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GRACEFUL FEATS IN WHICH‘THE GUFETL-l MAY PARTICIPATE. (of 54) Buy as They Lookâ€"Envy m mu Man with Five Flngorsrl'nstlmes {or the Small Boy and the Old Boy and for Girls. The imminence of Christmas brings with J is manifestations of that form of youthful i irrepressibiliby which impels the small boy ‘ to stand on his head in the parior and .defy his Sisters and his aunts to follow his ex- I ample. Never is feminine regret at lack of gymnastic proficiency more poignant; than when, during a lull in the holiday time merry-making, aloud about arises and says: “Can you do this 2” Some athletic contortion or other auc- ceeda the query, absurdly simple in appear- ance. but which, upon experiment, proves utterly beyond the capacities of anyone present. Then another guest lfl emboldened to execute a feat, and the Christmas party thus proceeds to improvise a gymnasium out; of the family parlor. The gymnastics are,ese rule,ea.sily inaug- urated. During a lull in the conversstion, ask one of the little boys or girls to place a. book upon his or her head, fold the arms and sit down on a chair withoutletting the volume fall. This feet Will in nearly every case be accomplished with ease. But let a grown person try it, and the result is us- uallvdeed failure, even after considerable practice. This is not exactly a gymnastic performance, but, it leads of? wall enough. With this object in View, too, it may be well to get two misses to stand up, incline \their heads sideways until they touch. Then, keeping their heads together, lat hem walk about the room. This they will (do prettin and gracefully. Then have two f boys or uwoyouuz men try the same thing. ; Not only wxil the pair of males fail to keep EUR A PAINFUL TASK. their heads together, but one willbe almost certain to stagger or fall before he has gone many shops. TESTS OF MUSCLE. Now, if one of the young Women will sit Ls straight as possible in a. chair, and four youths grasp each a leg of the chair firmly in one hand they can not only raise the chair and girl rendin from the floor, but carry the two about the room. Then let an empty chair be carried about by the name four in the same manner. and the effect will be found very painful and feti- guing to the arm. One explanation is that the pleasure of carrying the young Woman about makes the difierence, 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 motions of carrying nothing. There need be no fear of danger in making this experiment. The most successful of home gymnastics are performed with the aid of chairs. Let. three chairs be placed couch-like, side by side. If a boy will lie rigidly on his back along the chairs, and at a signal endeavor to turn around without bending a. leg or arm (the arms to be held firmly with sides or in the pockets), in will be amusing to tote the effect. In some cases the chairs MR UHRISTZ‘MSâ€"TIDE. The most gracelul bodily acts are well known, performed when some like a. cushion or pillow is balanced head. If can of the young indies, 'g GRACE nkâ€"Eow (0 Lin 9. zenâ€"Pastimes for the Old Boy and EXERCISES on Lh for i: and drink some water whx movements she will go thr the most graceful oi wh1ch ‘ is capable. The feat in 'nig though it may seem easy. stance, tries to hold a. Anuother di'l’f Is for a. girl to Is for a. girl to balance a pillow on her head and then try to pick something up from the P00- without lezziag the pillow fall. ’l‘runk Lindon is a game adapted for boys and men. Stand erect, the feet. maching, the hands on the bins or held outstretched. Then twist the body alternately to the left, and right, assuming the pofifion shown in tbecut. This in not, merely a highly health- ful exercise, but a difficult. and laughable trick . _ ‘ u sun. In another cut is seen 3 trick that looks very easy. but it is most difficult as will be found upon trial. The hands are placed on the hips with the legs straight. The head is first moved forward and backward, then the trunk is moved the same way. quietly and gently. The shoulders must nov be out of position. ‘ , ,._,:~LL .r. “unfikla with L'l Pvmv-vu. Now stand as straight as possible with hands at. the sides. Then extend the right hand downwards to the right. foot without bending the right, knee. "Tho other leg and arm may he moved at will. This will be an easy thing for perhaps one person in the whole company. The others will find it impossible. A unique movement is to kick the empty air. It will be found on trial impossible fora man to give a genuine kick atnothing. To prove this observe the difference when a pillow or cushion is kicked. If someone will lie flat on the floor and grasp the bonds of two or more persons and remain rigid while he is pulled to his feet it will be found 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 the shoulders. The task is remarkably easy, provided the rigid position be main- tained and the recumbent individual is not ml]. A wonder in gravitation is the raising of 3 grown person from the 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 stander’s right foot at the instep, another person's hand in the same Way on the left; at the right elbow let a third person’s hand he placed so that the point of the elbow rests on the palm of the hand. Another guest stands in the same way at the other elbow. A fifth puts one hand under the chin of the stander. At a- ‘given signal all raise hands together, lift- ing the 'supported individual with the utmost ease. There is no fear of a fall if the guest experimented upon retains arigid position throughout. This trick can be varied by raising a young man on the fore fingers of five young women, unless the lifted person be exceptionally heavy, when two or three additional young women may assist. upon a. chair, cling to the 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 hands. \Vhen you get tired, drop. Men and women may try this and there is no danger in it, even should there be a fall. The A B C of gymnastics is standing on the tips of the toes with the hands hanging loosely at the side. This is practically. when two persons try it together, running a race standing. The lungs will become ‘filled with air and thoroughly expanded, and he who stands it longest has the moat leteyina powers. This eXercise is highly . 74x- ,.,A In..." “63¢; of the healthiest of parlor gymnastic performances in to npen tha door wide, get Lgvdlta-Egialridrrdelicate girls and boys. One pound each of sugar, butter, citvron ‘and currents ; twa pounds of raisins: seed- ed ;one and one-half pounds of flour, two- thirds of non; of curranb jelly, twelve eggs. one teasponnful soda, the same of salt ;a. dash each of cayenne pepper and black pepper, and one cupiul of molasses. i Divide the flour in two parts ; into one put. {one leuspoonfnl of cinnamon : one nutmeg, lgmmd; one-fourthteaspoonfulof cloves,and ‘ .owo-thirde Leaspoonful of nllspice. Mix 1 fruic wah the other half of flour. Cream the; T butter and sugar, ad(_l the eggs, well To Make a Christmas Cake. Here is an excellent recipe which ii guaranteed to make a thoroughly satisfac- tory Christmas cake,provided, always. the airecbious are carefully followed. KIOKING AT NOTHING CAN YOU DO nus! behing the 304 llow on her head bile doing so, the hrough are among h the human body ligh'xy difficulb, al- of the same order dilow on her head thing gpfrom the 1 water, well to- :uttered \Viieâ€"“ No. mother could, e Customer (in the ‘ the best; book for Ci Clerk (Hardly)â€" country church, and the “contracting pair,” who had many friends, were in doubt as to whether there would be room for them all. Accordingly the young man called upon the sexton. . . . l ... . The sexLon was sue two, evidently engaged ation. “How many inquired. (nu-(u. “We-e1], ordinarily,” he said, “ W11 seat, ’bout three hundred : but if 30' ll em with their legs hangin’ over the organ loft, I guess it'll sent three hundred and ten." but by heart throbn.” Q.â€"-“ Are you married '2” A.â€"-“ No, thank heaven." Court (to bailiff)â€"~“ Mr. Otficer, count the witness’ pulse and calculate how long she has lived from 1849 to 1894." Poor Economy. “ They tell me Jones never subscribes to 8. newspaper.” " Never. That’s why he broke his leg jumping backwards from a moving train, and cut his hand ofl' fightin’ his owu reflec- tion in alookiu’ glass.” Patrick, coming into a street car, found only one seat. vacanb, and promptly book It. “ It‘s looky I came around when I did,” said he. “ That’s 30, Pat.” answered some one. “ Bekaae,” he went on. “ if I was comin’ a. sicond later, I’d be aftfner havin’ crowded mesilf out of me sate. Easily Answered. p Sunday school teacherâ€"“Why do we have Thanksgiving Day '.'” Small boyâ€"“To eat turkey.” Little Boyâ€"“ What's the difference be- tween an advanced woman and any other woman ?" ed woman does.” Girlâ€"“ Why, don't you know? An ordinary woman doesn't. let her husband know that she igbossin' him, but a advanc- The lady Witnesa was on the stand. Q.â€"-“ tht is your age?” A.â€"-“ I haven’t. any.” Q,~“ What. is your youth 2" A.â€"â€" " Inexhausnible.” Q. â€"“ How old are you ‘2" A.-â€"“ I am not yet old." .u W ~ :1 marry alga“). At a Pinch There was to be {A yam Domestic Strategy. Husbandâ€"“Why do you scold the butcher? It isn’t his fault that the meat. comes to the table 3.11 dried up. Scold the cook." Wife-â€"- “1 don't. dare to -, but I’min hopes that if I keep on scolding the butcher, he'll get-med, and come around and scold the cook.” Q.â€"-“ Whn A.â€"“ I haw Q.â€"*“ When A.â€"â€"" Inexl Q.â€"“ How A.-â€"“ [am Q.--“ How A.-â€"“ As y .â€"â€"“ How A.â€"-â€"“ I do nu uv-I.‘ ....-, New Boyâ€"“The necktie department is further back. This is the toilet department. I can Show you some mustache invigorators, though. " No Sale. « Tailor-made Girlâ€"“I should like to look at some uecktiegrf’ The Down-Trodden Sex. Mrs. Highupp (wearily) â€"“Woman’s work is never done." Mrs. Wayupp (d‘rearily)~“1‘oo true. A man may get rich, and retire frombusinesa, but a. woman must go on making and receiving calls to the day of her deaf: ." Cultured Missâ€"“I’m tired to death.” Friendâ€"“Where have you been 2” “ To an orchestra rehearsal.” “ That. shouldn't hire you.” “ Yes, but they played three or four popular selections, not classic a bit, you knowâ€"just perfectly delightful and jolly.” “ Then What, tired you ‘2” “ Trying to look bored of course." Ladyâ€"“Th there are not Landlordâ€" doubled.” ; Sheâ€"“Would you be willing to die for A," ifeâ€"“Y-e-sâ€"after you got too old to _ Ladyâ€"“Very lease." u. “ll-udlord (half an hour lawnâ€"“George, send acarpenter to that home to divide each of those closets into two." , Wanted Something Less Hackneyed Mrs. Re pick out. a. Daughu Mrs. R Mrs. Readerâ€"“Stop at. a bookstore, and pick out. a. novel for me." Daughterâ€"“What sort '2” Mrs. Readerâ€"“Try to get an old-fash- ioned novel, in which the hero and heroine are separated by cruel parents. I am a. little tired of the young woman with a mission Misionary (discomolately)â€"“ If the favorite wife of the chief could be convert Great Strain on the System. Getting at an Answer. How young are you '2" A: young as I ever was.” How many years have you lived?" I do not measure tune by years, What. He N TEES A Practical Lover. The V Doubling the Number Narrow Escape. “This house would suit; me, but not enough closets.” -u will the church seat Two Ways. \er Hard to Resist. book sto hriatmas “‘Pocket evy Best 1‘th number can easily be silent for a minute or led in a. mental calcul: a wedding in a well, then, I’ll sign the eeded. whip like your book." )_~ What is like mother a bookstore, and 9n lime ed. a“ would then be easy s‘né can find nothing Attractive civilization.” N “Wife (after reflection)â€" fashion plmcs.” with me to-night? You pranised to.” Sheâ€"“I know, but it is impossible.” "Ha! I see it. an. You love another." “ 0h, naâ€"uo, indeed.” “ Then you have decermmed no trample on your own heart and marry some man for his money. Aha ! You shrink! You ex- pect him to call this evening I Perfidi- 0U! sleeves of my new d'ress." He_u with me Mrs. Hightoneâ€"“Oh, he must be. He said he didn’t, know one street from an- other." Mr. Hightoneâ€"“Are you sure that new coachman you hired in a genuine Engfiah- man 2” they e aglea." Johnny (out viaiting)â€"â€"“Mammaa is al- Wnys worryin’ about nothing." Hostessâ€"“In what. way." Johnnyâ€""My mamma. made the awful- loab fuss a-tellin' me not to make a. pig of myself when you gave me make. She might ’a’ knowed I Wouldn’t, cause your cake isn’t good a bit.” They Are Common Among the Ferelgners of New York. Young persons of all nations are interest- ed in matrimony, but none more so than those living in countries when early mari- agee are encouraged. When immigrants from those lands settle in New York, they cling to the custom of child-marriages longer than to any other of their national ideas. Italians, above all, adhere to the rule. The proportion of such matches in Mulberry street: is almost as large as in Italy 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 Italian matron does not stop loving he: toy babies unsil she has a. real one of her own. Twelve is by no means an uncommon age for the brides of “ The Bend ;” many of them are only ten and there was one little girl of eight who would have been given away at the altar by her fond pnpa, but for the timely intervention, of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which was on the point of putting the con. sidernte parent Sway on the island. Italian girls who do not marry at four- teen, or sixteen at the latest, are considered very unlucky. An unmarried woman of eighteen is an old maid while at twenty she is hopeless one looked upon is of no good to the wodd at large and her own worst enemy. The percentages of girls in the Italian quarth who marry at Various ages from ten to twenty is as follows : Ten years .. , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 per cent. Twelve years........... 17 percent. Fourteen years . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 23 per cent. Sixteen years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 per cent. Eighteen years. . . . . . . . .. . . .. 10 per cent. ,. '2 per cent. r. ninbnnn is oh» Twenty years and over. I‘Please, please don’t. It is not so.” “Then why won’t, you go ?” “Iâ€"I can’t get m_y new coat on over the dyes." “Well,there’a 313w against shooting Twenty years and over. These statistics show most popular age as wh in Muberry street. and of Harlem. Ul um. nu... Among mea the statistics Show the fol- lowing table of percentages and ages rang. ing from sixteen Lo chirny : Sixteen years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 per cent. Eighteen years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 per cenc. Twenty years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 per cent. Twenty-five years . . . . . . . . . . . 30 per cent. 5 per cum. an inn) "1);. TmrLy-five years and over . LL)“. A Sixteen years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 per cent. Eighteen years . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 20 per cent. Twenty years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 per cent. Twenty -flve years . . . . . . . . . . . 30 per cent. Thirty-five years end over. . . .. 5 per cent. Both oi these tnbles. of course, include only persons who are marrying for the first time. The percentage of second, third and even fourth marriage: for men is large, but the women seldom Wed again. ltslian wives age rapidly. and many a. one of twenty-five is as old as the aVerage Ameri- can woman of fifty. The wedding OI one of these Italian child ‘ Wives, though gay enough, nevertheless looks to the Stronger very much like the immolation of an iniant victim. Her orange blossoms and long white veil only add to the extreme 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. There is a scared look on the baby face and in the eyesâ€"a bride’s eyes, which should be eloquent of love and tenderness and sweet expectancyâ€"is an apathy that indicates absolute ignorance oirthe 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 classes acquires nu indur- uted expression that adds many Apparent years to his age. Besides, he is old in the sin of the streets and the brutality of the dives in which his youth has been spent. He is in church today, because he is about to be married, but last night he might have been in some stale beer hall where brawls lead to blows and Ellurp words to hasty stabs. To-morrow he may lm Hm nrincinnl. accomplice, accessory or words to hasty stabs. 'l‘o-morrow ue mu.) be the principal, accomplice, accessory 0‘ Witness to a murder, whose ghastly detAi will make the menropolis shudder. But the little girl? she, at least, is pm- and sweet and good. What she may '9 when the brumlizing influence of “Th Bend" shall have awakened her now sleep mg soul to the awful tragedy of life 1; slums, ’Lwere best not to consider. Pracl l cal philanthropists tell us that the terrib] tenement is a. necessary evil. Marriagsof this kind is mi, 3 sacramen but, a. sacrifice. A Terrible Discovery. ‘ What? You can’t go to the CHILD MARRIAGES. Needless Anxiety. A Defensive Law. No Mistake. , . . . . . . . . . . 8 per cent. . . . . . . . . . . . 17 per cent. . . . . . . . . . . . 23 per cent». . . . . . . . . . . . 40 per cent. . . . . . . . . . . . 10 per cent. over . . . . . , . '2 per cent. show that; sixteen is the x, which females marry and in the Little Italy “Show her some But; she says a in Christian opera. cent. cen a. cent. cent. cen D. To Dr. Roux has just been awarded the Audrifiet prize of 12,000 francs by the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences for his discovery of a remedy for diphtheria. Temperance work in the English army is progressing rapidly. Since last May the number of branches of mhe Army Temper- ance Association ha- more than doubied; there are 11] of them now. London for the first time has a permanent German theatre. A company of German actors which has been there for the pa“; six weeks hm had such success that it hll taken the Prince of Wales’s Theatre. Hob-water pipes have been put into the Pope’s apartments in the Vatican, a: his doctors insist. on his being kept. in M1 oven temperature. Perhaps some day the V3“- can galleries may be warmed in winter. Sir Charles Hug'x Lowbher, Bart. , who died lately in England in his 92d year, “I born blind. But one peer, the Bishop of Chxchester, and four baroneca as old so be are left. He was a nephew of the first Earl of LonsngQ. Prince Edward of York's first. carriage has a new wrinkle in baby wagons. It is upholstered in dark green morocco, with hair cushions, pneumatic tit-ea for the wheels, and is so conatxucbed that the in- fant can recline or ride with face or bank to his nurse. For the first time in twenty-one years a criminal case came up on a wrin of arm: before the Court. of Queen’s Bench I. few days ago. Writs of error in England apply only in cue of mistakes in the plebd- inga. The last case on record was that of the ’I‘ichborne cloimant in 1873. Kaiser Wilhelm now has his first earned dollar. The Vienna Maennergesaugvera'n recently sang his Ode to Aegir, and as it i bound by its statutes to pay a dumb to every composer whose works appear on m programme, it has sent the Emperor a. golden ducat and a certificate at manhu- ahip. He has accepted both. In the Island of Deloa the walls all; private house has just been excavated h" the French school at Ashens, the walls at which are covered with frescoes of great antiquity and wonderfully well-preserved coloring. They represent subjectvs from my Dhologysnd from every-day life, and are very important additions to our knowle§ge of ancient Greece. The Banqueting House, Whitehall, from a window of which King Charles I. stepped out to his scaffold on she 30th of Janus-q, 1649, has been turned into a museum $0: the Uniced Service Institution. The build- ing was erected by Inigo Jones in 1&9. The ceiling, painted by Ruben, is said to he one of the most beautiful in the Wofld. George I. converted the ball into a chapel, and in was used for public worship until 1890. At last the English Channelcan be crossed at night. with comfort and decency. The line from Southampton to Havre has put on the {ier of a number of new “gunman, which, in the pace of a common cabin, men which a“ the passengers are huddled, an divided up into staterooms, as on she transatlantic bwbs; their speed is 19% knots gm hour: and they ’make the trip bé‘ween midnight and 6 in she morning, giving travellers a chance to sleep. Lord Chief Justice Russell's reform, any: the Law Times, win be the immediate ei- ta‘ulishment of a. distinct commercial court. for the trial of mercanti'e cases. It will consist of three of the common law judgae and a specially qualified jury; assessor: and an oflicial referee will be sssociated with the iudges to try technical issues : the cases to come before the court will be picked out from the general list by an official appoint- ed for the purpose. After the disaster at the Albion oolliery at Pont-Y-Prid last spring a sum of over $80,000 was raised for the relief of the fam- iliea of the victims. This has just been handed over to the Miners’ Provident Society, and has caused great indignation among the widows of the men lost, as the society has turned the money into its general funds, refusing to grant them any- thing beyond the insurnnce to which their husbands were entitled by belonging to the society. The women have sentadeputation to protest to the Lord Mayor of London, under whose auspices the fund was collect- and formerly Governor-Generai of Canada: who has been made a knight of the Garter, is the third successive Marquis of his line ta receive this honor. Seven Dukes of Devon« shire in succession have been K. Ga, six Nukes of Richmond and oi Rutiend. five Dukes of Beaufort, and of Not thumberlend, three Marquisea of Salisbury, and three Earle Speucer. 0f the ordinary knights Earl Fitzwilliam, who was appointed in 1862, is the senior since the recent death of Eurl Grev ; of the royal exGm knights the Duke of Cambridge, who was made . G. by King William IV. in 1835, is the most ancient ; he is the only knight. now living who has not received the honor from Queen Victoria. ‘ British and Foreign. Christmas in America. in 1621. The chronicles of the Pilgrims,describing their arrival in Cape Cod Bay, in December, 1720, refer briefly to the first Christmas spent. by them in America ; and what was Idone in Plymouth village the next Christ- mas is deacnbed in che quaint language of Governor Bradford : 0n ye day called Christmas-day, ye Govr. Lhemse better informed. and left, bhemfimt noon from their w ye streebe at play, burr, and some at sports. So he wen their implements Lord Lnnsdoyvne, On ye day called unn lled them out to wovl a most of this new ‘emselvea and said it rnsciences to worke on a): ith pin and others v hou‘ ‘11}! orke nade late Viceroy of Indi‘ lot-General of Canada: niy them went 8 “meta ompany excused me against their. eday. SoyeGovr. £51] WET rat. 'ike my 11d