The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-22
In AND ABOUT THE CITY.
CHRISTMAS CLOSE BY NOW.
All the Signs OF the Midwinter Eoli-
days Here.

A blithe old Carrie is Christmas;
You cannot find his fellow;
Match me the hale red rose in his cheek
Or the heart SO mild and mellow.
Christmas Is close by and it does not need
calendar to remind one OF it. All the
foreshadowi1g signs are here. and young
America is taking pains 20 keep the memory
OF Santa Claus fresh.
Already the bonfires are burned in the
squares south Of Liberty street, and the toy
horn and the fire pepper are getting in their
work in earnest
The crowds that poured into the city dur
ing last week foretold the Cnristm as tide,
and the shops have bsen literally patron
tabled presiding deity Of the mid-year
festivities.
The windows OF the book stores and news
stands have displayed in them much new
and attractive Christmas reading, and
pictures, notices, and cards appropriate
to the season catch the eye, while
shoppers block the sidewalks examin-
Ing the show windows of the
sores where holiday goods are displayed in
endless variety, from the penny whistle to
the costiiest bric-a-brac. Broughton st eet
was througed last night from one end to the
other. It was a great sight. The stores
we're open until nearly midnight, and the
purchasers were almost unwilling to leave
then.
An idea of Christmas can be got at the
railroad depots. The Savannah, Florida
and Western railway and the Central were
in hum last night. The available space
In the sitting rooms and the baggage rooms
were taken up by packages. The travel
has been immense, the ticket agents
say. All yesterday the ticket offices were
crowded The wharves have put on
Christmas air. I o postoffice people begin
to feel the breath of Christmas. The enor-
nous amount OF mail matter is beginning
to be burdensome. The rush, the postoffice
clerks say, is greater this year than it has
been for many years before. The express
Office has been in the rush up to its Teeth for
several days. and the business is increasing
every day. In two days more the rush win
be more than can be comfortably borne.
The hotel registers are full. People are
registered from all over the state. They
come ia to-day and go out tomorrow, but
the number that comes and goes always
manages to grow. The restaurants are
rushei, restaurateur said last night.
People living within a days ride of the
city, who do not remain over nights, drop in
at the restaurants for their meals. This
class has grown very large, and the force
at all OF the restaurants have been doubled.
The street car conductors say that they
will be rushed this week.
The street stands are doing a thriving
business In the sale of Christmas trees and
evergreens for the nursery and the parlor
for city purchasers, and the wax tapers
and the bon bons and fruits have been sell
ing rapidly to the out-of-town trade.
The bulk Of tbs purchases by the city
trade will be made tomorrow and next day,
and as the year has been one of great bust
ness activity, and all classes have prospered,
gifts this Christmas will be more generally
distributed and the quality better and more
expensive than in years of depression.
For the Christmas dinner the turkey
remains the great American favorite, and
to meet this demand the live fowls have
been brought by the carload from Tennessee
and points farther south, to say nothing of
the heavy receipts of dressed fowls of
better quality from the north
The churches are taking on their interior
decorations for the usual Chri tmas services
and the Sunday school exercises, with their
attendant distribution of gifts.