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-"-'f'vV-V •:/ • ' • , ' i ?•** " . . . . - • • ; .-4: 1"̂ A u M* f; % V AHappy N>w "--* * ' • • ffe:- Owning, Coming, eomltfg!# Listen! perhaps you'll toiwir'. tM'- - - "* •:{ ' Orer ihe snow* the bugles blow ¥,S To welcome the triad .new yeaft. ,; jj. In tbe steeple tonjnAs are Tlwrc are many a.eiiih-belia r-nsli|f.Y", , '. A«4 <he people for joy are^Ipflag. oouitng(He»)f.! J' <\ J flFUrtn*. sighing, dyih$. Going away to-night, "W«f^ry and old, its *tory told." Tho year that was full and brlsh^ Oh, half wo are sorry it's leaving; <G#od-fey has a »nund of grieving; • But. Its work is done and its weaving: Crod speod its parting flight' UTripping, slipping, skipping. Like a chilu in its wooing grace, 'Wf.th»«ewer a tear and never a fear. And a licht in the laughing face; "With hands held out to greet us 'With gay little steps to meet tn. "Htlth sweet eyes that entreat us, Th« aew year comes to Its place. IVotuising lovely thlugs-- "The gold and gray of the summer day, The winter with fleecy wings; ifVomising swift birds glancing. And tbe patter of rain-drops dancing, .And tbe sunbe tm«' arrowy lancing, Dear gifts the new year brings. •Gaming, coming, coming! The world is a vision white; Cteom the powdered eaves to the sere- brown leaves. That are hidden out of sight Vn the steeple touirues are swinging, •>The bells are merrily ringing, <&ad "Happy New Year" we'fe singing. For th* old year goes to-night. •*s Y'iung People DEB'S GOOSE [HRISTMAS is just as much Christmas at the Boon Island ight-house as i| ia ^.anywhere else in world. And why not? There are six chil­ dren there, though, and a mother and a father; and if they cannot make a Christmas, then no­ body can. Why, Baby Deb is material enough of which to ice a Christmas, and a very rollick- f, jolly sort of Christmas, too; but es to her you add Tom and Sue Sally and Ike and Sam--well, tfce grim, old light-house fairly over- Sems, with Christmas every 25th of JBooMnber. Ah, then, if you suppose 'that itlkat cunning old gentleman, *Suica Claus, does not know how to dkwi a chimney, even when the cold "Orarcg are pelting it with frozen «pray-tirops ten miles from land, you tittle know what a remarkable gift " Ae has in that way! .And the Christmas dinnlrs they « T^tre ihere! The goose--the brown, (juicy, melting roast goose! ) * What would that dinner be without > , j|at goose'? What, indeed! r • once--they turn pale at that V? JH^hthoose now when they think of it p \Vm£*-ooee they caine very near haying ^ J|pp goose for Christmas. V' It came about in this way: Papa-- • 4ab, if you could only hear Baby Deb [<jQeii about it! It would be worth the But you cannot, of course, tm- sOTer wind. Papa Stoughton-- ttoe AigJatbouse-keeper, jou know-- Ika4 k»st all his money in^ savings iwmk thu| had failed pan* in that JPfceember. ; t X goose is really not aiil'tekpensive , tbwl; but if one lias not the money, course otfe cAnnot tmy even a tjatamy thing. Papa Stoughton could a goose. He said so--said alt the family. A Ite says that the silence that fell that lamily then was painful to •"t;44tear-^ '-$hey looked one at another so wide open that it's a . <%iercy they ever could shut them K*gain. ^ * "So goose!" at last cried Tom, who v**prau» the oldest. ^MJSo gooser cried the others in Vj, .^boTua. All except Baby Deb, who t iptas busy at the time gently admon- Sculpin, her most troublesome A./'WfaikL, for being so dfrj,y. Baby Deb * «atd "No doose!" after all the others " s' ^j»eie quiet. That made them all laugh, However, when Papa Stough- f on jfixplained how it was, they saw it %lte» plainly as he did, and so they no complaint. Only Tom fell g^eimrikiMg, and when the others saw What lie -was doing they did the same; ijffce difference being that Tom was trying to think What could be done to the goose anyhow, and they were 'S^Jbcyfng. to think what he was think- about, so that they could think "' 3 All except Baby Deb, of course; jftjog only four years old. gave .'^eraelf Tory little concern about the iR-Uouijl ttsof others. Her own thoughts ,'^tuok all of hw time. , * "We' must have' a "goose,* said ' ' " i ' l T o m . v . • ' ' V " ' • "Oh!" gasped his .audience, moved i^tey mingled amazement and admira- - r/'fetion. . • ^ T001 looked at them with great Js»armness and-dignity. • "Ever since I was born, Ke went /. Asm, "wehave 'had a roast gooSe for ^kCbrlstaias:^" • j ', 'f .Ever since he was born! It might ' tahve been a hundred years before, %«"', from Tom's tone and manner, and the audience was tremendously impressed. Wfii "And," continued the orator, "we must have vQ** mm* J>ave They aiiuost stopped breathing. "I have apian." They shuddered and drew nearer. "We all must con­ tribute!" "Oh!" in chorus. "I)o you want goose, Sue?" "Yes, indeed:" . : "You, Sal?" ^ -- ----------- "Yes." «Ike?" "Do I? Well!" < • : "Sam?" ; • "Yes, sir." "Me, too," said Baby Deft, with great earnestness; for it was clear to her that it was a question of eating, and she did not wish to be left out. "Of course, you, too, you daisy dumpling," said Tom. "Now, then," he continued, when order was re­ stored, "what shall we contribute? I'll give my new sail-boat. That ought to bring 50 cents." "I'll give my shells," said Sue, he-* roically. "My sea-mosses," sighed Sally. "You may take my shark's teeth," said Ike. "And my whale's tooth," said Sam. The sacrifice was general; the light­ house would yield up its treasures. - "All right," said Tom. "Now let's tell father." And father was told, and for some reason he pretended to look out of the window very suddenly--but he did not, he wiped his eyes. And Mam­ ma Stoughton rubbed her spectacles and winked very hard, and said: "Bless their hearts!" "And what does Baby Deb contrib­ ute?" said Papa Stoughton, by way of a little joke. "I dess I's not dot nuffin," was Baby Deb's reply, when the matter was explained to her, "'cept'00 tate Stulpin." Oh, what a laugh there was then! For if ever there was a maimed and demoralized doll, it was Sculpin. But Baby Deb was hugged and kissed as if she had contributed a lump of gold instead of a little bundle of rags. Papa Stoughton and Tom were to go out to the main-land the first clear day to buy the goose; but--alas!--a storm came on, and they were forced to wait for it to go down. It did not go down; it grew worse. The wind shrieked and moaned and wrestled with the lonely tower, and the waves hurled themselves furiously at it, and washed over and over the island, and no boat could have lived a moment in such weather. If a goose be only a goose, no mat­ ter; but if it be a Christmas dinner! --Ah, then! Yes, they had good reason to feel dismal in the light-house. It was no wonder if five noses were fifty times a day flattened despairingly against the light-house windows. Yes, six noses, for even Baby Deb was finally affected; and, though she did not know the least th-ing about the weather, she, too, would press her little nose against the glass in a most alarming way, as if she thought that pressure was the one effective thing* It took some time for Baby Deb to realize the .importance of having a goose for Christmas; but when she had grasped the idea she became an enthusiast on the subject. She ex­ plained the matter to her dolls, and was particularly explicit with Scul­ pin, wiLh whom, indeed, she neld very elaborate and almost painful conversations. " One thing became very certain. There was very little prospect of clear weather within a week, and it lacked only three days of Christmas. The others gloomily gave up hope, but not so did Baby Deb. The truth was she had a plan, and you know when one has a plan one has hope, too. Mamma Stoughton had only recent­ ly been having a series of talks with Baby Deb on the important question of prayer, and it had occurred to Baby Deb that the goose was a good subject for prayer. It was a very clear case to her. The goose was necessary. Why not ask for it, then? The great difficulty was to find a secret place for her devotions, for the family very well filled the light-house, and Baby Deb had understood that zled; the others were gloomy: Still Baby Deb would not give up. It would be low tide about seven o'clock. She knew that, for she had asked. She would make her last trial. She had hope yet; but &s the others knew nothing of her plans, they had abso­ lutely no hope. To them it was cer­ tain that there could be no Christ­ mas goose. Seven o'clock came, and Baby Deb crept sortly from the room and down­ stairs. She opened the great door just a little bit, and slipped out into the darkness. Beally did slip, for it was very icy on the rocks, and she sat down very hard. However, §he was very chubby and did not mind it. She crawled cautiously around to the big rock, the keen wind nipping her round cheeks and pelting her with the frozen drops of spray. She knelt down. "Oh! please, dood Lord, send us a doose. We wants a doose awful. Won't you, please, dood Lord?" • Thud! fell something right along­ side of her. "Oh! What's dat?" she exclaimed, putting her hand out. "Why, it's a doose!" she cried, with a scream of delight, as her hand came in contact with a soft, warm, feathery body. She forgot to give a "thank you" fot the goose; but she was thankful, though not so very much surprised^ She really had expected it. It was a heavy load for Baby Deb, but she was excited and did not no­ tice it. She made heV way into the light-house, and, step by step, patter, patter, she went upstairs and burst, all breathless, into the sitting-room, crying exultantly: "It's tummed, it's tummed," as the great goose fell from her arms upon the floor. Well! if you think they were not surprised, you know very little about the Stoughton folks. What they said, nobody knows. They all talked at once. But by and by Papa Stough - ton had a chance to be heard. "Where did you get it, Baby Deb?" he asked. "Why, I. p'ayed Dod for it!" an­ swered Debt t "Paid Dod?" exclaimed Papa Stoughton. "Paid Dodd?" chorused the family. "'Es," responded Baby Deb, con­ vincingly. "Dod--ze dood Lord. I p'ayed to him. He sended it to me, des now." More questions and more of Baby Deb's exclamations revealed the whole < L _ J & I "IT'S TUMMED, IT*S TtTMMSD." story. Fun ny folk, those Stough tons but they spent the next ten minutes in wiping their eyes and hugging and kissing and making up new pet names for Baby Deb. Papa Stoughton did say <to Mamma Stoughton that night, as they were going to bed: "A wild goose. It was blinded by the bright light, and broke its neek by flying against the glass. Aud, af­ ter all, who shall say that 'the good Lord' did not send it?" At all events, not a *ord:&f expla­ nation was said to Baby Deb, and no one contradicted her when she said at dinner next day: "DotTs doose is dood."--«St. J$icb« olas. f'hrlfttma* in Midsummer. Wouldn't you think it funny to see ChristiQS^COme in the middle ojf the summer, to have no ice aijid snow on the grmind,, and nothing to remind you that/it was w Inter? Well, away off on the other side of the world Christmas does come in the middle of summer. In Australia on Christ­ mas morning the children say, "Oh, dear! how hot is. I do wish Christ­ mas came in the wintertime." For when it is winter here it is summer there, and when you are lying under a shady tree in July, the Australian children are running around with winter clothes on, blowing on their fingers to keep them warm. But whether it comes in summer or winter, wherever the English lan­ guage is spoken, it is a time of jollity and plenty, of tender feelings and kindly gifts, of "peace on earth and good- wilfcto men." Hello, there! Ridgely! Ten in & . „ v r m u s e n a v e * L .now,,., wiu, pave % .^V ' ̂ * C «OB! PLEASE. I)OOD LORD. iCMO A DOOSE.* I -- ^-- | praevrs ought to be quietly and se­ cretly made. The place was found, however. Just in front of the light-house was a broad ledge of rock, generally washed by the waves, but /at low tide, even in this bad weather, out. of water. The other children had been forbidden to go there because it was dangerous, but no one had thought of cautioning Baby Deb. So there she went, and in her imperfect begged hard for the goose. Christmas Eve came, and still the was no goose. Jinby Deb !was D Xew Congressmen's Babies. The new member of Congress from tbe West is one of the characters of the capital. He wears striped trousers, old- fashioned black string necktie, a slouch bat, and t ig bools. He is earnest and studious and a good deal of a man. One thine that I like about him is that he brings his wife to Washington with him --his wife and baby--and is proud of them and they are.proud of him. I have in mind one young Congressman who walks to the Capitol every session day with his wife by his side and his baby in his arnrs. The trio go in on the floor, and baby is perched upon the states­ man's de$k till the hour comes for clear Ing the flcor. , Then wife and baby go up into the gallery and sit alt the after­ noon or till the session » Over, watch­ ing hvibby and paia legislate. It is only while the new Congressman is very new that he does this. He soon gets -over it, and then wife and babe are left in the background or perhaps at.home in th® far West.--Washington letter. | IT is announced that a New York j thief is a descendant of Henry Clay. This cannot elevate him to the plane of the morally pure kleptomaniac. If he leally descended from Clay, the de scent has been too gre^t ahd rapid to : leave any room for pride, and if he didn't descend from Clay he is un- ; truthful as well as light-fingered, and not bettering his case at court. t VICTORIA says so many poets ate way j putting forth Cieir claims for those butts of wine afcd that pension that she will not &$J>f>int a new laureate lust n«.*» - ' * " V ± . : "NEW YBARiv/;/^ ' LUSTY bate with v winter's dam ' The winds thy lul­ laby; \V 11, h outstretched hands eager to . f iff " r--1---a JR share "^Abrliihtor frowning ' • t aky. IK* - welcome, the* * glad bah/jreav, A throne is thine to grace; We give thee lore and jhappy cheer. •*Oo thse a crown* we place. That budding hopes thy hands do hotA, What bloom is tlilne to shed; » Bow pure and white thy lilies told. How deep thy roses red. " Again shall lips tbe story telLr . . 4 < Beneath thy bending skies; *«r- ' The story that tbey know so well*. s pj; Of love's sweet sacrifice. Again shall hearts with an^nlstt tbrobh Sweet prayers ascend to God: Again the rich the poor shall rob, With blood be red the sod, , ph. bring us more of Jove than hate* v, • A And more of sun thttn shade; • ^ - Lead us to God's f«lr garden gatet s ;: The beauty He hath made. % fc-GoodHousekeeping. -'/y;-'if ' ' • • 1 ^ ? S f c . t v " ONE CHRISTMAS GIFT. S N O W B A t l struck the cabin door--a genuine Christmas snow- bull, white as milk, crisp as pearl flake9, and it jan-» gW the fasten­ ings of the great „ oaken barrier ^ with a musical, metallic sound that suggested Christmas bells k^and Christmas melody. Wake up, John the morning, day before Christmas, and you- promised to be ready on time," rang out a cheery, challenging voice, and the door opened at the call. I've been waiting for over an hour " began this same John Ridgely, appearing at the threshold, but a second sudden sphere cut short the sentence. He made a dash for his two mischievous visitors, athletic young fellows, just approaching man­ hood, and then, flushed, laughing and«skaking the spattered snowflakes from head and shoulders, the jolly trio entered the cabin. I say, what a rare old den of bach elor comfort you've got here, John!" spoke one of the visitors. "Talk about the fancy rugs- and carpets up at the house and then look at that warm, sleek deer's skin, and those great mats made from a bear robe! As to the larder--I say, Hal! what would mother or. Nellie say to get their pick for a holiday feast from such a royal layout of game?" - John Ridgely's eyes glowed with pride at this praise of his domestic equipment; then, flushing quickly, he bent over his cartridge belt to hide the shadow of pain upon his face. Nellie! The name was enshrined in his innermost soul. It brought back the past with all its brightness-^it haunted the bleak, < unpromising present. His visitors wire her brothers--old-time comrades, home for the holiday vacation from col­ lege, and bent on a hunting expedi­ tion. He was glad when he saw them engrossed in admiring this and that trophy of his sportsman skill. It afforded him time to conceal his surging emotion. Life had not dealt fairly with John Ridgely--love, as well, had been a cruel taskmaster--he realized it every time his mind went back over the past two years. Somewhat longer ago than t had to come to visit his unc Hillsdale, ere starting out to fight the battle of life. Old Abner Ridgely was his one living relative in the world, a sickly, miserly old man tot­ tering on the verge of the grave, and )ust subsisting in t^ie rude apology for a shelter that had since been his home. The very day of John's arrival, his uncle had suffered his second stroke of paralysis, and John became his nurse. Duty and anxiety had en­ slaved him to the old man's whims. He could n6t leave him to die alone, and the months rolled by and found him a fixture in the rude cabin. Don't leave me, John!" more than once had the old man quavered. You shall not be sorry. Some day I will die, and then--you shall be my beir." Heir to what? John had smiled satirically as he looked about the wrecked hut. Impatiently he thought of the great pulsing world outside, waiting to reward just such high ambitions as those he enter­ tained, and then, one day, one royal. golden June morning, a vision crossed his dull path in the woods that i'- lumined the green arcades with arlory, and held him chained anew to Hillsdale by bonds he could not break. Nellie--bonny, winsome Nellie Linden! She flashed across his destiny like a star of promise and beauty. Oh! the rare days of sum- mertide, the walks, the boating, love expressed in glance and- smile, though never spoken, and then, a dark void in life., She, the daughter of proud, well-to-do Robert Linden, merchant, the sister of his two present visitors, left home without a parting word to him, and all the sunlight of life seemed suddenly dashed out. Once only since then had he heard of Nellie. She was visiting a wealthy spinster aunt in the city, who seemed to- have but two objects in life--to make Nellie her heiress, and marry her to the son of a favorite friend. • That settled It as far as John Ridgely was concerned. She was probably engaged to her new lover by this time--she had undoubtedly for- gottfen all abouthim long since. Then old Abner ltidgely died, and just that that day John had concluded arrange­ ments for selling th€ cabin and its land, intending to leave permanently tbe scene of an experience that had aged his heart and deadened all the active impulses of his ambition. "Ready, boys!" he announced, with a painful effort to agpear cheerful, shouldering his gun. whistling to his dog, and leading way tycm the \ eyes, cabin. in«r - If. k MB •A'vV. that he icle at : V; At." ' Hal and Vincent chatted volubly as they followed him along the snowy paths leading into the woods. "Oh, John!" exclaimed the former abruptly, "I've a message for you." "A message?" faltered John, vaguely. "Yes, from mother. She says you must come up to the house this after­ noon. They're going to have a Christmas tree for the little ones this evening, and you're to select the nicest one you can find and take it up to her early, and. stay with us tmtil to-morrow. "I'm afraid I can't--can't spare the time," stammered John, with a glance at his rough attire. "Oh! you'll appear in 'disguise, John," laughed Vincent- "In disguise?" > "Yes, mother says you'd make a famous Santa Claus, and in that rare Old bearskin coat of you^s. and your coon cap back at the cabin, you would deceive old Kriss I£ringle himself. You've got to come, John. Pity that Ifellie won't be there, but we got a letter saying that aunt was sick, and she might have to stay with her dur­ ing the holidays." John gave a reluctant assent to the arrangements suggested. At noon he left his companions, who, hot for sport, after seeing him bring down a turkey, insisted on continuing the hunt alone. He threaded the lonely paths leading back to the cabin. Motherly Mrs. Linden received him with a glowing smile of wel­ come, as later he appeared at the big house on the hill and tendered the turkey as a Christmas gift, and vainly tried to creep out of appearing at the evening's festivities. John Ridgely tried to look brave and happy and cheerful as he re­ turned to the Linden home that evening. He had provided the pret­ tiest evergreen the forest afforded. He could see it now gleaming with lighted candles through the bright panes, he could hear the merry voices of little ones at play. "I'll go through with it for their sakes," he murmured; "I'll try not to think of Nellie. I'll leave the letter I have written her, the story of all my hopeless love for her, the expres­ sion of my wishes for her happiness with a luckier wooer, then tomor­ row, a new life far away, the past covered over, if not forgotten." It was almost forgotten amid the festivities of the ensuing hour. What heart, unless, indeed, formed of flint or ice, could resist the warm, ex­ hilarating influence of such a cheery Christmas eve? And he was its center of attraction! The great bearskin coat made him stmd out like a holiday picture; and the little ones stared in awe as John handed them their gifts from the dazzling tree. His heart sank again, heavy as lead, however, as he found himself alone. Upon the tree, in pursuance of a family custom, hung yet the gifts designed for its older members. Here was a neat little package sug­ gestive of a tiny timepiece, marked "Hal, from Mother;" a second similar parcel directed to Vincent, and John Ridgely's eyes grew tender and moist, as he discerned a pretty silk-embroid­ ered handbag, bearing a strip of pa­ per marked "Nellie, from Little Cora, her Sister." A quick impulse actu­ ated him. Stealthily he drew forth the letter he had written-to Nellie that day. He slipped it into the hand bag. It was safe for delivery when tbe girl he loved came home. Then in a mournful reverie he sat, waiting till the juvenile feast was over in the next apartment, when he was to resume his role and lead the Sports for the evening. There was a great shout from the youngsters ana the jangling of merry sleigh-bells outside. John noticed it only as a part of the general babel. Suddenly the door flew open. Ex­ cited little Cora Linden dashed into the room. "Where is it?" she breathed, with sparkling ayes. "Where's Nellie's present I worked for her? ®h, here it is!" She grasped the hand-bag from the tree, making the candles blink and shiver in nervous dread of a general tip-over, and danced out of the room again like a very sprite. John read the fickle impulse of a novice at gift-making in the action. Cora was bent on showing her handi­ work on the pretty silken bag to some new visitor, probably. His let­ ter was not likely to be unearthed. He started violently as a hand touched his shoulder ten minutes later. Little Cora was standing by his side. She had entered the room noise­ lessly, and her face showed grave concern and excitement commingled. "Have you got your present yet John Ridgely?" she demanded, with pretty imperiousness. "My present?" smiled John, dew­ ing the little lady, amusedly. "Oh, yes! My present is your happy smile." "No!" and the persistent challenger shook her golden head sagely. "Your real, true Christmas present? Be­ cause--I've got one for you." "Bless you! Have you now?" echoed John. "Yes. Hold out your hand!" John obeyed his capricious com­ panion. "Now, shut your eyes!" "Eh? This is getting very mys­ terious, little one!" "You mind me, John Ridgely, shut both eyes. You're peeking!" '"No I ain't," asserted John stanch- ly, screwing up his cheeks till they were regular crows' feet. "Honest? You won't look one lit­ tle bit?" "I promise you." "All right Now, tnen, keep your eyes tight shut and keep your hand wide open, and don't stir, nor breathe, nor move, until I say, now!" "Till you say now," recited the ac­ commodating John, "I'll be patient as rift, owl and blind as a bat." ' He was faithful to his pledge. He could hear the little creature speed across the room and there was a fluttering whispering at the door, the suspicious swish of a silken robe. "Hold tight;" spoke Cora's voice once more. "John Ridgely, these are the Christmas presents she told me to j bring you. Now!" Into his hand crept a contact soft las silk. He thrilled at a warm. I tremulous touch. He opened his Little Cora was lust disappear­ ing tv rough the door of the neV room, but h "present" s: looked up. Oh! was but a part of A woman's a woman's tender, looked hand face', coy, "Christmas gift," N^lie! sfee. JU ll clasped tbf ed there, H« earning? Was thli retfrie of tbe homt fthin his own, shrinking yet down at him--his Yes, it was sfee. ltead tbe mystery as he might, ho could surely trace in that blushing (face the truest, deep­ est love. ( "Nellie!" > - \ His soul seemed rocking between extremes of hope and dread. She never faltered in her true, womanly glance. She never took her hand away, only with her free one she held into view--his letter! "Little Cora brought it to me in the hand-bag, and I read it, John," whispered Nellie, softly, "I came home at the last* moment unexpect­ edly. I have quarreled with my aunt. She wanted me to marry her favorite, when my heart--oh, John! John! how could you doubt- me? How could I love another when my heart was here--here!" Here, close to his own--here, in all fealty and tenderness, under the shelter of his great, cherishing caress. He folded her to his heart with one sob of joy and gratitude supreme, the happiest soul in all wide Ohris&ec dom. • 'v.i; 'A' : " • • "John! John Ridgely! Oh! cojne here, quick!" From the happy paradise ot love those two Were summoneid abruptly by the excited voice of Hal Linden. "Oh! but we made a find!" echoed Vincent Linden, bursting uncere­ moniously upon the lovers, and fol­ lowed by half the wondering house­ hold. "You told us where to find game when you left us to-day. Re­ member?" "Yes," nodded the mystified John. "And Hal and I cornered some rare shots. Just at dusk, right near the cabin, we ran a fox to cover. Hal insisted on digging for him, because Jie thought it a shallow knoll, and not his den. We dug, and found--" "This!" interpolated Hal, quite as excitedly. He dragged into view a small pine box. Ice and frozen dirt clung to it still. He pushed off the cover. "Money--gold!" gasped John inco­ herently. « "Lots of it, heaps of it, over two thousand dollarsl" shouted Vincent. "Don't you understand, John? It's part of your uncle's fortune, the for­ tune he left to you, the fortune you could never find!" Clink, clink! The golden coins gave forth a joyful sound as they were emptied out upon the carpet. Outside a happier echo took up .the mellow refrain. "The Christmas chimes!" mur­ mured happy Nellie Linden, nest­ ling closer to the man she loved. Her eyes met those of John in a tender glance as she spoke. And both knew that the silvery tones were a harbinger of wedding bells later on that would signalize the victory of loyal hearts reunited, made happy while life should last, upon that glorious, beautiful Christ­ mas eve. . PAUL INOBLUW* Happy New Year. . BEWARE of New Year's reforma­ tions, unless you can protect the fort. --Cincinnati Enquirer. SOME day the man who turns over a new leaf just to soil it will be brought to book.--Baltimore Sun. THE good resolutions factories are now in full blast and all. running at increased speed.^-Baltimore Ameri­ can. A RESOLUTION of economy is one of the most natural New Year's succes­ sors of the Christmas- season.-- Washington Star. WITH New Year resolutions all made and signed, the new man, With his new leaf turned over, starts out •to smile at Satan's rage and face a frowning world.--Minneapolis Jour­ nal. . ONE of the remarkable things about swearing off is that no matter how many peopie decide to eschew liquor and tobacco after New Year's, the business of the saloons and cigar stores does not fall off a particle.-- St. Joseph News. % WIFE--I think we ought to tegin the new year by turning over a new leaf; don't you? Husband--I do; and I have a suggestion to make right here. Wife--What is that? Hus­ band--Begin on a new turkey. That Christmas bird is getting a little tired.--Life. HE swore off from polar a?d smoking and wine, Atad everything else he coriif&ered pollution; But he failed to ilve up to his preaching di­ vine, For the first thing he broke was his good res­ olution. --Judge. ' About the Mistletoe. The mistletoe is a shrub which grows or lives on certain trees, such as the apple, pear, and hawthorne. It is found also on limes, poplars, firs, and sycamores, and, more rarely on oaks--contrary to the popular belief. The white berries are full of a thick, clammy juice, by which tbe seeds are fastened to the branches where they take root. The mistletoe has been the object of a very special regard for centuries, and traces of this high es- tefem still survive in the well-known Christian custom. One variety of this practice has it that each time a kiss is snatched under the mistletoe a berry is picked from the bush, and that when the berries have all been removed the privilegs ceases. The Druids thought that the mistletoe which grew upon the oak possessed magical virtues, and they valued it accordingly! One of their priests in a white robe cut off the precious bush with a golden k«ife.--Little Folks. .J A Dream of Santa CJpn*. "I had a dweem last night, mam­ ma," said little curly-head. "I dweemed that I was all asleep in my little bed, and Santa Claus he came into my room and he looked all round, till he saw my stocking hang­ ing up, and he said: 4Ha, M, whit a little, short stocking that is,' and then he peeped over the foot of the bed and said: 'Next Christmas bor­ row the largest, longest stocking yqu can find; I can't fool away my time filling up such little stockings,' and then he acted mad and he went away. Wasn't tlwt * funny dweeqi, mauv ma9* |;j«r y 1 cofinected j ist\ 1 rn«m mifii--'wmmi ;. >; • jfc'iai* Animals : ^ere are some with both the pi recognition of odore^f.'i^f seem to need- furti agreed that ail speeic sense of smell at ali i tracted by th^ seent of food or of substances of t character. We have also evti that animals ai*e agreeably imj with the specific ddor of ti&ifi species or of their own race of si On the other hand tfcey are 41 ed and repelled by. the emanations * hostile species. These aj* which we might expect pmexnh ist principles and .whicjbi tve acq detect whether we Ascribe the® Prof. Jager's • "soul-partides" of not Ills sometimes forgotten tfr&t -pecu-tSlsil^ liar odors hot merely aid in the diag-^ ~ nosis of different human races, but||| contribute no little to keep such^ races asunder. That the odor of negro or the Australian low" is repulsive to the WftHe mStt-is- a familiar fact. But according Co a# writer in Science the alwwIgfeMS of gpi South America distinguish1 fta dark the smell both of the negro«ndH^ of the white man from that of theirlf own race^ and dislike the two former!; aboutfequally. Even the two greatl. branches of the white race, the Aryan ! and the Semitic, have a different tod'jlt in many cases a mutually repttlsive|P odor. During the recent nnti-Slmitlf ic agitation in Germany and Austrte the factor judaicus did not escape; comment At the same time we obmsrve a fewif; " cases which we cannot weii accountp^ for on the principles above laid down.|t|| Instance the feline group; the naturai'..?'•--f- food of all such beasts is the flesh and^/. blood of animals recently killed, andj'r' . even, in case of need, carrion. We| might expect that beings habituated^, to such a diet would prefer odors not| merely unlike but opposite to thosa|r; which mankind select Yet the fact#- ; remains that not merely thcdoKsestic^i y cat but the leopard is passionately* fond of the very Same perftiifte# which we enjoy. Lavender, thyme, injfact inost'plants rich in essent(af s oils, have a *rell known fasctoatior for the cat Leopards have beer charmed into docilitv and submission by means of lavender water. Th difficulty becomes the greater if wef reflect that nothing similar has beer\ t observed among the canidae, whichf have a much mote acute sense o| smell than the cats. - * It is always a waste of time to 1 to prove a negative, it would puzzl&t'.> us, for example, to try to prove tba%^| there was never a child born with six^4> - t e e n h e a d s a n d n o b o d y , t h e h e a d s a r t - ranged like the points of a sta#^, ,.. around one common central neskj; ;; We couldn't even prove that in th^c# , Dark Ages there Was not a large PQPf y i ulation of that sort of sixteen-headerl; V: in the Mountains of the Moon; buf;A, we don't really believe there was any*?,'.",?' thing of that sort And that is ouf^v position about a good many of thest^f biblio-scientiflc conundrums; thJsfoneiXO r . 1 for instance, from a Fennsyjj^wU^,, *0 reader: "" "How da yfru fl&Sdt %tit jfrguijgqtiw" of those who clalhi that £&aiji not the first man? I hfeve met - -.V some wfco say they believe thejabtijve •t tfiai td be true. Is there any wort ifatflV ,is will assist in replying to the abov^' ^ when those who claim it* fall back odp}{ scientific reasons, etc, to; supporfe theory'-* Any information on the abovij«' will be thankfully received." , We can't see anv "argument" i n thqf "claim" tjiat "Adam, was not th|gwe first man," of course? we don't try "meet" it It is our opinion thai Adam lived very early in the history of our race. If anybody knows a: earlier man than ' he, let him brir him on. As our.correspondent saya "Any information.on the above wil be . thankfully lUmes. - • received^ 'Pc JU*1d* Almost Without Siee*. . Thomag A, EdJsouj, -Wife few hours hiinseff, say» tb'at. the ,mai|?%^-«• of t|?e future may do without »lee^i| entirely, There are some people wh<* almost justify him in thinking so. ^i;;* Southern cavalry officer, recently iqf«?; New York, says: "I was with MoifV gan on his raid into Ohio, and 1 ofteif heard him say that he would give hit, 5 / right arfb for an' hour's rest Th#!& only sleep we had for two weeks wa|; what we got in our saddles, for tbf| Yankees were after us and we coul<||#; n'jt sleep Yet we got on wel|p| enough." Another Southerner, who was blockade runner during the war, re&1,* tains to this day the habit that h#«-,• then acquired of eating but on^^-';. tlsqi|are" meal daily and of doing most wholly without sleep, tor he ha«§!|Ji; then to remain awake day and nlghf|| to watch his chances. He is nowCap|y7 tain of a steamer, and he has a cuf^ rious practice of sleeping an hoar onj^;" one day and three to six hours on th# next He never wants more thart^* J, that, and in spite of his light eatingfY/•' ing and his light sleep he is a& flGuiti and hearty a man, to all appearances/,, < as could be found on shipboi^-~£rev# , * York Sun. i - ̂ - In*. Misplaced Bragging. He was a very: tired looking man^ Injection was written on evefy iin«|^ , of bis face, and as I was a strange*:.: ' J in the village with nothing to dn in<$ s no one to talk to I relieved my owqt pent-up spirits bv expressing tny sym< . pathy with him in his troubles, what! s ever they were. * "Thanks," he said.: "My ehie^*^s trouble seems to be tiha&i am an Miof^ ^ from Jdiotville, and that is la^raf^ 9 Me. I j ust got id to a tfraggjji* with a stranger up in the postofll^i,; He bet he was ficher'n 1 an' took him up, just for a Ijluiff. I tolcit him everything I had an' • and after a while he gilve <n, as how he wouldn't haVe tb# Then I said I'd swe^r said all right, use thunder, who do was?" •- , .. "I <Joh^ know, "Who?"' "The tax-assessor!" It certainty was i luck.--IIacker's Drawer' ONB reason why troubl always is that the people them can't last always to tf.. '*t. r\.i • more -too$£ i