HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1903-12-17, Page 7L•
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Roast Coose.—A. go.ose should . b
carefully dreesed far roasting, or it i
liable to have a stroag flavor whicl
is very undesirable, When ready fel
• the operatic:la singe the bird, rexaove
pin feathers and wash. Ie gooee
weds, literally, a bath in hot soap-
stide and a scrubbing, too, with a.
vegetable brush. nail draw, which
is meeting the conteets of the in-.
•xide. Melt comes ilext ? Wash
and rine° in clear, cold water, t.hei
wipe just ae dry as possible. Now
the e ms.e. Is ready for the stuffing
•-and, ling and sprinkling with, salt
end or, The put an a rack in
a 'di ipping pan and lay :ix thin
, 511 es of fat salt pork over the
bust. Put in a very hot oven and
tl '0 spu et ering begin,s'. A 10 -pound
0:mi-a will, take about elle hour and
•
• three-quarters for the roasting, and
it Should be basted every 15 minutes
' with the fat in the pan, removing
the poidc, if you please, the last half
bour of the cooeing.
Apple sauce should always accota-
. puny roast goose. Then garnish the
Cluistmas goose with stuffed aPplos
en surprise and a few hits of laurel.
Chestnut Stiffing—To make the
dreseing, cook one-half tablespoon
----tinely chopped shallot with three
tablespoons butter five minutes; then
add orie-foerth pound sausage Meat.
Sausage first freed from their out-
side skin and cook two inieutes; add
12 finely chopped mushrooms and
" One cup 'chestnut puree. Season with
salt and pepper and add one-half
tablespoon finely chopped parsley.
Heat to boilihig. point, add one-half
cup fresh bread crumbs and 24 whole
cooked French chestnuts, This may.
be one a day in advance, for it
needs to be cold when it is put into
the birth Tilts is an expensive stuff-
ing, but one wants to have tho best
on Christinae day. . •
• Stuffed Apples en Surprise—Core
andcut in eights eight apples, put
in stewpaa, with one-half .cup maple
syrup, one cup sweet • cider, two
slices but from a lemon, one-quarter
• teaspoon .salt, Ono tablespoon butter
and a few gratings of nutmeg; 'then
cook until soft. Cool, and fill shells
made by taking a.thick slice from
stem end of bright red apples and
scoopixig out ineide, .Cover with
meringue made of whites of two eggs
beaten stiff, • two tablespoons powder-
ed sugar and one teaspoon lemon
Rite. Place under gas game of gas
range to brown meringue.
Mushroom Sauce.—Melt three table-
spoons butter,add a few drops
onion. Juice and cook until slightly
, . browned; then add three and one-
half tablespoons flour, one cup cream
the water drained from. cooking •'cano-
e's 4+ime=r,setteliciiind mushroom stems with
'f-" enough more cream to make one-half
:...
cup liquid. Season with salt and
paprika -and add one tablespoon moat
extract. • Add raushroora caps cut
in slices and sauted in butter five
minutes. -
Eneish. Plum Pudding.—For this
genuine English plum pudding . mix
six ounces , flour, six ounces stale
beea.d crumbs, three-quarters of a
Pound each seeded raisins and • cur-
rants. three-quarters of a pound D.310,.
ly chopped suet, 10 ounces sugar,
one cup molasses, three ounces can-
died orange peel, one teaspoon each
nutmeg and 'mace, siX eggs well beat-
en, and salt to taste. Turn into a
..e thickly floured cloth, tie securely and
plunge into a kettle of boiling thwa-
ter.k. r e water boiling around
the pudillvigorously for five hours
or the result will not•be satisfactory.
This pudding nnist be mixed witli
the hand, otherwise it is impossible
to 'incorporate the ingredients thor-
oughly. It is well to have the
pudding made a day or two in ad-
vance, as it can be readily heated in
.a• steamier in about an hour or so.
G arnish the pudding with sprays of
,holly .well laden. with its bright rod
berries and a .hard 'sauce ornamented
with . candied cherries. Pour one-
third dup brandy, .which must be of
••good quality, ' around base of pude
• ding and light just before sending to
• the table. ' Then serve with hot
sauce as well as the cold sauce..
Cold Hard Sauce.—Cream one:
third of a cap of butter, add gradual-
ly nne eup brown sugar and drop
- by .deoptwo tablespoons brandy. If
eettic brand* is added too rapidly, the
' . sauce will have a curdled appearance.
'Hot Sexce.—Mix one-half cup sa
. gar, one level tablespoon arrowroot
and a few grains salt. Add one cup
boiling watee, and let boil live rola-
utee. Remove fromfire and add
•one tablespoon lemon juice and two
tablespoons brandy. Col.or with
fruit red. Arrowroot makes a clear
• sauce, dour or cornstarch a ,cloudy
one; - • .
CHRISTMAS SUGGESTIONS.
•
under the knot. 'Ile up bundles -in
white„ getheriag; the paper together
at the ends, tying it with. ribbon'
and then fringing the ends.
Littlo fancy boxes, made of Whit-
man paper and decorated witli gold
paint and red water eolor paint, fill-
ed With homd-made eandies, make an
inexpensive and always acceptable
gift.
A set of dislitoWels, neatly hemmed.
a and tlearked, nicely done up and ace
companiecl with an appropriate sena-
' is a gift never despised by the
housekeeper.
Wash -cloths made of sqUares of
Turkish towelling with a. crocheted
edge Of pale blue or pink zephyr sell
well at a bazaar, and are gifts a lit-
tle girlcan make herself'. ,
The "hair receiver" is always odi-
Valuable Hints About Making
•Holiday Gifts.
'' It• is always rather difficult to pre-
. paTh acceptable gifts for the children
• of a Sunday school—gifts pleasing,
• eattractive and inexpensive. Buy a
quantity • of stiek candy of various
• flavors and colors. ..Wrep each stick
in brie thickness of transparent white
paper: this is to give it a clean, int-
• handled, appetizing leek, and aleo
preserve the color effect.. Out of
blue or red' paper inctke wrappers
about three inches wide, ornamented
with the name of the Sunday school
Christmas sentiment in gold
paint, Put seven of the candy sticks
together and encircle them.•with this
wrapper. .
Little boxes 'which contain gifts
,May be wrapped ,in tem papers, one
Scarlet, the outer White; Make the
,POPers longir' on oria, end then on
,
the other; • 1 the folded end, and
gather th nger together, tie with
• scarlet ribbon,: clip the ends sold frill
• aut... Thus prepared they are net
only easily attached to a tree; bet'
ere reads ornaMental.
Wrap books in White tissue.papor
tied tie wilt hotly red baby. ribbon,
tucking a igirlit• of reti-lairried hoily
ous, nevertheless in many rooms it
Seeme to be a netessary, adjunct of
the dressing bureau. A bag made
Of tucked Persian laava of India lin-
en, fastened at the back Of the dress-
ing bureau "fills the bill" acceptab-
ly. . The tucks are horizontal, and
the mouth of the bag is lett large
enough so that it is convenient for
use.
A whisk broom'holder is made of
}two elueldtshaped pieces of cardboard
!covered with holly red linen raid
bound with green satin ribbon an
inch tvide. Ornament the front with
a monogram embroidered in green,
• A young girl will appreciate a
pretty bit of corsage, garniture as a
Christmas gift, Get a bolt' of velvet
i ribbon. No, 1 and a spray of small
'flowers or limit, (forgoteme-nots are
I pretty). Make the ribbon into loops
[varying from four to- eine inches in
'length, fastening thein.• with 51)601
' wire and arrange the flowers among
them. ,
Five' yards of satin ribbon No, 80
make a lovely girdle and sash bow.
Tiventy-five inches are allowed for
the waist. The bow has six loops
arranged in pairs, with two short
upright ends, five inches long... The
middle of the bow is a knot for
which seven inches. of ribbon are al-
lowed. The loops are graduated in
length, the lowest pair being six
and a half inches, the second five
and a quarter, the third pair four
inches.
A stick collar is a gift that al-
ways .delights a girl if it is daintily
Made of suitable materials. A pret-
ty one seen at the theatre the other
night had bias strips of pale blue
moire at top and bottom, with a
strip of heavy white cream lace over
white between -them. To cover the
junction of moire and lace was a row
of narrow black velvet ribbon stud-
ded at intervals with tiny turquoise
buttons. Ends of blue ribbon edged
with narrow cream lace made a but-
terfly bow in front.
RECORD CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS..
I.n the village of Paignton in Dev—
onshire, England, an old charter pro-
vided that on each fiftieth Cbristinas
Day the village ehould provide as
plum pudding large enough to feed
all the poor. •
In' accordance With the provisionsl
of that charter, ,on the first Christ-
mas .of the nineteenth •century, a
pudding was made winch weighed 900
pounds, The ingredients included
in -ore than a bushel of eggs, 120 lbs.
of suet, a like weight Of raisins and
500 pounds of flour.. -
In. 18.58 the said village was con. -
fleeted with civilization by means of
a railroad, and to celebrate the event ,
tbe people, remembering the old char- '
tee, thought well to liave a monster
pudding as part of the festivities.
The preparations cost L45 the in-
gredients considerably more.
These consisted, of 600 pounds of
flour, 400 . pounds of raisins, 190
pounds of currants, 400 pounds of
suet, • 191 pounds of breacicrumbs,
95 pounds of sugar, 800 lemons, 144
nutniegs; and 160 quarts of milk.
This pudding •weighed nearly a
ton and a half, and eight horses
were employed to take it to the vil-
lage green with all befitting core-
mony.
A. few years ago there was a mon-
ster pudding made in Southwark,
then a suburban borough of Loudon.
The pudding was carried through the
streets, in procession, .headed' by a
band, playing alternately Christmas
music and popular tunes. '
• A QUARREL ADJUSTED.
Guy—"What present" did your bast
girl giveeyou ?"
. Percy— 'Well, she said she would
try getting engagedeto me again."
exavosooeosetivaeetwriesseeses
THE RUSSIAN
CHRISTMAS
41.8100600 • 414011040040MMNI
'Wild wastes of snow-maatied
steppe, vabled by the starry dome
of heaven, Mysterious lights flickering
before the glittering fano of a little
temple and softened by curling elands
of fragrant incense, solemn chants of
the church, • weird pi).eloslies of anci-
ent faith,. the merry laughter of
rustic Maids seeking to pry into fu-
turity, and the cheery shouts at
young and old floating in on the
frosty night air, still linger, says a
Writer in London Daily Telegraph,
among the pleasant memories of my
first Christmas in RuSsia. It was
a quaiut mixture of the seared and
the ,profano, a blending of the pre-
sent and the future, a carious rase
ion of pain mad pleasure. Christ-
mas Eve being the close, of a long
and rigorous fast, none but the hard-
ened sinner .would dare satiefy his
hunger or slake his thirst before the
twinkling twilight of the first star
had visibly trembled in the mysteri-
ous east. I fear I looked upon my-
self as a, hardened shiner in the mat4
ter .of fasting, but, as the guest of
a wealthy and devout peasant pro-
prietor, 1 had nothing for it but
to mortify My body with the rest.
Between 5 and 6 o'clock in the
evening we were all in church, listen-
ing to the impressive service, part of
which is a To Deum sung in thanks-
giving for the scattering of "the
twelve tongues," as the French army
was termed in 1812. * A flood of
soothing sounds was Sweeping away
the bonds that bind men's souls to
earth. But before the echoes of the
last "amen!" had died away the
spacious square before the place of
worship was bleak with forms Which
the ear, not the eye, recognizec1. as
human, for they looked like huge
sacks of corn toddling about
feet, the women and men alike being
wrapped in great sheepskin coats,
which covered their high heavy boots
and blotted out their natural shapes.
When we entered the warm room of
the hospital house; wax tapers, hal-
lowed candles and purple lamps were
lighted, incense was burned, a short
prayer recited, arid warm words of
welcome were spoken. to the guests.
Then the host's children were sent
out to some of the neighbors with
little cakes, on which were effigies of
kine sheep and birds—symbols of the
senders' desire that their friends
might be blessed with abundance
during the coming year.
WHEN PAGAN GODS HELD SWAY
Supper was spread at 8 o'clock—a
few symbolical and unsubstantial
dishes which,. were in vogue in days
of yore ,whon pagan gods still held
sway in heaven and upon earth. On
a round table, over which a layer of
hay was first scattered, a white -
bleached cloth was spread. Even
in households where linen is dispensed
with all the year round the spotless
cloth must be forthcoming at Christ -
meg. The table was placed beneath
the gorgeous Icon or holy maga,
without which no Russian dwelling is
habitableand across' the glass and!
gold of which the soft glow of ae
purple laniplet was playing. A stied--;
ley, of apples, pears. dried cherries, I
oranges and grapes stewed in wa-
ter, sweetened with honey, and
served • up cold, formed tho piece do
resistance. In another dish a mass
of wheat porridge and honey was of
"c1' t' 1 • , e •
•
mealy called vodka,. ,
Having wished our entertainers and
each other joy of tba festival, the
host drew near the table, slipped a
large wooden spooninto the por-
ridge, and, deftly hurled the soft
mass against the ceiling—an old cus-
tom, which, in its origin, was a
sacrifice' to, the Frost -God, whose,
wrath it was intended to appease.
All the family and the guests rushed
up to look at. the result, and a mur-
mur of "Glory uuto God!" burst
from their lips. Nearly all the por-
ridge had stuck to the ceiling and
the windowo-a sure sign that the
coming harvest would be 'plentiful.
To me all this was poetic and inter-
esting, but not veryfilling; and
when the meal was over, and nay
enmity inside was on fire with the
vodka, I felt that I could do rough
ustice to another repast. But the
servants and farm -laborers came
trooping into the apartment sat
down in our places', and were waited
on by, the. hostO and their gueats.
When they, too, .had cheated their
appetites and fired their stomachs we
all drew mend the table, end each,
In turn, pulled ont a blade of haYe
by the length of which the nature of
next year's clop is divined.
TO WA.101 THE SHIVERING
• SOULS, •
• Satitleuly the ,blaze of a huge fire,
visible through the 'double windows,
alarmed me, for I thought the out-
houses wore burning. But ray anxiety
was quieted by the host, who ex-
plained that he had a fire lighted in
the yard, according to the pious cus-
tom, to waren the shivering souls of
the dead, who are wont to revisit
their • homes at this holy season.
NThile wataing the tongues of flame
lapping up the great logs of birch,
tind oak 1 .was startled by the jing-
ling of bells, . the strains of 'melon -
choly songs, • the creakiag of cris
snow under the tread of heavy. fee.
and the eolling et a drinn. All a
°We a dense mass of tonfuSed sho
done; darkened the earth's white car
pet and hid some of the snow -blas
earned branches of the leafless cher
ry trees. It was the villago lads
and lasses sbaging the Kolyadi songs
handed down from pagau times..The
"waits" belonged to every social
class, without distinction, Christmas
having levelled them all. ,
Enormous eacks 'were carried by
the rustic for the perquisites. Into
thee they stowed awayt bacon, sau-
sages, linen, herd; flax and other
offerings, with 'which their efforts
were rewardedat every house they
visited. • One of *these receptacles
yawned wide as soon as the noise
had subsided, and onr host dropped
in a large piece of bacon and some
bread, besides a silver rouble. which
.he gave to one of tho singers, and
a bottle of vodka to another. Thai
the noise begait anew, caused lay a
freindly struggle for the sacks. Sev
oral lads wore tripped up by the
lasses, others became targets foi
snowballs, 9:laciness was coined into
rhymes and jokes; and thus, jostling
shouting, falling • and singing, th
shadows shifted off in the nmonligh
from the background of sparkling
snow and star -strewn sky, and vole
es and music died slowly away in
the wintry
PEEPS INTO THE FUTURE
At Christmas tide in Russia th
dead return to visit the quick, and
the IIIISCO21 world is so closely drawl
of the veil of futurity, woven by the
hancls of pity aud love, can, it i
believed, be surreptitiously raised
At any rate, the youth of both
sexes leave nothing undone to get a
peep at the seed -plot of time. The
girls 'are especially. eager to discovel.
whether the •ciasuing year will bring
them together with the partners o
their joys and sorrows, and, it may
be, to be told their names and char -
actors, as well, and many a heavy
hearted maiden fancies she descries a
faint streak of better luck in th
GOODIES GALORE,
.Some Goad Recipes for Nakano
Candies,
Walnut Wafereee-One-halt Pound
light brown, sugar, half lb. broken
walnut Moats, three tablespoomi flour
quarter teaspoon baking powd'
er a
pinch of salt and 2 beaten eggs. Mix
the same as for cake, adding the nut
meats last. If desired, a little van-
illa or other flavoring may be added.
Drcip snialt spoonfuls 011'buttered.
Pans and bake until brown. A half
teaspoon of chocolate or plain white
ising dropped on. each wefer when
cold will add to their attracriveness.
Peanut Wafers,—Stir to a cream.
half ' cup butter and one cup milk.
Add one cup sweet milk,. whites of 2
eggs (unbeaten) and fil cups sifted
flour, into which has been Mixed one
teaspoon baking powder. Beat until
light. Flavor to taste and turn the
mixture into a fiat square pan lined
with buttered paper. Spread with a
17,), spoon so as to have it even. Spline
kb e thickly with finely chopped pea-
t nuts and bake in a moderate oven
until brown. Tarn out onto a
' bread board to cool. When quite
cold, cut into small squares. Keep
them in a stow jar.
Peanut Cantly.—Put into a sauce-
pan' two cups molasses, one cup of
brown sugar, One tablespoon butter
and ono of vinegar. Boil until it
candies.. Have the peanuts in but-
tered pans and pour ebe candy over
them. Other nuts, such as butter-
nuts, hickory nuts, walnuts or peca.n
nuts may be wed instead pepeanuts.
Cut into Squares While warm, or
rather before tbe candy becomas quite
coicla.ple
Sugar Ce
Maple
eclie—Pieak into
sitiall pieces on
e lb, maple sugar.
Melt in a saucepan and add half cup
sweet milk• and half cup thick sweet
(ream. Boil 'until it forms a soft
brill, when. dropped into cold wafer.
Take froni the fire and stir uutil it
). begins to cream. Nov pour into
buttered plates, mark into squares,
- and wine). cold, break apart.
Fudge.—Put into a saucepan two
cups granulated sugar, two-thirds
cup sweet milk and quarter lb. sweet
• chocolate. Boll together, stirring all
e the Ulna When almost done, add a
t small piece of butter. Take from.
fire, stir in half cup grated cocoanut
- and beat until smooth. Drop in
small spoonfuls on paraffin paper, or
pour into buttered plates and cut in
squares. This is very good without
the cocoanut. • '
e Fruit Loaf.—Beat together the
whites of two eggs, four tab/espoons
thick sweet cream and two oz. bitter
chocolate, grated on a Inc grater.
s Now add confectioner's sugar, a lit-
tle at a time, until one cup has been
used. Have ready half cup each
seeded raisins, candied cherries, figs,
'dates and nut -meats or grated cocoa-
; , nut. Grind the fruits, or chop fine,
a.dd to the sugar mixture end work
in more sugar as needed. Knead
s andNI len stiffenough
I form into a loaf. Let stand for sev-
eral hours.. Cut 111. slices.
- Candied Fruit. --Boil together two
ojcups maple sugar, half cup water and
a• . .
darkness Of the future horizou the
sorrows of the present, or learns
that when another Christmas has
come rotm.d, her own soul disembod-
ied for a,yo, will be coming back to
visit her home along with the other
shivering spirits whose advent she
is welcoming to -night. Innumerable
are the keys which are said to open
the gates of futurity at this festive
season of the year. Lead or wax is
melted, poured through a key into
a tub of water, and the nrolten mass,
shaped by the invisible being as it
falls, becomes a symbol of destiny.
Two mirrors aro placed opposite each
other' . with a candle burning be-
fore each; the girl sits between them
gaxing intently and silently at the
reflected back of her head, until
strange fancies chase each other
through her brain, shadows flit, before
her eyes, "airy tougues that syllable
men's names" are heard, and she be-
holds the future darkly as in a
glass. Throwing a shoe across the
threshold of the house at the dead
of night is another way of finding
out what the future has in store. The
Wicket, or gate, is opened, and the
slipper thrown over the threshold
into the street. She may expect her
bridegroena: frocn the direction in
which it'points ;when found. Ifthe
toe be turaed toward her home. tho
omen is inauspicious; marriage dur-
ng the coming twelve month is de-
nied her by the fates, and it may
be, life as well.
Wenitraegzeiit‘ta.);iil!:.‘e3W.-
• .
••••
• ••••••••
40.o.
Tpul MGM:11 TH-14. .1.3ETTER.
,
Mr. Moleagris Gallovapa—My dear,. this is one month of the year Wheal
high living don't .hurt the turkey faintly-, •
,
WHY WE DECORATE AT CHRIST-
. MAS.
Why do we decorate at Christmas?
Why the gifts on the Christmas -tree?
Why the holly about the walls, and
the laurel over the pictures? Why,
above all and the center of all, those
green and living growths, the naistle-
.toe-boughs
Christmas seized upon these things
for the celebration of the festival not
because they were green, but because
of the power that held them green,
that kept them alive, that preserved
1. tbein the beauty of life, notwith-
standing ethe snow..and sleet, the
wind and chilling rain.and the with-
ering blast. .
It is thespirit of these living
growths that appeals to us when all
the rest of inanimate Nature appears
to be sleeping under the mantle of
winter. Before Christmas was, the
spirits behind the greeu were believ-
ed in by an imaginative people, and
the great festival adapted them.
The ancient Druids believed in the
spirits of the holly., of the laurel, of
the great green trees that, formed the
walls and living archee of their tean-
pies, . To them those things were
peopled • with sylvan spirits that
loved the growths and kept them
green by protecting them freet arbi-
ter frosts. 'They took the .branches
within their- dtVelling; believing that
the Writs Would f011oVe, and there
exercise their preteeting* care.
Among. theseopiate. they believed
none to be morepowerful or capable
of bringing greater bleSeleig. than
those of the mistletoe.
These beliefs have gone train the
World, but we -cling tie the emblems
of them, and rejoice amid theta at
the Christmas celebration.
...4.061••
az ar, tin
candies when dropped into cold wa-
ter. Removeto back of range and
drop the fruit (such as seedless rais-
ins, dates, figs, etc) into the hot
raixture, sa few at a time. When
well coated, lift out and place on
oiled paper.
• •
GLORIA IN EXCELS'S: A CHRIST-
MAS ANTHEM.
By the Very ROI,, Charles W.
Stubbs, AD.,. Dean of Ely.
1.
0 blessed town of Bethlehem
Within thy gray -green shade,
Ringed round with terraced vineyard
And depth of olive glade:
There on thy high green pastures
Tho shepherds watch their sheep,
The 'low large Moon shines glimmering
. O'er all the upland steep.
11.
What music of the .heavens—
What magic sag of bliss—
What vision of the night-tide—
What mystic light is this?
The silly sheep are blinded, - •
The shepherds in amaze.' •
Stand awestruck, all the hillside
With glory is ablaze!
• III.
The Angels' joyous .chorus
. Rings out into the. night.
0 Gloria in Excelsis!
Sing praises in the height.
Sing praises, men of Bethlehem,
Sing praises here below,
For Peace on earth and good -will
He doth on you bestow.
• IV.
For on this day is born there
Within your little. town
A child who Christ the Lord is
Yet wears no earthly crown:
He bringeth joy and gladness
To you and all mankind,
Yeti, Peace on earth and good -will
To inen of equal mind.
V.
0 blessed town of Bethlehem,
How happy is thy state!
How; blest above all palaces
' The stable ht thy gate!
For there in manger -cradle
(Oh true the angel word!)
As Ring enthroned of all the worlds
Reigns Jesus Christ the Lord.
—From The Outlook.
• THG HOLLY DAYS.
The holly days are now in sight,
,The gladdest of the year,
When homes are wreathed in ever-
greens,
And hearts aglow with cheer;
An.d boys and girls anticipate
The time of glad huzzas,
When With delight they'll tura the
thoge
On dear old Santa Mine.
The 'holly days are. how in sight,
. On every sada 'tis
The joyous tido is rising 'fast
That goods the heart's domain.
Good wills are voiced bi every look
Along the crowtled way;
Ah, Met What Were the World with -
A Saviours natal day!
MIST
AS IN TIM PAST
A CURICI,TS ra A 0=074 IN THE
Banasa NAVY,
The Virst Christmas Tree in a
• Royal PoalaoceW4eIv.n.
Was ii the Reig
f
o0
The French word for Cbrieteacts is
Noel, It means the Day of Birth.
The original mince -pie was made
of mutton andbaked in the shape
of a manger,
sltrialtliengl'iwotuygir*Ititlmwallislipliaytliairna
was
Lan -
4011 was 1890, '
On Dee. 29t1e 1850, the north wing
Of Crystal Palace,' In London, was
destroyed by fire.
Christmas was first celebrated as a
feast of the Cluistiaa .church • about
the ewer 190 A. D.
The Armerdan Chinch observes the
Festival of the Epiphany at the same
date that we observe Christmas..
• Pails uses 50,000 Christmas trees'
each year, of which about 12,000 are
bought by foreign residents in Paris.
The woest Chrietenas Day Paris
ever knew was in 1870. The bom-
bardmeut Eo long threatened began
the next day.
Christmas in the Greelc Church. is
our Twelfth, Night, The Greek
church has not yet adopted the mod-
ern calendar.
Emperor William, of Germany, in-
dulges- eachyear in a Christmas
hunt. Last year he killed 800 deer
and nearly 200 wild boar.
Tho baron of beef for the royal
table usually weighs a full 200 lbs.
It is always cut front a beast bred
and fed at Windsor.
In the Scandinavian island of
Dago the people have a curious cus-
tom of putting five candles an each.
branch a the Cbinsenaas tree.
The German Emperor's Christmas
presents to his sons in 1897 were
three very beautiful swords, each
with a motto engraved upon its
blade.
Free gangway" is usually a spec-
ial Cluietmas privilege aboard ship
in the neaw. It means that any or
all can go ashore, as they pleaee.
The natives of the Philippines, as
well as the Chinese, have public holi-
days which in date coincide exactly
with the Anglo-Saxon Christmas.
At Sandringham there has always
been a distribution of Christmas pre-
sents in tlie tiding school. Joints
of beef and other useful things are
given.
The Church of the Nativityat
Bethlehem is divided by screens into
three parts, which are controlled re-
spectively by Greeks, Latins, and
Armenians.
• Mistletoe is common in most parts
of the world. It is extremely igen-
tiful on oak trees it America, and on
apple trees in Normandy and Brit-
tany.
In Germany it is believed that the
oxen are endowed with speech on
Christmas Eve at midnight. But to
hear them it is necessary to put fern
leaves in one's boots.
The first Christmas tree in a Brit-
ish Royal palate was in the reign
of George IV. Lord J. Russel was
present, and Speaks of the tree being
covered with colored candles. •
There are three Christmas Islands,
all cf them Brie ieh possessions. One
is in the Pacific; the ether 250 miles
south-west of Java. A third Cbrist-
mas Island is off Cape Breton.
a.:
‘,1.1C1 been
A curious Christmas practice in the
navy is the "carrying 'round" of offi-
cers:. Popular officers are sboulder-
ed and carried round -the decks on
Christmas morning, preceded by a
1.m -pudding eeems at one time to
a, breakfast dish, for at
a Christmas breakfast at the royal
ehaplain's iu 1801, tbe first course
was a dish of xich, luscious plum -
porridge.
At the Saturnalia, the heathen pro-
totype et Christmas, it was the Ro-
man custom to decorate the houses
with evereeens. This was done to
give the woodland spirits a refuge
from the cold.
A Christanas custom once cominon
all over England, but now rarely
seen, and only in the western coun-
ties, is that of the play of "St.
George and tbe Dragon," performed
on the evening of December 24th.
• Never buy a yellow -fleshed turkey
It is a, sign of poor feediag. A fine
turkey should.have firm, white flesh.
Purchasers should also notice that
redness and coarseness about the legs
are the sign of an old bird.
Although the first Christmas card
Was made in 1846, very few were
sent till the year 1852. Then . the
fashioa came in of sending cards the
size of visiting cards, inscribed sine -
ply with the words "A Merry Chris-
.
Theretmasis a curious old superstition
that nine holly leaves tied in a, hand-
kerchief with nine knots, and placed
under the pillow on Christmas night,
will cause the sleeper ta dream of
hie or her future wife or husband.
A curious Roumanian Christmas
custom is the "blessing of the river."
A service is held on the bank of the
Danube,and a small wooden cross
thrown in through a hole in the ice.
A frantic scramble follows to recover
:In the reign of Diocletian, about
the year 800 A.D., the Emperor was
pi:nil:court at Nicoinedia, when
he learnt that a number of Christ-
ians were keeping the birthday of
jostle. He ordered the doors of the
..church to be efesed and set fiee to
the building. is
UNFULFILLED EXPECTATION.
jones—"I had a very disappointing
Christmas."
'Drown—"How's that?"
Jones—"Nobody gave fete a loa,4 of
coal,"
A PAIR OF 1111:111411, •
•George—"Jaelc, you gave me • the
same book that you gave me last
Christmas."
• Jack—"Shake. Old ,rnan; so did
• After the Clitietenas dinner people
are usually not iaclined for ranch exe
ertion, but they wane some kind of
light amusement. Some of the old-
fashioned "divinatiou" tricks then
-come in nieely.
Such feats are frequently perform-
ed by two persons, one playing the
part of thcs "protestor,' or wizard
in chief, the other that of "medium,'t
One of the simplest tricks of the
kind is the bulicating by the medium
of some objeet which bas been agreed
upon by the eompauy during her
absence from the room. On her re-
turn the magician, atter placing her
under (supposed) =entwine influence
by a few sham "passes," proceeds to
interrogate her.
"Do you know the article that has
been. named)" "Yes," (She doesn't
but strict truthfulness is not expect-
ed from coujurers). "Is it •the
moon?" "No." • "Io it tbe sun?"
"No." "Is it a coin?" "No." And
so on, tilt the right article is named,
when she replies:— "Ye.' -
There are are various ways of giving
the clue. In one version of the trick
the medium is instructed to say
"Yes" to the first article named
next after a four -legged object (ant -
mate or inanimate). This is a very
old forra of "key," but not very
widely known, and IVO have often
seen it mystify a roomful of people.
lf, however, the trick is repeated be-
fore the same company, it may be as
well, on the second occasion to agree
on a new kilia of key -word, say a
flower or bird.
In another form of the trick the
performer does not speak at all, but
in this case the object selected must
be something in the room. On the
return of the medium, the performer
merely points with his wand (or any
convenient substitute, say a ruler, or
a lady's fan) to various objects in
successibre The first half-dozen or
so are met with a negative, but
when he touches the right oue a.
confident "yes" is the answer.
The secret here is equally simple.
At the outset the performer grasps
the wand, all the fingers encircling
it. When he points to the right ob-
ject the forefinger is allowed to lie
along- it. Unless the secret is known
beforehand, it is absolutely safe from.
detection.
On a similar principle, but some-
what snore elaborate, is the triek of
• THE MYSTIC TA.RGET.
The apparatus for this feat con-
sists of a pasteboard target, having
a bull's-eye and three concentric
rings of different colors; and half a
dozen arrows, also of different col -
Ors. (If the apparatus is home-
made, these, too, may beteg paste -
beard). The medium retiring as be-
fore. a. spectator is invited to select
0110 of the arrows, and with it to
touch any one of the rings of the
target. On the medium's return she
indicates, with more or less make-
believe of mental effort, which ar-
row was used, and which circle of
the target was touched with it.
Here, again, the secret lies in an
agreed code of signals. The rings of
the target are regarded as numbered;
the bull's-eye as one, the ring near-
est it to two, and. so on. The ar-
rows in like maamer each bear an
Imaginary number, say, blue, one;
black, two; green, three; red, four;
white, live; yellow, six. Call the
blue "azure," and the initials will
come in alphabetical order, a, b, g,
r, w, y; under which conditions the
sequence of the colors will be recall-
ed without difficulty..
The number of the particular ar-:
row used is signalled to -the medium
or it'
it be
right
ng it,
by the way in which the wand,
substitute, is held. Thus if
held by its upper end in the
hand, with one finger lying alo
two; if encircled by all the fingers,
three; if encircled in like manner,
placed
n the
target
indi-
e left
of the
ached;
the
the
but round the central four; if
under the arm, five; if laid o
table, six. The ring of the
which. has been touched may be
cated by the position of th
hand. If it grasps the lapel
coat, the bull's-eye has been to
if the thumb is tucked into
vest pocket, ring No. 1. If
hand is placed in the trouser pocket,
n. by
one the
No. 2; if allowed to hang dow
the side, No. 8; and if resting
the hip, the white space outsid
rings.
TELEGRAMS.
•
This is an excellent game. F.ach
of the players gives a. letter in turn,
until twelve have been obtained,
Which are written in the seine order
at the top of each piece of paper.
Ten minutes or a quarter of an hour
are allowed, in which mole player
writes a sentence beginning with the
chosen initials, rho messages • are
then read aloud. It is an excellent
practise for condensing one's ideas.
The results aro often very amusing.
Some 'people merely string words to-
gether, but Others can suggest a
whole story in a few words. Sup-
posing the letters aro p, g, t, t, xx,
g, p, s, j, w, in, j. One player will
evolve the following sentence which,
though silly, is consecutive:, "Please
give Tommy the now game played
since January withmuch joy." An-
other Will formulate the following
with exactly the same letters: "Pape,
getting too tiresome. No grimes
possible, Send Johnwith muzzle,
•jambe." (The name of an imagin-
ary sender may be placed at the end
if the letters allow of it, but it is
option.)
"But if the professor is so fitment- ,
Minded that he can't remember kis
own name; why doesn't he write it '
on a slip of paper and carry it With.
hint?" • 'He tried that, but he
found ho cotaldn't. read his ewa