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<y sho'ly
wool 1 : e a heaven on earth. Still dere
Is tliiH'M when I 'apleions dat 1 Is got
soue weal.ue-see. So dat's huccoin 1
got mixed up wld dat New Year's reso
luilou. for I made up my mind dat 1
was gwlne to turn over a new lenf an'
speak uotlilu' but de trutii an' 1k> 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?a<i>o?ooooo0'000<?
WE'RE KEPT BUSY AS SQUIRRELS $
If} (|/
these days attending to the various needs of our visitors.
li But the more the inerrinr. The eame/easous which briug *!?
L the-ie keen buyers here tor:wearables should insure vour ??
presence. 4
m o
^ THE LOW PRICES OP OCR SHOES
would not of themselves be sufficient to indue such tudy
?p and liberal buying. It's the quality combined with the ,i|
^ prices that makes our store ? > 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