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x. '13.: - r. -‘ ‘,“yid1i . . .v . ‘ M3“. ‘ _ , , ,... r. .... Ligfluw... M _______ "a". ____________ A CHRISTMAS EVE mm. .Weird. ghostly shadows dance upon the wall, The dying embers flicker in the grate, From Olfil’. the darkness vowes seem to ca . . And a. lone star gleams like the eye of fate. Can nature sympathize with‘human pain And the wind moan mortals mourn? _ _ If so, no wonder that its low refrain Is sad toâ€"night, as if of misery born. Sigh. 0 west wind, as if through all the years That man knew sorrow thou hadst ceaseless swept Across the graves bedewed by human tears, A Freighted with all the woes of those who weptl because poor The plast is drowsy on my brain, and Am now where solitude has found a voice, I “'hile pnhmy ears fall, soft as lovers Bic . _ ’ The words of her, my first, my only choice. I feel the pressure of her hand in mine, The soothing touch of other on my brow; soft as south wind through the pine, The words of love, not sweeter then than now. Hear, sighing 0 maiden fair, thou of the blue eyes bright, ' Where love enshrined itself in depths profound, I l‘wine _slp:ig of holly in my hair to- D . Thou ong lost loved one, lost to me, now found! Mutely thou dar'st me take at mid. night chime . Beniath the mistletoe love's first, pure iss. . \Vhich verged my being to a point in time, And conscious life was naught but conscious bliss. Oh, fancy that didst cheat me for an hour, . No more canst thou such magic o'er me cast Or lonely room become an Eden’s bow- er By thy so vivid pictures of the past! I am again alone. That vision bright 0f youth's brief, happy days has pass- ed away, And like sun glinted clouds as fades the light The glamour’s ended in a cheerless gray. ' i I ’hear the sobbing winds again intone, The dying embers flicker in the grate, The t'fiinkuing star looms from afar l 0119 \Vhiile I,,a prey to sadness bide my fate. -â€"Neil Macdonald. CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATIONS. Skilful fingers, directed by a little taste and ingenuity, can fashion simple decorations which give a. tree quite a festive and attractive appearance, at very little or no expense. Festoons of popcorn, strung alternately with rose pips or cranberries, give brilliant color- mg. ‘ Black walnuts or butternuts cover- ed with tinfoil and hung in pairs, are very handsome by lampllight. Threads can be passed through at the top of the nut where the tinfoil is closed. Very small bottles, filled with tiny colored confectionery, and hung with narrow ribbon, are a pretty decoration. Often, just before Christmas, there is an open speel of weather, and one can get checkerberry vines with their scarlet berries. These trailing vines can be inserted in the necks of small bottles which are concealed underneath the branches and are very beautiful. Paper chains are a great addition. Cut gold, silver or bright-colored paper into strips four inches long and 1-8 inch wide; make a link by fastening the ends together; pass the end of another strip through and paste the ends, and so on until the desired length is obtained. Popcorn balls suspended with bright colors of narrow ribbon, have a double attraction: they look pretty and are very nice to eat. Make the balls in the usual way; brush. them over with a solution of gum arabic, then sprinkle them with the colored sugars sold by reliable coufectioners. Popcorn struu on strong thread and branded loosely, is very light and airy. Cut circles from c g remove the contents; dry an fill with colored candles; paste on handles of narrow rib- bon and suspend from the branches of the tree. The Household gives some de- corations from egg shells which are new and- worth remembering. If an egg is plunged into boiling water for a my seconds, with sharp-pomted scissors it can be cut into sections. _Reiiiove one section and turn out the Inside“ The shells can be varnished. then sprinkled with silver, gold or bronze powder; or they may be decorated in various ways with scrap )ictures. bands of fancy pap- er. ctc., am the edges bound with tin- fold. "Vases can be made of egg shells by gummii ' little pill boxes on the botâ€" tom. wit handles of cardboard on each side. afterwards painting them with gold vdcr and pasting on little pic- tures. ‘ Dainty little baskets are made by leaving off the pasteboard handles and covering a narrow strip of paste- board with tissue paper to make astiff handle. Little hooded cradles cut from egg she]. ‘ with pasteboard rockers, are very cute f a little china doll is placed in each. Narrow strips of gold or silver paper simply braided and festooned about a Christmas tree are a decora- tion not to be despised. and no tree would be finished without its ceian ment of gold and silver starsâ€"Orin. CHRISTMAS SELECTIONS. Christ's credo was as wonderful as His cross. Persuade me of the first and I on “not surprised at the last. The door by which he entered was as tn» #" Outflhy lilerjjsl i e mendous as the door by which He went. out. He had only two friendsâ€"they. His parents. No satin lined cradle, no delicate attentions, but straw, and the cattle. and the coarse joke and banter of the camel drivers. From the depths of that poverty He rose until torday He is honored throughout all Christen- -’ dam and sits triumphant on the imperb ial throne in heaven.â€"Dr. Talmage. There is Christmas east and Christ- mas west, thristmas north and Christr mas south, but whether amid the snow or the roses it is the same dear festival I have spent Christmas in St. Augustine and San Diego, in Boston and Chicago, and Santa Claus was the same jolly old gentleman in all four placesâ€"Unidem- tified Philosopher. Not all are able to give golden gifts. or gifts bought with gold. But who is so poor that on Christmas day he may not bestow a pleasant word on some one poorer than himself? \Vho is so downcast that he may not give a token of sympathy to some fellow mort- tal in distress, a smile of friendly rec- ognition to some forlorn one? Even a cup of cold water given in the name of Him who founded Christmas shall not lose its rewardâ€"Christmas Chimes. The injunction, “It is more blessed to! give than to receive." should be espe» cially remembered at Christmas time.l A CHRISTMAS LEGEND. The .“lruculous Walking Stick offit. Joseph Took lino! and ltlussomccl. There. is a legend interesting in con- nection with the custom of extending festivities from Christmas to Twelfth, day, or Epiphany. According to tradi-l lion, St. Joseph, while passingthrough the town of Glastonbury, rested on a hillside. His walking stick of dry haw- thorn he thrust into the earth, when itl immediately took root and the next day blossomed. Every year thereafter it blossomed on Christmas day, which was Jan. 6. old style. This thorn tree had two trunks and grew ' to an immense size. Many singular instances related of it obtained general credence. . Once in Queen Elizabeth's time a Puritan, hoping to root out the super-| slition attache to it, hewed down the larger trunk, but when he attacked the other he was miraculously prevented from accomplishing his task. His ax, slipped, cutting his leg seriously, andai chip flew up and put out one of h eyes. The severed trunk lay for years attached to the earth bya mere frag, ment of bark, yet it grew and flourish, ed. Even after it was taken away and thrown into a ditch it continued to blossom. while the standing trunk. all cut and mangled near the roots, spread out its branches in a great Circle and bloomed luxuriantly. A long time afterward the second trunk was cut down, but the _shoo_ts from it were said to. be growing in many places, each claiming to be the Glastonbury thorn. It is on record that when the change of style was made in 1763 people were greatly per lexed.g wondering on what day the G aston- bury thorn would blossom. A great crowd collected on Dec. ‘33. N. S., and finding no blossoms watched the tree until Jan. 6, the old Christmas day, when it bloomed as usual. To allay the excitement this capsed the old day was observed for awhile on many places. ‘ float S‘ijil‘Slltherdkufldi" anew-é- Ease rLAA’iJS :7 Pursuefl.PiuR'_suz!L - ,z .95 ,0. apple, |L s. DONT'S FOR CHRISTMAS. s_â€"5 s‘cusomi‘hle Sllg‘g('.~llul|§â€"â€"§0ll!(‘ Are strictly Original and Some Are Stolen. Don’t buy_your wife a cook book. ll may resux in arsenicated pics. Don't pay more for the Christmas tree than you do for the fruit. This is for everybody. ' _Don’t believe that affection directly as the value of the gift. .Dc-n't forget that 99 cents is a done varies Butâ€" " M N : ‘t'c..~~‘. 7 v'\‘\3§>i;.jri"3 ; ._ he COW-954}: court; «3:5,..2w ‘ and FLY Slit will}:T Be still my bong,» ‘ in lfiari be shill? ’: - [who‘ggi] wide Theslifieam, findswiflllhe li'cle. M‘soons‘shall rea‘c _Wg.,“ elm/Ufa i~ 's e a :1 l ff“ l l u I pit; r’. , fl' emu overcoat'is more consistent with his I l I | I. | tive priceâ€"only one cent less than a] dollar. _Don’t expend your money on expen- Sive toys for small and destructive chi.dren. ‘ Don‘t give a present merely because you think its reCipient intends to give you one. Don't buy a drum, except it be for the child of an enemy who refuses to write a book. Don’t give a friend a cuckoo clock. Such a gift furnishes an hourly call for revenge. l l 1 highest good. Don't decide to spend Christmas day telling your friends how much you ave away. Perhaps one or two of t em gave away a little, too. Don't. forget, if your salary is paid on the lst, that between Dec. 25 and that date there is a week, during which it is necessary to live. Don't buy a present the only pos- sible use or pleasure of which to the re- cipient is a warm glow of satisfaction before opening the wrapper. Don’t purchase a costly article sole- ly for the purpose of laying its recipi- ent under obligation. This is a polit- ca! method not favored in private life. Don’t. think that the small boy will be satisfied with. the cheaper pair of skates. He may not have reached an age of great discrimination, but he knows skates. Don’t buy your husband a fine pre- sent and have the bill sent to him in January. . He may hold the almost obâ€" solete opinion that a gift is something Don’t make sudh hard work of pre- “'hiCh is given- paring for Christmas that the day be- comes a bug-bear. Don’t buy a leather-cushioned desk- chair or a fur-lined overcoat and tell your Wife it is for her. Don't have anything charged if you Don't smile superciliously at the old woman who stands next to you and pays for her purchase in pennies. Per- haps, as a. Christmas gift, hers, is worth more than yours. Don’t expect too much in the way of can pay cash for a Christmas bilnl grows Christmas gifts. You may have to put like a snowball. Don't forget to remove the priceâ€"tag from presents. Comparisons aresome- times embarrassmg. Don't take your children to the toy shops with the idea of strengthening i110 other purpose than to mfitch a rib-: bon, even though at the request of your l their belief in Santa Claus. Don't spend the landlord's money for presents. Diamond pins look badly on a homeless wanderer. Don't wait till the last to get pre- sents for those you care most about. l’l‘he money may give out at any time. Don‘t buy a tricycle for a boy who has written to Santa Claus for a"safâ€" ety." You would add insult to in- Jury. Don‘t look for tears of goy in your husband’s eyes when you urnish him With a supply of six-for-a-quarter col- lars. Don't buy cheap candy for your chil- dren. You deprive the children of oth- ers of a chance for a pleasant death. I l 1 your foot in your stocking before you find anything in it. This is for those of sanguine temperamenti Don't dive into the holiday rush for most intimate friend. The friend, who asks such a thing seeks your life. Don't buy presents until after you pay your debts. Give your creditors JEST 'FORE CHRISTMAS. , Father calls me William. sister calls me Will. call me Bill ! lMighty Iriled I ain’t a girlâ€"ruther be a v, lfi'ithout them sashes, curls an' things that's worn by Fauntleroy! glow to chawnk green apples an' go swimmin' in the lakeâ€" ‘Hate to take the caster-ile they 81“ for bellvsaohe l ’Most a‘J the time. the whole year round there ain’t no flies on me. \ lMother calls me “'illie, but the fellers But jes' 'fore Christmas I'm as good as any kd kin be! Got a yaller dog named Sport. sick him _ on_ the out; First thing she knows she doesn‘t know: where she is at! Got a clipper filed, an' when us kids goes out. to slide, 'Long comes the grocery cart, 34 all book a ride! . “'3 But sometimes when the grocery man is worrited an' cross, He reaches at us. with his whip, an' lar- rups up his boss. An' then I luff an' holler, teched me!" But fes' jfore Christmas I’m as good as I kin be! - Uh, ye never Gran'ma says she hopes that when I git to. be a man, I’ll be a missionarer like brother, Dan, As was at up by the cannibuls that lives in Ceylon's isle. \Vhere every pros eck pleases, an' only‘ man is Vile I An’ then old Sport he han _ so solemn-like au’ stil , His eyes they seem a-sayin': "\Vhat’s the matter. little Bill?" 2 The old cat sneaks down off her perch an' wonders what’s become Of them two enemies of born that used to make things hum! her oldest around, But I am so perlite an' tend so earnest- ly to biz ( That mother says to father: “How: improved our \Viillie is!" But father,.ha\'in' been a boy hisself, suspicions me. \Vhen jes’ 'fore Christmas, I'm as good as I kin be! For Christmas, with it's lots an' lots of candies, cakes an' toys, \Vas made, they say. for proper kids,- an' not for naughty boys; 50 wash yer face an' bresh yer hair an' mind yer p's and qu’s. An' don't bust out yer pantaloons, and. don‘t wear out yer shoes. Say "yessmn" to the ladies, an' "yessur" to the men, An’ when they's company. don't pass yer plate for pie again; But, thinkm’ of the things yer'd like to see upon that tree, Jes' ’fore Christmas be as good as yen kin be! ! ‘ â€"â€"Eugeno Field. GOOD CHRISTMAS PUDDING. Three pounds of suet, two pounds of currents, one pound of peel (mixed), one pound of bread crumbs, twelve eggs, three dozen almonds, two tablespoonfuls of ground ginger, two pounds of sul- tanas. four pounds of raisins, three and a half pounds of flour, one pound of sugar, one quart of milk, one nutmeg. one tablespoonful of salt. Blanch and chop almonds. Prepare all ingredi- ents. and mix the dry ingredients well together. Mix into not too wet a paste withsthe eggs and milk; mix pudding thoroughly. Grease basins, fill with the mixture, cover with two greased papers, pressing LliPll’l closely over the mixture. Cover with a cloth and tie firmly with string. Boil from ten to twelve hours, according to the size of the puddings. When the puddings are cooked, remove the cloths and the pap- ers. The next day cover the puddings with first a paper dipped in brandy, and then a buttered paper: keep in a dry cupboard. To warm the puddings cover with a pudding cloth and put in a saucepan of boiiing water. Boil two hours. This quantity will make eight good-sized puddings. Turkey Saladâ€"Cut remnants of cold cooked turkey into small pieces; put them with an equal amount of fine cut table celery in a salad dish. add two fine-cut hard-boiled eggs; then prepare ‘following mayonnaise: Put two whole eggs into a small sauce- pan. l)P&L.tb(lm with an egg-beater unâ€" til very light; add by degrees one-half lcupful of salad oil or melted butter, then add slowly four tablespuonfuls of white Vinegar: SOL the saucepan in hot gwater over the fire. and stir till it be- Igins to thicken; remove. place in cold lwater; when perfectly cold add slow- ly four talilespoonfuls more of oil; then add two teaspooufuls of sugar. one tea- 33. chance to celebrate a merry Chris“ spoonful of salt, one tablespoonfu! of i mas before you perform that duty for ‘ French mustard, l l i any one else. This is for whomsoever the coat fits. Don't think it is safest to economize on the presents for those who care most for you. To give your wife a pair of gloves and your neighbor's wife dia- mond earrings furnishes a chance for l a misunderstanding. l r l with it. Don’t give your boy a drum and' 'e a noise ughter a then tell him he mustn't Don't give your Don't “'iifuuy deprive Your Children ’ horse and forbid her to take it out of Of 9- belief in SM!“ Claus. It is hard the stable without asking you. This isl enough for older people to get along without him. Don't After the first glad surprise and the gold plate have worn off you may lose the friend. Don't spend more than you can of- ford just to keep up false appearances. A SOCL‘Ll wig always shows the real hair somewhere. Don't get the idea into your head that you only are buying Christmas gifts. There are others who want to reach the counter. Don't give a present designed as a missionary effort. For example, soap is an excellent thing, but as a gift it might give offense. Don't spend all your money on gifts and then pose asba:J martyr; Th; Bible says something. a ut peop.e w 0 part with all their cash. Don't to t if you are buying a ' t for a girl £350,an a warm wrap, tfit a hand-pamtedplaque never kept any one from freezing. Don't attempt to make the small boy who expects a pair of skates believe that l l I l I I for rents who have eno h money to a ford drums and horses or Christ- give a friend cheap jewelry. mas gifts. Don't be everlastineg harping on what you wish to have for a Christmas gift. Possibly all your friends will take ‘ . _ and lastly one-half lpint of whipped cream. Mix some of ,the mayonnaise With the turkey meat and celery; smooth it wilh a knife, .uover With the same mayonnaise, lay ‘a b0rder_of lettuce leaves around the E edge_pf dish. and some hard-boiled eg a, {cut into quarters tastefully over a lsalad. This salad can also be made ,of cold roasted veal or chicken. , _ . _....___..._ i i . the hint and then you'll have a sur-g ' ’ plus and have to start a store to re- duce it. This is for a large and high.- ly amusing class. Don't think that the spirit of good will. the impulses of generosity and the jolly laugh of good fellowship are things that are less necessary being truly happy all the year round than they are on_ Christmas day. By bearing this- in mind you may be able to enjoy 1896 as you have enjoyed no other car. Like the first "don't," this is or everybody. Prune \Vhipaâ€"To the white of an e g beaten stiff. add one tablespoonful o pulverized sugar and two tablespoon- fuls of stewed prunes, freed from flio seed and chopped fine. Serve cold with cram. to your‘ , ! l l . .......-...,..... W-” ._......_...... .