Washington sentinel., 1854-04-26
NEW YORK CORRESPONDENCE.

Walk up Broadicay, and cia Washington
Square up the Fifth Acenae-jSuDday Fash
ions.
New YORK, april %, 1854.
The Sabbath in New York is literally day
of rest and recreation. The masses of the
million Of people within this mighty swarming
Babylon and its suburbs have suspended theiI
daily avocations, and twenty-five thousand
horses are also permitted to share in the gen.
eral relaxation from labor The horrible din
of omnibuses, carts, wagons, and drays has
closed, the stores are closed, even the shops Of
the Israelites are shut up, with here and there
an exception; and but for the swarming multi
tudes upon the footways, this great Babel is as
Sabbath-like as Connecticut village in its
outward appearances.
1t is four in the afternoon; the clouds have
cleared away; the sky is bright; thesun shines
out warmly through the fresh spring-like at
mosphere from the southern seas. 1t is from
the spice islands of the Gulf of Mexico, "our
southern islands" as Senator Butler propheti-
cally calls them; and, although to southerner
there is little chilliness in the breeze, it is
warm and spring-lilSe for these latitudes. Start
we from the Astor House up Broadway. Is
this an American city; or has it not been for
mally taken possession of by what the Chinese
would designate as aoutside barbarians," but
by those of our population, in fact, known as
our adopted citizens? 1t would seem SO.
The Celtic and Teutonic races have formal
possession of Broadway. The robust and in
dustrious servant-girls from green Erin's isle
may be counted by thousands. Dinner is over
the days work is accomplished till evening; and
cooks, washers, and ironers, chambermaids, and
nurses are out for an airing. How fast they walk
Yes, they have but respite of a few hours,
and they are making the most of it. Singly,
and in pairs, and in clusters of four or FIVE, and
sometimes dozen together, they pass in review
and, if you will but notice it, though the very
handsomest girls are seldom without their wor-
shippers in attendance, those that are marked
with the smallpox are more frequently solsts;
and yet it is said, among the housewives of
New York, that face well pitted is the most
popular for maid Of all work. The philoso.
ply Of this extraordinary fact we will leave to
others. / cannot imagine, however, that jeal-
ousy has anything to do with the prejudice Of
the danes Of Gotham against a pretty servant
girl. Whatever may be the solution of the
mystery, while a good-looking housemaid is
generally most popular with the master, plain
one is almost invariably the preference Of the
mistress, especially if the mistress is not
belle
Next to the Hibernians in number, if not
fully equal to them, come the Germanic tribes.
They are mostly men, and this is the reason
of it: the Germans generally come in families
to this country, and the women are at home
with the children; while the unfortunate Irish
come over, one or two or more of a family, ac-
cording to their means. Frequently the family
in Cork, or Kilkenny, or Connemara, or else
where, in poor old Ireland, can only raise the
funds to send one of their number over-a girl
Of sixteen, eighteen, or twenty very often. She
arrives here, goes to work. saves her little earn
ings, and at the end of year she has enough
to bring over her next sister in the steerage.
This acquisition enables the elder sister, with
good luck, in another year or two, to send for
the old people and the little ones. Thus the
girls always constitute, in New York, large
force of what may be termed the advance-guard
of the Irish exodus to America; and this will
account, to some extent, for the preponderance
of the females over the opposite sex, in the
Sunday turnout Of the children of Erin on
Broadway. 1t is beautiful trait, too, in the
Irish character, this family attachment, which
thus enables them to make all risks and endure
every hardship for each other. Millions, !
know not how many millions, of money, are
yearly sent over to Ireland by the detachments
of families here, to bring over the detachments
remaining behind, awaiting the necessary sup
plies. / doubt not that the aggregate yearly
remttances from the Irish servant-girls of the
United States to their friends in the old island
are equal to the sumtotal of the deficiency bill
before the House, with all the amendments of
the Senate.
Now for the Germans. You observe they
are SnOrCer LII SlatuTe anu SquattcI lhah tho
average American. Most Europeans, in fact,
are. That group with their pipes, are from the
Hanse towns. They will smoke all day, and
this evening they will have jovial reunion
with their wives, sweethearts, and friends, in
some lager-bier saloon, filled with smoke,
abounding in lager bier, and musical with the
mingled harmony of fddles and voices. They
are dead against the Maine liquor law in any
shape, the whole Germanic population, because
they regard lager-bier as one of those domestic
institutions with which the law has no business
to interfere, exceptin the preservation of order
Those two dark-looking individuals are Italian
refugees. They are wrapped up in the Euro
pean war, and the prospects Of young Italy,
Here we have cluster of French red republi-
cans. They are talking Of Louis Napoleon,
N;oholas and edru Rollin Five thousand