Established 1899
Si! that outside of a business propo-
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\ 1 for your own interest# when we V
O 'A [ \'WjT ,ell you that V° u **t running the O
0 f risk 01 Snapcial ruin, or of loos- O
0 1 EsS I fll , in S y^ UT property without any in- A
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VJI % I ''/ W lij! PSvUn we represent. V
X wl'il r eal estate. X
/% - V
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f) *' We wish you to know about them, C*
X, Come to see us and talk it over.
k LOANS. X
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some property that you would like to buy, and haven't the monev,
\f call on us. You can arrange with us to pay part and the bal- V
§ a r.ce in installments. O
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J. A. I.ENTZ, W. A. HALL. M. H. GROVES, Q
President. Vice-President. Sec. Treas.
X H. E. McCOMB, Ass't Mgr. Real Estate Dept. X
SiXX>DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOt
How Does This Look to You?
A suburban cottage home, on two acres of the richest land
in Catawba county. Splendid orchard. Price eight hundred
dollars, one-haif cash down and the balance in one year.
Apply to the
HICKORY INSURANCE & REALTY CO.
* yiTESi
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I
Men's and Boy's
| Clothing, Shoes and hats
d MMMKMT x. wMamrmapMH
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H * i _i * " '"
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IS WHAT YOU WANT : : : :
j SETZER & RUSSELL L
|j HICKORY, N. C, H
| Christmas |
.are ready for } T our selection at
1 RICES BAKERY I
}is • ir
ife ]n offering these products of our skill, v we do so $
ils with the full knowledge that our customers will re- %
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j|£ terials, into clean, wholesome, delicious food.
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During the past 35 yean no rem
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plicitly aa the family physician. It con
tains no opium or other narcotic, and
iviay be given as confidently to a baby
iisto an adult. Prlo* !i sc; large size BOc
THE HICKORY DEMOCRAT
fir? L L T^'ooybT! ' f
foa CURS the Limes
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g AND ALL TKftPAT MK> LWtiG TROUBLES. ■
S OXi ASAKTEED £ ATISFAOTOBYI
| 08. MOHEY BEFUH DKP.
HICKORY. N. C., THURSDAY. DEC. 24 1908.
, ■ ***-
Seeing Santa Clans
By LAURA FROST ARMITAGE.
[Copyright, 1908, by American Press Asso
ciation.]
I.
EARL (to Ruth)—Oh, I just wish
we could see him.
Fred—See whom?
Ruth —Why, Santa Clans.
Earl and I have just been talking
about him, and we were wishing we
could get a peep at him on*e\
Gladys—'Oh. I wouldn't Mke to!
Dorothy—Harry and I tried it last
year. We came down and bid in the
front ball, but papa found us and sent
us to bed.
Fred (after thinking awhile)—l've
thought of something. Santa Claus
wouldn't come in if he should spy us.
but if he thought we Were not real
children he might Couldn't we- fool
jJm-i
X " >/>• -v"'
1 ' k ' 'A
1 11 K '
\
"BANTA WOULDN'T COHR IN TP HB SHOTTED
SPY OS." \
him by making believe we were Moth
er Goose children right out' of the
book?
Dorothy—How could we do that?
Fred—We could dress like tb?m »nd
than »tandjpfrfect 1 y sliU a§ if w«w«|
made of ww or something. jost the
way you do in a tableau, you kteow
He might think it was some kind of 6
show of wax figures.
Earl—Oh, my! ■ 1 couldn't keep as
still ns that.
Harry—You could if you really want
ed to see Santa Claus.
Earl—Oh, I will! I will! See me!
(Poses.)
Gladys—Will we haro to stand so
very long?
Fred—Oh, not very, very long! We
must all be ready before 12 o'clock.
We must dress like Mother Goose chil
dren, and I'll fix you in your places.
I*ll be Boy Blue. We ean find some
dress-up clothes in the attic.
Harry—l think I'll be Jack Horner.
I can have a pie.
Dorothy—l want to be Bopeep. A
cane with a book handle will do foe a
crook.
Gladys—May I be Miss Muffet?
Earl —What can Ruth and I be?
Fred—You might be Jack and Jill
and carry a pall of water. An empty
pail will do. Now let's be off and see
what we can find. Then we'll go to
bed. and I'll lie awake, and after papa
and mamma g° upstairs I'll call you,'
and we'll come down very softly.
(Exeunt.)
11.
(Children come tiptoeing in in cos
tume, stockings in hand.)
Fred—Now, we'll hang our stockings
first. (All hang them.) Then we'll get
Into place. Bopeep, you stand here.
Hold your crook so. Miss Muffet, you
must sit on this footstool, and you
must be eating. Put your spoon to
your lips, so. Jack Horner, get into
that corner and hold up your thumb
with the plum on it. Jack and Jill,
stand over here and take the'pail be
tween you. I will stand here and hold
my horn to my mouth, so. Now, we
mustn't move our eypa It's getting
late. Now, all ready! (All pose.)
Ruth (after awhile)—Oh, dear! This
pail is so heavy £ven if it is empty.
All—Sb!
jf Gladys (after awhile)— How my arm
aches!
AIl-Rfc!
(Earl yawns aloud.)
All—Sh!
Harry—My thumb is tired of stand
ing up.
Dorothy— l'm—so—sleepy (yawning).
All —8h! .
(Jack Horner's hand drops, then his
bead. Bopeep drops crook and leans
against wall. Jill lets go of pail and
«11*. te floot. , M Jit*
same. Ml *8 Muifet's head drops for- j
ward. Boy Bine's eyes cioaeand bora
falls. This rouses him for a moment,
but bis eyes soon close again, and be
leans against the walL)
Enter Santa Clans. (An fast asleep.)
Santa Clans—Abi Well, well, well!
Some of the children of my old friend,
Mother Goose. But what are they do
ing here? (Walks about ahd looks at
them closely.) Aha* I know these
children. They're not Mother Goose s
family. Aba! I see what they are up to.
They're waiting to see me, and thej
don't want me to know thwn. But
they can't fool this old fellow. Jusrt
as If he didn't know *r*ry child In the
world. r?« found children wattlm;
for me mafiy a time, but they always
fall asleep and miss me. I'll fill the
stockings, and won't they be surprised
wiivn they wake up and find they're
totesed m« after all. (Fills stocking
then puts toy or candy Into Miss Muf
Cet's bowl and Into Jack and Jill's
pail.) Now I must be off. But I be
lieve I'll try that horn of Boy Blue's
once. (Blows and runs off, dropping
horn near door. Children rouse up fi
little at sound, then fnll back into for
inor position.)
111. . '
Morning.—Fred (rousing)—Oh, I say!
Wake up! What are you all asleep for?
Harry—Who's been asleep?
Dorotljy (rubbing eyes;— Not I,
Gladys—l— was-—almos^asleep.
Earl (yawning)—Did—ff-come?
Ruth (almost crying)—l was go
sleepy. Did you all see him?
Others—Oh, no, no!
Fred—Well, I'm afraid we were all
asleep. But I heard him. He blew on
a big horn. . A
Harry and Dorothy— I heard him.
Gladys—And there's your horn, Fred,
over by the door. He blew on that.
Ruth—gee what's in our pail! (Hold
lug it up.)
Gladys—And in my bowl!
Harry—And sec the stockings!
All—Oh, oh, oh! (All run to get the
stockings.)
Dorothy—Oh, why couldn't we have
kept awake?
Fred—Well, we've missed him this
time sure. But next year we'll try it
again, and we'll all keep awake.
All—Yes, indeed, we will.
The Gift.
By FILANK H. SWEET.
Copyright, I*oß, by American Preaa Asso
feag&y r-.
TftE Christmas chimes. aw aeundinp»
OA the«ir,
I sit and listen to '# ir
sweat,
VmtftMy rnoato, gone is erery care,
For§ot is all tha turmoil of the street.
Thfei&roublea that tha path of man be
set,
Tha vast anxieties of human life,
All fade away, and every fond regret
la last in all their glad and joyous
strife.
WHAT though I seam alone on
this fair day,
From happy comradeship
stand isolate,
With none to greet me as I walk my
way.
To merely live I count a happy fate-
To merely listen to those joyous sounds
That through the crisp of winter call
so frttb
Although tha merrymakers on their
rounda
Pause not to think of or remember
me.
IB'T not enough that on thia Chriat
mas morn,
Thle glad birth morn of him whose
v day It ia,
My heart, but yesterday eo sad, forlorn.
Doth open to tha message that waft
bis?
let not enough to know that from
above
The tidings of a sacrifice divine
Coma as a gift of an eternal love
That I have but to take to make It
mine?
B I^S
i jj * ?
An exchange remarks that the
orincipal business of the Ananias
Club is the enlargemsnt of its
quarters.
Subscribe for the Democrat;
only SI.OO a year.
Democrat and Press, Consolidated 1905
T)ark! F)ere Santa Comes!"
i
- !§sfg® f
y i -,rjms f : 'mMiz&sfc % i $ 3
'. Jl iJ
\\ rig
4^^MiilE
fli;S . ?:' * : : > :.v j'i» JiZ&djSlf/
. LOOKING FOB SANTA CLAUS.
Why Saint Nicholas?
By ROBERT DON NELL.
[Copyright, 190S, by Am f -r. La Press Asso
ciation.] ~
WHY is Santa Claus sometimes
called St. Nicholas? For
the most excellent reason
that Nicholas is the real
name of the saint. Until eomparative
y recent years there was no Santei
Claus at Christmas time. When the
old saint comes down the chimney
Dec. 24, Christmas eve, and deposits
gifts for the children in the suspended
stockings he is just nineteen days be
hind time, fcr his true and proper
time is Dec. 5, that beiug the eve of
St. Nicholas day. Just how Nicholas
got to be the Christmas eve saint is
not altogether clear, but those icon
oclasts who dig into ancient matters
are probing this secret. They have
discovered, or claim to have discov
ered, that the Christmas eve Santa
Claus really originated in America, be
ing transported to England from New
York.
In the saints' calendar Dec. 6 is St
Nicholas day. Nicholas was bishop of
Myra, in Lycia. He is believed to
have lived under the Emperors Dio
cletian and Constantine and is the pa
tron saint of poor maidens, sailors,
travelers, merchants and children.
Rich maidens, of course, are also quite
willing to acknowledge him when he
comes along with diamond dog col
lars, necklaces and tiaras.
Before the great religious reformation
the custom of giving presents on St.
Nicholas eve was general throughout
Christian Europe. When the worship
of the saints was abolished the prac
tice died out in England, where for
about three centuries St. Nicholas fail
ed to visit households on the evening
of Dec. 5 to leave presents for good
children. By the way, it should be
pointed out that Nicholas was noted
even in infancy as a particularly good
and pious child. Therefore his visits
are not made to bad children— only to
those whose parents can vouch for
their good behavior during the previous
year.
In Austria, Holland and Poland St.
Nicholas eve is still observed. Good
children get presents, secretly left in
their shoes placed upon the hearth
stone for the purpose or in their stock
iugs hung from the mantel. When
New York was settled by Hollanders
the devout Dutchmen brought over to
America their religious customs, not
forgetting that of St. Nicholas eve. In
old New Amsterdam the saint made
his visits the night of Dec. 5, St. Nich
olas day being celebrated by the set
tlers as a holiday. In-tijne the Dutch
were supplanted by the English, New
Amsterdam became New York, and the
old St. Nicholas eve gift giving custom
was reintroduced Into England from
New York. But in England the cus
tom of giftmaking on Christmas eve
had grown up. There was, however,
no Santa Claus ceremony. Gifts were
made outright and without secrecy.
When St. Nicholas sailed back to
England there was consternation
among fond papas and mammas in
the tight little Isle. ■
"What I Shall m Ijgv? tag 9 dava.of
I gift giving aud less than three weeks
apart?" they cried. v i
Thrifty English parents, it is sup
posed, determined that one day of
giving was enough, and so they sim«j
ply transferred St Nicholas to Christ-'
■mas ever
i IRISH POINT OF VIEW;
————
It is a merry Christmas
When there is lots of snow,
For then through my good shovel]
Some golden coin I know.
And 'tis a merry Christmas
When not a flake is seen,
For Christmas to the Irish
I Is merry when it's green.
R. K. MUNKITTRICEL j
An Editor's Love Letter.
Dear (Ming delinquent:- Our
precious subscriber ia arrears!
You are so shy! Do you think we
hi ve soH out and gone? No, little
sugar-plum, we couldn't get
away if we wanted to. We are
still at the old stand dishing out
the news on sweet promises and
bright expectation. They make
an excellent diet, with a little
pudding flavored with a word of
encouragement to serve as des-
ert. We are waiting and watch
ing for thee, darling, our turtle
dove. We long to hear thy gentle
footsteps on the stairway below
and hear the ring of the happy
dollars in our office. Dear one,
we unusually sac- and lonely
without you, dear. Now, little pie
will jvu, will you come?
Do we hear you answer in a voice
so sweet and beguiling, "I am
coming," or is it only the winds
that around our office roar? We
pause for further developments.
Women don't have to swear to
show how mad they are. There
are other ways.
Some girls are so anxious to
make names for themselves they
mispell the front and then change
the rear cne.
There probably is a wrong side
to everything except, maybe,
the right woman.
Often the man whe. has the
price of a good coat in his pocket
doesn't care how shabby the
pocket may be nor the coat it be
bngs to.
There is no credit for being
good when you have to..