The New York Herald Newspaper, December 22, 1878, Page 6

CHRISTMAS. SHOPPIN, Some of the Holiday Goods To Be Seen Up Town in the shape of revolvers, are doubtless intended for | wealth of illustration which adorns this volume, we SANTA CLAUS ON THE EAST SIDE. Rich Buy Presents for Loved Ones How Poor and Ther Change and novelty bave great attractions for us nowadays, but who would Darter Christmas and its memories for any other pleasure? This Christmas season has been herakted by such ® brilliant and variegated Cisplay of beautiful holiday goods that New York, indeed, seems lie one vast, gay, splendid, lively bazaar. The shops of every deseripzion vie with each other in the brightness and attractiveness in the exhibition of thetr wares. All the principal thoroughfares of the holiday traffie are crowded with shoppers, and the display made by tho merchants is magnificent, while the panorama savors of the en- chantment of olden days, Rich silka, exquisite laces, elegant furs, costly jewels, artistically ar ranged in the windows, form a Atting frame for the constantly changing picture of beautifnl faces and tharming toilets. What “things of beamty” can the buman mind think of which « walk through the shops of this city would not satisfy, froan the one cent toy to the fifty thousand dollar set of diamonds? So the poorest as well as the richest can find some thing to make home cheery in this happy season, MARVELS OF BEAUTY. Articles selected for gifts are usually af comparatively imperishable nature, nd in gen- erai are chosen from the msthetie rather than the strietly useful standpoint. The latter con- sideration does net, however, interfere with the choice of many articles of silverware, or in lien of the genuine, such fine imitations ae are scarce to be distinguished except by experts. Fronzes and many kinds of china may be suggested as suitable gifts, to say nothing of objests of household adorn- went, wrought in combinatians of gilt and nickel, which are now unusually fashionable. NOVELTIRS IN RUSSIA LEATHER AND CHLIZLOTM. Coming under the head of geweral fancy goods we find many pretty articles in wood of various kinds, such as toilet boxes, glove voxes, &c., while Russia leather, at the present time, is so variously wrought that the mere suggestion brings into view a number of desirable gifts too great for entzmeration. Pan jboxes of many different kinds, card cases,» picture frames, handglacses, pocketbooks and satchels are onky some which may be mentioned. A very beauti- ful present isa Russia leather box, line? with satin, and containing @ hair brush, comb and handgless, mounted in celluloid. Many of these show exquisite workmauship, and a very handsome set can be bought flor $4 50. A book .is a} man to ola! a suitable present from a gentle- and is one, moreover, which can, with. out disrespect, be offered on but auslight acqnaint. | anes. VALUABLE CHINA GOODS, Chima ornaments are frequently chosen, and in this clase of goals some very amusing representa- tions of familiarweenes in domestic Tife are repre- rented—euch as a cat piaymg with a bail of twine, a kitten peering imtoxa dish of cream, or engaged in playful contest with @ felow kittem. Figures in French bisque china—pink, bPme or variously col- ored—are sold in pairs: very pretéy clocks are mounted in the colored Nancy ware—pink or bhie— and afford a change from the conventional bronze or gilt, while terra-cotta ware, wrought an heads aud funres, may be likewise mentioned. In-these goods cowstant novelties are being mtroduced. A cup and saucer may be suggested as a pretty present. One or two dollars will purchase sourething quite de- sirable; but we find them in all gradations, up to ench as are marvels of besutiful workmanship, costing $50 for the eup and sancer. These are painted by hand and the colorings are extremely rich and va- ried. Charming specimens of fine Sevres clrina are intended to be sold by the single cup and smucer. The china is unadorned, except by a delicate hand painting in the centre and a tiny blossom or buttter- fly on either side. These sell for $25. Pilates of fine Sevres china, hand-painted in the centre, are fashionable as gifts, and some of the choice speci mens cost $55 cach, A plate shown at this price has. for its only decoration a female head and shoulders painted in the cent TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR VASES, One dollar will purchase a pretty vase, sufficiently fine to be keeping with Brussels carpet and fashionable rep {nrwiture, &c.; but to give an ides of the variety in price it may be mentioned that a pair of vases is now offered for sale at $10,000 the pair. They are of Sevres china, several feet high, mounted in gilt and exqnisitety painted by hand. A less elaborate pair has Deen sold for $4,000, Pleasing reproductions of old Capo di Monti ware are shown, jewel bores and Plaques of modern French porcelain. Upon some of these the designs are from the “fiad," of Homer, in graceful, warm colored figures in allo relirvo, The jour Seasons are represented in four small plaques of French bisqne, the figures in high relict, and the coloring as carefully applied as the imvrt delicate painting. SHOPPING ON BROADWAY. At the corner of Ninth street and Broadway atten- tion was drawn tothe handsome display of ‘furs at Wilson & Greig's. Following along the line of novel- tive displayed for the holiday season something new and attractive was seen in cach department, and chil- dren's Gresses in velvet were greatly adimired. A few steps further on J. H. Anderson dis- plays bis dry goods in great profnsion. jow that goods are so cheaply manufactured ‘even the poorest family have within their reach op- portunities of enjoying the Inxury of being well Gressed. Just think of buying twelve yards of calico for Atty cents! A present of this nature is not be- yond the yosse of quite poor 4 In the line of drese goods there are a nurmbr psirable presents, Excellent Diack silky at from $1 to $2 50 per yard. All the new shi ud qualities in Asgericsn silks are reduced in price for the holidays. mable to give gloves ae when Lord Chancellor, iu favor of a lady who sent bim a New nt of a pair of gloves with forty gotden them. He returned the gold with this MieTRkss—Since it were against good manners to refase Jour New Year's gilt Iw out to take your gloves, but fs for the lining T atterty i. Neat gloves are one of the snrest tests of «I aud vow the market is flooded with manufectnr all sorts, Harris Brothers, on Broadway, have hand. some boxes filed with assorted colors’ in gloves, which form a very acceptable present, and certainly @ very usefai on For general wear lees than three buttons is not considered stylish, while for evening an full dress lengths vary from four to twelve but- Twonty-third street, turning west from Stern Brothers have receutly erected an ds houwe, Laces and émbr cities in material are to be immense wiik and othe . The importations pet holiday yoo en in gr array —among them ornamental nirs, both for the toilet aud the person, and pretty things at every price, from a few ceuts to $ which would gratify the children #IXTH AVENUE. imp day to get cc piyers that thr assortment wade-up hi 4 low ware, joweiry, neckties and jabots. ichard Meares & Co. have au entire munity of French dolls, some in partial attire and others in full dress iu al. the fashionable garments and doils’ trousseanx tw supplement (ue suits. Varied conteetions in lace, satin, glove aod work boxes im @ variety of colors, Puesia leather goods, fans and satin covered perfume hotties are found at this house, The sales of these Jatter in ail the best they are chewy and handsome. HASDRERCHIAGS EVERYWHERE, ys been considered an ap new styles show ¢ es lace borders, Lancy ot an immense variety are ellere’ ot lo® prices, some of these are arranged in teeatifel Boxee of satin or other pretty materials, Haniker ead form cuarn me lady to another, ur in, uF exqtit vie ir, are useful and pretty and at Stern's. Among we Cbrtetmas novelties shown in hendkerchiefa are davon oe leit ellow silk, th forming & eontiloget borter, and the name be ight in the amet bo FUPSEWTS IN PANS. 4 vary poptlar resort for the present buyer ie the Cok ee oaiemct SRO Ren lapluaod Jausiap fans, uses bave been enormous, tor | YEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 99 “4, 1878.-QUADRUPLE SHEET. young ladies who are “perfectly killing.” Some of the sticks are pearl, the satin mountings show inarvellous beauties in painted designs. The manu- facturing of fans shows how one sort of labor is sub- civided. Twenty different processes are required to ‘an which sells tor three cents. Ifso much work Js necessary on this sort of poverty article what must be the results in this direction of man:pulation when the 8 marked at $100? Altman, of Sixth avenue, has @ Sine collection of these goods, a also 4 choice bronzes tn every conceivable design. Pho- ‘sph cases in satin, painted by hand: fine ivory ing sets, for gentlemen, in Russia leather boxes, 2 with eatin, and boliday goods of all kimds are liberally displayed. WAISYBANDS AND BAGS. Very beantiful forms im belts and side pookets are offered. Leather bags are embroidered and attached © delta to match, and satin and velvet are richly adorned with needlework in colors, the design being completed upon the belt, Bags of velvet and silver are much sought for among the gift'makers, and upon me of these the silver designs are exquisitely wrought, Altman, Meares and stern Brothers show elegant novelties in this class of goods. FEATHERS, PLOWKRS AXD SILVER JEWERLRT. ‘The houses of Rothschild and O’Donoghne, on East Fourteenth street, are receiving @ full share of holiday patronage. The former is supplying the demands of the farr sex for ribbons and flowers for evening dress while at the latter house a variety of hand- tekknacks was secu—but only by standing ow tip-toe and peering over the shoulders of two or three deep—al through the store. A handsome assortment ot silver Jewelry was noticed, including the fashion- able silver back comb, !n new designs. GAMPS AND POS. ; Yon can find cows that switch their tails and kick off dies with their left hind feet every ten seconds by the watch af Malley’s, on West Fourteenth street. Undoubtedly there are mechanical toys that are use- inl and instructive and serve a good purpose, not only in furnishing amusement but in showing the methods of doing real work, but one should select according to the tastes of the child for whom they are purchased, The acrobat is a very good thing of the kind, but the districtechool is still better, This lust 28 suitable for both girls and boys, and, in fact, girls will be likely to enjoy it the most, as they take naturally to district seiool-marming. Serap books, and they are a never ending source of delight to chil- dren, who save stories aud scraps from papers and intersperse them with beautifully colored pictures, bought im packages for this purpose, Games of all kinds form pleasing Christinas gifts to the young, and the new Jerome Park steeplechase game cannot fail to please the boys. | CHRISTMAS ON THE RAST SIDR. Come with us to the corner of Grand street and the ! Bowery, and, if you think youcan stand the and tear’ of disposition and clothes, walk with a short distance. “Oh my! What @ jam!" Bach e knocking his ueighbor with a basket, bundle, ing horse for little Johnnie, or doll’s cradle for Mary Ann. Dolls’ carriages, sets of furniture, cook- ing stoves, baskets, brushes, candies and ‘‘pretseis’’ are cried out for sale by the sidewalk speculators, who are each and ail determined to seil their goods, as Christmas week brings the great harvest of the year for these merchants. °” your whole {| Set of wooden ware for five cents!” This imeludes opping bowl, potato masher, rolling pin, cook- ing spoon and fork. These of course sre for Mist Dolly. Here ure a row of _ pie- ture books spread out. “Don’t forget the little ones at home, now—only five cents.” What 4 world of pleasure is hiidenin them for the dear Little ones fer whom they are bought. The illustra- tioms in these books thrill the tiny breast of the poor man’s darling, and a present of “Cinderella and the Glass Slipper, “The Little Kittens,”’ that couldu't have any more fun be- cause they lost their mittens; “The House that Jack Built” or “Bob's School day gives more joy than many an enthnsiastic scholar feels at receiving « hun- dred dollar copy of Dore’s or Kaulbacn’s ilustra- tions, Only ten cents for a watch that will wind up, ten-cent hand harmonicons, china :uatch boxes in the shape of altar and cross for ten centa, bird cages, with a finttering wooden bird within, “only three cents five cents will buy a mouse trap with a little mouse trying to make its escape, and an endless variety of five-cent jumping jacks are offered of the most in- genous and almusing construction. With eager eyes these things are devoured by the groups of poor chil- dren merrily trooping by. THE. DISPLAY OF DRY GOODS. The entrances to the various sto! are almost hidden by piles of dress goods, cloaks und shawls, spread out in the most seductive manner. ‘ail marked down for Christmas, lady; buy ‘em cheap now—waik right in.’’ “Give you nice all-wool snit, trimmed with silk, for $7." And so it is. You can go into Grand street with $20 and bny more things¢than you can couvemieutly carry away. Here is the long established house of Lord & Taylor, and bere ure offered unusual opportunities to secure handsome presents in costumes, walking suits end richly quuted skirts at a comparative siail outlay. Heather of these articles would be 4 remembrance highly appreciated by its recipient. For bhambier and more serviceable presents thousands of yards of ‘hree Little Crows,’ “The Thrée | and as it was in this respect that Motley most sig. “suite | Crito” find, first— Of all the palaces so fair Built for the royal dwelling In Bootland, tar beyond compare, Linlithgow is excelling, ‘Then turning over the leaves of the book we look Across the furzy bills of Braid, st Hung o’er the margin of Fin, or stand with James Fitz James In the deep Trossach’s wildest nook or where Loch Katrine lay beneath him rolled. ‘The volume is especially to be commended to the admirers of the Scotch bards and Scoteh scenery, to whom the designs of MacWhirter and the engravings of Patterson will bedoubly welcome, New York; 8. Worthington. A new American edition of Macaulay’s ‘History of England” in which the printing is at least equal to the best English bookwork has long been felt as a want, Now that we have such an edition we com- mend it as a gift book of unusual worth. New York: Harper & Brothers. ‘Out of Darkness into Light” is a volume com- priming a series of poems and drawings by Mary A. Lathbury. The poems are eight in number, each | with two vignettes and a full page illustration, The | key nose to the poems is found in the lines of Whit eco. Tantallon's dizz, tier:— ‘The world sits at the feet of Christ, Unknowing, blind and unconsoled; It yet el touch His garments‘ told, | And feel the heavenly alciemist ‘Transform its very dust to gold. Lie maost religious poems they ave not of a very high order of merit tm the art sense, and the accom- panying illustrations are deficient in imagmation, but as a holiday gift for a mintster’s wife or for one who has clung to the faith through doubt and shadow until the daybreak nothing more appropri- ate could be selected. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. ‘The admirers of Mr. Charles Stuart Welles will be delighted to find in him the Sit Benjamin Backbite of modern poets, We say this in no Invidious sense, for the beautifully printed leaves of his ‘‘Lil- lian” realize Sir Benjamin's notion of a rivulet of text meandering throngh a meadow of margin. Whatever we may think of Mr. Welles’ poetry, we mnst commend this uniqne specimen of typography, New York: G, P. Putnam;s Sons. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes has turned from the lighter literary labors to which he owes his fame to the composition of a tribute to the memory of his friend, the late diplomatist and historian, John Lothrop Motley. The memoir is written in the clear and incisive English for which Dr. Holmes is distinguished, and his style, though not so picturesque as that of his subject, does ampier justice to Mr. Motley’s merits than more elaborate rhetoric could have done, Dr. Holmes is especially happy in dealing with the commonplace, nafly failed the book is especially valnable as giving clear insight into the historian’s character when his eurroundings were most adverse to him on ac- count of his habits of mind. An example of this is Dr. Holmes’ discussion of the famous McCrackin let- ter, and his characterization of the modern ‘‘inter- viewer” does eredit to “The Autocrat of the Break- fast Table.” The volume is beautifully printed, and will be welcomed by all who are admirers of “The Dutch Republic.” Boston: Houghton, Osgood & Co. To those to whom Plato and Socrates have been only venerated names a translation of ‘The Apology and parts of “The Phado,” now before us, may prove acceptable, The English is 4s incisive as the Greek of Plato, and the volume gives a clearer in- sight Into the closing scenes of the Mfe ef Socraws than can be obtained elsewhere, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ‘To all who are interested in the story of the recent Lambeth Conference and Sheffield Congress “The Canterbury Pilgrimage” of the Right Rev. G. 'T, Bedell, Episcopal Bishop of Ohio, will prove a welcome calico have already been sold. Besides these, bar- | volume. New York: A. D. F, Randolph & Co. gatus are shown in comfortable piaid aud broché shawls, which, if rather pats. will serve to keep some humble shoulders warm—ay, and hearts as well,-this Christmas weather. er. [OLAS AND HLS WORKSHOP. ‘The cry of “hard times” heard on almost every comer for the past few years has had no de- preseing effect on Santa Claus, tor he appears with a business atr snapping his fingers at the “Lard times,” singls| andhas apparently selected for his workshop one of his favorite resting places, the east side establish- meut of Kidley 4& Sons. Here be has spread his tempting steres with everything to delight and wiause the “young idea,” and presides over all bim- An excellent Christmas book for young readers is “The Story of English Literature,” from Chaucer to Cooper, prepared by Lacy Cecil White. It is not an ambitious work in any sense, but it gives a clearer idea of its subject than many more pretentious vol- umes, Boston: D. Lothrop & Cv. Mr. Joel Cook, of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, has republished, under the title of ‘‘A Holiday Tour in Enrope,” bis letters to Mr. Childs’ newspaper, written during the summer and autumn of 1878, The self in his familiar habit, and looking not # day | book eovers the beaten track of English and Amer- older than he did thirty years ago. He holds day and evening receptions and an equal welcome (0 the boys and girls. The display of toys is re- markably rich and attractive, aud the supply of dolls !—vby, girls of five years old, With smaller chits so eby, Dear Uttie tots, with curling Lair, Aud pretty babes that cry. ican tourists, but, while it presents nothing new, it will afford pleasure to many persons to whom the old in over new. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. “The Bohemian, a Tragedy of Modern Life,” by Charles de Kay, is an attempt at # story in which the Now York belle, the aspiring clerk in a Broadway es- Dolls instate reposing on sumptuous concles in | tablishment and the kindred spirits who once gath- Iuaurious leisure, dolls with heads and without heads, gay and lively dolls, and dolls that talk are selling at eighty ceats euch. Cheap dolls are more ered in the Bohemian Pfaffs shall find i’ stration. Unfortunately the attempt is not very » iccessful, strongly pus together thau they used to be, and itis | but the book gives promise of something better in difficult how for small chiidren to yank teir heads | the game direction in the future, New York: Charles and legs off. A baby Lonse is one of the most com- plete, most useful of toys, if itis sensibly furnished for use, aud the little owner is sensibly taught how to take care of and keep it in order. Little stoves are now made with as much perfection as for the adult housekeeper, and these and washing ntensils furnixh # natural Uttle housewite with cares and occupations that are ap eternal source of eujoyment and might Suggest to older persons that cares may sometimes made a pleasure. There are tancy articles, too, for the older folk, such as writing slesks and work boxes, in One woods and Kussia leather, Japapene yoods, cabinets, bon-bon boses, and a flue stock of dooks for children and adults. A ROUND MILLION SPRNT. Jt ia ante to say that daring the past week the two bundred thousaud heads of families of New York haw spent at least an average of $5 cach for Chrixt- mas ts, and from the neighboring towns the peo have come pouring in to buy in our gay, ghit- te holiday mart. Surely our shopkeepers Ought ring to rejoive tn the prosperone days they appear to be now enjoying, and should meet Christmas with brightness and good cheer, Let us make our homes as attractive us we can with loving kindness and the exercise of all those qualities which leud am addi- tioual charm even to a merry Christmas, HOLIDAY BOOKS. TINE SEASONABLE OFFERINGS FROM OCR PUB- LISHING HOUSES. The holiday book lists comprise nothing more ap- . propriate for # Christinas or New Year's present than the latest issues of Mr. Longfellow’s “Poems of Places.” There is #iyric completeness in the collec- tion which makes it tn itself a poem, and these vol- umes are a perfect canto of the inspiration of the New England muse when singing the praises of New Eng- Jand. Not a post or a place of local celebrity seen forgotten. Beginning with “The Old Mili” at Abtng- ton, in which we can imayine Mr. It. H. Stoddard an- ticipating # isruption of himself as he sits among athe books in the library of our own City Hall— ‘The mill is crumbling tn decay, And 1—my bair is early gray, —we may go to Andover with Dr. Holmer; row on Menotomy Lake, at Arlington, with Trowbridge; con- template with Lacy Larcom the fate of “Skipper Ben,’ of Beverly, for whom, Old with watching, Hannah's at the window binding shoes; keep “The Wetch of Borne Island” or stand at “The Spaniards” Graves at the Isle of Shoals” with Celia Thaxter,; visit the oid charchyard at Cambridge or the Jewish Cemetery at Newport with Lougfellow himself, and with the venerable singer hear ——— the chirp of crickets, And the cry of the herons winging their wey U'er the poet's house in the Elmwood thickets; recount with Nora Perry how at Newport, hundred years ago, — the belle of the town Kissed a rose and finng it down Straight at the feet of Do Rochambean; recall among the High soaring obelisks, that throw Their leugthened shadows v'er the ground | at Mount Auburn, Maine's almost forgotten poet, Isuee MeLeilan; sing of Hampton Beach aud “The Wreck of Riverwouth” with Whittier, and commune with Hinerson, Lowell, Thoreau and Channing in their favorite hauuts, To most readers these delight ful volumes will prove like personal re-ollections of | persons and places, their charm being in thett local coloring sod lyric simplicity, Boston: Houghton, Ongood & Oo. Turning from theee dolicions volumes we have in “Caledonia, described by scott, Burns and Ramsay,” * wich more pretentious gift book, in which the artist vies with the poet in illustrating the “Land of the mountain aud the food." Gontewp!ating the Scribner's Sons. “Random Arrows,” by Pay Hempstead, have too little point for so suggestive a title for a book of poems, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. “The Shadow of Hampton Mead,” by Mrs. E. Van Loon, is a novel, partly American in locale and en- tirely American in charact It is dedicated to Goy- evnor Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, Although the story is not without interest it is not sufficientiy colloquial to make it above the ordinary efforts at story telling, Philadelphia: 1. B. Peterson & Broth- ers. A consideration of the varieties of physical consti- tation in man in their relation to mental character, by Dr. D.H. Jacques, has just been published, with an introduction by H. 8%. Drayton, under the title of “The Temperaments.” It is a contribution to the literature of a subject whieh may one day become a science and which deserves # bigher place among specialists than has yet been accorded it, New York: 8S. R. Wells & Co, Among the new class of text books which the progress of invention hes made necessary is “The Proportions of the Steaun Engine,” by Professor Marks, of the University of Penneylvania. It is « practical treatise on @ practical subject. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. A new and enlarged edition of “Gems of English Bong” has just been isened by Oliver Ditson & Uo. ‘The volume contains many of the favorite ballads of the English language set to muste by recognized com. posers, besides duets and quartets, with an accom- paniment for the pianoforte, Although Handel's “Angels Ever Bright and Fair,” and Mogart's “Thought Cannot Reach Thee” are incinded, tho names of Sullivan, Molloy and Abt occnr most fre- quently, and the general character of the work may be best deseribod in the lines of Longfellow set to music by Balfe, as— Not from the grand old masters, not from the bards sublime, ‘Wheee diemas footsteps echo through the corridors tae. r In their poplar and convenient “Half Hour Se- rica” the Harpers have just published three Christ | mas etories—one by Mary Cecil Hay, one by F. W. Robinson and one by Justin McCarthy. These tales, | flavored with a Christmas aroma, will be found as | soothing as an after dinner pipe in the holiday season. A beautifal souvenir to the author of # journalist's varation abroad is “The Trip to Englat by Mr. Williama Winter, of the Tribune, and to his friends and the admirers of bie pare and limpid English it will prove equally grateful. The volame comprises @ series of letters originally printed in the journal to collection consists not in being a book of travel but the record, as the anthor puts st, of @ delightful ex. perience. There is always something fresh and agreeable in the impreawions which a gracefal and cultivated writer obtains in the odd nooks and cor- ners aad from the quaimt monuments of England, and it la to these that Mr. Winter hes given form end color, Even in bis most humdruin efiurte the poetic temperament shows iteetf in Mr. Winter's work, om in its place there ia a gentle sentimentalisin which is akin to poetry, and these find full play in his rambles in London, his visits to Windsor and the paiace of Westminster, to Warwick and Kenilworth, and his contemplations of the Tower and the Byron inemo- rial, Westminster Abbey and, most of all, of the church at Stratford-on-Avon, where Shakespeare | worshipped, and the cottage where he was born, The volume is @ beautiful specimen of American printing, and it is appropriately dedicated to Mr. Whitelaw Reid. Boston: Lee & Shepard; New York: | Ubacles 1. Dillingham, whose statl Mr, Winter belongs, aud the value of the | SANTA CLAUS’ CALL BOOK. APPROPRIATY. PRESENTS FOR OUR CITY'S RULERS — NOBODY TO BE FOBGOTTEN--CHBISTMAS RE- MEMBRANCES TO BH DISTRIBUTED ACCORDING 0 DESERTS. Custom has decreed that Christmas presents shall de devised tn the dark and discussed tn secrecy until at least daylight on the 25th of December, but custom, like law and everything else, should gracefully givo way before the pathetic yearnings of such deserving patriots asthe members of our city government. We accordingly publish at the earliest possible moment &n abstract from the Christmas memoranda of Santa Claus, the patron saint of every one who expects to receive @ present, How the HeRaLp obtained mate- rial which follows 1s no affair of the public, but we do not decline to admit that if we dared tell of the peril and experiences of the enterprising reporter who obtained the information hereinafter imparted the threatened effects of the recital of Harmlet’s father's subterranean experiences would, by com- parison, appear as thin and stupefying as an anti- resumption speech or the air of # New York schoolroom. Nobody dare say that the members of our «ity government, in complex form, are not particularly deserving of pres- ents. There are thousands of citizens who, if skil- fully questioned, could not help admitting that some of the gentlemen alluded to ere so deserving that the mere mention of their names arouses the desire, always latent, to bestow stont canes and heavy boot- toes in certain directions, We therefore pass without comment to an abstract of the work to be done on Christmas Day by the jolly old driver of the reindeer drawn sleigh:— Mem.—Go first to the residence of the Mayor-clect, Jeave him an approved assortment of narcotics, sed- Stives and everything else that can mitigate the hor rors of an onslaught of office-eeckers. For the outgoing Mayor, @ large quantity of re spect for human nature to replace that which no man in his position conld have helped losing during a full term of office as chicf magistrate of the Ameri- can metropolis, Leave some watchguard charms, made of pipe or wire, at the Aldermanic chamber, as graceful recognitions of the channels through which most business reaches the chamber. For the Comptroller an illuminated proverb, “Let the cobbler stick to his last, and not mistake a whole eity for his own shop.” Give cach of the Police Commissioners a pair of spectacles of power sufficient to make him capable of knowing a brute when he sees him, even if the said | brute wears the uniform of the department. Give each of the outgoing Commissioners @ substitute and arest. For such commissioners as superintend the Street Cleaning Bureau a broom and shovel each, with tmstructions for using them. For the Department of Docks, a statement of the total amount of money in existence, so that they may see how impossible it is to improve all the piers and bulkheads at the present high rate of expenditure and small resnits. Subdivide in the Excise Boarda single grain of common sense and ditto semse of decency, to be used when low ‘dives’ and well known dens of thieves apply for license to sell liquor. For the Department of Public Works, an elementary treatise on the strength of building materials anda model of some kind of arch which will not tumble down more than once. For the Sheriff's office, a copy of the Bible, with all passages upon the ultimate tate of extortioners dis- tinctly marked and the corners of the leaves turned down. Ditto for the Register. Ditto tor the County Clerk. For the Commissioners of Charities and Correc- tions, @ listof the number of the sick and unfortu- nate people who have been worse treated in the name of charity than they would have been by their worst enemies. Also, a Hist of minor wrongdoers who have become hardened villains under the city’s aystem of correction and reform. Mem.—Before making these lists be sure that there is paper enough in the city to contain them. For the Board of Education. a powerfnl microscope with which to discover its own system ot ventilation. Also, a Private cemetery. to ‘hold the remains of children killed by the foul air of the school rooms. Make it large. 3 For the Park Commission, enough presidencies to go around, so that private ambitions may be gratificd and public interests receive proper attention. Send the Board of Apportionment a wire cage in which to sit, and @ powerful electrical battery to charge it, 30 that all qolticians may be kept away while the Board is deciding how to allot money that it will do the most good. Find the long vacated boots of the Tax Commis- sioners and Pod somebody into them, Give the Board of Health a coffin big enongh to accommodate it, so that it can go through the motions of doing something and yet avoid putting the public under the impression that it means business, Place in each room of the Custom House a diction- ary, opened at the word “Castoms,” so that the at- taches of that establishment may be disabused of the idea that their principal duty ia to manage the polit- ical interests of the city of New York. ‘Send to each head of departineut or bureau a relia- ble guillotine, to be used upon his superfluous clerks, Mem.—Sen ry large basket to hold the heads. Give the assessors sotue valuations of property subsequent to the year 1660, and also some that are in accordance with prices since 1873, all these being apparently missing from the material npon which the assessors determine their own valuations. Distribute a quarter of a million anxions seats among politicians out of business, their present resting places having lately become worn all the way down to the pints of the tacks, dust as our .terloping reporter had jotted down the memoranua above, and while he was approaching the list of presents to be made to individual members of the city government—the Bench, Bar, Church, stage, ke.—the jolly old master of Christmas ceremo- nies became aware of the presence of a stranger, and, turning off the gas promptiy, repaired to lis stables to feel and water his reindeer, As he observed the precaution of taking bis note book with him we are obliged to leave thousands of prominent but needy persons upon the stool of expectancy. We have no doubt that most of them will receive gifts according to their deserts, but our own satistaction is consider- ably tempered by the reflection that geuting their deserts is what most of them are most id of, “ALWAYS WITH YOU." ‘The storm of yesterday sent out of doors to the charitable societies numbers of poor women seeking for relict, all of whom had to be turned eway, as the treasuries were empty. There was acontinuous rush of applicants at the Department of Charitics and Cor- rection, with @ similar result, tie annual appropris- tion vot yet having beem made by the Fiuence De- partment, In the streets idle workingmen suffered severely daring the day. The storm drenched them and the dispiriting task of vainly looking for work was abandoned for the not less cheerful one of find- ing refuge under awnings or seeking shelter in fireless tenements, It was the first day this season that the poor felt the bitter cold and were forced to jook forward to the terrible dreary months of winter, without @ single hope except from the charitabl people of the city. Numbers of families have pre- sented their claims for help to the officers of the roctoties, and the old story of ‘wanting to work but unable to find it" prevails in every instance, Next week it i expected tho Finance Department will make appropriations to many of the societies, and the money canuot come too soon, for with empty treasurtes and the pnblie not in a mood to give, except in absolutely necessary cases, the thousands of the poor must fare badly. A husband and wife who for some tine past dave had a bard stragyle to live, will be found on the top floor, front, of No. 152 East Forty-second stroet. They ate Germans, the husband, though @ tailor by trode, being in rank a baron of his native country. They have deen only about «ia months in thie vonn- = and have no funda. ‘The husband asks for work only. THE PATHOS OF POVERTY. Sigismand Strauss, a cigarmaker, wae arrested yesterday morning in Canal street, near the Bowery, with a number of unstamped cigars tn his possession. Special Revenue Agent Coleman took tho prisoner into custody, and on his way down town, at tho corner of Fim and Leonard streets, Strauss drew a pistol from his pocket and discharged the contents of one of the barrels near his own head, Fortunately the bail slanted off and he sustained no harm. When brought betore United States Commissioner Shicids he told the following very pathetic story, which is understood to be substantially true, and whieh was told by him as an explanation for bis attempt ut mucide, He seidi—l live at No, 27 Sevomd strvet. 1 ain ainarried man. [have a wife and three children, anda mother, eighty-one years of age, who ts also dependent upon me for support, aud when J tired that shot 1 meant to destroy myself. Iam a cigar. maker and have been engaged in that trade since 1852. T have been trying to get work for months and have failed utterly. i lave Soon married four years, and my wife, if T had been killed, ag with the children to her tether ii Germany, am my mother would go to the hospital and t tain the atten. tion she needs. 1 alko belong to the Chanani Lodge of Busi B'rith, and they would have given my wite $ivo, I the mmelusion that, as 1 had no mou , the best way out was for me to die. Commissioner Shields liberated the defendant on is own recognizances to appear when called upon, its marvellously | | THRICE | How the Tinker Guard Buried FROM THE TOMR Its Noble Dead. AND PUT A COFFIN IN THE WRONG GRAYB A Colored Procession that Came to a Sudden Halt, MYERS, THE CEMETERY LITIGANT. os ‘The premature resurrection of the human remains in the “Old Bushwick Graveyard,” recorded in the Henanp, has recalled to the memories of the resi- dents in the neizhborhood the scenes which accom- panied the disinterment of the remains in the old Cannon Street Baptist Church burying ground in 1876, which was situated two squares to the west of the old Bushwick Ground. Then hundreds of outraged friends of those who lay buried there flocked around the scene of desecration, protesting against the work. A fight took place in the effort to prevent the re- moval of certain remains, but as thirty only of the lot owners had recorded their decds for lots, the re- movals went on in spite of protests and notices, such feel Don't open this grave antil soem by W. Sherer, No. 351 South Firat street. If you attempt $0 open this we let me kne FLOMAS GRATLAM, No. 38 lester stroot, The Trustees commenced the work privately in the colored section first, The work was dono so rapidly (in order if possible to complete it before an injune- tion could be served on thei) that it was not thor- oughly done, and now every month or so, as tho ne- cessary excavations for the foundations of new build- ings are made, skeletons or fragments of them aro turned up. The most remarkable case in the whole cemetery, however, was that of “the neavy coffin,” as it was called at the time, the story of which is here given, and has never before been published, THE TINKER GUARD. In the old palmy days of dancing for eels in Cather- ine Market « company was organized, composed of darkies, and named the ‘Tinker Guard,” the name being in honor of an old Fulton Market dealer, who was a general favorite along shore. Ove object of the organization of the ‘‘Tinker Guard” was benevolence, which expressed itself in gorgeous parades on the death of a member. Colored preachers were not very numerous in those days; but those who were located in the city were all eager for an invitation to participate in thejshows of the Guard, because of the notoriety it afforded them, as the parades of the Tinker Guard were a great attraction on the east side of Gotham. Cemeteries also were scarce about that time, though under the act of 1847 four or five had been organized, and numerous litigations on various points had marked their entrance into the economy of the times. Old Gil Smith, the undertaker, did all the work for the “Tinkers,"” and he hada friend named Myers, who was remarkable for his litigations with ceme- tery corporations, and who, knowing of Gil Smith's interest with the “Tinker Guard,” made it a lever to carry bis point in a dispute with ono Donaldson, the Superintendent of the old Cannon street burying ground in Bushwick. Myers owned # lot in the ground and during the quarrel between them (on some petty subject) Don- aldson used the expression, “‘Myers, you have had a fiyht with every cemetery but this onc, and I would just like to have @ tussle with you, 1 know ail there is to know about cemeteries and cemetery law, aud can beat you on every point you care to bring up.” “Well,” said Myers, “I don't see any occasion to open on this institution, but the first time I geta chance I'll take it to show you that 1 can teach you more cemetery law than you dreamed of," PURCHASE OF THE “HEAVY COFFIN. Without waiting for the morrow Myers crossed the river, and, calling on Siith, said, “Gil, the neat member of the Tinker Guard that dies I want buried in my lot.” The undertaker, astonished, begged to know what he meant by burying a negro in his lot, when it was against the rulos of the cemetery to bury colored poo- ple there. “Just what I say,”” returned Myers, “‘T want the next member of the Tinker Gruard that dies buried in my lot, especially if his folks are too poor to buy » Abed p He had scarcely finished when a committee of the Guard entered to purchase a coffin for one of their number who had shutiied off this mortal coil. They desired him to put the body on ice as they wanted it kept for nine or ten di The Guard always buried on Sundays #0 as to insure a big turn ont; and this death, occurring on Friday, they could not complets their ‘arrangements in two days, and, therefore, kept the body another week. Gil promised that it should be done, and then pro- ceeded to exhibit his stock of coffins for their sel: tion, but none would suit them. Rosewood, 1 hogany, stained wood, all were repudiated, and, in despair, he was about giving up when a brilliant idea struck him; he marched them down iute the cel- Jar, aud ina moment or more they emerged delighted, and, paying $5, went off congratulating each other on having “de handsomest coftin dat « niggah eber were buried in iu New York, sah." Gil then showed Myers what be had sold them—it was a leaden coffin, covered with a handsome biack cloth pall, in which the body of a noted official had been brought from Europe aud then the coffin had been thrown aside as useless, It weighed between 500 and 900 pounds, but Gail was satistied to get rid of it for $5. Before’ leaving the shop Myers wrote Donaldson notiiying tim to open a grave it bis lot in which a triend of his was to be buried. The news of the coming funeral spre far and wide, and on the Sunday there was not only @ turnout ‘of sixty muskets on the partof the guard, but an immense throng to witness it. AN OBSTINATE BAND. ‘The band, which had been engaged by a white man, retused to pl on when they discovered that it was a |, urging a4 # reason that it would in- jure their business. The gallant captain of the “Tinkers”’ could not change their determination, 40 some of the butchers from Fulton Market were called in, and under their persuasions and the fact that one of the first bands in town had played for the “Tinkers,” and would have done so on that day but for a previous engagement, the musicians concluded to play. ‘Through the streets the procession wended its way to the terry, tho band playing ita finest dirge as the earn and then the Guards filed into the ferry- house and on board the boat. The moment they had all entered the gates were shat and the boat was rung off, the band remaining on the street. To suy the Tinker Guards were enraged will hardly cover the sittiation, and no description can be given of the scone on board the boat during the passage. The band was tae 4 denounced as having “‘spiled de ‘hole tun’ral.”’ Bat another incident aimost put an end to the entire ceremony. Dan Copland, the driver of the hearse, had become thirsty, and seeing the water carrier of the Guards, With lis pail of cool ioe Water, stopped up to lim wo getadrink, Two or three of the members approach- ing for the saine purpose the water boy, who was clad iu a gorgeous Uniform, rivaling even the dram major’s, recused to give Dan a cup of water. This ucttied Dan, and, with a round oath or two, he threat ened to dump the coiin und corpse on the dock as soon ae he got over the river aud come back ayain with the hearse on the same boat. All hands crowded around the disputanta, and a fight would have re- sulted but for tho interference of the Captain. Ap- preciating the now difficulty and the necessity of appeasing Dan, he addressed him :—‘What persishun does you occupy in dis yer fun’ral, sab?’ «Why, Lam the undertaker,” sail Dan, “An!” said the Captata, “You am de undertakab 7” Then, turning to the crowd, he motioned ther all back with “Gemmen, step back @ little and let dis yer white man drink fust,” adding, apologeticaily, “he am our—undertaka Dan took his drink bat felt mighty surly, and was only sorry he had no other excuse to dump his heavy 1 After disembarking in Williamsburg a jong delay was occasioned by the search for music, and at the end of an hour the procession started w the sound of a solitary dram. DIFWIOULTINS AT THR CRMITERY. When the cemetery was reached Donaldson, seeing many colored peuple, refused to let the ming the gate, braced his back against This 18 no nigger burying gr . and ing. dafaned if this crowd gets in this cemetery while I've got anything to say about it ‘The Captain of the “Tinkers” brought his men to a dy Spee Donaldson with profound am de mattah, sah, at dis staye of de percecdins ?” “Well,” replied Donaldson, “I want yon to take your funeral somewhere elve; you can't bury a n this cemetery.” tlie bewildered Captain, who haa in such @ diftte berore permit, aud Massa Myers gub us de grave; an——." At this Donaldson pricked up las ears, “Who gave you a grave?” he asked. “Masse Myers, sah,’’ replied the Captain. “Oh!” aighed Donaldson; then saying to the Cap- tain, “Wait a minute,’ he stepped into wie ofice to consult with two or three of the trustees of the ceme tery, who happened to be present. The erowd who accumpanied the provession then pressed in around the gate to ascertain what the trouble was and why the yate had been shut tn their faces, The trustees told Donaldson t wore thing to do, it le was « son was the triend Myers dk for the sake of keepi allow the iuneral take hough it was a veal that this per rod interred in lis lot, tter #till he bad better place, ma then, = ‘we has de | after ft was clearly proven that the corpes was tay tended for an o Myers’ jog cna Be gate and the route was the pave. the weight of the coffin caused ome dif culty, bat with the aid of a fow te wae ef’ trom the hearse into the grave, and then the services took place, the dominie closing Rigen eulogy of the Tinker Guards, and the » “Lam proud of you, gemmen, an hope soon to meet you again under the same exhilarating cireumstances.”’ | _ A volley over the grave, a tap of the drum and the Guards started gayly back to the metropolis, ‘Thus was the first negro buried in the cemetery, and the funeral proved the enteriny for the interment ot others, much to the of some of the lot owners, rus THE FIRST DISINTRRMENT. Next morning Myers called up to see the grave, aud funding that by # mistake it had been dug in another lot instead of his own, burst into a fit of laughter, after the exclamation, “That's just what I wanted.” Donaldson, who had followed fim, unable to restrain his curiosity, asked Myers what it was he ! wanted that pleased him ao, nswered the latter, ‘you'll know soon enough.” ‘Then he burried dow) town as fast ue le, leaving Donaldson at the cemeter nO that he sent a messenger to each of the . notifying them of anticipated trouble with vers. ‘The latter hastened to the owner of the adjoining lot to his—a Mr, Al nd without a word of explana y, Allen, Donaldson has buried a big nigger in your lot.” Like a pile of tinder touched by a match Mr. Allen | flashed up. I a moment his horses were harnessed, and be, accompanied by Myers, started for the bury- ing ground as fast as he could drive. Entering the office, he blurted out, “Donaldson, what, do you mean by burying @ big nigger in my lot “My God! is that grave in your lot?" said Donuld- son; “then that was what Myers was laughing so about this morning. but let us go out and see,"” They went out, and sure eriough the Tinker Guards- man, with his 800 pound coffin, had by a mistake of the grave diggers been buried in Allen's lot. Its re- moval was absolutely necessary, Allen Jnsigting that it be done at once, the order was given, and he- fore they left the grave workmen were sugsgee in the corpse in tirst disinterment and second burial of the “heayy coffin.” As the three walked back to tho office Donaldson upbraided yore as the cauge of all this trouble and expense, as well as making a “nigger burying ground” of Cannon Street Cemetery. “For,’” said he, “now there is one in, we can’t keep the others out.” "Chen, bringing his ‘hands together, with » loud smack, he wound up with “Myers, ‘if I known it was for a nigger | would never heve opened the grave, anyhow.” This excited Myers, and he replied as hotly, “You will do to my lot just what Lorder—mind that—and | Lknow what lam about.’ Then taking his leave he went out to his lot to see how the job of removal eee, before getting into Allen's wagon. On he way down he told Allen they were not doing it right, and asked him to drive over to Gil Smith's, muising some fun at the cemetery before long if would do so, AtGil’s the only remark made was by Myers, “Gil, I want you to tell ne when the next nigger in that company dies, I want him buricd in the same grave as the other one, and if his folks are too poor to pay the cemetery fees call on me and I'll pay ’em, but I want him pianted in the same hole us the other fellow,” THK SECOND DISINTERMENT, Within three weeks another of the Guards to his final accounting, and with the funeral was ripe for his mischief. Calling for Gil and Allen to peeneidpe f him abous three days thereutter the trio proceeded to the ceme- tery, notifying the police en roulc that there would probably be a necessity for their services, Entering the office they found Donaldson, who had seen them coming, anxiously waiting to hear the cause of their visit, and Myers did not keep him long in suspense. Atter bidding him good day he wanted to know, if Donaldson was so well posted in cemetery law, why he did not comply with all its requiremerts in his conduct of the cemetery. Donaldson protested that bo did in all respects. “Then,” said Myers, “how deep did you bury these nigger friends of mine in my lot?” “Chey are buried the full depth, seven feet,” an- swered Donaldson; ‘but if you don’t believe it come out and see,” Taking up the long iron rod used for probing graves he neat, his trepidation increasing on Myers remarking as he did so, “Oh, you can leave that thing behind; I guess your Huger will be long enough,”” When the grave was sounded tho probe struck wood st barely six inches below the sed iyers surface. The ien were sent for, wnd, after @ sherp question or two, acknowledged thut being afraid of an accident with the “heavy coftin’’ and to save tronble, they had dug # hole just deep enough to hold it, never anticipating another interment ip the same grave, aud the second cofim had pled it up Donaldson's dismay st finding him- self in this dilemma was pitiable as he looked at his tormentors. “Now,” said Myers, “what are you going todo about it? You are liable to a penalty for not bury- ing them six fect deep. Why, you can smell ‘em now quite plain. I've a good mind to complain against you,” 4 “Oh! don’t do that, Myers; don’t do that,” ap- pealed he, “and I will straighten the whole thing ont ‘atonce. I wou't delay « minute in gotting ‘en up end reburying ‘em at the proper depth,” years prom- ised, ond Donaldson, getting his men together, atter hiring a few more to raise the lead cofiin, lod to do the work. ARREST O¥ THE SUPERINTENDENT. Atter they hud taken up the first and were busy raising the second coffin—a dozen or more tugg) with might and main xt the weighty mass—My« beckoned the police officers in and asked one of them it he knew what these men were doing. “Certainly,” replied the officer; “they are remov- ing remaips from a grave.” be 1 know that,” said Myers, ‘but have they showed you a permit to do it?’* Donaldson had witnessed the whole of this inct- dent, and turned pale with apprehension as the offlver, seeing the point, stepped up to him and asked for his permit to do the work he was engaged in, Donald- son, while acknowledging that he had none, saw the trap into which ne had tallen, and when he and his uueh Were immediately arrested he turned to Myers and said, “Lacknowledge the corn. You area leetla too much for me, but now that you have helped mo into this serape and got your satisfaction, help me out.” ‘This Myers at once promised to do, and as it was impossible to leave the remains exposed, the police stood by until the Tinker, with “de hand- soinest coffin,” was 4 second time torn from the grave and # third time buried, When the caxe was examined into before the Judge that dignitary inflicted the full penaliy of the law-— $500 fne—on Donaldson, but discharged the men, as they ouly acted under bis orders as superintendent. Myers then laid the whole matter before Mayor Kalbfleisch, “the honest Dutchman,” and he apprec ated the humor of the case, and, having the power under the existing laws, remitted the tine to $10, which Donaldson cheerfully paid, though he cursed Myers, who had given him ‘such a lesson in the laws that govern cemeteries. ‘The repose of the defunct Tinker Guardsinen was not, however, long to continue; the march of im- provement required the land constituting the cemu- tery for building purposes, aud but little over tw: years ago all the remains were taken up and rei: terred in ‘Che Uyprees Hills,” in a large plot near the north gate, the “heavy coffin’ coming in for an extra anethema from the workmen during its re= moval. So thut, altogether, the poor negro thas forms the subject of this sketch was disinterred thrive and buried four times. THE SCULPTOR'S SPOUSE. ‘They were long past the meridian of life and both hed been marricd before. She was in deep mourn ing; he wae soberly attired, Husband and wife for more than nine years they had been, but latterly they had become estranged, aud the husband left his home. He stood betore Judge Otterbourg at Jeffer- son Market Police Court yesterday, charged by his wite with abandonment. His name is Thomas Palisser, and he is an ftalian sculptor, employed in, one of the best known studios in this city. “Is this woman your wife?” seked the magistrate, “she is not my wifo,” replied the prisoner in good English, “Not your wife!” exclaimed tho woman, turning toward him with a deprecatory gesture, h, ma'am. How long have you lived with ery’ demanded the Court. ears, Had you any children?” ‘Lhree.” “Where ate they, madam?” ‘Pwo are dead, sir,’ said she, as 8 tear dro so from her eye on the black crape veil on her shouls Ke “And this man is your husband?” “He is, sir, But be went away some time ago with another woman and is living with her now, “Why ee ial support your family?” tho pris oner war asked. “I'll support my child ifshe gives it to me; but, ae T told her, | won'd give her one penny.” “How much do you owrn?’ “Pwo seventy-five @ day.” “Well, then, you'll have to give $250 security that You wifl pay this woman $4 a week, which is my Qo cision,” The man shrugged his shoulders and elevated hig eyebrows. “Are you Itving with that other woman now?” in- quired the Judge. 1 arding with her.” hat’s the matter with your wife that you won't live with her?" he gets drank.” torgive you!” ejaculated the woman, “She doesu’t look as if she did, You have heard ee ion.” ‘he mau was locked up for the night. MR, STEWART'S CHARITIES, New Yor, Doo, To Tae Eprron or THe Hinaty:— In your paper of to-day (2ist) there appears & com- munteation signed “A Poor Player.” 1 cannot for ® moment believe the writer was ever a member of the American Dramatic Fund, or he never would have asserted what he has in relation to the late Mr. Stewart. I nave been the secretary and treasurer during the last four and a halt years of the above t- stitution, and » ho knowledge of such an affair, Nor does it appear on our records. Therefore, in re spect for the extreme kindness and beneficence of Mra, Stewart and Judge Hilton (who gave as in Juna, 1875, 4 donation of §2,500, and on the 19th of this mouth @ further donation of $500) Ll remain yours, respocttully, J, M. B, HARRISON, Secretary end Treasurer of American Dramatic Association, | tt » 1878, %