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VOL. II.
Notice to Subscribers.
EXPIRATIOSS.
a the easiest and cheapest meant of ootl
ftrcir subscribers of the date of their expira
tions we 1U mark this notice with a blue or
jed pencil.on the date at which their subscrip
tion expires. W will send the paper two
weeks after expiration. If not renewed by
that time it will be discontinued.
Jay Gould and His Trust .
Lincoln, Neb., Dec. 20, 1890.
Editor Alliance. Jay Gould has
made so bold as to threaten the people
of this and other states, in terms not to
be misunderstood, and the rates both
east and west will be advanced accord
ingly. The farmers of this state and
when I say the farmers that means the
whole population of Nebraska are at
his mercy unless steps are at once taken
to checkmate him.
He has virtually organized a trust of
all the railroads centering eastward in
Chicago, and so far as we are concerned
this is fatal. Alone, the people of this
state can do nothing that will prove
effective, unless by force, and this is
riot to be resorted to until all peaceable
and legal means have failed. But if
the peop e of Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and
Nebraska unite together and organize
a trust against Jay Gould and his crowd
I dare say that the great railroad octo
pus will find his suckers worthless.
The legislatures of Kansas, Nebraska
and Illinois will soon meet; the time is
propitious and by Providential kindness
all these legislatures are controlled by a
majority of farmers. Iowa has no ses
sion this year, but Gov. Boise, the farm
er's friend, will not hesitate to call an
extra session if necessary; and the four
states can agree upon a system of legis
lation that will save the people from
utter ruin.
For that reason I suggest that steps be
at once taken by your organization of
farmers for the purpose of consultation
with like organizations in an inter state
convention to be held at the very earliest
possible date. The wisdom and patriot
ism of the delegates will devise ways
and means for the salvation of the farm
ers from servitude to Jay Gould, as the
wisdom and patriotism of delegates at
another convention saved the colonies
from British tyranny.
; Publio carriers, like money, are in
tended for the use of the people, not
for their oppression. Regulations for
the control of either are amenable to
the law, and when money and public
carriers combine as they have in direct
violation of law, it is time for the farm
ers to rise and crush the combination
gently, but nevertheless most firmly
and enectuaiiy. victor vifuain.
CREAM OF THE LATEST NEWS
The Rnck Island directors have de
clared the regular quarterly dividend of
one per cent, The wells argo ex
press Company declared a semi-annual
dividend of four percent.
The bribery charges against Kansas
. ...Mi v. l : J
Jlty councumen win ue cApiaiucu w
the grand jury on Monday Dy a Know
ing witness.
The weekly bank statement from
New York shows a marked improve
ment in the financial condition, o
,.jThe next election of a pope i3 report
ed from Paris to be an early probability
r There was great excitement at the
land offices at Wausau and Eau Claire,
Wis., on Saturday, among the claimants
for reserve lands.
Parnell says his opponents have noth
ing to stand on but filth, and the pure
- waters of public opinion would wash
them and their hith away
The skeleton of a young brother of
Jesse James has been found in a cave
in Minnesota, where the outlaws made
their headquarters.
Two young ladies named Melcher
were drowned while skating at Aurora,
111.
A male heir to Emperor William was
born Wednesday evening.
Prof. Snow of the Kansas state uni
versity has discovered a method to an
nihilate the chinch bug.
r The distress in South Dakota is re
ported very sorrowful.
Mrs. Fedora Dimble, aged 81, was
burned to death at Batavia, N. Y., in
attempting to fill a kerosene lamp on a
stove hearth.
Governor Toole of Montana refused
the request of a large petition signed
mostly by women, to respite the four
Indian murderers who were hanged at
Missoula last Friday.
An old couple who are living in Min
nesota have been married eighty years.
K. C. Kerr, a prominent business man
of Salina, Kas., was drowned Sunday
night.
At a meeting of wealthy citizens held
in New York in the Arabian quarter, it
was decided to form a fruitgrowing and
silk raising syndicate in this country,
which will . give employment to all
Arabian immigrants arriving at this
port.
A sixteen million dollar mortgage has
been filed for record at Fremont, Neb.,
by the U. t railroad company.
The absconding postmaster at Deca
tur, Ala., is supposed to have gotten
away with $5,000 in money and stamps.
A new anti-partisan magazine is to be
started in Washington, to be a high
class literary monthly.
A woman committed suicide by jump
ing into the sea from the steamship
Trave.
The agricultural department has re
ported on a new process of making
sugar from sorShum, and pronounces it
a success.
-' A young woman at Atlantic City, N.
J., has been indicted for forgery.
The farmers and business men of
Terre Haute, Ind., are moving against
the dressed beef men.
A New York business man discovered
his bookkeeper drinking champagne at
a restaurant. - An examination of his
accounts followed, showing a shortage
, of $3,000. The bookkeeper suicided.
An imperial decree has been issued in
China by which it is provided that for
eign ministers shall be admitted to au
diences with he emperor once a year.
John Dillon visited Cardinal Gibbons
Thursday, and had a half hour's con
versation with him. Both expressed
their anxiety : over Ireland's future.
Cardinal Gibbons is in -full sympathy
.., with Mr. Dillon's position.
: According to reports made by As
signee Jacobs of the Kean Banking com-
Sany at Chicago, the assets, exclusive of
lean's personal estate, was over $5,000, -000,
and the liabilities $1,000,000. ,
THE LEGEND OF GOLDBERG.
Std and ghastly In the moonlight
Lay the German village brown.
But apieared no human figure,
For the plague was in the town.
There had corpses laid unburied.
And whom death bad chanced to spare
Were all hidden in the houses .
From the pestilential air
So In terror had they hidden.
Dreading night, afraid of day,
Praying, waiting, scarcely hoping.
For the dread to par away
Came the snow, then morning sunshine,
Came the Christmas as of old, . . '
But no form moved in the village;
It lay silent, white and cold.
Rose that morn the singer, Caspar,
From the bed where he had lain
(He alone of all the stricken
In his home would rise again). -
"I alone," he thought, "'am living;
I alone" his eves grew dim
"I alone of all the village
May repeat the Christmas hymn.
. What though death may be awaiting
What is death the day is bright;
I will sing the Christ child story
Sing it looking on the light!"
Open then he threw the shutter.
And upon the silent eSVeet 0
From his lips rang out the anthem.
Strong and hopeful, clear and sweet!
Through the frosty air of morning
The old Christmas anthem rang
What was that? Another shutter
Opened wide as Caspar sang! '
And another! and another 1
There was limit to the slain
God be thanked ! A score of voices
Joined with Caspar in thestrainl -
And they knew no more were dying,
That the hand wjth power to stay
Had been reached out to deliver
; This they knew on Christmas day.
-Stanley Waterloo in Chicago News.
A CHRISTMAS STORY.
"It was Christmas night. 184," con
tinued Plunkett, "when I first seed Peter
Simpson, though it had been norated
erround for some time that there was er
stranger in the settlement, and that he
was erkin to old Billy Brooks, and was
ergwyne to settle ermong us if he could
find er place to suit him."
Brown drew his chair up closer to the
old man and remarked:
Them war the days when you played
the fiddle, and 1 hain't much to brag on
myself nor on my kin, but 1 never seed
no music that come up to 'Sugar in the
Gourd' when 1 was er handling the
straws and you was er pulling of the
bow."
'Tve seed the day I could fairly make
er fiddle talk," nodded Plunkett, and
then continued:
"On the Christmas night of 184 thar
was a party at old man Jimmy Law
rence's, and we'd all gathered and the
young folks had played er game er two
of sich as Thimble,' and Timothy Tub
erbutin,' and 'Snap Out,' till at last they
gathered partners and begin to walk
erround and erround, and Peter he was
there a stranger and he didn't have no
partner and wasn't er having nothing to
do with the walking erround. So Lucy
Coats, as good er girl as ever lived in
Georgia, wanted to make him feel at
home, and so she axed him to be the
middle fellow. .
"That's the way the play is. They all
have partners but one. The odd one
gets in the middle as , they all walk
erround and sing, and when they git to
the part in the song where it sajrs 'Right
here I'll find her' they all change part
ners and the middle man has the right
to jump beside some of, the girls if he is
quick enough and then that fellow that
loses his girl gets in the middle, and so
it goes."
"Oh, I know that old play," spoke
Brown, at the ', same time drawing his
chair a little nearer to the old man.
"Well." continued Plunkett, "Peter
he got in the middle, and the youngsters
walked erround and erround er singing
so as you could er heerd 'em er mile:
'It rains and it hails, and it's cold stormy weather.
Along conies the farmer drinking all the cider;
I'll reap the oats and who'll be the binder?
I lost my true love and right here 111 find her.
"And then the change come and Peter
he throwed himself erround and got by
the side of Lucy, and he has told me
rince that he loved her from that very
minit."
Old man Brown was unable to contain
himself longer and he remarked:
"And Lucy made him as good er wife
as ever er man had."
Plunkett frowned at being disturbed,
but soon continued: '
"The young folks went on with their
playing first one thing and then an
other till pretty soon they got partners
and went walking erround and erround
ergin, singing:
"Very well done, said Johnnie Brown,
This is the way to London town;
Stand you still, stand you by,
Till you hear the watchman cry.
"On this carpet you must kneel.
Kiss your true love in the field.
Kiss the one that you love best
Just before she goes to rest.
"Pretty soon," continued Plunkett,
"they cried out, 'Seat your partners,'
and Peter and Lucy was right close to
me and Lucy she turned and 'lowed:
" 'Mr. Plunkett, let me make you ao
quainted with Mr. Simpson."
j "Then Peter he shook hands erlong
with me and took er seat by me, and it
warn't no time till me and him was just
like eld friends, and he lived by me er
long time and I never had er truer friend
or better neighbor, and Christmas makes
me think erbout these old times and
these old neighbors that have passed
away forever.
"Well," continued Plunkett, "Peter
and Lucy married during of the year
184 , and that's what I want to tell you
about.
"In that old hewed log house that you
passed on tne roaa-wnere tne moss is er
cmvri n sr on the roof lives r nisrcfoftnaTi
by the name of old Tom that was the
first nigger that ever Peter and Lucy
had. Tom was some eighteen years old
! when Peter's dada give him to them, and
old Tom and Peter had been brought up
together, and Peter done just as much
work as he required Tom to do, and they
made good crops and in two or three
years Peter had er right smart money
layed up, and so he bought some more
LINCOLN,
land, after that he bought another nigger
or two and ' they helped him, and soon !
paid for themselves and Tom and Lucy i
got ambitious to be rich and they went
in debt, thinking they could work and
pay out, . and so things were ' moving 1
erlong when old Tom, over yonder on
the road, went to his young master and
mistress and told 'em he wanted to marry
one of old Squire Crawford's nigger gals.
Tom's master was willing for him to
marry the girl that he loved, but the old
squire he fixed up and before anybody
thought erbout it he'd sold out his plan
tation and put out for Texas. Folks
were crazy on Texas . them days, and it
didn't take er fellow long to git off for
them parts when the " fever once struck
em. ,
"After Squire Crawford went off to
Texas old Tom never was the same f el-
ow. He didn't sing and dance erround
ike he always had and he'd set erround
by himself and wouldn't have much to
do with anylx " . and Peter and Lucy
noticed it and tried to git him to forget
the girl that went off to Texas, but they
couldn't, and, old Tom he begin to talk
erround ermong the other niggers that
slavery was wrong and that he'd rather
be dead than submit to it. Things went
erlong this way till Tom he got worse
and worse, till at last one night when
the niggers had' gathered out in their
yard and were playing and er singing
under a big oak on the grass Tom he
jest set out on er horse block" and whit
tled with his knife and looked down at
the ground till he hered the niggers sing
the old song:
"Old massa give me holler day
He said he'd give me more,
And I thanked him very kindly.
And I shoved my boat from shore.
It's oh, my dearest May !
You're lovely as the day.
Your eyes so bright
They shine at night,
When the moon has gone away.
"And from across the branch came
the plaintive sound of negro voices from
Freeman's quarter, and as Tom listened
his heart seemed to go out in sympathy
to the singers, for as they progressed he
slowly raised his head and leaned for
ward, as if to catch the, sound, and his
ips moved in unison as the words
"I took her hand within my own,
A tear was in ber eye,
I asked her if she would be mine,
Her answer was a sigh.
Oh, Emma, dear, dear Emma,
From the Mississippi vale,
. In all this wide world over
There is none like Emma Dale,
swelled upon the freezes, and at the fin
ish he arose from his seat and walked
toward the woods.
"When the jiggers got through with
their frolic Tom was gone, and the next
morning when the other niggers went
to work thar wan't no Tom there, , and
it was soon known that Tom was a run
away. "Peter and Lucy wouldn't hear to put
ting hounds after Tom, and so he was
not heard from any more, and they had
quit talking about him on the place.
Thus it went for a year". The crops were
sorry and Peter failed to pay anything
on his thousand dollar note to old man
Smith, but had to renew and borrow a
little more. Peter was confident and
Lucy was cheerful, and so they pitched
another crop and resolved to economize
and work hard, never thinking that luck
had turned ergin 'em.
'Erlong in June, though," continued
Plunkett, "the niggers that Peter had
bought got the smallpox ermong them,
all three of them died and the crop was
lost, but Peter rolled up his sleeves and
worked the harder and Lucy she was jist
the same good little woman, and they
made er pretty good crop and got it
housedi and I don't think ary one of 'em
ever thought erbout , luck being ergin
em.
"But," continued the old man, "on the
3d day of December on the night of
that day I never would forget it if -1
were to live er thousand years, Peter's
barn ketched er fire and burned up his
whole crop and all three of his horses,
and the very next morning old Smith
was over there er pressing him for the
twelve hundred dollars and said he had to
have it or he'd take possession of the
farm. The money would be due on the
25th day of December, and old Smith
wanted his money or possession on that
day. The prospects for a happy Christ
mas was mighty gloomy for Peter, but
Lucy said:
" 'Well, Peter, you've got me and the
children yet.'
" 'Yes,' said Peter, 'and you've never
herd me complain, but I do hate to give
up the home.'
"That was erbout as much to do as
there was erbout it, until at last Christ
mas eve night rolled around and the lit
tle children hung up their stockings and
talked themselves to sleep about old
Santa Claus, and Peter and Lucy listen
ed with hidden tears, and all tlirough
the long night they sat until the hands
on the clock pointed to the hour of three,
and then Peter raised his head and
'lowed:
" 'Lucy, we will have to give up our
home to binith.
"Before Lucy could answer a soft, cat
like tread was heard upon the porch and
the latch string was pulled, and as the
door opened there was revealed to the
sight of the astonished pair:
"Old Tom, the runaway.
"Tse worth $2,000 of any man's
money, and that will pay off old Smith's
mortgage,' said old Tom as he unslung
a clean pillow case from his shoulder
that was filled with goodies for the little
ones, and that soon swelled . the little
stockings that hung on the mantel.
"With the return of old Tom came
prosperity to Peter and Lucy, for when
old Smith found that Tom had returned
and if put up for sale would pay the
mortgage he made terms that enabled
Peter and old Tom to go to work upon
the farm and not only get out of debt,
but yet rich, and Tom was set free long
'fore any Yankees knowed him, and Pe
ter he went out to Texas and found old
Squire Crawford and bought the woman
what Tom loved and brought her back
to Georgia on Christmas day, 1S4-, and
give her to Tom for his Christmas pres
ent, and they live at yonder moss cover
ed log house, and I wish them a merry,
merry Christmas. Atlanta Constitu
toon.
NEB., SATURDAY,
ME SIAV CHRISTMAS.
HOW THE HOLIDAY IS KEPT IN
V SOUTHERN AUSTRIA.
Superstition Among tbe Common People
About Animals They Are Believed to
Talk at Certain Times Strange Stories
to Account for tha Phenomenon.
It has been said that the Slavs of
Carniola had , no Christmas, and this is
true in the sense in which we understand
the word. Qf course there, as in all
Catholic countries, Dec. 25 is a church
festival, and the 24th a fast, the only
joyous fast of the year. The supper is
unusually good and, plentiful, but no
meat ia served at it unless it be wild duck
or otter, both of which are regarded by
the ecclesiastical authorities as fish; The
foreign visitor will probably receive half
a dozen invitations; the proper thing to
do is to accept the one that comes from
the landlord, in whosehouse one usually
dines, and the fulfillment of this social
duty is generally its -own reward. The
dishes are strange but agreeable, and
after the Christmas ; tree in Carinthia,
which is chiefly German, has been prop
erly admired, and in all cases the neces?
sary presents have been given to the
children, and they have gone to bed, a
tone of quiet satisfaction becomes the
eading note of the evening. Every sub
ject that could lead to contention is
avoided, and so one sits together till the
time for the first mass, which is read at
or shortly after midnight, and which one
may attend or not, just as one likes.
r" IMPRESSIVE SERVICES.
The three morning masses when heard
in a village church in Austria are among
the most impressive services of the
church, though they are, of course, en
tirely wanting in pomp. The choir sing
songs about the nativity in the national
language and in such a way that both
the words and the music correspond to
the service at the altar. The stranger
who has learned to look upon the mass,
in spite of its entirely classical Latin, as
one of the greatest poems of the Chrisr
tian period is at first inclined to resent
the introduction of modern hymns and
languages, but the fervor of the singers
and the . way in Which they are joined
by the congregation, similar to that
which many readers may have remarked
in the churches of Scotland, clearly show
that the usage is dear to the heart of the
people, though to us it may seem almosi
as offensive as if the divine comedy
were publicly read with the accompani
ment of music selected from Offenbach.
Popular verse and music are always in
teresting and sometimes extremely good;
but they cannot quite supply the place
of the Gloria and Agnus Dei, especially
for foreign admirers of the church who
do not beloner to its communion. Still -
the midnight mass in an Alpine village
is a thing to see. The long Valk through
the snow and darkness; the friendly light
from the windows of .most houses; the
groups of furcoated worshipers whom
one overtakes or who overtake one, with
their hearty Christmas greetings; ' the
blaze of light on the altar, which con-
trasts equally wi$h the night outside and
he other, unlighted parts of the church
within, are all impressive.
. AM INTERESTING PROCESSION.
This Christmas in a Slav village has a
purely religious character, th6ugh, as it
obliges one to sit up late or to rise early,
it may serve as an excuse for a longer
chat than usual and an extra glass. But
Advent is not, as in German or Protes
tant countries, concentrated c into the
single festival. In many villages on the
first evening a kind of homely procession
is formed, and the images of the Holy
virgin ana sc. oosepn are camea to tne
first house in the place, the inhabitants
of which know exactly what is going to
happen; then, where they sing, as they
generally do in Carniola, a duet or
double chorus follows. The attendants
of the saints ask for a night's lodging,
those within ask who the travelers are,
and so gradually the whole history of
the nativity is told ; in Old World verse
and music. Then the doors are thrown
wide open; all who are within kneel, the
images are borne to the altar that has
been prepared for them, the two choruses
join in a hymn of praise, . and evening
prayer begins in their presence. On the
following afternoon the two saints are
carried to the next house, and the scene
is repeated. It may seem to the reader
that the whole ceremony must be child
ishly .. sque; this is not the impres
sion u juiakes on the non-Catholic but
unprejudiced stranger. These peasants
are evidently sincerely worshiping the
true. God after their own fashion. In
convents where children are educated
the same usage is practiced, but there
the sacred guests are carried from cell
to cell instead of from house to house.
DEVOTION OF THE KINGS.
This custom is purely Christian, an at
tempt to bring the sacred story home to
the imagination of the people; the cere
monies performed ' on the day set apart
for devotion to the three holy kings
the wise men of the east (our twelfth
uiui are plightly different. They bear
the trace, not of heathenism so much as
of a struggle against heathenism. The
three appear in full costume the, out?
with his face' conscientiously blacked
with holy water and censers filled with
burning incense.. They bless every roiuin
in the house, and still more carefully
the stalls and stables, and upon every
door they make three crosses; in order
to keep out Fra Perch ta, who is the un
hallowed and unhonored shade of the
great goddess whom heroes once N wor
shiped as Freya. That twelfth night,
the last of the twelve days of the great
winter festival, - which was celebrated
alike by the Slavs and the Germans,
should be chosen for these strange cere
monies is noteworthy; though one can
not help feeling a certain sympathy for
the goddess who is thus shut out of hu
man habitations' on the very-day when
her presence was formerly invoked. It
may be added that the crosses are treated
with the greatest respect; what would
happen to any one who willfully rubbed
them oat no one knows.. A cow maid
who by chance obliterated two had to
dance for a whole night over rough
stones with a young man. whom she
DEO. 27, 1890.
supposed to be the devil, and fell into a
ever afterward. Particularly devout
. m A. a. 1
persons often enaeavor vo conneci tne
crosses so that they form one of the
names or symbols of our Saviour. If
they succeed it is a favorable omen. .
BELIEFS OF THX SEASON.
The stories that are told about Chritt-
. a j - mm m
mas, particularly in tne u-au inai, m
valley in Carinthia inhabited almost ex
clusively by Slavs, are most remarkable,
and seem to have been hardly even colored
by Christianity. The belief that horses
and cattle talk in human language with
each other on the night between the 24th
and 25th of December is universal there.
Whether the roes and chamois enjoy the
same privilege or are subject to the same
penalty seemed to be an open question.
as few persons care to wade through the
snow, to climb mountain, or even to take
up their abode in a wood, in order to
listen to their discourses. Even with re
spect to domestic animals everything has
not hitherto been rendered as clear as
we should like it to be. r For example, a
village priest was kind enough to furnish
us with the following story, which was
written down at .once, as much as pos
sible in his own words. - It ,is a sin to
listen to what the animals say, and it
always brings ill luck. A farm servant
from a distance did not believe the story
a sin which, it may be feared, Was
shared both by the present writer and
his informant. Still he retained such a
half belief as induced him to hide him
self in the stable. The two horses which
it contained talked to each other as fol
lows: "We shall have hard work to do
this day week." "Yes, the servant is
heavy. "And the way to the church
yard is long and steep. The man took
to his bed and died. He was buried that
day week. . Here we have at least, the
Christian idea of a sin that is punished
a little too heavily, one is inclined to
think but what are we to say to the
following story, which was told in the
Slav dialect of Carniola by a traveling
workman, at once translated . into Ger
man and noted down. The story was
read aloud in rough German, which was
translated almost sentence by sentence
to the narrator, who . firmly believed in
the truth of the tale, and corrected by
him in one or two ' small points, which
were directly altered. It is evidently a,
far older, or at least more authentic, ver
sion than the last:
HOW TO HEAR THE ANIMALS TALK,
No one can hear the animals talk un
less he has boots with nine soles and
fern leaves in them. There was a farm
servant (knecht) in' the Gail Thai who
had a pair of very strong shoes made.
which were afterward , frequently re
paired, so that they had the requisite
number of f soles, though: he - did not
know it. He lived in a loft above a stall
where two oxen were kept, and between
the loft and stall there was a trap door,
which he often left open. One Christ
mas eve he went to visit a girl with
whom he was in love in a village about
a mile and a half away. The path led
through a wood, in which there were a
ereat number of ferns. He staid too
long, and hastened back in such a hurry
that he did not stop to fasten his boots,
the laces of which had become loose. It
is to be supposed that this was the rea
son why some fern leaves got into them.
As soon as he had reached the loft he
heard a' great lamentation below, and
called through the traphole to ask what
was tne matter. As no answer was
given , he put out his lantern, but . re
mained standing. "What are you com
plaining about?" asked a voice below.
"Why should I not complain," answered
a second voice, "when in six 'months J
am to be slaughtered?" "That is qu
true, but I have a better reason to
lament, for I shall be slaughtered in two
days for a funeral feast, and you in six
months for a marriage, which is better,
"Who will die, then?" "Our mistress.1
"How?" "You know she has a cat that
always sits beside her at meals and eats
out of her plate. To-morrow , there will
be a great dinner, and the cat will come
as usual, but she will be angry and push
it roughly away. It will spring to the
top of the stove; there it will stay for a
time, but when the soup is brought in it
will jump down ' upon the table, and
from thence over the tureen and its mis
tress Head, in doing tins it will let a
hair fall, and that hair will choke her."
Here the conversation ended. Next
morning the servant looked gloomy
among his jovial fellows, and his mas
ter asked him what was the matter.
For a long time he refused to reply, but
at last he entreated his master to have
the cat killed at once. It was no use
telling a story that nobody would be
lieve, ne said, out ms wnoie manner
made such an impression on the propri
etor that he consented to his request.
The wife, however, said she was fond
of the cat; it had been long in the house,
and if it were killed for a mere fancy
she herself would go away. Everything,
or course, happened exactly as tne oxen
had foretold. In six months the master
married again, and, said: "1 don't like
to see that ox; it used to draw, with one
that was slaughtered at my first wife's
funeral. Have it killed for dinner.
One does not quite envy the wedding
guests their beef. , This was not, how
ever, the moral the narrator drew from
the" story. He said: "One can see how
much more cattle know .:-. c3 think
if the servant had not happened to hav
fern leaves in his boots they, would have
spoken just as they did, and nobody
would have known anything about it.
We fcr our part can only leave the story
to those who are interested in such mat
ters, in tne nope tnat it will not prove
as indigestible as the beef was likely to
be. London Saturday Review.
A New Christmas Game.
For the benefit of those who may have
become tired of the old fashioned games
usually played at Christmas we suggest
the following: ,
Gather a party on Christmas eve, or
early Christmas morning, and then hunt
up a lot of poor people who have no
Christmas dinner and give them one.
The game can be played by any num
ber of persons and is warranted to make
more real enjoyment and merriment for
-ill who take part 5a it than any other
game. New York Press.
CONCERNING TH MISTLETOE.
ji Kxotie Shrub Whih Bm hot
ly Been Introdaee4 tm America.
The mistletoe hung cm the omIU wll,
And the holly branch Bhoa la tbe old oak hafl.
And the baron's retainer! vera blithe aad (ay. '
Keeping their Christmas hoadaj.
At this season of the year the mistletoe
is -welcome addition to the stock of our
florists, being intimately associated, as it
is, with Christmas ports. It is new,
however, to this country, and it is not
much more than a decade since the first
venture was ever brought here. The
shrub is mostly tropical and parasitical,
and authorities on the subject tell us
that there are over four hundred known
species of the order. There is only one
species known to Great Britain, the com
mon mistletoe the viscmn album, as it
is botanically known and it is with
that particular species that we have to
deaL
It is popularly supposed that the mis
tletoe grows exclusively on the oak tree,
bat this is a mistake, as it is found on
the oak in very rare instances, while it
grows with great profusion on the apple,
the pear, the hawthorn, and also on syca
mores, limes, poplars, locust trees and
firs. In some portions of the south of
England it is very abundant, and its
evergreen leaves give a peculiar appear
ance to the orchards in winter, when the
trashes of mistletoe are very conspicuous
among the naked branches of the trees.
There is a superstition connected with
the mistletoe that it is unlucky to fell an
oak on which it grows, and the author
of "Magna Britannia" describes a great
wood belonging to the archbishops of
he Hundred of Croyland, said to have
consisted wholly of oaks, and among
them was one that bore mistletoe, which
some persons , were so hardy as to cut
down for the gain of selling it to the
apothecaries of London, leaving a branch
of it to sprout out, but they proved un
fortunate after it, for one of them fell
lame and others lost an eye. At length,
in the year 1678, a certain man, notwith
standing he was warned against it, upon
account of what the others had suf
fered, adventured to cut the tree down,
and he soon after broke his leg. To fell
oaks had long been considered fatal, and
such as believe it produce the instance
of the Earl of Winchelsea, who, having
felled a curious grove of oaks, soon after
found his countess dead in her bed sud
denly, and his eldest son, Lord Maid
stone, was presently killed by a cannon
ball. New York Press.
. A Very. Little Christmas Tale.
A party of gentlemen were discussing
Kris Kringle and the day's events at the
Auditorium dispensary. All or nearly
all were relating the experiences of the
right before or that morning with the
little folks. "Boys said one of the party,
a big furniture man on Wabash avenue,
"I want to tell you what my little young
ster said when he saw the Christmas tree.
He is the baby of the house and has taken
a most absorbing rancy to ms papa. 1
seem to be to his babyish fancy the be-all
and end-all of humanity. My wife and
I fixed up the tree last night, and this
morning we opened ner up just a little
after daylight. Three pairs of eyes were
all ablaze, but the fourth little pair
seemed to be missing something. The
little one of course understood that Santa
Claus brought everything, and as Santa
Claus had been very liberal older heads
marveled somewhat at the indifference
of the baby boy to his gifts. Pretty
soon the little fellow laid his toys away
with a kind of bored expression, and
climbing on my knee he lisped, 'Papa,
did Thanta Claus bring dose sings?
said, Yes, dear,' repeating the conven
tional he. The little chap put his mouth
to my ear and whispered, 'Papa, I don't
care for Thanta Claus what is oo doin'
to diz me? Boys, maybe 1 didn't go off
and buy that baby something, and give
it to him 'out of mf own hand. Some
times I think the Santa Clans fable ought
to be relegated to the top shelf. That
little boy cared nothing for Santa Claus
or for his gifts. He did love his papa and
wanted him to remember him. "Chicago
Herald.
- - World's Fair Padding.
The composer of the following recipe
for World's fair plum pudding has
chosen a name for it that should make it
famous:
One pound each of currants, raisins,
suet chopped fine, and brown sugar; one
and a half large loaves of baker's bread
grated fine, without crust; ten eggs,
whites and yolks beaten separately:
three nutmegs, half a pint of brandy,
one wineglass of wine. Mix suet, bread.
raisins, currants, a pinch of salt, nut
megs and brandy over night. In the
morning moisten with a little milk.
Just before putting on to boil add sugar,
eggs and wine; work well together, put
in a floured cloth, leaving room to swell;
drop in boiling water and boil steadily
for four hours. New York Herald.
Maryland Padding-.
A Maryland plum pudding, warranted
to keep a year, is made from six pounds
of seeded raisins, six pounds of brown
sugar, four pounds of currants, six
pounds of stale oated bread, six pounds
of suet chopped very fine, six pounds of
eggs, two pounds of citron, six table-
"oonfuls of flour, half a pint of wine,
uur Taut or oranay, tnree Uu-c:
and a little mace and salt. Mix all well,
let it stand over night and divide into
twelve parts; tie each in a coarse cloth.
plunge into boiling water, and boil four
hours: expose then to the sun for two or
three days with the cloths on and when
dry hang in a cold room. They will
keep a year. When wanted for use put
into boiling water with the same cloth
on and boil for one and a half hours.
New York Herald.
Delicious Peanut Candy. ,
; Shell your peanuts and chop them fine
measure them in a cup and take just the
same quantity of granulated sugar
yon have peanuts. Put the sugar in
skillet or spider oh the fire, and keep
moving the skillet around until the sugar
is dissolved; then put in the peanuts and
poor into buttered tins. This is deli
cion. and so anickly made. Philadel
phia Ledger.
NO. 28.
FAtr THAT "THEY MAY EAT.
The Pious Greek's CfcrUtmas Table ah
( slow He Prepares for IU
For a month before Christmas everr
pious Greek has observed a rigid fast,
says a traveler, consequently the "table,"
which on that day is spread in every
house, produces something akin to fes
tivity. My friends of the evening before
begged me to sit down and partake ef
the meal that they had prepared. It
was somewhat of a stmggle to me, I
most own, for I expected it would not
be served in very magnificent style
Still, I was npt prepared for what actu
ally happened.
On a small round table was placed a
perfect mountain of macaroni and cheese
not such cheese as we are accustomed
to put with ours, but coarse sheep's milk
cheese, which stung my mouth like
mustard, and left a pungent taste therein
which tarried there for days. Then
there were no plates, no forks, no spoons.
The master of the house had a knife
with which he attacked the dish, and
the one which on ordinary occasions fell
to the mistress was now kindly placed
at my disposal. As for the rest of the
family, they were an example of the
adage that fingers were made before
forks, and these fingers grew perceptibly
cleaner as the meal progressed.
What a meal it was, indeed; as if it
were a contest in gastronomic activity.
Yet it was pleasant to see the appetite
with which great and small entered in)o
the contest and filled their mouths to
overflowing with the savory mass. I
was left behind in the contest, and had,
I fearr to tell many untruths concerning
my appetite and the excellence of the
dish, and great was my relief when it
was removed and dried, fruits and nuts
took its place. '
To drink we had resirated wine that
is to say, wine which had been stored in
a keg covered with resin inside, which,
gives the flavor so much relished by the
Greeks, but which is almost as unpalata
ble to an Englishman as beer must be to
those who drink it for the first time.
The wine, however, had the effect of
loosening the tongues of my friends, who
had been too busy as yet to talk, and
they told me many interesting Christ
mas tales. Exchange.
A Christmas with Edwin Booth.
"I remember a Christmas I spent in
Mr. Booth's company many years ago,
said a young theatrical manager in the
foyer. "He had bought a summer resi
dence at Cos Cob, Conn., the previous
summer, and invited me np to play
Santa Claus and do the chimney act.
His property was a fair sized little
promontory of land, bounded on one side
by the Connecticut river, on the other
side by Long Island Sound, and the
New York anu New Haven tracks
formed the base line. If there is any one
road affected by tramps it is that, same
New Haven road, and when 1 arrived,
two or three days before Christmas,
there Was a line of them waiting their
turn at the gate that reminded me of a
highly successful advance sale, one
tramp near the gate even offering to sell
his advanced position for ten cents.
Booth was much worried about the dan
gerous looking fellows, and it struck me
that a dog would bo highly appropriate
as a gift.
"I wired to a friend in New York, and
the day before Christmas the biggest
Siberian hound I ever saw was waiting
at the little station for me. Booth was
tickled to death, and we managed to
chain that dog just inside the main gate
near the lodge, and then we shook hands.
It was an awful big dog, bigger than a
little donkey that arrived on the next
train with a go-cart as a present to his
little daughter Edwina. Well, we fixed
up the presents that night. I dressed up
in fur rugs and traps as Santa Claus, and
had arranged to drive the donkey into
the reception room and distribute the
gifts from the well laden go-cart. Tbe
dog was to remain in the little shed we
had extemporized for him, but he didn't.
He was there on business, and he attend
ed to it promptly. The chain broke like
a piece of twine and I broke for the bal
cony, which I just managed to reach
from the cart. Of course there was a
racket, and I got into the window, and
by the time we had armed ourselves with
antique swords and a revolutionary mus
ket the noise had subsided sufficiently
for ns to venture forth. The dog was
just seen in the moonlight disappearing
over the stone wall, thousands of dollars
worth of presents were scattered in the
deep snow, and donkey meat and fur
were lying an inch deep over the three
acres of the Booth premises. The Sibe
rian bloodhound had torn the donkey to
atoms." Chicago Tribune.
Not All Over.
' Frost Well, it's all over.
Snow What's all over?
Frost Christmas. I say it only comes
once a year, and it's all oyer until next
time.
Snow Not by a jugful. The bills are
not in yet for half the stuff my wile
bought and charged to me! Selected.
ii-i
A Terrible Strain.
Employer (anxipusly) Does Mr. De
Goode drink?.
Confidential Clerk Not a drop.
"He has been two hours late for three
mornings,-and he looks as if he had been
on a terrible spree."
"It's all right. - On Christmas he gave
his boy a drum." Exchange.
It Wasn't Necessary.
First Sweet Girl Did you have a mis
tletoe bough in your house?
Second Sweet Girl No, I had one
ready, but forgot to put it up.
"Of all things! Forgot itT
"Yes; you see, George and I somehow
or other became engaged the day be
fore." Floating.
A Fair Exchange.
About $500 will buy your wife as fine
a sealskin palstot as you could desire to
surprise her with for a New Year's gift
And it would only be a fair exchange
for that $1.85 smoking set which he
laced in your stocking and told Burgess
charge to ; your account. Fall River
Advance. ...
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