go to-day, and thus I
must omit the mention of the new year's festivities, which properly
belong to our numerous Scottish fellow settlers who in their own
country ignore Christmas as a popish superstition; they are, however,
now becoming anglicised ('Englified' they call it) in their habits,
and similarly the Midland county men of England enter into their
Caledonian custom, from the harmless orgies of 'Hagmenae' to the
frantic capers of 'Gillie Cullum,' to the skirl of the panting piper."

CHRISTMAS AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.

In "A Voyage in the _Sunbeam_," Lady Brassey gives an interesting
account of the keeping of Christmas, 1876, on the Sandwich Islands. We
quote the following extracts:--

"Twenty minutes' hard riding brought us to the door of the 'Volcano
House,' from which issued the comforting light of a large wood fire,
reaching half way up the chimney.

"Everything at this inn is most comfortable, though the style is rough
and ready. The interior is just now decorated for Christmas, with
wreaths, and evergreens, and ferns, and branches of white plumes, not
unlike _reva-reva_, made from the path of the silver grass.

"The grandeur of the view in the direction of the volcano increased as
the evening wore on. The fiery cloud above the present crater grew in
size and depth of colour; the extinct crater glowed red in thirty or
forty different places; and clouds of white vapour issued from every
crack and crevice in the ground, adding to the sulphurous smell with
which the atmosphere was laden. Our room faced the volcano: there were
no blinds, and I drew back the curtains and lay watching the splendid
scene until I fell asleep.

"_Sunday, December 24th (Christmas Eve)_--I was up at four o'clock to
gaze once more on the wondrous spectacle that lay before me. The
molten lava still glowed in many places, the red cloud over the fiery
lake was bright as ever, and steam was slowly ascending in every
direction over hill and valley, till, as the sun rose, it became
difficult to distinguish clearly the sulphurous vapours from the
morning mists. We walked down to the Sulphur Banks, about a quarter of
a mile from the 'Volcano House,' and burnt our gloves and boots in our
endeavours to procure crystals, the beauty of which generally
disappeared after a very short exposure to the air. We succeeded,
however, in finding a few good specimens, and, by wrapping them at
once in paper and cotton-wool and putting them into a bottl