| Show V 11 UK custom of 0 celebrating the new year by leaving behind in theory at least ones pet pernicious habit or besetting sin bin may be hackneyed but it certainly la Is not entirely M relegated to the limbo of 0 things forgotten or outworn some time new years day when a quiet moment in the jaya days swirl offers time for thought there will be a hasty taking stock of 0 the year that la Is gone a recounting of 0 errors and failures a silent prom iso that this or that will not occur again and what does it all amount to after all this old custom of revamping thread threadbare baro resolutions or selecting now new ones the cynic will smile and say aay that it la Is all a waste of effort a flash in the pan a halfhearted glossing over of mistakes by wordy and none mone too sincere promises of reform the humorist will have hla his little fling in cartoon and witty quip and jest lie ile will gurgle with the sardonic gleo glee of robin goodfellow over the tolly folly of mortals and find in every resolve new subject for laughter from tho the pulpit on sunday will sound the admonition of the minister and the moralist they will tako take good resolutions serl bously and set upon them the stamp of divine approval and whether tho the wry sneer of the cynic the mocking grin of tho the humorist or the approving smile of the moralist prop prophesy busy the fate of tho the resolutions and their maker it will bo true that even tho the most momentary impulses toward better things will not ha be entirely wasted there was a time when in the simple falth faith of childhood you set down in black and white your promises to do better on the first pago page of your new diary a yearly christmas present you wrote in your best beat Spen cerlan hand band wo ve knew none better in those days something like ilka this during this year I 1 resolve not to lose my temper not to bo be saucy at home not to put off doing tho the things I 1 dislike to read my bible every day direct sounding blows were these on the chain mall mail of your besetting sins of a quick temper a wickedly sharp little tongue procrastination and Irrell gion behind closed doors lest any ane see him in so BO meek a moment brother rother Il dick was scribbling earnestly 1 I promise myself not to bo be lato late for dinner not to forget to wash wa ah my neck aeck and ears not to get in debt to father for my allowance and not to play hookey a single day of course you failed both you and dick before the little diary had its now gilt dimmed or the soft boft penciling of the latter had bad blurred itself into illegibility but tho the effort alto altogether geaber wasted and thero there were fewer its of temper and cleaner nock neck and ears than would otherwise have been we grownups grown ups miss as aa we get older some of the past and gone aids to new years rea resolves olves the day was once upon a time more marked by pleasant social customs only in officialdom Is new years now a stately day of ceremonial but it Is riot not hard to recall that a decade or two ago there still survived v some of the dignity and good cheer that had attached itself to the d day aar before the C christmas fruit cako cake had F all 11 been devoured or the stone jars or of small cakes suffered too severely from the inroads of rapacious children preparations for new years day were well under way children were not included la this celebia t j V K N V 51 41 ei X A 74 v c 7 0 tar tion this was essentially the festival of their elders orders to keep keel front fron under foot were nere rigidly enforced arid and did you wish to see the tun fun no place remained but the second story landing which gave gaa somewhat inconspicuously upon the hall below with a strained str alneil view of tho the big parlors and none of the dining room beyond that it was there and in full working order was evidenced by a keen sense of smell it was always great fun to wander up and down the principal residence streets as noon drew near to find out who were to be at home and who were not A basket tied to the door knob with gay red ribbons said for all the world to hear bestir we aro are not receiving to day it you were a bo boy arid and daring later in the afternoon you stole up on the step to peep in and discover by the number of cards with in the respective popularity of village maids find d mat matrona matrons rons wherever the door lacked tho the basket you sou knew that behind the drawn shades there was vaa the soft glow of candles or he yellow glare of gas poor substitute for sunlight on snow but presumably kinder to and gowns just a trifle passe and you lou knew that in each house bouse subject only to trilling variations vai lotions of background there would be enacted the same scenes into tho the front door that opened at the first touch of the bell passed a fluctuating stream of men in holiday attire there were elderly beaux aplenty in broadcloth brond cloth that was brushed to the point of perfection smart young dan nes dies sporting the newest fashion in ties awkward beginners not quite used to the length of their frock coats we called then them prince alberts in the days when new years calls were in vogue arid and a of sub giant stant lal looking business men paying homage to the established custom of society everybody who was as anybody in our own paid his devoirs deloirs to the incoming year ejr by making the rounds of ills his friends homes once inside insole there was the neat maid or bolean butler to receive the callers card and help him with w fth overcoat hat and cane and then a dash tor for lila his hostess and her bar daughters and Irl irlonia onla under the chandeliers with the prism drops Il happy lappy new year re sounded on all sides in the course of the afternoon the indefatigable de had seen all their friends had sampled the choicest types of christmas christinas baking had toasted again and again the new year in punch of varying strength and pungency or substituted coffee in homes where temperance principles were popular they had said pretty things tj ti popular dames in the stimulating atmosphere of holl bolly and green wreaths and had matched wit with fascinating damsels in the dan langerot danger gerot oi J alty of 0 mistletoe that still boasted some b tries berries it was all very gay very informal and very homey at no other time or on rio no other occasion did the holiday hilarity reach so high a pitch id like to do it all over again Is 1 the testimony of one stately lady whose hose home twenty years ago was the scene of yearly new years re receptions no other social function on my calendar was such fun for the guests and so little trouble for or the hostess the dic decorating orating bad been done a week before and a few fr fresh flowers were all that were needed given bright lights a dozen pretty girls to help entertain ter tain the simplest cakes and plenty of mildly exhilarating punch made from it recipe that my kentucky grandfather declared harmless anil and success was assured ahen bell six elx came you had seen all tho the nice men of your acquaintance undisturbed hi by the usual influx of other women and had sit s it them away nt at peace with the world in general and full fall of the spirit of neighborliness meanwhile upstairs in the library window seats curled the family small email fry watching the procession as it 11 passed commenting with will lu ju vencle frankness on the toilets of the callers counting the visitors as alwy carne came listening to the hum bum of voices downstairs the girls hugging close to the sash cash the boys bos making daring detours to peek through the balustrade returning to report what young ladles were sitting on the steps with what young men mid and even in some cases what they were saying longer tiptoeing prowls down tho the back stairs to the lair of a friendly cook leato quick and jubilant returns with offerings of cake and claret cup wherewith tho the nurs h ars might be be rr V of those who had it ad filled the pews laws es especially y that of ono ona man the tha governor Ro vornor of the state whose aquiline profile flashing eyes anil and straight glossy black hair formed a never to be forgot ten tell personality watch night hymns have ft f person personality allty of their own M those of christmas christinas or easter it not so 80 widely known they are ar naturally rally serious arid and a bit foreboding with a touch of the themuel ruel fui choly that Is associated wibb the rapid flight of 0 time the year la Is conf aono beyond recall with an all it its ahlm and lid fiem will all I 1 I 1 its it bright anil ana binelli I 1 I 1 B with all e its lt tears Is an all old latin I hymn to ta a corn com men inon meter tune that illustrates the tendency of this branch ot or hymnology charles wesley has been most prolific in voicing this thought wisdom cri bil anil and might rna and prill ae to who kenthen out our days ilaya who ciares piares um 1111 yet another your and makes us ui see c lilt lili goodness li here re la is nn an old favorite often just ott on the stroke of midnight another of I 1 his Is voiced the feelings or the congregation that beginning ning 1 join ull sill Y d of 0 ireci irn ci the holy joy prolong pro loni arid and shout to the A soleine midnight song N J V Q mon ar ia 1 7 14 egv 4 r M jh ewa p e P ato ell TO ang DOWN ahm gulled until six alx when twinkling street lights warned tho the callers to retreat not it ii serious way to start the new year no lilt but a fri emily one that left hostesses it aej 1 d callers with a glow of human friendliness to last as warmth for mamy a lay day and if 1 were lacking inciting the same decade that enjoyed new years callins calling found itself illicit also at uno one with the custom of watch night service for in our town as in yours oura maycial may liap lial it was vaa the thing to upend spend tile the closing hours of the old year in tho the quiet seriousness ot of prayer praye r and sacred song children hail had their share in this for or fathers anil and mothers hail had not in that L time learned to fear the giving of 0 definite religious instruction to their sons bolls and daughters it was clear and plain that a child illusto niini t be ba trained alneil tr in III tile tho way ile he should go arid and watch night was a part of that training and indeed no youngster ever tried to bet ber off there was waa first of 0 all the joy ot of doing the unusual arid and tile the fun of 0 sitting up past his bedtime so you iou hied bled ou relf to the n nursery 11 r a ery couch or thu the sitting bitting room lounge after a hot supper an old fashioned winter supper of sausage und and tried fried potatoes or scalloped 0 oysters stirs and dumns inu flins and took a long long nap at half past ten tell father waked you tucked you into cap call arid and overcoat and tile thu family party started out under tile the cold stars snow crunching under toot foot to the nearby church not so vor very long ago tile the writer came across an all old chromo chr of tho the sort that looks in n dim tal favorably light like a fairly decent oil painting III fit its day it hail had doubtless doubt lew been be 0 n the chief ornament 0 of it a well furnished comfortable parlor now it cluttered the window of a second hand shop dingy and out of sorts alth fatu fate nut but even cin in the unflattering light of cf a dusty show window it hail bad a certain charm chann for the one who found it it was the picture of a watch n ight service such nn its sho she hall had oneo once known so well bright moonlight flooded tho bringing out in sharpened detail the snow laden boughs of drooping elms elma and tin the Co spire of it a small stone church prom from glass windows and opened id door came streaming the warm glow of shaded gas jets front from villa go streets flocked koil men and women anil and children stopping to hay buy a word of greeting as they passed into the vestibule the spell of the picture took her with th the speed of the magic carpet or of the severi so yen leagued boots back to the new years eyes eves of her girlhood so go she hail had walked with father and mother and a sleepy endall brother just so BO the tree had bad looked in the frosty moonlight and just as war bairo and softly glowing had been the stone church through whose open door floors s canto camo the resonant strains of tho the great organ site sho remembered with aching vividness the faces A lilt more joyful la Is tho the splendid quaintly irregular come let us anew our journey pursue atoll round with the year and never stand still till the master blaster appear it was camj fitter this to KO go home filled with loftiest loft iest aspirations ready to begin the new illary diary with ambitious resolves that were bound to themselves because of their very loftiness thero there was wag one watch night when there drifted into the tha ken hen of the child the poem that lias has since meant to her UK as it does doea to many the very spirit of this day from tho the choir gallery just before tile the midnight hour allm came the softened chorus of a strange melody tile then into the isi lenco of tile the vaulted church rose rosa a wonderful message in a voice that bore conviction to tho the listeners it sang gang to the organ an and d the hushed bushed accompaniment of 0 the choir ring ning out wild bells to tile the wild akles the flying cloud tile the frosty light the year la Is dying in tile night ning arting out wild mid and let him die through the iha whole of the Fillen did poem it swept on oil to the triumphant conclusion cintr iri ir ta ii christ that in 1 to be to tile the child tile the most moat dramatic moment ot of the evenin collie came tt t i t on oil tile the stroke of the incoming far while li taide whistles blew and giant cr acers exploded bells bellg clashed and clang ciangi d inside lands hands clasped hands while together they tiang sang the ha rood good old standby 1113 niest niost lost be the tip tic that binds before tha hush blish of tho the benediction and the he glad chorus of happy new years that concluded the service there Is another sort of quiet ushering in of tho the baby year ear that la Is conducive to the good resolve that counts ijo BO easily under favorable co nations there were those in the old days as thre th re are arc in fit these who felt that after the tha gala afternoon tile the happiest way of all was to sit bit quietly about the fire ebat ting with half hait a dozen congenial singing Z a b hit I 1 t I 1 it t the spirit moved reminiscing na as old times came back in the hp hush hash and ami ending with the silent toast and tho the dash of sentiment that malies makes auld laug lang sine tile the song bong for such a moment th that a t s 0 itic s such xi c h h happy a 1 py ho hour u r may be begin g n il little le first clr 0 t appearance ap p 0 il ra ii c e lii Is alio tt i e aber best st alah u lia h one 0 ati can offer to friends lt let the morning be ba expressed with a white bilte tone stone rr 0 m tta tia rest rent so the stately dryden has baa put the taine same thought slay may it be true of us all |
