France with Northern Italy.
Of course many visitors come here to gamble, but an increasing number
are attracted by the beauty of the scenery and the charm of the
climate; and here some hundreds of Englishmen and Englishwomen spent
their Christmas Day and ate the conventional plum-pudding. Christmas
had been ushered in by a salvo of artillery and a High Mass at the
cathedral at eleven on Christmas Eve, and holly and mistletoe (which
seemed strangely out of place amongst the yellow roses and hedges of
geraniums) were in many hands. As illustrating the mildness of the
climate and the natural beauty of the district, the following flowers
were in full bloom in the open air on Christmas Day: roses of every
variety, geraniums, primulas, heliotropes, carnations, anemones,
narcissus, sweetwilliams, stocks, cactus, and pinks; and to these may
be added lemon trees and orange trees laden with their golden fruit.
As evening wore on a strong gale burst upon the shore, and Christmas
Day closed amongst waving foliage and clanging doors and clouds of
dust, and the fierce thud of angry surf upon the sea-shore below.

"January 2, 1890. J. S. B."

CHRISTMAS EVE FESTIVITIES IN GERMANY.

In "The German Christmas Eve," 1846, Madame Apolline Flohr recalls her
"childish recollections" of the Christmas festivities in the "happy
family" of which she was a member. They met amid the glare of a
hundred lights, and according to an old-established custom, they soon
joined in chaunting the simple hymn which begins:--

"Now let us thank our God;
Uplift our hands and hearts:
Eternal be His praise,
Who all good things imparts!"

After the singing (says the writer), I ventured for the first time, to
approach the pile of Christmas gifts intended for my sisters, my
brothers, and myself.

The Christmas tree, always the common property of the children of the
house, bore gilded fruits of every species; and as we gazed with
childish delight on these sparkling treasures our dear parents wiped
away the tears they had plentifully shed, while our young voices were
ringing out the sweet hymn, led by our friend, Herr Von Clappart, with
such deep and solemn emotion.

Now, as the dear mother led each child to his or her own little
table--for the gifts for each were laid out separately, and thus
apportioned beforehand--all was joy and merriment.

A large table stood in the midst, surrounded by smaller ones,
literally laden with pretty and in