The story of the Sun, New York: 1833-1928 / by Frank M. O'Brien ; with an introduction by Edward Page Mitchell ...

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THE STORY OF "THE SUN"

verse of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his
intellect, as compared with the boundless world about
him, as measured by the intelligence capable of
grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists
as certainly as love and generosity and devotion
exist, and you know that they abound and give to
your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how
dreary would be the world if there were no Santa
Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no
Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then,
no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in
sense and sight. The eturnal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well
not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to
hire men to watch in all the chilneys on Christmas
eve to catch Santa Claus, bult even if they dlil not
see Santa Claus coming down, what would that
prove? Nobody sees Santa (laus, but that is no
sign that there is no Santal Claus. The most real
things in the world are those that neither chil(lren
nor men can see. I)id you ever see fairies dancing
on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that
they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine
all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in
the world.
You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what
makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering
the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor
even the united strength of all the strongest men
that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy,
poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain
and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory