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Show • 2 - The boys and g i r l s here in Lintsing have alwa|g had aoif or less done for the a on Christmas, but the children of the out s t a t i o n s have never had presents given them K« decided tnis jear Uat we would gife f l f i l to the children of the gataUtlofte* 3d when Mrs.Ellis and I started, out on a tour in December, to oe done •two we.e*s, we tooK with us a satchel full of acrapDookfe and uo*He to giva to the children of churchmeabers i i the places where iff should go.Besides the things in the satchel, there were forty one-cent pieces that Leroy had s e a t . We had had holes made in them BO. they could be strung. These we gave to babies and real l i t t l e children, or to big boys who tied tries to their coat buttons and were ^ter^ proud of them. The dolls were for the l i t tU g i r l s and. the scrapbooks for boys. When we came to the^Targe out-s t a t i o n , there were not enough d o l l s , so we gave scrapbooks to the g i r l s , and cent pieces to all the boys. At Poa P'ing, where we held a meeting and stayed over n i g h t , there was oitiy one l i t t l e girl vho-'caae to see us -oudy one, I mean, whose parents are churchmembers. She had unbound feet and was learning to read. She is one of eleven l i t t l e g i r ls whoa we saw when oa our t r i p who wish to come into boarding school when i t is opened after the Chinese lew Year. But she It only eleven, and we nave so l i t t l e room that she will have to wait another year. After the meeting in the eve&ing, I gave her one of your d o l l s , one of those with china heads. It had on a red flounced dress. She was delighted with i t , add looked at all its clothes most c a r e f u l l y . The womeja, too, wanted to see how the doll was dressed. So did the l i t t l e g i r l ' s father, and the gate* Keeper. We were to leave so early in the morning that we tola the churchaeabers not to come to see us off, but when i t sas just beginning to grow l i g h t , and we were almost ready to s t a r t, several of them came knocking at the chapel door. The l i t t l e girl tas aaong. thea, amd her doll was hugged tight in her arms. They told of how she had gotten up in the night to see that her doll was safe, and she said, "I was so frightened when I did n ' t fijid her just where I thought 1 put her!1* Usually the presents brought ofcly pleasure and much of i t , but in one family, they brought sorrow, too. A scrapbook had been given to a l i t t l e boy of eight, and he and his father went over and over i t with great enjoyment. His l i t t l e aunt, only two years older than he, rejoiced in a d o l l , the f i r s t she had ever seen. Alter the children were put to bed in a room just across the court froa ours, we heard them talking about books and d o l l s, and te knew that they were not happy. The next mornlisg early, as soon as our door was unbarred, the l i t t l e g i r l came and asked i i we had any acre d o l l s , and if we would n ' t give her nephe* a doll instead of a book, "for",she said,Hhe wants my d o l l , and if I M l 1 ! give i t to hia, he says he will break I t . " I told tat At*. that we had dolls only for l i t t l e g i r l s , that I was sorry, but he aust try to like his scrapbook, and must not break the doll. When I looked cut of the door, as she went sadly away, I saw the l i t t l e bof s i t t i n g on the stone r o l l e r . He looked very sulky, and was making aimless marks in the dust with a long s t i c k , When I tent to talk to hia, he payed no a t t e n t i o n , aad let the dates I put in his lap r o i l oh to the ground* When he got up I sat two tears foiling down his cheeks. I wanted to give hi® a d o l l , but knew 1 ought not. When the cart came for us a few ainutee l a t e r * I looked for hia , to say "Goodbye", but he was no where |
