Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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To all?grood-by. My task is done. I've swung the circle of the sun. I've given all that Life bestows, I've dealt Fate's cards to friends, to foe! I've touched you each with joy and care, Drawn wrinkles here, smoothed wrinkle there. And if I've frosted temples gray, I've made warm lips to kiss away The chill. Tho' Death, tho' strife I've visited?I've granted Life. I'm lime, i ve roooea your craaie aear Yet I ask you?your dying Year, Have I not filled it? Answer free, If I've robbed you have not you cheated me1 Have not you sought to kill me?Time? Have not you wasted me?God's gift sub lime? Misspent me, mocked me, wished me ot my way, Loathed and reviled me?prayed anothei day, And when I granted it, mocked that on*, too, Are we not quit at evens?I and you? TIs Kismet?Fate. Old World, good-by, My cycle's done?I feint?I die. Oh, World! dear World?aft last my dream is true, I Through all eternity I've longed for you, Impatient of the years I hid to wait. Each nerve aquiver, lest I be too late. And now I'm here?and all of you ar? mine For my brief reign. Yet, also, I am thine. For use?abuse?but treat me as you may Remember this?I'll give and take away. And but this moment bom?but half awake, I'll tell you now what I'll bath give and tak?. ril take a life from out you here and there. I'll give?a lover true?a sweetheart fair. Half of your fondest hopes I'll steal away, I'll grant a grain of wisdom day by day. And tho\ perchance, I should take Peter's all. With lavish hands I'll shower it on Paul, I'll smite some of you with an iron glove, I'll nurse some others with my tenderest love, I'm 'both your queen and slave. I now 3-iake way. Thi? night is yours. Tomorrow you'll repay. Brinjf forth the jesters. Fill the cup of cheer. ?i.. l 117 1 J T? jtou ve waicea me iorevar. nona, t id here. Not New. X shall aot swear off smoking pow Nor swear to mend my ways; I shall not swear off penning jvrose Or writing merry lays. For what's the use* Tou know right w?2 The strongest of a* fall. Vm going to start Niw Year right? I shall not swear at nil. ?Joe Cone. A New Year's Wish. To become an expert at forgetting Just to forget, all the unkind pets, th? deep wrongs, the mean words, th< bitter disappointments?just let then go, forget them?the memory will be come quick and alert to remember tlu things worth remembering, the mint given to beautiful things, worth-whil( things, and to remember always tha .( am in the presence of God, this li jny desire for the New Year. Good-by, Old Year. Peace to its ashes! Peace to it! *?mbers of burnt-out things; tears anxieties, doubts all gone! I set them now as a thin, blue smoke hang 1ng in the bright heavens of the pas year, vanishing away into utter noth ingness. Not many hopes deteived not many illusions scattered, not man: anticipations disappointed, but lovi fulfilled, the beart comforted, the sou enriched with affections.?Longfellow Help! 'Gentleman offers to exchange i Christmas present for something us< jfttV" mm I ??? NEW YEAR PROPHETS By GENE MORGAN. ANYBODY who says the world 1b growing less superstitious must be talking through the ear-flap3 on his cap. Every year about January 1 old Superstition shows It self like a hydra-headed monster in a laundry basket To be sure, we no longer take out Insurance against ghosts, and if we saw a hobgoblin we'd want to know why the hotel bellhop bad grown those whiskers* But there Is one kind of su p?rstltlon which we seem to be giving more encouragement all the time, and that is the New Year prophecy. The true New Year prophet Is a cheerful soul. If he ever has any good news concerning the future, he care fully nibbles at the hard ground with i a pickax and buries It. Bad news, ; calamity, disaster, ca^istrophe, misfor j tune, these are the staple groceries i In which he prefers to deal. And he has such a clever way of making good, too. The New Year prophet wears crepe to work every morning while he Is put Iting his forecast in order. He also wears a long, sad face and murmurs ever and anon that the worst Is yet to come. He does this in order that the world may grow pale and weep and shudder. He Just loves to show us a k good time. The way the New Year, prophet J makes good on his predictions is to promise ev?ry kind of bad luck there Is, from famine to earthquake, and from plague to war. As this globe of ours has been enjoying a steady diet of these things since the year one, the* New Year prophet rarely goes wrong, ' but Just waves hia printed predictions upside down and warbles, "I told you f so." He is a sure-thing player, and rarely takes a chance that is not a six ty-to-one shot. For instance, he is safe In forecast 1 lng a typhoon in the Pacific ocean, . which will destroy shipping, but he wouldn't dare to predict that James , Jones will pay me that ten dollars he owes me before the first of next April. He finds It advisable to foresee a fam I Ine in China?any old thing can hap ! Den in China?but under no clrcum-1 stances would he venture the belief' that I will surely keep all the good resolution* I made on the evening of December 30. If I thought the pay was steady and the hours not too long for Indoor work, I believe I should like to take up the work of making New/ Year prophecies. Por the benefit of enter prising employers, looking for bright young men at this kind of work, I have made up a few sample prophecies for 1915. It makes uo difference how I did it, whether by crystal gazing 6r by scientific methods. However, I ac complished it without the aid of a medical almanac or other weapons. For instance, I predict that: In January the days will be a little longer, and ice will be cheap. On. Jan Murmurs Ever and Anon That the Worst Is Yet to Come. uary 21 the coal bin will be empty, and father will chop up a parlor chair. The month of February will take only 29 days to pass a givea point. The weather will be extremely unset 1 tied, and when it is not stormy the air will be quite calm. In spite of the cold spell cherry treus will bloom around February 22 in all cand> store windows. March will come in like a lamb afraid of waking the baby, and will go, out like a leonine monster who has just overheard someone say he i& get ting fat. Rain checks will be issued in case this condition is reversed. 1 There will be some warm wea'.her, which will cause optimists to throw aside their overcoats and shed their thick, prickly underwear. When the ABE MARTIN ON NEW YEAR Thoughts by a Philosopher About the Man Who Swears Off?Has Hard Time for a While. Sometimes when a feller who kin drink or leave it alone gits t' lookln' back o'er th' year jest closin' an' sums up all th' things he's done or undone, all th" energy an' money he's wasted an' all th' things he's missed or neg lected in that regretted time, th' past looms up like a piece o' tar soap. Then he quietly resolves t' bid good-by t' th' social cup an New Year's day, little dreamin' o' th' colossal struggle Jest around th' corner. Th' feller who has long b?en used t' fortifyiii' himself with r stimulant on over' occasion has purty toujjh sleddln' for a while after be swears off. Ther's th' ordeal o' buyln' a new hat or nt tendin' a banquet. Th' feller who kl.n drink or leave it alone alius smells like a Deer Creek distillery after he buys a new hat, an* he'll often tra'.n fer weeks when ther's a banquet ahead. Sometimes he'll Bet clean I cold spell gets back on the Job, fresh, frozen optimist will be one of the del icacies of the season. April will come in with a sore foot, having kicked an opera hat which com pletely surrounded a bri^k. April will be a wet month* and early umbrella crops will bj reported from many re* glons. Fido will here begin to shed his fun Now there's a prophecy which shows what I can do* To confer up, there was nothing difficult abouk It F>or an one -can be a New Year prophet. Yea, without any previous (raining, or ex perience in sending spirit messages collect, instead of paying the boy your* self, It's safe to prophecize that in the year 1915, A. D., you are going to keep most of your good resolutions if you . i Empty. made tbem in an earnest, sincere, try again spirit, Instead of In the usual, automatic way, like giving a fence Its annual whitewash. It's Bafe to fore cast that you'll keep out of debt, that you'll Increase your hank account and that you'll get your gilt-edged license for health and happiness?If, Instead of growing dreamy-eyed and wonder ing what the New Year may bring forth, you step out on the right foot, with your eyes to the front. Decide that when old Dame Fortune meets you you'll be plugging along the straight and narrow path, and then she won't have room to side-step you. Be your own prophet and predict a year of hard work and square living for yourself. You should worry while the professional New Year prophet la dusting off his shelf-worn stock of plagues, famines, yolcanlc eruptions and crop failures In Helgoland. The 1915 Boy. "I will not put pins in my dear teach er's chair." (Tacks will hurt Just as much, anyway.) "I will not quarrel and fight with my big brothers in 1915." (What have I got a little brother for?) "I will not play hookey from school to go fishing or swimming." (That Is, in the winter time.) ",1 will be a regular attendant at Sunday school." (At Chrtstmaa time and just before the summer excursion, of course.) "I will not take mother's currant jelly from the pantry without per mission." <Her raspberry Jam is good enough for me.) "I will be kind to dumb animals, such as tigers, lions and elephants." (Stray rate nnfl docs however. had better keep out of this neighborhood.) "I will not (Oh, gee, that's enough. They say the good die young, and I want to live until I catch that red headed boy on the next block who stuck his tongue out at me yester day!) Running Ahead. It is easy to miss God's plans by hurrying after them too fa^Jt. A business man, on his way ffom his suburban home to his office, was very desirous of seeing another man on an important matter; and he knew that that man was likely to be on a cer tain ferry boat. Hurrying for the boat lest he miss his man, he was stopped on his way by the man him self, who had been quietly waiting for him. His eagerness to catch that boat was carrying him past the very man he wanted to see. Our eagerness to work out God's plans doubtless often makes it difficult for him to keep us in touch with those plans. It is sometimes a duty to move swiftly; but even then let us be sensitively alert that our swiftness shall not cause us to miss the goal that God has set. The depth of one's words Is Just the depth ,of one's character.?Percy C. Ainsworth. thro' a banquet, or at least till th' last syllable of an address on "Th' Weddin' o' th' Oceans" has died away in th' cigarette emoke. But how a feller's whole style o' pitchin' changes when he once gits thoroughly established on th' water wagon an' begins t' talk natural fer th' first time since th' first baby come! How his patient wife misses his glowin' account o' th' day's earnin's when he used t' stall thro' th* evenln' meal! How his associates miss hi3 decided views on ever' question that comes up! How th' one-legged news boy on th' corner misses his lavish generosity! How he kicks on th' gro cery bill! How his waistcoat pockets bulge with segars, each one repre sent^' a 15-cent drink that he's mufTed while in th' hands o" frlend6. an' ho>v his little children mls3 th' peppermint drops that used t' fall from his over coat as he flung it carelessly across th' planner. Lafe Hud says that glttln" on on off j th' water wagon is th' only exercise some fellers ever git.?AM Martln.Jn Americas Magazine, IIIITIII FOR NEW YEAR'S BE Toy Noise Producers and How to Make Them. NO one objects to a moderate amount of noise in welcome to the Incoming new year, and I am sure that you "will agree with me that the following are splendid noise produc ers. Each will require but a few minutes' time to make. The bell rattle shown in Fig. 1 is made with a tin can, a common thread spool, two short sticks and two screw eyes. The tin can forms the bell portion of the rattle, and a short piece of broomhandle, or other stick whit tled round, fastens to it for a handle. This handle stick (A, Fig. 2) is se cured to the bottom of the can by piercing a hole through the tin and screwing a screw-eye from the in side I of the can down into the end of the 'stick. Figure 3 shows how the tongue of the bell rattle is prepared. The length of the tongue should be equal to the inside depth of the can. Cut a Btick of this length and whit-1 tie down one end to fit the hole In the thread spool you have obtained; then screw a screw-eye into the other end (Fig. 3). Fasten the tongue in place with a piece of string, passing the string through the screw-eyes in tongue B and handle A, and tying them loosely with firm knots. This completes the rattle. The odd-shaped rattle shown in Fig. 4 requires a short stick for han dle A, and two tin cans out of which to make the wings, pieces B and C. The bottoms of the cans must be re V h/ . moved, and the sides opened out. Tack the pieces to opposite sides of the stick handle^ By holding the handle in the posi tion shown in Fig. 4, and shaking from side to side, the tin wings will flap back and forth and make a splen did crackling, crashing noise. If you have never tried pulling upon a string rubbed with resin, you cannot appreciate what a loud shrieking sound is produced in this manner. T,itri,fo s o)m\vs thp idea adanted to a toy that is quickly put together. G<;t an empty tin can, a piece of heavy wrapping paper, a piece of stout wrap ping twine, and a piece of rosin. Dou ble the wrapping paper, pierce a hoJe through its center, stick the end of the cord through it and tie a large knot on it (Fig. 6). Then tie the paper over the open end of the can, as shown in Fig. 6, and trim off the pro jecting edges. To operate, pull firmly on the string, at the same time allow ing it to slide through your hand. (Copyright by A. Neely Hall.) The Days of the New Year. O God. give me the strength through this new year To take each day just as it comes fo me; To grasp the good of every passing hour And never question what the next will be. Help ine to see that all the homely cares When fully met and simply done, bring peace; Let me not seek for joy outside myself. will never batting for A Jfahf fear a Prayer By DAVID CORY God grant that I the new year through May itrioe with heart and soul to) do Those things which are most good and true. God grant that I each morning start My duties with <f cheerful heart, And cheerfully perform my part. To wear a smile all through the day, To banish thoughts unkind away; And when my bedtime comes, to pray. To say my prayers with folded hands As night comes softly o'er the lands. To Him, who always understands. And when the bells on New Year's dawn Proclaim the bright New Year is bom, And I awa^e on new z ear j mom, / pray Him whisper, low and sweei, To help me guide my wayward feet. Lest / forget my prayer to meet. HAPPY NEW YEAR CUSTOMS Celebrations of the Mummers in Olden Days in England?Tending to Revive Visiting. OnTriday, January 1, the mummers will mum?that's their way of ush ering in the New Year. How many of them know the beginning of the cus tom?or the ending! It began in rmppntlv pnonc-h hilt hv the seventh century it amounted to "diabolical paganism," outrageous, blasphemous. Ruffians robbed and even murdered under the pretense of merrymaking. Not all was frightful, however. In Rome slaves were waited upon by their masters and the poor reaped veritable harvests, which was but nat ural, since it all came from the sat urnalia of the Eternal City. In England the mummers performed plays, spoke dialogues and imperson ated famous people, especially kings and warriors. Songs were sung both by the mummers and their entertain ers. Mere is one: To shorten winter's sadness See where the folks with gladness Disguised all are a-comlng Right wantonly a-mumming. In those days they loved, too, to masquerade as animals, bears and unicorns being especially favored dis guises. Scott's couplet summed it up: Who lists may In their mumming see Traces of ancient minstrelsy. At last this mumming came to be a menace as well as a nuisance, and the chaste Henry VIII made it a mis demeanor to wear a mask. It was George Washington who made the day what it once was in this country. Said he: "Never forget the cheerful and cordial observance of New Year's day-." The celebration grew and grew, until a generation or so ago, the scenes enacted at some receptions were simply disgraceful, so ciety having progressed some since it was good form to imbibe until the im biber quietly slid under the table. ' Of late years there has been a tend ency to revive'visiting on the first day of the year. But It is all very informal, and every hostess knows each and every one of her guests, which was not always the case wlren It was the fashion to have as many as possible and any man counted one. An amusing story is told of/one host t!)t $lm gear ess who, in a lull, left the line and want nvpr tn thp minffh howl in the back parlor, saying to a man she didn't know: "What is your name? I don't think I know you." He told her. She didn't remember It, bo she asked him wjith whom he had eome. He said he had come by himself, where upon she ordered him out Imagine her chagrin the next day upon receiv ing from this man a letter she had written to a relative in a neighboring city asking that he visit there when ever he should be in the city. Also to be reminded by him that he had sent his letter of introduction and re ceived cards, which he also inclosed. In the holiday rush she had simply forgotten the new name. THE NEW YEAR'S EVE FATES / How Curious Maidens Can FMid Out What Is In Store for Them? An Italian Custom. Every maiden wonders what the fu ture has in store for her, and this is what she must do on New Year's day to learn her fate: Turn the pillow at midnight, the 31st of December, and you will dream of the . man you are to marry. Or let her talse her hymn book to her bedrodm, blow out the lamp, oiien the book and mark a hymn (in the dark), put it under the pillow and sleep'on it. Next morning when she reads the hymn she will find its text will indi cate the event of the year. ? On New Year's eve the Italian maid en places in one corner of her bed room a thimble, in another water, in a third ashes and in a fourth a ring. Upon waking in the morning, if she 1 coflo fVio finer flrot aha will he married DCCD VUO liug u> wv ?. ? that year; if she sees the water first the year will be unlucky; if the thimble, fortune will smile on her; if the ashes, she will die. On New Year's eve, if a maiden wishes to know her fate during the coming year, she must go into the open air with a psalm book in one band and a piece of silver in her mouth. She must allow the book to fall open, and if it opens at the death psalm she will die; if it opene at the bridal psalm she will marry, and what ever else it opens to will indicate her fate. ?n New Year's eve, while the clock is striking twelve, repeat three times: GootJ, St. Anne, good St. Anne, Send me a man as fast as you can? And you will be engaged in a year. WAY TO RID OF THEM. Mrs. Crawford?Wake up, dear.' I'm sure there's a'burglar downstairs. Crawford?I hotfe there is. Perhaps he'll take those 1 useless Christuua presents your frMnJs Bent you. lNIDMIlONAL SmrSoiooL Lesson (By E. O. SELLERS, Acting Director of Sunday School Course.), LESSON FOR JANUA GOD'S PATIENCE WITH ISRAEL. LESSON TEXT-Judges 2:7-19/ GOLDEN TEXT-I rill heal their back ?liding, I will love them freely^-Hos. 14:4. This year we again return to the history of the chosen people1 and fol low them, through the period of the Judges, the days of the monarchy un der Saul, David and Solomon, and the divided kingdom In the times of Eli iflh Amruj Hoapa and- Jonah, down to the time of Daniel during the cap tivity. I. Another Generation, vv. 7-10. During the diys of Joshua Israel served Jehovah, but his influence did not 'last lung after his death. Ever 1 and anon God must needs raise up a Joshua to lead his church. We have another "Joshua"?Jeaus?who is ever with his people and we do not need any earthly leader (Ps. 62:5; Phil. 2:12). Still God is working through human agents and in every crisis raises up his spirit^lothed leaders. No doubt this "another gen eration" honored Joshua as a hero but they did not follow in hi?t obedi ence-to Jehovah. It is easy to dis miss God's mighty deeds amoitg men by calling them myths and traditions, or to deny the "accuracy of the rec ords." Doubtless the Israelites felt.Jfc their obligations to their neighbor*-* and fellow-tribesmen, but they Jos^ -a realizing sense of their obligations to God. America today is charged with an altruistic spirit but Beems lacking In a deep' sense of that obligation. to God which is primary. Sin of Idolatry. II. They forsook th? Lord, w. ^ 11:13. Backsliding Israel Is a prov- * erb. Over and again there was a xe tnrn to true worship and just as t often a forsaking. For centuries Je- j hovah bore/ with, forgave, restored and punished^ this "stiffnecked" peo- ' \ pie, until the final overthrow and cap tivity burned into their consciousness the sin of idolatry. The reason for this was their disobedience la not; putting out of the land "the gods of J the peoples that were round about them." Liberality of this sort always results in spiritual ruin. A nation's ideals about Qod not alone determine its moral status but eventually Its physical and temporal welfare as well. Their way was not evil in their own sight and doubtless they were con sidered very progressive, and their course an evidence of greater wisdom * i than that of their fathers, but it was "evil In the sight of the Lord." We do not understand that these Israelites took up the worship of Baal, the sun god, with all of its abominations at once, but rather sought a combination, a compromise worship, which of course led to the inevitable forsaking of God. Verse 12 Indicates the base Ingratitude of such a course for he It was "which \ brought them out of the land of Egypt" (Titus 2:14; 2 Pet 2:1). III. The Anger of the Lord, w. 14, 15. There is no anger like that of outraged love. We are apt to forget the other attributes of God, those of justice, holiness and purity and that God can not look upon Iniquity (Hab. 1:13). vThe light men enjoy .only heightens and makes more black their offenses. God's anger can "wax hot" and here he "delivered mem mio hj?; hands of the spoilers that spoiled them." God Keeps His Promises. IV. And the Lord Raised Up Judges, R. V. vv. 16-19. These were men who felt the bitterness of the distress of their nation. God keep? to the letter his promises, both of blessing and of punishment, but "in wrath he remembers mercy." These judges had higher aspirations than simply to judge, for they "saved" the people. We who live in this present dispensation of grace have one who is now the savior but who shall yet be the Judge. That these righteous leaders of the people had a difficult task is suggested by verse 17. The hearts of the people "went a whor ing," lusted after the things repre sented by Baal and Ashtaroth, which history tells us were too vild to be enumerated. The judges secured for the people of Israel their rights ac cording to the mercy of Jehovah. At the same time they were rulers, and as such secured for individuals their riehts. Professor Beecher has calcu lated that the period of their adminis tration was about three hundred and thirty-two years, from the death of Joshua, 1434 B. C.. to the anointing of Saul, 1030 B. C. ft Is probable that at times one part of the land was under oppression and other parts were enjoying security under Its judge. It has been suggested that Israel, during the time we have been and now are studying, passed through four grades in"God's school: (1) That In Egypt; training in bondage and contact with the highest civilization of the day. (2) That in the desert: training in faith, law and religious nhoorvoncps in the Dresence of peril and hardships. (3) That in the time of the judges; training in self-govern ment while in contact with enemies and moral evils. (4) That of the king dom; training in the arts and in ligious life as manifested by temple, the priesthood anc prophets. Idolatry was fascijv&ting, it had a false freedom, it/appealed to every passion, and was <the very anti thesis of the Jehovah worship of pur ity itself. / The worship of Jehovah always taught and impressed moral and spiritual truth and required the con fessing and forsaking of evil. These judges were fiod endowed and did not prostitute their gifts. They were God led. saw Israel's need and had cour age, faith and zeal enough to show Israel that the first 'hing thev needed o do was to forsatie the evii and re turn to a life of obedience to Qod.