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'CM ? J # ,9 M /% if W ? I Ma s as p$ Ii i i % ixjiil m JSkkJUm. ?*&>- ???> [Copyright. 10GC. bv C. X. I.urie.] ! The smart set if-, interested just nov.-fin | the approaching visit of the Earl and i y'ountess of Uroton. The countess was i Miss Edith Temple c.f Philadelphia and is / a great beauty. The carl himself has some repute for looks, having been called the handsomest man in English society, but his chief claim to "distinction is as a prophet. He first won this fame by a supernaturally accurate prediction of the Spanish-American war. in which, among other wonders, he foretold the uate of the naval battle of Santiago wltlnn one day. THIS paragraph has appeared in many papers of late, and in fancy I can see the noble earl ! reading it and gnashing his teeth. In private he disclaims all credit (or discredit) for the Spanish-American bullseye shot, and justly, too. as I shall show; yet even in England, where the facts should be well known, his name perpetually calls up the memory of that miraculous feat. When I knew this man he was plain George Law- I rence, with no reasonable expectation of a title. Expectation of money he did indeed have, and he might have lived in luxury by discounting his prospects. j Indeed, his cousin. Arthur Lawrence. ! a man of means and of growing political importance, would have advanced him any reasonable sum without interest, but the most that George would ever accept from him was a corner of ! the library in his residence. This was ! screened off as George's workshop, and i there he wrote ponderous articles which I were quite readily taken by newspa- ] pers and magazines, but the prices t were so meager and George's method of work was so distressingly slow that he earned only a bare living. The Lawrence house was a likely place to meet smart Americans sojourning in London, and many of the better sortrtoo. the people of real consequence in the world, for Mrs. Lawrence. though of English birth, had spent her girlhood in Philadelphia. Thus it happened that when some of the Philadelphia Temples were in Lon - ?^Bg=-i'?. rfrs*g^aans ? HE WATCHED HER WITH don they were very milch sit home at the Lawrence residence, suul George fell in love with Edith Temple. It was a hasty a<*t for George. A month after their first meeting a man j" with only half an eye might have seen that Miss Temple was very much in love with George, and. as she had plenty of money to carry them along until his own inheritance should fall .in, it was foolish of them to waste rfheJv time. But George was incapable 'Of imagining dependence npon any oth-~er purse than his own. ami so he had 3io choice, but must wait for the family fortune, which was fixed for life in the grip of an old uncle. v Matters were in this state on the last * day of the year 1807. It was afternoon, and George was at work in his accustomed place when he was interrupted -T>y a tapping on the screen. George ^fcnew who was there even before she touched the screen with her gloved fingers. He had felt her approach while she was traversing all the length j . of the library. George had a way of sliding farther i and farther under his desk while he ; was at work, and his chair and his > legs would often be so entangled in , "? reference books which he hail been using that he required several min- ! utes to free himself. Herein lies the reason why Miss ' Temple stood beside George while he! was still making cautious attempts to j rise and receive lier. lie humbly bey:-'j gcd her pardon, and she gave him her i hand to kiss in token of forgiveimss. j And at that moment she saw a pace j before him on which he had written j several memoranda, each bearing a number. She did not catch the import | of any of thorn. ' "What are tlio<e things, HeorgeV" ! she asked. "Hood resolutions for the | new year';" i He smiled somewhat mysteriously. j "The essential of very good resolu- 1 tion is foresight." said he. "So many ! of us justify ourselves against teinyta- ; J ions which arc highly improbable and j then are ensnared by others which, j Though of the commonest sort, we have ; neglected to anticipate." "Speaking of temptation. I asked you j what you were writh.g, and if you j have any temptation to tell ine you're j resisting it nobly." ; J j? ill ' IN. f%$ : i-| U-? ?*V I it SiIfe * * ;>-IL- W^hL ?Jf Wtfe' j k "It is fuo." said lie. "tha: I had not I intended to tell yon. Nevertheless I rill do so." She won id have assured him that it was not necessary, but he had already thrust his hand into the pili^ of manuscripts. newspapers and loose sheets upon his desk and had found a clipping which he pave to Miss Temple. "Oh. I've seen this!" she cried after a hasty glance. "This paper offers a prize of 200 guineas for the best forecast of the year. I do hope you'll win BE WROTE PONDEROUS ARTICLES. It But it's such a terribly Ions time to wait. The predictions will lie in a safe a whole year, and even after they are opened it will probably take your slow English editors a year more to decide which is the best. I shouldn't have the patience." 'They'll not be so slow as that." said he. "A few weeks will suffice. I should suppose. And so in thirteen months from today I shall know my fate. A AMUSEMENT AS SHE SCRIES! careful consideration' of my prospects leads ine to anticipate that I shall need -00 guineas just as badly a year hence i as I do now. 1 really hope to win this j prize. I fancy that most of the coin- | petitors will be women?it is usually so ?and. pardon mo for mentioning it. women always guess. They rarely arrive at a conclusion as the result of methodical reasoning." "That never worries me." she re- j torteri, "so long as 1 arrive. That's the ; ' ^ I COXGRATU LATF I) OE<?!;(?F? important point. However. let me heat \vh:;t you have arrived at as the result of methodical reason in;:." He took up his pajre of memoranda and ran Ins eye alon.a the headings. 'd be.iran early." he said, "and despite the interruptions of niy regular work 1 H;t \*?? Kept me mauer iiM>ic <ii loss in iniml down to this very Inst day of the euntest. Tin* sealed prophoey. as you are aware. must he sunt itt before midnight. It must boar a oatehword on the outside of tho larger envelope. am! within tboro mnst ho a smaller envelope with tho foal nanio of the eompolitor. I have already pro- j pared my envelopes." And ho hold them up. "Now." ho continued. "after months j of tlie most earoful consideration I j Y T j ! \ . Vb if \(~&4 i i %/Lji J 5t j sp mi wt /I | Jiif- ?/>*4V tit v ? $5 ? e <?& ? t W-1 o .? Sw i >1 I JL ;& I f have decidi d thai this prize will l?-> i won hy some special exercise of forei sight in a particular direction. No man I can write a history of the minor events : of human progress a year in advance of their occurrence, but in the larger affairs which affect the destiny of the whole world a careful student should at least have an intelligent opinion. Now, the political and indeed the social fortunes of the world today undoubtedly depend cliieliy upon two nationsEngland and Itussia. Of course we will admit that Gennany may"? "Now. Goorsre." interruotod Miss Temple, raisin# her linger, "I haven't given months to the study of this question. but I know what is the greatest nation in the world, and if you're looking for something to happen, look westward!" -Lawrence put the tips of his fingers together with a:i air of wisdom. 'The United States are great." he said, "but they are still in the egg. so to speak. They will develop?some day. though whether, as a democracy they can over become a world power I am very much in doubt. In the first place, they are a commercial and not a warlike people." "Well, upon my word!" exclaimed Miss Temple. "That's a nice thing for an Englishman to say!" "Of course," lie said blandly, "there Is at present some small friction with Spain over the Cuban question"? "With Spain!" she cried. "I could laugh. Just give me a pad and I'll write a prophecy for you, telling what we'll do to Spain." She seized a pad from the desk. "When do you think this war will break out:" he asked, smiling. "Well, the lbtii of April is a pretty good day." said she. with a sudden , memory of Lexington, "and it might wind up on the Fourth of July." "The Spanish invasion"? he began, with a laugh. "Nonsense!" she exclaimed. "They'll I .ED HER WAP PROPHECY. . | I never pot ashore. We shall sink all j their ships in the Atlantic ocean." "Some of them are in the Pacific." i bo objected. "We'll leave them there!" she cried. "We'll sink them first. We'll sink tbeni on the lfith of April and the others on the Fourth of .Inly." "You can get their names from this." he said, taking down a naval annual, and he watched her with great amusement as she scribbled her fiery war prophecy. ' They had great fun reading it when it was done. Miss Temple very cleverly expressed it in an excellent parody | of George's ponderous and careful i 1 style, and she felt rather proud of tier i < work as a literary effort. Three days inter Miss Temple again j visited George in his "workshop." She j foimd him standing like a statue, star- i ing ar a bit of manuscript as if he in- j tended to cat it. j "What is that. George?" she inquired, j lie passed his hand nervously over \ his forehead: then he suddenly began ! to paw furiously over the papers on | liis desk. "Miss Temple." he said at last, "this j is my prophecy. There?i la-re is hut J cue possible explanation of litis?this j amazing phenomenon. Yours is miss- i ing. We have pal it into Thai envelope instead of mine." i "You don't mean that you've sent i;V" she almost sereanmd. "That ridic- j nines nonsense! <>jt. how nt;: aly :i1 ?surd! And your name is with if! ( George, what can I ever do to atone for litis?" There j< no dotibr that this terrible : calamity brought tliem nearer togeih- | er a ltd greatly hastened their engage- j nw.io \vm< ;) i?i< i H t u-i'it imlH *.i month !;i! <?J*. I 14 If * plonsnro of j oonurjituhiii11< loorjio. lint I loft I'.nu- ; lnnd soon nfior :itm 1 so tnissod 11:*? \ yront t of Imin^ with hint dur- ; iiiir I ho tini" \v 11 1!i 1!:' oonrso of liis- i lory w.ms iii:ik;i:ir :i prophoi of 1:1 if:. ; Tlio pnliiic.-iiion of his prnphooy n yo.tr . !:ilor jnndo n iroinondotis s. !:>;,tio:i. j .Mini no ntununt of o.\|il:ui:!tioji from ' him conid <l;?sti*oy his snddon ;md mi- | onnny roput.Hion. As fot- iho pry.o. ho i hostowod it in ohnriiy. whi?-h ho ooiiiil , nfVord to do. for hy ih.Mt time ho li::d oome into his inhorit.-inoo. ! :VKKKTT IIOI.ltKOOK. | i - ) H '5 ! <T.se /* ? { ' /? / K' ^ a A- } 13 * $ Miw.ii it R ( jl li {^f / St'i t'' &? / i 111 ? aWstiw ipi 11^15 .jja, JC. ^ !*!?j? ' '^#4'*^* - I jtet ;;> Si 4lil m ft > * Jk fc*. m f :u; ^ feSji piGHT surnrrjers Ions have -Br, Jf-g) Let slip rny Jeap year r As bri5bteos now tb* Ne v 1 bajteo to be up and A bashful lass in ninety-six, Adored by bajbful beaux i I would not in the nan bunt For, pshaw, rnetboucbt, I'rr THE ORIGIN OF NEW YEAR'S DAT New Year's day as a holiday was in vented, like so many other lasting in stitutions. by the patricians of ancicn Rome. Though its significance ha: changed, its customs remain practical!) what they were before imperial Ctcsni died and turned to clay. Noble IIo mans on the 1st day of January in th< year 1 A. I>. arrayed themselves ii clean shirts and togas and sallied fortl to greet their Julias and Calpurnia: witli as much assurance as the you 11; American e.f the last decade, in hi el hat and frcck coat, started on hi-* '*ount of New Year's calls. The Romans, too. had their clubs and on New Year's day their side \? ~~~?_ I TKK ROllAN COP WIELDED HIS NIGHI STICK. hoards llowid with Kornan punch as Hie buffets of the clubs of today poui mil libations of cgguojj. The street* [>f Home were as noisy on New Year's niirht as our streets are now on New iears eve. and many a Human racket] through them in the wee small hours sinirinjr the Latin prototype of "\Yt Won't <!o Home Till Mornihu." whih the Human cop wielded his niirht sticl with all the gusto of the modern blue coat. New Year's maspueraders were no! waniimr either, and we are Told thai one of the favorite amusements of tin day was for tin- men to attire them selves as women and the women to d.?? masculine garments and thus purnth the city's thoroughfares, to the disgus of the mof" dignified. though the sou i'arity of the <lr<'ss of the sexes inns Live ih'prived this proceeding of an\ very seatnlalous features. Still tlie !i reuse of the day. with its feasting am drinking. s?? shocked the fa'hers of tin early church that they chose .Ian. 1 a1 he o> easion of the eelelif.a 1 toil of T!:? fe:?s; of ;li" eireunieision of our Lota ami ea.lleil upon the faithful to emigre gat" in the el,ur-h.es and by their plow example to shame the pagan revelers That the rcvi'ii'is were not suMicienth planned is shown by the fact th.it a> hate as :-::7 A. 1?. 1 h*? council of Tourspecifically condemned tin- pajmu ob penance of New Year's day. by tlui time further corrupted throuirh the in froiluciion of I ?ruidi?*;il rites from tin provinces of (bin! :inil Kritain. ? The custom of celebrating the tirs' day of the year as the feast of ihe 1w< faced yod. .lanus. and Sirenia. the ;ynd doss of yifts. was introduced into Itonu !\v Talian. Uinj^of theSabians. a frieni #. /? " s j a 8 ^ g ^$1 r% ''i ^ s | S$i i ' s % i s/isi i ^ i j %ii II III 4 p>U s ^ I lUlM &V i I < 2} ft V. iC . StL ii. A*A rtSK\ 1 cooJc1, pcrchaoce Have offered b< ^ SUt r?!nC^C0r? ^UPC] ; Mot ip a hundred Had Evz's poor /Not tiii tbcy count Ob. what a rrjost W&Ssr Ml Tl,at ?aV n?y b SBp $> But vain tbc rrjoa Let roe be brave: *n words desigi T^t faint beai % ' curling tongs f ny ribbons, Ia< i b\ 5bould be artiller' rSTj) . .... , , _ ipgvj With Luck tod; dragged since I Tben, be be your igbt of wooing; (In cb?rrr)5f l'rn v Year skv Tbe bachelor firs' doing. 1 tbink pcrbapy Be stern, rny be? N-plenty, lo firrnness let rnix, 0 Let birn escape t. ) only twenty! ^\y candid Iool\ 1 of Romulus, but it was not until the r i reformation of the calendar by Julius Gosar that .Ian. 1 became the fixed date of this event. On* this day the priests sacrificed to Janus on twelve j altars, from which sacrifices they drew ^ " | prognostications for the ensuing twelve ^ t j months. The practices of exchanging r s gifts and visits and almost all the New . C ? j a ears day customs as we know them t. ' were gradually incorporated into the _ ; feast of Janus and Strenia. r ; The sacred mistletoe, used by us as a f Christinas decoration and as an excuse ' for amenities not permitted at other j 1 seasons, was a contribution of tin* t s Druids to the Roman New Year fos: tival. i i AVith the fall of the Roman empire J j and The subsequent dissemination of Roman customs throughout Europe by the barbarian conquerors New Year's j day came to bo universally observed. ; different tribes adding to or subtract! ing from the accessories to make them i accord with their/own mythology. I In the middle ages, particularly after j the introduction of the fJregorian calj endar. the church began to shape the 1 general observance of the day until : now it is a distinctly Christian holiday. A. AY. FKRKIN. i Jehnil>"\s liesolve. He was dining at the home of his j best girl on New A'ear's day. and everything might have passed <>!? all right if he hadn't said to her little brother: "AA'ell. Johnny, did you make some good resolutions today?" "Yes. sir." replied the boy.: "I asked | sister to toll me or a jrood resolution i i to make. ami sli?* said if I'd resolve to j keep out of the parlor tonijrhr for about i five minutes sheM make you propose or j I inow the reason why." I . ; i i ONE of THE SURPRISES j J I OF the GLAD NEW YEAR i ' < p "/W^HE new year comes. j[ The old year goes. 'Tis leap year once again. Ah me." said she. "Should girls propose '* ^ ^ J i AJILL you be mine?" j i r ijv sa'^ with eyes That gave her heart a. thrill, j < "Ah me." s'a^id she. j 1 ^ In ?reat surprise. I "This is SO SUDDEN. Will!" 1 J \ /V)!1 I W ff 1 Will" I , at tv/ecty-four ' jart and band to any, ^ | Ired barred the door (^vC?3? ; e> :: ivileoe to Fanny. C? i year? before j " < daughters tbus been cheated; j two hundred nnore j Jins! be repeated. j j unluchy year ^ J I ?aby eye? a-blinKinj! | f n and weaK the tear, * tbi? bitter thinking! ! The proverb say5 rced for maids unhappy, | d with weight of days, % rt never won a chappie. $ and powder puff, 1 jd :e and like delusions (f$pO | ^ y enough f | *y to try conclusions. | i )g or somewhat gray sure that I shall match hir*))> t seen today? I I'll try to catch him. ? .rt, and fear to spare! 1 not steel outrank you. /jpV " | is? Let him dare! J wng glass, I thank you. a P. J. TANSEY. W fHE VERY BEST I HE COULD DO J ? s T1 jc bookkeeper was worried. Now "ear's <lav hail come and gone. and yet ^ he struggling and ambitious young : nan had not been patted on the back . j iii?I told that his salary was to bo j tdvanced several hundred dollars. j He couldn't make it out.. Something mist be wrong. Perhaps he had been vcrlooked. Believing such to be the ease, lie J >osted himself where the head of the <"m irm coil id not and did not fail to see f fi - -' <> : ^ i : . "TAKE IT, MY BOY." dm when lie entered the building one ^ noraing. and George's hair curled with ' deasute when .he was summoned to * he office ten minutes later. "We have entered upon a new year, Seorge." began the senior partner. "W-we have, sir." was the hesitating ?. eply. 1 "During the past year I have noiced your diligence and attention to msiness. George." "Y-yes. sir." "And I am going to do something for rou. it is not as inm-h as I could wish, ?nt just now it is the best I can do. know you will appreciate it." "I-I will, sir." "J lore. George. are ilie papers transerring my interest in this house to on from this date, and on your part v on agree to pay me the weekly salary 1 on arc now receiving. Take it. my joy. and pay the dolus, mid do the vorrving. and run behind every year, j ind put in your time for mulling, and ' nay heaven have mercy on your soul!" A. Li-:WIS. Yo:: rS itcNolulion. .111*-! lieiiU'e li.c School closet! for I lie ^H| nlidays i'io leaeiit r urged her pupils o ma he ai least on" got./i resolution ?= or iIn* your 11 ?ti!. sjn* tinislioel her etniirks :i iniv in tin' front >' ;!I r:iisoel lis h;:is!. J "Wei!. Tommy." sniel 111? lonelier. I'm y!:;<l yo* i lire y >iny to lnnUo u ' ro'itl resolution. W'luii is it. my boy?** "I 'it'li so. 1e;:<her." lie replied. "1 ilill't roiu' 1-. l?ii no boy in I'.ml \ lint's biyrer 'n nie." We'll ry W illie- In lilOI. Weil TV Willie i'\o jes! Uiilele t *!*? <? es?>!i:! ions l iii' I'.io I. :in" I'm ye in' to ;ee'l> every one Ox ttCUl. Wiivwuni Wntsnn Ye nin't resolved o yo fo work, liev y#?. I5i!l? W Willi... V,. \|v >luti?>ti< I!t 1 '.><?t I ;iin'r :rnin* (1 drink r!i:tui|);!uil('. !:lkr> lllilU >r ]>:il up :ii ?i?* W.ildorf <'ast??ri;i u'lnMi 'in in N<l\v York.