Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-12-26

folk. The children universally saw or !
guessed that something was in the wind. |
Fathers and mothers, older brothers and |
sisters, left home on the slightest pretexts,
making believe all the time, but the
youngsters were wide awake, and shrewdIy
OWNED hat behind all that pleasantly,
cunning and chaff of appearance and ez-
cuse, there was surely some good wheat in
the shape Of toys, candies, and what-no
The stores and shops were besieged as
never before in the memory Of the Oldest
inhabitant. People snapped up articles
appropriate and available as presents, with
as much avidity as minnOws snap up
crumbs thrown to them.
srolling up and down the street we
watched the immense fow of the tide, saw
the continual Aux, the magic exchange of
currency FOR commodities, and the instant
Transformation of these last into gifts. Who
thought before how much enthusiasm and
JOY laid latent and potential in quarter
scrip? A quarter shinplaster is rather
dull-IOokingss thing, but on Saturday
it, a thousand times, suddenly awoke, be-
stirred itself, put off its rusty corruptible,
and swiftly clothed itself before the myriad
eyes of childhood with beauty that made
hundreds of hearts dance with delight.
Who would have guessed that the dull
seeming scrip was young god
The shop windows at night gave evidence
of the immense patronage on Saturday,
For very many of the glories which tricked
them out with colors of beauty and forms
of grace, were snugly slowed away in the
privete drsyvers of in-,.uzerable homes.
ins Iarger houses did not OF course give
signs of depletion, for their resources, like
Grant's,are not exhausted in day but the
less ambitious establishments, groceries,
fancy shops, &C., dropped and languished
at the weeks close. We thought, for ex-
amp'e, that the Metropolitan Gift Book
Store, with its special inducements and
consequent enormous sales, would give
symptoms of exhaustion and collapse, but
although stream of books, pictures, al
buns, silverware, ETC., kept constantly
issuing from its doors, the demand appear
ed to draw on a quite infinite supply, and
the house seemed like the scriptural
widows cruise of oil and measure of meal.
& 1t was so also at the dry goods and dress
goods houses and bookstores. Behind
every book taken there was another, be-
hind each coat, collar, scarf, shawl, locket,
album, &c, was another, ad i,.fnitaRa, Civ
ing some foundation, this seemingly in
finite supply, to the child's belief that
Santa Claus, or Nicholas, or Kris, ia god,
or very high saint at lowest.
The holidays are not past yet, nor the
insatiate heart satisfied with the presents
already bestowed. New Years is also q
day for gifts, and lest our readers may fear
the supply is already exhausted, or have
forgotten where to go for the more usual,
most appropriate and elegant presents, we
will say that if you are in quest of splendid
editions of standard works go to Cobb 4
Co.'S if you seek matchless prayer books
and Bibles, Ingham & Bragg are your men )
if albums and elegant illustrated books, the
Metropolitan invites you; or if you desire
dry goods, you can't fail of the right
places; if you want the best collars, neck
ties, scarfs, and gents furnishing goods,
generally, in this city, go to Mott Haight,
for their stock can't be beat.
This whole week should be set apart
mainly for social recreation and enjoyment,
but the giving of gifts should be the chief
concern. Christmas is essentially the chill
SIS6fg. SEs6Rgg Alter 70. day a new rule should
regulate the gift-giving. People can hard
ly go wrong inmaking presents to children,
but the general mode of giving presents to
adults and seniors is a failure, or worse, for
there is little or no character in it all.
People bestow at random, giving what they
can buy, and not what they can do, or what
they are. Thus the gift is generally con-
ventiOnal, and not fruit of ones genius,
character or proper life. The poet should
give poem, the sailor may bring shells,
the countryman fruit from his orchard, the
lady a handkerchief of her own sew
ing. In that case gift would mean some
thing for it would represent some trait or the
proper pursuit of the giver, and would be,
as it were, fragrance of character and life
waited from friend to friend, or from lover
to lover.