The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-09
CHRISTMAS CLOSE BY.
BUSY PREPARATIONS FOR THE
WINTER HOLIDAYS.

W lLn FeOpL0 ana w nat AAer0 II 10
see-show Windows Filled With
Holiday Goods - The Little Folks
Happy.
Christmas comes but once year," Is a
saying as old as the day it commentaries,
and gift-Giying is one of its inseparable
constituents. Men and women may resolve,
year after year, that they will not continue
the custom, and thus put money in their
purse, but under the mellowing influence of
the approaching holiday, with the remem-
brances Of the Christmas tree and the
prudent stocking Of their childhood, they
Danish selfish considerations and enter into
the gift-giving as of yore. From the time
the Bethlehemite star guided Herod's spies
to the Manager, where the sight Of the in
FAINT, low-lying with the beasts Of the
stable. warmed their hearts toward the
Christ child until they opened their stores
of gold and precious ointments and laid
them at his feet, until now, though nearly
1000 centuries ave elapsed, the mutations
Of time and circumstance have not broken
the custom.
MUCH TO BE FAD FOR LITTLE.
This deep growing sentiment has kindlei
a rivalry emong ingenious artisans who,
year after year, invent something new to
please the eye of the young, the middle
aged and the old, and 50 varied are the arti-
Giles that there arr hose of such small cost
that the poorest and the most humble can
find something for the dwarfed Christmas
tree, or the rent stocking in the cabin, and
Of such elaborate design as will match the
most costly bric-a-brac of the rich mans
house, and he who narrowly observes, will
find that the child of penury enjoys the
modest gift as much as the favored child of
wealth does his more elegant and costly
gift. If it were not for this happy adjust
ment to surroundings, Christmas would not
outlive another century
Already the shOpteepers of Savannah have
laid in their holiday wares, and they are
now on exhibition. The stocks are fully as
large, and possibly larger than year ago.
CHRISTMAS BUYING BEGUN.
All. Yesterday crowds of men, women
and children, white and colored, were
eagerly inspecting the show-windows where
duplicates are on exhibition, and the funny
automatic toys, some of which did service
last year, draw crowds who laugh at the
ludicrous antics of the inebriate who can
not fiGd the keyhole. the cobler and his
| mirth provoking apprentice, the German
drill master and his African volunteer, the
old man trying to catch the canary, and the
Teutonic nimrod halted by stuffed lynx
which two little urchins hidden behind a
wood-pile thrust up just far enough to
strike terror to the heart OF the amateur
| sportsman and other amusing automatic
| inventions calculated to draw crowds who
| linger long, and examine the general holt
| day stock.
BIG HOLIDAY TRADE.
A large holiday trade Is expected this
season by dealers, but they say rat the ex-
l nor off, SC hl-alw- 10 10
| Ieaued this season. The people do not
make up their mind what they will buy
until the las two or three days before
| Christmas, and then it is a rush, and often
| customers are disappointed to find that by
| delaying, something that they had nearly
made up their mind earlier to buy Is no
longer in the market when they are ready
| to purchase.
| There are very few really new designs in
holiday DDS this season. In toilet, mani
| cure, and needle sets everything seems to
| run TO plush and satin, with celluloid and
| zylonite finish for the fittings, the amber
| imitation being much prettier than pain
white. Then there are fittings Of oxydizsd
| silver finish, very massive, but rather dark
to be attractive. An added feature of the
| toilet sets this season is a concealed music
box which to the uninitiate is quite a sur
| prise as it Is artfuliy hidden away.
| In vases, odor bottles and china goods
there are some very pretty designs this
year, in Rembrandt and other limitations,
and hand painting and bead work on vases
| and odor sets are pretty, and the prices are
| reasonable. There are new designs in cut
| glass bottles and new designs in the smaller
perfumery bottles. The sachet envelope
| this year is an innovation, comes in all
| the popular odors, and will be very apt to
| find favor with the ladies'
Plush and satin have taken hold upon
| house-furnishing goods, and are likely to
| prove more ornamental than useful.
| In toys the automatic toy and the little red
| wagon hold their own, and the little Jack in
| the box" Of fifty years ago, that first fright
ened, and then delighted the Older ones in
| their childhood days, is not likely ever to be
relegated to the rear. The walking turtle,
the automatic top, and carriage. and all
| the mechanical toys of past years, and
other new designs, with the building block 5
and puzzle games, will find a ready demand.
| ATTHE BOOK STORES
| At the book stores the literature and the
| pictures are all telling the same old and
| many new and pretty Christmas storie'.
| The rapid strides in art are seen more in the
beautiful colored pictures which deal with
| the Christmas tide, and American art
| largely predominateS, and Americaneau-
| bnOL hofo uEfAdCSu eho Ohi isuiioS iooeihB
| that used to come almost wholly from
| English and German pens.
1t would be to- much of task to en-
brace in newspaper article list OF all the
| articles entertaining and instructive, useful
and ornamental which have found their
way onto the shelves Of the shop dealers. One
thing is certain, the latter expect, and with
reason, that the hearts of al will be open
during the holiday season, that gifts will be
exchanged with as liberal a hand as in past
years, and their orders have been given TO
the commercial tourist with little more
/ latitude than for two or three years past.
The confectioners and bakers are busy
fashioning cakes and confections in designs
appropriate TO the season. The caterers tn
the appetite have laid in large supplies OF
| holiday goods Every preparation is being