Merry Christmas AH!Be merry all, b« morrv all 1With holly dross the festivo hall,Pr, paro tho song, tho feast, tho ball,

To weloomo Morry Christmas all.

And, O ! remember, gentles gay,To you who bask in'fortunc's ray,The year is all a holiday,.

Tho poor have only Christmas gay.

When you the costly banquet dealTo guests who never famine feel,0 spare one morsol from your meal

To cheer tho poor at Christmas deal.

So shall each note of mirth appearMore sweet to Heaven than praise or prayer,And angels, in their carols there,

Shall bless tho j>oor at Christinas dear

CJncle Charley's ChristmasParty.

Once up;n a time thero lived an oldbachelor who lovod children! He hadi fine house, which he delighted to fillwith little ones on every possible occa-uon. II 9 was the pleasantest, kindest.Jearest old *-Uncle Charley" of a baoh-alor that crver turned everything upsidolown and topsy-turvy to pleaee the?mall people ; and I only wish that allwho read this story had known him, sothat they might have gono to his de¬lightful parties.And now I am going to tell you of

hi* last Christmas party, and let youinto tho secret that there is to beanother one just like it this comingChristmas, if all goes right. Perhapsyou and I may recoive an invitation, andthat, you may well believe, would becharming !

I was visiting at the house of a friend,who has five delightful children-Frank, Alice, Beckeie, G'oaxie, and thebaby, who, as yet, has 110 name atall. One morning we were bitting attho breakfast-table, catiDg, talking andlaughing, when Mary (the maid) broughtin tour little paper boxes, which hadjust been left.

"Why, my name is on one of them I"said Frank."And mine on another? ' cried Alice;

''and this is for Becksie, and that onefor C'oaxie."Frank took his box and the others

took, theirs, amid quite a twitter of cu-

riosity. Off came the covers, and a

little fiat cracker dropped out of eachbox at the eamo moment."How funny !" exclaimed Frank."a

cracker ! Something's printed on it !What is it ? ' and he read :

"On Christmas EvoCome and see

l*m:le Charley'sChristmau-t ree."

' Harrah I" ha joyfully shouted ; "it'san invitation to a party at Uncle Char¬ley's ! and ho has sent it on a cracker I"upon which everybody burst out laugh¬ing.for it seemed so droll to bake in¬vitations to a party upon a lot ofcrackers.

Crisp, bright, Christmas Eve c*mo at

It did seem as if Becksie and Coaxiowould jump out of their pretty whitedresses, so much joyful j .imping didthey do, and the eyes of Alice and Frankshone with delightful anticipations.Frank went down-stairs three steps at a

t::ne, and Alice danced through the hallto tho sleigh, as if she had wings on herfeet. All the children crowded merrilyin, pulling me after them, and tellingJohn, the coachman, to hurry to be atUncle Charley's at tho beginning of thefun.

Such a blaze of light as tho hall doorof the houso Hew open ! Such a laugh¬ing crowd of gayly dressed children as

rushed out of tho parlor to see who hadcome next 1 Such a lot of little mitesof children all clinging fast to UncleCharley as he tried to struggle up towelcome us.Tho parlor-doors were shut and lock¬

ed, for several of the boys had tried toopen them and could not succeed.Then they peeped through the keyhole,and announced to the rest that they sawsomething shining splendidly. One ofthe girls asked Frank what ho did withhis cracker-invitation, and ho shoutedout, "I ato it up I" and all the boyshearing him cried, "So did I theirhearty laughter camo in like a jollychorus.

Just then the front door-bell rang. Allthe children rushed out, and s arted iuastonishment, as two Chinese boys en-

tsred hand-in-hand, waddling up toUndo Charley, each making three lowbows in succession.After Uncle Charley had shaken hands

with tham, each said, in a grave tone :

"How do ? You belly muscheo veil?We velly veil, allee sainee."These boys were the sons of a rich

Chinese mandarin. Uncle Ciiailey 1mllived many years in Canton, where howas well known and respected. Thomandarin had begged Uncle Charlevto become guardian to his sons, whomhe had sent to our country to be edu¬cated.The children, quite forgetting their

politeness, kept looking at them in si¬lent astonishment.And now the click of a key in a

lock was heard, and tho sliding-doorswere rolling slowly away and out ofsight. The children hurried into thoback-room where the brilliant light of a

hundred wax-candles amid the branchesoi a splendid fir-tree caused each ofthem to utter a great, breathless " Oh ! '

of delight and admiration. Festoonsof Chinese lanterns were hung fromside to side of the room, at the eight ofAh SinandTo-To exclaimed, "Melioanfeast likee Chinee, allee samee. Good I"upon which Frank whispered to one ofthem, "Did you get your invitation ona cracker?" and he answered, "S'posethis clacker Melicin clacker.no alleosamee Chinee clacker ; he makee fire.go pop !"" Oh, yes," returned Frank, " I know.

We have your fire-crackers, too ; we firethem off on the Fpurth of Jnly uponwhich Ah Sin bowed and Baid " Thank¬ee." i

But the tree! How heavily thebranches hung, laden with beautifulpresents for everybody I What lovelyand good and useful things that kindold bachelor had provided for his dearlittle friends ! Dolls for tho girls, withdells' houses resting on the table near.for they were much too large for thotree ; skates for the boys, with bigBieds under the table, boxes of tools,boxes of building blocks, paint-boxes,wagons, fire-engines, puzzles, and quan¬tities of books, which, I think, werethe best presents of all. For each onothere was a tiny lace bag of candy.When all tho presents had been dis¬tributed, and everybody had dancedaround them, the good old bachelormi1-"1" h.

will have no Christmas present, andvery little to eat. There will be no1 M«rry Cbri^mw' for the®. To morrow

last.

many a poor child

some of these poor little ones arecomingto dine with me. Ah Sir. and To-To wilistay with me to morrow ; they will ee<

the poor children's Christmas-treeWould you like to look now at tfcthings which aro to be put upon it 7""Oh, ves, yes I" cried all the childrenThen Undo Charley opened a closet-

door, and there upon the shelves wenpiles of warn jackets for boys, andsacques for girls ; nioe woolen comfor¬ters for their necks, and stockings fortheir f£et. But this was not all.oh,no ! Thore were dolls, and skates, andtops, and balls in plenty ; for, let mctell you, poor children like toys quiteas well as rich children do.indeed, a

great deal better, for they get so fewthat they prize them.

Che children gazed with tho deepestinterest upon the presents, and dearlittlo Coaxie went up to Uncle Charley,and after taking two gum-drops out cfher candy-baor, she oooed out :

"Here, Unole Charley, takecandy-bag and dive it to a poor 'ittlfdirl." JUpon which he caught her up, and,

kissing her rosy cheek, he said :" God bless my little darling ! .e>

I will."The little child's generous act firec

the rost, and every one gave somethingfor the poor children. Ah Sin presentedhi3 own private chop-sticks, with whichho ato his rice ; and To-To took theahiny buttons from the top of his hat,as his most precious posseesion, andput it on a shelf in tho closet.Next evening Uncle Charley's parlors

again gleamed with illumination ; busyseencs were anticipated by the invitedchildren of tho previous evening. Allwero clad in their best, and at the soundof tho front door bell, such a motleycrowd of ragged children was never 1 c-

foro seen. They were ushered into thi

parlors, tho splendor of , which ts

touuded thom, and beforothey had fairhrecovered from their amazement, thechildren, who were the guests of theprevious evening, bade tnem welcome,iir>t introducing them to Undo Charleyar.d ttien to the good things preparedfor them. Scch a night of hilarity andhappiness was never before enjoyed.each vieiug with the other tj make thepoor children enjoy tho luxuries prc-

I pared for them. Thus Christmas closeoits happiness by giving Uncle Charleyrjuads and rounds of approbation b>tbe happy ragged children.

The art of flirtation.>lercllpw» Fomnlr CrJilrn.Different Kind*

df I liru.

A girl is a flirt who exchanges n coyglance with a middle-aged, eligiblebachelor who picks up a glove whichshe has dropped ; she is somethingworse than a flirt a minx . if she makesherself pleasant to another girl'i be¬trothed. Tho iron rule of modesty,which men have imposed npon womenas a protection against their wiles,leaves young women scarcely free tooiovo or sneak in tho presence of thetrousered'sex without risk of beingthought "forward but women them¬selves are much sterner in their defini¬tion cf forwardness than men. Infeminine judgment every girl or prettyyoung woman is forward, and conse¬

quently a flirt, who monopolizes the at¬tention of males in a social circle. Thisshe can do by being too modest, as wellas by boicg not modest enovgh ; for herown sex will no' account as modestytho graco which charms without at¬tempting to do so. Men never speak eo

ill of tho worse women as women do ofthe best among their sex who have theart cf pleasing. There are men whomall other men join in praising, but thereha; scarcely lived a woman. wife,virgin or saint. who has not had de¬tractors among other women. Shouldthere have been some few exceptionswhich prove this general rule, they willbo found to have flourished in theranks of the fearfully and unutterablyugly.

livery woman has flirted, but we arenot concerned with the women whoseinnocent flirtations are but the gush ofyouthful spirits, or with those who owetho title of flirt to tho mere malignityof their own sex. The flirts of whomwo propose to treat aro those who flirtwith malice prepense. It may also betermed, less"philosophically, the ari ofplaying with lire and getting scorchedmore or less often. All flirts burnthemselves, once at least. S ?mc squealwhen they but siugo their finger tips,and retire straightway from the gamewith their eyes full of tears. These are

third-class flirts, having uo real heartin the play. The recollection of theirfirst smart makes them redden andtinglo till they become 1 women, whenperhaps they smile-and vidh the burnwould come over again. It was a third-class flirt who, on the strength of a

short and sharp acquaintance with theways of tho other sex, invented suchsajings as "man is perfidious." 'lhesecond class flirts get frequently burnedwithout over inurinsr themselves to thepain. They resemble dullish boys whoplay at football because thev must, bntnever surmount tho fear of beingshinned. Sometimes the second-classflirt gives up playing and learns tolaugh at her burns ; moro often .hogoes on till sho can play no longer,and wearily sums up her experience oftho spDit as "all burns and no

pleasures." But tho first-class flirtcares not a pin for scorches. Sho isthe salamander who lives in tho fire.Sparks fly around her and she revels inthem ; she is all over tears and surveysthem complacently as a soldier does hiswounds. Flirt from tho nurserv, flirtin her teens, flirt in her prime, she con¬tinues flirting when she is an oldwoman aiid flirts on her deathbed withthe doctor. If sho could como to lifefor a moment in her coffin she wouldflirt with the undertaker. Commend us

to this class of flirt for making theheads of men flamo like the tops oflucifer matches. She sets quiet house-holdr. afire ; everything turns to tinderon her passage, and when she is buried,an od^r of brimstone hovers over ^iertomb. Her old lovers would be afraidto lift up the grave slab that covers herlest they should see little blue-forkedflames leap out diabolically.

In the? Medical Tint's is reported the jcase of % four-year-old boy who smokesstrong cigars "as a luxury," and oftengets tipsy. He is the child of a womanwho keeps a small grog-shop. Not longago he lay ever twelve hour.} deaddrunk. For hi? own sake and society's \it is to be hoped that he will fail to re¬vive in some of his sprees, and that hiamother will fill a coffin before she be¬gets another of the same kind. Yet bythe statutes of half our States it wouldbe a states' prison offense to supply herwith information as to how she mightavoid begetting such terrible proofs ofthe violation of the laws of heredity. .J r. Fooit's Health Monthly. 1

. The Kissing Deacon.la one of our Puritanical towns in

New England, Bays an oa'tern paper,lived Deacon Brown.a very staid, digni¬fied sort of a Christian, and a perfectmodel of propriety. Deacon Brown hadthe misfortuno to" loss hi? wi'o, and atthe ago of forty found himself with a

family of four pmall children, vitaoata mistress to bis farm Lonse A i liecould not immediately tike anotherwife and avoid exciting reandal, andcould not get along without some cno

to tjko charge of the kitchen andnursery, he ha<l recourse to employinga young woman as housc-maid. NancyStearns was a laughing, lornping girl,who delighted in experimenting uponthe deacon by way of testing* thestrength of human nature. For a longtime the deacon was invulnerable ; butat last, in a moment of unguardedweakness, he was led into temptation,and into committing a slight indiscre¬tion with his beautifnl hou«e-majd.When in his wonted presence cf mind,he was horrified at the enormity rf ^issin. In vain he grieved over lost virtue.Finally, as a last effort for relieving hisconscience, at the conclusion of theservices on the following Snn'luy, boarose and requested the forbearance ofthe brethren and sisters a few moment.'",when ho electrified them by making thefollowing confessi in :

" My Christian friends, you all knowthat I lost my dear wife some monthsago, and that"N*ncy Stearns ban been

keeping house for me ; and you knowthat I have a little child net a year old.Well that child would cry in the night,and it would be a long limo before Icould quiet it ; and last Tuesday night.God torgivc me!.tho child cried so

bad that Nancy arose and came into thoroom, and leaned over tho bed to Lushtho child.and, brot.iers and sisters,her leaning over me made mo forgetChrist!"Here the worthy deacon broko d->wn

entirely, and stood weeping, wailingand blowing his nose."What did you do?" stern'y de¬

manded the minister."I.I.ki.kissed her !" stammered

out the deacon between his sob.% "butI have been very sorry about it andprayed to be forgiven .and I want youfo forgive me and pray for me, brothersnd listers."As the deacon bowed himself upon

i.s seat like the mighty oak before theornado, Deacon Goodfellow arose andistonished the audience still more by.saying,."Brothers and sisters, yon b»/e

near 1 what Deacon Brown has said, andnow he wants our forgiveness. For mypart, I think Brother Brown is trulypenitent and I am willing to forgivehim with my whole l eart. And, bro¬thers and sisters, I add still farther,that if I had nc wife, and a pretty girllike Nancy Stearns should como to myroom and lean over me, I'd kiss her andabide tho consequences."Deacon Brown having met forgive¬

ness, and with tho assuranco raised byhis brother deacon, that similar circum¬stances might induce him to committhe same alluring indiscretion, the goodDeacon Brown prospected farther withthe depths of tho mutual enjoyment,and had it announced in church thaton Christmas Eve ho would bo pleased.to see his friends, and on that night, bythe aid of the head of the church,Deacon Brown mado Nancy Stearn>^ther instead of housekeeper.

Sewing cu a Kutton.It i3 bad enough to pee a bacholoi

sow on a button, but ho is the embodi¬ment of graco alongside of p marriedman. Necessity h.ia compelled experi-

! ence in the case o' the former, but thelatter has always depended upon some

one else fox* thi \ service, an<i fortuu-ately for the sake of society, it itj rarelvhe is obliged to report to the needlehimself. Sometimes tho patient wifescalds her right hand, or runs a sliverunder tho nail of the index finger ofthat hand, and it is then tho man

clutches tho needle around tho neck,and forgetting to tie a knot in thethread commences to put on the button.It is always in tho morning, and fromfive to twenty minutes after ho is ex-

pocted to bo down street. Do lays thebutton exactly on tho site of its prede¬cessor, and pushe? the needle throughone eye, and carefully draws tho threadafter, leaving about threo inches of itsticking up for leeway. Ho says tohimself,."Well, il women don't havethe easiest time I over soe." Then hecomes back the other way, and get 3 thoneedle through the cloth well enough,and lays himself out to find the eye,but in spito of a great deal of patientjabbing, the needle point persists inbucking against the solid parts of thebutton, and finally, when he losespatience, his finger catches the thieid,and that threo inches ho had left tohold the button slips through the eye in

a twinkling, and tho button rolls leisure-ly across tho floor. Ho picks it up with-out a single remark, out of respect to hischildrent and makes another attempt tofasten it. This time when coming backwith the needle he keeps both thethread and button from slipping bycovering them with his thumb, and itis out of regard for that part of himthat he feels aronnd for the eye in a

very careful and judicious manner ; buteventually losing his philosophy as thesearch becomes more and more hope¬less, he falls to jabbiagabout in a looseand savage manner, and it is just tbenthe needle finds the opening, and comes

up through tho bntton and part waythrough his thumb with a calerity thatno human ingenuity can guard against.Then he lays down the things, with a

few familiar quotations, and presses theinjured hand between his knees, andthen holds it under the other arm, andfinally jams it into his mouth, and allthe while ho prances about the floor andcalls upon heaven and earth to witnessthat there has never been anythinglike it since tho world wai created, andhowls, and whistles, and moans, andsobs. After a while ho calms down,and puts on his panis, and fastens themtogether with a stick, and goes out tomake New Year's calls.

No difference : A bright youth, under-going examination a few days since foradmission to one of the departments,found himself confronted, with the

aaestion : "What is the distance fromle earth to the sun ?" Not having the

exact number of miles with him hewrote in reply : "I am unable to 6tateaccurately, but don't believe the sun isnear enough to interfere with a properperformance of my duties if I get thi*clerkship." He got it.

The muskrats along theLehiffh canal,in Pennsylvania, are building their Jfutsabove the water level, which is said tobe an unfailing sign that the winter willbe an open one. Last winter not a

musk rat hut was to be sten along theLehigh, and (he winter was a severeone.

Holiday Bells.Thrsa children went ol' ring down stairs ona

night-Down stairs in the darkness, their stockings

to hangBeside a warm ingle, where, in the yule's dght;Tart* Vitt.-td to sleep an old «ea-ketiii' sang.lie bcli-j r 1113 out in ?. church tower nesr.And a Dominique cockerel lend an i dear

His clarion thrill .vas blowing.1'ijt- north-wind whistled and rattled tiu I nn;

Of the quaint old windows and carved er^idoon ;

JHien whirled away to the glittering s^ars.Over the mountains and out on ihe mcora

The cows in the mangers knelt, 'twea 'aid,As a ponderous Shanghai, on ton the *hed,

A heavy bassoon was blowing.Three mothers were hiding la;e curtain* be¬

hind,As each little fairy in white kaelt downAnd prayed, on the morrow Ik r stoc king to findWell filled with good things from the toe to

the crown.

Devoutly the mistletoe bowed iti bead.And the holly branch over the mantle eai<l,"God bless 'em, the Bantams are blow¬ing."

The girls and the boys in the oak hall dancedTo the music of viol and tambourine,

As ltobin, good follow, the king, advanced.And nnder the mistletoe kissed the ^ueen.He promised to wed heron Christmas day.And a champion ganio-cock over the way

A Iver cornet was blowing.Three maideep i'i shining garments clad,With their true-loves knelt, where organs

pealed.Where merry 1*?!1- ring, and whero choris¬

ters sang,A* r whito-robed pries' God's will revealed .Anthi ins of jraee to mcr of g^Kl .vi.l,The heavenly ebolr? jre Hinging still

An I brighter yule fires are glowing.

"A SCRAPPY CHRISTMAS."

"I do think its jost too mean for any¬thing."

Ella Vanderbilt had turned her un¬

happy faco to tho window. Thero wereI tears in her eyes, which in some measure

prevented her seeing the driziling rainoutside, but she wan perfectly consciousthat tho weather was in harmony with'her mood, and that both were utterlywretched.Her mother, a placid, sweet-faced

though tired-looking woman, was bus}at her sewing, regarding with som?

dismay, just at that moment, a p rtic-ularly ragged garment which, stretchedout upon her lap, seemed makingdumb, but piteous appeal for tho Kindministrations of needle and thread.

.'I am sorry, Ella," was her quietreply to her daughter's exclamation."Something always happens just so,"

the young girl went on. "Last year themoney had to go out West to UncleSilas' family.I don't know what par¬ticular claim they havo on father, any¬way. Now the insurance company can'tdcclaro a dividend.I believe that'swhat they call it, isn't it ? At any ratewe can't have any better time thisChristmas than wo did last year, and Ithink ii's too bad. Other girls' fathersseem to manage to get along somohow 1""And all this, Ella, bocanso you can't

have a now piano next month.""Well," I've waited three yoars for

it. Yoxi know that."Mrs. Vanderbilt did know. She

know manv other things, too, of whichElli had very little realization.of the

j hard and constant struggle raado by! herself and husband to keep the home

comfortablo and attractive, and gratifytheir children in every reasonable way.It had been littlo else bat straggle for?ix years past. Mr. Vanderbilt hadboon unsuccessful in several business

! ventures, and affairs seemed to bogrowing worse instead of bettor.

" And besides the piano ?" she askedafter a littlo pause."Oh, I had decided to get along with¬

out a new cloak this winter, thoughmy old one is fearfully shabby. J5ut Idid want "

She stopped short, as turning fromthe window sho caught tight of thoragged shirt with which her mother'shands were busy.

I suppose," she added an instantlater and in a more subdued tone, " that

! thero's lots of things to get anyway. Isthat Tom's?"

" Yes, Tom's. I'd liko to g< t him a

new half-dozen ri^t nway if I could,but he must wait for them.noi threoyears, though, I hope," who added,smiling, " as you have waited for yonrpiano."There was a sharp ring at Iho door

bell. Ella went to it reluctantly. Itwas another of li3r grievances, that cheycould keep but one serv ant, and to-daywas washing-day.She started back at sight of the

policeman, who stood on the upper stop.He walked past her into the hall with a

business-like air, and closed tho doorbehind him.

" I called to see Mrs. Vanderbilt. 1she in ?"

" Oh,what is itT Ella asked with whitelips, "tell me, please !**He laid his hand on her shoulder in

a reassuring way."Do not be so frightened,'' he said

kindly. "I suppose it is your littlebrother Tom who has been hurt, knock¬ed down by a horse car. He was.""Where is he?" she asked wildly,

clasping her hands together.'In the children's ward of the Shep-

tterd's Hospital. Everything has beendone for him, but they only jast discov¬ered who he was, and I came to."

"I must tell mother," she interrupted ;"Oh, do come upstairs with me;" but6ho broke down into terrible sobbingbefore she was half-way to tho s'tting-room, and the policeman repeated toher mother what he had just told Ellain the hall below.In a very few minutes they were on

their way with him to the hospital,while ho told them what he could of theaccident.

'.But the hospital !" Ella exclaimedvith a shi7er ; "it is too dreadful 1""You will not think so when you see

how he is taken caro of. You knowthey have every facility there for caringfor such casss, and know exactly whatought to be done."Poor little Tom Vanderbilt, the

youngest an<J) merriest of the family,had been terribly injured. He lay jwhite and unconscious on the peculiarbed constructed for just such mangledframes as his, in that part of the greatbuilding devoted to the suffering littleones whom the charity of a j?reat citytried to care for and cure. Children, chil¬dren everywhere, in all the countlesscots ranged against the walls, their lit¬tle faces all giving pathetic evidence oftho pain which was making them old jbefo *e their ti*n<» : the death which wa*

oonring to some of them just as tneyhad begun to live. Eila Yanderbilfcstood in the midst of it, confused dis¬tressed, powerless to move or speak.This was an awful revelation. She hadnever realized that such sorrow couldbe in the world, and her darling lAtlebrother Tom was only one among allthese sufferers.Eo conld not be taken home. It

would have been impossible to move

Jiim, even if it had been desirable ; andit was many days before ho CDuld recog-iiiz i any of the tender facas bending so

anxiously above his little bod. Ellavas it the hospital every day. Theijorror of it had quickly worn away,leaving only pity, tenderness, and theWrongest desire she had ever felt in herlife 1 1 b j of some service in the world.Slio gradually became acquainted withthe children, takingthem intohtr heartwith pome of the yearning fondness*hich v.vnt out to her own little Tom ;and a", Caristmas approaches, utterlyforgot herself and her own wishes inthe intense desiro ehe felt to brightenup the holiday somehow for the pooichildren in the little wnite beds.She more than ever mourned the los>

of.the money which the family had ex¬

pected to devote to Canstoial gifts, bn<from a very different reason than thiono which had formerly disturbed herBut one day sho had an idea.onewhich pleased her, too,judging from thesmile arjnnd the lips which told nc

secrets, but looked wise aud happySho spent a little less time at the hos¬pital. Tiio children missed her andtold her bo; but Tom was getting m

much better, sho said in reply, and blf.vas very busy, for Christmas wat, eoo.-

ing, and who could tell what SanfaClaus would give her to bring to thechil iron's ward ! Her own eyes filled as

sho saw their dull cues sparkle, and thepinched faces grow pleased and anxious ;then she hurried away, for firae was

precious and she was anxious ?o m al;othe most of it.She had intervals of disappearing

mysteriously into her own room a'ter aforenoon spent as mysteriously in thegarret, where she would remain for twoor three hours, emerging with her haton »n la little bag in her hand for a

:rip "down town," as she vaguelystated.

"i'ou shall have yonr small brotnerhme on Christmas day," the physiciansail to her, "and he's a Christmaspresent worth having. Yon ought notto complain if you don't have anythingehe, " an I just then Ella Vanderbiltwondered how sho could ever have coni-

pl lined cf anything while dear littloTom was alive and well.Sho put into the littlo bed from which

he was taken a number of emailpackages which she carefully eov-

ered over with a sheet. "Thatis t) bo your Christmas tree, to¬morrow," she explained to the childrenis sho left them iu a wonderful state if.uriosity and excitement.Little Tom Vanderbilt opened his

eyes the next morning in his mother'sfamiliar, homelike room, bnt for thochil lren who had no homes and no

mothers there was great pleasure inB'.ore in the packages which "EllaSantaClaus," as ono of the little fellowscalled her, hal left for them on Tom'sboJ.Such pictures and such picture

books ! The children shouted in tlieirdelight. "Ella Santa Clans," had rum¬

maged in tho garret to some purpcse,and accomplished considerable in hertrip? "d >wn town." From old papersand magazines she had cut every pic¬ture, large letter, or figure the couldfind. These had been nicely pasted intoold ticui/UQj books of her father's, whichhad been thrown aside. Advertisingcard",# bills, circulars. everything oftho kind which was bright or fancifulor fanny in any way, had been cut ontand pieserved. Old pasteboard boxeshad been cut up into convenient squaresand wholo alphabets and sets of figurespasted on them. On others were littlostories clipped from tho samo old booksand papers, and easy in that shape tchold and read, as well as hand aboutfrom ouo bod t > another. Th^ro wero

paper dolls, too .some old-ushionmagazines and tailors' plates had fur-aished those, and tho paper childrenfound a ready welcomo among tho littleinvalid ones. Ella was more than sat¬isfied with the state of affairs which shofound on hor next visit to tho hospital,for, although the little brother was notthere, there wore others to love Rndjare for. "And though perhaps I mayaever havo a piano, mother," she raid,the next day, "I'vo had tho very bestChristmas I ever had in my lifo, thoughit was a.a.scrappy one."

The Christmas Tree.In Germany, many years age, when

the houses wero decorated with the ever¬

greens for tho Christmas-tide, it was

i lie custom to selcct a large bough for» mspicuous place, and on it were

hurg the presents for children. Aft.-rn time the bough became a tree, drestedwi'.h '".jrmbolical ornaments, and adornedwith the gilts for the household, olwhich tho children had much thelargest share.The custom was imported into Eng

land and this country, and has now become almost universal, and 20ch yearadds fresh marvels uml delights to th-

magicai fruits of this tree.The mystery of its preparation is hall

of its sharm. The bright eyes < f thelittle onea turn wistfully toward thelocked doors of the room that containstho wondrous tree ; they long to taka a

poep, and yet they would not " for theworld," not they.Some etill retain Jhe Christmas tree

in its old forms, that is, after tho orna¬

ments aro on, space i i left fcr thochildren'* presents; others place allthe family gifts on or under tho tree,and, after those of tho children ato dis¬tributed, till little ones ditcover andpresent tho gifts of tho older m»ml>ersof tho family ; and others again irakoo( their Christmas trees mero show¬pieces. on which to arrango artiatic-llythe glittering baubles, tha star.*, angels,A"?. ; and theso aro often accompaniedby such cxtly ornaments that such a

tree, without r* gilt on it, will coat hun¬dreds ct dollar*. Such magnificttcemust, ot cmree, bo on exhibition, fciit is entirely toD avtistio and co-tly an

affair to bi thrown away on the childrenalari ; sc it is advertised privately, andall tfca acquaintances of the family visifit b3tween Christmas and New Year. Uis, in £aot, % tribute to family vaniHrather than t-> f . mily affection.

Th-? sleeccd, pi n seems lobe thoteosfdurable. T^e Christmas treo is thenwhai j; cn^htto be tho heme center.sacred tcth'i family, around which gatherold and young, linked to cach other byloving remembrances. It is understoodthaithj tre<» belongs especially to thochildren, lut it is well thatt*v shouldhe i*t in take an interest and plea^uroin th? giftr. ^nd the Merry Christmas< / tt>o )fr«~>wn up folk, and in somt sortp h ire tii'V Oi»nst'ji»s tree with them, j

Our Greeting.11 A Merry Christmas to you a If."

Just look at that bright-facM, brighteved, smiling girt Just look at her ! asslie pop? her head into the elegantlyfurnished parlor, with the reasonablegreeting on her red lips of, "A MerryChristmas to yon all ! *

.»

It will be a merry Christina* for her,for Santa Clans has tumbled down herchimney, and is in such a hurry to getto his rounds that he dropped quite a

number of pretty things about the bed-room floor.

.

Then, brothers George and \N lllie are

home from school. They came Tester-

day, and rolled into the bonne all cov- jered with snow, and their pockets fullof snowballs. What fun it was whenWillie crept behind cook's back and

quietly laid one of them on her neck as

she stooDed over the range. 8

did explode with nnger just like a

Fourth of Jnly cracker 1 tut when shesaw who it vrai that fooled her, shechased him up and down until he al-allowed himself to be caught and re¬

ceive-a whipping?.not much, a lumpof canly.for who would whip boysor girls" at the glorious Christmastime!And how good-humored japan !- not

in the least grumpy or cro*s ; and hownroud he is that George won so manypremiums, anil ho must have bad a lotof trouble to get tho^-e e;«ht brand-newdollars for the boys. IIo must havegone to the bank himself and asked the

president for them as a personal favor.How Willie jumped when ha got threeout of the eight, and how Sissv.lookat her pccpiufji** door, ftiHi^crvmg" A Merry Christmas to you all ! '.howdeli'h.-tl */*« was when papa opened a

buge pasteboard box wi. i h he carriedhmia himself, and a t^r takiug it out ofever co many wraps of paper, produced a

magnificent sealskin sacqne. On.shedid clap her hands, ar d in great delightI aned on papa and kissed his face all

And mamma . dear, gentle, kind,good mamma- wasn't she pleased when

Sissy gave hcr» the cushion she hadworked for her . all red roses andforget-me-nots; and when George hadhanded her an exquisite morning cap,and Willie. poor iittlo Willie. pre¬sented her with a silver thimble !And the houso is so richly decked

out with holly and ivy.the holly liassuch a lot of red lorries! it was thebest branch on the wagon, and the mansaid ho wouldn't give it to anybody butSissy. What a great sprig over papa'slikeness when lie was a young gentle¬man, and over maratna's wh«n .'howas a young lady with an 'enormous-.rinoline. And Sissy pasted holly-leavesill over the words, 44 God Bless our

Home;" and cio'c smartened up the kit-.hen, and Pufip »e, the waitress, helpedher, ai^d didn't g> to bed till all hours>n Christmas morning.Just look a' Sis*y as she cries, "A

\Ierry Christmis to you all!' And, iffou keep looking, you'll presently see

;he door open aad George and Williemarch in ; utid then the whole threewill sing a b autiful little hymn cflm-posod bv ft poet, a pchoolmato ofGeorge's and set to music by mamma.

Then comes the breakfast *u<A »

breakfast !.and George and Willie endSissy cm have as much of everything as

they like ; but they are wisely keepinga good place for the plnm puddirgAnd won't it b«s ft beauty ! . for SisM

helped to stone the raisins, and U Id allrtboat it; and Willie, bocause he is theyoungest, is to set fire to the brantlywhen Pbte'je brings the pudding inafter dinner. Then papa cillery, withone of his jolliest laughs, 44 A McrrvChristmas to you all."

J H Aruiucclto ol Teat.When 4ho brief statement first ap-

pe:ii i'd, a few months aeo, that a townin the Falkland Islands had narrowlyescaped destruction by a flood of peat,I he story seemed incredible. Authen¬tic details,however, have lately reachedEngland which leave no doul»t ol thefact. The phenomenon is believed tohe unprecedented, and has served to at¬tract the attention of nun of scienceonce more to the archipelago of tieelessislands which Darwin explored nearlyhalf a century ago, and which consti¬tute Oror.t Britain's southernmost colo¬nial possessions.The Falkland group Is situated some

iliree hundred miles from the eastern.oast of South America, opposite theentrance to the strait of Magellan. Twoof the islands, known n« East and WestFalkland, are much larger than there«-t, and upon the east side of the for¬mer h Stanley, the chief town. ThereHccms to be some influence in the climatepeculiarly favorable io the production>f peat, foa, s;ivs Mr. Dawin, 44 almost.very kind ni plant, even the coarse^rasa which covers the whole surfaceof the land, becomes converted into thissubstance; scarcely any situation checksits growth; some of the beds arc asmu h as twelve feet thick, and the lowerpart becomes so solid w hen dry that itwill hardly burn." Thus, it will be un¬derstood. a peaty soil is characteristicof the whole country.Just back of the town of Stanley, and

about 3,000 feet inland, rises a range ofheights which are surmounted bv a

plateau, upon wl-ich rests a deep hogof peat. Curiously enough, the thickestdeposits of petit in the FalV'ands occuron the hillsides or hilltop. In otherplaces the peat seldom exceeds a fewfeet in depth. The subsoil is a denseyellow clay impenetrable by water, andin the Stanley bog already mentionedthis is between twenty-four and thirtyfeet below the surface.

( >n Nov. 20, 1878, a southeasterly stormof wind and rain set in at Stanley, andthe rainfall from that time until mid¬night of the 30th is estimated to havebeen two inches. Then the peat bogon the heights above the settlementgave way. "The black oozy mud,"

,writes a naval officer to the royal geo¬graphical society, "rolled down the hillwith a momentum which neither theiron stanchions around the reservoir northe barrriers by the sea could withstand.It broke through tie backs of Woodenhouses, inundated the rooms.and obligedthe in habi Uinta, rudely awakened fromKleep, to flee for safety ; a few pigs and?nlves were swallowed up'in the irresist¬ible stream, but fortunately no human

; lives were lost." The velocity of Uiestream was not noted at first, but in fhemorning, after its force was almost ex-pended, it was still moving into the seaat the rate of about hall a miie an hour.Dr. John Mulvany. staff surgeon in

the British navy, was an eye-witness ofthe phenomenon, and attributes it to theaction of the heavy fall of rain upon thepeat. He estimates that over 600,000gallons of water fell into the bog en thefiur days preceding the avalanche,The impermeable yellow clay under¬neath would not permit it to sink

t broach, and finally this enormous quan¬tity of water, mingling with the peat,' burst the weakest side of the bog anarolled down the seaward slope of theheights above the town in the remark*able torrent we have de*<Tibed-

It has been tinted out that the firstdentist in America was Joeiah Flags; ofBoston, who learned from a Frenchmanin Rocbambeau's army as it was camp< din Rhode Island during the revolution.

A rwesslonal Hat-t'iitetier..A gray-baired little man, a doe of n«particular breed and less beauty, save Stlie amiable w?« of his tail, i.nd & b \strapped across the little man's back'

these three items filled the bill of & r.Tcatching concern that slowly coursed iuway down Columbia avenue on Satur.day.. lie had followed ratreatching for nnn,years, the o.d man said.how many v;didn't then recall.and he had beenWcesstul in his work. In the stab esSeventh and Washington avmue hee'eaned out 317 jrats in one day. It w.<a common occurrence for hun toseventy-five out of a house, and often1 hihad captured over a hundred in «tr>r*jGrain stores are especially prolific oirats. The box containing ferreu andthe dog that trotted so demurely b, h ;r *were important adjuncts of the luiness.There were four ferrets in th« boxThese he had owned several years,havingobtained thera from th« captain 0f

*

schooner sailing between this countyand Liverpool. A peep into an opecifmade for ventilation satisfied tie rt*porter as to what kind of ' varmint" »ferret is. lie has a Ion* body, which i»thin and supple, a* though bcneln*The neck is long, and taj t s dt to .head with a very sh irp snout. Thenr,are small and rid, hence the t xprmi'n.. As red as a ferret's eves." Theowrursaid that these had become so well d.v.mesticated that they eouid bo handitdwithout fear.

.. How do I to work? A >11. I ex.amine a house, carefully as ertuoictwhere tlie rat holes ase. Th n ..rer *but two of these I place a t e wiihsfail,meshes. The ferret is put int > a ho>,and that is immediately covered with anet. I then station nnx If itb the dotat the only hole left open. I am armedwitti a club which takes j heavy part ini the business should the rat* become tonnumerous for the dog. It is hardly er.rmore than live minutes before a ratbounces out of the uncovered Hole, amithe dog receives him in his mouth. Tlieferret, after having 1> en through tliehouse, works out himself, and 1. aveihardly any rats b hind.

44 1 never use the same ferret twice insuccession," he explained, "ami that iithe reason I carry lour of them. l :ieybecome tired, and, if u>»xl too often,stop to rest, and, therefore, lime islost."He did not know wliat became of th#

rats, us he never took them himst if. Itseemed remarkable, but a rat had neverb-en known to turn on a ferret, tlie re

seeming to recognize the ferret a* L;«enemy iind alwa\< c- 1 ; .» .r «>ut ¦>! the was fast as possible. Contests in eltv>cquarters between a r:\t an«l ferret hartinvariably resulted in a victory for th#ferret, for with all the nimblt nt -a *>f tlierat. the ferret is the m«'>t a. ve andtakes the rodent by the, throat I* tor- beis aware of such a near appro * li.The little oid man. who gives this In-

formation, has been able to make a eom-fortable living following the ea -ng ofrat-catcher, and when n.>t otherwiseemployed It keeps hUn busy divi.'inchis attention as coually as p<»»:!tlrbe-tween the dog and ferrets, fur there itintense jealousy b 'tween tlu »«. membersof that household.. f%» \uUb^iti lUurd.

Six Thou.iitui trHM Old.The Astktnolean museum, atOiford,

contains one ol theol l« st monuments ociviliz ition in the worid.it, Indeed, a u

not the very oldest. This i* the lintel¦aoncof a tc>mt> vrhi«*'i formed tin lastrest i DC' place of an < rti vr who tired inthe time of Kin? Seat, of tin* seconddynasty, whosj date i* placed by M.Mariono more limn «i OfH» years ago.rie stone is covered with that delistsand tinished sou ptur«j wl.iih distin¬guished the early period* of Kuyptitnhistory. f»nd wiut »mmea«ur»h;v superiorto the stiff and conventional art ol tli«latter ages of KgJ'P* which we are ae«

customed to sec in RirojHij museums.Hut it is alw cov«Twl *it'i ."nu ll.mimore preciou* »' ill th in scu itur». wuiihieroglyphic* wliMi shows ih tt «. v n »t:bnt remote Egyptian rpri.»d writmfwas a complete and tini*l.ed art, wildlorn? ages of pn v;ous dcv« lopment wn<behind it. The hk-rog ypbie char* i-nare already used, not only pictoria.lyand geographically, btt*. also toexpr'Msyllables and alphabetic Utters, lb*name of the king, f >r instance, Maispelled alphabetically. In i he hands ofthe Egyptian scribe*, bowt ver, K*>p unwriting never ttadn any further pro*gres*. With the faM «t what i« c«

the () d Kinpirc (ib«.u B. C 35"0) "jffreshm ?s»nd expansive lorcu «>l i. 'pe.*pie passed away, E/yptian !.f« srxithought bicame lossilited.and throughthe long scricaof ccntm ies that followedEgypt resembled one of it* own mum*niies, fbllhlully preaching th« form andfeature? of a put nsje. and of a li'e wi.i "llha1' ceased to heat in its vein. Until thlintroduction of Christ ianit y t < n,ychange undergone by E/Jp'i.ui *ritinjtwas the invention ol a tun in* iismi,which in its earlier :.n«! *imp. r foriu iscalled hieratic, and in its I U< r .'oral, v<umV.c

The African Hon# y-!llrd.The lioney-hird is about as large J 1

gray mocking-bird, and i« of siini.trcolor. It endeavors to attract the attri¬tion of travelers and to induce them tnfollow it. Whi n it st .ds thui far.ita most invariably leads the feison whofollows to a nest of wild l ee*. Whi.eon the rout* it ke'ps up an mcesisatI wittering, as If to assure itt f'»!i<»* r olsua ess, and often alights on the /rrounnor a bush and looks back to sec if tfl'person is still in pursuit.The native Africans, when cord"'

by the bird, frequently onswrr it# twit¬tering with a whistle as tbeypfOC'Afor the purpose of signifying to theirconductor that they *re still following-When the bird arrives at the houuwtree or otner p!are where the honey i»

deposited, it lioveni over the MOttpoints at the deposit with i'* J'1",and perches on a neighboring bush "f

tree to await its »hare of Uie plunderThis is the usual termination of tin: adV'Ti'ure. But sometimes the hooey-bird se ma 10 be a tu ited by a lovcofmischief, and then instead ol fadingthe traveler to a bee's nest. it contiuhim to the lair of wnic wnd betat,tlien flies away with a twittering whkusound* something like laughter. «» r-

don Cuinmiiig, "the lion kiiW, «">

followed a honey-bird which oonaoeWnhim to the retreat of a huge crocodil'-and, having introdu ed the traveler >

this august presence, the little .es'l.«r*'joker took a hasty leave, evident ;)' ® ,J 1

delighted with the success of h»*-tr;cs

Was A4am a rerotlan!Dr. Rudolf Faib. who^e linguistic r-

sear< lies in South America have a

ben noti'ed in this paper, bw A,.sent to a Vienna paper a sumroiryof ^

conclusions. I|p«:iy* that the l.tnguAf

spoken by lb* Indians in 1'eru anc o*^*

li \*ia. i-sp» ' ij|lly in Qui< hua andexhibit tbo m'*t aatoumling amoiii'*witli the 8^ mitic langua^s, w' «?r'ticuiarly with the Arablo.In Jtongue f)r. Kalb himself lies been sk«.»from liis Iki} h<>f»d. Followinr oplines of this dis;ov«ry, V/. Falb o

found, first, a connecting link wit.i wjAryan roots, and, second, has armface to fare with the surprising revr na¬

tion that "the Semitic roots »** u®'"

vers..lly Aryan/' The common »

of aU the variaaU are found IBpun-st condition in Quiebua ,

-

mara, from which fact Dr. Falb .

tlie coociusicrti that the bigbl'eru and Bolivia must bethe point of exit of tiie present bomnce..Jcicntific Anttricm-