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On the opposite corner of the "Agricultural Warehouse" you will find another little vender of Christmas greens whose story is no less interesting. Liz is a little German girl, too; but unlike Anna, she has been brought up a Roman Catholic. Her father and mother are both living, but the family are poor; and all through the year, little Liz, the youngest and the only child now at home, helps bravely, by her street vending to keep the dreaded "wolf from the door." At one time she attended an evening school; but looking down with reddening cheeks upon her shabby dress and tattered shawl, she said in answer to my question:

"No, ma'am I don't go now they all made so much fun of me!"

Poor little Liz!

Will no one share with her, and the large class she represents, a drop from their "over-flowing cups?"

These hard times have affected the sale of Christmas greens, more than one might imagine; but, as a rule, the demand for them increases every year. And truly what better cheer can we give our homes, than a breath of all these green things that with mute but eloquent lips are always praising the Lord? Some say that the custom of decorating our houses and our churches with these fragrant boughs, is borrowed from the old Druids, who sought thus to shelter their wood nymphs from the biting frosts; however that maybe, it is among Christian nations only, that we find the true signification of Christmas greens; for are they not all emblems of the true life of life that still abides in the heart though all without is cold and dead? Years ago, in the old Puritan families of New England, any festivities at Christmas time would have been as severely denounced as that first banjo in church! But as the years went by, there came, from over the seas, Norse and Swedes and happy German families who brought with them all manner of quaint, beautiful customs that the little American children looked upon with wonder and delight. From their English cousins they had heard about the great yule-log that burned from Christmas eve to Candlemas; the mistletoe bough under which so many kisses were stolen; the Glastonbury hawthorn that always blossomed on Christmas morning; the games on Twelfth-night; and the sweet carols that the little chimney-sweeps sang in the streets.

But the legends about the Christ-child, -- and the beautiful trees with their waxen tapers and their wonderful fruit of toys and bon-bons this was something altogether new to Boston children, a hundred years ago. Now, aside from the large quantities sold in Quincy Market, on Boylston street corner, and other well-known localities in the business part of our city, every florist sells, upon an average, four or five hundred trees at Christmas time, together with an indefinite number of wreaths, crosses and other emblems. In addition to the evergreens already mentioned, the holly (originally holy tree), the kalmia, or laurel, the inkberry, a great variety of mosses, ferns, grasses and immortelles are always in demand for Christmas decorations; and since we have only a poor substitute in this country for mistletoe, all our large florist establishments send directly to England for this magical parasite, that is said to possess especial power when found growing upon oak boughs Of the many varieties of roseum or "everlasting" flowers, I am told, that large quantities are grown upon the waste lands at Cape Cod; then they are taken to wholesale establishments in Paris and London, made into all sorts of designs, and frequently adorned with artificial colors, before they again cross the water to be sold in our city as choice importations.

The natural colors of these "immortelle" flowers, are white (which needs, however, a thorough bleaching before use), a brilliant yellow, and, among the "amaranth" family, various shades of crimson. Sometimes, especially when the wreaths, crosses, etc., are intended for memorial purposes as well as for Christmas decorations, the natural tints are preferred; for white is always in demand, and yellow in France, is considered a badge of mourning and used" at funerals as we would use white or black. There is, among the "roseums," a shaded orange that is not natural, but you can readily tell whether the color is artificial or not by noticing the separate flowers which always lose somewhat of their perfect "rose "form, when subjected to the dyeing process. Aside from this, it is really a very easy matter to tint the stiff petals of "everlasting" flowers; and although, as we said before, most of these decorations are sold as imported articles, the work can be done (and probably is done, in many instances), at our own dye-houses. Indeed, quite a field is opened here, for home ingenuity; for by the use of a camel's hair brush and good, durable colors, skillful fingers can produce far prettier effects, than any we find among the so called imported designs.

It is a good thing for both the florists and the street venders when Christmas comes upon a Saturday, for then the whole preceeding week can be devoted to the display and sale of Christmas greens. Should a Sunday come between, the "out door" corners must "shut up shop "and put their wares out of the way; but sometimes quick sales bring the largest profit; and the night before Christmas always presents one of the liveliest sights imaginable down in Quincy Market. Then every scrap of green is eagerly gathered up and sold by handfuls; for there is always the "late" customer for Christmas greens as for everything else; and many an enterprising little urchin, by careful "gathering up of the fragments," succeeds in turning at the eleventh hour, literally a goodly number of pennies for Christmas morning.