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PAGE TW

-- THE BEL LS OF sir. PE TERS—-

(- .

b.

Doubt as in Dale

l)_l'<‘l'f\ll(‘l‘ the 'I'\\'('I\i.‘"r‘inh pm"

llllv Nut ('hri.~t‘s Iiirthilay

> kllﬁlVl". uh?" celebrated. ~=‘L'.'.ll i> at- o flour- Ifgifoiltilus

that

[THO

til/n the rainy unison ill Palesiiile nnd shcpilerzis would scarcely have been wntching- their SllPPl) by niiiiii l2] the ruin out in ihc fields. The li‘.’l~'l)ll for the final choice of Dee- rinilci 115 cannot lliiW be (lPtL‘l‘llllll' (Kl. A widcsprenil feast of the l"Z'<'-li Afothcr may lnlvc influenced i;‘.' rlcenion. also the (iesirc to place ii Fhrisliiin feast ill opposition to ‘ i Itomziil feast of "Sol invcctiis" .. ill.‘ winter solstice.

'i.. Gernlluls held their great viii-title fast iii commemoration li~ rifur-il til llii- fiery sun, and nuiwq: n! the beliefs and usages of the old (ivrillails and Romans rc- liiilng to this mutter has glossed from l1(‘.l‘tl'lt‘ill5ll\ to Christianity and has silrvircd to the present day As Cllriszizillity‘ spread, the feast of the winter solstice, the time when the days begin to lengthen, and the light. to triumph over darkness. was changed into the Feast of Cllrist. the Lzght of Life.

Blessing the River Danube

Curious (‘ustcnl Folloivetl for, Cen- turies in Runianla. Ii has been the custonl in Ru- Illilllli‘ from time immemorial t0 ilicss the Danube on Cli-rlstmas day A procession of in-icsts and people (ll't“$.'<i‘(l to represent Biblical char- acters moves through the streets singing eilanis and so to the bank oi ilw- river. The ice is broken, and il . i1‘. wooden cross is thrown into ii:.- wwitrij. Any ‘one who can recover llic_ cross is regarded as extrtinel fortunate and sure Of gced luck for the year to come. ‘

E ierrnal Foe of Cruelty

.\I::eh as Christmas has meant to hi.uiii~ii;t': it has meant no less ‘to those luwiii-i‘ fellolv creatures. who shore Willi men‘ life's joys and sor- l Whatlsvcr the burden of sui- . that. rests upon the animal vii d today. ii. is less by many fold tiiuzl it ivas before the night when a illiii‘ cllilrl vxzis born in the stable of a Bttlllchcln inn. The spirit of Christmas is the eternal me of n11 cruelly. Ni man it'll/i yields t0 its sway (‘llll look wi l (iihcr than 9, kindly eye upon the least of thosc ilviiiir things that have capacity for l a. ll.

Think It Orcr

A good conscience is a continual

\ in ristnlns.

"O Comb All Y0 Faithful"

“Angels jib-Om me Glory"

‘Trail-k! the Ilcrcld Angela sing...

Carols: "'I'hc Flint Nowell" “once in Royal Dcvrirfs City" "Tim" Ciimc a Little Child to Edftll Long Ago,"

The Reverend Septlmiis Child"! rose from his desk, with the air of a. man who has successfully per- formed a difficult task. Not an un- pleasnat task, mark you, hilt a dif- ficult one; for he had Just Wmlilifi- cd his Christmas sermon.

“Well, lotus have ihiii ii will please them," he muttered, as he crcssed the study to the window and stood looking down upon the little vulurc Whose spiritual Wei- fare was in his hands. He saw there n more sprinkling of cottages, most of them thatched, their bluc smoke curling up into the grey dampness of CllfhtlllﬂS Eve. Now that lie ilad finished his sermon, he would soon be moving amongst them. giving cheery good wishes to their inhabi- tants.

'I‘hcre came a knock at thlfstildy door and Mrs. Ch lders ciltcied. i1 bright old lady of seventy or there- abouts. a little younger than the rector.

"I know I'm not to disturb you when you are doing your sermon," she said, "but I can generally tell when you have finished by the way you push back your chair and then stump across to the window. I was so sure of it this morning that I‘ve told Emily to bring us in the pars- nip wine."

"Come, come," laughed Mr. Chil- dcrs, “Wine at mid-day!"

“Yes, but. not an ordinary day. Don't forget that it is Christmas Eve and that. Audrey is to come home this afternoon."

She referred to their adopted (laughter, who was studying music in London. So persistent had her studies been of late that it was now nearly three months since slic had paid a visit to the old people.

The conversation was. interrupt- ed by the arrival of Emily, tho maid bearing a silver tray on which were two Jacobean glasses and a. decan- ter of parsnip wine of the sort that tho rector and his wife never failed to make each year.

They toasted each other. Then:

“I expect Jack is becoming excit- ed by now," said Mrs. Childers, re- ferring to Jack Malling. son of the Squire Melling at. the Manor House which lay hidden by fir trees on the far side of the village. Jack was recognized husband-to-be of Au- drey, though their engagement had not been definitely announced. There was, however, u. rumor 1n family circles that this Christmas might; see that omssion rectified.

“Yes. I expect he is all agog," said the rector, "which reminds me

that he said he would spend the ai- '

tcrnoon in my study, so that he can be here when she arrives. He seem- ed rather anxious about. her travel- ling all day that way alone iil her car." _

“Never mind," replied ills wife, "I expect he will get over it when you and he begin talking your old wireless. You t/wo must. hold a. record for wbeless gossip."

"Ah, well," smiled her husband, “there isift very much else to talk about in this village. It seems to be getting quieter every year in spite

of these so-called modern days."

As he spoke the words he little thought that bcforc Christmas Day broke he would have met with nn adventure such as rarely comes in-

to the life of a country parson.

True to his word Jack Malling- strclled round to the rectory in the

lighted drawing-room which Mrs. Childers looked upon as her own- “The trouble is that. when P901119 travel by car_ they are as 200d "5 lost as soon B-s the)! 315"? S“ m“ m‘ their joumey."

Jack made some mental calculat- ions about the speed of Audreys car, and had to admit that she was a good two hours lair. llforcovcr. the fact that it hﬂd iwsiiu i0 Biioii‘ tended m he ghtcn whatever fears were entertained. Two nlorc hours passed but still the girl did not ar- rive. ' .

Presently Jack went buck to the Manor House where there was a telephone and spent a filrtller two hours telephoning to every town of importance on Audrey's roiltc, but there was no news of any accident. Despondemly he returned to the rectory. '

Not until an hour bcfuri: nild- night did any nclvs. zirrire. when a. message from the lvianor House came to ask Jack to return imme- diately, as llfss Audrey; Vivian wish ed to speak to hlm on the telephone

;________

about

A little later the rector. feeln! much happier at heart, left the Ma- nor Hcuse and returned to the rec- tory. The snc\v had ceased; leav- ing the countryside almost sliccmil beneath the cold stars.

The Rector bummed a. little will? as he walked along and soon found himself by the church which was a few hundred Films "m" m” He” tory. It was here that hc 817i ii- Sui‘ prise. Ha paused-as he often did—- to gaze at. the old church with its Norman tower, surmounted by i1 spire placed there centuries after the first; willnm had been called t0 his fathers.

As he stood there he seemed t0 see a light. flickering in the ancient building. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks. But not A faint illumination suffused first one window and then another. And _ therc was obiioiisly someone mov- ing about the church and carrying a light.

It would not have been difficult for anyone to renter the building for in common with most. country

v W» 619i. is"

There was a Sound of Tearing Pa?"

Mr. Childers insisted upon accom-

panying Jack to his home.

What. Audrey told them certainly allayed their fears though it caused them a good deal of uneasy specu- latioil.

"I'm speaking from Bristol," said Audreys voice over the telephone. “Why I'm here goodness only knows." '

"But you didn't go i1 hundred and fifty miles out. of your way with- out. knowing about it?" queried Jack.

"No. you chump! I dldnl," laugh ed Audrey. “but I gbt i1 Decimal‘ message just as I was nearing my home to say that. Father had had a

serious accident. and was lying in

the General Hospital at Bristol. So what could I do but. turn round and fare off to Bristol as fast as my old bus would do it?"

“But who on earth gave you that message?"

"Ask me another," said Audrey, ‘He seemed a nice sort 0'1‘ man, and there were two of them in ll. car which was ilrawrl up by thc side of tho road.“

"But how did they know it was you?" asked Jack impatiently.

‘fBccnuse they asked me, you idiot!" said Audrey. “The mall who spoke said that. they were in the village when the news came thrn‘ tqi Mother that Dad had met with

afternoon, He was n gQQd-lQQkmg-t .a serious accident atyﬁristcl. They

fellow, liberally modern yet. true. to his caste, which was that. of the’ old aristocracy of the countryside.

Mrs. Childcrs had joked to some purpose when she had remarked liking for wireless which Jack and her husband shar- ed. 'I‘o the rector, Jack was a. link world seemed to be outstripping him, while to Jack, the rector was a ripe companion with a. store of which the iformcl- thoroughly enjoyed. Mr. Chllders in earlier days, had been a. chaplain the

on the mutual

between himself and the

Which

reminiscences

in the navy and had sailed world over.

On this afternoon they sat toge- ther while Jack was doing some- thing to the rectors wireless set. which probably did not want dong at all. Which is, of course. the way Rngnm, o; of all wireless enthusiasts.

As evening drew near, however. them minds tumed to the non-ar- rival of Audrey, whom they had ex- rccicd anytime after three o'clock.

"I must confess to feeling rather said Mr. Childera when

anxious."

they had fnlshcd tca in the ccsily

mid Mother wantedme to Q0 there I, know he's friendly with some cc- clesiastical fans at. Bristol, so l’. thought .it not impossible that lic might have been paying them a vis- it. Seemed‘ a bit funny to be there on Christmas Eve; but then, Dads shinny old thing, anyway."

“Ho's standing by'my side ll0\\'." laughedslack, "so you'd better be careful. When are Yell 60mins to your home?" '

‘Early in the morning. And, Jack I had a. call from a lawyer this morning, s. man named Fitzgerald. asking me to look up some film 1y history in the parish TQZi-‘itci- Ir i find something or other, I may iii- hcrlt some money. He's Being w sic me again. But I'll let you know all about it in the morning. lﬁii prgbgbly nnly another pYIlCULal joke.“ -

The“, fm- n (cw rrfnutes AllfIri"

spjkq w Mr, childcra, telling i ..

ijflill what aha had already ml

Jncig Then the cnnvcrsatiln 1'1 .

rd. fir. Ohilders having obtuiiiri ,3

iii-tailed cum-will!" °’~' ti" i?

would inform 5M P°nc°i hi‘

churches, it remained open by day,

and often failed to ‘be closed at night. ‘ But who could be wandering

round at. midnight? Certainly not. Elijah Long, the sexton, as he was in bed with his ‘rheumatlcs.’

Mr. Childers decided to investi- gate.

He tiptced up the grass lined path to the porch and silently en- tered. Low voices came from the vestry and Mr. Childers; crouching low, crept towards the vestry ddor which was a massive piece oi oak nearly as old as the tower. ‘Then’ he stood still and listened to the conversation between two men, one of‘ them evidently an American, and whose name, apparently was Bris- coc.

Through the half-opened door he could see that an old oaken chest was open. but those who had opened it‘ were out of sight.

"Well, this is the parish register right enough," he heard one of the voices say.

"Thank God for that!“ came the reply. "Let's hope we shall find what we want."

"Vve shall find it all right," rel-ill- ed the other. ‘The ‘register goes back several centuries and contains records of every marriage during that time. Vivinil is the name.”

As they were speaking, Nb‘. Gilli- dcrs crept a little closer until he could sec inside the vcstry. There he observed two men-one keen- iawcd and the possessor of a very strong American accent, the other, c. short. dark man who might have belonged to almost any country, and they were pouring over the old pa- rish register, u. book almost a. foot thick.

At the mention of the name ‘Vl- rlan‘ the Rector thought seriously for one of Audrey's ancestors had

borne that name and, since she was a local girl it seem -i likely that it wu to her family that the Ameri- can was referring. The latter spoke again. -

"If we can find it,” he said, "it. will be the best thing that ever happened to Mortimer, and we will see that he pays for it!"

In his mention of Mortimer, the American was referring to the prime mover ln the events of that Christmas Eve. .

John Mortimer, now in Ameri- ca, was of English descent. and had recently been discovered by an Am- erican attorney as being of remote kill to a Silas Wenlock who had di- ed many years before in America, leaving his money to be divided equally between the male and fe- male descendimtc of his family. Mortimer had been able to prove that. he was apparently the only male descendant and since there was a proviso that, in the event of there being no female descentants, all the money should go to the male side, it was greatly in the in- forests of Mr. Mortimer that no fe- male descenant should be found. This was especially so when another clause of the will was taken into consideration, and that was, that on December 31st of that. year his fortune was to be given to whatever GCSCBHCIBHLS had been found by that date.

It is not difficult to imagine that the late Mr. Wenlock was a man of considerable eccentricity!

Reverting to Mr. Mortimer, who had learned this good news some six weeks earlier, it seemed he was the only discovered descendant that he was, to use his own words, "in for a. good thing." ~ =

Then he got a shock.

He learned that the nsslduous

attorney had set other wheels in motion, and that, at. that very mo- ment, England was being scoured for one or more female descendants But Mr. Mortimer was not. a man to take things lying down. He went to a. friend of his, named Briscoe. who was not unacquainted with some friend of Mr. Al Capone and put the matter before him, where- upon this gentleman, on payment of a. certain sum on account, offer- ed to go England with a colleague and endeavor to thwart all English efforts w discover any female heir and, by a. chance‘ word of the Am- erican lawyer, it seemed that some- where in England was a line of des- cendants, named Vivian.

Just how Mr. Brlscoe and hLs con- federate had tracked down this par- ticular family it. ls not necessary to relate.

This much, however, must belsaid —that. Audrey Vivian was thelco- hclr with Mr. Mortimer, provided, of course, that; evidence or net‘ an. ceators’ marriage, as stipulated by the eccentric silos Wenlock was produced before midnight on bec- ember 3i.

At this point it is l ecessary to al- lude to Mr. Fitzgerald of aiming-ti ham—also a lawyer. He, on behalf.

of the American attorney, was not’;

on the trail, and he had called on Audrey. duly noted by Mr. Eris-l 000's friend. who had been keep- ing watch.

NW’ 1i- iiﬂfilicned that while the Rector stood outside the vestry door he heard sufficient conversation be. tween Mr. Briscoc and his friend, to acquaint himself roughly with i all the foregoing facts.

A nice quandary for the Rector! Old and somewhat infirm, he would bc no match for the two men.

Should he enter the vestry before they discovered the wanted page, or should he try to Obtain nelpli Ha was just deciding w rlak 301ml to the Manor House to‘ fetch Jack Melliiill. when he heard an oath from Mr. Briscoe which might have turned pale every stained glass saint in the church. Mr. Brianne

had indeed found what he wantcdl.

There was a sound of tearing "ap-

m‘. and. before the Rector re Iizcd it. the two men ritshed from the

h-ygﬂw connection between the two being an ancient ladder. UP thfsladder climbed Mr. Chiidm- A minute 13m- thace folk in the vii- laga who were awake became as- tonished to hear the staccato notes of the tenor bell-

qb all save one those notes did no; mean nnythlng. ‘r0 Jack Mell- fng they meant the Morse Code. ML chndql-si experience when he was aboard ship. had ions since 1w- qunlnwd nun with Code, and he was able to convey to Jack, who was equally familiar with it, the gm“ o: his predicament, whereup- 0D Jack Melllnk hurriedly bronchi: out his car and sped to the church and released the Rector who, in a few moments. told hlm what. had happened. Also he told Jack that the two men were on their way to London in a car which they had ai- so left on the outskirts of the vil- lage. This he had learnt from their conversation in the vestry.

It took Jack but little time to ' summon two stalwart villagers to join him in his car and set off in

of Mr. Bﬂscoe and his

pursuit friend.

What happened when Jack's long grey car overtook the slower mov- ing vehicle of Mr. Brlscoe, it. is un- necessary to relate precisely, except to say that when the two parties separated, Jack took away with him the page of the register, while Mr. Briscoe took away u black eye.

It remains only to add that Au- drey Melllng (nee Vivian) is, today, a very wealthy girl, and that Mr. Childers’ is the possessor of a. wire- lecs set beyond compare. He often smiles, in the quietude of his study, when he hearsgthe Morse signals of ships at sea,

Gift Suggestions

Card Cover

Neatly hem a. yard square of black sateen. Select. a one ounce ball of briaht yam and button 11010 the

four sides of sateen » with stitches

half an inch apart. and half m inch 68611 Wind the remainder of the wool Around a thin book about five lches wide. Out once, divide the strands into four and make a tassel for each comer of the cover. If one wishes. I design may be worked with the Incl in one corner. Prong the cover and hold the tassel: over the steam from the kettle for a. mo- miiubcnd than trim ‘assels off ev- en. With little cost a pretty and different card cover l5 the result.

Book Cover ~ Select a suitable piece of material +1159“!!! linen. sateen in black, or green, blue, bright; md, etc—-cixteen

by ninelnciies; Turn a neat quarter,

inch hem on all sides. Iiiold in two imam at éachﬂcnd and firmly stitch at, each side to form two pocketsl

liiitials maybe worked in cross.-

stitch on theafcntr-a monogram is “moist suitabiei From a. yard of half wldc ribbon or braid. cut twoelght inch lengths and sew - 0h etch inddlyform handles. The ‘ewe-Wm! Kiwi-h may bc Sewn at. the vehire"tov' QdBe-the butt».- end finlshecl.u_iii-ll._a bow. tassel or bend. ‘This forms a cbnvenicnt. book mark. Isn't. the result. a neat and useful gift fortbat- friend who reads a 8031510 and from business on the utweet"ca'rr' l’ i . Huger-la Pins

_"1‘h0~l-_i§ii§lt.lqapa of daintily col- ‘baby ribbon can be twisted and downturn putty little flowers, and m"! {F lgllrpf these sewn to a ve- 393M‘? filial) of buckram for a. foundation, then attach at wee gold yﬂllﬂflilll- Whvl m; all flushed! “THAN 10B: of these arranged on

I card or on a. pale tint- "

{d cqlclipcndence

._ _: card l/‘wked mi” ‘m Rive-lobe quite easily.

mA 43.17910, _ wee flowers may adorns » minaret“ i

' " "powder pun, m. Needlework Plolureg

Cross stitch silhouettes, mull-Y?”

‘Veiiry and almost knocked lhlm animals, etc, em be work“; on m,

OVU‘. i

Mr. child-vi mldc bu attempt to

“film of white linen and framed with flute inexpensive frames’, and

grapple with Mr. Brilicoe with in“ these make b. nice 8m, . “Dummy ’°‘“"' “i” t" will“ iiiier he" in inc-b or ti... or four in l Emil?’

found himself locked up in the ves- tYY- The futility 0! banging an m. hiiiwy door was obvious. nu Mn cllildere could do at first wit; to sit on tho chest. and think it over Hid their» had In ih-iiliirution. As ln many country churches, the wiry Wis directly blaocth the W.

,_ J

....*r.:.::i;. m... WW wag “m, n at i _ l ‘E ‘.-

w‘

‘A , Curtain Ollpg Pliiii IPfink clothes Pins with gilt

Piilniivv quick drviiic enamal. n -

01w is handy with a brush, tny fiowm may decorate the handle of ti"! ‘Din. and these are invaluable to pin cmhina buck from an open

By ﬁKIENNA will’ tlAMid

Author of “The Missing Mannequin"

can hi‘

s’

.-..')

Three‘ Yiiletides in Each Year A

Three Denominations Observe Th0 Great Festival on Different Days.

There is one place where Christ- mas '10 kept three times c. year-in the Church of Nativity at Bethle- hem. the YEPIIiBd site of the Stable of the Inn. . » '

The RwnnnpGreek and Armenia-i Greek bodies have each their rec- pective section of the church, but their , Christmas celebrations do not occur on the same day. »

The Latin Christmas is celebrat- ed at the Roman Catholic altu on December 2s. ‘

"Thirteen days later the Orthodox Easterns perform the Greek rite. Another thirteen days later the Ar- mehian church keeps its own festi- val and ceremonial‘ of Byzantine faith

" As Little Children”

The survival power of Christmas, its persistence as a world-wide fes- tival, lies in the fact. that it quick- ensln all of u: the some of human khlslup. It gets beneath the aur- face cynicism and releqea those fl- ner impulses which we ill pouou. For a day we become again "an 11t- tlc children," 8nd the ‘child in ml? midst is the symbol of the joy that we seek. l A merry Curishnns then-merry because it Drinks to us the vision of love ruling in the hearts of men, ' and renewed hope that the dream of a day may yet become the per- petual reality. window, and of course, made irrpairs. ' Pot Holden Cut flowers, circles, triangles or mcdemistic shapes from bright A scrapescf glnghazns or prints and applique these to six, inch squares of factory cotton. Out cotton backs ‘I to match, line with a. layer or two ' of flannelette. Baste well and quilt with colored cotton and. bind edges ; witncclqred bias binding. Sew a small brass ring to each holder so thereon be easily hung up. mane are often used as hot; plqte table mats. ' . "-_r_\f~_s-_ Make half a," doberﬁ-‘llttle bags ; from as many dfferent shades of -‘7p§lé"’v'oilé . aboiltkiwo inches square. Wltltdgvendnrwflowers and sew " Nil-B ‘lhese can be tied in ,Q§uul_ili ygitujglbbbu 0f‘ tied at iii- ftctyaliiiﬂfﬂl"! igvlcngth of baby rib- bon. ‘ Here are a couple of verses to g0 Wiiih 1M1? Sifts. ‘ brill. jliltlsnui om s ‘to opened till Christ- an...” ]‘.» i; Hut. after the gift has been found, Don't put. it away as a keepsake,

must be

“Bu; uscdt the whole year round. "cl-it “l

‘lvihjllﬂfllldifllldﬁ om of Sewing

Evbry"st.tcli“|i_\iat.',5 plain to view Mitrgsnilyniépsgbf thought! cl you Evey 7 Qﬂtcb see

Ad’ w-Fiznotner-Jiéll from me." D

.. o

i.

6

My door is open wu- tonight, "ThQTllMfth fire n aglow;

~ ‘fliksécrti to hear swift; paging gag, e

The Christ Child in the gnaw,

My dwr is open wide tonight.

I For ltrsnger, klth or kin;

‘I would not bar a single door ‘ Where love might enter in;

" ‘l .-DEGEMBER 19.3

1931