After an hour or two spent in this manner, the great sleigh and the gray horses came merrily jingling to the door, and the old people and the children were safely conveyed to their homes, and the rest of the party, with many thanks and blessings to their kind entertainers, took their leave.
“Well, girls, how did you enjoy my party?” exclaimed Uncle John, as he reëntered the parlor, after bidding farewell to the last of his guests.
“O, very much indeed,” was the reply. “It was very different from what we expected, but still we enjoyed it very much. It is so pleasant to make others happy.”
“It is, indeed, my children,” returned Uncle John, “and it appears to me that on a day like this, it is the duty of all those whom the Lord has blessed with abundance, to seek out the needy and afflicted, and endeavor to relieve their wants.”
When the harvest is gathered in, and the farmer beholds his table loaded with the rich fruits of the year, he should call upon the aged, the poor, and the helpless to come in with him and share his feast.
A CHRISTMAS STORY.
“Have you recollected that this is the first day of winter, Mary?” asked Isabel Gordon as she came into the room where her younger sister was seated with her atlas spread before her, busily engaged in preparing her lessons for the next day.
“I have not thought of it before,” replied Mary, quietly.
“But now you do think of it, Mary, do you remember what we agreed to do on this day? Christmas will soon be here now, you know.”
“In little more than three weeks. Yes, Isabel, I know what you are thinking of. We agreed to open our banks to-day, and see how much we have saved to spend for Christmas gifts.”