Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-02-04
The HOLIDAYS in New York.

The correspondent Of the San Francisco
Alta writes as follows concerning the late
holidays in New York:
Gotham Is just recovering from its grand period
| ical Jubilee. The old Dutch custom of making
| aud receiving calls on the first day of January,
| has been carried out this year with more spirit
and zest-so says the ubiquitous old chap the
oldest inhabitaut-than at any time within his re-
collection. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. has really outdone
itself More hllarity-open. house hospitality, and
general good cheer among rich and poor it is hard
ly possible to conceive, than has been dispensed
and INDUCED in on the day mentioned 1t was o
day for universal feast and love-making, renewal
Of friendships and the cementing of old ones u
grand chance for plausible excuse TO get charm
ingly oblivious, or desperately, darkly and DELHI
erately drunk, which thousands readily awaited
themselves Of
Christmas was more celebrated this year, by
general consent aud unanmity, than l supposed
would be the case in this community. All places
of business were closed, for u wonder, excepting,
of course, the toy and confectionery bazars, and
evergreens of holly, spruce and henlOck deeked
ali the charitable institutions, besides thousands
of private houses and loaded with danties for
the little ones.
The people Of New York exhibited their splen-
did generosity, too, for the poor and INDECENT were
hunted up, sought after, and provided with car
loads of good things, warm clothing, fuel and
OF the city, where the msrrabIy wretched con.
Gregate, were not forgotten by the philanthro-
pists, and many an erring sinner rescued from
despair and dependency by ministers of mercy
and charity. The inmates OF the prison and sta
ton houses, needy families of volunteers outqast
newsb0ys and wandering street children, with no
home OF parents to provide for them were bouu-
tifully supplied, and everybody had his Christmas
dinner to enjoy to his hearts content; while
thousands of tenement houses and dilapidated
cabins were made even more comfortable by graf
uitous offerings Of warm clothing aud coal ana
provisions. Christmas Day was the occasion for
Il display of magnificent charity of the wealthy to
those in more humble circumstances, and, II we
believe in the Scrptural saying, that charity COW
cTs multitude Of sins, then New York certainly
ought to be pretty well forgiven for all the sins
that has been committed in its midst for the other
three hundred and sixIy.four days Old Trinity
rung out its merry chimes asst has 80 often done
in the halcyon days of yOre. The churches were
well filled in the morning; and in the afternoon
every one that could get . pair of skates, went
shaking mad
The weather was pleasant, and one hundred
thousand people were estimated by the Commis
sioners as skating at once oil the lakes and ponds
of the Central Park. The noise of the skates
over the glib ice sounded at a short distance off
like the muttcrings of distant thunder. The Wis
itor could scarcely help utterinE few words of
surprise NJ beholding the immense crowd of per-
sons on the ice. The space was literally black
with skaters. such n crowd bad never been seen
before on that part of the Park. -Four years since
the number OF persons who had visited the Park
ice was estimated at eighty thousand; but now
those who had been for years in the habit Of es-
timating the number of visitors to the ground,
estimated the number us ut least oue-fourth
greater.
The attack on the skate.lettius houses, and the
rrfreshmcnt saloons in the Park, was something
remarkable The prodigious number of forty
five thousand pairs of skates were hired out dur
ing the day, nj twenty-five cents an hour, while
enough refreshments were served ont to feed two
or three corps darmccs. 4 great deal Of order
and decorum prevailed, because il is fashionable
to behave oneself in the Park; even the rowdy |
considers ii necessary 10 behave himself when he |
gets there. Fashion. too, patrOuiZes the sport |
with all its votarics and splendid equipments; be-
sides, there Is very strong police force always |
in attendance and if you transSrcss the Park
rules there is no mercy shown, or ut least sympa
thy. But ii Christmas Day was generally OBJ |
served the advent of the New Year eclipsed all |
former ones for mirth and rcvclry. The war for |
n time was forgotten, and the whole OF the holt |
day week was devoted to making preparations |
for calling, and in giving and attending balls and |
parties. The Flora McFlimscy'S of course, were
all ut home, receiving old and new friends with |
gracious smiles We will not dare to assert how |
many times 1.-THE weather" was alluded to ut |
these calls. OH but for the weather. where
would young New York on New Years Day find |
its topic of conversational
Shoddy, too, was ont in full feathers. Its |
equipages We're easily distinguished from the I'M |
pretending carriages on Fifth, Madison and Lex |
inet, II avenues. The tables at which the Misses |,
Shodtly presided were ovPrladen with the cost |
lest productions from Maillard and Demonico |
and those who We're assembled around them did |
not seem to care much when this "crucl war |
would be over The city on the morning of the |
2d, rs usual, was ncwSpapcrlcss-nct solitary |
mo ming journal making its appearance. Gotham |
looked ,eedy, rs if it had just recovered from
big spree, and every one is now cougratulating !
each other how successfully they got through the
first day of the New Year 1864, without any very |
serious Consequences, beyond slight vertigo in |
the head or II d;sor,lcrrd digestion Thanks 10 |
the Mynhccrs who introduced this lIn!landish |
custom, and the hGSpitaJle of our day and genera |
ton for pcTlctua;ing it.