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Show A II till II m.KlliM. There, aro two public holl lays which we have crmltted to become days of merry-making, of pleuure, and In Ion many ca.es of Indulgence, when If n would but stop to Investigate their character, commencing with their origin, we would nt oucoaee how ut-lerly ut-lerly lnap roprlalo If not Irreverent It all Is. These days aro Christmas and Decoration dny. They aro presumably pre-sumably taken from the oommou cal endar aud given n separata and distinct dis-tinct ttntlou because rummcmoratlvo of sacred and sorrowful events ralber than thoso which Incite In tenuous Indulgence or frivolous olxerv-ance. olxerv-ance. Una ll the reminder of an Immaculate Illrlh, thu other a me-merits me-merits mon kcej Ing beforo our mental vlslou tho forms that wont down In thonwful whirlpool of war by meant of which a nation was bound together more firmly than before. Are thise fitting occasions for mirth, waosall and roytterlng? The late Ueorge William Curtis, who made the "I aty Chair" of liar. ptrt Magailni famous throughout two oullnenti, clo'eJ his career In that department with n note of warning which la npprojrlate to the occasion. The languago Is tlm-ly tlm-ly ploa for Christmas, which Mr. Cuttls believes Is becoming a sham festival. The tendency nowadays Is to make the holiday "a vist an J ostentatious ostenta-tious expense, a lavish display, a toll-some toll-some and exhaustive endeavor to give something to nil your acquaintance-, a wearisome anticipation and afalnful suspicion that somebody has been omitted." It Is observed that a good many 10. le nru of thla way of thinking, but have not permitted their thoughts to be jut Into words or actions to ruako thctltutt'ou dlllerent to what It Is. As one writer hss It "Tho vulgarity with which some construe the customs and tradlltonsof theday la only to I e measuredas meas-uredas tliey themselves would have It measured by the site of the diamonds, tho cost of the sealskins acd In iifiumlnif tho gorgoou s rllu." A good time to legln a reformation lu thla respect would be right now with n Christmas but n few weeks ahead of us. Tho inauncr In which the day Is to be observed will bu at It has been for n long lime ast unlest the reformitory agency beglna at unco nnd at home. It Is a. responsibility which wo owe to civilization, to society, to thu rising generation, to Christianity Itself, to check If we cannot at once expunge thu vulgar mid all but barbnrous. practices which prevail on what should be a day of grace, leaco and repose Let ua reform as to this, not Indlllerent-, ly, but altogether I |