Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-24

A SCENE AT TIE MARKET.
"Gin body kiss body
Meath the mistletoe,
Need . body sadly ~arbls
Listen to my tale Of woer"
The man who thus endeavored to parody the
old Scottish song was . virginian, and he stood
along side Of an old and decidedly ricketty
wagon at the junction of eth street and Lou
isiana avenue this morning. In the vehicle and
protruding between and above the bars Of its
upper frame work was mistletoe, and the young
man was waiting patiently for Gus
TONERS to come along. He had no mo-
nopoly in the business, though, and
many a one who would probably have patron
ICED him had purchased all the mistletoe
needed long before they got as far south Of
Pennsylvania avenue as he was. Scattered
along the city's main thoroughfare and crying
their business loudly were hundreds of coloreo
people-men, women and children, principally
the latter-whose hearty endeavors we're all to
the end that they might persuade hundreds OF
other people that q bunch Of nistletoe no
larger than a mans hand was worth from Is to
Az cents. That they succeeded to . considers
Die extent can be testified to by many q blush
ing maiden and unblushing spinster.
WHERE THE MIsrLEToE COMES FROM.
where do you get this mistletoe2" is ques-
the dealer during the past day or two, but only
few Of the dealers know much about the
source of their supply. The major portion Of
the mlstletoe which is used to deck chande-
Tiers and other elevated places in Washington
homes comes from Virginia, West Virginia and
tennessee, although Maryland contributes a
little little to the total The country people
comes from Virginia and Maryland, and
they retail it themselves rather than place it
In the hands of the commission merchants, as
those who dwell in West Virginia and Tennes-
see have to do. The prices of mistletoe are in
variably high until the market becomes flooded
with it, and the indications are that this condi-
ton Is being reached this afternoon. Every
bucolic visitor to the city brings with him or
her as much mistletoe as they can procure
or carry, and they calculate that its sale
WILL pay the expenses OF their journey
and leave little over for .'Christmasin' These
country folk range in the vicinity of the Center
market and the O-street market, and they hold
out as long as possible for prices which are
almost prohibitory. As a rule flowers and such
like natural products can be purchased cheaply
from these peripatetic vendors. but the rates on
mistletoe are perhaps as high in one place as
the other. The florists get their supplies from
the Louisiana commission merchants, who sell
it to them in bulk-by the barrel
AMERICAN AND ENGLISH MsTLEroK.
The demand is fairly good, say the florists,
but it is nothing like as brisk as it would be
we're the mistletoe Of q finer quality. The
berries Of the native plant are small, exceed
ing delicate, and apt to fall of if the kissing
beneath them is of a very explosive character
The true mistletoe comes from the land of
Christmas-old England. The leaves of the
English plant are Of more pleasing hue, the
berries are large as marrowfat peas and are
not easily shaken off the branches;
they are punched, too, instead of being
scattered all over the little bushes. Boston,
New York and Philadelphia are poor markets
Tor the native mistletoe; the people of those
cities will be satisfied with nothing less than
the imported article, and they use up immense
quantities OF it. Every ocean steamer that
crossed the Atlantic westward during the past
two weeks has carried hundreds of huge bushes
OF sage green leaves and pearly berries to
were willing to pay any reasonable price for
the genuine thing.
WHO BUYS.
"Who buys most of your mistletoe2" was the
question put by STAR reporter to a number of
the dealers-permanent and itinerant. The
responses indicated that people of all classes
and ages were not only willing but anxious to
receive piece of the plant which the ancient
Druids were accustomed to cut from the foster
parent tree with knives of gold Old
people buy it to remind them of the
young men and maidens invest for eminently
practical purposes, and children buy little bits
OF 1t in order that they may train themselves
up in the way they should go SO that when
they arrive at years Of maturity, SO to speak,
they will know how One wee, little crippled
boy, whose face was living testimony Of months
OF pain, bargained for fifteen minutes with a
countryman outside Of the Center market this
m orning before he secured a little piece of
m!stletoe for 10 cents.
Il amt got any more money" he said, an
want the mistletoe to kiss my mother under"
Then the dealer succumbed and gave him
Just such a bunch as he would have demanded
thirty cents for from anyone else.
THE KISSING BUSH.
Throughout Great Britain the kissing bush, I"
as 1t is termed is an institution as firmly fixed
as the plum pudding. There the mistletoe is
decorated with streamers of many-hued tissue
paper and rosettes of ribbon and every female
Ill the household and all those who visit the
place are pretty sure Of being kissed; some of
them more than once. Very daring girls, who
are, as a rule, exceedingly kissabie, occasion
bonnets or in their hair. The salutes they
capture in the course OF a week are almost
numberless.
In some parts of England and Wales the Gus
tom Is to pluck berry from the kissing bush"
each time anyone gets kissed beneath it and
when the last berry is gone the charm departs.
Cunning misses have been caught, however, in
the act OF hanging up a new and plentifuly-
berried bush in the place of the one which
much osculation has reduced to the condition
of nothing but leaves"
MIsTLEToE TRADITIONS.
couple Of centuries ago, and many hun
dreds OF years previous, mistletoe was regarded
as being medicine of much value in epileptic
affections, but modern science says that the
gentlemen who practiced medicine in those
days were mistaken.
There is q superstition connected with the
mistletoe that it is unlucky to fell an oak ON
which it grows and the author of "Mapna
Britannia" describes a great wood belonging
to the archbishop of the Hundred of Croyisnd
said to have consisted wholly of oaks and
among them was one that bore mistIetoe.
which some persons we're SO hardy as to cut
down for the gain of selling it to the apothe-
carries of London, leaving a branch of il to
sprout out, but they proved unfortunate after
It, for one OF them fell lame and others lost an
eye. At length. in the year 1857, q certain
man, Notwithstanding he was warned against
it, upon the account of what the others had
suffered, adventured to cut the tree down and
he soon after broke his leg. To fell oaks had
long been considered fatal and such as believe
1t produce the lsntance of the earl of Winchel-
sea, who, having felled a curious grove of oaks.
soon after found his countess dead in her he'd
suddenly; and bis eldest son, Lord Maidstone.
was presently killed by cannon ball
Tore the Policeman's Clothing.
Sophia johnson and Martha Mergent colored
residents of South Wa hip0to, ravn p.,;.-