, 1876-12-31

erned By this sentiment when they made up th,
calendar; else we might have been making Nev
Year calls nowadays in the middle Of Jul,
or some other exceedingly queer time o1
year. Their Writers, 1t Is true, were not by any
means Of so ter'1cious character as those ex.
pe.ienced In tais latitude, but perhaps they
were colder t4en in hepeninsula than now. The
Latin poets Hrote about snow aud ice as ifthose
articles were cheap commodities, anyway.
It there is ctrtain point in the circle Of the
year when everybody naturally takes to moral
izing, 1t is on or about Sew-Year's-Day. The
preacher in his pulpit is irresistibly constrained
to speak about the day, and to draw mild les
SOUS OF rcproot for the past misconduct Of some
people, the gcod manners Of other people, aad
to offer such advice about the future as
IS consistent With his cloth aud sect. Nor
does be have the field Of admonition to himself.
Those three rather indefinite ret always tusepa-
rable young gentlemen, who are known to fame
as Tom, Dick, and Harry, share 1t with him, and
not only counsel others to reform, but take the
thought home to tEeir owu bosor1s and resolve
to become batter citizens from that day forth.
It Is said that . certain wild, yet clever young
fellow, on being once asked BY Lady Holland
when be wae going to mend bis morals, replied
"always," thus EXPRESSING succtnctiy the whole
| situation, aud oue thai belonged not alone to
men men Of that DAY aad tbs and 3s t3ss
a;ts YET eG It fsmd IS atoreSef See e4 The that world Id
vas more given to forming good resolutions at
the beginning Of the year than at any other
| time.
1t Is good thing, and should not be discour-
| aged. Even If the excellent resolve made on
New Years Eve should not last longer than New
fear's Night, It is still worthy in its purpose,
hn 3a1 rxS$h IL
rtsion. One Of the most common ways Of re-
solving is that which is popularity kn2zn
! as "swearing-cff." Holiday time. is
cninently the season for swearing Off. Thc
aforesaid three cronies, Tom, Dick, and Har,
are quite apt to have hankering after the 1;:tre
OF the vine and the stalk, aud in the cpurae IT
the old year have managed to expend lurge
portion OF their moderate incomes for the r;1vl~
lego OF inducing various heavy liquors into .telr
stomachs, and thereby producing proportion
ate ate llghtentng OF the head. AS they approach
arc apter than ever to celebrate It with bumpers
and beakers, until after Christmas. Then they
begin to think Of another year, and to think Of
now they are going to spend it, and to reflect
upon how O., they have idl>l away and malt:eatedthe
past. Then, perhaps, they all three meet 10
solemn conclave in a giifod saloon, and then
and there shake hands and swear that they will
not touch another drop for-for-well, say until
the Fourth Of July which is long period OF
abstinence. and, to still further bind the bar
gam, anu In token OF their undying friendship
and good faith as we'll as good fellowship, they
take one last, loEg, lingering drink together.
and then depart slowly from the place that will
sec them no more for six months. This scene
Is no fancy Aketch, but common experience; It
may be added that the pledge thus taken is
rarely broken.
But New-Year's-Day itself is q great stum-
bltng~b1ock in the way OF a young nau who has :
been "swearings-t,fE." II he is society young
man,-and ten chances to ono that re is,-he
will feel bound to make the rounds Of his ac-
qualntanc<as OF tie fairer sex. But he must be-
ware, else be- will fall an easy prey to the
sparkling beverage presented to him so bcwftch-
ingly BY young ladies with ret more sparkling
eyes.
There is no doubt but that the New Tar ,
call has lost much Of its original SAVIOR IL: q.
institution. When the old Knickerbcckers ,,,:nt
around in knee-breeches and sharp-corneYed
hats, they we're In the habit Of throwing off !
rather than putting on restraint. They were !
ceremonlous fellows, too even In the heydey OF |
youth, and their language to our modern ears |
sounds awfully stilted and uncommon. Yet !
they }ouked upon New Years Day Us an occa-
sion apart from all others, and one TINT should |
be observed in different manner; 50 they ban |
ished care, flung away all thought Of wampum, |
and gave themselves up to laughter and !
schuapp5- :: |
The eating is no uniaportant part OF the visit. |
Your young man generally comes Ia convey
ance and in crowd. The tendency to mass to- |
gether has been observable for several years, /
and while the first idea Of people WAS probably |
to conduce to greater sociability, there have as
yet been no indications that the end has heen !
perceptbly served II the young man makes |
himself numerous wherever he calls on New |
Years. Day, he has an excuse in this fact that |
the young lady ia also profusely represented. |
There is really very little opportunity for cordi-
ality under these circumstances, and 1t is no !
wonder TINT the Sew-Year call has degenerated
into formal display Of dress, and 8 Still more
formal passage Of compliments. In despair
the Young man often HES to the refreshmeut
table, aud yatnly endeavors to squeeze little
fieud1iuess out OF frozen salads and hollow
ing, and 1t Is not right for illnatured folks to
poke fun at the New-Year caller who has swal-
lowed only dozen cups of coffee aud score Of
sandwiches. OF course, he had no business
should not, however, tor merely taking little
at the table be taunted with the sar- !
casm Of Theophl1e Gautier, that man Is the |
only animal that eats when be is not hungry,
drinks when he is not thirsty, and Makes love
all the year round.
The French know how to eat and drink, Ger
tainly, II they don't know how to make love.
The American fashion Of spending New Years.
would never be tolerated In Paris, where cognac
S dealt out by the thimblefull, aud where
champagne is the only Intoxicating drink. They
re aesthetic in thclr mental and physical tastes, |
md their young men would as soon think OF
marrying grisettes as Of drinking between meals.
)ne OF the most dissipated Frenchmen that the
writer ever met was in the habit OF drinking |
,ottle OF wiuc at each meal, but nothing could
induce him to drink drop at any other time Of
lay or night. Bcranger carried the propripties 4
till further out when he wrote
Dams 1e printemps adieu le bouteil1e,
Dams Tautomne adieu lomonr.
But these comparisons are less profitable than !
Interesting. The traits OF nationa1ities have
title to 10 With to~morroW's festivities IN Chi |
ago. These arc to be gay beyond precedent, to
udge from the List OF calling places, and If the
uguries Of wind and weather are to be verified;
nd so, dispensing with critical forecasting, one
an wish well OF the day and its procedures,
nd even join IN with the old cry, Eat, drink.
nd be mcrry!' ETcErERA.
MATRIMONIAL.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
One OF thosc quiet, unceremonious weddings.