The age-herald., 1900-12-26
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE

| DO not court before O clock in the evening""
 This being thy birthday. fortune favors thee. and thy money will increase as we'll as thy business; those in employ will get l promoted, but those in love may grieYe."
 "A child born on this day will be suc- cessful and rise in life; if female she will not be fortunate in marriage"
 Astrologer Raphaers prophecies for Thursday, December ?. 1900:
 "A very unlucky day"
 '"Thy wilt quarrel and get to law; thy affairs will go wrong and thou will travel or change and meet very bad fortune; keep myself quiet"
 "A enid born on this day will be rash, headstrong and unsteady and nearly a1- ways in some mischief; if a female, un- happy in marriage, or perhaps will not marry at all'
 ''In the Saturnalia of licentiousness, gen. eral vice and crime, which has prevailed to an unwonted degree for even Birming- ham during the past seventy hours, the three fires have been most conspicuous firearms, firewater and fireworks" said an ''old stager" who is mortified by the pre- vailing devilment.
 Tt seems incredible that the most highly prized Christmas gifts which some men received and gave were pistols, pur- chased for the purpose of committing mur- der if opportunity was presented. Fancy giving friend a murderous and unlawful weapon as a Christmas gift. Yet that sort of thing is done here in Birmingham, and about sixty murders are committed each year, and still there are men amongst us of fair education who brag about southern civilization.
 I've are used to murder, outrages, bur glares and all sorts of crime, and nothing of that character surprises anybody; but Birmingham is unaccustomed to seeing scores and scores of well-dressed and emil nently respectable girls marching through the streets and taking friendly liberties of jest and frolic with strange men. That was one of the deplorable sights of Christi mas Eyes awful spectacle of riotousness, lawlessness. It was mournful, and one wondered where the girls mothers were. Probably hundred or maybe double that number. of would-be murderers 'heeled' themselves anew during Christmas, and the percentage of murders will speedily show large increase"
 
 This beautiful Christmas story of Bir- mingham is sent hither by Protestant, who is a widely known man:
 A gentleman who dwells in Highland avenue has in his employ as cook German woman who is a devout Catholic. She has a pretty little daughter about years of age. A few days ago the child learned that Christmas was coming and that old Santa Claus would bring all sorts of good things to good children. Thereupon she placed her mothers crucifix upon a table, and kneel- ing before it with her rosary in her hand. fervently prayed that Santa Claus would come to her and bring q lovely doll. The touching incident was soon made known to the little girls of the neghborhood and they as the angels of their Heavenly Father, answered the poor orphans prayer. No child in all the land received more or lovelier gifts than she. God always answers the prayer of faith and blesses those who stay their hearts in Him."
 
 This day after Christmas is St. Stephens Day in the calendar of the church, and in Great Britain and Ireland it is termed Box ing Day, so called because it is on this day that all Christmas gifts for servants, and all to whom one is indebted for service of the more direct personal nature, are pre- sented. Hence you give the servants, the postman, the carrier, and so on, their "boxes" which may mean money or any article of value. The happy custom is a very old one and is as firmly established as Is the custom of New Years observances. And just before Christmas every year Her MaieStV'S nostDoa Star oeparo1 eaod. o,,4 request, printed in every newspaper, that everybody will refrain from giving postmen strong drink Ordinarily well-to-do people. each family, give the postman a half-crown sixty cents. The rich give larger sums, the poor give smaller.
 Boxing Day is universal holiday-every- body who can possibly abstain from ordi- nary occupation does so, and the day is given over to sports of all sorts and general merry making. "One Boxing Day I recall out of eight ar ten very happy anniversaries of that jolly character I enjoyed in our mother coun- try" said a traveller last night Certain gentlemen, aristocrats, if you please, in Cork and the district arranged some four pound-nineteen shilling amateur races to
 
 non people on a historic spot nine miles l from the city. The Royal Irish Jockey Club would not permit races under it's rules to be run for less than five pounds sterling entry, and so these races were fixed for one shilling under that sum, hence the | generic name. It was all for the fun of the multitude. and 1t actually resulted in l great fun for the upper classes. WI of do rafa +a as gloomy as an Irish December day could be, and that was gloomier than anybody in Birmingham could imagine. There were three of us at the club that morning, and we decided to hire a jaunting-car, have the club steward to stock 1t with food and drink and drive to the races. A cabman in Ireland is called jarvey, and our jar vey that day drove like Jehu, son of Nim- shi; he drove furiourly. Arr ot hn