New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1848-07-15
NEW-YORK TRIBUNE.
NETWORK IN SLICES.
sues Iu....THE oIsrErc tILAr

simmer foloyying pretty much every other old prelu
d.. hss been completely exploded by the brillsnt
success " Decker Downing and othcIs ia coaSng
~ Natives 20 unnsturshlo thcmsclses and 10 be rpo
and elastic at any season Of the year So We may 20
bold down this gaudy cellar gaping invitingy 10 re-.
esge as although July without exciting suspicious
that we are after anything bn oysters u is true that
a. We passed that colored glass door W. saw company
Of young clerks betting their employers money with
& couple Of sharpers a. brsg, over bottle 81 cham.
parne. made in New jersey and poisoned Ia Newfofk
~. that s no matter They fairly on their road TO
the Fenite ntsry or the state Prison. and seen To be
very much hurried 10 get 20 their iourReys end. They
vii scarcely look back 70 see what becomes OF ne. If
We had worn a jocky cap iashy vest and an extreme
~ short and useless cane we might peIhsps have A.
faced their attention On the other side we saw, too
a gentleman and lady seated in private stall dis
ecssing dozen broiled and iced brandy punch But
tnev are quite a. much absorbed in their affairs
tie young gamblers ~ cards, and probably playing
Gfsa higher stake-perhaps husbands honor and
wes immortal soul They surely win take no note OF
u So let as enter
But we must have made mistake. This IL sure
aaidins cave that we have stumbled into. On either
hind stretches away, mngling and losing themselves
in gorgeous labyrinth of manycolored glass damssk
Curtains and shaded lights long Of mirrored ar
eadss estooned with costly blue and crimson silk and
sreathed with golden carved work the interior lined
With plate glass furnished with luxurious dvan Of
tie latest sprg pattern, and the walls adorned with
exquisite and yoluptuOus drawings-now woodcock
that might have ruied the easel of Landseer, and now
ahafclsd woman who might have glowed beneath the
psncil Of Brochart Between these epicurean riches
stretches broad aisle msgnhcently caIpccd and hung
vih splendid chandeliers half shaded with ground
..ass and streaming mysterious CLEAN, half bright
bali shadow, through the apartment In front OF the
ltte recess where we have taken our seats rises a
graceful and fhry structure Of hghty-carved wood,
Eanted cresnwhite and encrusted with arabesque de
signs in gilt-the whole surmounted with rich slab OF
ssper.veinod msrbed, wrought with mirrorlike polish
10 silver stands carelessy distributed about this beau
nlg marble table. chrysud decanters, richly cut
into classic forms and costly silver pitchers Of delicate
shape and exquisite workmanship In these decanters
lie coed up the serpents that have stung the
lie Of so many hundred thousand noble hearts, cor
rupted such myrads Of pure souls to the capacity and
.niltud. Of acknowledgement so many wives and
dsughters-msde desolate 30 many homes and hesrths
and spread desolaon and despair through all ranks Of
society. Taste, drink, riot grow mad and die It's
only sixpence glass Cheap enough-yet, oh rash
tpper only be purchased at last with the life otthy
immortal soul In those dainty decaners, smiling am
berhued aud rosyfashing the spieed air with purple
beams and glowing with golden and fiery essence-le
the spells that conjured to the lip will lead thee
70 ruin madness besr-eyed idocy and untmely death
Dare and die
We have described here only "frstcass cellar
Of which there are not more than halia dozen IN all
tie metropolis They grow gradually DINNER and
ia, rhnr- drqftp OUp -
sher another their gaudy and masking fnery, until we
approach the dingy, noisome threecen cellar on the
five Points with its rotten break neck lsddersairs its
single foul smelling light its reeking and undiscovered
rsls-its vile and poisoned brandy-and its group OF
halfnaked white and negro men and women dancing
IN the middle of the floor or piled unfortunately
INTO the ver1nnous hunks that line the walls The road
rom fret to last plain and straightforward, and de-
.sended by easy and almost impercepuble gradatons
Pint the dashine young man. his pockets well filled
With money. risged out in the ridiculous excess OF
shion makes his appearance in the gorgeous under.
ground saloon requen,ed by but srisocratic row
iies and uppercrust black legs. Here he forms
what he considers some elegant associations IN a
set OF veteran hbertnes, debauchees aud gamblers.
who initiate him speedily into ali the higher and moro
seductive mysteries of dissipation. From the splendid
nshed gambling house where everything is conducted
with the best.bred quctness and deliberation, and
where splendidy dressed women fit mysteriously
about IN ascvious gestures ganciug swiftly through
doorway and then disappearing if by euchantnent
Leaving however, the IRE OF ustrous, passioniul
ewes burning in the breast Of the young neophyte-
TIE that will burn torevermOre. and which will lead
hun gradually yet swiftly to brief dream OF herce
and guilty pleasure-then to ruin and abandonment
and then 10 crime, drunkenness or suicde-Perhaps all
taree in turn
From the gambling house TO the brothel is so easy
brief distance that few there are who do not take
{; This reduces the purse saps the constitution
Increases the appetite for drink and in few months
the dashng blood becomes the feeble maudhu cot and
drop. rapidly from haunt and degree of dissipation
70 another until he hnds hmself-or the policeman finds
hm-a filthy ragged, diotic vsssbond herdng with ne
oes and low sidewakersin the holes and corners of
the City and ends his miserable with death that
comes as the only blessing yet left for him earth
We should not be doing justice to description OF
the bG-rooms Of New-York, il we were TO overlook
'he numerous secoudstory coffee houses which have
become Fashionable resorts OF dissipation within year
or two These mantraps, beside the usual variety OF
liquor and cigars are bailed with good looking female
oaTkeeper. who dispenscs smiles and smashers and
mixes you piqusni jest in your iuep-an for a shil.
hng In these places a. soon the evening sets H.
scores Of Young bloods aud wouldbe handles gather
drinking liquor which they do not like, and smoking
cigars which make them sick for the privilege OF hang
as about the counter and exchanging d word or
mile now and then with the divinity behind. From
he reeking theaters the smoky b.liardrooms and
slippery bowling alleys midnight brings crowds Of
Customers Of every variety, from the accomplished
ssldler 10 the merest ambitious tyro who has robbed
his masters till 70 cut swell among folks, who talk
bsdsrdssh snd coax their miserable brains with brandy
nn they are ready for any enterprise OF iniamy and
ally out staggering up The street to tumble seosees
and swine Ike into the first hole that opens TO receive
them These bsr.rooms beside the positive and &C
I've influences they exert in brutaiizing and dcoasng
re minds Of young men, the accredited semnsries
Of every species Of vice-the halfway houses between
ne ar glass and the gutter the thester and the orothe
Hidden from the public gaze by closed window'shut'
sefs and removed from the 6rat of the street they
oner an inviting resing place where young men not
yet quite corrupted are furnished with every facility
'of s;uiyng their inellects brutalzng their tastes
AID iAasning their sppetites. They the most dan
ssroas because the least ostentatous Of pesthouses