The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-12-25
CHRISTMAS EVE
IN full BLAST.
A Deafening Roar on Broad Street
Last Night.
A GREAT CHAOTIC THR0NG.
Men. Women and Children Mingle
With Pop-Crackers. Tin Horns,
Jags and Dinner Bells-it Was
"A Scene to BE Remembered.

Last night was one long to be remem-
bered on Broad street. The entire pro-
cession had Christmas in their bones It
was one long. chaotic and heterogeneous
conglomeration Of humanity At one
time IL looked as If everybody in Rich-
mond was in the push" for push 1t
was.
The dense crowd commenced 10 fiji the
thoroughfare about o'clock In the af-
ternoou. OF course the street was prac-
tically full OF peopls during the entire
day, but the nOise-producng multitude.
did not get down 10 business until late
in the afternoon.
Larger and larger grew the procession
until about $50 o'clock when therCNwere
perhaps 2)0o0 people pushing up and
down the south side Of the big retail
street This number was steadily in
creased until o'clock when the crowd
was made up.
y GRAND MIXTURE.
There were men. women and children Of
all ages. cOlors, styles and dispositions.
There were Representative business men,
quiet sober citizens OF the old school,
elderly ladies with their arms full OF
packages. young men out fon lark,
pink-cheeked maidens with the flush 81
small boys with any amount Of pop
crackers and fire works in their overcoat
pockets, little girls with Christmas in
their bones. sober people and drunken
people. poor people with Only the privi-
lsge of looking on in the general shuttle,
tin horns. dinner bells. COW bells. scream
ers. baby-wakers. whiskey-dasks. canes.
pickpockets. jags. silk-hats, torpedoes and
every imaginable form OF existence, ami
mated and otherwise. 1t was a huge
pot-pourri Of degenerated Christmas cele-
bration.
Go AS YOU PLESE WALK
II was indescrlbable. It-was deafening.
There was no dignity. Everything seem
cd 10 go. and nobody appeared 10 be dis
posed to raise any objection to whatever
was done. Everybody was in good cheer
some had reasons 10 be and some didn't;
but the great throng moved mp and
down Broad street in the midst Of 1t all.
The chatter of "A thousand tongues the
wells and screams Of a thousand thrOats.
the hOrse-laughs and merry sOfe gurgles,
the roar Of cannon crackers, and the
deafening blasts from small horns. me-
dium-sized horns. and huge horns. the
scraping sounds from hundred ingen-
lous devices 10 produce noise. the sizzing
Of pyrOtechnics built on a humorous
princirle-all mingled together III Il BIdnd
combination of Christmas "do-as-you-
please" and all enjoyed it.
Formality and cOnventlonalty were
both thrown to the winds. Men took the
women's arms. and blew their horns IN
other women's faces Everybody ''jOl-
lied" everybody else. and nobody waited
for an introduction Now and then "A
small boy or bold big boy quietly light
ed a baby-waker and dropped IL IN tho
crowd. There was an opening I'm the
dense jostle. and half hundred maidens
gathered up their skirts and screamed
and tried 10 push through behind some
body else.
Jolly EN- along. boys" yelled fellow
IN the crowd. and on went the multitude
Merry Christmas 10 you." remarked
n young man to a girl whom he didn't
know from the side OF sole leather"
and she didn't turn up her nose With In
dignation. but laughed and screamed:
Same TO you" 4
LATE SHOPPERS. 81
Amid all this deafening roar OF tin
horns varying in length from three
inches To twelve feet. colossal pop
crackers. bells and fire works. late shop
pers did some buying and the stores clos |
ID out much OF their Christmas stock |
Al greatly reduced prices.
The shoppers were busy all day yester- |
lay. and thousands OF people who did not !
have an opportunity To do their Christ
mas shopping during the week by reh-