The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Monday, December 23rd, 1935 Later, in the seventeenth century, miniature soldiers were made which were really pioneers of the modern meâ€" chanical toy, as they could go through the regulation drill of the time. The toy soldiers which will figure in a number of Christmas stockings can boast of a long and distinguished pediâ€" gree. The children of Ancient Rome playved with miniature warriors, and some of the toy soldiers of the Middle Ages are real works of art. * A number of them are still preserved in British museums, and are elaborate models of knights in armour of real artistic value. But they were originally made as children‘s toys. "A wounded Thane is with me," the old man replied. "See, here he comes!" Great was the joy of the riders as they gathered round Orrie‘s Christmas guest, who was no other than the EFhepherd of the West Saxons, Alfred the Great. So the two parted, the King to his many duties, Orric to his one. Even as he spoke, there was a tramâ€" pling of horses‘ hoofs on the shore. The fisherman went out to see. The tide was at ebb. Along the sands a@ little company of Saxon horsemen came galloping, leading a riderless horse, "The King shall have them, I proâ€" mise thee," said the other. "He will build warships with the gold." Toy Soldiers Go Back to the Days of Ancient Rome "I can never leave Brean Down," said Orric. "Many years ago I made a vow to hang out a lantern every night to guide the boats in the dark. When the Danes go I shall kindle it again.‘‘ He went to a hole in the thatch and drew out a bronze pot full of tarnished Roâ€" man coins. "I dug these up in the fort,".saiq he. "I kept them for my sons, but now I wish thee to take the treasure to the King, to help him in his struggle against our foes." "Art alone in thy hut, father?" they hailed the fisher. "Why dost thou live in this bleak place alone?" asked the guest. "Thou wouldst be less lonely, more useful to others on the mainland." "There is fire and food in my hut," said Orric. "Thou art the Christmas guest for whom I prayed to come." Swiftly the charmed hours of the next day. went by for Orric. The father so strengtheningly, so. consolingâ€" at times Orric looked to see a saint‘s halo shining behind his head. Then again he was so shrewd, so workaday and interested in the fisher‘s craft and doings, Orric knew him to be a felâ€" lowman. He drew him into the hut. He took his round gilt shield from him and his boarâ€"helm, he knelt to unlaces the thongs of his leather shoes. "Father, thou art the host for whom I prayed," saigq the weary man; "we shall keep the feast toâ€"morrow." "How went the battle, lord?" asked Orric, going forward. "Did a live crow fly in the midst of their hated banner again?" © "So our troops believed," answered the stranger; "anq in truth we are hard pressed by the Danes. But we shall draw back to charge again." Before long he heard the distant crunch of feet on the shingle. The tide had begun to go back, leaving just enough space for a man to creep around the point. The steps sounded faltering, a fugitive‘s. Orric went out; in the dim light his keen eyes discerned en armeq man in a red cloak, with a white boarâ€"helm and golden scabâ€" bard for his short sword. The fisherâ€" man knew him t~ be a thane of the West Saxons. There seemeq little likelihood of his petition being fulfilled, for at the best of times few men came to Brean Down and at that moment everyone was hidâ€" ing from the Danes. Still, Orric arose from his knees with the sure feeling that it had been answered. He put food and drink on the table, heaped more driftwood on the fire, and over the bed of dry bracken he laid a pillow of seabird‘s feathers and rug of fine otterskins. to bring him those dainties. But there was no one to share the feast. Turning back into his hut, he prayed. "Bend me a guest for Christmas," he pleaded, "to break the loneliness." It was Christmas Day on the morrow. What a festival for him! There was better fare in the hut that day than usual, salmon of his catching, a capon, anq white bread, mead too. Edith, his dead son‘s betrothed, had tramped from the mainlard when the sands were bare Because of the Danes, Orric was doomed to live lonely for the rest of his days on the bare, desolate point of Brean Down. A year ago vessels like those had come upon his two young sons fishing in their seaâ€"curragh and their Vikings had slain them. x Orric came to the door to watch a fleet of Danish ships go by, with their proudly swelling striped sails and gtinâ€" ning dragon prows, to work dgestruction farther inland. The old man groaned as he saw them pass. A Tale from the Days of Alfred the Great, with a Christmas Touch to it. (By Arthur Mee) Hidden from the mainland by a shrouding of mist, the treeless promonâ€" tory of Brean Down stretched like a long steppingâ€"stone far out into the grey waters of the Channel, as desolate a place as one could find, tenanted only in that distant day by screaming seabirds angq one old man, old Orric the fisherman, who dwelled in a little daubâ€" andâ€"wattle hut, which clung like a limpet to the reQOs of the old Roâ€" man fort. s Christmas Story of the Wounded Guest THE PORCUPINE ADVANCE TIMMINS, ONTARIO When Mary the Mother felt faint hands Beat at her bosom with life‘s deâ€" mands, And nought to her were the kneeling kings, The serving star and the halfâ€"seen wings, Then were the little of earth made great, And the man came back to the God‘s estate. When Mary the Mother kissed the Child, And night in the wintry hills grew mild, And the strange star swung from the courts of air To serve at a manger with kings in prayer, Then did the day of the simple kin And the unregarded folk begin. When Mary the Mother forgot the pain, In the stable of rick began love‘s reign ; When that new light in their grave eyes broke, The oxen were glad and forgot the yoke; And the huddled sheep in the far hill fold Stirred in their sleep and â€" felt no cold. The design of the Coleâ€"Horsley card was unconventional, for holly, snow and robinâ€"redbreasts were all lacking. Still, the "Christmas spirit" was mainâ€" tained, since the middle panel depicted a family group (with father and mother and small children complete) enjoyâ€" ing themselves at a good dinner.. In the other panels were sketches of hunâ€" gry and shivering beggars being fed ard clothed. Owing to its rarity, it now has a distinct value among collectors; and a genuine specimen, lithographed and coloured by hand, fetches anything up The Horsley card, which cost a shilâ€" ling, was divided â€"into three sections and underneath was the legend, "A Merry Christmas and a Good New Year to ~You." to $250. The reprints, however, which were issued in 1881, are worthless. The rough sketch that was subâ€" mited to him by Sir Henry Cole being approved (since all the figures were fully clad), Horsley undertook to elabâ€" orate it. He went to work, however, in such leisurely fashion (‘"Art must not be hurried," he said) that the finished product did not find its way into the shop windows until the Christmas of This J. C. Horsley was an artist of repute; angq had been commissioned to paint several of theâ€"frescoes in the House.§ of Parliament, and an altar piece for the chapel of St. Thomas‘ hospital. As he chjected to nude studâ€" ies, the comic journals of the day made a point of dubbing him "Mr. Clothesâ€" Horsley." (London Observer) The question as to who first invented the Christmas card is a difficult one to answer. An English clergyman, the iev. Edward Bradley, was one of the first to put forward a claim. It is not so well established as that of William Dobson. He is credited with having deâ€" signed, in 1844, a card symbolizing the spirit of Christmas. During the followâ€" ing year he had it lithographed. Another claimant is Sir Henry Cole, a member of the civil service, who held an appointment in the records office. Sir Henry, who was an amateur artist himself (and, as such, published a number of children‘s annuals) conâ€" ceived an idea for a card in 1843. He took it to a friend of his, John Callâ€" cott Horsley, who, like Dobson, was also to become an R.A. Several Claimants for the Honour of Originating the Christmas Cards Now so Popular. But still we love him as of old, "Mid all the changeful years, Ang still he moves our hearts to mirth, Our eyes to tender tears; And whatsoe‘er new stars may rise To cast o‘er us their spell, We‘ll keep his memory green who wrote Of Tim and Little Nell. Christmas Greeting Cards Sent in 1844 Some said the glory he had won Would pass away and die, That lights more lustrous far, would shine In Literature‘s fair sky; That time with disenchanting hand His place and power would dim, And sthers, all the homage share, Once freely given to him. He shames us from our baser selves By all the truths he taught, His pen reveals life‘s humblest paths With grace and googness fraught:; His magic pages charm us yet As in the distant days, And cherished is his name and crowned With universal praise. Our Christmastide is ave more dear Because he makes it so; A truer gladness touches it, A richer, warmer glow; He bids us to befrieng the poor, And with his kindly breath Brings back to selfish souls the mind Of Christ of A Tribute to Dickens â€"Poet of Christmas When Mary the Mother Kissed the Child â€"Clhiarles G. D. Rozserts â€" Edwin C. Lansdown Phones 400 and 401 SWIFT CANADIAN COMPANY, LTD. To the Business Men and their Customers in Timmins and District we extend Sincere (Good Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Christmas Section Timmins (4