The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1878-01-09

New York IS IN It's hollday attire !;
the shops are in blaze of glory,
and for the nonce, old and young,
saints and sinners, Christians and
pagans, join in the worship of the
Jolly old st. Nick. Marvellous in.
deed are the wonders that this hol-
iday time brings forth. l confess
that the illusion is not yet dispelled
from me, and as I stroll along the
streets, looking into the shop-win-
dows, time and space are alike an
initiated, and forgetting the hard
and frosty years that have inter
vened, I am again q boy revelling
in the delights Of the long, long
ago. The tendency toward ex-
pensive Christmas presents seems
to be on the increase; it is not
now safe to offer your upstairs girl
anything short of a diamond ring !;
while the talented lady who pre-
sides over the mysteries Of your
kitchen thinks a silk dress OF g set
of frrs no more than her just de-
serts. Children's presents are get
ting to be a serious factor; there are
trousseans made up for dolls worth
from one hundred to five hun
dred dollars they contemplate not
only the necessary dresses for the
bride, but all the possible contin-
gencies hereafter; full sets ofevery-
thing for the nursery are carefully
prepared, and a beautiful little wax
responsibility, carefully tucked away
in an elegant little cradle, COM
pletes the delightful Illusion. In
addition to this ale miniature sets
of furniture of the costliest manu-,
facture. and the most expensive
material. The jewelry stores re-
semble the cave of Aladdin, but the
most marked change has taken
place in the department of earthen-
ware. In the olden time, if my
mother wanted any cups or saucers,
she sent me out to crockery store
if you should happen to require
any of these articles now, you must
seek out Magazine de Majolica,
and you inquire for Limoges
Faience, or Porcelain de Sevres, or
Maiolica Durante, while the multi
tude Of extraordinary things that
surround you on every side would
almost have driven the old potter
of Capel Biron into a lunatic asy-
lum. Cups with handles of snakes
tails, pitchers like poodle dogs,
bowls covered with frogs and liz
ards, and plates enameled with all
sorts of creeping things-ugh it
makes me sick, the thought Of hay
ing frog in my rice pudding, or
a mouse in my turtle soup-I don't
care if it is a crockery mouse.
'EVile plebeian p some young lady
remarks, as she reads this portion
of my letter; all right ; eat your
lizards if you like them, [ don't.
characterization is now the order
of the day, and you amount to lit
orally nothing on Broadway now,
unless you have on some extra
ordinary device to distinguish you
from the common herd; flowers,
feathers, little birds, punches OF
straw and small chickens are a part
Of the garniture of our modern
bellies. Gray overskirts, red petit
coats, yellow sleeves, blue neck,rib-
bon and pink stockings, will now
pass inspection everywhere. Loud,
very loud, said Jones to NE, as we
walked by 1Iacy's on Fourteenth
street. Yes, very loud, 7 replied ;
| let US turn in here and see how the
bellies looked in Kurium three
thousand years ago. We stepped
into the metropolitan Art Museum,
now rejoicing in the latest contr1-
button by General Cesnola, consist,
ing Of the Kurium treasures.
| On the upper Nile are monu:
ments of national greatness and
glory, which were covered with the
CRIME of antiquity when Christ was
preaching on the Mount Of Olives
and the Roman legions held posses
sion of the glorious temple Of Je
rusalem. Antedating every Other
link of the history Of the past, some
of these gold and silver trinkets:
come back as it were from the
tomb to tell the story Of q ci7iliza
ton of which no mortal tongue bath
spoken and which no historian
pen hath revealed,-not vague
guess-not a single article only
but piles and piles Of priceless
treasures glittering and bright az
when they came from the gold
smiths hand. Yet we wander
among the dead; here is a cylinder
worn as an amulet by a mighty
king, almost four thousand i've
hundred years ago, here is hiE
name engraven on it, and here hls
brieG e7entful history; not another
link so old, of just such a character
exists on the face Of the globe, go
ing back as it were into the yer.
twilight of time. According tx
Mosaic chronology, when this king
" bauble was made, the waters hat
inst receded from Ararat and TIN