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About The Nebraska advertiser. (Nemaha City, Neb.) 18??-1909 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1904)
A Good Beginning fc cor the Year T BELIEVE In bcglnnning tho Now Year well," observed young Mr. Tallilngton, ns ho carved tho turkey; "I am not superstitious, but" "Yes," said hla wlfo, demurely, "I remember how woll wo began It last year." "You wore to start on a trip that day. weren't you?" queried a guest. "Yes, and tho train, a now ono Just ,imt on, left at 9:25, and, as you know, wo llvo as near to tho railway station HAD TIME TO BURN. as ono "would Uko to live, for Instance, to" "A family with ten children, say?" "Quito. Ned thought wo ought to arlso at flvo, thus beginning tho Now Year well and catching tho train com fortably. IIo ordered a cab for C:30, so It would roach tho houso at night; ho did this over night and also wound up tho cook's alarm clock. Whon sho saw it sot for flvo her faco resembled a napping volcano." "Why not meroly say sho looked as if you had unexpected guests for din ner?" Baid Mrs. Brownsmlth. ' "''Woll, sho did. Sho was such a good cook that I was blind. Ned duly waked mo tho next morning." "With difllculty, dear." "You walced mo, anyhow, and your Tolco sounded llko tho dentist's saying. 'Step this way, please' Wo hadn't heard tho cook go down, and going to Investigate I found her asleep. Sho cald tho alarm had gono off at 2:15, and sho'd boon up .every half hour 8lnco to sco If It was llvo. Tho volcano was awake then I " "Oh!" "When I returned, Ned pointed to the clock on tho mantel and said it waB 5:17, and wo wero late." "Well?" "Nothing only that clock was a Wedding presont and so handsome that nobody ever expected It to keop time. Investigation proved It was just tour, and wo wont back to bed for an hour. I was detuning that tho cook's. Now Year's resolvo was that sho would never leavo mo, when an awful nolso waked mo. Tho cook called that It was eight, and as breakfast had been ready threo "hours sho thought sho'd better call us!" "But did you reach tho - station In timer "Yes. In my hasto I did my hair with threo pins and Ned put on hla dress coat and odd shoes wo aro both forgetful, you know. Wo scalded otir throats with hot coffeo and choked oursolvos with overdone steak. Tho cabman, who had arrived at 0:30 sharp, demanded full pay for tho time he had waited, olso ho'd deduct from tho number of Nod's useful eyes!" "Dreadful!" chorused tho guests. "WMio no out tins tho cook gave warning and told mo that tho catch on tho back collar window was loose. "Anyhow, if you were in timo to catch your train, Ned could begin his Now Year fairly well." "Wo wero in time. To Nod's fever lsh Inquiries tho ticket ngont calmly responded, 'Oh, yeH, wo had plonty of time 21 hours and 20 minutes!'" "Why, how on earth could that hap pen?" "Tho trnln, as I Bald, was a now one, put on for tho first tlmo on New Year's day, and and tho calendar to which tho agent pointed told us that to-day was December thlrty-flrst!" ELISA ARMSTRONG, She Told Mini. Husband Ono of your Now Year's resolutions was that you would not quarrel with mo for a year. Wife Yes. "Well, you aro snapping at mo half the tlmo already." "Yes." "I Bhould Just llko to know what's becomo of your good resolutions." "You would, oh? Well, I wanted mother to sco them, and so I Inclosed them In a lettor to her, and gavo it to you to mall, and sho writes mo that Bho never received It. That's what's becomo of thorn." N. Y. Weekly. An UmiiiiI. "What do you think of my Now Year's resolutions?" asked tho chauffeur. "0, I suppose you'll have your usua: luck," replied his wife. "What's that?" -urcaic uown ueroro you have gono vory far." Yonkers Statesman. Oltjt'clloiiiitilt'. Tho man who celebrates Christmas with a public display of vociferous in ebrlety Is nono the less objectionable because ho Is getting ready for a swear off on New Year's day. Washington Star. at it inn i n. "Woll, tako It; but you cannot hav another ono this year." And then tho clock struck tho Now Year. . . "Ono kiss," ho begged, "boforo I go." The Old and New By PAUL P. HAMUS IIo was a young man, tall and well made; that much was notlceablo to tho pedestrians who thronged tho brilliant- y-llghted street on New Year's ove. Many Bmlled in a cynical way as they stepped asido to avoid his reeling form; others looked tho disgust thoy felt," and few, Indeed, were they who by word or ook evidenced a spirit of charity. Tho young man heeded not; ho could summon to his whirling brain but on picture. IIo saw the ghastly face of tho corpso ho had left, but a few momenta before, at tho morguo. The body was that of a companion in tho day's de bauch, a stranger In tho city, ono of the thousands of unknown. IIo had lost hla life In an altercation over cards, says tho Itadford Review. IIo drove his way through tho thick est of tho crowd as though tho exerciso relieved him. and occasionally ho pressed his palmB to his thobblng tem ples or brushed tho damp hair from hli hot forehead. IIo strodo on across tho bridgo and far into a residence portion of tho city beyond. Twice ho stumbled and fell, but was quickly up and on again. IIo turned Into a sldo street and ap proached a well-lighted church. Tho cervices wero about to begin and the young man concealed himself In an ob scure nlcho and waited. He was breath ing heavily. Tho organ preludo camo tremblingly to his ear. He knew whoso fingers touched the responBivo keys and ho groaned aloud: "The barriers! Ohi wero It not for tho barriers ! " Tho muslo roBO to ecstatic bursts, then softened again in plaintive diminuendo. It reached his heart and a Hood of tear at last moistened his fevered cheeks and assuaged his agony. His head was bowed down as he listened to that prayer In Bong. Later, ho staggered on to a btiBlneBa thoroughfare and Into a prlvato room at a favorite haunt. There, throwing him self into a chair, he burled his faco in his hands. His thoughts reverted to tho glassy eyes, and wishing to dispel tho imago, ho ordered a whisky straight, and filling tho glass to tho brim, was about to turn tho contents down his parched throat whon tho spirit of the song prayer camo back to him. IIo placed tho whisky glass upon tho table and drained tho seltzer glass Instead. He heard a num ber of his maudlin comrades enter the bar and he aroso and bolted tho door to his prlvato room. When his friends wero gone, ha thought again of tho organist and the last words she had spoken to him: "When you have satisfied yourself that truo happiness lies only In the paths ol righteousness and are prepared to pray for absolution from guilt and sin, then and then only, may you come to mo. 1 shall bo waiting, Fred;" and ho recalled to mind now tho calm, deep love-light that shone through tho mist of tears In the blue eyes had reminded him of pic turcs he had seen of the Madonna, and ho recalled how often slnco he had nerved himself to do better things, and then he thought of tho barriers. Ho thought of her as ho had firsi known her, a girl of ten, and how ha used to pit In tho family pew In tho old church down near tho river and gaze at her wealth of dark brown hair and lona to twlno his fingers in It. Toying with tho whisky glass, he Bald: "In this Is tho power to carry mo on to the loss of self-respect, loss of manhood and loss of everything that llfo holds dear and, perhaps, ultimately to th morgue, where my glassy eyes may be seen In their cold death stare, whllo my soul starts on Its endless Journey In the bottomless pits of tho Inferno; and do 1 hesitate, while still I am Invited, by the lovellght that shines In a pair of heav only bluo eyes, to tho llfo that will 'lead mo Into green pastures and bestdo stll waters' and glvo mo strength to say: 'Yea, though I walk through tho val ley of tho shadow of death, I will feai no evil;' do I hesitate whllo the spirit of my angol mother beckons mo on?" Ho arose, and dashing tho whisky to tho floor, throw open tho door. "Here, Pedro", here, Fritz, how del look? I be gin to feel myself a man. Aro my eyes BtlU bleared? Come, quick, a comb and a glass, soap and water. Brush mo up well; I havo a mission to perform. dollar aplcco, and put It to good use, fel lows, for It's tho last you get." After ho had gone, Pedro said to Fritz: "Another touch of tho 'Willies.' eh? I havo never seen him that bad." Frlt2 tanned hla head significantly and an swered: "No, It's tho south-side shoot lug." A few moments later tho young man was rushlhg wildly up tho winding stairs of tho church on tho sldo Btreet to the room above tho belfry, where a devoted little uand was wont to gather on New Year's ove to watch and pray, as tho old vimr passed out, tho new year In. Ho fell besldo ono of tho kncelers and cried "Margaret, I have satisfied myself that truo happiness lies only Mi paths of righteousness. I pray for absolution." Far away over tho turbulent, sln-ln fosted city, a bell began to ring Its raes sage, and from bolfry to belfry tho gooi word flew along till the night air ro sounded with tho mad chorus. Tho young man looked south toward th morguo where tho cold, silent body lay, and he breathed a prayer for them who would watch and wait and, pressing her burning, tear-wot faco to Ills, ho said "Wo havo rung out tho old, It'o now tho uow, It's now tho new." r New Year's Resolves Teller to Make and Break Them Than Not to Make Them at Ml SOME facetious individual has de fined Now Year's day as "a tlmo wnon men mauo gooti rcsoiuuuuo in tho confidence of breaking them as Boon as possible." But ho has much to loarn to hla own profit who sneers at good resolutions because some men break them. To reaolvo to do right docs not mean necessarily that one will keep tho promise, but such pur pose whether outwardly expressed or Inwardly understood, is proof that tho ndivldual is conscious of abiding Bin of some sort. It is tho Bolf-righteous individual who is in danger. Good resolutions aro born of repentance; and repent anco when genuine Is a cardinal vir tue. Tho self-righteous follow does not resolvo to do bettor becauso his vanity tella him thcro is nothing wrong in his makeup. Ho may go along committing blunders every day and doing no end of mischief. Such a fellow is beyond redemption. Llko Ephrnim of old, ho Is joined to hia dols and should bo loft alono. Doubtless thero aro many thought- esB nnd somo Insincere good resolves mado on Now Year's day. Nevorthe- cbs it is a good thing that many men do begin tho now year with re solves to strlvo after what Is higher and better. It is a marked and glori fied Improvement upon tho custom onco so general but now, thank God, obsolete, of men going from houso to houso paying calls and guzzling wlno or stronger drink until boforo tho round was completed they wero hope lessly drunken. It lo a great deal hotter for a man to resolvo a hundred times and fall n each resolvo than to go along con tented with his lot of sin and shame. Thero is hopo for a man just as long as thero abides In him desire for what s better. It is woll to enter into argu ment with one's self only after duo deliberation, but a broken pledge to do right Is far better than no pledge at all. Thero Is nothing strange In associa tion of good resolves with tho dawn of a now year. On the contrary, the oc casion Is ono that suggests just such a general practice. Tho old year has ended. Its memories suggest "sins committed whllo conscience slept," practices that degraded tho moral man, follies that brought shamo and vices that weakened body and brain. But memory is not ah. Body and mind tell tho sensible man that such practices end In physical wreck and moral do cay. Tho year Is now nnd clean. Tho Eun, ust risen, looks upon It for tho first lime. Mon of business close up their pages for tho year erided and begin new and fresh ones for tho now year that has dawned. They figure out ac- surately their losses and their gains in tho old year, subtracting one from tho thor. As tho merchant begins his year 6 anew, why may not tho moral nature of a man bo renewed If tho memorial of the past year and tho physia&l shortcomings of the precast suggest tho need of a Btrlvlng after what la higher and bettor? That tho practice has bsn abused is no argument against Its uso. That somo men havo mado good resolutions only to break them is not ovidenco that reform is impossible. Striving nftor what is right Is Godlike. Ono may raise his standard so high as not to bo able to attain It, but thero is virtue In every attempt to mako better one's life. Indeed ono may find at tho closing of a long llfo that ho has tried but to fail, and yet his very efforts to do right will bo counted to him for righteousness. Tho objection is, if It can bo called an objection, that mon aro too much influenced by special occasions for spoclal efforts. Thcro is no more vir tue in New Year's Day than thero is in All Fool's Day. It would seem fool ishness to wait for any such tlmo or season for a starting period In right living. Tho present is tho timo for action, and ono day 1b as good as an other In tho sight of God, as woll aa of mon. But tho man who has put off the day of resolves to bo good until tho dawn of tho new year will strougthon him self and work righteousness by start ing out clean with the year. IIo will only hurt himself by devoting too much timo to resolving. What ho most needs Is to avoid tho pitfalls and snares which formerly overcame him. Ho has need to chango resolvo3 into action. It Is his duty to retroapect in order to know himself. Each con quest of self Is adied strength for fu ture victories. Happy indeed Is that Now Year's for tho man who, having resolved in its dawn to do right, finds at its gloaming that ho has boon truo to his promises. WILLIAM ROSSER COBBB. TIIEUE IS HOPE FOIL HIM. Deacon Goodie Cheer up; my man; you'll be out on the first of tho year. Jail Bird Yes, but what can I do after being a thief and holdup man ? Deacon Goodie Oh, you can go into tho coal business, or start a plumbing shop. Cbc new year's Crowning. DriiiR from tho lidandx tlmUle afar In tho tropical watorx clear, Decked In their pride llko a flowing star, A crown for ihu Klad New Year; Pluck for tho browx of the Nation's guest Who come to us o'er tho mow, Tho bloom of tho Southland, fairest and belt, WUeio tho orange hlciohoms blow, And tho watorx run To tho xeax of mm With & song devoid of woe. Dear from the Northland's hough of pine, From the crest of theloftlext peak. Wherever tho Known in tho xunllght shlno, A wreath (hat the bravet iooki Fortlio Now Year cornea with lightsome tread In tho morning cold nnd grav, Papxlng the Old Year nearly dead l)y the f ringo of hlx wintry wayi IIo brought nx cheer. Did the pld. Old Year, And Well, he ban had hla day. Gather the wild, wild lilo8nm fair Thalnpoln tho olden Kant Tho bloom that laughs ot the cold fei air. KortheNew Year's welcome feaxti A hur.ly ro-o from tho l'llwi imn land, A bough, from tho 1101 thern lake , Wheroln tnelr might tho hate altirx Htand And laugh at tho tide that break A roo and a hough For tho New Year's brow. Fresh kissed by tho Winter's ilakos. Orer tho pnthway of the Htars lie comet toabldoa year, nis kiiiIIoh of peace now nothing man, He bring uk never ft tenri Ilark to the wild bcllx in the sky And their mtiMo tad and low! For tho old, Old Year, Jui-t paxxlnff by. Tho Now Year waltcth toi Hy tho xtaiilt gate In IiIm robes ho wttltn, With hlx tandalt in tho know. O boll, rlntr out for tho welcome guest On land and over the teat And North and South and Etui and West Huiir out your banuerx fieei Ho comes with xmllex and a cone of tnlrth And III!) Ix a fcaxt of cheer, Let every nation hall tho blith Of the wlnnotno, glial New Ytari Lot pieanx arlxu . , To the wlntor tklen, And all tho bcllx i lug clear I T. O. UAIU1AUOH. i o