The record-union., 1897-12-25

holiday decorations. Being accus-
toned to certain things, one seldom If
ever inquiries how the custom originat-
ed. Who would think Of the tragic
death of. Balder in Morse mythology.
when seeing a branch Of mistletoe tied
with bright ribbons. Yet if we think
awhile we should all recall that myth
ological legend of how Balder, the pure,
the God of Light, was one night
troubled With evil dreams and when
relating it the next day to his moth
er, Friga, she Immediately felt it to be
on omen Of his death. Therefore, she
and Odin, the father Of all gods, ex-
acted an oath from every living Great
ure and all plants and metals not to
harm Palder. Then all the gods felt
satisfied, and often in fun threw stones
and weapons but none did him harm
But Lok1, the fire god, was Jealous or
| Balder, just as the fire of hell is jeal-
| Gus of the light of God So one day,
while they We're having festivities, he
went to F'riga, disguised as an old
woman, and asked her If all things had
promised not to harm Balder. Yes all
! things she replied, except one shrub,
which I thought too weak and feeble
to do any harm; the mistletoe which
grew on the side Of the hill" LolIi
then gathered a small branch and when
all had thrown something at Balder,
except Hoder the blind god, he offered
him this branch. Loki directed the
place where Balder stood and imme-
diately the god of light fell dead 9th
ers say that when Balder was pierced
by the arrow of mistletoe, ne was after
wards restored to life; so the mistletoe
criy- Int. Df 2 rsI
of affection as a symbol of love. For
| the sacred miXings of the Celts all re-
spect and reverence was held for the
oak. Six days before Christmas they
spent their TIME gathering lhistletoe
| from the oaks. One of their ancient
| legends, says one of the Druid priests,
while in an oak forest, heard wailng
and lamentations. He soon discovered
that one of the evil gods had trans
| formed maiden into this mistletoe, in
which form she should remain until
some one kissed her. AT first the priest
would not as it was against the vows
of his priesthood; ne finally did, how
ever, and the maiden was set free. Even
the Germans connect the mistletoe
with some of their superstitions, and
the old Celts considered il good luck
to kiss under the mistletoe branch.
That idea evidently still remains with
US.
In announcing the engagement of
Hon. A. Conte, formerly of this city,
to Miss LIE Faille of San Francisco, the
Chronicle" says: The engagement
is announced of A. Comte, Jr., and Miss
Rosella La Faille. No definite time
has as yet been set for the wedding, but
the coming summer is suggested. Only
few Of the friends have been told Of
the pleasant event as yet, but congrat-
ulations will be many, for the engaged
pair are very well known. The en-
gagement is not of long standing. Miss
LIE Faille is the daughter of Samuel La
Faille and is a teacher in the School
Department. Mr.. Comte was mem
Der of the Board of Education last
year. and it was while acting in that
capacity that he met Miss La Faille.
who has been for several years the
| teacher of eiocution in the Humboldt
Evening School. She is a charming
and lovable girl, pretty and young. She
is but u years of age, blonde and not
too tall. She graduated from the Nor
NAL School in this city and studied elo-
cution at several dramatic schools. She
had a decided talent for elocution and
at one time was strongly attracted tow
ard the stage. She appeared at several
Of the local theaters in different parts,
among them Marco in The Marble
Heart" and Valentine in "a Celebrat-
ed Case" Both times Miss La FailIe
met with success. At one time she
thought Of accepting an engagement
with the Heart of Maryland" Com
pany and adopting the stage as a pro-
fession, but finally decided to resume
her teaching.
Mr.. Comte is a well-known member
Of the bar, having practiced law in
this city for twenty-four years. Like
Miss La Faille, he is of French descent
and was born in st. Louis. Mr.. Comte
was educated at Harvard College, and
| is prominent member Of the Harvard
Club. He practiced law for some years
in Sacramento, and while there repre-
sented Sacramento in the Assembly
and Senate for six years. Then he re-
moved to San Francisco, and in 1880
was a member of the convention which
framed the charter. He is now a Non
Partisan candidate for the coming
charter convention.
After the marriage Mr.. and Mrs.
Comte VIII spend their winters IN san
Francisco and their summers in San
Mateo County where Mr.. Conlte has a
ranch"
quiet wedding occurred at the But
Ter Hotel, Seattle on Wednesday even
ing, December 10Th, when Rev. DR..
Hutchison of the First Presbyterian
Church, joined in marriage w T. His
lop of San Francisco, Cal, and Miss
Maud Evans Of Sacramento, Cal, who
is wel-known and has q host of
friends here. Mr.. Hislop is well known
to business men of Seattle, having rep
resented q well-known wholesale house
in the North Pacific section for a num-
Der of years Mr.. and Mrs. Hislop viii
make the Butler Hotel, Seattle, their
home most Of the time. The groom is
at present in the employ of a large
mercantile firm of San Francisco.
Mrs. Leo Solomon was at home to her
friends on the 18th, it being the twenty
fifth anniversary of her wedding. She
was the recipient Of many handsome
renernbrances.