I ill MI J New Year's Resolutions In the Town of Cactus, Colo. Summary of Sins Shows Su periority to Spotted Pu*\ *? WE like to fol'er customs out hero in Cactus Town, So we sorter been a-takin' stock when New Year time comes roun'. 11*3 customary at that time your habits bad to doff. So we held a public meetin' that we termed the Great Swear Off. We tackled fust the drinkin', but we couldn't seem to find That there'd been so much carousin' that the public orter mind; There hadn't been no killin's?less it was some five or six Who had learned that booze and pow der wasn't ever made to mix. iv.-wTtns >. - i I - "WE TACKLED FUST THE DIUNKIN'." So we 'lowed we'd leave, the drinkin' without cry swear erf clause, And we started in at roundin' up some other sinful cause; We couldn't swear off cussin', fer Bear Hawkins riz to say If that there safety valvo is shot you'll bust some worser way. V/e took up forms o' gamblin' that sojto people think is crime, But we 'lowed the gam03 was honest, a-follerin' that time When we found some extry aces in the sleeve o' Poker Bill And we give him perm'nent quarters on the slope of old Boot Hill. 60, after careful tninkin' and a pain ful summin' up, Wo concluded wo wc3 better than the town of Spotted Pup, And as long as we was leadin' in the higher life, by jing! There was ree'y no good reason for our swearin' off a thing. ?Denver Republican. NEW YEAR'S CALLS. Levclers of Social Barriers a Genera tion Aqo. "It is often supposed that the prac tice of making calls on New Year's day is a relic of the barbarous past and that it is dying slowly out." reads the Chicago Tribune of Jan. 2. 1873. "This appears to be unfounded. Nev er did the streets appear livelier on New Year's day than they did yester day. Not a vehicle could be obtained from a livery stable for love or mon ey. Every young man who had saved enough money to secure a carriage or sleigh on that day took oue, aud calls wete made with ceaseless regularity throughout the entire day." Here the writer indulges in a little moralizing which contrasted tile clerk and the millionaire. Of the, clerk he says: "'Ue v.",is engaged in the same occu pation with his boss and was received In the boss' own circle of acquaint ances with Just as much cordiality and warmth as the wealthy gentleman whose behests throughout the year he had tremulously ol*yed. rie strayed from house to house, venturing into regions he scarcely would have dared under other circumstances to approach, for custom gives the lowly permis sion to enter on New Year's day where under other circumstances his appear ance would he an intrusion. New Year's is the great leveler of shoddy ism, for to stray into the elegantly carpeted domain of the rich parvenu after leaving the quiet cottage where the true nobility of culture and breed ing is the only claim does sometimes place the Ignorant nabob a little lower in one's estimation than one formerly thought possible." Dancing Round the Apple Tree. The Saxons In "ye olden tyme" used to daute around an apple tree on New Year's eve, singing a song, to insure a good crop, and bells were rung to announce the death of the old year and usher in the birth of the new. lu other parts of England at midnight the house door facing the west was opened to let out the old year, while the door facing the east was opened to welcome the blithe new year. 0 A NEW YEAR INJUSTICE, The Barketper Complain* of th* Good Resolution Habit. "John, I'll have to lay you off for the 1 > Jrst two weeks of the new year. You, llarry. will have to lay off a week." The sjieaker. a lean man, stood In a splendid and spacious l>eer saloon, a place of polished mahogany, ouyx col umns. great mirrors and large paint ings of beautiful women. Ropes and wreaths of evergreen twined about the ; pillars and the electroliers, and on the masshe bar stood a bowl of free i punch, for It was New Year's duy. "Yes. boys," said the lean man, ; "you'll have to go." "What for, boss?" asked the young er of the two bartenders. Mechanic-j ally with his woolen bar cloth he pol- j ished the bar till it shone again, and i anxiously he gazed in his employer's | face. "Why. John, you ought to know what for." The saloon keeper spoke impatiently. A fat man entered from the street, ap proached the bar with reluctant steps, tbeu all of a sudden turned hurriedly uud departed. "Well, I'll be danged!" said Bartender John. "That's the fourth fellow has done that tills mornlu'. What's it mean anyway?" "Yon ought to know what It means, John," repeated the saloon keeper. "It's meaning is the cause of your sus pension." "Yes, John," the man resumed; "your suspension is caused by tho New Year's swear off of that fellow and thousands like him. All over the broad land, John, countless numbers of men swear off drinking for a year on New Y'ear's day. Half of them stick to their swear off for a week, and the other half, with just a few exceptions, stick to it for two weeks. Those two weeks of January, John, are al ways the two poorest weeks on the publican's calendar, lie can't pay ex penses; hence he retrenches; hence ho lays off prudent. Industrious young chaps like you?chaps with a bit put by, so that they can stand a little idle ness without privation." '"All right. Hut," said John sulkily? "but I ain't got nothing put by, and X think it's a shame that my poor wife and Innocent babe have got to suffer at this joyous holiday season through the swear off of a lot of foolish, thoughtless men. It don't seem right nor Just."?Philadelphia Bulletin. THE CHILDREN'S HOLIDAY. In China New Year's Is the Little 1 Ones' Groat Festival. Except at the Chinese New Year, which comes in February, it Is very hard to catch a glimpse of children in China. Little beggars will run beside you for miles to earn 1 cash, a copper coin with a square hole in the middle of It, worth the twentieth of a cent, but children who have parents to care for them seem to be kept in doors all the time or only allowed to play in walled yards and gardens. We used to say to each other: "Why, where are the children? Haven't they got any?" But nt New Year's we found out that they had. This is the great holiday of ail the year in China, when everybody hangs out flags and colored lanterns and sets off firecrackers. (We borrowed our custom of firecrackers for the Fourth of July from China's : New Year's.) All the people put on their best clothes and the children the best of all, Jackets and trousers of bright blue or green or yellow or pur ple, the boys and the girls so much alike that you can only tell them apart j by their hair. The boy's of course is I braided in a pigtail, and the girl's is j done up on hor head with silver pins or, if she's a very grand little girl, with gold or jade. Thus decked out, the children g > walking with their proud papas and mammas and often go to the theater, which is a rare treat for them. rcrhaps Chinese children have romp ing plays together, but they always look as if they were born grown up.? St. Nicholas. Where New Year's Lasts a Month. The celebration of Sew Year's is carried on more extensively in Japan than in any other country. The reason for this can only he accounted for by the fact that the custom has been handed down to succeeding genera tions for centuries. The time the oc casion involves is cpiite lengthy, last ing from the 13th of December (Koto Hnjlme?viz, beginning of things) to j the 16th of January (Ilokonin no yabu iri), which is apprentices' holiday. On lK>th of tile occasions a sort of stew j is eaten, composed of red beans, rice, sliced fish and Uonnyaka root. Every Little Bit Helps. "You say you encouraged our friend to make another New Y'ear's resolu tion?" "I did," answered the man whose i heart is all right. "But don't you know he'll break it at the end of six weeks at the least calculation?" "1 hope not. And even if he does he'll be six weeks ahead of the game." A Persuader. "Did you make any New Year's reso lution?" asked Miss Miami Brown. "No." answered Mr. Erastus Pink ley, "but I done persuaded Mlstah Colll i flower to make one. After 1 got thoo with blm_at de las' parlor social he was willin' to promise dat he'd stop tryin' to pick 'sturbances fohever an' ever." Revised Version. I remember, I remember. The house where I was born And nlso the Janitor, bellboy, butcher boy, baker boy, bootblack, elevator man, ?grocer's boy And newsboy Christmas morn. ?New York Sun. A DUTCH NEW YEAR. Old Time Hospitality In the Mo hawk Valley. CAKES BY B'JSHEL BASKET. Honest Graft For the Matutinal Milk man?Rum Toddy the Official Drink. Festive Day For the Faithful Farm Hand?Open House Everywhere. There was no day of the year so gen erally. particularly and joyously cele brated iu the Mohawk valley by the early Dutch settlers and by their de scendants as New Year's, and when .Ian and Barent met BJbertJe and En gletje early on a bright, frosty New Year's morning the religious and some whut formal greeting was when put Into English: "I wish you a happy New Y'ear. Long may you live. Much may you give and happy may you die and In herit the kingdom of heaven by and by." The preparations for the New Year's hospitalities were begun by the moth ers and their daughters frequently as soon as the first frost and snow made their appearance, for there was much to be done to be ready on the Joyous day. New Y'ear's cakes, rich and de licious (some of the descendants of the early Dutch housekeepers make them now, using the same recipe and the same ancient dies and stamps that their great-grandmothers used) and about the size and shape of a man's hand and less than hnlf as thick, wero made bv the bushel hnslretfiil? litem). Iy. It was not unusual for the hos pitable Dutch housewife to give from live to six hundred cakes to the chil dren who called before the noon hour. The early rising by the boys and girls, which a proper observance of the day demanded, is equaled in our day by the early rising on the Fourth of July. There was one old mansion in tho Mohawk valley that was particularly notable for its hospitality (not only on New Year's day, but upon all occa sions) and good times. It stood and is still standing on the estate of Alexan der IJudsey Glen and was named by him in 1(559 Scotia in memory of the hind of his birth. The children started on their rounds at sunrise and went from house to house lustily pounding with the great iron or brass knockers. The littlest ones shouted, "Happy New Year for a cake!" but the older ones refrained from so far giving them selves away by leaving off the last three words. It was not at all an un usual occurrence for three or four hundred cakes to be given to the boys and g.rls before breakfast from the Glen mansion. Coming down to more recent days in the Mohawk valley, the custom of giving cakes was extended to tho milk men. Each milkman always purchas ed a new bushel basket to carry about 011 New Year's morning In his wagon ... "HAPPT NEW 'YEAR FOR A CAKE." for holding t'.ie supply of cakes and the other dainties which were some times added. Each house where milk was left helped fill the bushel basket. At about ID o'clock in the morning the men began to make their calls aft er making the most elaborate toilet of the year. A previous acquaintance was not necessary for one to make calls. It was the one day of the year when every home was open to every body without regard to birth or posi tion. The last day of the old year was spent by the women of the family in preparing dainty confections, solid, rich cake, and iu the morning the choicest old wine was brought up from the cellar, and hot rum toddy was made, rum toddy being the official New Year's drink In the Mohawk valley. The Dutch partook sparingly of the wine and toddy at each bouse, and. al though nearly all the men were "mel low" by the time the festivities ended at midnight, no one was drunk. There was one exception to this rule. The farm bands were usually dead to the world by noon and so out of the way of their betters. But nil this charming hospitality and the delightful customs were made ttn- j possible a generation or more ago by ' the outsiders of other nationalities than Dutch, who Cocked to the larger towns i of the valley and turned the day of i hospitality hPo a day of drunkenness. j ?New York Times. I MIRANDY'S RESOLUTIONS. Sh* Find* Turning of N*w Leaf a Thankless Task. "Now. you know." remarked Xllrnn- I dy, "1 ain't never been one of dese oothrcuUhi' sinners dats got faults dut ev'ybody can see needs reforuila' lu de Jail an' d: t.ought to turn over as man* r < i.i de dictionary at New Year's. "N'nwslr. i's a pretty stood woman, an' ef ev'yb.dy was lab use d gen tle an' lovln' an' tender an" forbearln' to Ike an' de ehlllen." "AY how did It wuk out?" "De ve'y fust dash out of de box hit got me Into trouble. You know ole &.s Salry (ilgglns. whut ain't got but one tooth In her head an' Is most lient double wld re rheumatlz an' dat lias got wrinkles In her cheeks dat looks lak de plowed ground after a black frost? Well. Sis Salry come to see me dyked up lu a flower bonnet an' a red frock lak a gal of sixteen, an' site axed me how she looked. " 'Iluh.' says I. a-'meinberlu' my New Year's resolution trr speak de troof. 'you look Ink you are mo' llttln* for de shroud dan for all dat picnic sear.' an', ef you believe me. Sis Salry go away an' tell dat 1 suttenly Is de mos' lak a cnt of any woman she ever seed an' dat I Is dat jealous of her good looks an* her good clQthcs dot 1 Is done lost my maimers. "An* don when SI; Hannah Jane Slmpklns axos me what I thought of her little Thomas Jefferson an* I 'spends dat he Is do skinniest child I ever see an' dat he don't look to me lak he's got real good sense an' dat de hand of de Lord suttenly was laid heavy on her, bulletin' her wld such on ornery brut, she gits so mad at me for tellin' her de troof dat she don't never speak to me sence. "Yassir. I didn't slick to dat resolu tion to speak de troof but fo' days, but I had to move out of de neighborhood, for a kind of coldness done spring up between me an' all my friends. Yas sir, I specks hit's mighty tine an' no ble never to tell a lie, but hit will leave you mighty lonesome. "An' I didn't come out any tietter wid Ike. At fust he walked mighty easy, but when ldt kinder soaked In on him dat I was gwine to git up in de middle of de night an' let him in when lie couldn't find de keyhole for himself an' dat I warn't gw.'ne to say one word, hut was gwine to git up In da mornin' an' bathe ids achin' brow an' bring him hot coffee?why, whut do you think happened along of dat New Year's resolution? "Ike tooken to stayiu' out ev'y night, an' I seen dat de only way to save Cat nigger from a drunkard's grave was to turn back de page an' go back to fust principles of keepin' him so skeor ed of me dat he was afraid not to come home wi.l de chickens. "An' it was de same way wid do chilicn. I)e minute icy found out dat I made a New Year's resolution to lie kind an' lovin an' patient Instead of takiu' de lied slat to 'em dey got dat oiUdncious Cat dere wasn't no livin' in de house v.id 'em. 1111' ef 1 hadn't busted dat gc ! resolve dey would all have landed in de calaboose. "Dnt's de reason you don't see me standin' up to be counted when dey calls for ('.em wliut's gwine to turn over new pages. I'm done been mixed up wid de New Year's resolution one time, an' I got my till."?I'ittsburg Dis pateii. French New Ycer's Cards. New Year's cards are very popular in Paris, and they sometimes take queer shapes. The fount of S. has borne for years upon ids card these words: "Comte de S., brother of General Z.. wounded at Kei;-topol." A grocer has the following alter hi., name, "Can didate for tlie presidency of the le public." thereby fallowing afar off the example o. Vllliers de I'Isle-Adam, who once astonished his friends by getting out a visiting card which de clared him to he "candidate for the succession of the kings of Cyprus and Jerusalem." Although It does not run into the love of titles so deeply as In Germany, where a good lady nud upon her card "1'rau Ochsenmanlsalat fabrikunt llelnrlch Wilholm Muller," it is nevertheless the French habit to qualify oneself, as "Jean Vaitglrard, formerly mayor of the town of Pon toise." The card of a large farmer near the Uelgian frontier had inscrib ed beneath his name. "Decorated with the Order of Agricultural Merit, a dec oration which he preferred to that of the Legion of Honor, which was of fered to him by President Carnot." An architect whose name Is J If 1; seau has "J Rousseau, architect, whose family is not descended in any way from the impious philosopher" All these are serious, as serious as was the* effort of a little French girl who thought she ought to seud an nouncements out when her big mar ried sister had a baby: "Mile. Irma has the honor to announce to you the birth of her nephew Amitole. Both aunt and child are doing well." As to Good Resolutions. With plenty of principles to which oue may lung there isn't such a great need of rules. If you are honest, you won't forget to pay the rook the 10 cents you borrowed of her If you are truthful you won't tell the woman next door that yon paid $!"> for a hat that you made out of the rag bag and a yard of picture wire. If you are sin cere you'll never say a lot of gurgling, silly stuff you don't menu. The foun dation of good conduct Is in principle rather than in resolution. | LO W Exci rsiori RATES * A ^ VM | ?j ATLANTIC : COAST : LINE ? $ i ,jj-! Account Christmas Holidays. Round S 3fj trip tickets on sale Dec. 20. 21, 22, ^ 23. 24, 25, 30, 31 and January 1st. W"i Final return limit January 0th. & For further information communi- tif jjjj cate with nearest agent, or write, yj W. J. CRAIG, Passenger Traffic Mfr. T. C. WHITE, Gen. Pass. Afent 5 Jfj Wilmington, IVi. C. tjC i Remember My siness j Remember I carry a full lino of Heavy and V Fancy Groceries, Hay. Corn, Oats, Cotton V Seed Meal, Hulls, Ship Stuff, and Bran my If Specialties. Home ground Corn Meal IT kept on hand. I am still handling Buggies If and Wagons. jf I havejeceived a Car Load of FINE MULES this week. j( Come at once and get your choxe. V ALONZO PARRISH, 9 Benson, N. C. 5 a&ocx>o??ooo?ao?ooooo0'000 irresistible. I W. EEL SMITH, f 1 SELMA, N. C. jJ \tf Mv | Do You Trade at SelmaY $ ^ _ i> # ?? r.===".??? ,{* ii/ '(i ^ If you trade at Selma it will pay you to see us. ^ We keep a [tirst-class line of Clothing, Hats, Shoes and Gents Furnishing Goods. Our goods ^ are for men and boys only. By carrying a stock ^ like that we are much better prepared to serve . ij\ you in our line. Mr. Thad Woodard is with us |,Vj ^ this season and will be glad to serve any who ^ may call to see him. Don't fail to see our fj\ goods and prices before you buy. f*\ h?'( _ ' \i> = V $ Yick-Smith Company $ * * if, SELV.A, IN. C. ffi I IF INTERESTED TALK i & WITH; |J AS, H. KIRKMAN.SR.. ft H About Fire Insurar)ce I g Being the oldest experienced agent in the . ,unity d ,i? 58 representing the oldest Companies in th< world, lie knows '*4 ({ his business. And that knowl edge is at your command ?* M without cost, and probably for your bei.etit. Hi.- ,1- 3y fflj surance rates are right, and his policies are s;: ? ff H sound?the kind you ought to have, r-ee him a V* g Smitlifield Kardwete Company's S'cre. '$ 0 He will write your ln?: ? , anj ]0^-er S than a V* M pj