Life — December 5, 1896 — page 20: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

vs HIS MISTAKE. “VLE JUST LEAVE THIS YOUNG MAN A SHAVI THEIR GREETING. E bought ten boxes of cotton white, And a silver coat that was gleaming bright; And onto the coat with a careful hand He put the cotton, with smile quite bland. Likewise he bought him a silver beard ; His face with appropriate paint he smeared; And he toiled for hours in feverish way To look like Santa Claus Christmas day. ‘The day came on and the shadows grew, And into his costume he quickly flew; And while the children were standing ‘round He entered the room with a frisky bound. And they all looked up with their faces glad To see him, and shouted: “Why, hello, dad!" THE CHRISTMUS BLESSING OF NICODEMUSITHOMPSON. (The bare interior of the little cabin, the pine table loaded with the Christmas feast and surrounded by grinning pickanin- nies of various sizes, and the aged, white-wooled speaker, are all left to the reader's imagination.) Dean Lorp: Behold us assembled collectively togethah to praise and wo'ship Thee by partakin’ ob de feas’ ob condiments Thou habst pervided foh Thy humble servant an’ his humble fam’ly on de birfday ob Thy son. (Amen!) We ‘proximate, O Lord, dat we're unwo'thy followahs and desserve to burn in hell-fiah fohevah, specially Julius Augustinius, a misserable, low-down niggah, who refusi- cated to fotch his ole fathah some sweet ‘taties when he come right pas’ de fields an’ could ‘a toted ‘em well as‘not but foh his ornary selfishnessity. But de blessed_Han’ comicbooks.com