W A S H IN G T O N THE HAPPY NEW YEAR. C O U N T Y H A T C H E T . B R O A D A C R E ’S C H R I S T M A S of the presents they would find accepta ble, with details concerning sue. oo.or At Christmas play and make good o W , and weight The wife would »imply have t'or Christmas comes but once a year ' to join the bureau’s subscribers, hud her - O ld Ubyine. IIU1STM A s , , J husband's list, borrow the money from Imt ouce a him and give him a happy surprise ou Well, g(,»u „H Christmas. This scheme is worth cousi.n hooks! who ’ At tins tbv i 'liristi* ering. It ought to take a great burdeu off kills to pu y q<j ,1 the ladies' minds, anyhow. ask fer two T Or three ,,r toar ttuy mon* ’an wi T h ric e Happy. wi* have tt>-du»? I He was a little ragged waif living m a There may l , L hut say, by gu ai villuge of southern Kentucky. A stran • IM built u,,J ger to actual comfort, it is not to be sup way. posed that he was very familiar with the pleasures of life. One Christmas eve o I ’ ve got to « I t a Bled fe r Ned and buy • < fur Nan, was standing before a shop window with And books and toys and lots of Joys fer J his leuu little face pressed against the tie crippled I >an, 1 1 pane, devouring with hungry eyes the Fer he can’ t go about« jm i know, like otfl won(i) hardly guess you to l>e six years older than I.” One thing, 'in kind all skin Joel. To brush aa we |maa; we see ouly dead leaves. N o w , dear merry (¿UrlMitims li a a sw iftly departed. A New Year stand* s c a u u I n g the « h o s t s o f the past. W e gaze o’ er his shoulders n u d feel heavy-heart ed To think mouths and seasons are fading so fast. m Bee, whirled In tniduir are white snowflakes descending! Each flake seems a spirit dropped down from above. A s though for the New Year to earth they come, lending A promise o f purity, blousing and love. The tail trumpet creeper, whose scarlet tinged flowers Last summer made gay Its beautiful dress. Stood yesterday drooping and leafless for hours. Now, snowclad. It gleams in renewed love liness. H o w they pile, how tney gather, the snows In their whiteness, I^ed onward by silence, who moves with out sound! Their feet shod In crystal and sparkling In brightness, Thpy drape frosteo venture o ’er tree, bush and ground. 0 thought with the summer all beauty was dying; W e thought with the old year nil Joy flown «way, But spirits of snow to our shoru world came flying. And the New Y’ ear has blessings perhaps for each day H a rk ! W ild bells are ringing! Yes. Joy bells ore flinging Out welcomes o f glee to another New Year. Alay each moment be crowded with laughter and singing. And during its stay may no sorrow draw near. S in e on. Now Your b oll«! Let tby ringing mean gladness! « “ * • « « } » ®w“ Jr. but ring love’ « warmth Though the old year Just died, anil we saw 1«. wlln sad ness. Y et happy may prove the New Tear we begin I —Christian Intelligencer. ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ A C H R IS T M A S J R E U N IO N . I T was Nell who thought of it first. Kilt about all of the clever ideas in our family had their ori gin in Nell's fertile imagination. Brother Tom often told her that she ought to put a card in the window and in the papers o f fering “ Ideas for Sale.” Nell was grandfather's favor ite and she was very fond of him. One day she evolved this idea and laid it on the fam ily altar at n discussion we were having regarding the approaching Ohrist- iuh s festivities: “ I've just thought out the loveliest scheme for grandpa's enjoyment. You know that he hasn’t seen one of hiB brothers for a long time, and it’ s twenty years since he saw our Uncle Henry. N o w , can't we get up a great family re union ns a surprise for grandpaV Uncle H en ry could come here in a day.” “ H e 's nearly 80,” I said. “ 1 know, but he is stronger thnn most men o f 70. Unde Harvey, who is only 73, could come in a day nnd a night, and U n cle Joel could come In ton hours. I « “ THItT'BB A LL < OUINII, TOM.' think that it would be just lovely to see t h o « ' fou r dear old souls, all over 70, to gether, and to hear them tell tales of their childhood and boyhood.” A ft e r imposing solemn vow * of secrecy on ail o f us, Nell ran off to her w riting desk to w rite letters to grandpa's three old brothers and to i.,s sister A nn. A week later she met me at the door when 1 went home to dinner nnd said gleefully: " T h e y ’re nil coming, T om ! I'v e had let ters to-day from every one o f them! A nd grandpa said nt luncheon that he'd give • good deal to see 'the boys,’ as he called them. H e wanted to know if I'd go with him If he went to visit them all in the spring. 1 could just hug m yself for think- lu g up the w hole scheme.” Each o f my great uncle* strived on the day before Christm as, nnd grandpa's sur prise w a s complete. H e showed uo signs o f needing N ell’s sm elling salts, although he w as visibly affected when his aged brother H en ry arrived and they clasped hantls after a separation o f twenty years. " Y o u 'v e grow n old. H ira m ,” quavered out Uncle H #nr>. ' teem s to me ye look 'bout ns old aa I do.’ "O h , I guess not, H en ry ; I gneaa not,” said rrandiut. * trifiv stiffly, for he w as •etwi live regarding his age. " I b m ’t he, boys?” said Uncle H enry, appealing to hi# two white-haired broth ers " I bet I could fetch ye to the ground first in a rassle, that ia If ye masted fair, which ye didn’t used to do when we w as all boy* together. W h y , I ’rg hanged if H iram don't part his hair, or w». " he's got left o f It, ia the middle yK. I reckon ed yoa'd rtt over that when ye came to havin' one foot in the grav e and t’other one ao hl.ness out.” , G ran dpa Hushed and said coldly: "T h e eom h'ng o f one's hair im simply a 1 of indivldaa) taste, H enry.” hurried Uncle H en ry off to show andpa said to U n cle "Is thut all; why, Hi, I weigh 17S aud- “ Conie, Uncle Joel, I want to show you some of the family portraits in the pur- lor.” said Madge, noting grandpa’ s rising color. This left Uncle Harvey uhd grand pa together. “ Joel and Ilenry were always unneces sarily blunt In their speech," said grand- pa. "1 es, but they geu'ally hit the nail on the head,” said Unde Harvey. “ You do look us if the wind would blow you away, Hiram, and I notice you’ve a kiud of limp in your gait." “ I ’ ve uothing of the sort, Harvey My- ler, and I ain't more thun two-thirds us bald as you are ami uot half so gray.” “ Oh, you ain’t; I'll count gray hairs with you any time, and I ’ll bet you a jews- harp that---- ” “ Come, Uncle Harvey,” I said, “ let us go to the stable. I want you to give me your opinion of a horse I've just bought.” '1 he combined clforts of Madge and Nell and I sufficed to maintain peace at the dinner table. We kept up sueh a rattling fire of conversation that the four broth ers had hurdly a chance to speak to each other. We saw grandpa wince when Un cle Henry ate his mashed potatoes with his knife, and we knew the full extent of our gruudsire's agony when Uucie Joel poured his coffee into his saucer and blew it before drinking it. Uncle Harvey spoke hut once, but that was once too often, for he said, explosively: “ Oh, I soy, boys, do you remember thnt Sary Jane Skimmerliorn H i used to be so sweet on when we all went to the Hop- vine school? You 'member how he used to kiss 'er there at the end of the lane? Well, she’s livin’ yit, an’ I ’d give a deal to see Hi kiss 'er now. She weighs 3”9 pounds and hns a beard that Tom here might be proud of, an' she’s hud fifteen children an' they’re nil livin'. I was jest thinkin' what if Hi had married 'er us he used to swear he would! Eh, IIi? ” Uncle Henry and Joel roared with laughter ami Joel choked on a mouthful of coffee. Grandpa turned pale and it re quired all of Nell’s cleverness to prevent a scene. All of the cousins nnd uncles nnd aunts in the city had been invited to come in thnt evening to enjoy n Christmas eve reunion of the family and to be entertain ed with family reminiscences by the four old and reunited brothers. A t 8 o’ clocu we gathered around a great open fire to hear our aged relatives “ reminis,” at. Madge mischievously put it. “ Tell us all about when yon were boys together,” aa it] Cousin Ned Drayton. “ 1 guess there wasn’ t much time nor money wasted celebrating Christmas when you were boys.” "W ell, I guess there wa’ n't,” said Uncle Joel. ” [ guess O, say, boys, do you re- momlicr that Christmas we four boys went bear hunting bnrk there in the Maine woods when we wu'u’ t none of us fully grown?” “ I rememlier it ns well as if it was yes terday,” said Uncle Henry. “ I remem ber jist how that b'ar squealed when I | shot ’Im.” “ You still stick to it thnt you shot 'im. Henry,” said Uncle Joel, "an' I am ns sure ns I ’m livin' that it was my shot that fetched 'im.” “ In n horn It wns!" said Uncle Henry, testily. “ Your bullet went clar over the b’nr nnd lodged iu that big pine we found with a bullet hole in it.” “ There’s no use in Henry nn’ Joel spat- tln' so about which killed that b'ar,” put in Uncle Harvey, "fo r I've nn idee the beast would have got up an’ walked off with both your bullets. It was my knife thrust thnt finished the beast." "Yes, it wns!” sneered Joel. “ Oh, yes; to I k - sure it was.” snorted Uncle Henry. "I guess thnt the blows I ruined down on the beast’ s head with the club I car ried, had something to do with finishing him," said grandpa, calmly. "W ell, ye ain't got over drawln’ on your imagination for facts, hcv ye, H i?" said Unde Ilenry. “ The test of us kin re member how ye hid in the bresh tremblin’ an’ bellerin’ until we was almost ready to skin the bear an then you come out with your little club and give the beast a whack or two.” “ H en ry M yler, that Is not true!" " I f it ain’t I ’ll ent my h a t’” " I clubbed the life out o f him,” mid grandpa. " I tell ye I killed that bear m yself!” ” Y e didn’t!” “ I know I did!” " M y club counted for more than------ “ " Y o u r d u b ! 1’ooh!” " N o w , H enry, I won't stand It to------■" “ I ’d like to see ye help yourself.” “ Khet up, all o f ye, fo r 1------” " D o n ’t ye tell nte to nhet up!” T h e dispute w ax oil hot and hotter un til M adge got U n d e H eu ry off to his room, and N ell had done the same service for U n cle H a rv e y , while I dragged Uncle Joel aw a y fo r a smoke with me ht m.v own room, where he berated hi* brothers fe a r fully. G ran dpa stalked off to his own room. W e m anaged to keep the fou r old hot head* from getting into a row on Ch rist mas, but U n d e H enry and grandpa did beautiful display within. There was a lady in the shop. dee|"J engaged in purchasing gifts for her small nieces and nephews. She saw the waif at the window-ragged, half-clad, ami with out doubt half-starved as well. " I ’rudciice,” said she, in speaking of the matter afterward, “ might have suggeeted food and clothes. But another idea had taken possession of me. 1 determined then and there that Unit boy should know the blessedness of happy childhood for one H E event which Christmns commemorates possesses for humanity the dee|x-st meaning. Compared with its profound importance all other events, or indeed the sum of all other events, sink into insignificance, and the great institution of which tlnu event is the foundation-stone has from a very early dutp observed it With ceremonies of fitting stateliness and reverence. But the note of even the sacred celebration of the birthday of the Saviour I ihs for centuries been one of joyfulness and glad praise. It is the one day of all the year when the whole Christian world puts into practice the cardinal law of Christ. The sternest, hard est and most worldly mau pauses in his pladniug and grinding, and for a day at least allows his thoughts to dwell on projects for making other people glad. The Christmas-tide festival is the special season for renewing the manifestation of those family affections that are not dpad but merely dulled by routine and fa miliarity. The head of the houaehold, who spends hundreds of dollars in providing the necessaries of life for his tlock without an emotion other than nn occasional thought of what a tux upon his income it is, hns his whole being stirred up as the result of the expenditure of a few dollars iu rattles and trinkets. A sense of liis blessings thrusts itself on his attention. A realization of the patient, heroic performance from dny to day, year in nnd year out, of the unheroie. uneventful, tedious nnd multiplied duties of the helpmeet nnd mother rushes on his mind, to gether witli an uneasy knowledge of his frequent forgetfulness of it. She is T: GRANDM OTHER t l THE H . £ i And ’ Liza—how these «iris com# 0p!. don’ t want dolls no more®— She’s got a beau—it can’ t be so!—a-rlerkl in a store; ■ Hut a fte r all. she’s 'bout ns tall as was I mother when \ Wc f. !I mi I"vc w e’ re In It y e t-lo ts d«J now thun then. And so n year ’ at didn’ t bring a Chrlsti seems to me. ’ I.d be about the saddest thing a mortal i Christm as at all events. ’ eon Id see. On the impulse she called him in. lo.vs, Fer who would miss the Christmas bllsi J cause there’ s bills to pay? 1 a wagon, an iron horse with a Hying driv may be some, but say. by vnmi er madly sounding a tire alarm, a drum There ain’ t built that-a-wuy. * * with gilded sticks, a tin horn, a pack of —Nixon Waterman. firecrackers, things which his poverty- blinded eyes had never before looked upon A C R O S S T H E STREET. in the light of real possession, were put’ into his hands. T h e C h a n g e t h a t Came w i t h Anot] "There was a kind of awe in his solemn, Cl»»**stmas T im e , earnest eyes,” said the lady, "as though A 8 T Christ] the joy of possession had stricken him the house aci dumb. the street " I t was the day after Christmns that 1 mine was came upon him again, hanging about the |ü íd' ;fj!it' brightest nnd L streets with that same old look of a beg f f u l all ° f <>ny in gar about him. That is, in all but his ‘ J bloek. There w] eyes: they, I think, were never unite the beautiful C'hrl same again. They fairly shone when he mas wreaths V I I lifted them to my face in recognition. Vf ' every window i the whole hod wn» aglow. The shades were thrown! M IS T L E T O E . high and the soft lace curtain* part wide. The tree in the great parlor of t house across the street was larger a mil had costlier present* on it thnn any otq tree in the town. And most o f the pn ents were fur the little girl in the whl dri-ss and the big pink snsh who could | seen from the street dnneing around tree, the happiest, iwMtast little ma iu nil the world anil the light nnd life af joy of the house across the street. - £ ‘ This Christmas time all is dark aJ silent and gloomy in the great hoi/ across the street. There nre no Ckril ntns wreaths in the windows, no ray T light comes from behind the clos drawn blinds, no childish voice is he within the house. There is no bright afl beautiful tree, but on the spot on whi| the tree stood last year there is thing white nnd ns beautiful in its w m and satin and velvet finish as the skill i wealth of nmn can make it. But the sid of it brought a chill to the hearts of thq who saw it carried into the house Christmns eve. nnd when the eyes of I mother nnd father fell upon it their hea^ bled anew. The jmssersby who snw the hands | white fluttering from tlie knob of thee of the house across the street went on| their own humbler houses thanking that their own little ones were left them, no matter how little of wealth | beauty there might be in their homes. The poorest house iu which there i t the laugh of children was so much Itj desolnte thnn the great mansion aor the Rtreet in which the child’s laugh forever still. It added to tho melody | Paradis«' that Christmas morning, rang out clear nnd sweet across the id per sen. It had gone through the Qd Beautiful and into a house not made wij bauds eternal in the heavens. C h r i s t m a s Carols. Christmas gifts of coal nnd flonr in order ail this month.—Philadelplj Ledger. Thnt mnn never lived who had any I fluencc over his wife the week bef<! Christmas.- Atchison Globe. Small boys with an eye to the futa are willing to wear stockings many sij too big for them.—Philadelphia Recor J a r Buy up the Christm as books liberal and next year the authors will get roy ties enough to dine at a restaurant.—^ lauta Constitution. People with bad habits might easej on them a little before N e w Year a the purpose o f learning whether it pay to sw ear off.— C e d ar Rapids Gaze the angel o f his threshold, and he turns to the heaven that sw m s so fa r aw a y in hi« business hours, but now seems so near and pow erful, as he asks for its bless ing ou the little brood that clusters about her knee. F o r Christm as ia esoentially the children's day. Its specially religious signifi cance can o f course never » e lost, but It is doubtful if it* spiritual influence woum be to widespread but fo r the myth o f K ris K r irg le . W ith its daw ning faculties the child learns o f the w onderful little man \rith the queer, tufty coat and rubi cund face, whose advent on one particular night in the year is the most extraor dinary event in existence, and when the revolution o f many yuietides has turned reality into myth the-disillusioned one enjoys at least h a lf his earlier delights in witn«***ing another geueration o f K r i* K ringle's little subjects enjoying that mon arch's season o f blissful lordship. In millions o f homes the same picture is seen. D a y breaking through the frosted pane, and on the dim stairs tiu.v white-robed figures stealing down the creaking steps. E yes are daucing with anticipation an«I apprehension, fo r there is something uncanny about this dear old king of theirs, and mother has to take up the r«>«r in similar white-robed dishabille to inspire conthlcnro In thoae Httle throbbing hearts. A n d when the chimney-nook is safely gnineil. w hat clamor, w hat poumling o f drums and blow ing o f horns; w hat joy that the funny, fat, good-natured old gentleman Is still alive and lookiug after his own. M ay every home In Christemlom see this picture. listlc vigor In their make-up. I poeitlve- ly believe that U n cle H eury would have trounced grandpa If he'd atr.yed another d a y ."— U tic * Globe. plSC liaaiN Q THE R I A N QUESTION. UNDER boys, and run, H And thut is why we all must try to help 1 have his fun. reveal frequently the inspiration o f wom an’» ideas, m an's innate modesty and self- effacement precluding him from speaking for himself. B u t somebody should speak for him be P o p p e ts M a d e o f G in g e rb re a d . fore another Christm as has elapsed. It T h e city o f Am sterdam claims St. Nich is recorded in the seventh chapter of "T h e olas as its patron saint, and during the Antobtography o f Pharaoh I ." that the first week of Iieeem ber confectioners' m o u a ri4 's w ife gave him for a Christmas shop« throughout the city display one _______________ __________ present a necktie which he could not wear »P «-'1» 1 delicacy called "S t. Nicholas j ^Ytimut“ inviting Insnrrecthins in in all cake." o f which large q n .n tirte. a r r .o ld K g jp t . w h w th„ Christm as neck at this season. " M e n " ami "wom en tie joke began, the Christm as cigar joke made of thia ertap. brow n cake, or gin- fo|io w in g i t „ h e n 8 ir W alter Raleigh gerbread. can be bought in different a a es fira( am alpd K nglam , b j pum ,lg tobaopo and at all prieea These sweet creature* fum , „ T b e jokea haT, en<illrpd, bnt th<1 are often called “ sw eeth eart. I v r ije r . . joka hail If thp man kno„ , ,t w e say in Dutch», and the giris receive a may haTe an ¡noorrigib ie pa*»i«wi fo r neck "m an. the boy» • 7 ° m* n ‘ bnt to have hU own w ife go oat and her quite well w hat fun It used to be to M , hi, own m for , whlph ^ hear the ae ra .n t come in w ith: I f you ; w i„ w ca r only on dark nifhta a „ d wh^ n please, ma aim here is Mm* A nnie a . hjg ^ ,, tnr(!md ,lp is what hp ob. sweetheart - a n d hand a gingerbread , ^ T h , tronb|# w i n g probably 'Good morning, Joe.' said I. ’ What have you done with your toys?' “ Imagine my surprise when he said, 'I give em to Jack Parker, the colored boy over yonder to Scruff Town.’ 'What?' said I, ‘you have given them all away? All your beautiful toys?" He was silent a moment, and-then his ragged little face glowed ns he replied: “ ’I had ’em: I had 'em a whole day. I ain't g„t 'em any more, but I had 'em, any- how.’ ” H e wns the proud possessor o f three pleasures; that of receiving, of giving, and the ever blessed pleasure of a happy mem- w y . lo u th ’s Companion. A New Y e a r’ * Superstition. Th e English i-wsaixr.v in some locali ties had nn mid snjierstition that it was unlucky to take anything out of the house until something had bten brought in so very enrly in the morning the wijlhts would leap out o f bed and rush forth •oon to return with pieces of coal or stone in their bauds, hoping thereby to avert m u fort une. H ere is on old rhyme of warning: I f you want to give a man a Christn present thut will please him give him 1 right to act as he pleases about the day. Nine men out o f ten nre biackm^ cd into buying C h ristm as presents, in < way or another.— Atchison Globe. “ W h at shall I order for dinner to love?” asked E ve, as she absently pin ed a green apple. “ Oh, any old thin retorted A dam , wearily, “ as long isn’t a spare rib. I'm sick of spare r j li e savagely sw atted a rock at a g**! snake.— N e w Y o rk P res*. W ife — I think 1 will surprise yon the purchase o f a watch to wear Chrl mas. H u sban d — It will be an acceptr gift, nnd I shall w e a r it with plensi^ W ife — Oh, but the one I shall buy wo be a lady's watch, suitable for me | carry.— Boston B udget. H e r father had said it could never I They both sat in the parlor— also in te A fte r Ion;- searching and a desperate j fort she found her voice. Then, in spairing tones, she cried: “Oh, Chari! I f w e must part, let ns wait till » h C hristmas:” — Philadelphia North ’ can. ____________________ C h r i s t m a s K v e on t b e R r s e r v a tli Tiike ont, then take in, » • A lock will Negln. ,lnY th« tn * * <>at ” ° ° <* luck comes about. A W a rn in g . Rhyme« on the mistletoe not speak to each other all day, and to Are all very well, y ’ know* tell the unvarnished truth there w as great But in mistletoe season in w ard rejoicing wh«*n our three dear old AP * Promptings of reaaon Are toward the adagio; unclea departed. U n cle H enry thrnst his The gallant had better go alow. head out o f the carriage door and screech .tim e « urlng w»w; ed out at the last second: V0 .v,h^ OU£ tln« J " o ' f ln‘ Thoms# " I did kill that bear!” May come breach promise W*T of th# mistletoe: “ You neverT called out grandpa, sharp ly from the stoop, and they never saw each other again. W h a t 8 h * B o u g h t H im . man * ° mT mother.______________ tkat a wom an bq y|ng something for a man “ I admit that my dear little scheme s 1 ?“ Mni Cumso to Mrs. Caw- C lir ia t w ia a ( l i f t s f o r M o w . | sees It merely aa It look» on the counters. failed,” said Nell, when w e were alone ker. I know well enough not to buy It Is a great relief to note that tome while the man sees it In its relation to together. “T h e next time I bring fou r w riters throughout the himaelf and to the uses to which K mast old gentlemen together fo r a Christmas philanthropic , vh*' did yon get him r “I reunion I'll select d e af and dum b men. or country are engaged ia telling w h a t sort : be puL m * rV ° c —found it on the bar w ho haven't qnite ao mock dynam ite o f Chrlatmaa gifts men would like. T h e W h a t it needed -in a W i v e » ’ Information : gain counter and . . " ~T ”“r' • « a « — » « .»c ro o n fu V nod they J b a r e s * , w h e n husbands can leave n list J ce n ts.''-J o d g e ninety-eight Baata C'a*# of the '