Weekly Trinity journal., 1870-12-24
SAN FRANCISCO LETTER.
FROM oun REeurn coRREspOypENr.


ries is near at hand, and that this turbulent year
fraught with great events and dyed with blood,
will soon pass from the present into history and
become another leaf in the hundred-paged book
of the century A thousand things herald the
approach Of the great festival. The corner gro
cerics have removed the mortuary remains Of
last Summers flies from their window shelves,
replaced the hy-speckled cans of cove oysters
with bran-new row, taken off the top layer OF
dust covered maccaroni that has lain in its
fringe of blue paper so long that memory recalls
not the time to the contrary, and made their
windows gay and festive by the mathematical
distribution of sundry brilliant Christmas can
dles-candles that are so far above the ordinary
grocery dip that the plebian presence Of the lat
ter seems almost an insult to the aristocratc
green and blue wax Of the new eomers The
dry goods stores have taken in their " Fall Sac
rfces,' and are now Offering bargains in Winter
dresses and bonnets at a tr1c less than cost just
to show that the heart of dry goods man is not
wholly Indifferent to the genial influence of the
festive season. The trim maidens in the Dollar
Stores are almost run off their feet and are so
busy that they have not even a moment to spare
to throw a furtive glance in the large mirrors at
their own good looks. The stores all over the
city from busy wholesale Front street, to dull re-
tail Third street are decorated more or less with
Christmas trees, the butchers and frutuers stalls
in the markets arc a mass Of eyergrcens and the
Churches and Sunday Schools are matted and
,.;, !, r.,, oo;l;
If any one is inclined to under estimate our
wealth. he should take walk along Montgomery
street and look at the jewelry stores. The city
that can support such an establishment as Tuck
er's need never complain of hard times The
windows fairly sparkle with precious stones
Hundreds Of gems flash their scntillating rays
on other gems like tiny stars. Great jewels are
scattered about with an artistic csreessness that
almost makes one ask if they are indeed rubics,
emeralds, garnets and diamonds, or only base
pretender5 born in the glassmakers moulds, in
stead of in the bed Of some Indian river or deep
in the bowels OF Siberian mine Marble Fawns
and Satyrs stand in the back ground as if to
keep guard over the treasures displayed and with
mocking looks that seem to penetrate into the
empty pockets Of the ga2er, leer at his longing
face and then point proyokingly at the unattan-
able riches at their feet, riches that seem so
costly that naturally wonders where in this
Californian world of ours, is there any one
wealthy enough to purchase snch things. Stores
like fuckers ought to be legislated out of exis-
tence. Thcy are too creative Of envy for the
public good
But the jewellers are not the only ones who un-
dcrstand the subtle art Of making people coyet-
Gus. The toy dealers have studied it, and mas
tered it thoroughly, especially that branch Of it
which is intended to act the juvenile mind.
1t would require whole letter to do justice TO
the toy shops and their contents, to describe the
toys scientific, the toys amazing, the toys laugh
provoking and the toys diobolicoI OF course
the latter arc in the majority and range from the
tin-horn-horriblc, and, anathcma on its maker
almost iustructi1le-to the dram hideous-
which blessing on lis deyiser-soon beats itself
to pieces. Then there are the booksellers and
the fancy ware dealers and the confcctioners
and the furnishing stores and many others Of
varied trades and callings who are each and all
trying their very best to do to the passer by
which each one prays every Sunday to be indi-
yidually excused from and that is-being led
into temptation, so that if one wants to be mis-
anthropcal and parsimonious just now, it is
requisite to leave the purse at home and gaze
neither to the right left for to neglect either
Of these precautions is fatal to the preservation
of coin and destructive to the indulgence Of bit
ter feelings.
THE LATEST THING IN RELIGION
Every year or so the people of the Atlantic
States make the discovery that we Calilornians
are in the last stage Of total dcprayity and un-
regenerated wickedness and for the purpose Of
reclaiming us from this spiritual darkness they
send on one Of their most noted aud eloquent re-
yivalists. Somehow or other these clerical
lights always manage to wax wealthy at our ex-
pense as instance Brother Earls who departed n
richer and bettcr-banked account man by S. 600
than when he came, and Elder Knapp who
while laying up his treasures in Heaven, did not
forget to provide against contingencies by also
laying up little on earth, and to such good
purpose that he is now the largest land owner
in San Diego county. 1t is therefore with some
appreciation that we learn of the advent of a
new religious stimuaer-Miles Grant his name
who is said to as far excel his predecessors
as a coin extractor as the powers of light excel
the powers of darkness. The peculiar absurdi-
ty believed by this professional evangelist is
that things mundane are rapidly approaching a
crsiS-in fact year or two more will let this
world out, when he proposes to depart with
some hundred nrosolytes IN n enacia1 uooyon ro