Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, December 10, 1913, Page 32

A ‘CHRISTMAS STORY L SPENT a happy Christmas eve At blithesome Ennedale, cozy hearth, I listened to this tale. {oS =" Old Thomas told it —he had seen Some seventy years or s0, And over many lands had been A roamer to and fro. “When I was but a boy,” he said, “There dwelt not far from here A woman young in widowhood— Her name was Helen Vere. “One child she had—a little boy— I scarcely need to say He was her only earthly joy, Her comfort night and day. “Oft would she stroke his golden hatr And sigh, and say, ‘Ah, me Oh, weary, weary was the day Thy father went to sea!’ “One day he to his mother said— ‘I long so much to be A sailor, as my father was, And sail the wide, wide sea.’ ve consent, although her heart ound up in her son— be better for us both— O Lord, Thy will be done. “*You won't forget me, my dear boy, When far away, I know, 8o with my ble ng and my prayers, Go, my own Willie, go.’ “Ten long, long years then rolled away, And sorely Helen pined; No news of any kind.” Here Thomas poked the fire, and made the scene,” he said, Vere: “And tell "When V e left his mother’s home He shipped on board the ‘Tyne,’ And all went happily and well Until they crossed the line. “Then on them burst a furious storm That fiercer grew each day, Until upon a lonely isle The ship was cast away. “And when the raging storm drew off, Its work of havoc done, Df all the crew but one survived, And Willie was that one. "For two long years he strained his gaze Across the wide, wide wave, But never came a friendly ship To succor or to save. “For two long years his only food Was shell-fish from the shore, And sea-birds’ eggs, and leaves, and | fruit The feathery palm-trees bore. “The long third year drew near its close, And it was Christmas Day, Poor Willie sat upon the shore— His thoughts were far away. “A hand is on his shoulder laid, A loud voice greets his ear— What, mate! who ~ would have thought to find // A human being (( here? "Don’t cry, my man, but come on board, and fuss. We're sailing for a land of gold, ‘So come along with us.’” Here Thomas poked the fire, and said: “Again time and scene— Tis Ch as Eve at Ennerdale, The wind blows wild and keen. “Poor Helen crouches o’er the fire And shudders at the storm; The latch is lifted, at the door There stands a manly form. “I’ve been a wanderer,’ man, ‘On many a far-off shore; [ve traveled twenty thousand miles To look on home once more. spoke the “She rose up slowly from her chair, Her lips no words expressed; Bhe fiung her arms around his neck And swooned upon his breast.” Here Thomas poked the fire, and turned His face to hide the tears That filled his eyes, whene’er he told | The story of the Veres. And then he said with trembling voice— “No words can tell the joy Of Helen when she looked again Upon her long-lost boy. "They left the poor and humble cot That had such sorrows seen, And dwelt together in one home Down by old Hazeldean. “Old William Vere, whom I knew well, Has often said to me— fWhene’er I read my mother’s gift I took with me to sea, ‘I feel I never ean forget, That pious mother’s love, ever cease to render thanks To God the Lord above.” And sitting by the | HEY called her the Choir Sister, be cause she was the daughter of the Choir Mother. Chil- dren have mothers to mend their clothes and see that their faces and hands are clean be fore they march into church. The Choir Mother was the wife of the janitor of the; church where the choir sang, and so kind was she that all the boys loved her. It was easy to like the Choir Sister, | | too, because she played ball with the boys before rehearsals. And those | nights when the Choir Master let | them invite their frienls in for games she was the girl most of them wanted for a partner. So anyone can see why the boys | were blue when Ricky Jackson, her brother, came into the choir room | Christmas eve and said: “Mil” (short for Mildred, her real name) “isn’t going to have any Christ- mas!” The boys stopped right there, some with their choir clothes only half on. If they didn’t find out right away what was the matter with the Choir Sister, | the Christmas eve service would have | to go without their singing. | So Ricky told how she had come down that morning with a funny tired feeling, and sniffing and hot cheeks, and had to stay in bed, and how she cried when she thought of the tree she was going to miss. | You can see why that Christmas | | eve service was not as happy as it| | shouid have been for these boys. Af: | terward, when the tree was lighted with the starlike candles and the Sun- | day school room was filled with boys | and girls opening their presents, each | choir boy was thinking of the Choir | Sister, lying there at home, eibhing.| she could be with them. Next day people in church thought | the boys sang the Christmas hymns | better than ever. But the people did | not know that just before the boys | marched in the Choir Master had told them a plan by which the Choir Sis- | | ter would have a Christmas she would | never forget. | At evening the janitor’s doorbell | | rang. The Choir Mother opened it, | and in came the Chcir Master and a} lot of boys with red cheeks and smil- | | ing faces. Back of the others four of the biggest boys dragged through the door a small Christmas tree. They set the tree up in the parlor. Everyone was still for they didn’t wart the Choir Sister to know any- | thing about it till it was all ready. Soon the candles were in place, and the trimmings, and they lit the-can- dies, and each boy placed a package | under the tree, and then a wonderful | thing happened! | The door opened and the Choir| Mother and the Choir Master walked in, carrying between them a litie| stretcher, and upon that lay the Choir Sister. | You should have seen her face! You could aimost see the light of the can. dies sparkling in it, so happy was | she! The boys held their breath, won- | dering what she would say. Her lit- tle cheeks glowed as she sat up straight | and held her arms | out towgrd the tree. | And her eyes spark- | led as she cried: | “Oh! my Christ- | mas tree!” | Then she turned | to the boys, and said: “Oh! My Dear | Choir Brothers!” Then she cried a little, just because ~ she was happy, and some of the boys | sniffed a bit, just because she was crying. Then there was all the jolly | fun that goes with a tree. But soon they took her away. She | was so tired that she fell asleep right | after they put her back in bed. She} | dreamed that she saw a flock of sheep | | with their shepherds on a great piain. | | Suddenly there was a great light from | | above and she seemed to hear angels | singing. | She awoke. The singing did not! ; Stop. She arose and opened the win- dow. There, in the moonlight under her window stood her Choir Brothers with lighted candies, like the Christmas | carol singers of Old England. They | were singing this hymn: | “Hark! the Herald Angels sing.” When the verse was finished the | Choir Sister leaned out and called | | down to them: “Brothers, you have made me love |God a whole lot more. A merry! | Christmas to you all!” | “And to you!” they echoed. | As the Choir Sister crept back to | bed she heard the voices of the boys | | die away in the distance. Then a chime of bells somewhere out in the | great snow-white world rang out the! | very hymn the boys had been singing | and the Choir Sister fell asleep. A Christmas Motto. The more we know, the better we forgive; Whos'er feels deeply, feels for all wha VAUAAOAAAVOASeOAVeAMOOreesreseeneeeye) AAAVVAAUVACOTONeooOr prtity And Boost For A Friend They are selling fast. See how the numbers are increasing? The book costs $5 and holds 100 5-cent coupons and works like a meal ticket, every time you make a purchase theamount is pulled out. These books are big boosters to the contest- ants. When the book is sold and cash received it gives the con- testant 25,000 votes and the holder receives votes with every purchase same as cash, and when book is traded out and cover turned in it gives the contestant 5.000 votes, making a total of 30,500 votes, so you see you can give your friends quite a boost with every book you buy. 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