Wwa niJi oi7mtliroush a door that led to hOT
v) r$2hf II V AfyrfJit Mrs. Sprague did not follow her daugh-
jjf 'JSr HtMi w'"1 ttu f"1""' attenipta at ccnso-
V VvIuKnv.- ViVS5? 'ationi neither did he guess what Lilla
I' l f vtcu ' -L.iv x N aJoJ l&kiS n was going to do, and that was to write a
THE GOOD NEW TIMES.
talk of the
and cares
ROUGH the "old folks"
good old times,
When land was plenty
were so lew;
Tet the "young folks" listen with doubtful
smiles.
Convinced they were not as good as the
new.
grandpapa, I
as dear
Those were gay sleigh rides,
know;
While lassie ne'er danced lithe
grandma r;
But some things could be said 'bout a mod
ern beau,
And a cozy jaunt In a palace car.
Those were wonderful loaves dear "grand
ma'r" made,
And she broldered your soiks with a won
drous darn;
Xet she wondered sometimes, I'm sure, If It
paid,
(Would have left had she dared for a prom
enade And enjoyed to have spun- a little street
yarn).
No doubt her papa, great-granpa, you know,
Really frowned when she purchased her
wedding dress,
And sighed as he wished for the "good old
times,"
When bonnets were cheaper and dresses
took less.
While his great-grandpa, I've heard It said,
Wouldn't spare the wool for his daughter
to weave;
But sighed for the fashions of Paradise,
And longed for the fig leaves of Mother
Eve.
Soon forgotten Is pain, when pleasures are
o'er,
"Distance enchants us," the poet was
right;
Who wanders his memory back to deplore,
The collar too high or the boots all too
tight?
The maiden who lingers o'er past hours of
bliss,
Forgets as she day-dreams of heroes and
rings.
Bow her hnlr wouldn't crimp and her gloves
wouldn't nt;
For "deeply depraved are Inanimate
things."
There nre bountiful times In these good new
days;
There nre lives ns bennttfol, pure nnrt true,
As any who moved to the simpler ways;
Atxl It my be a trto liotlvr, too;
Dear Sir In case you may wish to make any
explanation of j our very strange conduct on
two occasions this week, I wish you would
spare yourself the trouble of doing any such
thing, ether personally or in writing. Your
ring shail be returned ny mall, registered.
' "LILLa Sl'llAGUE."
That little projectile which Lilla fired
at her fiance very nearly ended the life
of Randolph Watts; at least, so Watts
said. He could not think, or he migh
have seen an easy way out of the horri
ble maze Into which he had got himself.
His transgression stared him in the face.
He had run away from Lilla twice and
had even congratulated himself on his
escape from her and chuckled over !t se
cretly. How was he to convince her that
his evasion was not "an evidence of dis
loyalty to her?
It was only three days before Christ
mas and Watts had promised himself
that, whatever future Christmas might
have In store for him, that Christmas
should be the happiest he had known so
far at least.
That night he lay awake until he was
exhausted. Next morning he got up and
went to his business mechanically.
The first ray of comfort came with his
cousin, Mrs. Sucher the same whom
Lilla had spoken of as a "frump."
"Why, Randolph," said Mrs. Sucher,
as ehe entered the office, "what is the
matter with you? Have you been ill?"
"She saw me," was all Randolph could
say.
"You were with Randolph Watts when
he ran away from Lilla yesterday. How
was it?"
"You prow!" rt to tell her? to kp'ep
it for three days? Very well. You see,
he wants to give her a bracelet he had
made for her, with a very pretty motto
t
been cut for us on the stick of time. The
delight arises from the anticipation of
the new and better experiences of the
year to come. What interest any rational
person could have in having his fortune
told is a mystery. The zest and charm of
life consist largely in the fact that each
day is like a new page in the story. If
you wish to enjoy your book you do not.
whon it is half read, turn to the closing
chapter to discover how it turns out. You
do not thank anyone for telling you the
plot. It is so with life. There is in
finite satisfaction in each day's contribu
tion to the record. You do not want to
anticipate it. It would be a curse if any
one could tell you just what the year
would bring. It is just as reasonable to
suppose that the year will be happy as
sad. Who can tell? Who can control
that? Are we not in the hands of God?
That is the reason for a happy New
Year's day.
ARCTIC CHRISTMAS.
on, it's no use now, cousin mattie
on it in enamel. Then he wants to give
her a beautiful little watch that belonged
to his poor mother, and he has had a lit
tle miniature of his mother made to fit
In behind the watch. First he took the
watch to Moore's. That was the day he
ran up against Lilla, when he had the
whole package in his hand, and was
afraid she would ask him, and ran. Yes
terday, just as he was taking me to hold
How a Party of Men Once Made Some
Little Eskimos Happy.
Onoe on a' time a company of men were
far North in the arctic regions at Christ-'
mas time, and they could not help think
ing of their families at home, and longing
to be with them. But they knew it would
not do to be homesick, for it would unfit
them for their work, so they chose the
best possible cure for it; they made other
people happy.
The little Eskimo children around them
had never even heard of a Christmas tree,
and the men of the ship's company went
to work to make one. Make one? "Why,
trees grow!" .Certainly, but they do not
grow in the arctic lands, for these explor
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
CHRISTMAS AND THE CHILDREN.
talkiii' they talk
t:
II B
little folks nre
like onvthlnir
Bout Snnty Clans n-comlu', an' what
he's goln' to bring;
An' the mother never scolds 'cm or tells "em
'bout Uio noise;
They're Just the P'-eetest little girls-the
best of little 1
Recause they know Unit Suuty Clans knows
everything thry do,
An' while he's loullug v.p his sleigh he's
watchin' of 'em, too!
An' them that minds their mothers, they
gets the most of toys
They're just the (sweetest little girls the
best of little boys!
They've Just been wrltln' letters to Santy
Clans rneh day
An' tellln' him Ji'st what they want au'
showln' him the way
To where the house Is, so he'll know Just
where to leave the toys,
Fer Just the sweetest little girls the best
of little boys!
They're glttln' m'ghty anxious fer the days
an' nights to go,
An' all of 'em are happy an' they mute
their mothers so!
She never has to scold 'em or tell 'em 'bout
the noise,
'Cause they're Just the sweetest little girls
the best of little boys.
Atlanta Constitution.
THE DECORATIVE HOLLY.
Wreaths of Its Glosax Leaves Woven
Ronnd the Earth nt Christmas.
ITCH of tho
Christmas sen
timent is due to
the holly, which,
with its bright
berries and glossy
leaves, i3 one of
the most decora
tive greens used
at the Christmas
season, and Is
adapted especially
woll to wreath
form, the color
lasting' lontrer unci
the Kt-uernl almpe
ltlna iiioi-v tli.-
m 1
fiv?