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FOR CHRISTMAS-TIDE, GRACEFUL FEATS IN WHICH THE GUESTS MAY PARTICIPATE. Met te E*> a. Th. , U..k M.w l Lin a / wltk nr lln.rr. P.ll-e, for the iBi.ll B.. >ud Ike 01. 1 mt M.I f.r The imminence of Christmas bring* with it manifestations of that form of youtiif u| impressibility which impels the small boy to stand oo hn head in the parlor and defy his sisters and his aunts to follow hi* ex- ample. Never is feminine regret at lack of gymnastic proficiency more poignant than when, during a lull in the holiday time merry-making, a loud about arises and iayi: "Can you do this '.' ' Some athletic cootortion or other sue- oeeds tb* query, absurdly umplo in appear- ance, but which, upon experiment, provee utterly beyond the capacities of anyone present. Then another guest t* mboldened to execute a feat, and the Christmas party thu* proceed* to improvise a gymnaaium out of the family parlor. The gymnaitioeare,a*a rnle,eaiily inaug- arated. During a lull in the conversation, ask one of the little boy* or girl* to place a book upon hi* or her head, fold the arm* and iit down on a chair without letting the volume fall. Thii feat will in nearly every ca*e be accomplished with ease. But let a grown person try it, and the result n us- ually dead failure, even after considerable practice. This i* not exactly a gymnaitio performance, but it lead* off well enough. With this object in view, too, it may be well to get two missn* to itand up, incline their heads sideways until they touch. Then, keeping their beads together, lt them walk about the room. This they will do prettily and gracefully. Then have two hoys or twoyooug men try the same thing. Mot only will the pair of males fail to keep stance, trie* to hold a pillow on her head and drink some water while doing su, the movements she will go through are among the most graceful of which the human body i* capable. The feat is highly difficult, al- though it may seem easy. Another difficult thing of the same order is for a girl to balance a pillow on her head and then try to pick something up from the floor without letting the pillow fail. Trunk tonion is a game adapted for boys and men. Stand erect, the feet touching, the hands on the bins or held outstretched. Then twist the body alternately to the left A PalxrcL TASK. their head* together, but one will be almost certain to stagger or fall before he ha* gono many slept. TESTS or MUSCLE. Now, if one of the young women will sit as straight a* possible in a chair, and four youths grasp each a leg of the chair (irmly in one hand they can not only rai*e the chair and girl readily from the floor, but carry the two about the room. Then let an empty chair be oarried about bv the same four in the same manner, and the effect will be found very painful and fati- guing to the arm. One explanation is that the pleasure of carrying the young woman about makes the difference, but the fallacy of this theory will become at once apparent by seating a heavy man in the chair, and bearing him around the room. The fatigue and pain will vanish. It is easier to carry something than to go through the motion* of carry ing nothing. There need be no tear of 'langer in making this experiment. The most successful of bom* gymnastics are performed with the aid of chairs. Let three chairs be placed couch-like, side by id. If a boy will lie rigidly on his back along the chain, and at a signal endeavor to turn around without bending a leg or arm (the arm* to be held firmly to the side* or in the pocket*), it will be amuiing to not* the effect. In some cases the chain and right, assuming the position shown in i he cut. This is not merely a highly heal' h- fnl exercise, but a difficult and laughable trick. In another cut is seen a trick that looks very easy, but it is most difficult as will be found upon trial. The hand* are placed on the hips with the Isgs straight The head is first moved forward and backward, then the trunk is moved the same way. quietly and gently. The shoulders must not be out of position. Now stand as straight as possible with hands at the (idea. Then extend the right hand downwards to the right foot without bending the right knee. The other leg and arm may be moved at will. Thu will be an easy thing for perhape one person in the whole company. The othen will find it impossible. KICKIXU AT MiTHINU. A unique movement is to kick the empty air. It will be found an trial impossible fora man te give a genuine kick.atnothmg. To prove this observe the difference when a pillow or cushion is kicked. If someone will lie flat oo the floor and grasp th* handj of two or more person* and remain rigid while he is pulled to his (set it will be fcund that an apparently easy thing is very difficult. Now let a grown person assume the same position and remaining rigid, be lifted upwards, bodily, by ths shoulders. The task i* remarkably essy, provided the rigid poeition be main- tained and tbs recumbent individual is not tail. A wonisr in gravitation is ths raising of a grown person from ths floor with the hands of several children or adults. Let one guest stand upright with arms folded. One person's hand should be placed under the sole of the tandar'i ri^ht foot at ths instsp, another person's hand in the same way on ths left ; at the right elbow let a bird person's hand be place.) so that th* KJini of the elbow rests on the palm of the land. Another guest stands m the same way at the other elbow. A filth puts one land under th<i chin of tho sunder, ait a [ivso signal all raise hand* together, lift- ng ths supported individual with the utmost ease . There is no fear of a fall if the guest experimented upon retain* a rigid MMitiou throughout. Tnis tries: oan be varied by raising a young man on the fore ingsn of tiv* young women, unless the ifted person be exceptionally heavy, when two or three additional young women may assist. Ons of the healthiest ot parlor gymnastic >erfornianoes is to open tho door wide, get Tit-Bits. What He Needed. HusKend "You can't cook like mother could." Wife" No. nor I can't whip like your mother oould, either." The Very Best Customer (in the book store) What is the beet book for Christmas "" Clerk (blandly) "Pocket book." At a Pinch. There ws to be a wedding in a little country church, and the "contracting pair," who had many friends, were in doubt as to whether there would be room for them ail. Accordingly the young man called upon the sexton. 'How many will the church seat ?" he inquired. i'he sexton was silent for a minute or two, evidently engaged in a mental calcul- ation. "\Vn-ell, ordinarily. " be said. it'll seat 'bout three hundred ; but if some'll sit with their legs hangin' over the organ loft, I guees it'll seat three hundred and ten.'' Getting at an Answer. The lady witnesu was on the stand. ','. What is your age?" A. Q.- A.- Q.- A. I haven't any." What is your youth ?" Inexhaustible." d, all would then be easy. But she say* she oan find nothing attract! vi in Christian civilization." "Wile (after reflection) "Show her some fashion plates." A Terrible Discovery. He " What? Yon can't go to the opera with me to-night ? You promised to.' She "I know, but it is impossible." "Ha! I see it all. You love another," " Oh, no no, indeed." " Then you hare determined to trample on your own he..-t and marry some man for his money. Aha ! You shrink ! You ..x- peet him to call this evening ! Perfidi- ous " "Please, please don't. It is not so." "Then why woc't you go ?" "I I can't gst my new coat on over the sleeves of my new dress." No Mistake. Mr. Hightone "Are you sure that new coachman you lured is a genuine English- man ?" Mrs. Hightonr "Oh, he must be. Be said he didn't know one street from an- other." AW CAST TASK. will be put out of position. In others the boy will fall to the floor. It is very diffi- cult to perform this feat without disar- ranging the chairs. Again let someone place the hand* upon the edge of a chair with the legs together but extended slantingly to the floor. Then try to push the chair back and forth while maintaining bodily rigidity. (1HACEKCL INKHC'1-l^. The most graceful bodily acts are, as is well known, performed when some object like a cushion or pillow is balanced on the h.ad. If one of the young ladies, for io How old an yon ?'' I am not yet old. ' How young are you ?" A. As young as I sver was." How many yean have you lived?" A. I do not measure time by yean, but by heart throb." Q. " Are you married ?" A. " No, thank heaven." Court (to bailiff) " Mr. Officer, count the witsMSs' puise and calculate how long shshas lived from 1449 to 1894." Poor Economy. " They tell me Jones nsvsr subscribes to a newspaper." " Never. That's why he broke his leg jumping backwards from a moving tram, and cut his hand otf tightin' his own reflec- tion in alookin' glass." Narrow Escape. Patrick, coming into a street oar. found only on* seat vacant, and promptly took 1U " It's looky I came around when I did," said he. " That's so. Pat." answered some one. " Bekase," he went on, " if I was comin' a si?ond later, I'd be altner bavin' crowded mesilf out of me sate. Easily Answered. Sunday school teacher "Why do we have Thanksgiving Day?" Small boy "To eat turkey." Two ways. Little Boy "What's the difference be- twsen an advanced woman and any other woman ?" Lulls Girl -" Why, don't you know? An ordinary woman doesn't 1st her husband know that she is bossin' him, but a advanc- ed nor.ian does." A Practical Lover. She "Would you be willing to die for me?" He--"Y-*-s after you got too old to marry again." Domestic Strategy. Husband "Why do you scold the butcher ? it isn't hi* fault that the meat come* to the table all dried up. Scold the cook." Wife "I don't dan to . but I'm in hopes that if I keep on scolding the butcher, he'll get mad, and come around and scold the cook." A Defensive Law. Little Johnny 'Must hear that baby r quail! I don't wonder that inens hate* babies." Little Kthel "Do they?" 'Do they ? Eagles carry off babies, don't they T" "Yes." "\\ell, there's a law against shooting eagles.' Needless Anxiety. Johnny (out visiting) "Mammas is al- ways worry in about nothing." Hostess "In what way." Johnny "My mamma made the awful- lest fuss a-tellm' me not to make a pig of myself when you gave- me cakr. Shn might 'a knowed 1 wouldn't, cause your cake | isn't good a bit." CHILD MARRIAGES. CAN VOU DO THIS? upon a chair, cling to trie moulding (not the door) with the fingers, have the chair removed and hang for a time. Then try to raise your head to the level of your hand*. When you <t tired, drop. Men ami women may try this and there i* no danger in it, sveu should there be a fall. The A B C of gymnastics is standing on the tips of the iocs with the hands hanging loosely at the side. This is practically, when two persons try it together, running race standing. The lung* will become filled with air and thoroughly expanded, and he who stands it longest has the most staying powers. This exercise is highly beneficial for delicate girls and boys. To Make a Christmas Cake. Here i* an excellent recipe which u guaranteed to make a thoroughly satisfac- tory Christina* cake, provided, always, the directions are carefully followed. One pound each of sugar, butter, citron and currants ; two pounds of raisins: seed- ed ; one and one- half pounds of flour, two- thirds of a cup of currant jelly, twelve eggs, one teatpoonful soda, the same of salt ; a dash each of cayenne pepper and black pepper, and one cupful of molasses. Divide the flour in two parts ; into one put on* teaspoooful of cinnamon ; one nutmeg, grated: one-fourthteaspoonfulof cloven, -in. 1 two-thirds teaapooniul of allspice. Mix fruit with the other half of flour. Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs, well beaten ; dissolve the soda in warm water, and stir in the molasses. Mix all wall to gether, and put in pans lined with buttered paper. This will make two large loaves. Bake in a moderate oven for two hour*. The result is s Ctiristma* cake which will delight the heart of a good housewife sod plets* the palate* of those who eat it. No Sale. Tailor-made Girl "I should like to look at some neckties." New Boy "The necktie department is farther back. This is the toilet department. I oan show yon some mustache invigorstors, though.*' The Down-Trodden Sex. Mrs. Highupp (wearily) "Woman's work is never done." Mrs. Wayupp (drearily) "Too true. A man may get rich, and retire from business, out a woman must go on making and receiving calls to the day of her death." Great Strain on the System. Cultured Miss "I'm tired to death." Friend "Where have you been '.'" " To an orchestra rehearsal. " " That shouldn't tire you. " Yee, but they played three IT four popular selections, not classic a bit, you know just perfectly delightful and jolly." " Thru what tired you ?" " Trying to look bored of course." Doubling: the Number- Lady "This house would suit me, but there are not enough closets." Landlord "The number can easily be doubled." Lady "Very well, then, I'll sign th* lease. Landlord (half an hour later) "George, send a carpenter to that house to divide each of those closets into two." Wanted Something: Less Hackneyed. Mrs. Header "Stop at, a bookitore, and pick out a novel for me." Daughter "What sort?" Mm. Header "Try to get an old-fash ioned novel, in which the hero and heroine are veparated by cruol parents. I am a little tired of the young woman with a mission." Hard to Resist. Missionary (disvo iiolalely* -"If the favorite wife of tb* chiei could be. corn-en- They Are < Annas; Ike rerclgner* ml .lew 1 .irk Yoong persons of all nations are interest- ed in matrimony, but none more so than those living in countries where early man- ages are encouraged. When immigrants from those lands settle in New York, they cling to the custom of child-marriage* longer than to any other of their national ideas. Italians, above all adhera to the rule. The proportion of such matches in Mulberry street is almost as large as in l'.aly itself. Girls marry in Mulberry street at an age when the children of other races are still playing with dolls. In fact, many a little Italisn matron does not stop loving her toy babies until she has a real one of her own. Twelve is by no means an uncommon age for ths bride* of " The Bend ;" many of them are only ten and there was one little girl uf eight who would liave been given K way at the altar by her fond papa, but for the tn.iely intervnntion, of tlie Society for the Prevention of Cruelly to Children, which was on the point of putting the con- siderate parent away on the island. Italian girls who do not marry at four or sixteen at the latest, are considered very unlucky. An unmarried woman of eighteen is an old maid while at twenty she is hopeless ana looked upon as of no good to th* world at large and her own worst enemy. The percentages of girls in the Italian quarter who marry at various ages from ten to twenty is as follows : Ten years 8 percent. Twelve yean 17 percent. Fouiteen years -1 percent Sixteen years 40 percent. Eighteen years 10 per cent. Twenty years and over - per cent. These statistics show that sixteen u the moil popular age at which females marry in Muberry street, and in the Little luly of Harlem. Among men the statistics show the fol- lowing table of percentages and age* rang- ing from sixteen to thirty : Sixteen year* 9 per cent. Eighteen yean JO per cent. Twenty yean :4 per cent. Twenty -five yean.... 3D percent. Thirty-live yean and over *> percent. Both ot tnese tables, of course, include only persons who an marrying for the tint time. The percentage of second, third and even fourth marriages for men is large, but the women seldom wed again. Italian wives age rapidly, and many a one of tweuty-Ove is a* old as the avurage Ameri- can woman oi fifty. Ibe wedding ot one of these Italian child wives, though gay enough, nevertheless looks to the stranger very much like the immolation of an infant victim. Her orange blossoms and long white veil only add to the extnme youth, and you fancy she is scarcely old enough to take her first com- munion, when she is about to assume the holy bonds of matrimony. Then is a scared look on the baby faos and in the eyes a bride's eyes, which should be eloquent of love and tenderness and sweet expectancy is an apathy that indicates absolute ignorance of tne new life into which her little feet are straying. Her husband may not be much older, but he looks considerably so. The Italian boy of the lower olassei acquires an indur- ated expression that adds many apparent years fco his age. Besides, he is old in the sin of the street* and the brutality of the dive* in wlijch hi* youth has been spent. He is in church 'to-day, because he i* about to be mamd, but last night he might have bean in some stale beer hail where brawls lead to blows and sharp words to hasty stabs. To-morrow hu may be the principal, accomplice, accessory or witness to a murder, whose ghastly detail will make the metropolis shudder. But tiiu little- git I ? >he, at least, i* pure and sweet and good. What she may be when the brutalizing influence uf "The lieud ' shall have awakened her irow tloep. ing soul to the awful tragedy of life m slums, 'twere best not to consider. Practi cal philanthropists tell us that the terrible tenement is a necessary evil. Marriage of this kind n not a sacrament, but a sacrifice. British and foreign. To Dr. Roux has just been awarded the Audridet prize of I.'.IHX) franca by ths French Academy of Moral and Political .Science* for his discovery of a remedy for diphtheria. Temperance work in the English ar.ny is progressing rapidly. Since last May the number of branches of the Army Temper- ance Association has more than doubled; there are 1 1 1 of them now. London for the first fine has a permanent lien.ian theatre. A company of German actors which ha* been there for the past six weeks has had such success mat it has taken the Prince of Wales's Theatre. Hot-water pipes have been put into the Pope's apartments in the Vatican, as his dooton insist on hi* being kept in an even temperature. Perhaps some day the Van- can galleries may be warmed in winter. Sir Charlee Hugh Lowther, Bart. , who died lately in England in his Wd year, was born blind. But one peer, the Bishop of Chicnrster, and four baronets as old as ho are left. He was a nephew of the tint Karl of Lonsdals. Prince Edward of York's first carriage has a new wrinkle in baby wagons. It is npholstered in dark green morocco, with hair cushions, pneumatic tire* for th* wneels, and is so constructed that the in- fant oan recline or ride with face or back to his nurse. For the first time in twenty-one yean a criminal case came up on a writ of error before the Court of Queen's Bench a few days ago. Writs of error m England apply only in case of mistakes in tha plead ings. The last case on record was that of the Tich borne claimant in 1873. Kaiser Wilhelm now has his first earned dollar. The Vienna Maennergesangverein recently sang his Ode to Aegir, and as it is bound by its statutes to pay a ducat to every composer whose works appear on it* programme, it ha* sent the Emperor a golden ducat and a certificate ot member- ship. He ha* accepted both. In the Islsnd of Delos the walls of a private house ha* ju*t been excavated by the French school at Athens, the walla of which are covered with frescoes of great antiquity and wonderfully well-preserved coloring. They represent subj.rc's from mythology and from every day lite, and are very important additions to our knowledge of ancient Greece. Lord Chief Justice Russell's reform, ssys the Law Timee, will be the immediate es- tablishment of a distinct commercial court, for the trial of meroanti'e cases. It will consist of three of the oommon law judges and a specially qualified jury: assessor* and an official referee will be associated with the judges to try technical issues : the oases to come before the court will be picked out from the general list by an official appoint- ed for the purpose. The Banqueting House, Whitehall, from a window of which King Charles I. stepped out to his scaffold on tne .'Kith of January, ItiV.i, has lieen turned into a museum for the United Service Institution. The build- ing was erected by Inigo Jones in Hil'l. The ceiling, painted by Rubens, is said to he one of the most beautiful in the world. George I. converted the hall into a chapel, anil it was ust.1 for public worship until 1S90. At last the English Channel can be cross*! at night with comfort and decency. The line from Southampton to Havre has put on the tint of a number of new steamers, whii.li, in the plaoe of a common cabin, into which all the passengen are huddled, are divided up into staterooms, as on the transatlantic b>aU; their speed is 19^ knots an hour, and they make the trip betweeu midnight and (i in the morning, giving travellers chance to sleep. After the disaster at the Albion colliery at Pont-Y-Prid last spring a sum of over $NO,OUO was raised for the relief of the fam- ilies of the victims. This has just been handed over to the Miners' Provident) Society, and h%* caused great indignation among the widows of the men lost, as the society has turned the money into its general funds, refusing to grant 'hem any- thing beyond the insurance to which their husbands were entitled by belonging to the society. The women have sent a deputation to protest to ths Lord Mayor of London, under whose auspices the fund was collect- ed. Lord Lansdowne, late Viceroy of India and formerly ( JovernoM ieneral of Canada, who ha* been made a knight of the Garter, 11 the third successive Marquis of his line to receive this honor. Seven Dukes of Devon- shire in succession have been K. Us, six Cukes of Richmond and ot Rutland, five Dukee of Beaufort and of Northumberland, three Marquises of Salisbury, and three Karls Spenoer. Uf the ordinary knight* Earl Kit/.william, who was appointed in 1862, is the senior since the recent death of Earl Grey ; of the royal extra knights the Duke of Cambridge, who was made K. G. by King William IV. in 1S35. is the most ancient ; lie is the only knight now living who hss not received the honor from Queen Victoria. Christmas in America in 1621. The chronicles of the Pilerims,describing their arrival in Cape Cod Bay, in December, IT- 1 ", refer briefly to the first Christmas spent by them in America ; and what was done in Plymouth village the next Christ- mas is described in the iju*int language of Governor Bradford : On ye day called Christmas-day, ye Govr. called them out to worke (as was used), but ye most of this naw company sxcused themselves and said it went against their coneoienoea to worke on ye day. Soye Govr. told them if they made it a matter of con- science, he would spare them till they were better informed. Ho he led away ye rest and left them, but when they came home at noon from their worke, he found them in ye nireete at play, openly, some pitching ye barr, and some at stool-ball, and such Tike sports. So he went to them and took away their implements and told them that was against his conscience, that they should play and othen worke. If they made ye keeping of it a tnater of devot on, let them keep their houses, bat there should b* DO gaming or revelling in ye streets.