Wh has the key of Chrstonas Land?
J Dear baby hearts in Christmas Land,
‘We want to be near,
"And you wait for what Santa sends—
Whohas the key of Christmas Land?
Charity
-. By thy grace, let us oa ohare be
None of God's poor in Christmas Land,
William Lule.’
4 ap ) CHATNAS
sre
Br = rmLLIPS orrmmEznL.
oy there i is one thing more than another
"when & bachelor commences to doubt
whether his state of single blessedness is
the most desirable form of existence itis
at Christmas time, The joys of the sea:
~ son are. domestic joys; and
~ pvery one is either looking forward to
bi meting witha . of rela-
E an ends or a y reunion
with his own family. At pit of a tine a
© middle-aged bachelor with no relations
feels rather ont of it. ;
Now, although I m lead guilty to
{en years of hcholomoon, T Fatty ©
‘one of the misanthropical . I was
single (observe the past tense) not from
Lond but merely from force of cir-
cumstances; and I was never addicted to
+ shutting myself up with my books and a
eat, and growling cynical remarks at the
pleasure seeking world. On the con-
* ‘trary, I am of a somewhat jovial disposi.
_ tion, and was always fond of society.
- Christmas time Iliked to spend at a jolly
: country ‘house, and could turn my mind
to charades, dancing, rompiog with the
children, conjuring and
mn roe In fact,
z
he ofspeading Ohilstenas in in any
! solitary rooms, with only my lsndlady
j and her domestic to talk to was a con-
f which I had never contem-
d for a moment; but last year I
‘was very neatly brought face to face
os i 1 generally had at least two or
“three invitations to select from, and
“ghore the one where I should be likely
to meet. the most interesting set of
people; ‘but on this occasion my usual
«invitations did: not arrive. The Har-
‘ woods, with whom I had spent the
Christmas before, had lost a child, and
. were in mourning; the Houldens were
wintering at Nice (Mrs. Houlden was.
Gelisate) and at Houghton Grange both’
the girls were married; and “the Christ
mas house parties were things of the
st. These were my stock invitation;
and as I recollected others among my
circle of acquaintances to whom some-
thing or other had happened since last
year it slowly dawned npon me that if
I desired to avoid a Christmas in Lon-
don I had better make arrangements to
remove myself either to a northern hy-
dropathic establishment which I. had’
occasionally honored with my presence,
or to a Brighton hotel, where I was sure
of falling in with some pleasant com-
pany, Just as I had arrived at this
melancholy decision, however, & letter
_ arrived which afforded me the greatest
nds
ns!
$'WITH MY BACK TOWARD THE ENGINE.’
“hotel.
‘did the mischief. Bhe would expose
| fore very long my sympathy was diverted:
‘| in some: measure from ‘my host to my:
‘d circumstances, without some explana- | wif
* I'here for a day or: two, there is some:
satisfaction. It was an invitation to
d a week or two with my old friend,
Fred Halleton, at his place in Leicester-
shire; and with the vivid recollection
before me of a ‘pleasant Christmas spent
. at Gaulby Hall some three years ago, 1
Jost no time in penning a cordial assent.
to the welcome invitation. A few days
later beheld me, followed -by a porter
rying my various impediments, on the
rm of St. Pancras, prepared to
oy journey down to Leicester by
ast three Manchester and Liv-
press. The Pullman was
with a pack ef nosy. school-
ye, 80 I eschewed it and selected an
empty first-class carriage. I took pos-
f my favorite corner seat, with |!
the. ‘ rapping 1
tics. ug felt iio but op alortable
“y’M GOING TO CHUCK HER DOWN.”
During our drive to Gaulby I hazarded
a few remarks, with a view to ascertain-
ing what sort of a there was col-
lected at the Hall, but I got nothing de-
finite out of him. He was quite unlike
hie old self, snd I came to the conclusion
that he must be ill. As we drove up the
avenue I leaned out the window to gaze
at the fine old mansion, and it struck me
at once as looking cold and uninviting, |
while ‘the grounds were certainly very
much neglected. Something seemed | si
wrotg all round, and I began to feel al-
most sorry I bad come. ‘We overtook
Mrs. Hallston at the hall door, Just re-
turned from a walk. She was as gracious
and as pleasant a3 she had ever been to
her manner and appearance somethin
of the ill being which seemed to exist
around her,
‘We all three entered together, and the
moment we through the door 1
felt convinced that my expectations of a
jolly Christmas party were doomed to dis-
appointment. There were no decorations
about, only one doleful looking servant
and apparently nothing stirring. ~~ Ifelt
sure something was rong, but at any
rate I consoled myself with the reflection
that I had lost little by coming, asithad
been a choice between here and the
But, all the same, I did not feel
particularly cheerful ‘as I followed the
doleful looking servant upstairs, along
wide corridors, across ges, upstairs
again, and then down a long corridor,
until at last we reached my room in the
5 2
ne so,” T assented, de-
voutly hoping a fit was not then pend-
{ings Boon I.managed to make my
I made
myself once more in the hall.
my way to Eurdett's room, but he had
gone to bed, and seeing it.-was nearly 11
Slack. I decided to go. to ‘bed
-| preceded by a servant (I
have found the way myself), I mounted
again the wide re and threaded the
humerous passages which led to my
It was at the end of a wide cor-
dor, on either side of which were six
doors.
“Does any one sleep 9p be here?” I asked
the man as he bade me good
| He pointed to a door exactly opposite
mine.
¢“That is
replied; and the one at the: bottom end
is Mrs. Hallaton’s.
in this part of the house. The servants’
rooms are all in the north wing."
1 am generally able to sleep at what-
ever hour I retire; but it was early, and
the fire looked tempting; so, instead of
immediately undressing, I
coat for a smoking jacket, and,
a pipe, made myself comfortable in an
chair.
easy Boo
light footsteps ascend the stairs, and the
door of her room open
Jittle while afterward Fred halted out-
side my door to bid me a cheery good-
sight, and then entered the room oppo-
How ong I sat there T cannot tell, for
I fell into a heavy doze, and when I
woke up with a sudden start it was with
‘the uneisy eonsciousness that something
unusual had awakened me.
me, but I fancied that I could detect in {my feet and looked fearfully around.
The flickering flames of my fire, almost
burned out, were still sufficient %o show
me that no one had entered the room;
but while I stood there with strained
senses I heard a sound which made my
blood run cold within me; and, although
I am no coward; I
Tt was the half-muffled shriek of a Woman
in agony,and it came from Mrs, Hallaton’s
room. For a moment I was powerless
to move; then
door, and,
knocked at hers. There was no answer.
I tried the handle; it was locked; but,
listening for & moment, 1 could hear the
sound of a woman gasping for breath.
I rushed back along the corridor to
Fred's room.
unlocked, and I threw it open.
, and,
could never
night.
the master’s room, sir,” he
No one else sleeps
n I heard Mrs. Hallaton’s
and close, and a
I sprang to
vered with fear,
| hastily unlocked my
‘down the corridor,
The door was closed, but
west wing.
My surmises were correct. ‘When I
desonden. ‘after “prolonged. and careful
toilette, my host was lounging about in
a shooting jacket and he and his wife
were the only occupants of the room. I
was the only gu
“I've something very serious to say to
jou, Neillson,” he a slowly (Neilleon
is my name). ‘I'm «going to make a
confidant of you, if I may, old man.”
Ibowed my head aud listened.
**¥ou haven't noticed anything pae- |
ticular about my wife, I don’t suppose.
glance.
I admitted had thought her strangely
silent, ‘and apparently having some
satiety weighing upon her mind.
He laughed; a short unpleasant laugh,
and leaned over to me confidentially.
4+] rely upon your discretion, you:
know, Neillson.. I wouldn’t have it
have you?” he asked, with 8 searching. ; h
“wren mem Terrie. HAND IN MINE.”
known for the world; but my wife is
mad
» ited 1" I stared at him facrodulously.
“Yes, mad,” he repeated impatiently.
¢Tt ‘was the sun in India last year that
herself to'it. The doctor whom I have
consulted advised me to send her toa
private asylum, but I’haven’t the heart
to doit. She's perfectly harmless, you
know; but, of course, its sn awful trial:
to me.”
1 stammered out an expression of sym-
pathy. To tell the truth,I scarcely knew
what to say. I was bewildered at this
painful explanation of the gloom which
reigned over the house. Presently Fred
closed his eyes and left me to digest this
strange and unweleome piece of news.
1 am naturally somewhat selfish, sbe-
self. It occurred to me that if was by:
no means a pleasant prospect to be a
guest in a house the mistress of which.
was miad.. Ft was not altogether kind of
Fred to invite me, I thought, under the
tion of his wife's state. 1 began to feel
quite ar injured man. I was quite tired
of my own company, and Fred was fast
asleep. Bo I opened the door softly and
made my way down to the hall. As I
| passed an open door Mrs. Hallaton ap-| ga
burst
eared and beckoned mein. Ihad no
alternative but to obey her invitation.
¢‘Mr. Neillson,” she said, in an agi-
tated tone, ‘‘as you are going to stop | gro
thing connected with this household
which you ought to know. Has ‘my
husband told you anything?”
_ I bowed and told her gravely that I|
knew all; and that she had my profound-
est sympathy.
“She sighed.
#Perhaps you are retailed ‘that 1
should ask whether Fred had told you,”
she said, turning a little away from me.
+¢It; seems sirange, doesn’t it, thet one
should: be mad and . be conscious of it?
It only comes. on in fits, and. they. are
terrible.
_ ghe shuddered, and 80, to tell the
truth, did I.
egnch a phase of Sitios is probably
not incurable,” I ventured fo suggest
timidly.
* Incurable! of course it is not incurs
able,” she answered, vehemently. Vid
1 edged a little toward the door. I
had no experience in talking with ous
ground.
my
ing
corroidor,
see.a light at the other end, and know-
ing it must lead into Mrs. Hallaton’s |
room, I caught up the candlesnd a
ing almost double half ran, half crept
along it, until I other
extremity and found myselfin Mrs. Hal- |
laton’s room.
glanced half eagerly, half fearfully |
‘The room was empty, but the
‘window direct y opposite to me was open, i
and as xay, eyes
arms,
hand,”
help, but.
“Fred!” I cried; but Fred was not
there, nor had ‘the bed heen slept on.
A candle was burning on the dressing’
| table, and in the right hand corner of
the room was what appeared to be a
hole in the wall, bot when I stood
Before it I saw at once that it wasa
secret a ang
nerveless fin
Mechanically I'rushed to the balcony
and strove to wrench from his encircling
grasp the fainting form of his wife. Like
a flash his imbecile grin vanished and
his eyes filled with a ‘malignant fury as
he let go his grasp of his wife and sprang
at me like a tiger cat. It was in vain
that 1: wrestled with him.
arms were around me and held me as’ if |
I were in a vice. I.tried to shout for
of my mouth, and’ a:
all the sound 1 could command.
ig hearer we drew to the
parallel with the
down it, I could
reached its other
1 stood upright and
Di upon jt I stood
a dull sickenitig” horror, pe Coa
en dropped with a crash from |»
There was a}
miniature balcony outside the window,
and on this stood ‘Fred: Hallaton, hold: |
in an embrace, which was certainly
nek 0 of love, the fainting form of his
The moon was shining full on his
face, ghostly and demoniacal, with the |
raging fire of the madman in his eyes |,
and the imbecile grin of the lunatic on |.
his thin )ips. In a moment the truth |
flashed upon me, and asl stood there
and horror struck he saw me and
to a fit of wild laughter.
s¢Ha, ha, ha! You Neillson? Whats
joke! 1 So
id be afraid. ' Does the height make
‘you ‘dizzy? ’ It’s ‘made her; and’ he
S otioned to the insensible figure of his.
wife, whom he still held clasped in his
“Do you know what I am going.
to-do with her?
- down there,” and he pointed ‘to the gar-
den below,
use to anyone.
gers.
what a glorious view of the
Come and bend over, man;
I'm gong to ae her
4A mad woman is of no
Come and lend mea
Hie ons.
my tongue Slesved to the roof
faint gurgling was
Nearer
pet's
p lawn
ie fend then my
| my :
the carols being composed during the
‘end language, such as “The Carol of
{ the Holy. Well:
. | We're CL
» | goes to your postofiice, or the last
Christmas” that crosses Jour
by Oh, | :
feet scemed to
a wi Swe wild sol
of:
SY sicuntet| Leicester”. i € my
na sipped fom my” s
train was slowly Ss =
station, and there, stan
platform, smiling and robust, looking
the very picture of health, was Fred
Halston.
That Christmas party at Gaulby Hall
was the most enjoyable I was ever at,
and the people (the house was
full of visitors) the most entertaining and
agreeable I ever met. There was one
young person especially—a Miss Alice
Pratison she was then—with whom I gos
on remarkably well. ' I never enjoyed a
visit eo much 1 my life as I did that
one, nor a ride so much asione afternoon
when Miss Pratison and I, after a capital
run, rode home together with her little
hand in mine and our horses very close
together. Next Christmas, if Alice
doesn’t object, I mean to-have a jolly
little house party of my own.
Semele
Christmas Carols.
Musical specialists divide carols into
two classes, the sacred and the secular,
although there Is a third, the words of
"which are a curious admixture “of both,
as for example:
If the sun shines through the apple
tree on Cristmas Day there will be an
abundant crop the following year.
Now the timeis come wherein
Savior 3
larder’s full of beef and pork
The garner's corn.
The music is often excellent, many of
best days of the ecclesiastical masters,
and in not 8 few of these compositions
ppear fugue, - counterpoint, and even
canon of excellent Spmposition and har-
mony.
They were originally sung in all the
churches at Christmas time, instead of
the hymns for the day, and in the rural
districts of England this custom is still
observed, But more frequently at pres-
ent they are heard from the lips of stroli-
ing bands of singers, while a solitary
warbler sometimes serves to recall the
carroller in Dickens's Christmas story,
who begins outside the door with:
¢¢God bless you, merry gentlemen,
may nothing you dismay,” when old
Scrooge outs the song short with a
ruler.
Many collections of carols have been
rade, and some of them are really re-
markable compositions, being fugues in
three to six parts, and the words of not
a few convey ancient legends, occasion.
ally remarkably poetical, both in idea
All under the leaves, the leaves of lite,
I met with virgins sev
And.oneof them was mild;
.. Our Lord's mother of Heaven.
Oh, what are you seeking, you seven fair
* ‘All under the leaves of life?
Come come tell what seek you
3
Fi fore Jpg pele fog
for noleaves, Thomas,
Wire fosling fon uo leaves
To be our guide and thine,
Christmas Hints.
Buy no more than you can afford.
Give no gift where you do not Qe-
light to.
Shop no more than you have the
Strength for.
Entertain only within you means,
Keep your Christmas nerve and muscle
4 heir aad hope and cheer first for
your own. home, your own fireside, your
dearest, your closest, your sweetest—and
then for the homeless, the fireless, the
unloved, the ssundeared, " and be true,
true, true to the last Ohristtss card that
Santa. Claus +4One of the bis s has
ing on me, but he’s going to get badly
left.”
RARER aa AAS
. Christmas Proverbs and Saws.
A warm Christmas, a cold Easter.
A green Christmas makes a fat grave
If ice will bear a man before Christ-
mas it will not bear him afterward.
If Christmas finds a bridge be'll break
it; il he finds none he'll make one.
The she
wife enter the stables: on Christmas Day:
than the sun.
EE and Yule is
- And we haw,
Getting Ready for Christmas.
Husband who is aot 1 the carpet)—
been trying to ring in his father's pry
erd would rather see his:
WORDS OF WISDOM.
Lies run. Truth walks.
** Wrong doing begins with wrong think.
Real geod never shrinks from any kind
of a test.
most like good.
and put to plowing.
The man who has one talent and is
improving it will soon have ten.
‘We can help one another to live,
but no man can help another to die.
Of all counterfeits there is none more
contemptible than counterfeit humility.
No man can harm his brother until he
has first killed all love for him in him.
self.
‘When you find a chronic fault-finder
you generally find a person who loafs too
mu
There are people who wouldnt li
with the lip for anything, and yet they
live a lie every day in the week.
Looking too closely at a dollar doesn't
make it any bigger, but: it very ofter
makes the soul a good deal smaller.
If some people could have their way,
when they pray for rain they would pick
out the ground for it to fall upon.
There is never any difficulty in finding
people to play the first fiddle, but oh,
ow hard it is to get the rest of the or.
chestra.
It comes so much easier to forgive
those who have caused us suffering, when
we learn that we too have made others
to suffer.
There 18 a difference between sitting
beiore the fire and thinking about doing
good, and going out into the cold and
doing it. :
The laborers who were sent into the
vineyard at the eleventh hour had prob-
ably been at work somewhere else up to
that time.
Writing poetry about how to reach
the masses ig an altogether different
matter from going at it with beth hands
and trying to save. the people as they
come.~— Indianapolis (Ind.) Ram's Horn.
Remarkable Water System.
No city in the world is supplied more
abundantly with water than Fez, one of
the capitals of Morocco and the usual
place of residence of. the Sultan. This
capital, with a population of about 100,-
000 people, gets its water supply ina
remarkable manner, The town lies in &
river valley. The Wady el Fez rises
among the hills a few miles southwest of
the city. By the time the stream
reaches the outskirts of the town it is
wide and deep. Its natural course lies
through the heart of the city, but the in-
habitants have diverted all the water
from the large channel into a number of
canals. Then from these cauals the
water is conducted by hundreds of little
channels to every garden ‘and house of
the town. The river bed itself through-
out the length of the city as it winds |
through the valley is perfectly dry.
When Doctor Lenz was there a few
no other city in the world with so fine a
water supply as Fez. Unfortunately,
the natives do not know how to value
and properly utilize their great bless
ing. Though a stream of pure water
runs through every house and garden,
the town is extremely dirty. Ludwig
Pietsch, who ‘accompanied the Dutch
Embassy to Fez in 1878, said;
* “There is'no city in the world, with
the exception of Rome and perhaps
Vienna, which has so splendid a water
system. The brooks gurgle through
every garden in the town. The city has
other blessings, too, for its climate is
glorious, the soil of the country round
‘is very fruitful, and the landscape is of
surpassing beauty, but the people do not
know how to utilize their blessings.
Their streets are extremely dirty, their
houses are badly ventilated, and they
have made insalubrious a town that could
be one of the healthiest in the world.”
‘After the water has flowed through
the city in these many hundreds of little
channels, what is left of it. is ‘gathered
into the river again east of the town,
and then it flows north to join the Sebu
River, the largest in Morocco. It is the
only instance in the world where a
whole river is thus utilized to provide a
large city with water.-— New York Sun.
ee — <a
Land of the Olive and the Pig.
Some parts of Australia seem to b
admirably suited for the growth of the
olive. Mr. Principal Thompson. of
Dookie says in a recent report’ that 700
olive trees planted in that district are
robust and healthy, and that they pro-
duce splendid oil. He strongly recom-
mends the planting of olive around
vineyards and homesteads for shale and
shelter and to give a picturesque a ;pear-
ance to the rural home. .Aparc from
making of oil he believes it would pay
handsomely to grow olive berries to feed
pigs alone. Last winter the pigs at
Dookie (about eighty head) were allowed
to eat up the fallen berries in the. olive
grove; they had no other food for up-
ward of two months, and throve amaz-
ingly, their skins having a peculiat
shining appearance, characteristic of
sajmals being well fed.— Chicago News,
Texas' “Belled” Buzzard.
Among the distinguished visitors at
Belton, Texas, the other day was the
famous ‘fbelled’’: buzzard, which, thir-
teen years ago, was captured
‘McGregor, Texas, .and turned loose
again with ' a small bell attached to his
neck. . Your correspondent saw the bird
‘for the first time on ite first visit to Bel
ton. Since his first capture he las
crossed the continent several times, hav:
ing been seen in ‘many places from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. The bell is of
a small size, somewhat smaller than the
‘bells used on calves here when they ard
Evil is most dangerous when it looks |
Wisdom ‘is knowledge harnessed up :
“| tatoes in the field and stopped unde
| without a warning, fell,
years ago he said he believed there was |
‘of the surface of the earth as is now
at |
CURIOUS FACTS. ;
Brazil is 5 country of extraordinary fes
tility. i
“Two pounds of beef are consumed to
one of ad in England.
The waters of the]Grand Falls of Labra
dor have excavated a chasm thirty, miles.
long.
“People in = Japan are called by the
family nalie next and the honorfie—thus,
#Smith Peter Mr.” : :
A man in Concord, Mich., makes &
living by raising English sparrows and
selling their heads for the bounty.
An industrious hive of Andrew County,
bees lately made arecord of
twelve pounds of honey in twelve hours,
John Stowe of Birmingham, Conn,
recently ejected a live. frog, which he
declares he swallowed two years pre
viously. :
The longest railroad bridge span in
the United States is the cantilever s
in the Poughkeepisie (N. Y.) bridge
over the Hudson—548 feet.
Melons were first called canfeloupes
from being cultivated at Canteluppi, a
village near Rome, where they had been
introduced from Armenia by mission: ;
aries.
The earliest inhabitants of Greece ere
probably the Pelasgi, an Aryan un:
who came from the hich table-lan
Asia, passed around the Caspian Bea inf
Barons. and settled in Greece and Italy.
Western Washington loggors tell of an
immense log, recently floated down the
Snoqualmie River, which five oxen had
difficulty in hauling. It was a fire’ log
thirty-two feet in length and eighty-nine
inches in diametor at the largest ens
Twelve thousand silk worms wi
newly hatched scarcely weigh one—q
ter of an ounce, yet in the co
their life, which lasts only about thir
five days, they will consume bets
three hundred and four hundred pounds
of leuves,
A Gardiner (Me.) pastor collected 14
copper cents during his itinerancy,
paid them over to a merchant in t
city the other day. But the merch
got nearly even with the good mau by
handing him back 1000 of them i in
shape of a wedding fee. :
A Newberry (Mich.) man nam
ton nearly cut a tree down and w
vised to finish the job, but put it ¢
‘few days after his wife was diggi
15
tree to tie her shoe when tae old bir
killing her
stantly.
There are naturalists in this dey in!
age who believe that horse hairs wil
turn to living snakes; that toads w
live for thousands of years in the cavif
of a rock without food or water; that
the barnacle goose was developed from
the shell ih of that name, and that the
bird called Sora ina specias of the in;
The oity at London i is put down b
e centre of the lande
more laud than any 6000-mile circle that
could be drawn from Any other olty] in
the world. :
Down to the tie of Homer, w o
flourished 907 B. C:, as little was known
known of ‘the interior. = Greece was then
regarded as the centre of the earth,
which was surrounded at the distance of
500 miles by the ocean river. [Luter t
land was extended farther and a limited
form given to the old Continent, :
A Family of Giants.
Fred 8. Pond, Webster avenue, Ci
says: My father’s grandfather’ s family con:
pisted of thirteen hrothers and two sis-
ters. The aggregate weight of all the
last time they met at the old homestead:
was 3000 pounds. The average helghk
of each was a fraction over six feet
have heard my father say he has seen
father, who was below the average of his
brothers in height, weight and muse e
throw in quick succession several forty-
gallon casks of cider overan ox-cart
ease, and have also seen him lift one of
the same sized casks by the chimbs to kt
lips and drink therefrom.
ten of the brothers went to a barr
ing. They lifted the bend, thirty by
forty feet, with its sixteen-foot posts aud
fourteen-inch square timbers, without
any effort. Old New Englanders
know what that meant.
a man noted for his grea
strength. v
brothers, one in each hand, and. hand o
held two live deer. On one gecasi
when he was working about the b
which was enclosed with a fence six fe
high, a noted presented him
‘and banter he \
The brother said bi
and it was against his principles to fi
{The pugilist then bantered Ira, who
he did not want to fight for nothing,
over the fence. The pugilist
back to the barn, bowed to Ira an
“I have had enough of you."—0
Tribune. :
A Remarkable River.
That all the rivers run into the sea
18 an old saying, but on the A
coast, near the Gulf of Aden, is
exception to the rule in a rive
out of the seainto the Lake ‘of at 2
The surface of Lake Assal itself is nearly
700 feet below the mean tide and it
fed by this paradoxical river, which
about twenty-two tiles in length.
highly probable that the whole
which the lagoon partly i we
an arm of the