nd a dainty Cupid dart;
To the bachelor's broken pledges;
To the venial little sin
That he cannot do without her--
To the girl that took him in.

* * * * *

Bring frost bring snow,
Come winter; bring us holly
Bring joy at Christmas,
Off with melancholy.
Sing ho, sing hey
For the holiday.

* * * * *

Sing hey for good Christmas cheer
But quaff one glass
To the days that pass
The last of the grand Old Year.

* * * * *

Here's to the old year, drink boys, drink.
Here's to the days that have fled.
Old friends, old wine, old memories;
Drink to the joys that are dead.

Here's to the New Year stretching ahead,
To the days that are blithesome and gay,
May the joys of the old be the joys of the new,
Its sorrows fade gently away.

* * * * *

Here's good-bye to the old year--
Here's regret.
It has done the best it could--
Let's not forget.

Here's greeting to the New Year--
Hold out a hand.
Let's do the best that we know how--
Make a good stand.

* * * * *

TABLE DECORATIONS.

A basket of Parma violets or of valley lilies makes a delightful gift to
carry home to the children of the family after it has beautified a
woman's luncheon table. Pale daffodils are exquisite in a grass green
frame, and so on.

The bottom of each basket is fitted out with a tin plate filling it
exactly. Upon this is placed the damp moss which keeps the blossoms
fresh throughout the meal. The flowers are arranged in upright position
to look exactly as if growing out from the wicker-work receptacle.

* * * * *

Centerpieces are either very low or very high. There seems to be no
intermediate stage. A number of fashionable women whose table fashions
are watched and copied still cling to the low bed of flowers which
allows one to see the face of the vis-a-vis.

A charming centerpiece which smart florists are suggesting is of white
hyacinths and violets. The violets used are either of the pale double
varieties or the large single flower--usually the latter.

Violets and hyacinths are not mingled. Either one-half of the
centerpiece is formed of each with its own foliage, or large clusters of
each are massed together. There is no scattering of the