VOL. XXXIII
Silver Ware Free!
Handsorrt triple plated hand engraved Teapots, Caktstands, hruit
stands. Butters, creams, Spoon holders, molasses, sugars, cantors.
Porcelain :uiJ alarm clocks and other articles both ornamental and
useful. Call in and inspect the ware.
GET A CARD.
Purchase you overcoat for Men, Boys and Children. Suits, Pants,
Hats, Capes, Underwear, Shirts, Collars, Cufts, Ties, Suspenders,-,
Gloves, Mits, Overalls, Jackets, Sweaters, Umbrellas, Trunks. Valises,
Telescopes, Watches. Chains, Charms, Kings, Pins, Brushes, Pocket
ana Bill-books,Purses,etc. and when your purchase amounts to sls -
OO you get your choice of any of the above articles.
Our Stock is complete,
And Styles correct.
Quality the best,
And prices the lowest.
D. A. HECK,
No 131. N.Main St, BL'TLKK, I}A.1 } A.
FELT BOOT
SALE.
We bought a very large quantity of Felt Boots
and Oveis AT A GREAT BARGAIN and we
have determined to allow our customers and the
people, generally, have the benefit of our good
fortune. It is a First Quality Felt Boot with
four leather stays and over shoes complete.
Mens' win go at 1,
Boys' as low aS 1.25
While we have a quantity that would last most
dealers two winters, don't delay, at these prices
they will £o fast. Remember the place.
AL. RUFF A SON.
The place to buy
GAS COOKING STOVES AND BURNERS. GAS LAMPS
FIXTURES, HOSE, WATER FILTERS. BATH TUB ENAMEL
£etc, is at^
W. H .O'Brien & Son's
107 East Jefterson Htreet.
Harness Shop!
Harness of all Kinds Made to Order.
Repairing a Specialty,
AND PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO.
BLANKETS AND ROBES.
CASH PAID FOR HIDES.
No. 111 East Cunningham St., - - BUTLER, A
(The old Times Office.)
FRANK KEHPER, Agt.
Glove Sale!
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 17» 18*
We will have a Special Kid Glove Sale—including our well
known "Perfection" and "Boston" Gloves—at 89 cents.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Dec. 19* 20» 21-
Special 19 cent Sale.
45c mittens at 19c. 25, 35, and 40c handkerchiefs at 19c.
25, 50c and SI.OO Windsor ties at 19c.
25 and 50c four-in-hand ties at 19c.
25 and 35c birds at 19c. 50 and 75c wings at 19c
Ladies 25c vests at 19c. Childrens 25 and 30c underwear at 19c
Sweeping reductions ir. Millinery.
M. F. & M. MARKS,
113 to 117 S. Main St. Butler Pa.
■-■ ll 1 - -
Y%T A IUV n HTTI C t KIN <4B. KAU KINtiK.
uiamuni u a \ wjaukifinh.lSTUDS.
4KF It TT XT* CT I OKNTS' (iOL.I), LAMBS' GOLI.M
VV £L X WXIJCaX* 1 »<iENTS' BtLVEK, I.AUI KS JI IIaTI.AIN.
Q TT toold Plus. Bar KlngHtluffs,
il J!i W JCJIJIA X F (.'liiiioH, Bracelets, Etc.
etTT 'XT C O TUT M Tea bets. Cantors. Halter lilshrn aml| Kvt-rylUlnK
9JLU W £•£( VW XIL £% XL* f mat run t.* lin II rM rl:«-t slllf .. CtWI
ROD6F3 BROS. 1874 } KN,VK * KORKB - B,,oc T n I3PI.K I-LATK.
E, GRIEB,
No. 139, Jilortli Main* St., B JTLER,|PA.,
THE GJ «J . , . .i* ...it , ,it .sii :1I v _'use?
Tr. c. •*.iM ; j wVi.. R . ■I-I ei< .<>«.!rg (or covering
t.ijjuc.ty, wearing ijualii.trs, gt-iieral appearance, and
- -r I'.uney'j v.-<.r:h, yuu must buy
THE SANSIW/N-WIUJAMS PAINT.
tf" Mut - LuL "' *««:. •'tun (roaomtcul, full Httuur*.
O :r jir.-rs are for "best good:;" first, last and all
the time. We are in the business to stay aud
HtisMts. & t stays *ji.h us.
COkCRS i '1 C>
HOUS« A .H
Wifl." JhiS,
J. C. REDICK, 109 N. Plain S*.
THE BIT Lit R CITIZEN.
'i*>
Tired Women
Nervous, weak and all worn out —will
fliid iu jjuriritil blood, made rich and
healthy by Hood's Sarsaparilla, permanent
rel ; ef aud strength. Get Hood's because
Hoc '
Is the Only
True Blood Purifier
Prominently iu the public eye today. It is
sold by all druggists, fl; six for fo.
Hn/ut'c Pillc "" '
liOuu S I 11125 avo. All druifilsti.
■-FASHIONS,
1 ASCINATING
X ALL
ABRICS.
OUR stock tables are
fil'ed with every new style
and every becoming design
in the materials of Clochs
dom, that good form
demands, and good taste
can suggest.
IT is not our goods
alone that are attractive.
Our low prices add to the
combination. That is why
Economical
People
are our best customers.
WE don't iry how cheap
ive can make clothes (that
is easy) but how good we
can make them to give
you the best value poss
ible at jthe least possible
price.
ALAND,
Tailor.
It's All In Th Making.
nteff
lip
whether clothes fit well or net. That is
where we excel. Whether we succeed or
not you can judge by the tact that the
best dressed men in Butler almost with
out exception patronize us.
Poorly Made Clothes always look cheap
while those well made have ail elegant
ap[>earf< uce. The clothes we make are
put together thoroughly. No slop shop
work is tolerated. Try us, anil see if we
do not answer this description.
Cutting Your Cloth to suit the size and
shape is a good thing to push along, also
the cutting of our prices to suit the de
mands of the public. You'll be astonish
ed at the low prices at which we are mak
ing up our large and elegant stock of
Foreign and Domestic Woolens. Call
and examine our large stock.
COOPER it 00
Cor. Diamond, Butler, Pa
c7\TD.
oizaimmiimmio
!LWer° 1
|Wcar |
1 Points |
So
ejg
Hv irrit&tioir? f>-
(VJ I?Y
(Sj rsj
M : i ; gjg
fitting rsj
eS Mo4eai'- urics?
6n>
CSj .
An
CSj
o wmmam/msM
All grade of enderwear at very
low prices.
Largest stock of hats and
furnishings for gentleman in the
country. An inspection will prove
this to any ones satisfacture.
Colbert & Dale.
242 S. Main St., Butler, l'enn'a.
BURTONS
NEW
STORE
Is still the talk of the town, noth
ing but the most
favorable comments
on our method of doing business.
Our Customers DELIGIITLD.
We Aim to Please. We sell
goods only foy cash.
One price to all. It
will do you good to
see our line of $7,
$8,59,510,$ O 2,$ O 0&$2O Overcoats
i°o S. MAIN ST.,
BUTLER, PA.
; I 'TLKH. PA.,THURSDAY. .1 A N UAR V 2, 1 89<>.
TH£ DYING YEAH.
X'/'ioer toi.it' lit
la 4okt& of a p*rticg
mjj ,v*l?.">|r.tot!.« Bine, writi, - n -ivUaM.
-i si 3" h>. n.ciy r.. =t
llesmdji tfitron.,w. <va. 1-1.
H'.i race iaite •• cr
.And v 1. nr u r- 1
p&rl, (3 meet cn . r.nr. i.o itctc
lii; r j" .
With hopiE uiid ft ...:• -• :i-
Jxb, ■who oouldlcck irlthi.-. tl.. <s -
And deem that ther 511 v.r.tnoi
But expectations nli ha", j'.ed.
The promise (iro trokr-n, tn--i
The hojx s lie withered, err.-.1.1 ci. l J. mi 4
Not one of all but proved untrue
Aad there he stands, decrepit, wan,
Who came to mo a merry elf,
A few sands more be will be gone,
And with him gone part of myself.
So come and go th? passing years
That bear U9 to the silent sea,
But bright with smiles or dim v.-ith tears,
They come in love, dear L-jru, from thee.
—Christian Work.
A NEW YEAR R< IMAXCE
"You may talk as much as you
please," said Muriel Vane, nodding her
curly head, "but I'm going to receive
company in the parlor on Xew Year s
day. Why shouldn't I? Every other girl
does.''
"It's a sinful, wicked waste of time,"
said Mrs. Vane, "when the quilting is
so behindhand and there's such a deal
of sewing to be done."
"But life isn't all for work," plead
ed Muriel. "And Mr. Clifton is coming
all the way from tho city in his sleigh
to see me. Oh, mother, please let me
have a loaf of homemade cake and some
red apples and real cream for the coffee!
Just for this once! It's only one day
in the year. Do, mother!"
"Stuff and nonsense!" said Mrs.
Vane, who was one of those aggravating
women who make up their minds on
the least possible grounds and then
pride themselves on adhering to their
word. "I've said no, and I mean no.
When I was a young girl I wasn't set
ting my cap at every fellow that came
along."
' Mother," cried Muriel, in an agony
of wounded pride, "do you mean to say
that I do 6uch a thing?"
"Yon think a deal too mneli of tho
beans anyway," said old Mrs. Vane,
screwing up her thin lips. "And I'm
going to break up that sort of thing.
See if I don't!"
It was with difficulty that Muriel
Vane, naturally a high tempered girl,
checked the indignant retort that rose
to her lips. Surely, surely, it was not
right that she, a girl of 18, who was
earning her own living by teaching in
the district school, should be treated
like a child of 8; that her tyrannical
old mother should place no confidence
whatever in her sense of right and deli
cacy. Up to this time she had rendered
the tribute of an unwilling obedience
to Mrs. Vane's behests, and now she
felt that the moment for just rebellion
had come. She felt that she could not
live any longer in this cramped, nig
gardly sort of way, with the very lumps
of sugar for her tea meted out to her,
ono by one, and the pippin apples for
her lunch dealt sparingly forth, as if
each one were molded in gold. Mrs.
Vane took her lamp away at 9 o'clock
every night. She dictated to poor Mu
riel as to the very color of her dresses
and tho number of yards which she
might purchase for them; in fact, tho
girl scarcely dared to think for herself.
Could she live thus always? she asked
herself. Was it right that she should?
"At all events, mother," said Mu
riel, speaking iu a low, determine!
tone, "I shall receive my friends on
New Year's day! It is my privilege,
and I claim It!"
"Humph !" was the contemptuous re
joinder, but there was a world of mean
ing in it.
So Muriol retrimmed her one black
silk dress and bought anew ribbon sash
aud baked a great, golden New Year's
cake filled with plums and studded all
through with translucent bars of citron
and herself bargained with the grocer
for two pounds of real Java coffee with
as little adulteration of Rio, Maracaibo
and chicory as he could bring himself
to concoct.
"I can use the china that my grand
mother Vane left me in her will,"
thought Muriel. "That, at least, is
mine, although mother would never al
low mo to unpack it!"
She was busy decorating the walls of
the little parlor with laurel leaves and
long, dark green trails of prince's pine
on New Year's eve, when her mother
camo into the room.
"Muriel," said she, "I want to send
some dressed chickens and a peck of
those golden pippins to your Aunt Dora
at the lighthouse. Jenkins' boy is ready
with the boat, but he's such a limb that
I don't, for the life of me, dare to trust
him with the apples aud tho bag of
hickory nuts. I want you to go and ask
Aunt Dura for tho pattern of tho new
bedquilt—the 'Philadelphia pavement,'
you know."
"Very well, mother," said Muriol in
the old submissive way. "But isn't it
rather late?"
"Pshaw!" said Mrs. Vane. "Why,
the sun is an hour high yet. You'll be
back long before dark if Jenkins' boy is
spry with the oars.''
Auut Dora, Mrs. Vane's only sister,
was a worthy scion of tho family tree—
tall, masculine and hard featured. She
had always taken the entire charge of
White Reefs lighthouse, even although
the official appointment was conferred
upon her husband, and when one day
that public servant departed this life,
things went on precisely the same. Mu
riel was not fond of her Aunt Dora, and
her Aunt Dora regarded her as a "poor,
chicken hearted creature —Vane all
over." But Muriel did feel sorry for the
lonely old woman, and she thought that
even u pair of fowls and a few apples—
this unwonted manifestation of sisterly
feeling—were worth carrying to White
RI .;£A. SO sho made haste to don her
W»due<J cloak aud little fur edged hood,
and to draw on the scarlet woolen mit
tens, which she herself had knitted dur
ing those long, dreary winter evenings
when she aud her mother sat in silence
opposite each other, for Mrs. Vane never
invited any company, and gave her
neighbors but scaut welcome when they
came of their own accord.
"Jenkins' boy" was ready with tho
boat, a small, ferret eyed youngster,
with an intensely freckled face and a
furtive, sidewiso glance, which Muriel
always distrusted; and as they glided
out over the water, already dyed with
the orange reflection of sunset, in the
direction of White Reefs lighthouse,
Muriel leaned her chin in her hands
and thought of Jlr. Clifton.
What would her mother say if she
know it all—that Paul Clifton loved her
—that ho was coming to ask for her at
the maternal hands the very next day.
"It will bo of no use," she thought
■iadly. "Mother will say no. She ae
slres me to marry Bquiro Sedley, who
is bald and deaf and twice my age, and
who only wants mo because his house
keeper has struck for higher wages and
he thinks a wife would be better econo
my. But wo can wait, Paul and I. We
will wait."
And then they ran up alongside the
tall, spectral cylinder of tho lighthouse,
for the tide was high and landing was
comparatively easy, aad Muriel sprang
lightly nut uI the boat, looking up at
*,hn fiery eye fu 'he lantern above.
•'Givo nie the Lag and the basket,
Tommy," said she. "Steady with the
boat now! I'll be br.ck iu cur minute."
So the crango glow had burned down
into a d<: p roil radiance, and the dusk
shadows off tho New Year's eve were
lip pla£vr of
the
Aunt Dora was at home. Iu fact,
A ant Dot a never wi s anywhere else.
Her own society, little as other people
cared for it, was all EuSoient for her
self.
"Oh, it's you, ia it?" said Aunt Dora,
as unconcerned as if she lived on dry
land and was ia the habit of seeing
company every hour in the day. She
was darning stockings by her own espe
cial little lamp, and the teapot already
simmered on the hob for her tea. "Any
thing the matter? Becaupr> I couldn't
leave the light if it was ever so"—
"No, nothing is the matter," said
Muriel. "I have brought you a note
from my mother. Something about the
pattern of a bedquilt, I believe. And
some chickens and apples and a bag of
fresh hickory nuts."
Aunt Dora read the note once, twice,
three times over. Then she regarded
Muriel in a sinister fashion from under
her thick, black brows, while tho girl
played unconsciously with tho cat,
"Humph!" said she. "Yes, I'll go
and get the pattern !"
She was gone some time—half an
hour, ut least, as it seemed to Muriel,
and when she came back, tho girl start
ed up.
"It is nearly dark," she said. "I
must make haste home."
"Well you needn't be in such a flur
ry" said Aunt Dora, with a grim
chuckle. "I'vesent the pattern by Tom
my Jenkins. He's half way to shore by
this time."
Muriel utterod a little shriek.
"And how am I to get home?" she
cried.
"You ain't to get home at all," said
Aunt Dora. "You're to stay and spend
the New Year with me. That's what
your mother said in her note."
"But I shall not!" exclaimed Muriel,
stamping her foot vehemently. "I must
go home! I expect company tomorrow."
"Sit down and be easy—do!" said
Aunt Dora. "Must is for the king. I'd
like to know how on earth you're to get
home, with only one boat at the steps,
and that padlocked tight, with the key
snug at the bottom of my pocket!"
And Aunt Dora laughed a hard, dis
sonant laugh that was like the croak of
a raven.
For a moment Muriel gazed wildly
around like a newly caged bird, then
she burst into tears and sobs.
"It is all a stratagem of mother's!"
she cried, wringiug her hands. "I
might have known it! I might have
known it!"
And that night at the White Reefs
lighthouse, with the melancholy sea
lapping the foot of the tower and the
wind wliistlii: g around the steady glow
of the beacon, was the dreariest that
Muriel ever spent in her life.
"You ain't good company tonight,"
said Aunt Dora, glancing at her niece
over and anon between the stitches of
her darning.
"Because you have deceived me!"
cried Muriel. "You and mother!"
"Huxuph!" said Aunt Dora. "It's all
for your own good. You'll thank us one
of these days. Girls oughtn't to have
their own way."
But Muriel only wept on and refused
to be comforted.
She went down to tho foot of thp
tower, the next day, and sat there, her
cloak wrapped about her shoulders, list
lessly gazing out on the sparkling floor
of tho deep.
"Is that a boat coming?" sho asked
herself. "With one man in it? Is it
toming here, I wonder?"
Nearer and nearer came the boat,
rocking lightly on the surface of the
waves, and presently Muriel started up,
with a cry of joy.
For it was Paul Clifton waving his
hand to her, as ho came ever nearer and
nearer.
"A happy New Year, sweet Muriel!"
he called out, as the boat touched tho
stone steps. "lam the enchanted knight
come to rescue you from the prison tow
er!"
"How did you know I was here?"
said Muriel, with sparkling eyes aud
velvety cheeks dyed with crimson.
"Your mother was entirely noncom
mittal," said Clifton gaylv. "I could
learn nothing whatsoever from her ex
cept that you were well and were not
receiving company. But I was fortunate
enough to meet Tommy Jenkins, who,
for the consideration of a silver quarter,
iguominiously turned state's evidence.
And here I am, my sweetheart I vVill
you come with me?"
"Of course I will," said Muriel,
springing lightly into the boat. "But
where?''
"To be married," said Mr. Paul Clif
ton. "It is high time that this system
of tyranny was broken up. My little
Muriel must be mine and mine alone
henceforward. Do you not agree with
mo?"
And Muriel answered:
"Yes. ■'
Aunt Dora got to tho window just in
time to shriek an ineffectual summons
to the pair in the fast receding boat.
"It's no use," said»*iuut Dora, draw
ing a long breath. "When a girl is in
love, she is neither to hold nor to bind.
I've done the host I could. Mehitable
can't blamo me!"
Two hours later Muriel walked into
tho old brown roofed house on tho shore,
leaning on Paul Clifton's arm.
"Mother," said sho to the amazed
Mrs. Vano, who fully believed that she
was "dreeing her weird" in the solitary
lighthouse tower, "I am married! And
this is my husband. Will you forgive
us, please? For I am so very, very hap
py tfxlay that 1 do not want a living
soul to be at variance with me!"
And so Muriel signed her declaration
of independence, and became Paul Clif
ton's wife upon this glorious sunshiny
New Year's day. And Mrs. Vane and
Aunt Dora were compelled to confess
themselves outwitted and to accept
their defeat with as good grace as pos
sible.
"Fate is fate," said Aunt Dora grim
ly-
"And I wash my hands of the whole
concern," said Mrs. Vane.
But Paul and Muriel were serenely
happy. And what mattered aught else?
—New York Ledger.
Christinas Bells Itinc .Joyful Tilings to All
the Earth.
There is no holiday in all tho long
calendar of the montlib that is so uni
versally and so enthusiastically cele
brated as Christmas. All men every
where take heart of grace and smile a
cheerier smile as the music of the
Christmas bells falls upon their ears.
Whoever will look back to his young
days cannot help remembering what a
strange, mystio time Christmas was.
There was something a'm Ist awe inspir
ing in the music of the Christmas carols
tmng at midnight in tho open, frosty air.
Aud these Christmas "waits" who sung,
who were they? Unseen and unknown,
wo almost deemed them beings of a
fairer world sent down to make Christ
mas delightful. If we had known in
theso days that these men who broke tho
silence of the star-y night to tell us
what "the herald angels" sang wcjty
mortals given to the smoking of tobacco
and tho drinking of porter, all our ro
mantic dreams would have ended there
and then. As we grow older we .v
--wiser, and therefore a little sadder. Wo
know, of course, that there is no real
UiUita c laua; but, oh, how wo wish thvro
wurai
WATCHINC THE OLD YEAR OUT.
The CuKtoui Onco foiiiuiou In N<w Kug
land Ha* Nearly l'a*a*«l Away.
An old fashioned "watch night" in
New England or the middle *tat< was
until recently one of the institutions c_f
this country. The keen, frosty uir of the
early evening bore upon its crystalline
and twinkling depths the sound of nu
merous strings of sleighbclLs converging
ut the church. The well 1 ided cutters
and tho crowded sleighs hissed through
the creaking snow, that stamped off
with loud emphasis at the porch door,
announced the each l..ad. The
interior of the church, heated to almost
a point of discomfort by big stoves, still
retains the decorations put up when the
Christmas tree did service before its re
moval. The usual chatter and gossip
soon subside. A solemn hu.-h falls over
tho assembly, and when the first hymn
is given out it is sung with more hearty
uplift of tone than usual. The prayer is
more fervent than usual, and the an
them that follows it is more like a dirge.
The young elder, who is present,
preaches an address, the tones of which
fall on all hearts with a sadness that be
gets repentance. No such theme as this
finds expression at any other portion of
the year, "Wo all do fade as a leaf,"
and then he closes with Longfellow's
mournful words:
Howl, howl, and from the forest
Strip the red leaves away.
Would the sins that thou alhorest,
O soul, could thus decay
And be swept away!
Kyrie eleison: Christie elcison!
More singing, more prayers, all instinct
with earnestness, and then a shrill
roiced girl recites Pren'ifo's "Dying
Year,"
•Tls midnight's holy hour. etc.
Another Tennyson's "Old Year," then
comes a breathless waiting, and the bell
strikes, when a joyous "Amen!" is fol
lowed by a burst of song that every one
joins in.—Chicago Tribune.
New Year Fairies In Wale*.
Among the Welsh people fairies are
known by the name of "y tylwyth teg,"
which means the fair folk or family,
and are believed to have remarkable
privileges 011 New Year's eve, ut which
time they are said to be rampant and to
possess unusual power. They are thought
to have a great fondness for children,
and woe betide the fond mother who
has in any way offended the tylwyth teg
during the now dying year. Let such a
mother watch carefully and unceasingly
at tho cradle where her darling lies
sleeping on New Year's eve, for if she
fails to do so the malicious fairies will
come in her absence and steal away the
child and susbstitute for it a "plentyn
neuid," or eliangling, who, though it
may at first be the exact counterpart of
tho stolen littlo one, will scon alter in
to a frightful looking, shrunken, puling
brat, not unfrequently becoming idiotic.
—New York World.
Debts Settled on New Year'*.
On New Year's eve in Japan handfuls
of beans aro thrown about the rooms and
over tho threshold to exorcise evil spirits
who may be about.
Before the new year the merchants
endeavor to get in all the mcney that is
owed to them and to pay or settle their
own debts. As a consequence many
things can bo bought very cheaply at the
end of the year, for ready money is the
great desideratum. Men carrying trays
of something looking like white worms
go through the streets crying, "Soba,
soba!" the Japanese form of macaroni,
which, eaten with soy sauce, is a fa
vorite delicacy with the coolies and
jinriksha men. For their little customers
those men make all sorts of figures of
devils, gods and animals from this
paste. —Exchange.
French Canadian Jour de L'an.
A child prostrate before its father ask
ing for his blessing on a New Year's
morning. This is a typical custom
among the French Canadians of the
province of Quebec, and undoubtedly
retained by French Canadians now resi
dent in New England and other parts of
this republic. The head of the family
rises early New Year's morning, renews
the firo on tho hearth and in tho stoves,
and, soating himself in an armchair
within the shadows of the Yule log,
watches tho embers and awaits the first
of his offspring to ask for the internal
blessing on theglorious "jour do l'an. "
—Boston Globe.
Itead the Illhle New Year's Morning;.
In many a Welsh household the first
thing that is done by each member of
the family on rising on New Year's
morning is to consult the family Bible
with a view to learning from it what
tho coming jear lias in store for tho per
son seeking the information. This Js
done by reading the first verse upon
which the eye falls, and tho verse in
question is believed to foretell in some
way tho good or ill fortune, the happi
ness or unhappiness, during tho just be
gun new year of the person making the
trial.—Exchange.
New Year ItelM.
Of all sounds, of all bells most sol
emn and touching is the peal which
rings out the old year. I never hear it
without a gathering up of my mind to
a concentration of all the images that
have been diffused over tho past twelve
month. I begin to know the worth of
that regretted time, as when a person
dies.—Charles Lamb.
The Magic Hell.
Tho old year is dead, and hoary haired time
High in th*; belfry in tolling hit* knell
From tho phantom rim of a bell,
And tho world i» swayed by its mystic chime.
For earth is th*s f>onderous toiiKU*' that swings
In tho tower of time. The cathedral dim
Is the universe, and the bell's hug" rim
Is the other blue as it rings and rings.
Tho chimes aro tho passions that sway men's
souls —
That tempt and inspire them. Tho thought,
tho deed,
On this New Year's eve from th*. earth droM
freed,
In 0110 mighty vibration upward rolls,
And hushed are tho voice# around th\» thron«s
A » tho tin at Croator receives his own.
—Detroit Free Press.
How the Greek Celebrates Christmas.
It is more than likely that many of
our Christmas customs were born iu
Greece, more particularly tho decora
tions, lights and games. Here ghosts
and hobgoblins are rampant between
Christmas day and Epiphany, and chil
dren aro often frightened into unwilling
obedience by the tales. As the pious
Greek fusts for a month before Christ
mas the feast of that day is very wel
come to him, though it consists princi
pally of macaroni and strong cheese.
On the island of Chios there is iu use
a strange sort of Christmas tree, which
is sometimes simply a polo adorned
with fruits and flowers, carried by a
tenant farmer to his landlord as a pres
ent that typifies tho good will and
wishes for an abundant harvest.—Ex-
Change.
Kissing Under the Mistletoe.
Tho mystic mistletoe bough then as
uow granted a kissing charter to the
swains, and the maids were willing suf
ferers. The sacred mistletoe was regard
ed with religious veneration by tho
Druids,and its berries of pearl as «ya»boia
of purity and associated with the rites
of marrtag.. From this the transition
was but slight to the kiss beneath the
cabalistic bough. This traditional »u
--credness, the genesis of which is un
known, has endured through tlie ages,
;,nd today f< >r man and maid to meet be
neath tho mistletoe gives the right to a
sacred kiss.—New York Herald.
SIAMESE NEW YEAR.
trii Spirits Supposed to ic:«».t the l>»-
p&rting Year—A Night of l. .r. ..
The Siamese "Choolatj:il:.»rat. .r re
ligions New Year, generally f.»i. on the
day nfter the first full moon in tho
month of March. The Brahiniij .. rolo
gcr, whose sole duty it 1.- to point-out
the aspect of the sun, mo 11 and stars,
heralds the approaching mil moon by
setting in motion all the multitudinous
gongs aud temple bells 111 the city far
ai:'. ~ Tho people, who are always
ready, v. ' r this signal, have
generally
year. Debts have beei , nnts
closed, merchandise disposed ui .... . ...I
traff.o of buying and selling suspended
three days previous to tho expected
event.
The announcement made by the many
tongued instruments is received by the
vast population that inhabits the valley
watered by the beautiful Menam river
with fear and trembling, for they thin
ly believe that this is the witcbiug hour
when the very atmosphere 1 f the world
is alivo with gods, demous, genii and
hobgoblins, and forthwith tho anx! us,
superstitious people hasten to fri. irate
their evil designs. They bind r.ii.-; nu
cotton thread, consecrated by the pritst
round their doors and wind ws, iu; the
sacred thread is supposed to prove an
effectual barrier in keeping out the nia
licious spirits. This done tin y place by
the doors of their house- and hats a
platter containing a pig's head and a
bottle of arrack, as a conciliatory repast
for the wandering ghosts that may de
sire to regale themselves during the
night, after which the whole city, like
tho snail, draws in its horns and no con
sideration will tempt a mortal soul to
venture out of it until sunrise the next
morning.
At sunset every family offers to it.-
cwn household genii an oblation of can
dies, perfumed tapers and roasted rice.
As for the royal palace, 7,000 balls of
uuspun cotton, of seven fibers, conse
crated by 27 priests, are reeled round
and round the walls, and from sunset
until dawn a terrific and continuous
cannonading is heard from all the forts
of the city to rout tho evil spirits that
infest the departing year.
But once this dreadful iiightis passed,
tho terror sticken inhabitants, with a
long drawn sigh of relief, prepare to
welcome the new year. Dressed in many
colored silks, tbey repair first to the
temples to offer praise and thanksgiving
for their deliverance and to make hand
some gifts to the priests, and not until
they have propitiated Buddha and Bud
dha's earthly representatives do they
think of their own merrymaking. —Ex
change.
New Year's Wnssail Howl.
No English holiday was of much ac
count that was not observed with flow
ing bowl. Oil New Year's eve the was
sail bowl wai filled with spiced ale and
dnink iu families, and poorer folk tied
a bowl with ribbons and begged for
money for nle to fill and refill the bowl,
singing:
Wassail, wassail nil over the town;
Our toast it is white; our alo it is brown;
Our bowl it ts made of a maplin tree;
We be good fellows all; I drink to thee.
In some parts of England the old year
is "swept out" by men and boys with
blackened faces, dressed to represent
sweeps; in others it is "burned out"
with bonfires. Sometimes it is rung out
with muffled bells that are unmuffled
and rung clear after la o'clock.—lnde
pendent.
What Happy New Year Means.
A happy Now Year! What does it
mean? Aro not these words often thrown
out as a greeting without thought or
depth of meaning? Is it a year in which
to ourselves come wealth and health,
prosperity and friendship; one spent in
the pursuit of fleeting pleasure and
filled with self centered interest? No!
Rather let the wish be to each aud all,
as the- u«w year dawns with all its op
portunities, that the days of 1896 may
be well spent—filled with thought and
sympathy for those around; that in self
forgetting and kindly deeds the happi
ness of others may bo ever sought, and
then most truly will each act rebound
again in joy and blessing to the heart
from which it springs.—Maud Booth.
New Year Means l*rogre«s.
A new year, not simply another year.
Many people may be said to live the
same old year over and over again. Each
succeeding year is the same unit added
once more to tho sum of life. There is
tho same task performed in the same
sjjirit with the same motive; the same
imperfections of character, the same
failures of conduct. The times may
change and progress hasten, but if we
stand still, we live only the old year
once again. A new year never comes to
the contented ox; he simply grows old.
It is not the lapse of time or the prog
ress of civilization, but our progress,
which makes possible to us a new year.
—Josiah Strong.
For the Ensuing Year.
May tho new year, just opening to
us, be signaled in public and in private
life by the growth of noble ideas—of
ideas that shall make men freer, truer,
better; that shall more and more reflect
tho incomparable teachings of the Holy
Child whose nativity we have just cele
brated, and whose spirit, imitated and
obeyed, can redeem the time and crown
mankind with blessedness.—Christian
Work.
liirth of the Year.
How liko a human birth the waking hour
Of tho child year! Tin* weak and querulous
gale?
Mid t«*ars of rain doth lift u kindred wail.
Blankly tho nun's eye starts; tho air doth
lower
Dense as a listless oar. Beneath a shower
Of snow fresh fallon those branches, white and
frail
As newborn Llinbs, lie prone, with only power
Given to endure what wind soe'er prevail.
The baby lips that pout th« ir hung* rlritf
Do not more wistfully UHJ nurse invite
Than evorv spiral leaf bud yearns for spring.
And as tho young blue eyes wax deep and
bright
Wlillo tho soul grentens, so the glowing light
Widens bv mom and eve its azure ring.
—Philadelphia Times.
DISTRIBUTING GIFTS.
Tht» Spider Tarty Will Furnish Much
Amusement For Christmas.
A "spider party" is a novel method
of giving preseuta at Christmas to chil
dren and may bo thus arranged: Tho
guests, on arrival, are greeted by an
enormous spider in the center of a huge
web spuu across the entire room, aud
from all possible nails and projections
should be a maze of white cotton
threads, each attached at one end to a
large, brightly colored spider, at the
end of which must be hung a little
wooden winder. Each guest, in turn,
chooses one of the spiders, and, wind
ing up the thread, following all its in
tricacies, reaches at last a special insect,
insido of which has been placed the
small present.
Great amusement is produced by these
unexpected finds, which may be varied
according to tho wishes of tho hostess
from bonbons and knickknacks or small
toys to little articles of jewelry, neck
ties, etc. Of course, if wished, the
name of each guest may bo written on
the littlo winders, so as to insure the
right gift going to a right child or
grown up person. Any one ;un make
the large color.-' 1 , .piders at home, or
procure them from any large toyshop,
and when sending out her invitations
they should be so worded as to invite
her friends to a "spider at home"
party, which will cause v.iuch wonder
and interest to b© taken m the approach
injr party by her intended little visitors.
lUggiiiff llr.ad tuni C tie*,.,.
t»ec.tch children of tin- poorer ciuss ix*
small town etill beg on New Yearns
v*j <i rto door at the house, of
wi ilrhv r f.imili.j a dole of oat
bread, calling out "FL'gainunay" or
. omc i 1 tli local rhymes which are giv
en in Chambers' "Popular Rhymes of
Scotland," «>u. h a.';.
Hogaiuanay,
Troll lay.
Give us oi your white bread
And none of your gray!
They also beg for cheese, which they
call "nog-money," and Brand's "Popu
lar Antiquities" gives this bogging
rhyme used by Scotch children :
Get up, gudc wife, and binnosweir;
Deal cakes and cheese while ye are here,
For the time will come when ye'U be dead
And neither need your cheese nor bread.
As the children on these forays are
swathed in great sheets formed into a
deep bag or pouch to carry the oatcake
they form quite a mumming and fan
tastio appearance on the by streets and
lanes.—lndependent.
New Year's In 1790.
New Y*ear's day, 1700, was one of
special interest to those who delight in
tracing facts concerning this method of
celebration. President Washington,Jthen
in the first year of his first term, lived
at the Franklin House, in Cherry street,
New Y'ork.
The city was then a little Dutch town
oi cobblestones and gardens, containing
about 1,400 houses and 20,000 people,
most of whom wete tradesmen and me
chanics of very limited means.
The president had lived among them
several months, but most them had
held aloof through the awe inspired by
his great character and his high office.
But en this New Y'ear's day a great num
ber of them put on their best cocked hats,
their Sunday wigs and all their best
clothes and called upon the president.—
Philadelphia Times.
Some Good anil Rad Omen*,
To meet a red haired person on first
getting up indicates a dull day in busi
ness, and if such a one cross your door
on New Y'ear's day you will have an
unlucky year. While making a trade, if
a cross eyed person looks at you, it in
dicates that the bargain will be unprofit
able. To hear a cricket chirp is good
luck, and it is always a welcome sound
uuder the hearthstone of the farmer's
house. —Exchange.
A New Epoch.
A» tho sun completes his annual rev
olution through the heavens by touching
the southern solstice, and then com
mences his return to northern latitudes,
man is compelled to recognize a new
epoch in his own career and is reminded
to pause a moment for earnest reflection
in order to gather wisdom from vanish
ed months and to forecast the signs of
the future.—Christian Work.
Japan's Common Birthday.
The first of the year is really a sort of
double festival in Japan, for the Japa
nese, like the Chinese, -eokon their age
from that date. A child born 24 hours
before New Year's day is called 1 year
old on that day, so that it is the birth
day of all the Japanese people.—New
York Advertiser.
Love and Charity.
If you can make love and charity in
your heart choJd with the last song the
ihoir sings New Y'ear's day, you can
make up your mind that you are a prett.
good man after all.—Kearney Journal
A Song of the Season.
I love no rost but a nut brownc teste
And a crab layde in the fyre;
A little bread shall do me stead-
Much breade 1 not desj're.
No froste nor snow, no winde, I trowe, -
Can hurt ineo if I wolde.
I am so wrapt and throwly lapt
Of jolly good ale and olde.
Baek and sydo go ban-, go bare;
Both foot© and hand, go eolde;
But belly God send thee good ale lnoughe,
Whether it be new or olde.
With sober cheerfulness the grandam eyes
Her offspring round her, all in health and
peace,
And, thankful that she's spared to see this day
Return once more, breathes low a sacred
prayer
That God wouli shed a blessing on their heads.
- Selected.
Not So Generally lied as Holly—Vener
ated by the Druids.
Tho connection of mistletoe with Christ -
mas is a very curious one, says Hubert
Blight in tho Philadelphia Press, and far
from being a general ono. Literature is
perhaps mainly nisponsible for It, in that
allusions to a custom. In a great degree
purely local, have made a large number of
persons Interested In tho plant. It, more
over, seems to me that the custom of using
it in Christmas decorations depends on
two considerations—first, Its evergreen
habit, and, secondly, the veneration In
which It was held by the Druids. In the
orchards of Herefordshire and Worcester
shire, in England, and in those of Nor
mandy, apple trees may bo seen covered
with mistletoe to such an extent that In
winter time, when divested of their natural
leaves, they present a mass of green in the
leaves of their parasite.
The reasons mentioned have no doubt
done much to secure for the mistletoe tho
place which In recent times it has held In
Christmas festivities, but It Is not so uni
versally honored at Yuletldo as the holly.
In fact, Its popularity Is purely local, and
its use as an ornament, In places whore It
does not grow. Is due rather to an ant I
quarian sentiment than to uny feeling
that Its presence at tho rejoicings of e
season Is necessary. You may have a \ rj
ujorry Christmas without any mistletoe at
all, but to the majority of tho people a
Christinas without a spri-; c.r two of holly
would scarcely seem i bo Christmas at
all. Even that rare old plant, the Ivy green,
cannot compete with tli holly as a neces
sary part of domestic adornment for the
Christmas merry gatherings.
Still mistletoe has a certain amount of
sentiment attached to it, and then-torn the
mistletoe bough finds a place In the farm
houses, mansions ami castles of the dis
tricts of England where It grows and in
the dwellings of the wealthy when* it can
Imi purchased, while here a spray Is bought
just for tho sako of old memories.
The Christmas Message.
Cold must be the heart that has no re
spouse to this great Christmas sentiment,
barruii Indeed the home Into which no
recognition of the Christ child enters,
no thought of that inestimable gift that
has made alj mankind brethren. To the
poorest and humblest of us this Christmas
message speaks. The wise men required
tho guiding of a star, but to tho watching
shepherds the angel spoke face to face, and
there Is a Christmas sentiment In all these
gay streets and Jostling crowds that tho
wise men of our own day are not always
the first to understand.
In a few days more the evergreens will
have faded, and we shall Ist going al>out
our business with all the stern realities of
the new year Itefore us. But we shall
carry something over from this great holi
day that will not fade if we care to keep
it green, a new Impulse of faith and lovo
that will keep the world still growing
brighter and better Ix-enuse of Christmas
day.—Philadelphia Times.
Hanging the Holly,
The English holly Is finer In quality
than that grown on American shonss, says
the St. Louis Republic. The leaves an< a
better green and the l>errlos larger, and
before the holiday season sets in great
hampers of It are shipped from the English
ports to delight American eyes and hearts.
An attractive manner of using It Is to tie
big bunches with long satin ribbon loops
and ends, matching 111 shade the hue of
the berries, and place them over pictures or
mantelshelf, or fasten against the wall,
esjH-elally in some plctun-sque nook or cor
ner. Underneath the mantel, when there
Is no fireplace, the space may be banked
with m;L~M-dof the spiny leaves and bright
berries, jars or vases may be filled with
them, while holly wreaths and ropes arc
another form of decoration, very effective
both In large and small apartments. i
7N T o. 1
NEW YEA It I'OIi.TEN'TS
ANCIENI SUPERSTITIONS RcGAROING
THE WEATHER.
The Twelve SoocMdlng ChriitiQM
Suppo*e«l to lie In«lice« For ihe Kni>utug
Tear -Cnrlou* Custom* and of
Many -
The 12 days from Dec. 2<TTo-lam 6
hr.vo long been recognized us indices of
the weather during the following year.
The ancient texts referred to distinctly
assert this, a Sanscrit proverb running
thus, "The 12 nights are an image of
the year. " Another test from the same
sources evidently refers to the same pe
riod. "The Khibhcs (storm demons)
sleep for 12 nights and days in the
house of the sun god rSavitar."
In northern Germany it is said that
as the weather is during each of the 12
days, so it will be during the corre
sponding months of the year to 4)>mc.
A like belief exists to this day in Lan
cashire and Northamptonshire, Eng
land, and a very old writer (lottO) re
cords the current notion in his day that
the 12 days served as nti index o* the
coming year's weather. It was f ■ i
one English port that if the \\ - tic .< \v
hard on the fifth night (Dt.\ ),
at sea would be in great \ i;i .lie ui
ing year.
The inhabitants of the l. an
tains restrict this prophesying pern i to
that of our holidays, from Christmas to
New Year's, and are willing only to
say that these six days indicate the
character of the weather for the succeed
ing sis months.
In one part of our own country it is
said that "the first three days of Janu
ary rule the coming three months,"
while in another place the 12 days are
said to bo the "keys of the year."
Of New Year's day itself we have
the authority of a very old weather
prophet—the author of the "Shepherd's
Kalendar"—for the generally ominous
portents to be drawn from the weather
on that day, "If New Y'ear's day in the
morning open with dusky red clouds, it
denotes strife and debates among the
great ones and many robberies that
year. " More recently it is said of this.
day, "If the morning-rrr—tCew ?ear's
day is red, it portends foul weather and
great need. " While of the second day
of the year it is said, "As the weather
is this day, so it will be in September."
In the "Book of Presidents" (prece
dents), 1614, Jan. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are
set down as unlucky days. Another
chronicle says: "January.—Of this first
month, the opening day, and seventh,
like a sword will slay."
The first day of the year is often re
garded as the proper time to make cer
tain divinations with reference to many
events affecting the future. In North
amptonshire the master of the family
then tempts fate by opening the Bible
with his eyes shut and obtaining from
the passage first touched with his finger
some indication of the events of the
coming year.
Among the Wends young maidens
hasten the advent of the chosen husband
by going to the henhouse on New Year's
eve, striking the perch right among the
hens, while repeating to themselves
the following doggerel:
If cackle* the hen,
You will have a man,
If cackles the hen.
Who known when?
Certain observances are supposed to
obtain luck for the year following. In
ono part of modern Greeco all in the
house go out early New Year's morn
ing, then return to the dwelling bearing
each a branch on which the leaves are
well dried. These aro cast on the open
fire, each wishing at the same time
good luck to the family. The drier the
leaves, the greater the flame and the
better the augury.
In the north of England new clothes
aro put on for luck the first day of the
year.
An odd ceremony is recorded of one
locality in England. Bands of straw
were put under the feet on New Year's
day whilo at table. When the meal was
finished, one person got under the table
and another ono sat on his back and
drew out tho bands of straw. These
wero taken to the orchard and bound
round trees, which were thereby insured
to bear a full crop of fruit the next
year.
In parts of Frauce it is regarded as
unlucky to lend anything on New
Year's day.
Tho fire must be watched with great
care on tho first day of the year. In Lan
cashire, England, it is said that if it do
not burn through the night of New
Y'ear's eve, bad luck will visit the
household that year; nor must any one
be given a live coal, or even a lighted
candle at this time, for tho bad luck
will then visit the recipient of the gift.
At Auspnch the shadow thrown on
the wall by the candles on tho Christ
mas tree, on New Year's evening will,
if any one is to die soon, represent his
shadow headless.
In Roumania the New Y'ear begins
with a ceremony of blessing the waters,
the prie.-.t performing a naass and
sprinkling the streams with koly water
while blessing them.—St. Louis Re
public.
Uneer Welsh Beliefs.
In many parts of Wales to see one's
shadow in the moonlight upon New
Year's eve is believed to be an infallible
sign that the person seeing it will die
before the expiration of the coming New
Year, and there is also a popular super
stition that if an unmarried woman
should see her face reflected in wator on
New Year's eve it is an infallible sign
that she is destined to live and die in a
state of single blessedness.—New York
World.
So Many dlfU.
Three hundred ami sixty flvo spick, span, new,
Beautiful presents for mo and for yott[
Till them with klndaeas and sunshine, my
honey,
Ami you'll these gifts Utter than play
thing or money.
—Youth's Companion.
Laurel and Ground I'lne.
Next to the mistletoe und holly tho lau
rel and ground plno an' most favored, tho
former's glossy leaves and green berries
suggestive of good cheer and always form
ing an effective background when gay ber
ries or mosses are used in mldltlon. Tho
ground plno colls easily and gracefully
into wreaths and Is Invaluable for twining
about staircases or pillars or for using In
decoration on a large scale when boughs
of spruce, hemlock and cellar are also
much In vogue.—St. Louis Hepubllc.
Paris Christinas Confection*.
Parisian confectioners and florists dooo
mte their shops with some effort at symbol-
Ism on the fete days of tho year. Last
Christinas bonbonnlcres of donkeys, with
panels of Infant dolls, were displayed. Tho
favorite cake of this holiday is almond,
thinly made and covered with figures.
Plum cake if seen in the north of France
during tho holidays. Another cake,
"l'enfant J»>sus," cut out in the form of a
child, is very popular with tho children. —
Exchange.
Christmas Song.
Why do l»-lls for Christmas ring?
Why do little children sing'r
Once u lovely shining star
tv-en by shepherds from afar
Gently moved until Its light
Made u manger's cradle bright.
There a darling baby lay
Pillowed soft upon the hay,
And 1U mother sang and smiled,
•'This is Christ, the holy child."
Therefore V Us for Christmas ring;
Then-fore little children sing.
—Eugene Ficl4 in Chicago Herald.