HOW THE WORLD WATCHES THE NEW
YEAR COME IN 3
THE TWO YEARS. (Poem) 23
THE COURTSHIP OF GEORGE
WASHINGTON 26
THE OLD AND THE NEW. (Poem) 44
THE LOVE STORY OF "THE SAGE OF
MONTICELLO" 46
COLUMBIA. (Poem) 59
STORY OF A DAUGHTER'S LOVE 60
THE SEA VOICE. (Poem) 75
MYSTERY OF RANDOLPH'S COURTSHIP 77
HOW PRESIDENT JACKSON WON HIS
WIFE 91
THE BACHELOR PRESIDENT'S LOYALTY
TO A MEMORY 105
DECORATION DAY. (Poem) 118
ROMANCE OF LINCOLN'S LIFE 119
SILENT THANKSGIVING. (Poem) 135
IN THE FLASH OF A JEWEL 137
THE COMING OF MY SHIP. (Poem) 156
ROMANCE AND THE POSTMAN 158
A SUMMER REVERIE. (Poem) 171
A VIGNETTE 172
MEDITATION. (Poem) 175
POINTERS FOR THE LORDS OF CREATION 176
TRANSITION. (Poem) 187
THE SUPERIORITY OF MAN 189
THE YEAR OF MY HEART. (Poem) 196
THE AVERAGE MAN 197
THE BOOK OF LOVE. (Poem) 202
THE IDEAL MAN 204
GOOD-NIGHT, SWEETHEART. (Poem) 209
THE IDEAL WOMAN 211
SHE IS NOT FAIR. (Poem) 220
THE FIN-DE SIECLE WOMAN 222
THE MOON MAIDEN. (Poem) 229
HER SON'S WIFE 230
A LULLABY. (Poem) 247
THE DRESSING-SACK HABIT 248
IN THE MEADOW. (Poem) 259
ONE WOMAN'S SOLUTION OF THE
SERVANT PROBLEM 260
TO A VIOLIN. (Poem) 283
THE OLD MAID 284
THE SPINSTER'S RUBAIYAT. (Poem) 291
THE RIGHTS OF DOGS 293
TWILIGHT. (Poem) 298
WOMEN'S CLOTHES IN MEN'S BOOKS 299
MAIDENS OF THE SEA. (Poem) 320
TECHNIQUE OF THE SHORT STORY 321
TO DOROTHY. (Poem) 333
WRITING A BOOK 334
THE MAN BEHIND THE GUN. (Poem) 355
QUAINT OLD CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS 357
CONSECRATION. (Poem) 371
How the World Watches the
New Year Come In
The proverbial "good resolutions" of the first of January which are
usually forgotten the next day, the watch services in the churches,
and the tin horns in the city streets, are about the only formalities
connected with the American New Year. The Pilgrim fathers took no note
of the day, save in this prosaic record: "We went to work betimes";
but one Judge Sewall writes with no small pride of the blast of
trumpets which was sounded under his window, on the morning of January
1st, 1697.
He celebrated the opening of the eighteenth century with a very bad
poem which he wrote himself, and he hired the bellman to recite the
poem loudly through the streets of the town of Boston; but happily
for a public, even now too much wearied with minor poets, the custom
did not become general.
In Scotland and the North of England the New Year festivities are of
great importance. Weeks before hand, the village boys, with great
secrecy, meet in out of the way places and rehearse their favourite
songs and ballads. As the time draws near, they don improvised masks
and go about from door to door, singing and cutting many quaint
capers. The thirty-first of December is called "Hogmanay," and the
children are told that if they go to the corner, they will see a man
with as many eyes as the year has days. The children of the poorer
classes go from house to house in the better districts, with a large
pocket fastened to their dresses, or a large shawl with a fold in
front.
Each one receives an oaten cake, a piece of cheese, or sometimes a
sweet cake, and goes home at night heavily laden with a good supply of
homely New Year cheer for the rest of the family.
The Scottish elders celebrate the day with a supper party, and as the
clock strikes twelve, friend greets friend and wishes him "a gude New
Year and mony o' them."
Then with great formality the door is unbarred to let the Old Year out
and the New Year in, while all the guests sally forth into the streets
to "first foot" their acquaintances.
The "first foot" is the first person to enter a house after midnight
of December 31st. If he is a dark man, it is considered an omen of
good fortune. Women generally are thought to bring ill luck, and
in some parts of England a light-haired man, or a light-haired,
flat-footed man is preferred. In Durham, this person must bring a
piece of coal, a piece of iron, and a bottle of whiskey. He gives
a glass of whiskey to each man and kisses each woman.
In Edinburgh, a great crowd gathers around the church in Hunter Square
and anxiously watches the clock. There is absolute silence from the
first stroke of twelve until the last, then the elders go to bed, but
the young folks have other business on hand. Each girl expects the
"first foot" from her sweetheart and there is occasionally much
stratagem displayed in outwitting him and arranging to have some
grandmother or serving maid open the door for him.
During the last century, all work was laid aside on the afternoon of
the thirty-first, and the men of the hamlet went to the woods and
brought home a lot of juniper bushes. Each household also procured a
pitcher of water from "the dead and living ford," meaning a ford in
the river by which passengers and funerals crossed. This was brought
in perfect silence and was not allowed to touch the ground in its
progress as contact with the earth would have destroyed the charm.
The next morning, there were rites to protect the household against
witchcraft, the evil eye, and other machinations of his satanic
majesty. The father rose first, and, taking the charmed water and a
brush, treated the whole family to a generous sprinkling, which was
usually acknowledged with anything but gratitude.
Then all the doors and windows were closed, and the juniper boughs put
on the fire. When the smoke reached a suffocating point, the fresh air
was admitted. The cattle were fumigated in the same way and the
painful solemnities of the morning were over.
The Scots on the first of the year consult the Bible before breakfast.
They open it at random and lay a finger on a verse which is supposed
to be, in some way, an augury for the coming year. If a lamp or a
candle is taken out of the house on that day, some one will die during
the year, and on New Year's day a Scotchman will neither lend, borrow
nor give anything whatsoever out of his house, for fear his luck may
go with it, and for the same reason the floor must not be swept. Even
ashes or dirty water must not be thrown out until the next day, and if
the fire goes out it is a sign of death.
The ancient Druids distributed among the early Britons branches of the
sacred mistletoe, which had been cut with solemn ceremony in the night
from the oak trees in a forest that had been dedicated to the gods.
Among the ancient Saxons, the New Year was ushered in with friendly
gifts, and all fighting ceased for three days.
In Banffshire the peat fires are covered with ashes and smoothed down.
In the morning they are examined closely, and if anything resembling a
human footprint is found in the ashes, it is taken as an omen. If the
footprint points towards the door, one of the family will die or leave
home during the year. If they point inward, a child will be born
within the year.
In some parts of rural England, the village maidens go from door to
door with a bowl of wassail, made of ale, roasted apples, squares of
toast, nutmeg, and sugar. The bowl is elaborately decorated with
evergreen and ribbons, and as they go they sing:
"Wassail, wassail to our town,
The cup is white and the ale is brown,
The cup is made of the ashen tree,
And so is the ale of the good barley.
"Little maid, little maid, turn the pin,
Open the door and let us in;
God be there, God be here;
I wish you all a Happy New Year."
In Yorkshire, the young men assemble at midnight on the thirty-first,
blacken their faces, disguise themselves in other ways, then pass
through the village with pieces of chalk. They write the date of the
New Year on gates, doors, shutters, and wagons. It is considered lucky
to have one's property so marked and the revellers are never
disturbed.
On New Year's Day, Henry VI received gifts of jewels, geese, turkeys,
hens, and sweetmeats. "Good Queen Bess" was fairly overwhelmed with
tokens of affection from her subjects. One New Year's morning, she was
presented with caskets studded with gems, necklaces, bracelets, gowns,
mantles, mirrors, fans, and a wonderful pair of black silk stockings,
which pleased her so much that she never afterward wore any other
kind.
Among the Romans, after the reformation of the calendar, the first
day, and even the whole month, was dedicated to the worship of the god
Janus. He was represented as having two faces, and looking two
ways--into the past and into the future. In January they offered
sacrifices to Janus upon two altars, and on the first day of the month
they were careful to regulate their speech and conduct, thinking it an
augury for the coming year.
New Year's gifts and cards originated in Rome, and there is a record
of an amusing lawsuit which grew out of the custom. A poet was
commissioned by a Roman pastry-cook to write the mottoes for the New
Year day bonbons. He agreed to supply five hundred couplets for six
sesterces, and though the poor poet toiled faithfully and the mottoes
were used, the money was not forthcoming. He sued the pastry-cook, and
got a verdict, but the cook regarded himself as the injured party.
Crackers were not then invented, but we still have the mottoes--those
queer heart-shaped things which were the delight of our school-days.
The Persians remember the day with gifts of eggs--literally a "lay
out!"
In rural Russia, the day begins as a children's holiday. The village
boys get up at sunrise and fill their pockets with peas and wheat.
They go from house to house and as the doors are never locked,
entrance is easy. They throw the peas upon their enemies and sprinkle
the wheat softly upon their sleeping friends.
After breakfast, the finest horse in the little town is decorated with
evergreens and berries and led to the house of the greatest nobleman,
followed by the pea and wheat shooters of the early morning. The lord
admits both horse and people to his house, where the whole family is
gathered, and the children of his household make presents of small
pieces of silver money to those who come with the horse. This is the
greeting of the peasants to their lord and master.
Next comes a procession of domestic animals, an ox, cow, goat, and
pig, all decorated with evergreens and berries. These do not enter the
house but pass slowly up and down outside, that the master and his
family may see. Then the old women of the village bring barnyard fowls
to the master as presents, and these are left in the house which the
horse has only recently vacated. Even the chickens are decorated with
strings of berries around their necks and bits of evergreen fastened
to their tails.
The Russians have also a ceremony which is more agreeable. On each New
Year's Day, a pile of sheaves is heaped up over a large pile of grain,
and the father, after seating himself behind it, asks the children if
they can see him. They say they cannot, and he replies that he hopes
the crops for the coming year will be so fine that he will be hidden
in the fields.
In the cities there is a grand celebration of mass in the morning and
the rest of the day is devoted to congratulatory visits. Good wishes
which cannot be expressed in person are put into the newspapers in the
form of advertisements, and in military and official circles
ceremonial visits are paid.
The Russians are very fond of fortune-telling, and on New Year's eve
the young ladies send their servants into the street to ask the names
of the first person they meet, and many a bashful lover has hastened
his suit by taking good care to be the first one who is met by the
servant of his lady love. At midnight, each member of the family
salutes every other member with a kiss, beginning with the head of the
house, and then they retire, after gravely wishing each other a Happy
New Year.
Except that picturesque rake, Leopold of Belgium, every monarch of
Europe has for many years begun the New Year with a solemn appeal to
the Almighty, for strength, guidance, and blessing.
The children in Belgium spend the day in trying to secure a "sugar
uncle" or a "sugar aunt." The day before New Year, they gather up all
the keys of the household and divide them. The unhappy mortal who is
caught napping finds himself in a locked room, from which he is not
released until a ransom is offered. This is usually money for sweets
and is divided among the captors.
In France, no one pays much attention to Christmas, but New Year's day
is a great festival and presents are freely exchanged. The President
of France also holds a reception somewhat similar to, and possibly
copied from, that which takes place in the White House.
In Germany, complimentary visits are exchanged between the merest
acquaintances, and New Year's gifts are made to the servants. The
night of the thirty-first is called _Sylvester Aben_ and while many of
the young people dance, the day in more serious households takes on a
religious aspect. During the evening, there is prayer at the family
altar, and at midnight the watchman on the church tower blows his
horn to announce the birth of the New Year.
At Frankfort-on-the-Main a very pretty custom is observed. On New
Year's eve the whole city keeps a festival with songs, feasting,
games, and family parties in every house. When the great bell in the
cathedral tolls the first stroke of midnight, every house opens wide
its windows. People lean from the casements, glass in hand, and from a
hundred thousand throats comes the cry: "_Prosit Neujahr!_" At the
last stroke, the windows are closed and a midnight hush descends upon
the city.
The hospitable Norwegians and Swedes spread their tables heavily; for
all who may come in at Stockholm there is a grand banquet at the
Exchange, where the king meets his people in truly democratic fashion.
The Danes greet the New Year with a tremendous volley of cannon, and
at midnight old Copenhagen is shaken to its very foundations. It is
considered a delicate compliment to fire guns and pistols under the
bedroom windows of one's friends at dawn of the new morning.
The dwellers in Cape Town, South Africa, are an exception to the
general custom of English colonists, and after the manner of the early
Dutch settlers they celebrate the New Year during the entire week.
Every house is full of visitors, every man, woman, and child is
dressed in gay garments, and no one has any business except pleasure.
There are picnics to Table Mountain, and pleasure excursions in boats,
with a dance every evening. At the end of the week, everybody settles
down and the usual routine of life is resumed.
In the Indian Empire, the day which corresponds to our New Year is
called "Hooly" and is a feast in honour of the god Krishna. Caste
temporarily loses ground and the prevailing colour is red. Every one
who can afford it wears red garments, red powder is thrown as if it
were _confetti_, and streams of red water are thrown upon the
passers-by. It is all taken in good part, however, as snowballing is
with us.
Even "farthest North," where the nights are six months long, there is
recognition of the New Year. The Esquimaux come out of their snow huts
and ice caves in pairs, one of each pair being dressed in women's
clothes. They gain entrance into every _igloo_ in the village, moving
silently and mysteriously. At last there is not a light left in the
place, and having extinguished every fire they can find, they kindle a
fresh one, going through in the meantime solemn ceremonies. From this
one source, all the fires and lights in the district are kindled anew.
One wonders if there may not be some fear in the breasts of these
Children of the North, when for an instant they stand in the vastness
of the midnight, utterly without fire or light.
The most wonderful ceremonies connected with the New Year take place
in China and Japan. In these countries and in Corea the birth of the
year is considered the birthday of the whole community. When a child
is born he is supposed to be a year old, and he remains thus until the
changing seasons bring the annual birthday of the whole Mongolian
race, when another year is credited to his account.
In the Chinese quarter of the large cities, the New Year celebrations
are dreaded by the police, since where there is so much revelry there
is sure to be trouble. In the native country, the rejoicings absorb
fully a month, during the first part of which no hunger is allowed to
exist within the Empire.
The refreshments are light in kind--peanuts, watermelon seeds,
sweetmeats, oranges, tea and cakes. Presents of food are given to the
poor, and "brilliant cakes," supposed to help the children in their
studies, are distributed from the temples.
The poor little Chinamen must sadly need some assistance, in view of
the fact that every word in their language has a distinct root, and
their alphabet contains over twenty thousand letters.
At an early hour on New Year's morning, which according to their
calendar comes between the twenty-first of January and the nineteenth
of February, they propitiate heaven and earth with offerings of rice,
vegetables, tea, wine, oranges, and imitation of paper money which
they burn with incense, joss-sticks, and candles.
Strips of scarlet paper, bearing mottoes, which look like Chinese
laundry checks, are pasted around and over doors and windows. Blue
strips among the red, mean that a death has occurred in the family
since the last celebration.
New Year's calls are much in vogue in China, where every denizen of
the Empire pays a visit to each of his superiors, and receives them
from all of his inferiors. Sometimes cards are sent, and, as with us,
this takes the place of a call.
Images of gods are carried in procession to the beating of a deafening
gong, and mandarins go by hundreds to the Emperor and the Dowager
Empress, with congratulatory addresses. Their robes are gorgeously
embroidered and are sometimes heavy with gold. After this, they
worship their household gods.
Illuminations and fireworks make the streets gorgeous at night, and a
monstrous Chinese dragon, spouting flame, is drawn through the
streets.
People salute each other with cries of "Kung-hi! Kung-hi!" meaning I
humbly wish you joy, or "Sin-hi! Sin-hi!" May joy be yours.
Many amusements in the way of theatricals and illumination are
provided for the public.
In both China and Japan, all debts must be paid and all grudges
settled before the opening of the New Year. Every one is supposed to
have new clothes for the occasion, and those who cannot obtain them
remain hidden in their houses.
In Japan, the conventional New Year costume is light blue cotton, and
every one starts out to make calls. Letters on rice paper are sent to
those in distant places, conveying appropriate greetings.
The Japanese also go to their favourite tea gardens where bands play,
and wax figures are sold. Presents of cooked rice and roasted peas,
oranges, and figs are offered to every one. The peas are scattered
about the houses to frighten away the evil spirits, and on the
fourth day of the New Year, the decorations of lobster, signifying
reproduction, cabbages indicating riches, and oranges, meaning good
luck, are taken down and replaced with boughs of fruit trees and
flowers.
Strange indeed is the country in which the milestones of Time pass
unheeded. In spite of all the mirth and feasting, there is an
undercurrent of sadness which has been most fitly expressed by Charles
Lamb:
"Of all the sounds, the most solemn and touching is the peal
which rings out the old year. I never hear it without
gathering up in my mind a concentration of all the images
that have been diffused over the past twelve months; all
that I have done or suffered, performed, or neglected, in
that regretted time. I begin to know its worth as when a
person dies. It takes a personal colour, nor was it a
poetical flight in a contemporary, when he exclaimed: 'I saw
the skirts of the departing year!'"