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December 10, 1913.
A FAMILY PAPER.
R . U N N I N G A W A Y F R . O M C H R I S T M A S .
[If0111 llie Christian liudeavor
World.)
"Sit down, Anthony, right here
on the hall bench before you take
off your coat. Dinner isn't ready,
anyway, and Y\f course—of course I'd have
loved Christmas if we'd ever hung
up little stockings; do you think
aw ay ? Toil}', dear, if I never had I'd run away from that?" And she
an inspiration before, this is one. was gone again. There had never
.\nd to think of all the dreading been little stockings.
and planning I niighit have saved! Two days later they were actually
on their way to That Place be­
I spent hours trying to reckon
how we stand, with the Smith-Curtises,
and what we'd got to spend was characteristic of Katharine
yond the reach of Christmas. It
on the Dana A\^ards this year." Kane that the wild Httle plan had
OLD AGE AT YULETIDE.
By Agnes Mcllroy.
He sits within the sunset's glow
Which marks his life's late afternoon.
While hovering shadows, length'ning, show
The evening time is coming soon;
His hands are folded, idle now.
And care has marked the once fair brow.
The years have caused his head to bow;
And yet, upon that tranquil face
A peaceful light is shining now.
Which length of days cannot erase.
Perhaps he dreams of other years.
Of years so filledwith toil and love;
With service done; with smiles and tears
Which come the human heart to> prove.
Perhaps by faith he looks afar
To where the many mansions are.
Where stand the gates, for him, ajar.
And views his future dwelling-p!?.ce.
Trusting when he has entered there.
To look upon his Savior's face.
She sprang lightly to her feet,
and faced him.
"Christmas!" she scorned, all
her sweet face aflame. "Merry
Christmas! Anthony Kane, we've
been married eleven years, eleven
weary Chfistmases full of nervous
prostration, and empty pocketbooks,
and—and tissue-paper and
strings! Trying to keep up our end
of things and give folks as valuable
presents as they gave us last
year! I don't know what you call
it; I call it a give-and-take
scramble, and I've had enough of
it. There's no decent way out ot
it but to run away. I don't want
to see or hear a scrid of Christmas,
and there must be a place
somewhere. We'll take hold of
hands, dear, and find it. _ There,
I've ultimaimned; now we'll have
dinner. It is potpie. Belinda's
laid herself out."
But she drifted back to him as
materialized; she was accustomed
to carry through her plans. To
Anthony Kane, her husband, to
whom she was wife and children
and all the world, submission even
to craz)- little schemes came easily.
He had fortunately leisure and
wherewithal to indulge her.
"Well, we've started for somenhere.
Puss, but how do you know
Aou won't find a Christmas there?
we are on the way to a place called
Hardscrabble. I picked it out
on a time-table. You don't look
for a Christmas there, do you."
She laughed, not without modest
pride at her "find." "But if anything
happens tbat we 'run into'
one, as you predict, I've got two
other promising places on my list;
courage, man! Starkville and
World's End—what do you say to
going to^ those? The last one isn't
on a railroad; we'll have to hire a
sleigh, and hunt it up. I just happened
to see a reference to it in
the newspaper. O Tony, aren't
you beginning to have a lovely
time? Just us two!''
"Great! real Christmas spirit,"
mumbled Tony. He was in reality
not averse to this remarkable escapade.
He and Kitty deserved a
little lark after their eleven proper
and expensive Christmases.
He did not really accept her
pessimistic theory oi the utter
demoralization of Christmas; in
Anthony Kane's still youtbful mind
were too many blissful memories,
but he "accepted" Kitty. Pooi
child, she had been a little solitary
up to the time he had found her;
and from that tirne on had occurred
the wearisome annual games of
give and take that had occasioned
this adventurous quest. Kitty had
much to excuse hIer. He never
forgot the denied sweets of motherhood
that she had missed.
"But look here." It was considerably
further on in the trip;
an uncomfortable thought had just
occurred to him. "Gracious, Kitty,
'how will it look?"
" 'Look'. O Tony, you waked
me up, and I was starting in on
such a beautiful dream!" She sighed
wistfully. Could she not even
in sleep fill a little stocking to the
brim? "How will what 'look,'
dear?"
"This—this monkey-shine of
ours. EverybodyxH send Jus the
costly rubbish just the same. I
don't like the taste of the thought,
Katharine."
"Don't Katherine me; it isn't bad
as that," responded calmly this remarkable
wife. "I've fixed that
Wf may run plumb into it. Good
part, of course. We sha'n't find
joke!" •
the front porch piled with bundles,
"Don't laugh ; this is sober earnest.
Honestly, Tony, I am so sick paper. I dropped a hint with Celia
man, dear; go on with your news­
of the present-day mercenary, distorted
kind of celebrating that I it up, too. Cillv is so depend­
Beede, and I waited till she picked
want to rest; yes, I do! I want to able !"
'forget it,' if you don't mind the Hardscrabble proved a sightly
slang. You're a dear not to mind little town set on a hill. It bad a
anything, not even being pulled up suspicious look of a certain
by the roots at a moment's notice. amount of thrift and cheer, even in
When I get home, I shall give yon. the gloom of its ill-lighted little
streets. They were driven in
a Christmas present." The inconsistency
of woman! "But just now silence to its one hotel, Katharine's