The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-01-04

NNA " N-AN NtA'NANe NL NAiS EA"H iA"NN F'' and dsafenad by the continuous racket For the Southermer combines Christmas day and Fourth of July obseryances Tn one grand conglomera tion act and makes of it the cosummGtion of a years festivities. Fireworks and Christmas trees, gunpowder aud goodies-thesa 70 the Eeaatepn mind seem to be properly separated by an interval of six months. But mot so here. Roollelts whi2aed, crackers snapped rifles cracked and the blatant tin horn rent che tortured air. JubAant and caperlnS small boys, white, yellow, brown and black, beat upon drums and tin pans, or Whirlad an atr5ciuus little implement that produces a sound much like the ululating howl of the sioux on "the Mldw&y." Add to these the rancous cries of street Ven- dors, ai0d the incessant ciangor of the trolley gong2, the shouts and the banter, and imagine the deafeEing sum total. The Elm Citizen who would have "a realizing sense" of 1t all has but to call to mind tlN5se glorious summer nights when the crew comes h1me.' The bo@t race won; Harvards crimson light again eXtinguished, and Victory perehing again on the blue banner of Yale, the populace an excitement, the wells of welcome, the detonations and da2zlements of pyr0techLlcs--combine with all this the spirit Of Merry Christ was, and there you have the jolllty of Atlanta on ChriEttmas eve. And eVery- where on the hearths of home ruddy flames were leaplng and glowing, the brilliant berries that ,Semmed lthe holly wreabhs w,eIe outshone by the gray rib
 bons that suspended them against back grotinds of filmy lace, and little white- robed children lknelt to add to their nightly prayer trustful coaXing peti- tions to good MT. santa Claus.
 Christmas Day, so sunny and bright, with such bland caressing air! A day 10 be marked With a white stone! The crowds upon the Exposition grounds were in gay good humor as they passed from one scene of beauty and interest
 to another Statues and columns shone white in the sunlight. flags fluttered gaily, the waves of the lallelet, fanciful- ly manned, Clara Nicer. dimpled and rippied, and the sparkling waters of the fountains murmured musically as they fell. Each stately building was sharp ly outlined against the blue sky and later came ruddy sunset to .2lorlfy everything with its splendid hues. The joy of Christmas time was in the very air.
 And the people! There were an ex- hibit not to be neglected. From all
 points of the compass they had come, and met and mingled in the tide of many currents, yet each wearing, a!s t were, the badge of locality and environ
 ment. T can tell just where they all come from as soon as l set eyes on 'em," said q ehrew Western exhibitor
 To the New Highlander perhaps the
 most interesting of all were the typical human productions of the south, the
 jolly, ta5terdemalhsn donkey. the gaunt-
 visaged. wondGring-eyed Crackers"
 bat above all ths, fine flowers of South erm civilization, gracious, beautiful wo- men, ample of figure and refined of face, and big genial, courteous mon. These,
 when they met, greeted each other with much viVacity of manner, and most di1i- ciots dra wings They could curl their
 tongues so lovingly around 8 word of one syllable that it would lcngthen into
 three and all seductively musical The
 burr of the Westerner, the clipped speech Of the New Yorker, and the
 tWang of the Yankee. seemed harsh and
 dtsccrdant after hearing a Southern
 woman speak, All she aaid was You
 go on, but it had at least seventeen syllablee to 1t, and q. sort of little
 ripping tune.
 Christmas twilight came, and every body flocked down to the lakeside to see the fireworks, the continuation of "Col- Her Day gayeties. Like everything
 else at the Atlanta Exposition the ffre- works were 9 brilliant success. The pyrotechnic wizard, Pain, like other ex- hibitors, offered only his best. But be- fore the display began it was worth
 much to see the illumination of the
 buildings and grounds. Roofs and
 gables and arches were outlined with row upon row of electric lights, and great golden crosses seemed to stand upright in the windows; the electric fountain sent quivering, rainbow-hued
 shaft high in air; fairly shallops, hung with emerald and topaz and ruby fires fioated silently across a lake that was all Of broken and changing lights The expectant thousands occupied every spot of vantage ground and by and by the glorious racket began. Boom and sputter and whizz. No delays, no fall
 ures. Wonderful things with fanciful | names-chemieal and explosive mira
 cles. Fiery polliwogs wiggled, and jew eled cobras Writhed and the air was | full of such firefies as tropical forests never knew. There were trailer bombs. and weeping willows. tourbillions and
 mines, and marvellous hanging, float ing chains of stars. "Old Glory was | caught up into the heavens. where 1t vanished; a radiant santa Claus shoul- l dered a blazing Christmas tree, and a | wonderful Niagara" mingled it's green 1 and silver torrent with the waters of 1 the lake. Collosal fire portraits of the 1 general manager. also of the director i general and his wife appeared and were ! greeted with a joyful clamor. Inde- l scrGbable things went off and up and
 came down again, and all the time l there were fusilades and batteries and l salvos that were beautiful to hear. 1 The golden legend. Peace on Earth.
 Good Will to Men," called forth a de- 1 lighted murmur from the multitude. Tn ] l..N N-Al,