New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-24

under the influence of the buying mania that
possessed everyone.
Washington Market was filled to its utmost
capacity. Here were long asles lined with stalls,
where all the products of the farm the dairy; the
forest the air and the sea contributed TO the making
OF a good New York Christmas DINNER. ihere was
an unusual wealth ofdecOratiOnin themaTket stalls,
and even the turkeys must have felt thrll OF
pride tnat they we're 50 g)rReously adorned Wltu
brlght-coiored paper roses. There was ono stan OH
the outskirts of the market where these paper
roses were sold. and the place brilliant that
the woman who kent il wore smokedgl ASS pecac!es
10 protect her ewes. At one stall was large amount
OF molly and mstletOe, which had arrived from
England by the. steamer Scythia. There was
great demand for these green branches, and what
with people carrying punches Of them and men lug
ging around Christmas trees parts OF the mar
ket looked like perpatetic forest. Passing safely
tnetemptatlons OF the numerous stalls that fringe
the market, resisting the Establishments OF the man
who hawked red suspendeTs and the entreatles OF
MS nelghpor to buy package of stove black
ing, and plunging INTO the suTgiTg stream OF
humanity that poured into the large building, one
passed INTO scene Of Hdescribable ANIMATION aud
seeming confusion. The light Of gas aud electricity
mingled WIFE the few sunDeams that lost their way
IN the intricate passages of the market. Overhead
and around were hung poultry. game, vegetables
ana nSh. stalls where shining pyramids 30, OF
shops IN Eldorado, and near by rows on
rows OF Bermuda onions hung above banks OF green
and white celery. At stalls for the sale of venis0n
one could buy whole deer with his antlers on, or
pound of him minus the anlers. just as he pleased.
There were stalls where bears meat was sold,
Nv uefcc Oh Drum, OF WnlcQ the market
man hat,taken an unfair advantage hanginghim up
by his heels The semi obscurity o. some parts and
the bright Light Of others, the seeming chaos of
beasts, birds fowls and fishes the hoarse cries Of
the hucksters and the talking and laughing of the
crowd combined to produce a striking effect. And
so the shopping continued all day, the thrOug never
getting thinner nor ceasiug its rush.
As night came on the crowd increased and where
a chance visitor had one man stepping on his toes
in the afternoon he had three now. The gas jets
and the electric lights were all burning and the
passages between the stalls were transformed into
long avenues of light The hundreds and
thousands Of labOrcrs and their wives
who had been confined in shops
and Kitchens and factories all day were out in force
and the crcak of market baskets in the process or
being crushed min gled with the other sounds that
filled the markets. The lights cast strange shad-
dows in the of the Tafers overhead and gave
strange Appearances to the birds and animals
offered for sale. The p0ssuns lying in row seemed
to wink knowingly and the deer with their large
lustrous eyes seemed about TO spring from the hooks
to which they were hung and bound away with the
cvergrcens and paper roses which adorned them.
The bears looked hercer than ever. and fish,
with their gaping mouths, seemed laughing at the
whole scene. Even the strings of slusages seemed
endowed with life and if any one had whlstied
would undoubtedly have moved on their hooks
BunChe3 Of mIstletOe hung overhead, but no one
stopped TO kiss beneath them, for all was hurry and
hustle and trade And So 1t proceeded until the
clock of st. Pauls rang ont r. when the lights were
extinguished, the crowd dispersed and silence and
the Penal Code settled over the markets.