The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-12-27
Who Shall Explain The De-
cline ard Fail Of a Once
Prosperous Custom
CALENDARS AND AUTOGRAPHS.
Some Valuable Hints in the Matter
Of Seasonable Gifis-Things
That Interest the World
Of Fashion.

IHere Is great opportunity dWa1tlHR
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 long-looked for work.
Let him picture the times in the colonial
days Of New York, when Christmas itself
was but a mere flourish of trumpets to
usher in New Years Day. greatest III 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 oeiy-koek
loaded the mahogany, fanked by noun
tains of pie, and sturdy Gagons of
homebre wed. Then it was that
Brouw Van Twiller or Dietrich
van der Decken made a poDderous
progress from house to house; for TO be-
gin the year without solid basis OF New
Years calls, argued a woefnl lack of
reverence for social usage Dominic and
Juffrow headed the long list, aud when
the festive wouter finally wended his
homewsrd way from the last call, per-
hapS 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 KnickerbocRer!
where is the oely-koek. and where the
roellachoji? Where the ponderous table
ponderously spread for New Years Dayg
Where the open house and hearty well
come for old and young? Where are the
group of burghers wedding their way
from stoop TO sroop. bidding each bnxom
Mevrouw many returns of the Happy
New Yearf Even the pretty custom of
New Years gifts has dwindled. peaked
and pinned, until now the lirst day of the
y.
day on which to make-and break-good
resolutions.
A LOVE TOKEN.
But not everyone has yet lost the spirit
Of New Years giving. Some dainty little
tride sent by loving hands will some
times do more good 70 the c0nvalescent
than month of medicine. There is
great deal in good beginning. and a pot
OF Chinese lilies or cluster of hot-house
flowers may give the shut inn q 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 q young collie
gian, whose studies keep him
in a distant city for the greater
part of the college year. So Mademoiseile
concocted present for her knight-errant
which has decided flavor OF novelty
about it. She bought a calendRr-sone of
the authors calendars with snip for
each day, which are fastened into a pad,
leaving one end loose. Then she slipped
between the leaves. at intervals OF about
ten days, tiny bits OF ricepnper. bearing
little messages; some, single Hover.
painted bv her own hand: one, a real for
ret-me-not, pressed and pinned to card;
one, a tiny picture OF the sender, some
Kodak views of we'll RENE m bered places,
and some best of all, bearing loving little
messages that will be worth more than
the price of hundred calendars to the
exiled lover, when they are absent, one
from anotherv The leaves are pressed
so closely together in the pad that the
slips cannot be Withdrawn until each days
leaf comes off, and 1t 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 tue usual perpetual calen-
dar The decoration consists in painting
| the calendar to represent an hour glass,
| powdering with diamond filters or pull
verified glass and adding these words in
| gold letters, 1.-The Seconds are the Dia-
| mond dust Of Eternity"
| If the giyer has more money than time,
| and would like pretty little instrument
/ to mark the flight of days, she may find
quantities OF artistic fac smile water
color calendars that would suit the most
4
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 III
pinafore and frock.
AN AUTOGRAPH CALENDAR.
| The most elaborate, ana 70 the mind OF
| the writer. the most desirable calendar
4 on the list, is made something in the
manner of the following:-A certain
! popular clergyman in Boston suburb
| will be presented with this calendar on
| January l, 1892 An energetic church.
| woman and life long acquaintance, sent
| to each of his friends a slip from memo
| randurn 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 coli
| lected, made into pad, and
| mounted on a pasteboar 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-fime faces for year, and
the treasured slips will form delightful
substitute for the old-time autograph
album.
1t may seem merely an aggravation to
suggest such a calendar four days before
January /, 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 10 get 1t
| together as to pull il apart.
SOCIAL HAPPENINGS.