NEW YEAEl.^
OgAmvANCES
is'MANY I AlsU#
Americans are too tinny to take
many holidays, but few of them fall
to observe New Year's day in soma
way or other. The good old custom
of making calls on one's friends fell
into disrepute long ago because it
was so abused by the over-convivial,
hut family gatherings usually mark
the day, and the church folk all over
the country still hold watch meetings
In the religious edifices to usher In
the new year. Our observances of the
day, however, are not so picturesque
as are those of many other countries,
Vf MSJStAND
lSg s'GLAND and Scotland have re
\\J talned many of their interest
ing customs of olden times,
this being especially true of Scotland
Weeks before the New Year begins,
(he village boys, with great secrecy, 1
meet In out-of-the-way places and re
hearse their favorite ballads. As tho
time draws near they don improvised
masks and go about from house to
house singing and cutting; many
quaint capers.
The thirty first of December Is
called "Hogmanay," and the children
are told Hist If they go lo the cor
ner they will gee a man with as many
oyes as tho year has days The chil
dren of the poorer classes go from
house to house In the betler districts
with a large pocket fastened to their
dresses or a large shawl with a fold
1n front Each on* receives an oaten
cake, a piece of cheese, or sometimes
a sweet cake, and goes homo at night
with a good supply of homely New
Year cheer for the rest of the family.
The Scottish elders celebrate the
day with a supper party, and as the
clock "chaps” I", friend greets friend
anti wishes him "a guile New Year
and rnony o’ them." Then, with great
formality the dpor is unbarred to let
the Old Year out and the New Year
In, and all the guests sally forth into
the street to "first foot" their ac- ,
quaint twees.
In Kdlnburgh a great crowd gathers
around the church In Hunter square
and anxiously watches tho clock.
There is absolute silence from tho
first stroke of 12 until the Inst.
The old folks now go to bed but
thf young have other business on
hand. Much girl Is < xpectlng the "first ;
foot" from her sweetheart and there
ts much stratagem displayed In out
witting her occasionally, and having
some serving maid or graudmothcr
open the door to her lover.
The weather Is carefully observed
at this ' a-on, for It Is supposed to
betoken that which is to come. There
ts a rhyme current in Scotland which
runs thus:
If Now Voar's ovo tho night wind blow
oth south
It botokonoth warmth and growth;
If wost much milk, ami fish In tho sea;
If oast, tho tre<»s will boar much fruit;
if northeast, floe It, man anti bjuto.
During the last century all work was
laid aside on the afternoon of the
thirty first, and the men of the ham
let went to the woods and brought
home loads of juniper hushes. Kuch
household also procured a pitcher of
water from the "dead and living ford,"
meaning the ford in a river, by which
passengers and funerals crossed. This
was brought In perfect silence and
without being allowed to touch the
ground in its progress, ns contact
with the earth would hnve destroyed
the charm.
The rites next morning were sup
posed to protect the household
against witchcraft, the "evil eye." and
other devilments. The father rose
first, and taking the charmed water
and r brush, treated the rest of the
family to a vigorous baptism, which
was generally acknowledged with any
thing but gratitude.
Coming back, the ihrtfiy Scotch
man closed all the doors and windows
and put the juniper bough ott the tire.
When the smoke reached the suffocat
ing point, the fresh air was readmit
ted. Then the cattle were fumigated
in the same manner, and the painful
solemnities of the morning were over.
On New Year's day a superstitious
Scotchman will neither lend nor give
anything whatever out of his house,
for he fears that his luck may go too,
and for the same reason, the floor
must not be swept. If the tire goes
out It ts a sign of death.
lMOTE®ZAR'S'')i
OMAm
__^_i_.e*'—
USS1AN3 have a very pretty
ceremony. On each New
Year’s clay a pile of sheaves
is heaped up over a large pile, and the
lather, after seating himself behind
the pile, asks the children if they can
see him. Upon their replying that
they cannot, he cays ne hopes the
crops will be so flue the coming year
that he will be hidden in the fie lds.
The Russian New Year is 12 days
later than ours, ar.d is a gala occa
sion for all The; e is a grand cele
bration of mass in the morning, and
the rest of the day is devoted to con
gratulatory visits. Good wishes that
cannot he carried In this way are In
serted In the newspapers. In mili
tary and official circles ceremonial
visits a Pc paid.
The Russians arc great at fortune
telling, and on New Year’s eve (he un
married ladies and gentlemen send
servants iuto the street, or go out
themselves, to ask the names of per
sons they meet. These will be the
names of persons they will severally
marry, and many a bashful Russian
lover has speeded himself In his suit
by taking care to be the tlrst man his
Indy's servant met.
When midnight Is reached, each
member of the family salutes the oth
er with a kiss, beginning with the
head of the house, and then retire,
after wishing each other a Happy
New Year.
yjwa t . • '■
[ SI HE hospitable Norwegians and
Vl/ Bwedcs spri ad their tables
heavily for all who may come
In, and In Siockholm there is a grand
banquet In the Exchange, given to the
king and his family. On this occa
sion the monarch throws aside "the
divinity which doth hedge a king,"
and mingles with* his people as clti
zen to citizen, in true democratic
fashidn.
Danes greet the New Year with a
tremendous volley of cannon, and old
Copenhagen Is shaken to its founda
tions at midnight, it is also consid
ered a delicate compliment to lire off a
gun or a pistol under the bedroom
window of one's friends at a very
early hour.
Dwellers In Capo Town, South Af
rica, are an exception to the general
run of English colonists. After the
custom of the early Dutch settlers,
they celebrate New Year for an en
tire week. Every house is lull of vis
itors. every man, woman and child is
dressFd In his best, and no one has
any business except to seek amuse
ment. which lie does frantically. There
are plexites to Table mountain and
pleasure excursions in boats. There
Is a dance every evening. At the end
of the week everybody settles down
to business, and Ibo settlement is a ;
calm and well ordered ns if it. had
never heard of New Year.
T-.fr x .. ■ ■ / 11 •
/».
'~~k
/» I > KVI.UY one who lias seen 11
Chinese quarter tn a lar: .
city knows, "the heathen Chi
ne,e” celebrates the New Year in a
right royal fashion. In the mother
country tiie rejoicings absorb fully a
month, during the first pari of which
there is not an empty mouth in the
cippire.
Hut the refreshments are of a light
kind peanuts, watermelon seeds,
sweetmeats, oranges, tea and typical
ly Chinese cakes, Presents of cakes
are given to the poor, and "brilliant
cakes,” supposed to help the children
along with their studies, are distribu
ted from the temples.
At an early hour on the second of
February their New Year’s day—
they propitiate heaven and earth w ith
offerings of rice, vegetables, tea, wine,
oranges, and imitation paper money,
which they burn with incense, joss
sticks, and candles. Afterward they
worship their household gods and de
ceased ancestors and living relatives.
All this is carried out in the most sol
emn manner, and offerings are made
to everybody except the living.
Images of gods are carried in pro
cession to the beating of a deafening
gong, and mandarins go by hundreds
with congratulatory addresses to the
emperor. Their robes are gorgeously
embroidered and are heavy with gold.
Numerous amusements are provided
for the public, the chief of which are
acting, illuminations, and fireworks.
Ljyil A PAN'S Nev.- Year's day is the
(Jp4 twenty-ninth of January. It>
this time all accounts have
been adjusted and all disputes settled.
Everybody puts on the regulation
dress—a sort of light blue cotton—
ami starts out to visit relatives and
friends. The visiting lasts for three
days, and they send letters of con
gratulation, in stiff, set phrases, to
those in distant places.
They go to their favorite tea gar
dens, and there is a grand procession
in which all trades are represented.
Drums and stringed instruments are
played by numerous bands, and wax
figures are sold by the thousand. They
utnuse themselves with top spinning,
kite flying, jugglers, actors and fire
works, and the “ladies of quality"
please themselves with the "butterfly
dunce.”
Presents are offered of cooked rice,
roasted peas, oranges, and tig The
peas are scattered about the ho es
to frighten away evil spirits, and on
the fourth tiny of the New War, the
decorations of lobster which signify
reproduction, cabbages which mean
riches, and oranges which mean good
luck, are taken down and replaced
with boughs of fruit trees and flowers.
This is to signify the near approach
of spring, when the "winter garment
of repentance" shall be thrown aside.
pNih\ii>diry
:i PKISVIOUSLY arranged, the
Fsqtiininux go forth' from their
snow tints or ice eaves in
pairs, one of each pair being dressed
in women's clothes. They gain 'en
trance to every igloo In the village,
moving silently and mysteriously. At
last, there is not a light left in the
whoio place, and having extinguished
every spark of fire they can find, they
kindle a livsh one. going through mys
terious ceremonies meanwhile. From
tills one source all lamps and fires in
thi> distriet are lighted anew.
hi the Indian empire, the day jrhlch
corresponds to other New Year cele
brations, is called Hooly, and is a
feast in honor of Kri hna. Caste tem
porarily loses caste and the prevailing
hue is red. livery one who can afford
it wears red garments. They throw
ted powder at one another, and mix
it with water and squirt It from syr
inges on passers-by. This is taken in
as good part as snow balling is in
northern climes.
Complimentary visits between the
merest acquaintances are exchanged
in Germany, and .\Vw Year's gifts are
made to the servants. The eve of the
New Year is called "der Sylvester
Vbend,” and while it is deemed not un
becoming for t he young and thoughtless
to while away the evening by dancing,
the day in more serious households
takes on a semi-religious aspect. Dar
ing the evening there is prayer at the
family altar, and at midnight the
watchman on the church tower blows
ills lioru to announce the birth of the
New Year.
The "Jour de l'An" is a great period
almost all over France, and many of
the customs common with us at
Chrlstmustide are transferred to New
Year, in many parts of that country
masquerading by children continues
for three days, the youngsters going
from house to house, singing and beg
ging for small presents.
DEATH Or THE OLD YfcAK.
By CHARLOTTE REA I MUST JARVIS.
Miserere! toll (lie bell.
I.el the earth send forth a knell.
For a great soul lakes his Might.
None knows whither, in the night—
Miserere'
Streteheil upon Ills snowy bier.
Dying lies the good Old Yeur;
And upon the midnight gale
All may hear his parting wail—
Miserere'
In the old king's chequered reign
There were mingled joy und pain;
Friends proved false, while foes were
true.
Sinners many, saints—a few—
Mlsei ere!
There were hearts that suffered wrong,
Rote it bravely, and were strong;
Hearts there were, so black within,
Satan wondered at their sin—
Miserere!
Garners full of fruitful store.
' Measurt s pressed, and running o'er;
Famine in the streets at night,
Doing deeds too dark for light—
Miserere!
Rang the church bells for the wed.
Tolled they also for the dead;
In one home a Joy Was born,
From another joy was torn—
Miserere!
Snell eartn's sorrow, such its sin,
| All must end where they begin;
! Snow which wraps the New Year's feet
! Is the Old Year's winding sheet
M. sere re!
Now his spirit goeth fast.
Midnight hour will be his last;
To your knees, earth's worn ami weary—
Miserere! Miserere!
UyOANlEl. IV. GALLAGHER
ralNDER the old earth’s outer crust—
3 BE ’Mid bed-rock fragments and lava
dust:
Watching the axis turning slow,
The Old Year stood at his dynamo
In the power plant which time maintains,
And numbered losses and figured gains.
“I've done quite well,’’said the aged seer—
“My record's good as an engineer,
I've kept things humming, above below,
hoiks can't complain that I've been slow,
And now I’m offw'hen midnight calls—”
Then he started doffing his overalls.
He washed his face and brushed his hair—
Then leaned fat back in his arm-chair
In pensive mood till a sturdy chap
Clambered up to the old man’s lap.
And said: “Old Year they tell me you
Aie sorter thinking of getting through."
‘‘Right you are," cried the aged man.
‘‘Your task awaits you. little Jan.
Get into your duds and start right in,
I will wait right here until you begin,
For 1 wish to see if I rightly guess,
Which of the levers you first will press.”
Then Jan inarched up to the dynamo.
He passed the levers of "Want" and
“Woe”—
Nor touched the levers of “War” or
“Fame” —
Stopping the while to read each name:
Tfiena handle grasped asheturnedto ga
The Old Year’s face seemed all aglow.
So when the dawn of that day began
Man thought of his stricken brother man.
With ready help anti an honest tear.
For them that knew no glad New Year.
'Twas the lever of I.ove in the midsf of
gloom—
That Jan had gripped in the engine-room
Thoughts for
the New Year
k k
We sleep, but the loom of
life never stops, and the pattern
which was weaving when the
sun went down is weaving
when it comes up in the morn
ing.— //. //', Beecher.
We are not in this world
to do w hat we wi sh, but to be
willing to do that vdiich it is
our duty to do. G rnod.
!t is the every days that
count, I tiey must be made to
tell, or the years have failed.—
II . C. Gannett.
Soberly and with clear eyes
believe in your own time and
place. There is not, there
never has been, a better time
or a better place to live in.
Ot iy Wiih tii ■ belief can you
'<■ ■eve rj hope. BhUiips
Brooks. /
We may make the best of
life, or we may make the worst
of it, and it depends • ,y much
upon re ■ s \ r we ex
t, t , y or i try tiom it.—
ill ' ■ ' ■' - ' -wy of life
are tii u . . n himself
makes when im . 13 in bis
own light.— Lord Abury.
Our lif • is short, but to ex
pand that span to vast eternity
is virtue’s work.- Shakespeare.
1 he hour that is gone I
cannot recall, but to-morrow I
will do better than yesterday;
and all to-morrows : hall be bet
ter than the ywtejxlays. L'-t
us “h ave behind our low-vault
ed past.’’ Dyer.
Life is fruitful in the ratio in
which it is laid out in noble
action or patient perseverance.
—Lid don.
THE NEW YEAR'S CHOICE
It is Well to Choose Wisely for the
Time That Is to
Come.
Once, long ago, the I.ord appeared
la a vie,ion of the uigni to a young
man with the offer, "Ask what 1 shall
give thee.” And a decisive moment
was that in which the young king
weighed against all others the thing
which he most desired.
Centuries lie between us and the
young king, Solomon, but still—and
especially on each recurring New
Year’s—God appears to each of us
with practically the same offer, "Ask
what I shall give thee." And, as with
Solomon, so with every heart, there
lies ilie choice of the gift. Were the
question an audible one, what would
your answer be?
Each recurring New Year’s, in ef
fect, says: "Ask what I shall give
thee.” And the choice for the coming
year may be our choice for all the
years of life. It is by choice that men
seek wealth and learning and by inlltt
, nee. And it is not a question of this
and that, but of this or that. To
choose is to decide between, to leave
as well as to take. Therefore, what
will be our choice for the year before
us? God Himself asks the question,
makes the offer.
Christmas Fairies.
An old English tradition has it that
at Christmas-tide, elves and fairies
may mingle with humankind in the
festivities, and the holly, bay and ivy
are hung that the fays may find hid
ing places. They are also hung to af
ford a refuge to the woodland sprites
who. at this season, are hnlf-frozeu
in the forests.
I am trying to make a
date with
THE
AUCTIONEER
They tell me he is strictly up-to
date and well posted on all classes
of domestic animals and also farm
property in general.
He can certainly please you, as he has had s xteen years expe
rience. He is also from Missouri, and if given the opportunity will
“SHOW YOU - results.
BEFORE ARRANGING DATE, WRITE, TELEPHONE
or TELEGRAPH at my exponse)
J. G. WHITAKER
\
Piiones 168-131-216 Falls City, N ib.
There’s A Reason
There’s a reason fordoing all things. The ‘'reason" i this
case for your giving us your
Grain, Flour ami Feed
business, is that (J-l’-A-LT-T-Y is our most important watch
word. When you get it have it of the first quality. Free
delivery to all parts of the city. We are located
Just West Palls Citv Auto to.
Aldrich & Portrev
PALLS CITY, NEBRASKA
RICHARDSON CO. PAR MS
40 acres rolling land, $1,400.
94 acres bottom land, $6,500
1C0 acres rolling land, $5,000.
80 acres good land, $7,600.
8Q acres good land, $7,200.
80 acres good land, $9,200.
SO acres good land, $12,000.
110 acres good land, $12,760.
160 acres good land, $16,000.
160 acres good land, $16,000.
160 acres good land, $2b,000,
320 acres good land, $25,000.
OKLAHOMA LAND
240 acreS improved, $4,500.
100 acres improved, $3,000.
PALLS CITY PROPCRTY
Ai four room house, $1,200.
A1 fine modern cottage, $3,5C0.
5 room house, 5 lots, $2,500.
8 room modem residence, $4,500
10 room, fine residence, $3,200.
9 room modern residence $7,000
6 room residence, $2,500.
7 room residence, $3,500.
The above are all well improved properties and worth the money.
I also have several good farms to exchange for good income
property or business.
I have a couple of fine business propositions for sale.
Iy you wish to buy, sell or trade see me, T may have a bar
gain for you.
G. H. EALLSTEAD
PALLS CITY, NEBRASKA
Passenger Trains
44**i
t;.
: ■ i 1 -Jr - • •
1 ' ■ ■
^)WV- *
South Bound
Tr. 104—St. Louis Mail and Ex
press .1:23 p. m*
Tr. 106—Kansas City Exp.. 3:41 a. in.
Tr. 132 x—K. C.local leaves..7:30 a. m.
Tr. 138 x—Falls City arrives 9:00 p. m.
x—Daily except Sunday
North Bound
Tr. 103—Nebraska Mail and Ex
press.1:52 p. in.
Tr. 105—Omaha Express. .2:23 a. m.
Tr. 137 x—Omaha local leaves 6:15 a m.
l’r. 131 x—Falls City local ar
rives.8:45 p.tn
x -Daily exoeot Sunday
Local Frt. Trains Carrying Passengers
North Bound
Tr. 192.x—To Atchison.11:10 a. in.
South Bound
Tr. 191.x—To Auburn.1:23 p m
Burlington Route
a
West Bound
No. 13 Denver Exp.1:10 a. in
No. 15—Denver Exp. (Local). 1:40 p. in
No- 43—Portland Exp..10:17 p. m.
No. 41—Portland Exp.2:25 p. ni.
No. 121—Lincoln Loc. via Ne
braska City.5:00 a. m.
East Bound
No. 14- St. .1., It. C A St. L . , ;38 a. m
No. 44—st. J.. K. C. iV St. L .
No. 10—St. J., K. C. & St. L. .4:22 p. m
(Local)
No. 42 St. .T., K C. & St. L. .6:52 p. m
No 122—From Lincoln, via
Nebraska City.8:45 p n,
E. G. Whitford, Asjent.
—Nebraska’s choicest corn and
alfalfa lands for sale from $75 tr>
$85 per acre. Send for free 11s*
Nider & Henrlchs, Falrbury, Neb.
