tarting out, provides himself with a written memorandum
of the places he intends visiting, and "checks" each one off with his
pencil, when the call is made. This list is necessary, as few sober men
can remember all their friends without it, and with the majority the list
is a necessity before the day is half over. The driver takes charge of
it often, and when the caller is too hazy to act for himself, carries him
sometimes to the door of the house, and rings the bell for him. Each man
tries to make as many calls as possible, so that he may boast of the feat
afterwards. At the outset, of course, everything is conducted with the
utmost propriety, but, as the day wears on, the generous liquors they
have imbibed begin to "tell" upon the callers, and many eccentricities,
to use no harsher term, are the result. Towards the close of the day,
everything is in confusion--the door-bell is never silent. Crowds of
young men, in various stages of intoxication, rush into the lighted
parlors, leer at the hostess in the vain effort to offer their respects,
call for liquor, drink it, and stagger out, to repeat the scene at some
other house. Frequently, they are unable to recognize the residences of
their friends, and stagger into the wrong house. Some fall early in the
day, and are put to bed by their friends; others sink down helpless at
the feet of their hostess, and are sent home; and a few manage to get
through the day. Strange as it may seem, it is no disgrace to get drunk
on New Year's Day. These indiscretions are expected at such times; and
it has happened that some of the ladies themselves have succumbed to the
seductive influences of "punch," and have been carried to bed by the
servants.

The Kitchen, as well as the parlor, observes the day. During the
Christmas week housekeepers become impressed with the fact that the usual
amount of provisions utterly fails to meet the wants of the family. They
attribute it to the increased appetites of the establishment. Biddy
could tell a different tale, however, and on New Year's Day sets a fine
table for her "Cousins" and friends, at the expense of the master of the
house. "Shure, she must say her friends, as well as the missus; and
bedad, it's a free counthry, and a poor ghirl has to look out for
hersilf."

The next day one half of New York has a headache, and the other half is
"used up" with fatigue. The doctors are kept busy, and so are the police
courts. This day is c