The New York Herald Newspaper, December 25, 1873, Page 7

ana _ the average boy wn. Bey ‘of the CHRISTMAS. [2275 G20 anee a The True Sentiment of the Day. Character of Kriss Kringle Dissected. What Was the First Great Christmas Gift on Record ? “ST, NICHOLAAS, GOOD HEILIG MAN!” Old England’s “Wessail Bowl” and Young America’s Egg Nogg. HOW THE DAY WILL BE OBSERVED. Sometimes, when, far away from his native land, ® traveller wanders alone amid an unfamiliar landscape, no human creature in sight, nothing to be seen but bine mountains and green valleys mel- | Jow and radiant in the sunlight, nothing to be heard but the coo) wash of the river and the | momentary rustle of the forest, a peaceful sadness creeps over him, and he is suddenly confronted with an apparition—himself as he used tobe, His ‘vanished and forgotten youth comes back to him, comes stealing toward him from the lonely gien nd the dark ravine, as thongh in that obscure Festing place it had lain and waited for him many @ year. And 80, for one sacred resurrectionary hour, he holds communion with the boyhood that has passed away forever, with the dreams of youth ‘that never have been realized, A holiday wil! occasionally bring about a similar state of feeling. The demands o! practieal life so quickly and thoronghly brush away mere senti- ment that some special occasion or event is meeded to reach the little that maybe ieft ina mature mind. But a holiday brings about tonch- tng contrasts between old ana young, and it is these contrasts which probe the adult heart and cause it to yearn toward the green pastures of youth. Christmas is king of holidays in this re- epect. He proves that if youth and crabbed age cannot live together, they can, at least, be very good company for each other one day in the year. Santa Claus is the champion pacificator, “Merry | Christmas” means “let us have peace.” Kriss Kringle is diplomatist-in-chief in reconciling the differences between infancy and age. Just now we called him King, butis he not rather Chief Magis- trate in the Republic of Good Humor? No White House vies with bis, which the snow has conse- crated, Let us call him Chief Justice, too, with no spot upon his flaky ermine. He is nota hero, this magnanimous and jovial myth. Still Jess is he a cynic turned saint. He never uttered a proverb or gave bad advice about the training of children. There ts a tradition in- aeed that on Christmas Eve he puts birches in bad | children’s stocki ; but we are inclined to regard this asa piece of parental tergiversation, wholly i unsupported by fact. Ii there is any one thing that | Kriss Kringle especially respects it is the sentiment | of the occasion, and it is this trait that has won | for him the fidelity of his young friends. Children have a livelier faith in him than most adults seem to have in the Creator. Kriss Kringle dwells within the Arctic circle, with the North Pole for his flag- “staff. He has his pick of: reindeer and drives a sleigh that would make him a millionnaire if he only chose to patent it. His religion is the belief that the 26th of December is the time par excellence for books and toys and sweetmeats, He presides over the imventive genius of toydom, quickens the brains of Caleb Plummer and inspires the Hartz Brothers with new tricks. He hates stingy people. He puts it into the hearts of the rich tw be generous, and of the poor not to expect much more than they get Many people ‘Imagine that he passes the interval between ‘Christmas and Christmas in a state of torpor and Ymactivity, like the snake. But this is a piece of ignorance which does gross injustice to his in- dustry and sympathy with luman nature, espe- cially child nature. He visits us often, though we recognize him not. Many a time he is the angel ‘whom we are entertaining unawares. At every Jestival in which children largely share this tute- lary deity of childhood is present in spirit. On the Fourth of July ne is behind every pinwheel. On Thanksgiving Day he ordains two pieces of mince pie to the bairnies who wonld else get only one; on the 1st of April he replenishes the world with April fools, and on St, Valentine’s Day gives double duty to the postman. spirit, of which Christmas Day js the essence, “Sakes itdeif felt if Whrécdgnized instalments” at eertain intervals throughout the year. ‘ HUMANITY’S CHRISTMAS GIFT. God’s Onristiias gift to humanity was Christ. The theology and dogma of the subject we leave to the commentators. Few indeed are the wor- shippers who will not agree with us when, with- out sectarian sentiment, we point to the life of Christ on earth as the most valuable gift humanity has yet received. Why the gift was not made wooner ’twere vain to speculate. It came in the faliness of time. Humanity has had noble giits from the same source from time to time—gifts which it has despised, ignored and rejected. But it isour imtention not to preach a sermon, but to indicate ‘te strange manner in which the Christmas senti- Ment has grown. Christ was a spiritual gift. Un- happily mankind cannot imitate their Creator in this. It isas much as the best of us can do to ob- tain spiritual gifts for ourselves, without attempt- ing to get them for our neighbors. Hence, perhaps, the interchange of material presents. They are own stone {ront, the elabora- tions of the publisher and toy maker all the world over, and sending forth such an incense asmust make Kriss Kringle fee) he has not lived in vain. CURISIMAS ON 4 LOWER SCALE. Al! this is perfectly compatible with a great deal of honest enjoyment al sone of limited means, but the elements of which the ave Christmas 18 composed are 80 well and so gene! understood that it is unnece: to refer to them at great length here. It is the extremes which, by contrasting with, explain each otner. The holiday chiaro-oscuro is always exceedingly picturesque. We have seon the lights—let us not forget the shadows. These sad lines and gioomy streaks in the wondrous etching with which the ;year pre- sent us at its holiday close, shall we not regard them, too? The prison, the hospital, the insane asylum, the house of refuge, the home ior the fallen—can we cease to remember that such things are, and that they must also have @ certain tinge of Christmas? At our own tables we eat and drink in comfortable security. Outside are the homeless, the friendless and the outcast, Do we fatter ourselyes that we have won our comforts by our deserts, and that between us and our less happy brethren 1s the same distincdon as between those who, spiritually gloating, sit self-crowned in the New Jerusalem and them that tap disheartened at, the gates of pear! in vain? And then this labyrinth of wretched m o: teeming tenement houses that forms so ind dismal a background. It would be in- 1g to hear upon what principles tne rich man nds the boundless appetite he has tor the good things of his Christmas table, and the very poor appetite he has for the sorrows and necessi- ties of the people who inhabit the block of tene- ment houses he owns. The very poor certainly have no Christmas joys worth mentioning. They furnish the somvre threads to the Gobelin tapestry of itfe, bringing into relief the brilliant colors, Doubtless much has been done for the poor this Christmas, a8 much is done every Christmas, But the {uct remains that the vast inajority of the wealthy, and those with comfortable means, do lite In this direction in comparison with what they could do, and one of the worst of social degeneracy would be to ignore al- jer the humane sentiments naturally asso- ciated with such an hour. We have touched upon those sentunents, and now we propose to leave them in order to give a slight sketch of the Christ- mas of the past—those old Dutch Christmases of which so many interesting traditions are to be gathered—and to compare it with the Christmas of the present. Yesterday was emphatically the CHILDREN’S DAY. It was St. Nicholas’ Day; therefore it was the day of the children who loved St, Nicholas in the times of the old Duteh burghers, In the old annals of city, when it was New Amsterdam; when strong old Stuyvesant was Commander-in- Chief; when our now crowded Broadway was below Wall street, only Heere Straat, and when our business-throttied Maiden lane was T’ Maagde Paatje (the Maidens’ path), where the red cheeked, fail lipped Dutch maidens went to hang out their furtering clothes; When the meat market was on Bowling Green; when the present City Hall was a public pasture out side oi the city wail; and when the great jlasco of this mighty metropolis was, for the simple people who then inhabited 1t, the city road between Wall street and New Haarlem—a long stretch of country fields and forests; the 24th December was dedicated to St. Nicholas. From the earltest days of Manhattan Island Christmas Eve was sacred to him, Children as naturally see that which is reverential in old memories as adults see that which is merely social. This is why the Dutch boys and girls adored, with @ love Larne their own, the jolly rosy cheeked, waite bearded little old man, sporting his low crowued hat; glorying in his Flemish trunk ose SOE pipe longer than himself; driv- ing through the air over town and country, oceans and deserts; and, in their fancies, sending through space the sharpest of whistles to the wonderful team that carried the wonderful sleigh. Lfke some of our own little bo; and girls, Many and many a Christmas Eve did some Dutch little ones try to catch St. Nick py sitting up to see him come down the chimney with his pack on his back. But some- how or other there never did happen to be a fire in the great chimney as late on the night before Christmas a8 on the other 364 nights of the year. ‘the little Dutch children blamed mamma; but that gocd lady would whisper, with a wise shake of the head, that St. Nick did not like fres—and that set- tied the matter for good. Some wouid sit up, however, until very late—one hittle boy, whose story 18 not forgotten, more stubborn than the rest, having actually been foune half trozen in the | morning on the kitchen floor. Had he been watch. ing? es. Had he seen anything? Oh, no! he ‘was asleep, and the stockings were big with toys for the other children, but none jor him, The moral was understood to be that, St. Nicholas aid not like little boys that watch for him—a moral that | this same little Knickerbocker, it is said, never forgot during ail his lifetime. There was oue peculiarity in this homage to St. Nicholas that explains the special reverence paid to him among our ancestors. St. Nicholas was THE PATRON SAINT OF NEW AMETERDAM, just as clearly as Uncie Sam is the patron saint of the United States, St. George of engend, St, Depis of France, St. Patrick of Ireland. 1€ was his image, which, in the orthodox costume, had presided as the figurehead of the Goede Vrouw, the snip that brought the first Dutch emigrants to this shore, It was he who gave bis name to the first church built within the walls, and wuose titles were most solemnly invoked in hour of trouble by all Dutchmen on land and sea. From tne days of the courteous Peter Minuit, of Wesel, and the Honorable the Director General ana Council, this isiand of Manhattan has been dedicated to the good saint whom our children still honor in these days. Not as much, though, we say again, as the Dutch children. They showed how they loved the jovial littie saintly gentleman by rendering him an homage greater than they gave to Christmas—by the trees they raised—by the fires they lighted—by the tales they told—by the jokes oan cracked—by the songs they sung—by the hopes they built up— by the eagerness with which they watched (we wean, of course, the good little ones who didn’t sit up) until slumber Pk ge like a cloud over the: for the first prancing of the reindeeron the roof. This generation of believers—these little Knicker- bocker children—have passed away forever; we have no more goeden vrouws, but good mothers; the quaint village has changed into this haughty, re iz, Tushing metropolis; but the children o! still keep up the devotion of the children of BANTA CLAUS, It is the same friend, hoWéVer; the same old, low- built, chubby, mysterious ancient, who loves chil- | dren of all ages and all countries, For children, “Time,” as says Wise Teuleisdréckb, “is no fast- burrying stream, but a sportfal, sunlit ocean.” Weil said, old Teufeisdrickh; for little do Johnny and Ada think that these holidays of time bring them 8 year nearer to theirend. They play with Time and laughingly send out their cockle-boats on what seems so bpight and sunny, telling nim to take care of them. Vhy find fault with Johnny and little Ada? Why tell them that ff is not a sun- lit, sportiul ocean, but a fierce torrent, roaring its ‘way to the rocks? We seniors have nowight to in- terfere. We have forgotten all that we ever knew of their country or its laws. We are toid by the guctent chronicles of island how the toys cafe from Holland; how y looked as squat ahd as chubby as the people Hee made them; how they were made so strong that they would last from one Christmas to another; how they were received with delight and kept in high state. There was a song that the Dutch boys and giris used to sing every Christmas Eve in honor of St. Nicholaas, good, man—that 18, “St. Nicholas, good, holy man.” In the old Dutch it was not very elegant, but it was something better—it was sincere. It was sung for centuries In short, the Kriss Kringle tor St, Nicholas—only they cali him here in our city. Would the children of to-day like to hear it im eae ’ If so we will give what Hendricks ana little Katrinas in the old days used ‘the only refuge for the expression of love and good ‘will, If we cannot give our neighbor the orna- ment of s meek and quiet spirit (and sometimes, ‘we suspect, he wishes he were abie to bestow that ornament on us), we give him an earthly gem in- Stead, and, we are sorry to say, probably please Dim a great deal more, CHRISTMAS IN A BROWN STONE FRONT. Rich people are never so much reverenced as at ‘Christmas time. Then all of us who cannot live in “Brown stone fronts bow down before the brown @tone element. Humanity thirsts for comfort as ‘She pores of a sponge for water. The good, the ‘Deautiful and the true are all very well, but what ‘the average man prefers is the luxurious, and the Juxurious is represented by the brown stone iront, ‘The Christmas of the rich is a solid fairy land ‘Which our senses tell us exists, though not per- haps for us. The dog has more humanity in him ‘than we have, for the dog hangs over Lazarus, ‘while all our eyes are given to Dives, Rags are amviting in pictures, but purple and fine linen will @o for every day. And 80 we dream of dainty ®aloons dedicated to gracefal games and embel- Msehments of holly and evergreen. Nothing un- Pleasant shall enter the voluptous and innocent Attle heaven, with its firmament of gas jets, its Moor wadded with carpets softer than clover, its @elicate curtains, ite brilliant tapestries, its Muminated Christmas tree afame like the Durning bush, its music and laughter nd dancing, its warmth, its fervor, its Fepartees and its firtations. This is the kind of Christmas found by the hundred in all Jarge cities. Its antithesis is found by the thoo- Band a little way in the back ground, What are the components of this unique bit of actual happi- mess. Have we reached it when we mention the Sentiment of home? No. Family affection? No. Good health, good humor, anima! spirits? No. All ‘These, doubtless. have something to do with it, but | ‘Dyno means everything. What then? We know our ql Carnal minded reader will not dissent when we _ Feply, plenty of money. The sentiment of home @nd family affection, exquisite attributes both. it not for one moment be imagined that we to decry them. All that we claim is that you a erect upon them and them alone such a - Christinay celepration 9s shall satisfy the average: | to sing with tne childish voices by the great kitchen fireplace :— St. Nicholas, good, holy ma Put your best tabbard on you can, And in it get to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam to Hispange, ‘Where apples bright of orange And those pomegranates nai Roll through the streets, all unreclaimr Saint Nicholas, my dear, good friend, To serve you ever was my end; If you me now something will give, Serve you T will as Jong as { live. And serve him wey did, too—through all their lives—they and their children and children’s children after them, as late, in this very city, as 1851 (a8 Mr. D. T. Valentine informs us was done im some ancient Dutch jai mong us). That was brave for the children oO; 1861, But why should not our children tie up the broken thread and restore the tender ceremony in honor of the good old man who, year after year, brings to them the richest presents? We ask the question on this blessed day of grace of 1873. Who knows? Perhaps the children of 1874 will answer it, Last night the ‘eis CHRISTMAS TR: which, for the last feed have been brought into town, were, in numberless homes, set up in state by loving parents. This is a ceremony of which the little woot id as they please—know nothing positively. Say that the tree is raised in ¢ parlor, or say that it isin the library.* One thing is certain—the doors are kept firmly closed against the bright eyes outside. Through the long evening, while there are tales told in the nursery, the muffied note of kindly preparation comes up from the sealed room. ‘he candies are put in place; the streams of tinsel balls are displayed around the branches; the lighter toys are arranged everywhere in picti ue contusion; the bonbons and candies sparkie amid the green Teaves, and at the foot of the gleaming tree are seen the great toys—tife mechanical engine for Johuny and the luxurious, well-appointed house tor Ada. There were no such giants as these last in the days of Hendrick and his playmate Katrina, The tact is the same materialistic era which has made the drama realistic has claimed realisin for Christ- mas toys. The modern boy clamors for real ag og engines, that can steam alon; @ track laid along the floor; real Lill- putian steamships that can make pro on the waters of @ mimic sea; real Lilputi cannon toon ‘ive; Liliputian. warencuses, with reat amen * boxes and trucks in front of them; real stables and horses witn real leather* harness on them; real wols that can bulid real sheds and ir real fences, and for the everlasting velocipede—more a convenience than & toy—that rivals J Fuller. ton in speed and is scarcely afraid of Dexter. And there is his sister, who is quite as reatistic, ras gift to Const in the inn of the Uiora m arent dol hich hag stood Jong B Victor most are Y ae oY 1m the showman’s because fore of ae Uilagerw was tick enough 10 bay fe But our moaern 80 easi), satisfied. They not only want the doll, but they must have the doli’s house, her set, her forniture, her toilet set—evel that can tickle doll’s Vanity or mee her presumed mnecessit As to vanity, it is col Our modern doll is the “proud Miss — MacBride” in eae having ber city house and her summer villa. THE must have her parlors hung around with real | which forms the sta) lace, she must seé@ her graces in a real mirror. Her china, ifdiminutive, must be gem id her dresses, if ditto, must be in the “latest fashion.” Ofcourse, all this gives their little mistresses a false view of life. It teaches them that there is no suffering in the world—only wealth and luxury. knowledge to know that the nut-brown of that flag which ts not to De sa ep comsihl on cele its times and that if 10 ‘o-day—t used the bowlful h gentle Lamb's woot? we ee ee Wit isco ae bo But every store had its ‘ goods + in fact | we might even, in this day, hope to Make the wassaile a swinger. But, after all, the mixture is @ lost art and has miniature. She insists | given place to ple of eve and Christmas joliity. Instead of drinking out of the same cup, each of us is provided with his or her cup. Ege-nogg has the “call” tor Ghristmas; but thas “next day” for those who have freely in- duiged is described by the victams as something awiul. It is perhaps the recollection of after- Suppose that the other side of the picture would | Christmas horrors resulting from this beverage be given. Suppose that some soured Caleb Plum- that banishes it (with an exception for New Ren mer would reproduce in a toy the horrors of a ten- |, from the palate, until Christmas comes again w! ement house in Baxter street, Suppose that he would display the ae rags that the bed on the floor—the rags with the bones in them that try to find rest in them o’ nights—all the poverty and squajor and wretchedness of the scene. Would the toy be bought ? Or, if bought, would it be believed in by the children ? Would they shudder at the want from which they are happily free ? Would it open their little hearts in a dual stream of pity and charity t Perhaps 80, perhaps not. Wealth and poverty rarely understand one another, For the rest, Childhood is not the interpreter to bring them together. Having settled with the children let us see how CHRISTMAS DAY WAS CELEBRATED by the men of New Amsterdam. We are not speak- ing here oi the men who ruled this of. aiter 1674, when the Stadt Huys bell rang out the alarum, and the Englishman drove the Dutch for good out of Fort Amsterdam. But we are speaking of those who lived when old Petrus Stuyvesant was in his glory; when the bakers gave 13 good honest loaves to the dozen; when ftddies and fiddiers were in high repute, and when cherry brandy, true Hol- land and mulled cider were the fashionable drinks. Let us give a picture of Christmas Day in 1660, To do that one must first fancy one of those quaint old houses, high ridged, but with slowly sioping rocts, with the social stoops and the low, project- ing eaves, beneath which, in fair weather, the solia burghers were wont to congregate at twilight to smoke their long pipes and to discuss the price of bearsking and the chances oi the Connecticut colo- nists to enter their town. But it is tmside the house, not outside of it, that our busmess lies. There the good vrow is mall ber glory. Suppose that it is in the forenoon. White capped and bare armed—the latter in spite of the season— she and her daughters are busy sprink- ling the floor with the whitest sand, stroking it with a broom into a hundred fantastic curves, burnishing the huge oaken chest that stands in the parlor, filled with the cherished homemade linen, and scrubbing: until they look like little suns the silver porringers, tankards and ladies, never exposed except on Christinas, New Years, Whitsuntide and such feast days, Is all this for company ? Oh, no. Mynheer, of New Amsterdam, like his successor, of New York, dines at home on Christmas Day. The house has been lighted up with the huge candlesticks; the Holland cupboard is bright against the wall; the house linen is as pure and asciean as the good woman can make it; and the brass nails of the straight- backed armchair of Russia leather shine like dia- monds, Where is the good man in the mean time ? Just this time on the Commons or at-Beekman’s Swamp, where, along with the ancients, he is watching the youngsters contest for the prize turkeys. He has been doing his best to be the first to shout out a merry Chistmas greeting to his neighbors; and now, may be, he is swelling in re- collections how he ‘used to shoot when he was young. Old fashioned comfort was the mot @ordre during the day; ola fashioned hilarity gave the step at night. Then, after the Christmas din- ner, if Mynheer be a patriarch, he smokes _his lon; pipe among a@ crowd of dancing children an grandchildren, and, as he listens to the squeak of the fiddle, thanks old Stuyvesant, trom his heart, lor the music of the catgut. And so the holy day was kept until that dreary time for ALL TRUE BORN KNICKERBOCKERS when the Dutch iorces marched out of the fort, and the knghsh flag was run up over the Stadt Huys—to stay there a century or a trifle over. Every one knows that St. Nicholas fs no friend of war; and it 18 not strange, therefore, that the alarums of the drum and the shrill terrors of the warlike fife frightened the old gentlemen away during most of the time the English and the Dutch were settling their little matrers together, The tiny reindeer were not heard so regularly on the rools of the houses. and the gifts were iewer in the big fireplace. Christmas languished from 1664, when the town was first taken, to 1674, when it was finally cedea to the English. Fortunately, however, the English were great sticklers for Christmas, They reared it high up and made many salaams to it. “Now, capons and hens, besides turkeys, geese and ducks, with beef and mutton’ — says an old writer—‘“must all die—for in 12 daysa multitnde of people will not be fed with a Kttle, Now plums and spice, sugar and honey, square it among pies and broth. Now or never must music be in tune, for the youth must dance and sing to get them ina heat, while the fe el sit by the fire, ‘The country maid leaves half her market, and must be sent again, if she forgets a pack of cards on, ChE stmas Eye.’? in this hearty Way was it that our English an- cestors kept their Christmas—with a solid purpose of getting the most outof the day. They found the day in high honor—they only gave a new zest and greater latitude to it. Mynhecr donned his longest waisted coat, his largest Mapped vest with the largest silver buttons, and an immense num- ber of pairs of breeches, and smoked his longest pipe. His children sang in the language they knew, and he left his new friend to honor the day as he prerer Ol something the descendants of both ave reason tobe thankful. Both, Mynheer Van Something and Engush John, kept up the fires on the ultar so effectually that we have hot been com- led to ae the alphabet of reverence and then learn to spell init. All that we need care for is, that we snall transfer it as bright to the chil dren who come alter us, And, rignt here, it may be well to see HOW WE KEEP CHRISTMAS. Of course, there ts a deal of German silver where before there was the genuine article. Of course, too, that is not our Jault exclusively, as it is pretty Much the case everywhere. We are probably more simple on Christmas and Thanksgiving Day than we are usually, But are we suiliciently simple? Do we aim to see only that which is so hatlowed and gracious in this time? Or do we, even on that day sacred to the Archetype of humility, swell and strut like the Junonian peacock? /Pater-familias swears that his family dinner shall be the finest and his turkey the fattest in his square. Mater- métias declares within herself that ber Christmas ree shall be the handsomest among all the neigh- bors. Alter all, however, this may be super- critical. Perhaps we ought to remember, as Things change their titles, as our manners turn, ‘we may possibly be biaming ourselves for what is unavoidable. Certainly we are richer than ip the days of the Van Twillers and the Van Dams, and if we spend more upon oar children than eer were wont to do upon theirs, itis fair to suppoye that it is not mere ostentation, but mit lied Incomes, that make up the difference, ippose, then, we drop the mask of Ponathea, and hasten to admit that among the most touching memorials ever rendered to Christmas 1s that sweet procession of children, who, leaving their warm beds, and hav- fog seized the precious gilts in store jor them, creep, with loving step, to se TBAT SOLEMN BED, wherein papa and mamma are awaiting their little ones on Christmas morning, and where these, with many @ loving and touching gesture, receive the kiss that, of all that earth can give, is the sweetest and the softest—for does it not fall upon the dear little children irom parents who hold them to be the most precious of earti’s jewels? For these children that'bed is the first altar of the day. They have—with what eagerness let all who have been children remember—secured their treas- ures, taken up the hghter ones and dragged the heavier — nd gone to hear what papa and mamma have to say of the wonders Santa Claus has brought to toem. Of all the thrones in the world this bed on Christmas morning is the most honored, What throne is as strong as it? What king and queen are as tender, yet as imperious, as ite occupants? What sobjects are as reverent as those wuo, softly purrin; their love and child- ish pride before them it service is more radiant and more joyful? “Now capons and hens, besides turkeys,” chirru in the old writer whom we have quoted above. Ah! thou simple-minded man, we have turned over a new leaf since thy time. Thou has placed turkeys its jollity—its repetitions of egg-nogg—its nervous headaches of the day after—and its grim sentence of exile for a twelve month, after New Year. Few things in life are more pleasant than to see the family seated in the family parlor on Christmas night. It is as night draws on, and the great tree is gleaming with ita treasures, that the world really seems, for & season to be forgotten. There is no business for progres no call for mater- Jamitias, no check for the children. Conversation is being carried on; stories are told; the piano is being thrummed; the elder children are rehears- ing for the hundredth time the beauty of tueir toys; the younger ones are shouting at the top of their voices—ior once, there is neither repression nor disorder. The disciplinary rod is hung up on the tree, and looks, on this night, for all the world like @ toy with the rest. Make the most of all this while you can, little ones, Stay up as late tonight as you will be allowed; shont to the ceiling; blow your trumpets and beat your drums; tie night is all your own; but to-morrow that disciplinary rod May be taken down ana you will be banished to the nursery. There may be one rebellious spirit among the flock, and that will be Master Charlie, just fresh from Br. Birch’s “Academy jor \oung Gentlemen.” His idea of supreme felicity is— One glorious round of holidays, Without & school between, and power to breed a small riot whenever the humor seizes him. Master Charlie will need watching. So, Christmas has been brought down from the Dutch occupation of New Amsterdam to the present time. It has been shown how succes- sive generations have kept Re the old honor; how, though they might diifer the mode, the spirit has notmuch varied, and how the world grows old faster in many things than in its respect for the blessed day which gave us our Lord. ere is one point, however, upon which we must go farther ack than the Knickerbockers. That is the custom of making gifts on Christmas Day, a custom which is as old gs tae day itself, It began with THE MAGI OF OLD, those wise men of the East, who, as they followed that bright star, carried gifts to the Holy Child. These were the first of gift-makers, Even the dark-skinned Ethiopian brought his gold and frankincense and myrrh and laid them reverently at the feet of Him whom he had come from afar to see and to worship. Itisa Rnroee of the humanity, if it may be so termed, of this festival that this cus- tom of gifts should have come down without a break to the present day. We enroll ourselves under the banner of these magi; and they are to us the star by which we know that it is gracious and proper to make gilts in commemoration of the event they honored. THE STOCKBROKERS’ CHRISTMAS EVE. ’ Grand Rampage Among the Bulls and Bears—Fish Horns and Pandemonium. The advent of Christmas was celebrated yester- day in a characteristic manner in the Stock Ex- change. Gongs, fish horns, dinner bells and whistles were brought into requisition, and the whole scene as presented reminded one strongly of the capers of the devils in the grotto of Gabriel Grubb, Weird and fantastic motions were the order of the day, and to the unsophisticated mind it would not be hard to imagine thata pars at least of Pandemonium haa been let loose in Wall street. But these devils were harmless creatures, and from the fact that they called for no lost souls it is fair to presume tnat all the harvest has been gathered in. Verily Satan had a tough job in his collection in Wali and Broad streets. Bulls and bears met in friendly converse and showed their festiveness of spirit and univer- sal good will. How the party yelled and screamed! Acchorus of negroes at a Southern corn-shucking ‘was not to be compared to it. The demoniac yells which arose now and again were deafen- ing in the extreme. One cause of the uproar was as folows:—At about noon, and when every man held high wassail, two individuals neatly bat cautiously dressed, heavy mufiiers covering the lower part of their aces, made their way unobserved to the floor of the Stock Exchange. Their entry was unnoticed, as we have stated, by any of the members, and they were nearly under the dome when the echo was awakened by a pair of stentorian lungs re- questing the ace ue nee yt mee roi je yangers were pot left long loubt as to en Oa adesdon eae bie young bull gored the elder of the tywo under the fifth Tib-and cOmpletely demoralized him, while the other was so vigorously held by & bear that his ideas of Christmas theology were completely upset and their hats soon resembled the time-honored tile of Mr. William Barlow; but as they had not the “woice” of that gentleman, their plaintive ap- peals for gentler treatment (they had been raised pets) were unheeded by the grotesque assembly of the Christmas-crazed animals that surrounded them, Ruffled, rumpled and rilea, the unhappy pair were carried out on the sboulders of the jubilant members, and no sooner had they reached the sidewalk than they cried, “Legs, do your duty,”? and it is positively asserted by those who wit. nessed that race that the chase o’er Cannabie Lee was tame in comparison. A gSegere who wit- nessed the tiger and bull fight that lately occurred in Havana stated that the Stock Exchan; er- formance beat it, or the carnival at Rome, by long odds, Old men and thong spit joined in the fun, and, although the play was somewhat rough, bu few people lost their temper. CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE MARTS. How Stockings are Filled and Tables Laden To-day—Buying the Christmas Gifts and Provender=Scemes in the Streets and Markets. Christmas eve in the streets and markets last night looked like the same occasions “in ye olden time,” in the good old years when no panic had struck alike into the coffers of the rich and the shallow pockets of the poor. “Money is scarce,” have been the words on everybody's lips during the past three months, yet people live somehow, and manage to buy their Chrisumas dinners, sweet- Meats and toys for the stockings, Christmas trees for the tables and some gifts for chosen friends and relatives. The only difference however, may be that the stocking is not so well or choicely filled, the Christmas tree is less prolific of sugary fruit and glittering toys and the gifts to loved ones not so costly or beautiful as the heart would have made them if the wallet had been more plethoric of cash. “It is not so nice, dearte, as I wanted to buy you, but you shall have some- thing better next year; and so the world goes on, contentment rewards kindheartednes, and Hope, the intangible motive power of the world’s happiness and progress holds out her beacon for that coming “next year.” And for these reasons the shops in the busy streets and all the market houses were filled last night with on a low plane—the tuird on thy list—and bare! better than common ‘geese and ducks.” Bat have raised it to the first place, and it takes its seat high above its rivals, this great, arrogant, corn-fattened and be-petted CHRISTMAS GOBBLER, brown now, finished to a turn and redolent of sweet-smelling herbs. Surely there never was, in the estimation of each family, such @ monster as that one which rfamitias has just begun to’ worry over. t turkey on last Thanksgiving Day was and juley enough; but what was it to this noble Christmas bird? When was there ever one so large? Who ever saw such huge thighs ? “My dear,” says paterfamilias, unctiously to materfami opposite, as he pauses fora second in his carving, “this {8 certainly @ very fine turkey; I don’t remember when I have seen & finer one,” Materfarnilias nods and smiiea, “On, isn’t it splendid’? breathes out the eldes' daughter, “Deuced fine,” drawis out the eldest son, while voting the family dinner a bore, and all the’ little parrots around the table repeat the words over and over again, until, among them all, the bird 18 made our to be the fattest that ever rejoiced the heart of an epicure or adorned the table of a king. It is only city-bred children, however, that can fall into such ecstasies. The country children have great respect for the turkey, but it is such @ re- Spect as one has for the greatness one created, bustling, bartering, buying crowds of people, few purchasing all they desired, but all buying some- thing. The evening, meterologically considered, was @ success, The air was clear and soft, though a little cool, and the moon with her face shrouded in @ delicate haze gave the atmosphere A CHEERY, AMBIENT GLOW. The stars twinkled as auspiciously as they did 1873 years ago to the shepherds who watched their flocks on the Judean hillsides, and the only omenin the heavens of coming discomiort was a great lunar halo that presaged an early storm. The fact is the moon’s face looked a little wet last nigot and there ‘was every indication of a snow or rain fall by noon to-morrow at the farthest; perhaps to-day. inder- foot the streets were un fortable with @ thin coating of hal! dissolved, muddy snow, but that ‘was little impediment to the shopping and market- ing. The shops were kept open later than usual and their lighted windows threw a me! light on the throngs of jestrians that trooped al the business thot Many of the atores were decked in honaay, 4 with wreathes and festoons of evergreen, bloom! Tibbon blossoms, None of the p> of business looked more thoroughly Christmas like than the butchers’ shops with great red and white joints of freshly killed meat, trimmed with holiday finery and s0 It was they who helped to choose the ‘ean and | evidently presenting the roast beef element that herer_cnier Genansniers ae tcaies | bee Guia ac ta ena We ix weeks before Christmas; who saw how the pro- | an ei ie: cons’ of fattening 4 Who especially noticeable how few mm there were went on day alter ori watched leanness give way to roundness and hun- in or about them. 3, and who knew, when they pro- THR PATRONS Seeded woveat ofit, precisely where ul the fat and | were all grown people, who ad loft | the the richness had come trom. Who does not know | juveniles at early abed, lest by wait- the pat anewer of one of these childfen tos com- | ing up they t see old Banta Claus pliment to his turkey? ‘Oh, that ain’t mot! to | and frighten man sway, hetore he had what it would have been if we had it | left the little ones’ Jargosees, ous went sooner,” That-was a smart boy; and mM the see- the parents to ig the y on saw which is belt rpetnally played at in this | children which tt m gap! one aae ond Ee happen to be up about ap ay eae Fonte give Old Engiand did in this Christmas time—" 1ag 00 to rete Y? “at what by it Bull continues to Gia pe come and‘ down the do yg by ‘WA ” has passed oe Pa of whole miad Kohan | i) re dealer, the jeweller, the er, and Pawnbiroker did more than the usual quota of busi- for there were hundreds who hearts on redeeming last night some ornament or article to be worn to-day, and who will perchance PLEDGE IT AGAIN before the dawning of new year to om by the sacrifice the pressing pang of hunger. Down to the markets there streamed throngs of py ed until near midnight, basket laden, buying or the tables to-day, and here, perhaps, were wit- nessed the most essentially holiday scenes that were anywhere presented. All w aglow and agiare with flaming lights and seething with the hum of human voices, every one, buyer and seller, deeming themselves entitled to the display of more than the usual amount of good nature and jocular retort, Bring a stranger into the midst of such a scene and he would never realize that there were “hard times” in the land, for the products of the soil seemed ALMOST OVERFLOWING in their abundances. There were mountains of cabbage, hundreds of barrels of genes celery in long winrows, fruit mm vast tinted pyramids; fowls, turkeys and game festooned the walls, and it seemed a3 though the vast crowds that surged in and out of the market places by @ dozen thor. oughfares would soon bear,away every vestige of the varied stock that was an encumbrance every- where; and, altough everybody carried away something, the store appeared not to dimin- ish, and ee venders were yeeey to stay all night and supply “all creation” if buyers only showed up. Then there were hundreds of improvised stands in all the streets leading to the markets, where boys and women soid evergreens, holly and pine and laurel; waxen Christmas candies, tin rattles, dishes and shoelaces, and all the thousand and one articles that go to Make up the sum of our civilized needs, needed at all times when they are wanted, but more than ever at the cheery Christmastide, CHRISTMAS AT TRINITY. Distribution of Presents to the Children of the Sunday School. ‘Phe Christmas celebration at Trinity church be- gan yesterday afternoon with choral services and @ procession by the children of the Sunday school. The church has been decorated with holly and palm, in honor of the greatest day in all the Chris- tian year, The spaces between the windows are festooned with wreaths and scopes of evergreens; the back part of the altar is similarly draped, while the organ loft is arranged with Christ- mas trees and holly boughs, On the altar and chancel are arranged the choicest floral gifts, the perfume from which pervades the whole atmosphere of the church, On entering the doorway of the church one is struck with the admirable taste with which all the details of the decoration have been managed, The cluster columns have been hung with strips of evergreen and flowers and the middle aisle 1s placed the Christmas tree, belonging to the chil- dren of the Sunday school. This tree is unlike most others, for the reason of its being made of gas pipes, on which branches have been arranged so much after nature that one is at first deceived. From this gas piping there are 1,000 jets, all of which were lighted yesterday afternoon, during the Sunday school celebration, at which the prizes were distributed. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL CELEBRATION. At the Sunday school celebration yesterday after- noon there was @ large congregation present to witness the awarding of gilts, The children occu- pied the middle aisie, and, while in the seats, they sung, “Hark ! a shout of heavenly music” very prettily, eee which Dr. Ogilby made a short ress, in which he spoke of the significance of the feast. The story of the Stable at Bethiehem—that story which grows young with years—was pathetically told in a pure, simple and childlike way, and was listened to with attention and interest éven by the aduits present, ‘Then the children sung another carol and u Christ- mas tree song, and the distribution of prizes ter- minated the exercises for the afternoon, ¥ Christmas Eve Chimes. Near midnight, last night, Mr. James Ayliffe, the old bell ringer of Trinity church, started the chimes. Through the still nignt air the euphonic brazen tonguers articulated the following music:— 1, Ringing the ehanzes on eight bells. 2. Christmas carol, “The Christinas Tree.” 3 Ghristmas carol, “See the Morning Star is Swelling.” 4 Christmas cars ‘Angels from the Realms of Glory.” 5, Christmas carol, “Lovely Land.” 6. Christmas carol, ‘A Merry, Merry Christmas.” 7. Christmas carol, “Christ was Born on Christmas Day,” Few were near to hear the music which marked the 1,874th anniversary of the birth of the Redeemer of the world, Perhaps many an unfortunate woman or dissolute man heard the music, and it awak- ened in him or her the recollection of “what haa been and what might be,” bat none of all the busy throng that crowd the street upon which the old tower keeps watch all day long were there to hear the tale of solace and of hope that the ola bells tolled, MIDNIGHT SERVICES AT ST. AL- BAN’S. The midnight services at St. Alban’s, in Forty- seventh street, near Lexington avenue, were of a solemn and highly impressive character. A large congregation was present, and the brightness ana brilliancy of the church contrasted strangely witn the darkness and silence without. The charch had been exquisitely ‘decorated by the ladies of the congregation. Beautiful hothouse flowers adorned the altar, stars of camelias and poinsetta leaves, vases of autumn leaves, evergreens and berries were placed at the foot of the altar, which was rendered still brighter by six additional lights. The pulpit was decorated with ee P berrie: moss and Christmas evergreen. The Rev. 0. W. Morrill, arrayed in the canonical robes, officiated at this celebration of the holy communion. The choir, under the leadership of Mr, Alvertus, choir master, rendered the music admirably. The pro- cession, which entered the church at twelve o’clock precisely, was in the following order :—Thurifer, cructfer, choir boys,the banner of the Nativity, choir men, taper bearers, acolytes, lay clerks and sacred ministers clad in their cassocks, blue, red and white. They presented a unique and pictures appea, It was half-past one o'clock this or hen the services terminated, and the began to disperse, OF ST. MARY THE VIRGIN. — Evening and Midnight Services=The Order of Exercises—Services tor the Day. - ‘The religious services, consequent on Christmas Eve, at this church were conducted by the rector, Father Brown, assistea by Father Noyes and the usual corps of choristers. The bigh altar was beautifully ornamented witn flowers, over which the light of numerous candles shed a pleasing, light, The railing and the base of tne windows were covered with evergreen, and wreaths of holly hung about the walls. Soon after eight o’clock the solemn will bell announced that the hour of arrived, and soon after the rocession emerged from the ante-room and k place within the altar, chanting a Christmas ny The following is the order of exercises for the vesper services of the season:—The Proces- sional, selection of Psalms, ‘“Cantate Domino,” “Bonum est Confiteri,” “Deus Miseratur,” ‘“Bene- dic Anima Mea,” hymn, offertory, “‘Magniticat” Pro- cessional. The organist, Mr. Geo. Prentiss, presided at the instrument, preceding the services, with selections from Donizetti. A large audience was 1m attendance at the evening service, which ciosed at ten o'clock. The midnight service, which con- sisted of arepetition of the exercises mentioned, with the addition of the administration of the holy sacrament, were of especial interest, and a feeling of deep solemnity was apparent among the large amber in attendance. ie rector announced ser- ices in the church at half-past nine o’clock this morning, and the second vespers at four o’clock this afternoon. THE DAY AT THE THEATRES. Blind Tom gives @ matinée at Steinway Hall this afternoon. ‘The airy entertainment at Niblo’s, in which the ‘Vokes take the leading part, will be given this day, both afternoon and evening. “Die Lustigen Welber von Windsor,” Nicolai’s comic opera, will be given at the Stadt Theatre to-night, with Hermanns as Falstaff, The exhibition of “Ihe Pilgrim” still goes on at Batn’s Hall, Through the holiday week a number of new tableaux, 4c,, will also be shown. The minor theatres all give extra matinées to- day, Excellent bills will be presented at Dan Bryant's, the Metropolitan Theatre aud the Theatre Comique, There will bo three performances st Wood's to-day, the first taking place at eleven o'clock and tho others at the usual hours, Mr. and Mrs, E. L, Davenport are now ing at this theatre. Harts continues to astonish large audiences at his tricks, ‘method of -~ ie any opera better suited to the rove 80 attractive, ‘bert Reeve's Sepenenaticn of Count. ¥osco in “etme Woman tn White,” at the Broeeree pace is to ce f & Theatre, is well worth seeing. The withdrawn after this week. A grand gala will be given this afternoon, and the usual mance in the evening. Two performances will be given at the Theatre. At both @ new pantomime, “Mother Goose,’ and a farce will be given, transformation scene in the Piel will sent the “poetic retreat of Mother Goose im the coral beds of the golden egg.” At Booth’s there is to he @ grand Ohristmas: ™atinée as well as an evening performance of “Kit.” Mr, F. 8, Chanfran has inede much of his reputation by bis rendition of this creation, and it is im every way excellent amusement for the Christmas time, No extra matin¢ée ts announced at Wallack’s for this day, but im the eveniag Mr. Lester Wallack and the company appear in “A Man of Honor,’ Mr. Waltack’s delicate rendering of the part of Jacques, his latest creation, and the general excele ei or the brnigerd Firs ioe poromtanon: exceed- ingly enjoyable, and the play is amo leading attractions of the evening. “e ‘The ‘Parricide,” at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, is one of those rapidly-moving dramas which are es- Ri Fac attractive during the holiday season, ‘nere is much merriment in the piece, and the worn by Mr. Davidge in the fourth tableau in provokes ahearty langh, Itisa hat to make the fortune of any low comedian. An extra as wellas the evening periormanée will be giver at this house, ‘The Christmas pantomime at the Grand Opera Honse is a most charming entertainment for this merry season. . In every respect it is a8 Merry as QChristmas itself. Mr. George L. Fox’s “Humpty Dumpty’ is as jolly as ever, anc what adds to its chaym is the fact thatit is always new. All the tricks and effects are in compiete working order, and the variety business ts so skilfully interwoven with the action of the pantomime as to make “Humpty Dumpty Abroad,” with its magnificent mountings and properties, the best pantomime ever produced on the New York stage. An extra matinée will be given this afternoon. and it is ex- ected that at both the morning and evening per- formances the auditorium will be so fulf as to pre- sent a counter attraction to the stage. The management of the Ulympic Theatre nave nit pee a good subject for Ohristmas representa- tion in “Gabriel Grub; or, The Goblins who Stoie the Sexton.” In literature Dickens made the story a Christmas topic, and it only required to be properly transferred to the stage to become @ pleasure to theatre goers, The story, a8 of course every reader of Pickwick Knows, was meant a8 @ rebuke of the cynicism that could sneer at the world and its light-heartedness. Gabriel Grub is am old gravedigger and a snarler at mankind. He re- joices at harm to men, and finds his only friend in a bottle. On a Christmas eve, when he has gone into the graveyard to dig a grave, the unbottled spirits overcome him and leave him to the treatment of other spirits and mes, who an- earth themselves in most start! play many harsh tricks upon the and finally conve; concludes that Gabriel experiences, and feeling a shame for his previous character, leaves his home and lives in another art of the country for years, a merry and inspirit- Ing old man. The play, however, presents Ga- briel’s history in a dream of Polly Dark, a sexton’s danghter, and it leaves Gabriel in the tortures ot Pandemonium, The performance is not yet as ood as the cast can make it. Its subject 18 good, cause it permits ideas to be presented as well as startling spectacles, So Mr, however, Gapriel Grub has gone for nought, and the Majilton sprites: for everything. When the Majiltons are somewhat repressed anda few absurdities that can only sneered at are omitted the play of “Gabriel Grub’? will be among the most interesting Christmas per- formances in the city. MUSIC IN THE CHURCHES. Christmas Programmes of the Organist Music will be the principal feature in all the lead-* ing churches to-day, being regarded as the chief handmaiden of religion in the proper celebration of the greatest of all Curistian festivals. Organista have been industrious for some time past, marshal-- ling their forces for this occasion, and: in many churches the ordinary choir will be strengthened by chorus andorchestra, The Catholic and Epis- copal churches are foremost in the musical Jine, and we append some of their best programmes, with the selections of other rehgious denomina- tions, 1s rounded by ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL, At the Catholic Cathedral the organist, Professor Gustavus Schmitz, has prepared Haydn’s Third Mass, witha full choir of selected voices, Aft the Gradual the ‘‘Adeste Fideles’’ will be sung; at the Offertory, “Pastores,” by Lambillotte; at the Ele- vation, “Ecce Panis,’’ by Proch, and at vespers a new work, ‘by Professor Schmitz, and Rossini’s “Tantum ergo.”” ‘TRINITY CHUROR, “Old Trinity,” as usual, will be foremost in the celebration of the great festival. The order of exercises will be as follows:—Early communion at seven A. M., morning prayer at nine o’clock, sec ond communion at eleven o’clock, when the fol- lowing programme will ve given, Rev. Dr. Dix officiating, assisted by Rev. Dr. Ogilby:—Proces- sional Hymn 42, Anthem from Hymn 43, Kyrie, Nicene Creed (First Mass), Sermon, Offertory’ (Benedictus), Sanctus (First Mass), Mozart; Ag- nus Dei, Mozart; Gloria in Exceisis (First Mass), Mozart; Recessional Hymn, 44. The musical por- tion of the services will be conducted by the or- ganist, Mr. Messiter, with an orchestra of 40 pieces, assisted by the church choir. ST ANN’S (ROMAN CATHOLIO) CHURCH. A new mass, by the distinguished organist of this church, M. Louis Dachauer, will be sung for the first time by the solo choir, Mile. Corradi, Mile. Gomien and Messrs. Pflueger and Succio, assisted by agrand chorus. The ‘Adeste” will be given. before high mass and a new -‘Veni Creator,” as an. ‘unaccompanied quartet, will precede the sermon. ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH. The programme of Christmas music at St, George’s church, Stuyvesant Park, is as follows:— 1, “Shout the Glad Tidings” vison 2% Chant tor Christmas. paid 8, Gloria, in E Flat. 4. Te Deum. in B fa & Jubilate, in F 6. Hymn 87, 1 Hymn 3 & Offervory, St. George's choir consists of 30 voices, under the: direction of W. F. Williams, organist, ST. FRANCIS XAVIER'S CHURCH, At the church of the Jesuits in Sixteenth street the first mass of the organist, Dr. William Berge, will be sung by the regular choir, strengthened by ‘a large chorus, bells and brass quartet, The princi- pal singers will be :—Miss Teresa Werneke and Mra. Berge, soprani; Miss Mary Werneke and Mme, fbr contralti; Messrs. Tamaro and ten- ors; Messrs. Bacelli and Stanton, bassos. rge's. arrangement of “Adeste Fideles’’ will be given at the offertory. rf ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S CHURCH, The following pro; me will be given at this. church, under the direction of Mr. - Gilbert, organist :— MORNING SERVICE. Processional, “Thy Seat, 0 God!” gant “coupoeed for this ion”. - Walters “Te Deum.” i Jubilate, in D (Pe: Psalm, “Litt up thine eyes’ yee +4 ‘Gloria Tibi. Hyin, “O'er, Le “The people that wal Offertory, “For unto us a child is born ( _ Handel OcuMUNton sien “Sanctus” (Messe Solennelle). Rossin Gloria int Exe a jackson, checoodagal Gilbert 81. STRPHEN'S CHURCH. At this weil known Catholic church the musteal Hee ne re ane oraace A, Ma The, mass pelected for thip occasion will be Mozart's No, 12. jon be Previous fon the sera sermon Sofge’s “Veni Creator’? erdd and the “‘Adeste Fideles” at the joprano; Mil Monier,” contraltos Herr no; Mile. * 3 tenor; ‘Signor Coletti, basso, The chorus portions of the will be given by the second muartet, a ynted on this occasion by & chorus voices. orchestra of 20 pieces, with organ, ‘will pe under the ae. of H. B. Danforth. f it onuRon, Charles Wels, organist of this church, an- noaboes the following programme of music:— ing anthem. “The Marvellous ,Work.’* ‘ano solo and chorus) D araiaat Tess" eee ees Mir Wood, Mr. Aykio’ and Mr, Charles’ Wale, or- 8ST. PRTERS’ CHURCH, Mr, Pecher, organist of this well known Catholic churon in Darclay street, has the following pro- - ‘Mass No, 6, in fint. Saas oe a) Gabriel,. lim to Pandemonium. Dickens . his dream