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HniAT TIl^V M^^f- fViA [•ai<>»'»- It i» • busy sekson for the mAVPW AllCjr ITICCI UlC I bakers who are making their hard f^ritfllf' Naiat Y*at* ^<>'^^ o)^ <7« bread and their fancy UrigUl ilCVÂ¥ 1 C*» I Urts and short breads. Their windows 'are festive witL little ornamented Various Customs in Other cakes bearing iced sugar mottos wlsh- Lanrla on tKi» Festival of '"* "^ Happy New Year" and "A i^nos on ine r estivai or ^^^^.^^ j^^^^ yui..» a famous Scotch Oirth or Another Year bun made entirely of egg and chopped , â- ' fruit ehclosed in a crust appears JOY THE RULE bountifully during New Year week. < rst footing has come from the nine- France meets the new years with a teenth century with scarce abated flowing cup; to Scotland it brings in vigor. This is the custom of visiting the famous hagassis to a bagpipe friends immediately after midnight. tune; in Persia it signifies the rebirth Prudent people usually take care that of all life; China's new year sends an the first foot set-inside their doors be- old household god to the land of spir- : longs to a person of fair < ..ntenance its while it establishes another deity I since the fair face brings good luck on the family hearth. In Canada, | for the entire year. A dark face accompanied by merrymaking or sol-! brings bad luck. One might expect emnity, as the temper of the company gH brunettes to remain at home under demands, another leaf in the book of the circumstances if another bait did life. turns over. Varying calandars an-'ndt draw them out. The first footer nounce the new year at different tim-is is allowed to kiss the person who ans- of the year in different parts of the ^ers his knock, and many a swain What An OU Fire Looks Like world, but everywhere as th^ day rolls around it is greeted with an outburst daugh'ter of the hons - will open the of celebration. St. Sylvestro's Day is a saint's day no one ignores in France. Sahits come makes his \-isit hoping the favored door. Healths are drunk with regular > I Scotch whiskey, and when the party is and go throughout the year, observed 'asembled, a piper in highland plaids with more or less devotion by pious enters playing the hagassis tune on people of the nation, but when St. \ his bagpipes. Immediately after him Sylvestre's Eve comes i/n the last day ! comes. the cook bearing th : hagassLs, c of the old year, famil'es rich and poor | huge boiled pudding of well establish- are prepared for its ritual. The stores i ed reputation. It is to Scotland what -teem with lovely things and toy shops ; the plutn pudding is to England, and are crowded to the doors with dolls ^ it is loudly welcomed. On that night and drums, for St. Sylvestre's Day, \ no fire on the hearth goes out since rather than Christmas is the season gray ashes on the grate on New Year of giving in France. Eight o'clock on St. Sylvestse's evo borning are a bad sign. On New Year's Eve and late into Blllowln fore it was twtiagul.shetl League of Nations, Calendar Reform • Canadian Society Gave Early Support to this \ ital Re- iorm Movement, Now â-  Assembly Mav Be Called ' Ottawa.â€" .Va international confer- ence OU calendar reform may mate- rialize as a result ut action being taken before the House of Kepresenia- ttves of the United States in Wash- ington, the League of Nations Society in Canada, which has its lieadiiuartera at Ottawa, ha.t been advLied. At tlie Instigation of Mr. George Eastman. lUa well-knowa American financier, the committee on foreign affairs ^t Wash- ington has imder Us consideratlou a proposal tiiat the President ot the States be ofllclally requested to call an interaailonal meeting to look Into the question of calendar simplification. Varlou.< federal offlciaU at Wash- ington have been outspoken In their FIRE WORKS DISPLAY A SEVEN-DAYS" WONDER ^^p^^^^ ^^ ^^^ movement and at clouds of black smoke coming from an oil fire in Beaumont. Texas, which burned for seveu days "«" present there seems everj- likelihood the cost of $100,000. i '^*' calendar reform, wUiuU Is spon- â€" ; sored by the League ot Nations, will ; be thoroughly Inrestigated. She then invites f*;?m to si; mother, down. In nouse.s whe-? European fruests of some importance have bejn psked *â- â- > dine, ;joup may precede the main course- but in most Persi.in menus this westernism has not f jund its wav. Pilau, which i.- to say, rice 's piled upon tremendous trays no: less than two feel in d'ameter and served wit'n a savory sa'.ue. Turkey, with its ' The Yellow River take- th« people to mass for the solemn , the night the children of the city and dedicatory service for the coming year. ' the countrj- go from door to door sing- When the mass is over gav crowds I ing begging songs. Carrying enor . - „ .- press homeward for the feast of the'mous turnips made into jack-o-lan- 1 sauces, follows, and finallj- anothe- evening terns, and muffled in sheets and, P'la". "^v^'ch is sweet. Aln^onds, pis- A tremendous dinner is spread and 'masks, just as Canadian children are tachios fings. raisins and walnuts around it gather the head of the f am- | on "allowe'en, the little beggars shout ;";ake the sweet pilau one of tne fii.est ily, his wife, their children, their chil- i their ditty until they are rewarded, things in all Pet sian cookery. dren's children and all the uncles, i with cheese and bread ami with the! On tnat aay the visiting start.-. No aunU and cousins-the honor of en- little New Year pitcaithy bannocks , Pol"e Persian nor torei.-n ^^s.t.•r tertaining falling upon the oldest of which have made the bake shop win- c-'^es omit the courtesy o. the visits, ,,-,,., the family line. Mouton gigot is the | dows alluring for a week. though if h:., time is very pix-cious he n a smsle night destroyed LoOO vil- niain dish of the dinner (since turkev IN PERSIA TOO. KT^i' T ''•^."'f ^ly leave h-.s ciiiG lages. It churns up mil lous of tons and chicken are little favored in Nowhei-e in the world ^rith the dos-L^'''*"'^/')'^- l'"l^' 'T*. ? "'i' "''f-'?^ ^^^^ ^^"^^ , by B-lorifiedl ;j;°^'i*'^^.'"_t"e^Y.i^ • j.\. ,5 ! be crowded into the schedule of people â-  lands under mud up to the eaves ot By Thomas Steep The IIwa;25-ho, or Yellow River, to which also is given the name "China's Sorrow," u ot all rivers the wickedest. It inundates homes by the thou.sands and drowns people by the millions. It assumes in the Chinese imagination the character of a ruthlessly destruc- tive dragon, whose tail is in the moun- tains of Tibet, whose body stretches 2.600 miles across Northern China, and whose head is in the Gulf ot Pechili. It is held accountable for the death by .-iee the embankments washed away j when the rirer bed. raised by the ac-| I cumulated slit, lifts the waters over them. What.' asks Dr. F. IL King in Opinion both In Canada and the Uulted States Is unanimous as to the need of this although until suggestions have been thoroughly threshed out there is and will continue to be disagreement as to i the nature of the remedy. Students of calendar reform point "must be said of the mental status : of a people who for forty centuries ; have measured their strength against; ,.„,„...,„_, ... , _. . .u I 1 -,.,, out many discrepancies in the present such a Titan racing past their homes i ^ •, ,,,.. ,_ .,_ ,.__^ _.. above the level ot their fields couflned : only between walls of their own con- struction?" Obviously, the patience of the Chinese is comparable to that of ants which, finding their ramparts of â-  .saud destroyed, laboriously build them' up again. The amount ot mud the , drowning in the last three centuries of ri^'er disperses is prodigious. It has 10,000,000 people. It swamps areas heen estimated that the Hwang-ho to- thlrty miles wide, and in one iustance gether with the Yaugtse in 360 cen- turies will fill up with solid land the whole of the Yellow Sea. glontied ; jjijig exception of China, does the New â-  '} Jn~« Vnii'i.- nr.Vniinor,f.> tjTo .Tf r.iut.! ' i string beans and truffle sauces, and ; year brinir such fea^tini? as it j^^^ of some pu j.k prom nence. Ine sUeet^, I :_! * oring sucn leasiing aa u uoes i , ,.y jj (.an^iv;;! of color; smat-t I ronch < & finale of patais.^eries and wine. On the stroke of midnight, which ap inequality in the length of the months, the varying number of weeks in the months, the lack ot fixity ot the calendar, and so on â€" and state that a readjustment would be bene- ficial to every class of the community The thirteen twent.v-eight day month plan designed by Moses B. Cotsworth ' is cited as a convenient solution tc , the problem as there would always be , four weeks ia each month, and each . week day wou'd fall ui>oa tie same , .,.,,,, , .date each month, and crop statistics, As a bearer of freight the Hwang-ho .„„^,j ..,(> „ii „ ,.» „ j . ,,.,.. ,...,. ,. _. ...... ,__._, records of all sorts, and accountms â-  would benefit greatly. Mr. Cotsworth did much of his early work in Canada i and many years ago read a paper be ; tore the Royal Society of Canada and i received the unqualified support ot pagne. « ino may now eariy m tne gy^vive and occupy an incomparably! l,." \^. evening but this king of beverages is > j^j^^ place in the life of the people. ; r:dg^?.t,.,/at, reserved until the new year actually , That is why the New Year celebration ^" „, .f ravs shows his fuce. Upon tue streets hi - j gy^j.^.u^ds ^n^rch 21 rather than fo!- friends and ac Yet its influence on Chinese civiliza- [ tion has been beneflclent; its pictur- 1 is incorribly bad: it not only because of its shallowness refuses to carry any but rafts and flatboat.--. but it strands them on its treacherous sandbars. The craft, whose cargoes are chiefly lac- quer juice, millet rice, tobacco gums , ^^^^ distinguished body. and oils, are built in the highlands, i ^ J_ where timber is plentiful, and disman- tled and sold for lumber iu the low- lands, where wood is scarce. So It esque gorges and torrents in the may be said ot the Hwang-ho. as of noi other river, that the ships sail Jowu As the Lilies Of the Field Franco), accompanied „j ^ â€" ; sioie excention ox Lnina. uoes tne -ncwi „, , ,,,.- ; t-â€" „>_.,...., the farmers' hut.s and yearly carries a carr.iv;;! of color; smat-t lronch;out to sea enough sediment to build I in rersia. mere the uay ana tne ; g^^^.^g j„.g ,.(iied with the tu ;e scarfs up a solid mountain on the. floor of the rr...-.hn< n^,r f 1, , <.„,) ^f fV,» ;:„„.,-"! '^"*'''"*^ ^''^ '""^^ '"'''^^'^^ survive f rom | £ ,, .jv(,,,-,er., but the colovs :f the ocean. It shifts its mouth capriciou.sly proaches near the end ot the umner. .u^ „],! 7,,rrv.-ntr an w.m-<Vi n t^id tra. , J t j i ..i /> ^ , , ^ â-  ^ ... tv,« ,Mf,- Im,~=k= f s.-f», wJti, .,11 t'h^ ri;n i z.oroa3trian woisnip anu tra- j,.p^ g g^^ ^^^y enhanced by tl.o flut- from the coa.n of one province to the tne Clt> DU."Stj. lorttl with all the dm l j;i.;„n, M-ihommftin Um h-n lonw . • . ,->\. i< .L .. , â-  , . that whistk-s. drums, horns and shouts heirnonMnalswa^^^^^^^ ""^^^ garment Out of he coa.st of another province and eaves can arouse, and everybody greets the ! S„^°r fu^eJ to a gre'tTxVert bS'"''''''^^^^ .°?'-" ^''^^^'t,*' 1^^".^ *»>* '" ''\''-^^~ 5"""'"" '""^ P««'"^"'^«^ n.w year ,rith a draught of eham- i ^^ffffk "usrl of 'h^^^ d^^^ wMc.» have made Persia .r.n-oa. ^ more devastating than war. Daene Wino mav flow edriv in the • ,°^^^ **' ""^ \^^" "^^''^jon j, ..^ banners of the lays iir.-: pagne. vvino may now eari> m the 3ur,.,,.eand occupy an incomparably! parlance. Tea drinking and sherbet ts arranged in e.xact de- rays in the gardens of Tibetan highlands have for ages been j aritv reaches its heisht with the mid- : r ."u""j "j *.l""Vru V friends and acquaintances are the me theme ot Chinese poetry, its shal- , , , „,- â-  â-  ;• , ,, . "•» neignt viiti tne raia i^^.g the day around the Mohammetan , ._ j„,. „f .y,^ c».,cnn U . i • <i , , I ho I was a passenger on the Peking- 1 night bell, for then the ancient order ,„_.„ ca'endar which makes the first ''^" '"""^'' 'â- '^'»«hes bear a considerable , „ v^^ exure«s It wis na^t mldnieht ' of kissing comes into its own \ ^f^ ca.enaar ^^ men maKes tne nrsti ^^^ ^j^^^ SEASON. - commerce, and its whole length marks i "-^f^u .^ , 'I '"'''"^'^N ui niaauiK iwues iiiLo us own. , .of the vear fall at dmevent times of; ' u .u • , â-  . . . • and the train moved over tie desolate i As on old -.USS1...I Easte.-. nobody tj,„ 3„„- calendar. For twelve days the visting g«es on he pathway by which the pioneering , p,^.^^ ^^ j^^^^.^^^. ^^.^^ ^^,^^ a mo-! = I^'udon- -Lady .\Mor has stand.ci on ceremony, tor tradition gives , Because it is spring;, and all plant and gifts are piven among families forebears of the yellow race migrat d „„,o^^„g clicketv-dicU, Inside the , ""other movement, this time a "brigh- gives hini sanction to kiss the prettiest I j,p_ J ^^^-^^^^^ lif^ is springing anew,! ''''•d friends; not gifts in our sense of "•»,'» /ae sterile upiands of «- eiurul .^_,^.,^ j^^, passengers. Kuropeans and''" clothes' campaign for women, girl in sieht, whether he has ever seen ] j^^j.^,lj gg^ias an especially appropri-i the word, but bright silver and golu -^sia to the feriile lowlands. â-  , p^j^^.j^ sj^pt soundlv iu grotesque! ^•=*'^-'' â- ^^'^'" aPi'eared ia the House her liefore in his life â€" and right j ^j.^ tji,,^. f^j. v;^^. Year. On the clay <^oins; and in some cases fine old coins Rising in the high Kobo-nor plateau, attitudes; outside in tlie moonlight the ' "^ Commons clad In a gorgeous cerise I it never sail up again. The last rime I crossed the Hwang- Lady .Astor, Gorgeously Clad. Moves House Enthusiasm I.^>ndon- -Lady To sturtt landscape swept bv ghostly; a solitary !50wn Instead of the usual somber , ^ farmhouse, a clump of gmirled and 1 '''"*^ °"'' ^^'^'^^^ '^'''''"- ^^ ""'"*" '" whose seeds of" the vear before have years afterward for ^their beauty and Hwaiig-ho tumbles through the rocky an^-jent trees, a ruined temple inclosed j ^'"'â- â€¢"'"""'"'- "^^^ ^^'^^ '^^^ *^? ^'^^ ' ' â-  ' " within a ruined wall. Tired old China ' '•â- Â°'"® '^''â- '^" '"'â- "^"'" '" P'»''*y "''^ ''°' hcartilv he doo^ it. Dignity unbends j ^^j^^j^ "g' ^"[Jt "^£ 'j,^'i^j.''g„,^Qync^"g 'jjj^.] whose value is far greater than their in Tibet, among a group of small and 'oeauly lays to its majesty for a blooming of mvriads of wild flowers -ace denomination- which are kept lakes called "the starry seas," the few rollicking nwments. I whose seeds of" the vear before have, years Younesters, long since in bed. have ^1^^^^,^ about on the wind and found ' ''ai'lty. mountain gorges in fresh, cool cas- left their shoes, big and little. "Pon | i^jgjng in the sti-aw and loose soil of Seezdeh-debar (the thirteenth day cades, which the Chinese poets com- the hearth, waitins for the giftgivers, Uj^^ i,ousetops. No child dares pickitc the door of year) arrives on the pare to the falling of liquid jade. The and be''ore parents and relatives he-l^hese New Year flowers, just as he thirteenth day of the year and with it falls at Luugmen (Dragon-gate), with take themselves to a late bed they fill] jjjj.'"j,j '^^f. j^jn '^ bird oV an animal,' 'he greatest celebration of all. Out of Us overhanging crags and its sur- the .shoes with th.> ; ear's offerings of Lj^^.^ j,c^.^jj.jy„j, 't,> Zoroastrianisni life the twelve gates of Teheri.n goes the rounding forests, vales, peaked pago- toys, can. lies and fruits. } j^ ggj-Jed and should anv life be voil-: Population of the cityâ€" past the moto da.^ and huge buddhas carved in the slumbered, train. oblivious to the passing; ! mentioned in the enthusiastic com GERMANY OF YORE. Germany, whose St. Nich..»las is lov- ed even more than our Santa Claus entlv t'tken the spirit of it is doomed that surrounds the ancient citadel and mountain sides. Is held to be a glimpse to wander homeless forever. I over the artiticial hill, that hems it in. of paradise. Beyond the foothills the , ^^^ 4^^^ avoiding the crowds " ThrifLv In the houses all is hubbub, for | Beside running streams shaded by river for -WO miles passes the base of j.^jjj,^^jjjj_...ij -^^.^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^_^^_ moa. as that when ye leave books un- til the last minute there's no time to read them before ye have to send ment and cheers that greeted her ap- _;â-º , peaiauce caused other women parlia- Book-b'alcsman (to gentleman ,,1,0^ "'^""'"""l ''""'''''''•'ly 'o =.tart won- has purchased several new books)- '^^'''''^ *' "'^'' ^*^ f""*'" ^'â- "'''"^â-  "There's nothing like buying one's Christmas presents quite early, sir. ot earth, only to makes no great stir over New Year'^s s-prlng cleaning, the like of which no; willows and iM>plars they spread the the Great Wall like a wide moat, loops now, but there are many sonal functions in the old the monaivhy. There was a custom in the citiesi*"- â€" - - â€"-1 ^ ,.• 1 v 1 »i. „.;»i. .,> 1 r^ .u 1 1 < 1 durinc the vouth of the former Kaiser streams to be washed in running^ sweets which have bee, made w^.h so seaward. On the lower plains, where that a m.in appeared! on the streets in ' water: pots and pans are cleaned and; much lab<^r. All day long the pum. tt widen, and meets ^ more gradua a tall silk hat on New Year's Eve at ! scoured: the cooking quarters are lasts, with the people playing.g^ies decline, the nver slackens its speed his own peril. The idea probablv grew j hunuuing with .ictivity. The lady of or sitting talking on the ru^^ey and permits the silt and coarser outof the hostility of the lower classes 'an esUblishment has her hands more, have broughtout for the da>.Seezo.-h- detritus te smk. causing the nvr bed tc the bourgeoi.ie, the silk hat beinglthan full at Persia's New Year, be-|bedar oyer, the New \ear celebration to rise continuously, a symbol of prosperity Should a pro- ' cause every member of her household,! is closed tor the year. I- or for v centuries the t h.iieso. to vincial. ignorant of the custom, have j lowest servant to favorite wife, must, «" j prevent the nver from becoming an the ill fortune to stroll forth in fine I have new clothing from the most in- Speeding around corners Is a inland sea. have struggled to confine it feathers •. that evening in Berlin he ; significant piece of underwear to the; strai ght road to the hospital. wuhiii emb.mkmeii t was almost at once greeted by the 1 lino gauzy silks Persian women wear â-  ;_ - command to take off his hai. He, not as outer wraps. Peddlers of baubles. believing the summons for him, walk- 1 and jewelry, merchants, «i brocades, ed on with unruffletl composure. I shawls and chintzes, call upon the Shouting mobs wore around him in no! great of the lan^ and sell enormous! time, and he, tiK> late, saw that he was quantities of their wares. Dress- makers follow them and throw the|/> household into such an uproar that^ the men and boys might leave hv'me| if any house in Persia offered a re-j treat. Meanwhile culinary pi-ep.trations go] on briskly. Both men and women are n'aking the famous Persian sweet-,, meats which Wlong almost exclusively to the New Year, AJjil a mi.xture of. them off!" ".My dear," remarked Jones, who : had just finished reading a book on "The Wonders of Nature." "Nature is marvellous! When I read a book like this it makes me think how puerile, how insignificant is man," "Huh!", said his wife. "A woman doesn't have' to wade through 4i'0 paires to dis cover that " Young British Cripples See Princess really meant to doff his hat. With rough blows the beautiful hat vas smashed over its owner's ears and en- tirely demoHshed. .\ story, which may be three parts fiction, say that William II. used to love to dress as a member of Uie work- ing class and mingle with the crowd incognito and join in the rough sport. On one occasion ho had the misfortune to lielabor an old man who w.-is more j twenty kinds of nuts, the seeds ofj than prepared for the onslaught. The | watermelons and punn'li>"-s. tiny peas, old gentleman had boon utUickod in quince seeds, salt and the juice of, former times, and on this particular limes has a delicate greenish color andj year he had equipped himself with a is the greatest favorite of all the" deli-! leather skull cap which ho wore under 'cacies pivpared. .Rice flour, is made; his hat. Set thickly in the leather j into fine little cakes and a rich dainty: were sharp up^tanding nails. When which employs pounded walnuts iii|: the Emperor '.s fist came down on that place of flour is olie (f the richest ofj- fellow's hat, it encounte.wl nioiy thnn'thc New Year cakes. Nuts, too, salt- a bcwildercti head, and the royal hand was so severely injured as to require a sur^etm's attention. In Frai'.kfort-on-the-Main the whole city salutes itself at the moment of midnight. Eaicilics' and groups of friends together watch the old year out- and when the clock begin.* to strike tweU-*. every window in the city flies open mid the streets resound with "Pivsit Nuejahr"â€" Happy New Yeai I Toasts are drunk and wishes exchanged. THE SCOTCH WAY. Time was in Scotland when Year's far outs'..on« Christmas in im- I'ortance, and though the order it now ivt^'-H. niaa.T ->f th» old auperati- f->- '•.•'Te to nwkke New Y«*r one of ' ^- ft iimm glXHl New cdand sweetened, arc prcpuivd ini huge quantities, | Two thousand years ag(> the lovely j practice of planting wheat in bowls ^ had its origin, Totiay it .--tilV flourish- j es, and by the dawn of No-liu7 (New; Year's Day) the plants, whi-h were | nut into the bowls not qui'.e a month j before, arc several inches high, sc that | the bowl makes a lovely delicsftte green centrepiece for the great fesla! board. MOTHER'S DAY. New Year's Day is above -oil others dedicated to the mother of l^o house- hold. She is the qu««n of the day, and before the people alt down around th« long white Hnan cloth which ia spread on th« floor and covers! with the cookery of many preceiing days '"Of course, we do not want women to make a fashion parade of the House of Commons, said Miss Ellea Wilkinson, one ot the eight women in the House, "but it strikes me tiiat It is high time the House got over its supposed prejudice against women members wearing bright colors." Miss Susan Lawrence, another member, supported Miss Wilkinson's attitude. "Quite right," she said, "It is my view that what clothes a par- Uamentarian wears is entirely her own affair" Youth's Opportunity "A symposium on the subject of sue- â- â€¢ cess in business has been compiled by ! Mr. R. B. Punwoody. Secretary of ''\« \ Association of British Chambers of '; Commerce, and published under ih»> title of Youth's Opportunity. Hre are a few sayings ot some of the contributors: â€" "Learu to say 'No' to yourself i.n matters of pleasure. i "Start early at the bottom of t>le . ladder. "Tho men who "live well." but 'no* I too well,' get on best all > ' world. •The I'litute may see lad.< goiug into ;i i'u<-tory tor two years, then to a iini- vorsity. •Criiinhling should he kep; â-  .' ..>iiiiK ma;i .•. • .'â-  â-  â- ! ; lako as much Interest iu the busiues.t ; he has eiitf-red as he does in. say. i football, cricket or piotorcars, there ! is not much fear ot his troubling ; about whetht-r the dole wil bo in- :' creased or lUluiiiished. "No man will be a success In i call- .iif; he dislikes. â- Tho next crop of miUioiiaires are ;ii kina our stamps now." -»r- ENGLAND'S MUCH LOVEO PRINCESS VISITS SICK Princess Marjr of Euglaiid visiting the young patients In tho Mansfleld Orthopedic hospital. SotJi«i thay muat rae«lT« Ui« bleaalng of tha bedside ot bar fathar, Khu Oeorga. t© perfort She left tha rm a numbai: uf oflicinl acts. QUITE TRUE Carrot: You needn't be so haugh-.' t» â€"we're both alike. Ptamond ning; How goT , Carrst; Why walM bvlh ooa oar^ .t9V.