Newspaper Page Text
DECEMBER 22, 1906.
THE SUNNY SOUTH
THIRD RAGE
Are We Robbing Christmas
& of Its Gld=Time Joyous Poetry?
s
^ GH of tho poetv lias un
doubtedly passed from
Christmas.
The greatest of holidays
iu no longer cel«*fcra*ei| as
It wag In the old days.
To the children, it is
still the happiest day in
in the calendar, anil its
festivities satisfy the last
longing cf pleasure that
the infantile heart can
know.
.. a „ Hut It is somewhat
changed for the grown-ups. Years ago
acults became children at the Yuletido
and celebrated the holiday season with
riotous mirth, but the world grows
sterner, more practical, more matter of
**£„?"* ! e S «• t,lnp "ears o„.
* W ,“ ,ave with u.v the Christinas j
< inner, but it is now an occasion for |
conventional correctness where men .-mu i
■ai-incn wear evening clothes, and talk i„
politely mo.1,dated voices, the man ahouc
mop ey. stocks and bonds, the women
ol fashions.
This dinner is only a pale shadow oi j
the joyous foast of our forefathers. !
No longer <lo they drag in the Yule-log j
t othe salute of song and cheers. The !
vassal] bowl has passed with the hoop ■
skirts of half a. century ago. The great j
punch howl has given way to the mi- J
poetic and costly wine bottle.
Gone are mummers who used to go j
from house to house at Christinas time ;
to sing a merry song and exchange j
greetings. rather Christmas. tin- j
Christmas Mother and tho 1/ord of Mis- I
ivie no longer masquerade to the joy >f |
adults and children like. The ga'l; - ;
decorated stage roaches that used ;o |
* arry home the children from school for
tin* holidays have yielded to the unto- j
mantle, if more comfortable. Pullman
scat. I
GONE ARE THE DAYS.
Gone front tho roadside inns are 11.. I
gay parti--s of red coaled, rotund hunt-*
cis who used to drink in the gr«
winter holiday with potations vvht
amount would appal the convivialist
tods y.
This is a practical money-making I
world, and the romance of the daily
life has perhaps suffered more shocks la
our hustl-ng United Stales Hum any
where else. |
Christina.*- In tlte soatiilanii was on--. :
the dtvajit of every mart, woman and :
child, from master to humblest slave on |
tile plantation. Tin celebration began
on Christmas eve when there was a |
giand ball for the slaves. It usually
took plact* in the big- .barn, decorated .
for the occasion, and in the dancing j
ami revelry, the black children of the j
sun had tin* empathy nd encourage-,
mont of their masters, who always paid i
the ball a visit, and. often even joined J
In the dancing.
An 1 when the dance ended, came a i
giand feast, for which the master of the. (
plantation stinted nothing. There wan i
ample to cat and drink.
Ill the morning of the holiday the t
slaves would gather in front of the j
mansion, perhaps to make some little 1
| about three doze t Christinas plays, ini
I which the ladies and gentlemen of the |
1 c nrt. from the time of James l to!
rjiarles I, could appear in gorgeous cos- ;
tume and enact parts. |
j Foi cenitries tiic twelfth night revels-
j wet<* ii:st*pa'-a!)I< from tin holiday. Tho)
t Christmas seasi n began oil rie.-eiiib**r I6 1
I mui ended January 6. and llie entire
! pop nation fea.-t-.-1 and math merry, ihe
: rii-b. i-heerfuliy foothig tie* liills the-
* j nor run ii| ir-
Current
JZ?
Marks Wholesale
Year
Revival of Christmas Card
jzr
s by the students,
n niu'ii-'t'S and minstrels. s::tti-
: it w in the Cnit'-d States
Now Year’s lime In l’l-.i ad *1
pi-ia or tlv .Mardi Gras at New Orleans.
V. h'io Cm Yiltelog. win li was su-pOFod
to hum all night, nr going out before to
bring bad lit, k. was sending out Its elteor-
:ng d.-.me, 'he carol singers gathered un-
iii ,* windows and sang their holid :y
i songs and hymns.
j i, w es tire Puritan hair -d of the i x-
liifint-s to wl.i- h this festivity was ear-
jiii-i. that formed one of .the strong-- t
I pomls tn their arraignment of tin- li-
' i pisi' mil extravagance of the c-mr'.
ai.d when Crotnve!! ante iiito power
1 there was an end of tin* old jolly
j Christmas, whet was goaii and harmless
I hi in ; alm-isia-d along with the hud.
Hut Christmas was only in exile di.t-
: it.g tiic Puritan days, and came liaos
1 w lien Charles II as-ended the throne.
| Xow a sierner an-l move lelentless t
| than the Puritans t >ld Father Time- ba.
I swung ills scythe against many or its
I a-.i-ieril customs ''nil lees,, survive mij.
! it paintings and drawings and tile him ii-
j ory of the venerable.
Pity it is. for the more of the o'd tit.it-
spirit we iu.i-.-et into tile holiday, tin-
1 greater its Joys.
OLD BOWLING GHEEN.
It- rout
At first the lower r
ii-iug iinwlrllg Green.
Peeping at Santa Olaus’ Fair Substitute at Work.
While Puritans and Quakers still doml-
i.:::ed New England and Pennsylvania.
• hey always made more of the religions
than tlie secular observance.
PRAYER AND FASTING.
Christmas was a day for prayer anti
lasting, not for gifts and feasting.
Tin- stern old Puritan fathers, fighting
for existence on a rockbound coast, with
hostile Indians on al! sides, scorned the
joys of life, and the grave Quakers In
their detestation of all that smacked of
levity and ostentation, frowned on the
Christmas of the south.
Hut a growing nation was not to be eon-
i When these passed Christinas in the
: United States was bereft of half its ele-
1 ment of the picturesque,
i In time, too, stern puritan New Kng-
j land relaxed and came to celebrate
) Christmas, as the merry old patron saint i
ol the day intended it should he. The j
i glowing Yulelog burned on hearths of ;
! men who had fought at Bunker Hill, and j
j sons of heroes of the revolution kissed !
maidens of New England under the mis- \
. lletoe, and carried them bouquets and I
gifts that were intended to convey other !
| sentiments beside those of peace on earth ’
I goodwill to men.
Then the lover drove tip bis sleigh,
behind two or even four horse--, the
v. hole equipage being dccoiated witlt
greens. Then lie delivered his gift in
person, and the maiden n.' his dreams
The
Market Field;" afterward it was spoken
of as tie- "Ilcere Strati.' or chief street,
and later named Broad Way; and lines
of streets and boundaries of lots were
laid mostly by chance. In March, 1732.
the aldermen "Resolved, That this cor
poration will lease :■ piece of land lying
at the lower end of Broadway, fronting
to tite fort, to some of the inhabitants
of nlie said Broadway, in order to be in
closed to make a Bowling Green thereof,
with walks then-in. for tlu- beauty and
ornament of said street, as well as for
the recreation and delight of tin- in
habitants of the city, h iving tlie street
on each side thereof fifty feet breadth,”
and three "public splcjaal and sport lov
ing citizens,” John Chamber*. Peter
Bayard and Peter Jay. hired the plaint-
for eleven years in return
ment of a peppercorn: It
lifted up for the playing
when tlte lease expired it
Christmas Sweethearts—A Very Popular Post Card This Season.
11E Christmas
card of
our
T
grandfathers.
in a some-
what altered
and hum
cm- j
lzod form,
s tho v
'sue j
' 1
again.
!
j. w
Although a
custom
full
of sentiment and
well |
worthy of
porpet ua
ion, j
for many ye
j.rs its p
>pu- |
larky seenn
d to w
aim. 1
l if
and till* -H
casional
ex-
r— hiib^
changes pf
the vari
col- ,
dd marve
'Kristinas
aso is related of t
women, who real is
five thousand doll:
made
have
by painting pictun
genuine talent in
and are kept at i
average artist get
the work usually
but for tin*,
■ard brings,
wo English
e annually j
rs entirely j
They !
cards
this kind <
permanently
a month <
in iniclsummc
Now tin* automobile delivery wa
the fashionable department stores
;he gift, and when the lover co
servant or butler shows him in. a
acknowledgment of id-: gift is
mn Illy.
The dinner of then was differen
t"oay. perhaps ihe jaded palates
time would not be s.uisti--: with
A long taili
n' I - liina and
n to tie-
V. .nl. grandf.
*.iip there i a:
- i .1 of the ta
side, a ham
P; tiked by ve
I’lum pudu;.j
staples of th
Vi ns washed
claret.
i iiampagne
obi days.
( \ 11": \ agar.
i.l with nut
Tltp whole i
■esidiug. Aft
i - t t urkey :
•hi
for the pay- j
was at oncei
f ImjwIs, ami j
was renewed
by John Chamhera, Colonel Phillipse and
Jolm Roosevelt for another eleven years)
at a rental of twenty shillings per an
num. Thus originated tlte name “Bow
ling Green,” though for wliat reason the'
j sport was not. continued after the second
) lease is not clear.
I Several famous houses have stood
j near Bowling Green, and one of these
1 was a building at I Broadway, erected
jin 1766 by tho English Captain Kennedy,
j afterward earl of Cassillis. " iiicli in
J time came to l>e used by Washington and
Generals J.ee and Putnam as their liead-
! quart! rs. A boarding house, known as
{tite Washington inn. 'otlowcd. and later!
! Cyrus Fii-M ealleil Ir'A ;ew structure on
the same site the "Wa.Siington building. - ’
bring. ! At what is now- 9 Broadway, Benedict
nes. a | Arnold lived after the capture of Major,
id : .- - Andre, and it was while lie was there
i for- that he escaped being kidnapped back
; into tlie patriot's lines by a baud of
{daring colonists. Nearby Captain Martin 1
0,1 M'rciger built, in 1659. a tavern which
stood under his name until it gave way
to hostelry known first as the "King's
Arms tavern," and during tlu- revolution
as "Bunt's Coffee house." This was
among tlte few buildings that escaped
tlie tires of 1776 and 13-15, and as late
as I860 it was still standing under the
name of "The Atlantic Garden"—only
the second structure, as a mailer of fact. I
to occupy the site since tlie foundation,
of tin- city! An advertisement of May
ored. handsomely printed
messengers of “peace on
earth, good-will to men.' was confined
principally to children.
Bitt the hauviuer mailing card has
brought back the Christinas caia^ again
to even a greater vogue than it en
joyed iti tlie long ago.
or early fall. This
is really the time when
artist needs help most, for
summer when his calling
munerative.
DIPLOMATIC SIGNIFICANCE.
If every Christmas card coti.M have on
it tlie signature of hs artist, there would
he general surprise at tlte kind of talent
that is employed in preparing -the pic-
t tiros,
Mr. John Bacon, I!. A . began painting
aided to cut In autograph.
- the Christinas card of tlie
idi- to take on quite a dlp'.o-
fi. mice. In order to signal-
<11 - : alliance with Japan am-l
tlu: world over. King Ed-
1 o' c year’s Christmas card
a suuje-ct willed would show
of B 'itish ajul Japanese
The artist turned out a
icture of a hail in Tokio, in
Brit h admiral was shown
panose princess,
ast to Japan made
land of tlie mika-
:s of the world it
| if a rejHjrt could be obtained from the Christinas cards a your
European men
tis card habit.
desif
den.
hands
rlous
-moan tin- pa.*
. it was inevil
Nothing si 'ii
f oscillating cu
style.-'. Even
Tlie
toms go with changing sty
England. coup try of eorr.-rv:i
Christmas h;ts changed much.
On. e it was au occasion for
plays, enacted l'y rite priests.
Thin under the Stuarts 1.11.10 the
i f the masques, sumptuous specta
eiuorlaininen'.s. Bin John.uu '
imcert !
3 o i-lix-k. and
f tlie coolness
will be admitt
money will !»
to begin ex-
etul at 10. on
of the evening. 1
d without ;ii-k-
taken at the
* instinct in tiie French
cry scrupulous in their
;lio ethics of the Christ-
nan of prominence socia!-
or politically, sends out
' cards, and any friend,
ustonier who is overlook-
> or sho has a just cause
Christmas cards of the
1 are of tlie old-fashioned
the outer cover having a
:sign and a seasonable
1 they have served iheir
►so. they can, by the sim-
removing tlie outer shell.
.1 rmanent souvenirs of a
States the mailing card,
s tho souvenir postal.
>u!ar form of all.
of design. *he demand l«
•ring. When the photo-
set in a few years ago.
*r ) t'siui you met was
tographer, then tiie black
gained a marked prefer-
ig is colors. Tim ama-
ctim of the camera than
e novelty has worn off.
white of photography
I to fall short of suppfv-
tliat are needed to pic-
h"l\ j Piles Cured in G to 14 Days.
i PA 340 OINTMENT i« guaranteed to
" 1, ' s | cure any case of Itching. Blind. Bleeding i
cula: I or Piirtruiiiiig I’iles in 6 to !4 days or!
vre ei money refunded. 50c.
Good Old Santa on a Post Card.
i various post office departments of the.
• world, it would be found that tons on
! tons of tiie cards are now being mailed
| from all parts of tlie world.
I The traveler on the continent who lias-
. twenty friends to whom he would send
which task . in
adopts tlii- j "f
f buying a j
Christmas ,
Tlie Same Oid Story, Just as Popular Christmas Long Ago as Now.
gift to the owner and 111.- family, oi-
u-ayhe Just to wish them uil a Merry
Christmas.
All tilts is gone, to return nevermore.
Th® black man has his freedom. He
is his own master. In winning this
boon, he has estranged from himself
many of those who were once his pro
tectors. He is in the midst of a time
of trial, when in working out h:s ties-
tiny, he must battle against race-hatred
tmd explain away the crimes committed
by men of his own coior.
Forgetting the ra-e problem, taking
no sides, it must nevertheless In* true
► hat many an aged darky, working for
little or almost nothing, in a menial
capacity an some cold, northern city, b*-
moans that merry, beautiful Christmas
of the long ago. in the sn-.itli where
the -winter was always soft and beaiitifu..
and somoone was always at ban,] to -are
for all his material wants.
The Christinas of tiie south was the
merriest festival in tlie United States
until after the- revolutionary war.
E G GilI WATCH
c«r Si KS*WfM> AMMMt amswfei
wmh i.m sor.11> la If* «’*nx«
E.NMUV2D Of? BOTH ‘JSUSS. FuiJj
r aau4 ticakt-pay; of »>r r>.- tita, bpn««r« uuai s*
G 2 L ^ W ^TI fl r;n«UMTKKIft *3
if £ A BS, WeriieJ; FR E £ tc M .7. tr U!rl« K,
fMlIloftO J«w»lry art'clse *1l(»c. «ooh,
aoj «• will mc6 itwtlry n»oll
1 fined tn tin* ideas brouglit over by it.
; tounders. Contiitlons changed as those
'.'ho had come to the new world in searen
of religious freedom gave -way to new
generations that hat! never known any
1 estrlction of tiie right to worship as
j '.'.ey willed. Intermarriage with other
r.eoples helped lessen the rigor, and oy
the time the constitution was promul
gated, Philadelphia had a society that
was modeled 0:1 that of England, and ad
me familiar scenes of Christmas in the
| mother country were reproduced ia tli .*
shadows of Independence hall.
Tlie oasts of venison and beef took
! the piaee of tlie turkey we know today,
tlx* mother of the home presided in per
son over tlu* preparation of the meal,
.'ini the mastej of the house descended *■>
Ids wine cellar ai l picked out tlie vin-
; tage - he deemed ln-si worthy his guests
Nor did these ”nests come for just
•la- meal. They took possession of the
' l’ouse. and stayed for days before and
alter Christmas.
The state!.- minuet, the jolly Virginia
reel! What are there In tlie two-steps,
tiie eotiilou of today that eati com par.*
hi hearty Jollity o r grace with those
standbys of the old-time Christmas ball'.’
And what effects of our modern tailors
and modistes can hope to match tli *
■knickerbokers and flowered coats of tho
colonial men. rhe flowing skirts of tli*
ladies, the rare old lace at their throats,
and men and women alike surmounting
their toilets with powered queues? I
Christmas Cheer and Christmas Soug, iu Good Old Days.
: a word of greeting, but f-
1 lie cannot spare the linn
easier and quicker method
handful 'of the magnifier
, cards exposed for sale in every city of
' Europe.
By writing an address atnl affixing a.
; stamp, and under all put:i:ig ids own
' signature, lie is able to show that lie
j lias not forgotten.
A distinguished English painter om-c
said that the Christinas card did mon-
■to spread a love of art than tiie Royal'
1 academy.
BEST ART PRODUCT.
j This statement would particularly a|>-
] ply this year, for tiie cards far surpass j
ill beauty any designs ever before turned;
: out. Year by year the advance in art
1 printing goes on. and master craftsmen J
with pencil and brush do no; scruple to t
; lending their genius to depicting tiie dear j
, familiar scenes in which rotund while i
j whiskered old Santa dans, tin* white,
j ,-lad Christ child. 1 in* Ynietide. anil
: Christmas stocking. :he Christmas tree,
■ tho children receiving t licit- gifts, tin!
t’liristmas dinner, tin* giant turkey and/
llie snow-covered mosses and ferns of (
the woods figure so prominently.
Tlte Christmas card of tiie oid days. |
while it had the right sentiment, never
reached a very high art plane, but now
a point lias been reached where tlie very
best product of artist and printer is none
I tig) good to satisfy the pul'lir demand.
I Tim pictures ‘that satisfied in tlie long
1 ago would no longer sell.
The only citizen who might bemoan
llie vogue of tiie Christinas card is the
overworked postman, but we like tn
think, that despite the extra labor it
i entails, he enters .-t bit into (lie spirit
' of tile holiday, and gets some pleasure
1 out of being tin* bearer of so much that
! gives joy.
j If lie hasn’t such philosophy It A is in
! for a very dismal time this year, for
i one prominent dealer in Christmas cards
{ says that Ids firm lias prepared 4.000
: designs, half of which are entirely new.
| Ten years ago lids firm employed 2.000
; persons during the holiday season, now
it has IO.0C0.
! The postman might as well Tie cheerful.
I lie is in for an ordeal,
i ‘Chyistnms brings burdens to the letter
j carrier, but it is often a life saver to ,
1 th e artist. Alatiy wieldcrs of the brush. I
signed tlte last Christmas card which Unas
his majesty. King Edward All. of Eng- ing m
land, sent out in numbers to all parts of ' go
llie world, to friendly potentates. t" 1 dozen
friends of Ids past, to little children, to { and ti
charitable enterprises, to officials in his The
army anti navy. Tin* more important Christ
these cards the king addressed him-j ],■:,.
he shown
but what
tin* green
stma.s tree mid fern;
n* turkey, bursting In
of tiie carver; tho
pumpkin; the many
of t; .-* Christmas gUl
man sends his gifts
10 lays his honing**?
lie faithfully told In
and so tite clir'st-
ioL In i bewilder-
Soine of tln*in have
pre-s is many as a
11 t various shades
.nil while, for the
been lifted to abso*
Little Boy Blue ou a Christmas Card.