lincoln has said, it was a question whether a Nation ‘“conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” could long endure. Gettysburg had been fought on July 1, 2, 3; Vicksburg had surrendered on Independence day, and Port Hudson capitulated on July 8. The coilumns of the press were crowded with war news, and naturally the loss ,of just one person, even though he were a distinguished man, was overlooked. But, today, when the havoc of war is not at our door, and peace reigns throuzhout the land. we have time to THE SUNDiY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., DECEMAER 23, 1934 EEii e e e e e el LS = aaaaaaa——— — —— ] Christmas in 1888. Commission houses along Constitution avenue between Ninth and Tenth streets, site of the Department of give this distinguished man the notice his memory still deserves. The White House, from the earliest days, has always entered into the spirit of the season, though Abigail Adams, the first mistress of the mansion, records that ¥ was not only not finished, but that the east room was a good place in which to hang out the family wash. The fact that she had to live in Washington-— then a wilderness—during the final days of her husband's administration. must have made her Christmas of 1800 a quiet and unenthusiastic one. UT coming down to a more recent period we find President Lincoln celebrating Christ- mas, 1861, by calling a meeting of the cabinet to consider the Trent embargo, and at the various camps throughout the city and nearby, the day was observed with more or less em- phasis. “The Middle States soldiers,” The Star says, “and those of foreign birth, of course, making more of it than those of the New Eng- land States, with whom Christmas day is not s0 much of a specialty.” Gen. Grant was a lucky somebody, for al- Clement Clarke Moore, author of “A Visit From St. Nicholas.” though Johnson was occupying the office of Chief Executive, December 25, 1865, yet the former was getting all the limelight and pres- ents. The New York Stock Exchange appro- priated $5,000 for him as a Christmas gift, but directed that the amount be turned over to the Grant Testimonial Fund, then amounting to $67,000 and held until the entire amount reached $100,000, which was expected to be before New Year day. When President Cleveland took office, he was & bachelor, and Christmas did not mean so much to him and his sister who, for awhile, was the First Lady. And so, when Christmas, 1885, rolied around, Mr. Cleveland was content to take a drive in the morning and dine with Secretary Manning in the evening. But the Christmas after he returned to the White House, in 1893, his family had increased, and there were a wife and two children to help him celebrate the day. That year, Monday was the 25th, but the tree for the childremr was erected on Saturday, the 23d, and by Mon- day was denuded of most of its ornaments. In the afternoon the children were taken to see little Margaret Bissell's tree. The annual foot ball game between the Co- lumbia Athletic Club and a team representing all-Washington was played on this Christmas at the base ball park at Seventh street and Justice Building. Florida avenue (now Griffith Stadium). It is of peculiar interest, because of those who took part in it 41 years ago. This was the line-up for Columbia Athletic Club: Wisner, right end; Wells, right tackle; A. Johnson, right guard; Gapen, center; Davis, left guard; F. Johnson, left tackle; Marpin, left end; Veazey, right half; McRobert, left half; Lefton, quarter; Clarke, fullback. All-Washington: Taussig, right end; W. Church, right tackle; Tallmadge, right guard; Kavanaugh, center; Lindgren, left guard; J. S. Church, left tackle;” Harder, left end; Ord- way, right half; Tugitt, left half; Bookwalter, quarter; Bayles, fullback. The team that lined up against the Colum- bia boys, it seems, was not altogether the team that the crowd expected to see play, for Phil King of Princeton and Butterworth of Yale were not on hand, and these were the two star at- tractions booked for the all-Washington team. But King, whom everybody wanted to see above all others, was on a Southern trip with the Princeton Glee and Banjo Club, and on that day was in New Orleans. However, the all- Washingtons won, 6-to-0. ENJAMIN HARRISON enjoyed his last Christmas in the White House with his daughter and grandchildren. This year, 1892, Christmas came on Sunday. and the tree was erected in the library on that day. and at 4 o'clock in the afternoon the President and all the rest of the household assembled to hear little Benjamin and Mary recite German pieces taught them by their governess, Praulein Hempe. Mary recited the invocation to the Christ child, while Benjamin gave an address to his grandfather, which he may or may not have understood. However, he appeared to be very much pleased at the efforts of the children. Little Ben got a printing press and an assort- ment of type from grandpa, while Mary got doll babies. Martha, who was ill at the time, received a great pile of presents, and the fole lowing day Ben was to visit the library and see the tree. Speaking of this event at the time, The Star said: “The Christmas tree at the White Hoose was a great success, and the President’'s grandchil- dren were transported by their gifts. Young Benjamin McKee received a gorgeously painted sled from the President and a writing desk, chair and blackboard. There is a complete set of real baby furniture, the bed quite big enough for little Mary Lodge McKee; a dressing case, with the glass just high enough for her to peep into and arrange her front hair, and the cutest little washstand, with all the toilet appliances. all from Mrs, Harrison, to her tiny grand- daughter. A set of lamb’s wool muff and tippet for little Mary is lying near and a steam engine, fitted out with every modern appliance, and which will chase around in the liveliest style for little Benjamin. He has a hook and ladder, a complete outfit, a set of parlor croquet and a doll baby or two. “Mrs. Dimmick, a niece of Mrs. Harrison, sent baby Mary a doll baby, dressed as an Alsatian woman, with a black ribbon headdress. But these are only a small share of the presents which came in scores of boxes for every member of the household.” Naturally, there was a big time at the White House when Theodore Roosevelt spent his first Christmas in the Executive Mansion in 1901, Eighty-seven big, fat turkeys were his gift to the White House policemen, messengers, ushers, gardeners, servants and stable men. This was the largest distribution of its kind ever made by a President., Mr. McKinley always gave turkeys as presents to married employes, but the list was not so large. +On Christmas morn the Roosevelt children arose early and visited their stockings; later they assembled in the library and received presents from father and mother and others. President Taft spent the best part of Christ- mas, 1909, working over the problem of “What is whisky?” a mooted question raised by dis- tillers under the pure food act. The Taft boys, Robert and Charley, got the usual assortment of toys, but were more inbas. ested in the cutting of the mammoth pie givea to the President by the International Bakers’ Association. It was 38 inches in diameter, weighed 92 pounds, and was the principal fea- ture of the dinner. We shall miss the old Center Market house this year, as we have ever since it was removed a short while ago. It was one of the great sights of Washington during Christmas week, with its many stalls within and an army of country people lining the sidewalk outside, sell= ing holly, mistletoe, and other greens and deco- rations. The Archives Building does look good, we are forced to admit, but it can never be a8 dear to use as was the old market house. Puerto Ricans Aided THE plight of American farmers has besa serious, but probably not so serious as that of the Puerto Rican farmers, when taken as a whole. Twice within a period of five years, destructive hurricanes swept the islands, doing damage estimated at about $200,000,000, a ter- rific loss for so small an area. With the aid of Government loans, the farme ers sought to return to some semblance of pros- perity, but found instead that they were even further involved when it came time to pay off the loans. Now, however, through a liberalization ef credit facilities, the farmers have a 10-year period within which to work out their prob- lems. and indications now are that they will be able to come out of the red. 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