Life — December 21, 1911 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

1124 -LIFE- Keeping Up Old Customs DAY or two before Christmas we put imitation holly wreath in the windows—paper, you know, but they looked just about as well as the real leaves and berries. Then we draped ropes of paper holly and imitation ground pine across the doorways and over the mantel and hung sprays of imitation mistletoe on the chandeliers. The dec- orations gave the house a very festive air. On Christmas Eve, before the company arrived, we lighted the gas-logs in the fireplaces, and they looked as cheerful almost as real wood burning. Then, to give the house a good, old-fashioned look, we turned on the electric candles in their imitation Colonial sconces. Say, you could easily imagine you were back in Washington's time, only the lights were much brighter and nicer, of course, and the gas-logs didn’t fill the house with smoke When the crowd came the girls looked beautiful with their mostly imitation complexions, and we were quick to seize the chance of kissing them under the imitation mistle- toe; though they would allow us only imitation kisses, be- cause a real kiss or two would have been sure to rumple their gowns and disarrange their artistic coiffures of imi- tation hair, But we danced the old-fashioned dances and played the old-time games. When it came time to distribute the presents we all acted as interested and excited as we could, and smiled at the witticisms of Uncle Henry who gave them out. Loraine got an imitation sealskin coat—a beauty— it would have taken an expert to tell from the genuine. Matael gave a good imitation of being delighted with her silk gown; it wasn’t really silk, but some kind 6f mer- cerized stuff that had all the appearance and even rustle of the heaviest moire. Father's present was an_ imitation meerschaum that would color more evenly than real meerschaum, and with a mouthpiece of celluloid that looked more like amber than amber itself. They had all clul,bed to- gether to get me a big, easy chair. The frame was birch, finished to look like mahogany, and it was upholstered in imitation leather, which we all agreed was better and would wear longer than the real stuff. Mother's present was the finest of all, and she exhibited as much pleasure as her lady-like poise would allow. All her life she had wished for a diamond ring, and here it was at last—a solitaire as big as the end of your thumb and as brilliant as any Kimberley ever turned out. Of course, it was imitation; but, as she said, what earthly dif- ference did that make, so long as no one would ever be able to detect the fact? Bob received a set of books bound in imitation morocco, and written by some new author whose style is a close copy of Dickens. Tom got a suit- case made of imitation alligator skin. But I shan’t try to give you a complete list of the pres- ents. It is enough to say everybody was as gratified with what he received as could be expected. We all gave one another thanks in a well-nigh cordial way, and it was easy to see that all had an almost jolly time. Walter G. Doty. DURING THE MANEUVERS Envoy from the Enemy: GeXtLeMes, 1 WAVE THE HONOR TO SUGGEST A CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES DURING LUNCHEON, AND 70 ASK IF YOU CAN LEND US A CHAFING °CePe THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK Clausenstein: YUST LUKE, SCHILDREN! 1 VILL GIVE YOU THIS FINE AEROPLANE PER ONLY ER KERVORTER DOWN UND ER NEEKLE ER VEEK FER DE FALANCE OF DER YEAR. comicbooklte i