.-, .u . , "‘ ,-.‘*-., MM" \.., t-r-v...~ slumwn'Ifl'Wlh . Ail“. AM— A NEW YEAR’S PRAYER. 1 know a little temple. Its walls are dim and low, Yet up and down its a“ ‘rkened aisles Tho blessed angels go. And he who keeps the temple Should pray to God tonight That faith may light the altar flame And. hope may keep it bright; That love may brinr the sacrifice Which love delights to give, And all the angels innocent May tarry there to live. And. may no evil spirit Have in it place or part. What is this temple beautiful? ' The temple of the heart. —Youth’s Companion. A CHINESE ROMANCE. Ding Dong heaved a huge sigh and sobber‘ a convulsive sob as he laid his aching head on his weary arms on the table and racked his brain in great .agony of spirit. The dies irse had come —his day of reckoning. It was the day before the Chinese New Year’s—Feb. 5, according to your calendar—when every good Chinaman must settle up or go up the spent and confess himself dishonor- ed. He owed only a little matter of 100 taels—not pigtails nor cowtails, you understand, but silver taels—equivalent to $1.30 in American money. If he had that many tacls, he would gladly have paid up, for there was nothing small about Ding; but he didn’t, and thereby hangs a tale. If Ding had only possessed the glorious birthright of an American, instead of worrying over such a trifling matter he would have let his creditor do so, get an extension of time, and then settle up at 20 cents on the dollar. As it was, poor Ding only saw ruina- tion before him and dilapidation of his air castles. Grim despair, like an im- mense bat, spread her sable wings and overcast his sensitive soul with shadows and dfirk forebodings. ‘ DingDong was poor and an orphan— not quite as poor as a church mouse, perhaps, for he still had something bet- ter to out than hymn books and velvet cushions, but still so poor that the patches on his gown made it look like a crazy quilt, while its back had received such a deposit of oil from his braided hair as would gladden the heart of a Pennsylvania capitalist to strike. His father was the famous Ding Dong, who had been a mandarin in the service of the emperor. Dung was a true father to the people over whom he was sent to rule, and, knowing that too much money would not be good for them, “squeezed” them on all occasions, thereby growing enormously rich. But, as he was not prudent enough to share his ill gotten gaiz‘s with his superiors, he was denounced Ly the censors for malfeasance in office and had his head taken off and his property,_ccnfiscated. His mother having died during his father’s financial crisis, the younger Ding found himself at the age of 18 a lone orphan and penniless. Now that he had to shift for himself, our hero opened a school and was so far successful that he had plenty to eat and good clothes on his back until ambition and a laudable desire to better his condition prompted him to borrow money to defray the ex- pense of a journey to Canton, where he proposed to test his luck and skilllin the public examination. From this literary contest he came out with flying colors. He was no slouch as a scholar, though he might be “panting when weighed in the scales of Mammon. In scholastic at- tainments he had few equals and hardly any superiors. He had vanquished many antagonists in the examination halls of his native town, where he proved again and again that he could quote Confucius and other sages at a longer stretch than any one, compose poems with greater elegance and ease and write Chinese hieroglyphics with finer touch and flu- ish. He led his class in the examination at Canton, thereby climbing the first rung on the ladder of fame and win- ning the scu-tsai’s brass button. There remained only two more trials, which, successfully passed through, would laud him at the top of the heap, from which he could fatten at the public crib at his leisure. But his triumph was shortened and his dreams of future greatness were dis- turbed by thoughts of the debt he still owed, whose interest he had been able to pay by dint of economy, but whose principal he saw no chance of settling before the new year rolled in. His creditor was no other than his future father-in-law, to whose daughter he had been engaged while the elder Ding was making money hand over fist, and the Ding family seemed to be in the flood tide of worldly prosperity. But when the family was reduced in num- bers as well as in means by order of his sacred majesty, the son of heaven, the father of the girl said to his wife, “I told you so,” and regretted his haste in n-nking the match. The old gentleman, ~who went by the name of Jo Dun. was rial: and more worldly minded than common. He, too, grew wealthy by - “squeezing” the peeplc—not, however, as their father, like Ding Dung, but as their ”I“ ":,” whose go. Zeb rtf-o was, “Do ., are or they will do you.” .30 was in the habit of loaning little sums to people in straiteucd circumstances at 10 per cent per month interest, and by adding this to the principal in case of its nonpayment at the end of the month. By this method of compounding inter- est he got many persons to give up houses and lands, and even daughters, to him in payment of debts. Those who could not settle up,thus had to settle down in the debtors’ prison, where they languished in chains and misery until death came to their relief. Ju Dun was withal a miser and boarded the money he did not 1" ‘ as if he were to excel hiethu ' longevity. His clothes were \ long as they could stand mendii grudged his wife and only chi very necessaries of life. In order t the expense of a luxurious table a the same time preserve the appear: WEJanusr - NOB WAL'K -’ GA-ZTETE. he and his family were in the habit of eating the coarsest and. cheapest rice and dining on what seemed to be a large fish, but which was made of wood gar- nished with stripsof salt pork and sea- soned with sauce, ginger and onion shoots. Instead of meat he had a lot of pebbles fried in the most’approved style of the diner gave a relish to the rice and could be fried over and over again with hardly any appreciable loss of sub- stance. Being such a grasping usui‘er and close fisted 'skinflint, or rather skin pebble, one would not naturally expect Ju Dun to view his prospective son-in- law with favor, but there was the mar- riage contract, which he himself had draWn up with the elder Ding. How was he going to get around it without Ding Doug’s consent? He saw no way of go- ing back on his bond at that time or forcing Ding Dong to withdraw from the alliance; but, like the wily rascal, that he was, he determined to bide his time and watched for an opportunity to gracefully give Dong the go by. The opportunity came when Dong went to him to ask for a. loan for the purpose of paying his debts, when the following conversation took place, which we will translate for the reader’s benefit: “Honored sir"—thus Ding Dong be- gan—“I have come humbly to solicit the loan of 100 taels, which your well filled coffers will hardly miss, that I may go to Canton and take part in the coming examination. I felt some deli- cacy in asking this of you on account of - our future relationship, but my urgent necessity has banished all hesitation." “Young man. ” replied Ju Dun, “what do you take me for—a gold mine? People don’t know how poor I am when they tell ridiculous stories about my Wealth. Wealth, indeed! I wish I had only one-tenth of what they say I am worth. I lose money every day. Why, only yesterday a man hanged himself to escape the payment of moneys rightfully due to me.” “I am sorry, worthy sir,” returned Dong, “but I am not .at all likely to follow that man’s example. I have my school, you know, and I propose to pay the tuition fees to you until I shall have wiped out the debt. And, although you may not have the required 100 taels on hand, you can easily raise it. I trust that, you will permit your benevolent disposition to do its work in my case.” Dong knew he was administering a rather strong dose of taffy. The miser seemed to relent a little, saying: “But I never lend without good se- curity. What security can you offer?” “N one, my good sir, except an order to my pupils to pay you their tuition fees—excepting the little that I shall require to live and—and the word of an honest man. ” “The last I do not want, ” said Ju Dun. “It is not negotiable in the money market. But the other security will do so far as the interest is concerned. But how about the principal?” “I expect, sir, to earn enough to pay it off by the end of this year.” A look of cunning stole into Ju Duu’s eyes as he asked: “If not, what then?” “I do not apprehend such a. contin- gency, ” answered Dong. “Well, I do,” said Ju Dun. “I have a mind not to lend you the money. Still, I will risk a little for the friendship I bore your father. But you understand, most talented sir, that in case you can- not pay me the principal before New Year’s day our" intimate relations must cease, for I will not and cannot marry my only child to a bankrupt and a. dis- honored man.” The blood rushed over Doug’s cheeks and mounted his temples at the bare possibility of dishonor coming to him. He was an honorable young man, was Dong, chock full of fine feeling. It was his misfortune to have had such afa‘ ther. If he had had his say about it in- stead of the God who presided over the wheel of transmigration, he would have preferred a more prudent man to be his father. He was no “chip off the old block”—not by a great deal. , He felt humiliated, but nevertheless answered spiritedly, “Excellent sir, if I fail to pay you, I'will gladly release you from performing your part of the marriage contract. ” ' “You need not get so hufly over it, " rejoined the old man. ‘ ‘Business is busi- ness, and it is no harm to let you un- derstand the conditions. Sit down here and write a promissory note with an ex- press coudition to the efiect that in case you fail to pay up interest and principal in full for value received before the next New Year’s day you will renounce all claims to my daughter’s hand, and I will try to raise the money for you. " Dong drew his chair up to the table and wrote the note, while the old miser went into the garden to raise the 100 taels. Making sure that no one was looking, he moved a large vase from its position, then unlocked a. trapdoor which covered a sort of stairway that chest, in Which all his valuables were deposited. It took but a few minutes to descend, open the box, secure the money and put everything back as it was be- fore. The note and the money soon changed hands, and Doug went away rejoicing, his bargain, for he had no idea Dong could pay it. Dong went to Canton and was suc- cessful, as has been related. But he found it no easy matter to earn money even after his splendid achievement in the literary arena. He tried hard to get more pupils, but they didn’t materialize to any great extent. He tried his band at fan writing, but fans which were in- scribed over with moral and poetical sentiments were a drug in the market. They brought him nothing but the wind of applause. But money was what he wanted. _ He could not easily get along without some. Dong worried and worried over that mail sum of 100 tacls and lost flesh by‘ ‘iinking so much and dreaming so ten of. the gleaming, treacherous taels. of the culinary art, which in the mouth. Opposite side. led to a vault. This vault held an iron ' leaving Ju Dun equally pleased with’ At length he' was reduced to that condition-of despair in which our story first finds him. He sat int at chair immovable and alone. He ha sent his pupils home that morning for \their Thoughts unwelcbm'efgmd bitter admit- gall passed in processm‘flefbre his mental vision, and, like Banquo’s reit- erated ghost, would not down. “No,” he cried wildly, as if he had debated the matter in his mind and had reached a final conclusion, “there is nothing left me but death!” Absorbed as Dong was in melancholy reflections and imagining himself al« ready a cold corpse dangling under the branches of some tree, he did not per- ceive the approach of a little boy until ‘ the latter stood beside him and startled him by saying in a timid voice: “Teacher, father sent me to ask you to come to our house.” Dong raised his head and saw one of his pupils before him. “What is it you want?” ‘ ‘My father sends his respects and asks you to favor him with a call. My oldest brother came back this morning from America. He brought home lots of funny things. If you come, he will show them to you.” Glad of this little relief, Dong accom- panied the boy to the latter’s’ house and there received a most hearty welcome. The big brother displayed his treasures and enjoyed Doug’s curiosity and won- der as he explained the uses and the modus operandi of every article to him. There were a sewing machine, a pair of opera glasses, a coutrivance for making hash out of every kind of meat under the sun, :1. stereoscope, a microscope and a hundred other things besides, that stamp the Yankee as the most ingenious person in all the world. But nothing as- tonished Dong so much as the little electric machine which sent a thrill through his spare frame and sunk his suicidal purpose in the lowest depths of Lethe. But-the phonograph'scared him with its peculiar and sepulchral tones. As he stood before the talking machine with dilated eyes and mouth opened wide sweet strains of American music greeted his ears. Then “Home, Sweet Home,” “Annie Rooney,” “Rock-a-by—Baby,” “Thou Art So Near and Yet So Fpr” and “What Is Home Without a Mother-in- law?” rolled out in rapid succession. Dong of course could not appreciate them any more than a eat, but the weirdness of the sounds fascinated him. When the concert was ended, fin had many questions to ask. The '1-.urned traveler kindly showed him everything pertaining to the wonderful machine, told him to talk to it himself and excito ed his wonder still more by making the phonograph repeat Doug’s own words. Suddenly a thought struck him so hard that he jumped uptlike one pos- sessed, nearly upsetting the machine and the big brother's gravity, yelling at the same time: “Whoop-la, whoop-la! Iha've got it! I have got it! I’ll beat that old miseryet. ” “Get what?” shouted everybody in the room in a chorus. “What are you talking about?” “Got him, you know—the old skin- flint. I’ll have him, by the shade of the great Confucius, or die in the attempt!” “Explain yourself, ” said the returned traveler. This Dong did, after taking him aside, by recounting all his troubles from beginning to end, closing with an appeal for aid to defeat the wicked plan of J u Dun. It was arranged and agreed upon that the traveler should make the machine talk like Quan King, the god who avenges wrongs, when J 11 Dan should make his demand for payment of the debt. At the same time a dose of electricity—Edison’s best—was ' to be administered to him as an alterative and mild emetic. Word was sent to Ju Dun to meet Dong at the latter’s residence (which was likewise the school) after dark, without fail. The two conspirators got ready their machines in Doug’s sitting room. The phonograph was set in a. corner where it could be manipulated by the returned traveler behind a curtain with the box of condensed lightning beside him. The wires belonging to the last piece of mechanism were so laid on the arms of the guest’s chair that any one sitting in it was sure to form a connection be- tween them. i- * I: ‘- * * It was dark. The patrolman outside hadj.'.:«. snack the first hour of the night Eldon when a knock was heard at the door. Dong ”answered the sum- mons, and soon ushered the old usurer into his room. It was dimly lighted up with the stump end of a candle. was on every side every evidence of poverty. A bed made of hard boards, surmounted by a mosquito bar, nearly filled one side of the apartment. A cheap table held all his books on the Two stud backed chairs stood beside the table, one of which Dong politely offered to-his guest, while he took the other. . It was evident that Ju Dun was se-' cretly exultant. Dong, of course, had sent for him to beg his mercy. There was no chance of his paying. There was a look in Ju’s little black eyes which boded no good to anybody. However, a smile played around his mouth as he opened the discourse and came right down to business: “My dear young friend, I suppose you are now ready'to cancel the note. No? Then you know the alternative. You are a bankrupt, and I renounce”— Suddenly a voice—a clear but un- earthly voice—interrupted him with: ' “You hoary headed old sinner, you low born caricature of a man, you old sucker of pebbles, do you know who I am? I am Quan King, the avenger of wrongs, the punisher and destroyer of just such pests as you. I have orders to kill you and take you to hell with me!” At this point Ju Dun’s face was a‘ study, for the electric current was turned on f." m conspirator behind the mo: ‘ we: in. He grew as white as the ..=- of flour. The sculptor of the cou‘rl. not have desired a mo .‘(l ;' id agonized expression long ... vacationr ' There ~. of countenance than the one J u Dun ex- r-hibited for a model. ' “Unless,” continued the myst rious voice, “you tear up the note whi h this young man gave you, give him your ‘daughtei; jar-marriage inside 'o'f'a month ,with a suitable dowry and mend your grasping, blood sucking ways.” These words were enforced with a few more volts of electricity. “I promise! I promise! Let me go, and I will tear up the note and do everything you command. ” . - The current was broken off at this juncture. His hands now being free, Ju Dun thrust one of them into his pocket, brought out the piece of paper in ques- tion and tore it into hundreds of frag- ments with the other. Then turning to Doug, who had been watching the exe» cution of his scheme in a state of mind vacillating between hope and fear, he badehim come to his house on the mor- row to arrange for the wedding. ' Ju Dun obeyed the god’s commands to the very letter and to this day does not know how he had been tricked.— St. Louis Post-Dispatch. N EW‘ YEAst CALLING. A Good Old Custom That Has Gone \Vith Bygone Years. The old custnn of New Year’s call— ing, which for many years has been full- ing into disfavor, seems this year deader than ever. Except in certain quarters and among certain classes whose social canons are neither new nor exacting, there will be. no calling. The doors of society will be more tightly shut than ever tomorrow, and even the daintily ribboned basket at the doorbell will be missing, for the whole custom of ex— changing greetings on the advent of the New Year is dead beyond the hope of resuscitation. And it is an end which no sensible person regrets. What abuses it led to, what disgraceful scenes it rendered pos- sible, what social outrages it sanctioned or tolerated, and how silly and disgust- ing it all became before society resolved to crush it out! The life of this deceased social function may be said to be coex- istent with the life of the republic. As it existed in the earlier days it was, no doubt, both a pleasurable and profitable custom. It had its origin in France, but the custom became fully ingrafted upon the American social fabric during the last years of the preceding century. New York and the cities of the south were where it was clung to most tena- ciously. The Puritans of New England paid little or no attention to the New Year’s amenities. Thanksgiving day was their day, and they had as little use for New Year’s day as for Christmas. And the same may be said of the Quakers in Philadel phi-.1, with whom the custom of New Year’s calling never did obtain gen- eral or cordial recognition. But among the descendants of the Dutch in New York and New Jersey and the cavaliers of Virginia the social functions of the new year were never lost - sight of, and from them the custom spread to all por- tions of the country. ——Exchangc. BOUNDING THE PARISH. A Curious Old Time New Year’s Custom of Great Britain. Down to the present century acustom prevailed in many parts of Great Brit- ain of “bounding the parishes,” or “beating the bounds,” on New Year‘s day. The custom was designed to keep in memory the parochial limits, and as maps had not come into use and surveys of Great Britain had not been made this primitive method of preserving parish boundaries was high in pepular favor. A procession was formed, headed by the leading dignitaries of the parish, in- cluding the vestrymen and sometimes the parson. Liberal potations were in- dulged in, and a procession was formed composed of all who wanted to go and including a number of boys who did not want to go, but were taken per force. The procession then marched completely around the parish, and at certain spe- cific points a halt was made, and a boy Was whipped to make him remember the place. Other curious scenes often occurred during the “bound beating. ” In one parish, near London, the line ran through a man’s kitchen, and the whole procession every year came in at the door and went out by the window. 011 one occasion in London a hackney coach stood directly in the line of . the proces- sion, and the entire body of men and boys went in at one door and out at the other, volunteers helding the horse while this novel performance went on and mocking at the wrath of the un- lucky driver, who beheld his coaoh al- most ruined by the tread of hundreds of muddy feet. —Exchange. Riding Stung. A strange custom in the north of England on New Year’s day slightly resembles the game for Easter week known as “heaVing. ” It was called “riding stung.” A stung is the same thing as a cowl stafl'. ' A cowl staff is a big stafi for carrying a cowl, and a cowl is a water vessel with a handle, through which the staff is passed so that it may be carried by two men. Now, on New Year's day as many people as liked, men and women, came together in a crowd with stangs and baskets. Every- body who was not with the crowd was against itéthat is to say, Was its legiti- mate victim. When the victim was caught, if a man, he was mounted astride the stung, which was raised'on the shoulders of two or more men, and, if a. woman, she was put in a basket, which was held by the stang thrust through its handles. In either case the victim was carried t9 the nearest public house, where the price of release was sixpence.—-New York Tribune. A Picture of January. In the old missals the month of Jan- uary was pictorially represented by a white haired man clad in furs, bent with the cold and blowing on his fin- gers to warm them. He is standing al- most knee deep in the snow, and a billet of wood, and sometimes an ax, is by his side. —Exchange. THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR. Why Caesar's System “'as Corrected by, Pope Gregory XIII. The present time measurement that . is now used by nearly all nations is the remodeled system .adopted by Julius Caesar in the year 46 B. C. 'There were 354, 360 and 365 daysin the Greek year at different times. Under Numa the Roman year had 355 days, and there was so much variance between the civil and the astronomical year that the au- tumn feasts were celebrated in the spring, and those of harvest in midwin- ter. Every second year an extra month, called Mercedonius, was added. This month had no certain length, but was arraanged by the pontilfs as they saw fit, which naturally gave rise to corrup- tion and fraud, interfering with the du- ration of office 'and the collection of debts. In order to restore the seasons to their pr0per months it was necessary for Caesar to make the year in which he inaugurated the change contain 445 days. On the hypothesis that the as- tronomical year consisted of 365% days, he had each fourth year contain 366 days and the others 365. The extra day was added to the 24th of February, which was called Sexto-calendas, being the sixth before the calendo, or lst of March, celebrated in honor of the ex- pulsion of the kings. The additional day was placed next to this feast and known as Bis-sexto-calendas. ' But this year of Caesar was too long by 11 minutes and 13.95 seconds, or about three days in 400 years, so that by A. D. 1582 the error amounted to ten days at least. To correct this mis-~ calculation, Pope Gregory XIII Ordered that Oct. 5, 1582, should be known as Oct. 15, 1582, and to prevent a recur rence of the error it was arranged that three intercalary days should be omitted in four centuries—that is, one in each centenary year except the fourth. Thus 1600 was a leap year; 1700 and 1800 were not. The passing year 1896 was a leap year, and, under ordinary circum- stances 1900 would be, but it' will not be, in order to come under the rule of the Gregorian calendar. Therefore the years which have 366 days are, first, those that are exactly divisible by 4 and not of 100 ; second, those that are exactly divisible by 400 and not by 4,000; hence the year 2000 A. D. will be a leap year, and the only one in the series of the four centenary years. All the Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar as soon as the papal bull was issued, but it was not‘ intro- duced into England and her colonies till 1752, the error then being 11 days. The dates previous to that change are referred to as old style, and sometimes given both ways — as Washington’s birthday, Feb. 1 1-2 2. —Chicago Tribune. N EW YEAR’S DAY. Customs and Superstitions of Various Countries—Notable Events. In Athens a new statue; either to a god or a hero, was erected and conse- crated on the-first day of every year. On Jan. 1, 1515, Louis XII of France died. On the same day died Helvetius, in 1772; Selvio Pellico, 1854. In Silesia a peculiar kind of wine made from grapes and seasoned with honey and spices is used on New Year’s day. In the south of France it is customary for families of meansto give their serv- ants new suita on New Year’s day. The celebrated march of General Monk to London for the purpose of seating Charles II on the throne of England be- gan Jan. 1, 1660. In Norway there is a superstition that the kind of fish caught on New Year’s day indicates the character of the fishing during the year. The custom of watching out the old your and waiting fer the new to begin prevails, in. many countries,‘if not in most of the civilized world. Suetonius and Tacitus allude to the custom common in their time among the Romans of sending and receiving presents on New Year’s day. A special feature of New Year’s day in ancient Babylon was the procession in honor of Baal. The king himself marched in this procession. The first day of January was made the beginning of the new year in Hol- land, the Protestant districts of Ger- many and Russia, in the year 1700. In Coventry, England, God cakes are made for New Year’s day. They are triangular in shape, made of paste, in- closing a portion of mince meat. —Ex- change. An Old Orkney Custom. In Deerness, in Orkney, it used to be the custom for a large company of the poorer people to go about from one farmhouse to another and at each one to sing a long song appropriate to the sea- son. At each house a good supper was provided for them, and it is said that any farmer would feel deeply hurt if he were not visited. The guisers also used to go about in certain places in Scotland on New Year’s eve to play a crude sort of drama at each house and to receive some slight reward for their efforts. The guisers were about the same as the Christmas mummers, and their play was about the same as that more com- monly given at “Christmas, which usu- ally concerned St. George and various enemies whom he successively overcame, the most entertaining naturally being the dragon. —Exchange. New Year's Resolutions. Everybody knows how easy it is to make good resolutions on the 1st of 0 January and how easy it is to break them on the 2d, provided they last till then.‘ Making resolutions which are only to be broken is a bad Lust-om. It is better that none should be made. But people of olden time used at the mid— night between the lwo years to unbar the doors of their houses to let the old year out and the new year in. And so, with- out the undertaking of vows too easily broken, a. bar might here or there be taken down for the passing away of some old evil habit or purpose or thought. -—Selected. . FLY,“ENVIoUs TIME. .. THUS SANG MILTON OF THE DE- PARTING YEAR. Man and His Marvels Pass Away, but Tireless Time Rolls On—Tlie Death or the Year Brings a Feeling of Sadness. A. New Face at the Door. Even now the gray dawn of the new year is peeping over the horizon. We can almost hear the bells telling the midnight mass for the dying year: Yes, the year is growing old, And his eye is pale and bleared. Death, with frosty hand and cold, Plucks the old man by the beard. Sorcly, sorely! Let us affect a gay spirit, if we will. There is an indescribable, unnamable sadness that comes over us all at this dying of the old year. There is a feeling of unspeakable dread, a sense of utter loneliness, that takes possession of our souls as the taper of the old year burns low. If a man ever feels the chill of the supernatural, it is at this time. One- hears strange sounds and sees uncanny visions: Through woods and mountain passes The winds, like anthems, roll. They are chanting solemn masses, Singing, “Pray for this poor soul. Pray, pray!” , So Longfellow dwelt mournfully on the passing of the old year, and in like manner did Tennyson bemoan its de— mise: ' Full knee deep lies the winter snow, And the winter winds are woarily sighing. Toll ye the church bell sad and slow And tread softly and speak low, For the old your lies a-dying. Old year, you must not die. You came to us so readily, You lived with us so steadily— Old year, you shall not die. ' Step gcntly._ Death is almost here: His face is growing sharp and thin. Alack, our friend is gone! Close up his eyes. tie up his chin, Step from the corpse and let him in That standeth there alone And waiteth at the door. There's a new foot on the floor, my friend, And a new face at the door, my friend— ' A new face at the door! And thus the old your dies and the new year reigns: Again the silent wheels of time Their annual round have driven. The New Year’s day is breaking: The wave is breaking on the shore, The echo fading from the chime. Again the shadow moveth o'er The dial plate of time. And time speeds on—that ever chang- ing, tireless, crunching time; that time of which Milton sang in a. voice that is now hushed by time: Fly, envious time, till thou run out thy racel Call on the lazy leaden stepping hours Whose speed is but the heavy plummet’s pace And glut thyself with what thy womb devours, . Which is no more than what is false and vain And merely mortal dross. - So little is our less, So little is thy gain; For, when as each thing bad thou hast entomb- e , And last of all thy greedy self consumed, Then long eternity shall greet out bliss With an individual kiss. And joy shall overtake us as a flood, When everything that is sincerely good And perfectly divine, - With truth and peace and love, shall ever shine About the supreme! throne 0f him to whose happy making sight alone When once out heavenly guided soul shall climb. Then all this earthly grossness quit, Attired with stars we shall forever sit, , Triumphing over death and chance and thee, 0 Time! And so time goes on and has gone on for ages upon ages. Time chants: Before my breath, like blazing flax, Man and his marvels pass away! And changing empires wane and wax Are founded, flourish and decay. Time has ‘ " ’* seen some strange mutations; The Roman empire has begun and ended- New worlds have risen—we have lost old na- tions, And countless kings have into dust been humbled. But no matter how we bid the parting year farewell, or how we shall hail the new—no matter how- we measure it— timo keeps slowly but surely ticking away. Time, like a brilliant steed with seven rays And with a thousand eyes, imperishable. Full of fecundity. bears all things onward. 0n him ascend the learned and the wise. Time, like a seven wheeled, seven naved car, moves on. His rolling wheels are all the worlds, his axle Is immortality. Each new year brings us nearer the earthly end, nearer the ‘call of the faith- ful Bellman, who sings: Along the dark and silent night, With my lantern and my light And the twinkling of my bell, Thus I walk, and this I tell: Death and dreadfulness call on To the general session. To whose dismal bar we there All accounts must come to clear. Scores of sins we’ve made here, many, Wiped out few, God knows, if any. Rise, ye debtors, then, and fall To make payments, while I call. Ponder this. when I am gone— By the clock ’tis almost one. —Chicago Record. No Church Service: In Scotland. Ever since the reformation New Year’s has absorbed the place of Christmas; . but, strange to say, although the re- formers in their zeal denounced Christ- mas as popish, they did not in any way encourage or countenance any religious services on New Year’s day. The Eng- lish pans-ant goes to church and returns to eat his Christmas d Inner. His brother, the Scottish plovam. ”at; no thought of religious service enter into his enjoy- ment of the day. Moststrange it is that a most pagan, observance of a pagan feast has taken deepest root in Scotland, the 'home of the covenanters and cradle of theolOgy, where the kirk still holds sway over the masses, and that the Scots, pro-eminently religious above all the . nations. will have no church serv- ices enter inio the enjoyment of their national feasts. —Phi1adelphia Ledger. Scotch “First Footing." In Scotland “first footing" was for- merly universal. It was the Scottish name for New Year’s calling. At a lit- tle before 12 o’clock young fellows would start out from home to“firsr foot” their sweethearts, and to be the first caller on New Year’s day was deemed a good sign of success in court- ship. —Selected.
Norwalk Chronicler