Somehow, the evening passed, as! evenings will. And the next day [not single feminine voice was [ris in lamentation—or glee. Over the bridge table—impromptu but ble—a whispered "Three spades" had to be repeated by the lusty partner of the afflicted damsel. For! six voiceless ladies, addicted to large That particular Christmas party iwas not mentioned for several months—on pain of death. Nor was the experiment repeated the aye za zo next year, Day Before Christmas is Day of surprises.
Strangely enough, the incidents: most out of keeping with what is known as the Holiday Spirit survive the longest in retrospect; the good interred with their bones idea once more, no doubt. Divested of their ing' by the accumulation of farther days, each with its particular memories, these one-time major ftrugedies' have degenerated into minor farces, due for a repeat per-nate flour. the tale of one white Christmas—very frosted to toy Iandseape and equally blue 'a8 to noses—celebrated with youth-{ful optimism at a Japanese inn.
It is the ancient custom of all foreigners from Yokohama to Na-Rasaki (if they are able to Accumulate the essential yen for transportation and other incidentals of the glad season) to spend the New Year's holidays at a certain; popular mountain resort not. far from the capital.
But one lusty group of pioneers cided that Christmas should be livened in a similar fashion. Miyanoshita at New Year's was pro-verbal, so why not set a new pro-cedent? After hilarious deliberation, they selected a semi-foreign inn and the entire party of twelve potential merry-makers set out the cay before Christmas high hones—and a gramophone, to make certain of the success of the venture,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.