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Show We NEW YEAR'S RECEPTION And Ilow It Is Now Numbered Among The Feasts Which Arc Not. ELAS that Now Year's day Is now merely a post-ellinax, a sort of uninteresting append-ago append-ago of Christmas. Time- was when it was as important a feast as tho year boastod. Tlmo was when New Year's Day offered attractions looked forward to for weeks by young persons of both sexes. The ladles of tho family woro astir early on Now Year's Day. then, getting the house ready for tho hordo of visitors visit-ors expected. Their preparation con sisted largely In loading the tables in the dining room until they groaned with good tilings to cat of all sorts and In hanging the mistletoe Invitingly upon the chandelier. Then they dressed themselves in their very best, and grouped themselves them-selves In tho drawing room as gracefully grace-fully as possible to await the front door bell's ringing. And about' twelve o'clock the callers began to arrive. Gentlemen of all sorts and conditions clad irreproachably in what wore then known as Prince Albert coals, in gray spats. In silk hats, with canes, with boulonnieres, with a swagger. After this tho excitement was intense. in-tense. And It was. "Miss Agatha, how charming you do iooic m pink; my favorite color, pink." And It was, "This Is qulto tho prettiest group of ladles wo havo seen, and we have already al-ready been to twenty places." Friendly remarks made in the kindliest spirit, you soe. And then to tho dining room where libations were drunk to each divinity present and a bit of sandwich nibbled nib-bled and on again to pay respects to other fair ones. At tho next place, no doubt, it was "And oh Miss Mary, how charming you look In blue; my favorlto color, And about twelve o'clock the cullers began to arrive. blue," but, theso faithless utterances were never revealed because no one remembered the next day what anyone any-one else had said, which may have been because of tho confusion or which may have been because of the libations, as you arc charitable or suspicious. sus-picious. At all events the cards of tho visitors visit-ors were Jealously saved by the hostess-and hostess-and counted later, and thcreaftet thcro was rivalry bctwoen neighbors as to tho number of gentlemen which each had "received." It was no unusual un-usual thing for 150 men to call at a single house, to drink up a small-sized ocean of eggnog and apple toddy, to devour flvo bursting turkey gobblers, and then to go on. And oh, J,he good things that were found on thoso dining room tables! Smithllcld hams done to a turn, turkeys, tur-keys, brown as a bun; fried oysters, chicken salad, beaten biscuits all of tho dollcacles which heart could wish or imagination suggest. As for the ladles who for some reason or other wero prevented from receiving on New Year's Day, they coyly hung a basket upon the doorbell and from behind closed shuttors watched with pleased Interest tho gallants gal-lants who camo riding up to leave their cards In that receptacle. Ah, thoso wero Indeed the good old times, the romantic times, the Interesting In-teresting times, Just as theso are tho prosaic ones. For now the New Year's reception Is out of date, and few persons per-sons troublo cvon to hang tho basket on the door; that outward and visible sign of an Inward but Invisible presence. pres-ence. No longer do groups of gentlemen gentle-men start out briskly In the morning to end up at midnight frayed as to digestion; sometimes uncertain as to speech. Wo begin our Now Year's more soberly so-berly in theso days, sewing shirts for soldiers, or In bed to recuperate from the exertions of tho night beforo, occupations oc-cupations neither as pleasant nor as picturesque as the old-time reception, whatever may have been tho defects of tho latter. |