Georgia Historic Newspapers

    Tie Josh Sentinel
Office in the Jestrp House, fronting on Cherry
street, two doors from Broad St.
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY,
... BY ...
T. P. LITTLEFIELD.
Subscription. Rates.
(Postage Prepaid.)
One yeai* $2 00
Six months 1 00
Three months 50
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Ter square, first insertion $1 00
Per square, each subsequent insertion. 75
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vertisers.
TOWN DIRECTORY.
TOWN OFFICERS.
Mayor—W. 11. Whaley.
Councilmen—T. P. Littlefield, H. W.
Whaley, Bryant George, O. F. Littlefield,
Anderson Williams,
Clerk and Treasurer—O. F. Littlefield,
Marshal—G. W. Williams.
COUNTY OFFCERS.
Ordinary—Richard B. Hopps.
Sheriff—John N, Goodbread.
Clerk Superior Court—Benj. O. Middleton
Tax Receiver—J. C. Hatcher.
Tax Collector—W. R. Causey,.
County Surveyor—Noah Bennett.
County Treasurer —John Massey.
Coroner—D. McDitha.
County Commissioners—J. F. King, G.
W. Haines, James Knox, J. G. Rich, Isham
Reddish. Regular meetings of the Board,
3d Wednesday in January, April, July and
October. Jas. F. King, Cnairman.
COURTS.
Superiot Court, Wayne County—Jno. L.
Harris, Judge ; Simon W. Hitch, Solicitor-
General, Sessions held on second Monday
in March and September.
BMstear, Fierce County Georp.
TOWH DIRECTORY.
TOWN OFFICERS.
Mayor—R. G. Riggins.
Councilmen—l). P. Patterson ; J. M. Downs,
J. M. Lee, B. D. Brantly.
Clerk of Council—J. M. Purdom.
Town Treasurer —B. I). Brantly.
Marshal—E. Z. Byrd.
COUNTY OFFICERS.
Ordinary—A. J. Strickland.
Clerk Superior Court—Andrew M. Moore.
Sheriff—E. Z. Byrd.
County Treasurer—D. P. Pattersou.
County Serveyor—J. M. Johnson.
Tax Receiver and Collector—J. M. Pur
dom.
Chairman of Road Commissioners—llßl
District, G. M., Lewis C. Wylly; 12 0 Dis
trict, U. M., George T. Moody ; 584 District,
G. M., Charles S. Youmanns; 500 District,
G. M.. D. B. McKinnon.
Notary Publics and Justices of the Peace,
etc. —Black.shear Precinct, 584 district,G.M.,
Notary Public, J. G. S. Patterson ; Justice
of the Peace, ft. R. James; Ex-ofticio Con
stable E. Z. Byrd.
Dickson?* Mill Precinct, 1250 District, G
M , Notary Public,Mathew Sweat; Justice of
the Peace, Geo. T. Moody; Constable, W.
F. Dickson.
Patterson Precinct, 1181 District, G. M.,
Notary Public, Lewis C. Wylly; Justice of
the Peace, Lewis Thomas; Constables, 11.
Prescott and A. L. Griner.
Schlatterville Precinct, 590 District, G. M
Notary Public, D. B. McKinnon; Justice o
the Peace, It. T. James; Constable, John W
Booth,
Courts —Superior court, Pierce county
John L. Harris, judge; Simon W. Hitch
Solicitor General. Sessions held first Mon
dry in March and September.
Corporation court, Blackshear, Ga., session
hedd second Saturday in each Month. Police
court sessions every Monday Morning at 9
o’clock.
JESUP HOUSE,
Corner Broad and Cherrv Streets,
(Near the Depot,)
T. P- LITTLEFIELD, Proprietor.
Newly renovated and refurnished. Satis
faetion guaranteed. Polite waiters will take
your baggage to and from the house.
BOARD $2.00 per day. Single Meals, 50 cts
CURRENT PARAGRAPHS.
Southern Sows.
The extra session of the Tennessee
legislature can draw pay for only twenty
days, but can remain in session as long
as it pleases.
Smalls, the convicted South Carolina
colored congressman, is said to he “ in a
state of deep humiliation.” The kind
ness of Smalls to the family of his for
mer owner, the McKee family, of Beau
fort, seems to have made a profound im
pression in his favor.
Atlanta Constitution : Gen. Matthew
C. Butler, South Carolina’s new senator,
is the son of ex-congressman William
Butler, and a nephew of Gen. Pierce M.
Butler, who fell at Cherubusco. He is
also a nephew of ex-Senator A. P. But
ler. On his mother’s side he is a nephew
of Commodore C. H. Perry. He was
elected to the legislature in 1860—the
only civil office he had held up to his
admission to a seat in the United States,
senate. He rose during the war from
the captaincy of a cavalry company to
the rank of major general. His ability
as a lawyer and his eloquence as a
speaker are sure to win for ifim a high
rank in the national councils.
From Wa*tiin:£toii.
The president will not make any of his
appointments of cadets at large to the
military academy until next spring.
The president will hereafter decline to
consider applications for appointment of
civilians to places in the army, leaving
that matter entirely to the secretary ol
war. In the meantime Adjutant Gen
eral Townsend is endeavoring to have a
stop put to the practice of appointing
civilians to the army.
Advices have been received at the war
department which lead to the belief that
some of the Indians now committing dep
redations around the Black Hills were of
the Dumber recently in Washington
with .Spotted Tail and Red Cloud. About
S,OOO are scattered along the route this,
side of the new agency, where the winter
provisions-are stored. They refuse to
go on to the agency and no money is
appropriated to bring the provisions to
them. At the war department it is
thought a general Sioux war will be
waftd during the winter, and that it
will require a very large military force
to meet the Indians.
The taxes paid by national banks vary
greatly in different cities. The controller
of the currency’s report states that the
segregate national and state taxes on
bank capital is3 per cent, in Boston, and
5.4 per eent. in New Y0rk,6.6 per cent,
in Albany, 2.8 per cent, in Philadelphia,
1.9 per cent, in Pittsburg, 1.8 per cent.
VOL. 11.
in New Orleans, 1.9 per cent, in Leuia
ville, 4.6 per cent, in Cincinnati, 6.2 per
cent, in Chicago and 8.9 per cent, in St.
Louis. It will surprise many to find
that the lowest rate of tax is in New Or
leans The difference between the rates
there and at Albany is 4.8 per cent.
Nolo* of Ocoerul lotcmit.
The country population of California
is only equal to the population ot San
Francisco.
The population of France on the last
day of last year was 36,966,840; Paris,
2,410,849.
There are now 2,266 letter carriers em
ployed in the free delivery service of the
United States.
Tae Canadian journals are exceedingly
well satisfied with the award of the fish
eries commisson.
The famous Madame Bonaparte, of
Baltimore, is now over ninety years of
age, and in very feeble health.
Europe has purchased $2,600,000 worth
of our American fruit within the past
twelve months, principally dried fruit.
“Two hundred and forty button kid
gloves” are the latest novelty on hand,
tire wearer has to get into them feet first.
Twenty-nine women were advertised
in a recent issue of a Chicago paper as
about to preach and conduct religious
services on the following Sunday.
The official canvass shows that the
vote of Colorado on the woman-suffrage
question was: For, 6,612; against, 14,055;
majority against, 7,441.
The Mexican Minister Zamacona, was
a member of the Mexican claims com
mission and also a centennial commis
sioner. He is reported to be a man of
sense and more than ordinary tact.
The Red Cross society has been dis
solved, but the rival orgauizatiou is m u
flourishing condition and has sent a
pretty good sum for the relief of the
Russian and Turkish wounded.
Five Jew’s were elected professors in
the recently opened university at Am
sterdam. They are men of great learn
ing and ability and will doubtless add
much to the reputation of the university.
The Anti-Horse-thief Association has
361 lodges and 8,000 members in Missou
ri, lowa and Illinois. It does not en
courage lynching, although that course
is permitted iff pieces where the officers
of the law cannot be relied on to prose
cute thieves.
In San Francisco a paper was found
posted on a house intimating that those
employing Chinese would be shot down
without lurther warniug. The author
said he w’as a good shot, and meant busi
ness, and concluded the note as iollows :
“ I have had no food for two days nor mv
family. This is the last notice—look
sharp.”
Few people are aware of the damage
done by wild geese on the wheat fields in
California. They come in myriads, and
pull up the young wheat by the roots,
and eat it, roots and all. It is stated in
the San Francisco Bulletin that, on one
ranche alone, 6,000 geese have been
killed this season, and in the county of
Colusa aloue, last season, the damage
done by the web-footed fowls was esti
mated at $200,000. A whole family was
lately poisoned by eating geese which
had been eating corn soaked in strych
nine. The California varieties of geese
are the Canada, enow and laughing
geese. Quails, also, have become so
plentiful, in many places on the Pacific
coast, that they are poisoned by thou
sands, as they destroy the grape crop.
But a greater nuisance are the ground
squirrels, which are nearly as bad as the
grasshoppers this side of “ The Divide.”
Great country this —for plaguey nui
sances.
How to Cook Christmas Turkey.
Young housekeepers may find the fol
lowing hints useful in preparing for the
Christmas roast:
The turkey should be well singed and
freed from “pin-feathers,” and thor
oughly drawn by opening one side just
below the breast-bone. Be sure to take
everything out that is inside, not forget
ting the parts lying between the ribs and
the “ soul.” Wipe dry, after washing
well in cold water. Then dip the tur
key two seconds into boiling water, and
immediately two seconds into ice-water.
This will give it a very plump appear
ance. Cut the neck off close to the
body, leave the skin longer, draw it over
the neck, and tie; also tie the legs close
to the side, having cut off the first joint.
Fasten the wings to the sides with fine
skewers, having cut off the pinions.
Put the gizzard, liver, heart and neck to
boil in a quart of water; allow two and
a quarter hours to roast a turkey weigh
ing ten pounds. If the specimen happen
to be one of many summers, boii it one
hour or so before roasting. Baste with
salt and water once, then cover with
lumps of butter, and afterward baste
with the drippings.
The Dressing.— Take three pints of
bread-crumbs for a medium-sized turkey;
chop finely, with one-quarter pound of
salt pork, a good lump of butter, salt,
pepper-sauce and savory or majorum,
and break in two or three eggs to make
it of the right consistency. Fill both
ihe breast and body, ar.d sew up.
Riched mashed potatoes also make a
good stuffing.
Oyster Dressing. —Use oysters with
out their liquor, and just bread-crumbs
enough to make them of proper consis
tency ; a blade of mace, a little pepper
and salt.
The Gravy. —Having boiled the gib
lets in a quart of water till tender, strain
the broth thus obtained into a dripping
pan, having removed the turkey. Take
the liver and mash it very fine with the
back of a spoon and return to the gravy.
Then chop very fine the heart and giz
zard, and add to the gravy, and thicken
with browned flour; stir and season
well; boil five minutes.
JESUP, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1877;
SANTA CLAUS'S VISIT.
ErtFASXY WARMKS BICXNBLL.
Ou snow-ohul hills, as atill midnight,
Tha moonshine lies In beauty bright,
The world la hushed In slumber now,
For balmy Bleep from every brow
Hath smoothed away the lines of caro.
And stamped renose—night’s blessing—there.
Day'a busy, bustling crowd la still,
Kept ieved awhile from cares tost till
All hearts wherein the poise ot life
Exceeds the throbs of infant strife;
The mingled vetoes of the crowd
No longer heard—each head is bow’d
In mansion rich and poor abode,
Forgetful of the heavy load
Poor human nature has to bear,
In homespun clad or silken wear—
The sweeter sleep to toll Is given
Than to the idle, bleseed of heaven,
W ith every luxury wealth can bring.
While laborers toil and blithely sing,
The rich oft yawn in diacohtent.
And mourn at eve the dav misspent.
But midnight brings to all surcease
From daylight’s cares—to alt sweet peace;
Thus reetlug in tho close embrace
01 Sleep-nlgM kcejrcrcf our race—
The world awaits the coming dawn
That ushers in glad Christmas morn.
Tire spirit ef the season by
idea's swiftly, while each youthful eyo
Close sealed rein tins by Nature’s laws,
As o’er each house goes Santa Claus.
A pack of gifts hia back bestrides.
As dowu the chimney qnickly giidea
The fur-clad-elf, with pipe and whip;
Hia twinkingevea and smiling lip
A promise give of something nice,
As through the room like creeping mice
Ills footsteps glide; he views the feet
Of stockings which, at mom, will greet
The eyoe ot children in the bed
Where hang the stockings overhead,
With uodß, and winks, andiunny shrugs,
His well-filled pack around he lugs,
Until a chair lie finds to mount,
Ho that thair number he may count,
“One. two, throe, four—’twaa Kivft last year,
(Hestops to wipe away a tear,)
I’ll look again—the smallest feet
Are miaeiug ; they have a gone to meet
The Babe of Bethlehem, at whose birth
'The sbepheid sang, • Good Will on Earth.'”
He glanced around ; on bed ot straw
T he little errand boy he saw,
“ Ah, there lies one I did not see,
’Tia likely he, too, dreams of me;
To him warm clothes I’ll give instead
This toy I brought the child thni’s dead.”
Then stooping down and putting back
The silver trumpet, from hia pack
The other gifts he quickly drew,
And stuffed the stockings number two,
And three, and four: the smallest
He fillod the last. When all was done
lie chuckled low. and made a pause,
Then vauished -dear old Hausa Claus.
John Holland’s Merry Christmas.
Tho day before Christmas every store
window was wreathed in green, every
rare and beautiful thing exposed to
tempt the passer-by was labeled “ Christ
mas gift.” Even the corner groceries
and baker shops had green boughs and a
generous display of ginger bread horses
and white-sugar hearts enriched with
gilt beading, and impossible pink fowls,
popuiarly supposed to be doves. There
were myriads of dolls and hundreds ot
sleds, with names taking in the whole
animal kingdom. The streets were crowd
ed with fur clad, smiling women, who
were making the last selections of pretty
things with which to swell out the fair
proportions of many little stockings.
John Holland, leaving ids office earlier
than usual, made his way slowly through
these waves of happy womanhood, carry
ing his aching head a little forward,
watching with sullen eyes the joy about
him, until the tido of the bitterness in
his heart rose high, and forced from hia
lips a curse on the morrow that would
bring so much happiness to others and so
much misery to him. A lonely man was
John Holland, over whose dead past
stood no monumental marble with name
and date thereon—a weary man by
his drooping shoulders and uncer
tain gait—an unhappy man by
the wistful look that crept now
and then into his sullen eyes. And so
in weary, lonely fashion he walked
on, leaving the city far behind, and com
ing at last upon a country road that
wound its rough, snow-powdered jlength
through shrubby hollows and up the
hills between leafless gray-barked tress.
Now and then a thin sheet of ice cracked
beneath his feet—he did not hear it
above his head, close to the soft, gray
clouds, fat, inky crows sailed round and
round, cawing companionably—he did
not heed them; while here and there the
bare, brown fingers of some shrub or
tree held out to him a hunch of scarlet
berries, which he did not see. All the
grays ana browns, touched here and there
with green and scarlet, appealed to him
in vain. To-morrow was Christmas day.
He stood alone—he made no one’s happi
ness ; therefore to him the world could
not be fair. He remembered how, not
many years before, he and his wife stoic
tip-toe through the house, to cram with
candies and many wondrous toys the
little woolen stockings hanging near the
fire. He remembered how the Christ
mas sunlight, striking through the frosted
window pane, turned into burnished
gold the ruddy locks of their sturdy baby
boy; and now he stumbled up the hill
side, blind with rage and pain. Now
two mounds of chill, cold earth held all
that made life a dear and precious thing
to him. At the top of the hill he paused
involuntarily to regain his breath. Up
there the wind blew keenly, the ghastly
gleam of ice could be seen in the river
winding far below. The wood was
darkened by many slender pines and
stunted hemlock trees—a wintry scene—
and Holland thrust his hands deep in his
pockets and turned to retrace his
steps, when a sound broke the
silence all about him —a sound
that set his heart a throbbing, a
Bound that drew his feet from the beaten
load and sent them striding tnrough the
brown dead leaves until they brought
him to the spot where little Ruth sat
sobbing.
A strange place to find a child, yet
there she sat, flat on the ground, her
well-worn, copper-toed shoes stretched
out before her, one little hand doubled
under her arm, as a bird draws its foot
under its wiDg, the other hand grasping
with all its childish might a branch of
one of the many small hemlock trees
growing about her. So mottled with
cold were her face, her hands, and
her little bare knees, she might have
passed foi a figure carved in good old
caitiff soap,
.John Holland’s sudden appearance
did not startlo her in the least. She
seemed to accept him as one accepts
things in dreams, without surprise or
fear.
“ What is the matter ?” lie asked.
“ I’m cold.”
How strange tho childish voice
sounded up there in that chill, bleak
place!
“ What are you doing here?”
“ I’m waiting.”
“Poor baby!” thought John Hol
land, “ you are learning the great les
son early. I shonld like to know the
brute who left you sitting here while
he or she drinks or gossips in the town
below.”
“ Who are you waiting for, child ?”
The chill, tear-stained little face broke
into smiles as she whispered :
“ I’m waiting for Santa Claus.”
The answer smote him with astoai
ishment. Asa boy lie hail heard
much of the genial old man for whom
little Ruth was waiting, but he had never
heard of his paying a v isit or transacting
aiiy business in the day-time. So lie
told her; but she, looking sorrowfully
wise, answered:
“ Yes, I know he goes down the chim
neys at night, but to-morrow is Christ
mas, Aunty says bo, and Santa Claus
must come here to-day to get his trees.”
“ Why, yes; his trees like this, you
know," and after a slow, numb sort of
search for something in the depths of her
pocket, her cold little hand drew out a
leaf of a child’s story-book, torn and
soiled, hut bearing on one side a highly
colored picture of the good Santa Claus.
“ There,” she continued, eagerly, “see
the tree he has on his arm—they don’t
grow in the city; Fee, lie must come up
heie to get them.”
“ I understand ; but why ivait hero in
the cold for him, when to-night ho will
come down your chimney with all sorts
of pretty toys ?”
“ But he won’t come; he docs not
know the house is here; he thinks all the
boys and girls live dawn there in the
city; so when he comes to get his tree I ni
going to ray, “ Please, Santa Claus, I
live here on the hill. Aunty says I’m
pretty good. Can’t 1 havo a doll-baby
and a picture book?”
John Holland’s voico was very tender
when he spoke again t :sk her name,
and then he lifted her to her fee** rrd
said:
“I’ll tell you what wo will do, Ruth.
You go home before Aunty misses you
and thinks you are lost, and I’ll stay
here and watch for Santa Claus.”
She shook her head.
“ You’ll get tired and go away.”
“ No, I won’t; I’ll wait until I see
him.”
“ Truly?”
“Truly.”
Little Ruth raised her face and Hol
land kissed her baby mouth.
“ Where do you live, child ?”
“ Only a little ways back in the woods;
there is the path.” Aml -running across
the dead leaves she struck into a faint
narrow path, and following it disappeared
behind the trees. Holland watched her
out of sight, then tying his handkerchief
to the top branch of that tree which
Ruth had selected as the very one Santa
Claus most wanted, turned his face city
ward and strode down the hill.
Low down in the west he noticed a
long golden rift in the dull gray sky,
and it widened and broadened until
the golden glory hurst its bonds and
flooded all the scenes with wintry sun
light. Even so had the childish faith
of little Ruth forced its way through
clouds of loneliness and grief to fill
his heart with sunlight. More than
one woman smiled that night at John
Holland as lie stood in a crowded
store, examining with supernatural
gravity dolls dressed and undressed.
A light wagon carried him and his
books and toys out from the city and
up the woody hill to Ruth’s poor home.
After peering into the window like an
amiable burglar he summoned Ruth’s
aunt. A few words outside the door, a
gentle little laugh, a tear or two, a great
rustiiDg of paper, and then the door was
closed, and Holland, whistling softly to
himself, made his way to the tree from
which waved a white handkerchief, and,
after much backing, pulling and digging,
succeeded in removing it. I Giving home
under the starry sky great tears filled his
eyes as he thought of “ the wife and baby
boy gone before there was no curse on
his lips, only a tremulous smile, as he
thought of the joyous awakening for
tittle Ruth to-morrow. Next day John
Holland gave a dinner; there were four
at the table—Holland himself, Ruth,
Ruth’s aunt, and Ruth's doll Itosey, who
ate nothing, hut looked lovely and smiled
indefatigably. It would he hard to tell
how many times Ruth laid her doll on Hol
land’s knee, wbereuj>on her waxy eyelids
instantly would close and she fell into a
most profound sleep. ’Twould he harder
still to tell how eagerly she questioned
him as to the exact appearance of Santa
Claus when he came for that tree—the
very tree she sat beside when she was
waiting.
And John Holland telling stories to
the little Ruth, hugging her precious
Rosey, had indeed a Merry Christmas,
for on making the happiness of another
he hsd found his own. —Clara Mom*, in
y. Y-Graphic.
Christmas Chimes.
This great (estival of the church, ob
served in all Christian countries, is un
like Easter, for the shadow of the Cross
does not rest upon it, and no strains of
sorrow mingle with the carols which
commemorate the birth of the child Jesus
of Bethlehem. Merry gatherings and
unbounded fun in our homes, ringing
hallelujahs in garland-entwined churches,
join together ou this one day in a double
devotion of joy. Around Christmas
tide are clustered many superstitious
fancies, but all of them are beautiful.
One of the oldest is that of all powers of
evil are prostrate from Christmas Eve to
Christmas night. Shakspearo says, in
“Hamlet:”
Some say, that ever ’gainst that season oomeu
Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singefh all night long ;
And then, they say, no spirit can walk
abroad;
The nights are wholesome, then no planets
strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to
charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.
Christmas does pot meet with the
same recognition here, nor is there so
much observance of it as in European
countries, but the fact that each year
there is a growing tendency to more
heartily celebrate the time is another
proof that history repeats itself, and
that the efforts of the Puritans to oblit
erate it from tho calendar, has been
futile, for although they denounced the
observance of all such days, excepting
Sunday, as superstitious and unscrip
tural, and yet it had its effect for genera
tions, yet these old days which bring
before the memory tho three great
events in the life of tho “ Man of
Nazareth,” especially the first, are re
suming their influence over the people,
and a few years hence Merrie Christmas
may be celebrated as heartily among
ourselves as it was in “ England of ye
olden time,” when
Ail liaile I with uncontrolled delight
Ami general voice, the happy night,
That to tiie cottage, as the crown,
Brought tidings of salvation down;
’Twaa (’hrismas broached the mightiest ale,
’Twas t'brismas told the merriest tale;
A Ohrismas Gambol oft could cheer
The poor mans heart through half Ihe year.
Many seldom or never recall the fact
that it is the anniversary of the Saviour of
men—the Divine Philanthropist; but
His character has unalteiaby shaped tha
character of observances of His anniver
sary. Being tho Prince of Peace and
good will, the day that commemorates
His entrance into tho world has become
the day, more than all others, of love
and fraternity. It is the day when, if
ever, one yields to the spiriL of human
sympathy, because it is in honor of one
whose sympathies were as wide as hu
manity, It is the day when there is
a universal impulse toward good
tleeds, because He from whom
the tlay is called went about doing
good. Thus whatever one may
think of Christ,jhis recognition of Christ
mas is, in some measure, a recognition of
the nobility and power of a great life.
Greatness and goodness conspicuously
illustrated set in motion thoughts and
influences that go on multiplying for
ever. Reason may deny them or their
origin, but they live nevertheless. They
are manifestations of immortality among
men—the form in which man may surely
live through all the generations.
Germany and England are the two
countries which pay the greatest atten
tion to Christmas, and as it is from the
loins of these two nations that America
sprung, it is not surprising that the cele
bration of this festival should lie grow
ing in favor among her people. It is a
curious fact that in the two countries
mentioned there is a great diversity in its
mode of observance. Santa Claus and
the Krisskringle are entirely unknown
to English children. They get their
presents in a mere matter-of-fact way,
and exi:ct all of their friends to bring
them a “Chiistmas box,” anti until the
last few years the glories of the Christ
mas tree hail not been revealed to them.
But it is in the homes of Germany and
England that the brightest side of Christ
mas enjoyment can be seen. In the
morniDg, all go to church. Even those
who go at no other time will not fail to
visit church on Christmas morn ; hut all
strict religious observance of the day
ceases at the close of the service, and alter
dinner, a very ininortant part of the pro
ceedings, which has to lie provided with
certain dishes —roast beef, plum pudding
and mince pies being indispensable, and
in the wealthier families a huge boar’s
head is provided, and all who sat under
the hospitable mahogany of an English
gentleman on that day, will have a very
got id idea of what a substantial square
meal is like. In their Christmas parties
there is a notable relaxation ot those rules
of etiquette which are on other occasions
ho strictly adhered to, for one day iu the
year old and middle aged people become
children again ; all join ir; Hr Rogers de
Coverly, blind-man’s buff, snap dragon,
and other games of a like character.
The mistletoe hangs in the centre of the
room.
A ml many a maiden's cheek is red,
Tty lips and laughter thither led
And fluttering besoms come and go
Under the drifd mistletoe.
These Christmas merry-makings are
jolly gatherings, and there is one feature
about them very pleasant to look upon.
The care that is taken of the poor and
needy —even criminals are not forgotten,
and are provided with some amusements
and a good dinner. Once In the cycle
of the year a universal brotherhood and
charity prevails among all. “ A Merry
Christmas to you I” is the salutation
that rings out from cheery lips on every
hand, and the happiest are those that
have the most bounty to spare.
Then leave your door upon the latch
For whosoever conies;
The poorer they, more welcome give,
And scatter out your crumbs;
Soon winter fall upon your life,
The day of reckoning comes:
Against your sins, by high decree
Are weighed those scattered crumbs.
A Budget of Hoiuo-Mjulc Clirint
111ns Ciiftj-t.
Who is it that every year invents the
thousand-ami one new and pretty things
which hangs on Christmas-trees, and stall
the toes of Christmas stockings ? Who is
is it who has so wise and watchful an eye
for tho capacities of little people, and the
tastes of bigger ones, providing for each,
planning for tiny purses with almost noth
ing in them, as well as for fat wallets
suilFed with bank-bills and suggesting
something which can bo made, accepted
ami enjoyed by everybody, large and small,
all tlie wide world over ? Who can it be
that possesses this iuexliastible fertility
of invention and kindness of heart? No
ordinary human being, you may he sure.
Not Father Hanta Claus I He has enough
to do with distributing the presents alter
they are made; besides, fancy-work is. not
in a mail’s line,—not even a saint’s I But
what so likely as that lie should have a
mate, and that it is to her we are indebted
lor ail this? What an immense Work
basket Mother tSaiita Claus’s* must be!
What a glancing thimble and swift needle
and thread I Can’t you imagine her
throwing aside her scissors and spool bag
to help tlie dear saint “tackle up” and
load the sledge? And who knows but
she Hits liehind as he drives over tho rools
of tho universe on tlie blessed eve, and
holds tho reitiH while Santa Claus dis-
penses t favored chimneys the innumer
able pretty things which ho and she have
chuckled over together months before the
rest of us knew anything about them ?
This is not a fact. It can be proved in
any way, for none of ns knows anything
about tlie Santa Clauses or their abode.
There is no telegraphing, or writing to
the selectmen ot their own town to in
quire about them; thoy haven’t even a
postoffice address. Hut admitting it to
be a fiction, fo Htirely a pleasant one ; so,
as the children say, “ Let’s play that it
is true,” and proceed to see what Mother
Santa Claus lias in her basket for us this
year. We will first pull out some easy
things for the benefit of little beginners
who are not yet up to all the tricks of the
needle ; then some u little harder for the
more advanced class, and, at the bottom
of all, big girls not afraid to dive will
find plenty of elaborate designs suited to
their taste and powers.
A WAM, I.FTTKH-IIOI.nKIt.
This is something which quite a little
boy could make, Cut out three pieces
of thin wood, a foot long by six inches
wide ;. smooth and sand-paper tw of
them, bore a hole in each corner and in
the middle of one side, and fasten them
together with fine wire, cord, ribbon, or
the small brass pins which are used for
holding manuscript!!. The pieces should
bo held a little apart. Cut one end ol
the third piece into some ornamental
shape, glue it firmly to the back of one
of the others, arid suspend it from the
wall by a hole bored in the top. It will
be found a useful thing to hold letters or
pamphlets. A clever boy could make
this much handsomer by cutting a pat
tern over the front, or an initial, ornmn
ogram, or name in the middle. This
wood should lie oiled or shellacked.
HilOß-CABEH.
These cases are meant to lake the place
of paper when shoes are to lie wrapped
up to go in a trunk. They are made of
brown crash, bound with red worsted
braid. One end is pointed so as to turn
over and button down, or the top has
strings over the braid to lie the mouth
up. There should he three or four made
at a time, as each holds hut one j air of
shoes; and you will find that mamma or
your unmarried aunts will like them very
much.
A NEW KINO OK CHKJHTMAB PIE,
Nothing can be droller than to hang up
one’s stockings, and nothing prettier or
more full of meaning than a Christmas
tree. But for some of you who may like
to make a novelty in these time-honored
ways, we will just mention that it is good
fun to make a “ Christ mas-pie ” in an
enormous tin dish-pan, with a inake
believe crust of yellow cartridge paper,
ornamented with twirls and flourishes of
same, held down with pins, and have it
served on Christmas Kve, full of pretty
things and sugar-plums, jokes and jolly
little rhymes fastened hi the parcels.
The cutting should l>e done beforehand,
anil hidden by the twirlsof paper; but
the carver can pretend to use knife and
fork, and spooning out the packages will
insure a merry time for all at the ts.lde.
i And one more suggestion. I-.ittieaitides,
! wrapped in white paper, can tie put
inside oak's, baked ami iced, and thus
furnish amusing surprise for the “ pie ” or
| the Christmas-tree. — St. NirholfU f<rr
November.
WAIFS AND WHIMS.
Wticii Santa (Sjiiia Conim.
BY AUNT KUME.
A pood Hint*in coining, I wish it wore hero!
l h<* very t*et tlnm in the whole of the yrer,
I in counting each day on my fingers and thumbs,
lho weeks tnat must pasabefoie ttaota Clauscomes.
Goo -by for a while, then, to lessons ami school
Ye can laugh, talk and sing:, without breaking the
i ule ;
No troublesome speller, nor witting nor turns.
There's nothing but play- itrno when Santa Claus'
comet.
I suppose I snail have a now dolly, of course—
My laatono was killed hr a fall from her horse;
Ami for Harry and Jack; there’ll he trim)pats and
drums,
To deafen us all with, when Hanta Clans comes.
1 11 bang up my stocking to hold what he brings ;
j hope h* will till it with lots of nice things;
lie uiunt know how dearly 1 love sugar-plums;
<l like a big hex lull when Hanta Clauj cornea.
Ami now that, tho snow-flakes begin to come down,
Ami the wind whistles sharp and tho branches are
brown,
1 don’t luirnl the oold,though my lingers it numbs,
ror tt brings the time nearer when Santa Clairs
CX) lIIM,
.. Artemus Ward said of the Mormon
itw: “Their religion is singular, but their
wives are plural.”
..Brown says lie’s been to often de
ceived by the chicken at his boarding
house that he now calls it the mocking
bird.
NO. 17.
..The gradual disappearance of the
tall shirt collar makes it jioasible to tell
tlie color of a young man’s hair without
using a step ladder.
...The widow iltfl by (ho vacant. chair,
A eninbing the at rands ol yellow hair,
While her foul t.y a thought Is vexed,
Not. ol tho until who an* there Inst,
Not. of the joTßof tho buried post,
hut of .who would ait there next.
.. In reading a hymn to be sumr, one
Sunday afternoon, a New York minister
recently said, “You may omit the fourth
verse ; I don’t believe its true.”
.. He was bound to be accurate, and
he thus described the woman’s costume:
“ She wore a suit of something or other
cut bias and trimmed endwise.”
.. The decrease of tlie number of buffa
loes on the plain threatens the trade f
the Hudson Bay company, whoso voy
agers feed on buffalo pemmicau.
..“ Silk stockings, with lace medallions
covering the instep, are S3O a pair,” says
a fashion note. And yet people wonder
why so many editors remain single.
. .A Minnesota widower went to church
to marry a second wife, but forgot to
tako from his hat the mourning-band
that lie was wearing for his first wife.
I have,"said Hr. Guthrie, “ four
good reasons for being an abstainer; my
head is clearer, my health is bed tor, my
heart is lighter, and my purse is heavier.”
. .Seven years ago Methodism was first
introduced into the dominions of Brig
ham Young. Now th-re are six Meth
odist churches and fifteen Sunday schools
in Utah.
. .The liquor dealers in Virginia have
*cnt out twenty thousand circulars as a
preliminary step to an organization for
the purpose of doing away with tho Moffett
bell-punch.
.. A washing-machine peddler of three
years’ standing, who makes his head
quarters in Burlington, wears with pride
u watoli-guard made of various sized
shot, which from time to time have been
all picked out of liis hack and legs.
A HOC I WOMIIN.
Anew and stylish color is tend green.
The Breton costume is now worn only
by young girls.
Home of the handsomest imported
dressos are made with the round waist,
which is worn with a belt.
The long blouse reaching down to the
knees, with a yoke and worn with a belt,
is one of the repulsive fashions.
Unions the coming woman is horn with
a longer arm than those now in use, she
can’t wear any more buttons on her kid
gloves than the present fashion permits.
The new material for morning dresses
very much resembles the old “ Dolly
Varden ” cloth, as it is covered with largo
designs, such t.s birds, flowersand insects.
Handkerchiefs can no more be stowed
away in pockets, but must he carried in
the hand or attached to the waist, and
therefore none hut nice ones can he used.
The fashionable style of wearing the
hair is low in the neck. The rows of
puffs worn outside the front of the bon
net, and'resembling false teeth in thestill
regularity, are no longer in vogue.
A lillle girl who had often heard her
mother speak of her father, who was
somewhat bald, as being a sell-made man,
asked her one day why, if he was a 11 self
made” man, he didn't put more hair oil
his head.
Holland has a town where visitors aro
required to leave their shoes at the door
before entering a dwelling. But, even
alter complying, a Ht. 1/mis belle would
find it impossible to get in—at least so
says a Chicago paper.
Hentimcntal tea-sets are in fashion.
A lady publishes her intention of getting
up one, and forthwith her friends—par
ticularly her male friends—consider
themselves laid under contribution for a
cup and saucer apiece, of such size, shop.-
and costliness as each one’s purse and
taste may dictate. When the “senti
mental set” i full, the lady gives the
donors a tea-party.
There is an expression in the face of a
good married man, who has a geod wife,
that a bachelor’s can not have, ft is in
describable. He isa little nearer the angels
than the prettiest young fellow living
y ou can see that his broad breast is a
pillow for somebody’s head, and little
fingers pull his whiskers. No one ever
mistakes the good married man. Ho
can protect all the unprotected females,
make himself agreeable to the ladies, and
yet think all the world of his wile.
Queen Victoria regulates and disci
plines her children as if they were still
}*,ye and girls. Prince Lco[sdd is twenty
f , ur years old, but the slightest move
ment or plans are telegraphed to Windsor
or Balmoral by one ot his suite. On a
recent Sunday, when in Elgin, Scotland
he accepted an invitation to attend the
Episcopal church, but received, a tew
minutes tiefore the hour of service, pos
itive orders to go to the Presbyterian
church, which he did,