The Sunday morning news., 1891-12-27
new YEARS TN SOCIETY.
Who Shall Explain the De-
cline and Fall of a Once
ProSuerOus (uStOm !?
CALENDARS AND AUTOGRAPHS.
Some Valuable Hints in the Matter
of Seasonable Gifts-Things
That Interest the World
of Fashion.

There is a great opportunity awaiting
the author who shall do justice to the
subject 1.-THE Decline and Fall of New
| Years day." When that author dawns
upon the view, he will not suffer for lack
OF material for a long-looked for work.
Let him picture the times in the colonial
days of New York. when Christmas itself
was but q mere flourish of trumpets to
usher in New Years Day. greatest in the
calendar; when the New Years cooky
held as undlsputed sway as does Good
Fridays hot cross bun; and when the
savory cruller and luscious oely-koek
loaded the mahogany, fanked by noun
tains of pie, and sturdy fagons of
Bropw Van Twiller or Dietrich
van der Decken made ponderous
progress from house to house; for to be-
gin the year without a solid basis of New
Years calls, argued a woeful lack of
| reverence for social usage. Dominic and
Juffrow headed the long list, and when
the festive wouter finally wended his
baps his elephantine tread had grown a
shade less steady, and his gentle pulse
beat more quickly than when he started
out to fulfil his social obligations.
Now, shades of Dietrich Knickerbocker!
where is the oely-koek, and where the
roellachoji? Where the ponderous table
ponderously spread for New Years Davs
Where the open house and hearty well
come for old and youngp Where are the
group of burghers vending their way
from stoop to stoop, bidding each buxom
Mevrouw many returns of the Happy
New Yearp Even the pretty custom of
New Years gifts has dwindled, peaked
and pined, until now the first day of the
new year has taken its place merely as a
day on which to make-and break-good
resolutions.
LOVE TOKEN.
But not everyone has yet lost the spirit
of New Years giving. Some dainty little
trifle sent by loving hands will some
times do more good to the convalescent
than month of medicine. There is a
great deal in good beginning. and pot
of Chinese lilies or a cluster of hot-house
flowers may give the 'tshut in" breath
of out of doors, to begin the New Year,
and calendars, : calendars are always
good New Years gifts. A certain maiden
who lives not thousand miles from our
City Hall is betrothed to young collie
gian, whose studies keep him
in a distant city for the greater
part of the college year. So Mademoiselle
concocted present for her knight-errant
which has a decided flavor of pOvelty
about it. She bonght calendar-tone Of
the authors calendars with slip for
each day, which are fastened into pad,
leaving one end loose. Then she slipped
between the leaves, at intervals of about
ten days, tiny bits OF ricepaper, bearing
little messages; some, a single flower.
painted bv her own hand; one, real for
get-me-not, pressed and pinned to card;
one, tiny picture of the sender, some
Kodak views of well remembered places,
and some. best of all, bearing loving little
messages that will be worth more than
the price of a hundred calendars to the
exiled lover. when they are absent, one
from another" The leaves are pressed
so closely together in the pad that the
slips cannot be Withdrawn until each days
leaf comes off, and it is safe to say that
this collegian will always know what day
of the month it is.
Another pretty calendar is made of
water color paper cut in the shape of an
hour glass. The numbered ribbons run
through as in the usual perpetual calen-
dar. The decoration consists in painting
the calendar to represent an hour glass,
powdering with diamond filters or pull
verized glass, and adding these words in
gold letters, 1.-The Seconds are the Dia-
inond dust of Eternity"
IT the giver has more money than time,
and would like a pretty little instrument
TO mark the flight of days, she may find
quantities OF artistic fac simile water
color calendars that would suit the most
fastidious friend.
A calendar where twelve pretty girls,
designed by McVickar, preside over the
twelve months, is very pretty. as well as
Miss Humphreys calendar, where the
ruling spirits are twelve little maids In
pinafOre and frocK.
AN AUTOGRAPH CALENDAR. r.
The most elaborate, and 10 he mind of
the writer. the most desirable calendar
on the list, is made something in the
popular clergyman in Boston suburb
will be presented with this calendar on
January /, 1892. An energetic church,
woman and life long acquaintance, sent
to each of his friends slip from a memo
randum calendar, with a request that the
receiver write upon it some sentiment or
quotation, sign it in full and return
at once The slips were then col
lected, made into pad, and
mounted on pasteboard backing. which
had been prettily decorated by an artistic
friend, This calendar will not soon lose
its interest; it will bring back memories
and recall old-time faces for year, and
the treasured slips will form delightful
substitute for the old-time autograph
album.
1t may seem merely an aggravation 10
suggest such calendar fonr days before
January l, but it was done from motives
of kindness, for this is just about the
time to begin for 1898. People will keep
those slips an entirely unnecessary length
of time, and if such calendar is contem
plated it will take nearly as long TO get 1t
together as to pull 1t apart.