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OLD AND NEW,
I cannot Joy with those who hail
The new-born year;
I rather grieve with those who give
The dead Old Year .
A tender tear.
The New--what know I of the New?
I knew the Old!
God's benison upon his corse,
On which the mold
Lies stiff and cold.
Here in the shadow let me-stand
And count them o'er.
The blessings that he brought to me.
A precious store---
I asked no more.
He brought me health--a priceless boon
To me and mine:
He brought me plenty for my needs,
And crowned my shrine
V¢ith love divine. '
Ah! when I think--suffused with tears
I feel my eyes--
Of all the dear delights he brought;
Yet stark he lies
'~eath Winter skies.
Therefore I e~nnot hail wlxh JOy
The new-born year:
I rather grieve, with those who give
The dead Old year
A tender tear.
~L . L. , •,
I! I leaned back in the
| | I up before hls sit-
q~/~.~'~, r~.[ .I ting room fire at
) k- 2 b9 his D.ke street
chambers in
~':'~.~/ don. The clock had
,truck 10, and the sonorous boom
from Big Ben came floating over the
[~reen park as a sort of benediction
" Du the rapidly dying year. The roar
Df the g~eat city without was not lack-
ing in its element of melody, "and the
noise of merry revelers in Piccadilly
~ompleted a strange yet fascinating
tout ensemble. Passing down the
retreat came three young men singing
that 'old Southern song, 'Tee gwlne
back to Dixey." The words and the
melody startled Carson from the rev-
erie into which he had fallen, Sitting
upright in his chair, he said, aloud:
"What memories that song recallsl
How my loneliness grows upon me!
What a fool I was ever to have in-
dulged in the thing called love! But
there, I've tasted the poison and must
abide by the result. What's that re-
sult? Pleasing? Why cannot I be of
the gay throng outside? Here in this
mighty crowded city I am as lonely
as a man lost 19 a desert.~* He rose and,
~olng to the other side of the room,
opened a cabinet and took from it a
bundle of letters, some dozen. They
.were faded and bore traces of much
handling. After reading, he replaced
them, and, walking to the photograph
of a child on the wall, indulged in
soliloquy.
"l know you not, my sweet child,
but your mother was always, and al-
ways must he everything to me. How
hard and cruel seems the world! Your
mother and I parted tei long years
ago this night, to meet again in two
years time! What happened to pro-
"cent us? I wrote many times, but no
reply eYer reached me. Three years
after we separated a letter came from
her, and in it I read: 'Now that I am
married, perhaps you will write.' Life
1maned a blank, and I came to Lon-
don, a wayfarer, caring not what be-
came of me. I turned to literature,
and have been what people call suc-
cessful. But what is success without
the" power to experience that which
makes it other than a metallic grati-
fication? Eighteen months went by
before I next heard from your mother.
and then your photo only reached me,
since when all has been silence! Your
mother married a good man, and I
r for her and for you, too. baby,
that you may grow up in her foot-
The circumstances under which his
letters to, the girl went astray were to
hint mysterious, but, as a matter of
hat, easily explained. The girl was
: tl~ daughter of a country lawyer, and
he had made her acquaintance when
Idle Was 8laying in a boarding house
in Btoomsbury, in which he was also
a lodger, Her reason for being in
town was that' she might ~mprove a
somewhat neglected education, an~d
she. was taking singing lessons at a
school of music in the neighborhood.
An aunt took away this unwanted
daughter from among the large famil~
at home, to t companion across the
her of flightt-
in the capa-
first of Carson's
cautious man and
I I III I I . I II I
when the aunt be-
lieved she was ar-
ranging a highly
desirable engage-
ment for her niece.
and on the prin-
ciple of dong
wrong that good
may come, sbe kept
back the notes of
this obviously poor
suitor.
Carson often felt
desolate, hut never
so utterly as then,
and as he paced the
floor the laughter
lof t~e happy crowd seemed to mock
him. He rang the bell and ordered
some tea. The demure little maid
l~oked at him, and, going down stairs,
said:
"Poor Mr. Carson, he looks so
strange and miserable!"
Returding, .she found hlm sitting In
his chair gazing with half-closed eyes
into the fire. Placing the tea on a
small wicker table by his side, she at-
tracted his attention by the question,
"Anything else, sir?"
"No," was the reply; "but, see, this
is New Year's Eve. You've been a good
servant to me. at least. Buy yoursell
s~methlng," handing her a sovereign.
The amount of the gift bereft the girl
of the power of speech, and with a
curtesy, eloquent in itself of gratitude,
she left.
Carson, sipping his tea, again solilo-
quized. "It's now within an hour and
a quarter of the New Year. What
will that year bring into my life? It
cannot bring the light of love and
companionship. Tbe same round of
weeks and mohth~, and so it will be
to the end. Ten years ago, m Old
Kentucky, we said 'Good-by.' It was
a 'good-by' forever."
Apostrophizing the absent woman,
be continued: "Leila, Leila. to my
grave I take with me the love I hear
you. Why did we live to be parted so
ruthlessly? What strange fate has so
guided our destinies?"
He turned to the story of-Evangeline
and read of the sufferings of that
heroic character. The reading soothed
him and he fell asleep.
The clocks were striking the twelfth
stroke of midnight when he awoke.
Ha'barely opened his eyes, tl£en closed
them again, and listened to the Joyous
salutations of people meeting in the
streets. He was not selfish, neither
was he bad natured. No man who
every truly loved can be altogether
either. As he listened he said:
"I wish for all a bright New Year.
and Leila, my absent Lella, whom 1
shall never see again, may your life
know no sorrow, may yours never be
the aching heart, and may you be
blessed in your children growing up
around you. My Leila "
He did not finish the sentence, but
the tears came trickling down his
cheeks as he realized his barren life.
Then he hecame conscious that some
one had come into the room and been
a witness of his weakness and his sv
cret~secret because society said Wal-
ter Carson carried his heart on his
sleeve and was incapable Of deep aftec-
lion. So sitting up .and turning round
he was startled to see seated on a
chair a tall lady, clad in deep mourn-
ing and veiled so heavily that he was
unable to distinguish her face.
"Madam," he inquired, too taken
aback even to get up, "I should like to
know why I am thus honored?"
"I came in with the New Year. Not
an omen of ill-luck, I hope," replied
a musical voice: "but I first want to
know if Walter Carson Is not an as-
sumed name?"
"Why do you ask such a question?"
"For the best of good reasons, and
as you will not tell me. perhaps you
~...,
"I KNOW YOU NOT, SWEETCHILD."
will allow me to say that I think your
real name is Herber~ Wilton," pro-
ceeded the mysterious stranger,
Carson was utterly unprepared for
this, and his surprise was painfully
manifest. Appearing not to notice It,
the lady went on:
"You are unhappy, I know, Mr. Wil-
ton. I shall not call you Mr. Carson.
I am certain of it, because I was watch-
ing you for ten minutes before you
opened your eyes. Can I be of any
help to you?'"
"I don't usderstand you, madam,"
answered Carson. "I have no trouble,
at least none that you could assist
me In."
"Has It any connection with an old
love affair?" very slowly asked the
veiled visitor.
"I must decline tO discuss my Pri-
vate matters with an utter stranger,"
~eplied Carson. Jumping up.
• 'Am I an utter strana~, Herbert?"
I
responded the stranger, also rising,
and as she did so throwing back her
veil.
"Leila!" gasped Carson, looking
incredulously into her face.
"Yes, Lella." was the answer whis-
pered, while her arms stole round his
neck, "come back to you with the New
Year, never to leave your side until it
so pleases God."
Then they sat down and she told
him how, three years before, after be-
ing left a widow, she determined to
find out what had become of the s~eet-
heart of her younger days. How, by
a chapter of happy accidents, she
learned that he was in London. How,
on knowing this, she hurried over land
and sea, and Just at the birth of the
New Year entered his room. She saw
the tears fall from his eyes, heard her
name m~entloned, and his blessing go
out to her. All doubts were then at
an end.
"My children will be here by the
next boat, and you must b'e to them a
father. Now I must go, as I'm weary
with the excitement of the day."
Carson drove her to her hotel, and
to him the New Year bells never
seemed to have rung such merry peals.
They rang into his llfe a New Year is
every sense. A few days later there
was a quiet marriage, and on the fol-~
lowing New Year's Eve, as Carson and
"I CAME IN WITH THE NEW
YEAR.':
his wife listened to the hour of mid-
night strike, they thought, with hearts
full of love and gratitude, of the.Joy-
ous meeting twelve months before.
Hopes of the Future.
With the coming of the New Year
all our hopes of future good for our-
selves and for humanity at large re,
receive a t~ew impulse and an accession
of power. If we are alive to the wide
extension of knowledge, the conquest
of the material world, the imminence
of new and important discoveries and
changes which shall make the possibil-
ities of life more interesting £nd beau.
tiful, we cannot but rejoice that we
are born into this wonderful epoch.
Tennyson's poem, written in the flush
of young manhood, voiced the scien-
tific fact in eloquence that can never
be forgotten, but the thoughts Of men
are widened by the process of the
suns. It Is truly to the thoughts of men
that we owe all the triumphs of civil-
ization, the triumphs of religion, art,
industry and science, as in the last re-
sort all that is and all that we hope
for resides in tke thoughts df men and
in the feelings and emotions which
give birth to these thoughts, and be-
tween which there is such a constant
Interaction.
~elanelng Our Books,
When the year is ended and the'
final summing up of accounts is finish-
ed, it is comforting to look back and
to be able to say, in all sincerity, that
we have dqne the best we could for our-
selves and for those about us. It is
more than comforting tO see that we
have gained something, that our ef-
forts have been crowned~wlth success,
and that we are by this advance-
ment enabled to score a victory, even
though it may be trifling, over ad-
verse circumstances..It encourages us
to redouble our efforts to make a bet-
ter showing for the years to come, to
so order our affairs that this season's
gain will be but the beginning of bet-
ter things, and that the great and
grand fabric of bur future may rise.
ever increasing, ever more and more
brutiful, and end in a noble, manly,
womanly, Christian. symmetrical char-
acter that will make its possessor
kLown and honored of all men.
• o the Yonng.
While the opening of the New Year ta
a significant season for persons of all
ages, it is especially so to the young
and those in early maturity. There is
so much ahead of the youngsters; so
much for them to look frward to, to
hope for, achieve; so much that will
help them to make their lives worth
living, and to make the world the bet-
ter for their having lived in it.
Welcome the ,new year. Welcome
its work, its cares, its responsibil!tles.
it~ trials, crosses, losses, sorrow~ and
bereavements. Welcome its work,
because it is only by work that we
achieve success~ and make ourselves
strong for the ~oils and tas~ that are
to come, Welcome its cares, for they
are the world's educators, developers
and teachers, and they lead us into
those waYs of prudence, thoughtful,
ness and moderation which are the
forerunners of prosperity and plenty,
--H. S. C.
Brace Up! Aeqult yo"rselves like men;
Swear off ! And don't swear on a~al~,
--L. A. W. Bulletin.
J[[ I I
garded as a genuinely capable states-
man and eminently qualified to pre-
side over the national council which
initiates all legislation~ in the little
mountain state. He Is a leader in the
conservative party, although he is
known to hold tolerant and even liber-
al views in matters of great weight.
Dr. Zemp is 67 years old, and is a
native of Entlebuch. Lucerne. One
year ago he was elected vice president,
and he comes into his present office by
virtue of the unwritten law that the
vice president shall succeed to the
highest office, providing his services in
the subordinate positions have been
satisfactory to the people. As vice
I)resident he was head of the depart-
ment of state railways and telegraphs,
where he was well tested in the art
of the government. He was elected
over two opposing candidates.
BIBLE GIVEN TO THE AMEER.
Abdur Rahman thought much about
religious problems. It is not, however,
generally known that he was the poe,
sessor of a copy of the new testament
In Loewenthars erudite translation
into Pushtu. which was forwarded to
him by the Rev. Worthington Jukes of
the Church Missionary society, sta-
tioned in the Punjab, just after the
great durbar held at Rawal Pindl by
the Marquis of Duftertn and Ava, as
viceroy, in 1884.
Acknowledging this the ameer wrote
says the London Telegraph, in his own
hand, to Mr. Jukes: "I received your
letter. You had regretted therein that
you had been unable to see me, and
that, through want of leisure, you could
not. For my part I am exceedingly
sorry that, during my present visit to
the Indian frontier, I had not the op-
portunlty of seeing the most learned
and intellectual of the British king-
dom. Everything has Its own allotted
time, The copy of the blble which you
have sent I have received, and I accept
it with great reverence. Though we
have nothing to do with all that is
written therein, yet we respect it, ac-
cepting it as a book handed to us by
God. I shall take extracts of all those
verses which fully correspond with
those of our koran, besides~ all such
passages as are interesting; I shall
act upon them; I have had the greatest
pleasure in receiving this present,
which is the best of all."
MAY BE POPE LEftS eUOOESSOR.
Cardinal Gotti is discussed on every
side in Rome as the successor to the
papal throne. Muc~ color is lent to
this report by the fact that the great
Carmelite was recently called in con-
sultation by Pope Leo, who requested
to be le~t absolutely alone with his
favorite cardinal. The two were clos-
eted together for two hours. The pe-
culiar Inslstanee of the pope on per-
fect privacy is regarded as giving sig-
nificant meaning to the intervieW, and
the general opinion is that the pope
has definitely and finally selected his
favorite as P~me candidate for the
l~tI~tcY. Cardinal Gotti ig 67~years old.
India the Lend of Rsporta
India is the land of reports. There
a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly.
annual plague of them. There is uo
country, probably, in which so many
useless reports are written and so few
read. In one province the chief busi-
ness of the local government consists
of dunning Its Officers for statistics and
reports, and in compiling them from
volumes for the delusion of the su-
preme government. More than one,
half of the time and energy of every
civil officer is taken up In writing,
_ ' I I I
I Anedymn8 I t I .m,.at,o. b,. I|
~" I _ IU~_~___~ I ~ I Government I
i I Expert''
