Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-12-25

more destructive torpedo than IS put In
Christmas stocking!
There were New York and Philahel-
phla-made toys for the northern children
but none fer the southern.
No foreign fruits were seen at christmas
during the war. and foreign nuts, raislns,
citrons. prunes, "nigger-toes," ana Eng
lish walnuts were all debarred.
The southern boy bid sad adieu 10
these good things in 1851, as he did 70
cheese, cocoanuts. chocolate. bananas, and
pineapples, and he did not see them again
for more than tour years.
KRIS ERISGLE or TIE SOUTH.
Still, the southern children were not de-
prived Of the pure JOYS of Christmas. The
good ones received many homemade arti-
Giles. domestic fruits, and nuts, and other
delicacies. such as molasses cakes and
Shrewsbury cakes: but no doughnuts. "a
they were relished by the enemy, and lard
was scarce, aud pies and things contracted
into "pisen things"
When and where the old Kris Kringle Of
the South received his supplies IS mys-
terry.
There was Noah and tho ark. and
" The animals coming out two by two,
Dressed in yellow. pink, ard blue
We had the same animals, as hard TO
identify then ~ now upp.ejackS wish
cords TO their peaked hats; red-shirted aud
dlsh-taced monkeys sliding up and down
yellow sticks, few soldiers on movable lat
tice-work, kindergarten blocks Of various
kinds, pOp-guns. little TN hons, French
horns. flutes. and drums of much def
cheney in material.
IIRE-CRAcKERS.
We had, too. packs Of pOp-crackers IN
terspersed with the yellow pop-cracker.
the boys delight, from the fancy that they
popped louder than others.
There were few, II any, cannon. crackers.
or baby walkers" "a the COnrederacy
could not spare so much powder.
And then there were llttle torpedoes-
few IN q box with much saw-dust, spit
devils, splnning-wheols (some of which
would not SPIN: Roman candles with
mighty few balls tand some of which
would not 60 of If fire was put at both
ends, and sky-rOckets with sticks "a def
clent Us a 5-cent package of wooden tooth
picks.
WARTIME NUTS.
The stocking contained q variety of nuts
hickOry-nuts, as If emDlematIcal of the
hardihood OF the southern people in ad-
versity the black walnut. typical Of their
worth and JUNCTION the peanut or "goober-
pea, WHICH was Olhtu tlEHtu lOl ~ INV
soldier from the far South, and which, in
later years. has become the legislative.
judicial, and executive nut (tor 1t is much
rellshed IN all OF these departments) and
50 popular has II become with theatre
goers that from q false sense Of @theti-
cism. and tor the sake of the Janitor, it Is
prohibited in certain theatres. Chestnuts
and hazelnuts were there too.
FRCTs.
For fruits there were the perslmmon (the
American date, which was rich gift fur
nished by the poor soil of certain coun-
ties apples in the natural state, and high
ly-cOlored candy-apples with UNBEATABLE
green leaves.
French candy made by some Pizzini or
AntOni Of the South was sometimes found
IN the very toe Of the stocking, and in the
haste TO get at Its contents the French
candy met with q Waterloo, or became
blended with the so-called molasses
candy, which was sorghum and not
candy made from molasses or the golden
or silver syrup of to-day.
And there would he greater variety OF
blended candy and rs than was ever
dreamed of in the sweet handiwOrk OF
Huyler.
No chocolate was found. Even the little
1-cent chocolate cigar went out with the
cruel war.
BONBoNs.
Sometimes there would be among the
few-oh, too few-French bonbous one or
more green pieces, which the children
were cautioned not to eat, for fear
that they (the bOnbons) had been colored
with arsenic. This almost seemed cruel
ty. when there were only three white
pieces and one pink one besides.
COFFEE AND EGG-SoG.
The child who had to drink coffee made
with rye, scorns. or burned sweet pOta-
toes, the said imitation creamed with
much-watered and sometimes much-chaik-
ed milk, and who WAS allOwanced with
very salty butter-the salt to make it go
far land who was even deprived OF Con-
federate egg-nog for fear that q taste of
that nectar would cause him TO become
drunkard, could not easily resist the
temptation to eat the suspicious candy.
Besides Confederate egg-nog made &C
cording to the following receipt was not a
O very seductive drink:
Receipt for three persons: Three eggs.
one GILL of whiskey. six tablespoonfuls of
brown sugar (granulated and loaf sugar
not in the market. milk TO color, and OF
hot water a sufficient quantity. Beat the
whites and the yelks separately, adding
the foam after TIE other ingredients are
mixed. Set aside to cool and to gather
strength.
That was rum egg.nog. with the usual
dash of rum omitted, for the sober and
righteous New England people would not
send the tavoring material South.
FGGs.
Eggs are always expensive at Christmas,
for they are both scarce and in demand
then, and the Confederate hen, although
poor. yet laid her qudntuDl and no more,
and many Of her eggs were IN the "sere
and yellow" and were redolent of saw
dust, and revived recollection of the cir
Gus, which came not during the war,
although the theatre was open often.
The South could not afford the men, the
canvas. and the proyender for the circus.
If the prce of eggs at Christmas during
the war were quoted the writer might not
be believed, and most provokingly never
was Confederate egg discovered with q
double yelk.
HOMEMADE CANDY.
Necessity is the mother of invention and
the mothers aud daughters of the Confed-
eracy made many of the things which were
found in the children's stockings.
They made cornucopias and filled them
with homemade candy; and besides
making many useful things, they made
rag babies in entirety or purchased the
heads of dolls-a frequent custom-and
made up the dolls at home, and such dolls,
dressed in tartan skirts, looked quite
pretty. Some of them were like old peo-
pie. They had hickory-nut heads, and
with frilled,caps they were grandmammas.
INGENIOUS DEVICES.
A Chinese baby was made with peanut
for its head, and it was an excellent imlta-
ton.
These southern women also lngeniously
manufactured beautiful upholstered baby
house furniture from the bones of fowls.
Did the world ever before produce such
noble and resourceful women?
Many of those loving and lovable
matrons and sisters who sat up late at
night making little Confederate flags for
the boys and dressing dolls for the girls
no longer live TO rejoice with the children
this morning, but their memories are hal
lowed for what they did and suffered;
especially as without them the Confederate
Christmas stocking would have been
empty in hundreds of households.
T. r. Z.
The Flags on Public schools.
To tie Editor of the D1sDdtch: