Betty's Bright Idea was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and first published in 1875. And this holy time, so hallowed and so gracious, was settling down over the great roaring, rattling, seething lifeworld of New York in the good year 1875. Who does not feel its oncoming in the shops and streets, in the festive air of trade and business, in the thousand garnitures by which every store hangs out triumphal banners and solicits you to buy something for a Christmas gift? For it is the peculiarity of all this array of prints, confectionery, dry goods, and manufactures of all kinds, that their bravery and splendor at Christmas tide is all to seduce you into generosity, and importune you to give something to others. It says to you, "The dear God gave you an unspeakable gift; give you a lesser gift to your brother!"
Betty's Bright Idea was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and first published in 1875. And this holy time, so hallowed and so gracious, was settling down over the great roaring, rattling, seething lifeworld of New York in the good year 1875. Who does not feel its oncoming in the shops and streets, in the festive air of trade and business, in the thousand garnitures by which every store hangs out triumphal banners and solicits you to buy something for a Christmas gift? For it is the peculiarity of all this array of prints, confectionery, dry goods, and manufactures of all kinds, that their bravery and splendor at Christmas tide is all to seduce you into generosity, and importune you to give something to others. It says to you, "The dear God gave you an unspeakable gift; give you a lesser gift to your brother!"