THE CHINA MAIL SPECTAL CHRISTMAS SUPPLEMENT, DECEMBER 19,-1940.
.or
IT is a mistake for people to have
birthdays within a week- two of Christmas. Relatives, ^gen- erally speaking, „do not mind giv- -ing two presents a year at decent intervals, but when the two-oc- casions are separated only by a few days one of two things is bound to happen. · ·
The kind, uncle or aunt says, "Well, dear, as your birthday and Christmas are so close together I am going to buy you a very nice present to do for both."
And the present costs just about the same as the ordinary Christ- mas or birthday present would have cost. The only difference is that in the course of the year they weigh out once instead of twice. This is all very well for the uncle and aunt but very unfortunate for the nephew or niece.
1
knew somebody ..... it was girl of course who got over the difficulty by declaring to all who were concerned, that, since she wits so unfortunate as to be born on a Boxing Day, she intended to keep her birthday on the 28th of June. This gave everybody time to recover from having given one prosent before being called upon to make the next.
Stella Linklater had not thought of this, for in many ways she was a simple girl. That is to say, fair- ly simple and at least not grasp ing. Probably she did not notice her misfortune; at least it was not pointed out to her by those who made one present do for two.
JARN
The
Escritoire
she said
that she had hated him on sight but you knew what she meant. People did not take to him Through no intrinsic fault he was a lonely soul.
Dull? Of course he was dull. Directly a man hears or feels that he is dull he gets worse and worse.
like everybody else,
Yet dull people fall in love, just and suffer inuch more because they feel from the very beginning that they have foot on the road to Heart- break.
4
But when she had just turned the corner of twenty and a young man fell seriously in love with her, he noticed the embarrassing circumstances if she didn't.
The young
man was Norman Talland one of those names which goes with a swing, and the owner thereof may be expected to perform all those deeds of chivalry
So it was when the Whisper first and daring which are to be seen
came to Norman. He heard it then only on the pictures. But a name
On a spring evening and was like that wants a lot of living up wildly happy for an hour. Then rame the inevitable attack of de- When
How could the loveliest underpaid pression. An clerk, with no pretentions to good creature in the world look twice looks, rather shy and all that, and at an object like, himself? inclined to freckle, you have a job of us poor creatures to live up to a name like Norman have felt like that Talland.
to
vou're
Our Norman Talland was too young to have served in the war. wretchedly poor at all games ex- cept chess, 19 plain as a horne- made pic. of sound but not out- standing intelligenez, and at hear as romantic as all your handsome fellows.
Most called mea
Then agam, if the miracle hap- pened and she deigned more than merely
to notice his existence, how could he possibly afford to marry" His salary was very small, bis prospects vague end unpro- mising. However romantically a man may fall in love he has to consider such little matters as food and shelter. And who wants blind lo marry a girl and give her ¡¡ life of poverty and anxiety? He
His people were dead. He had no living relative but a aunt who rather exaggerated when
was not in one of those "safe" jobs in which a man's salary increases every year until he retires on pen- sion. The "safe" job may not ap- peal to the spirit of adventure, but no man with responsibilities can be happy in the thought that the next month's end may see him adrift on the becalmed sea of unemployment.
suitable suitor. Her parents liked For Stella he was a most un-
him will enough as a man, But
Concerning him they had used that last word many times,
and
always gave it that em phasis which deserves the capital letter.
But, of course, Stella fell in love with him. She was the sort of girl vho would as if she did it for the sheer pleasure of annoying her people.
There was the usual family rumpus. Norman, like the man he was, went straightforwardly to Papa and told him, Papa was stern and non-committal. No engage ment, of course, until, as he vague- ly expressed it, "matters im- proved." He was not born yester. day and he knew the folly of for- bidding the young man: the house, thereby investing him with the romantic glamour he seemed to Nack
A.M. BURRAGE
Norman had put himself through a course of semi-starvation he had scraped only sufficient. With this he bought a manicure set, in re- turn for which he intended to ex- tract one half-penny from Stella. For they say that you must never "give" things which cut, in case the gift cuts friendship. That was all right for the Christmas pre-
gift? sent, but what about the birthday
And then he noticed the escri- foire In the window of the second- hand furniture dealers. It was a ne old piece of highly-polished oak, and even on that dull morn- ing little focuses of light gleamed on its surface. stop and look twice at a piece of furniture he could not afford to buy is one of those everyday my- steries of life.
What made him
The thought came to him that if he could only buy it Stella would have it in her own room and think of him every time she sat down to write her letters. Utterly be- yond his wildest dreams of fin- ance. of course, but the Good Fairy, straight out of one of the old tales, happened to be passing unseen and flicked our young friend with her wand.
Inspired by the magic touch he walked in and inquired the price
the large manner of one who can afford to be careless about money. The long-nosed dealer eyed him superciliously.
No, he was welcome as a friend, but he lingered lovingly ever this useful title word-ne engagement, at least not for the present. The situation as old 45 the hills, as
"Twenty-five pounds," he said. you see, and as new as the latest "That's a very fine piece. Came dition of an evening paper to out of the sale of effects of the vich such pathetic pair of lovers. late Sir
the Oswald Brending, Christmas came. but although shipping magnate."
Norman just-saved himself from Jaughing aloud. Then the Good Fairy touched-him again with tha
·wand- which works miracles,
[“Look_here,” he said, “I haven't got £25, but I'd Uks that, escri- toire. What about 10s. down and 10 a week until the payments -end? I can give you the usual re-
ferences,"
The dealer scratched his head. He had had that escritoire on his hands for longer that he cared to think. Driven to bargain he would have taken £10 for it and been content with only a small profit,
"All right," he said, "I'll take that, I've seen you about here a lot. I know your address and I know who you are. I'll get you to sign a form and I'll give you a receipt for your first 10s. The mam will be back in a few minutes, and I'll send it round at once."
Norman Lollowed the man at a distance, saw him deposit the piece of furniture &t its destina- fion, sighed and went back. On his way he took out a cigarette, Then he thought twice, sighed again, and put it back in the pac- ket. Couldn't afford to be rash with cigarettes now. He would smoke another in two hours' time, make it last 20 minutes--he had found that he could do that!--and start another one two hours after- wards
On the Christmas night he was bidden to a party at the Link - laters. The
have parents could done without him and not suffer-
din consequence, but had to ask him for Stella's sake. It was only for Stella's sake She came out into the hall while that he went,
he was taking off his coat, and
frowned at hiin.
"You're a very bad lad!" she said.
"I know," he answered lightly. That's what makes me so attrac- tive. These very good men are all very well in their way, I suppose, but they're awfully dull. No ging-
dr."
"You know what I'm talking about."
"I don't as usual." "That writing-desk thing.” "Oh that? Sorry
if you don't
"Oh, durling, it was too sweet of you. But I'm angry because you couldn't possibly afford it."
"Been in my family for years. George IV gave it to my great- great-grandfather, who happened to be one of his favourites."
She laughed and then frowned.
happens "Do you know what to wicked men who-er-don't tell (Continued on Page 23.)
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