Thibodaux minerva. [volume] (Thibodaux, La.) 18??-1858, 1854-01-14
Our New York Correspondence.
NEW YORK, December 2Sth, 1906

Our New York Correspondence.
NEW YORK. December 2sth, 1858.
DEAR MINERVA
Well. Christmas is over, and New Years Day
is fast approaching. We are IN the middle or
the Holiday week. A Holiday In Gotham! MIN
what anxiety and suspense was the approach on
Christmas watched for by all! How intimately
was its advent connected, in the minds OF the
voung. with cakes, candies, and toys innumer-
ahle- and. in the minds of those Of more mature
wears. will, soirees, cornwall unions, oysterand
champagne suppers, and al the varied amuse-
ments which the necessities Of metropolitan life
have created The pleasant anticlpations which
/ had entertained Of the enjoyment OF q merry
sleigh ride on Christmas Day, were not reallzed
as we had no snow. endeaVored, however,
with some degree of success, to console myseiI
with an excellent dinner. The ministers Of our
various city churches delivered appropriate us
courses on Sunday; and yesterday, the scholars
of the various benevolent institutions commemor-
ated the anniversary by substantial banquets,
provided by Iberal-hearted donors. But Icouia
not help thinking, as passed through. some OF
the low streets in the suburbs Of the CITY, anu
noticed the air Of squalid destitution and misery
which pervaded everything, there some 20 whom
The miserable wife Of a besotted husband, the
worse than orphan child Of living vicious parents,
or the unhappy but honest poor, whom sickness
or the adyersties Of fortune had reduced to the
last stages Of poverty, who we're suffering from
hunger or almost perishing with cold-Who
dropped the silent tear and shuddered with ap-
prehension, as they consumed the last morsel OF
bread or watched the expiring embers OF the
last faggot upon the hearth-what was this
z Merry Christmas to them z It's merriment
only served to make more bitter the contrast be-
tween their condition and that of their more
favored fellow-creatures. As hurried on, i
could not avoid offering silent prayer that
those who were possessed OF an abundance might
not on this day forget the poor. Poverty, = y
said, is no sin but contend that wherever
poverty exists, there must be sin--someWhere.
Your telegraphic dispatches will have already
Informed yon that q terrible confag alton oc-
cured here yesterday morning, by which hover q
million dollars worth Of property was destroyed.
The fire broke out in Front street. and si1 build
ings and their contents, valued yat about eighty
thousand dollars, were destroyed there. But
the most melancholy result Of this fire Is the
destruction of the magnificent clipper ship Great
Republic, and two other vessels, the Joseph
Walker and the White Squat. The pecunlary
loss, though large, is only secondary to the loss
to the American mercantile marine, IN the des-
| truction Of the ship Great Republic Your
readers will have some idea Of the rush to see
this ship, when they learn that, during her stay
in this port, nearly six thousand dollars were
received from visitors, who paid one shilling
each for the privilege Of viewing her. The
Great Republic was loaded with the largest
cargo ever carried by one vessel She was soon
/ to sail for Australia. During the last two or
three weeks, this immense vessel has been the
cynosure of all eyes. Even the ladies have
struggled through the quagmire at the foot Of
Roosevelt street, and all along Front street IN
| order to look at the largest and most beautiful
ship in the world. Her enterprising builder
| will have the sincere sympathies OF the whole
community ana l, in common with many others,
deeply regret that his experiment has proved a
comparative failure, at least for the present,
But he will not, think, be discouraged by this
blow. Another Great Republic will grow to the
same size and beauty, under his hands; and i
he be only as successful in his plans as before,
the people Of this great republic will rise up and
| honor him.
| Comments upon the Worlds Fair, as an ex-
| hibition worth looking at, take to be unneces-
sary in your paper, at this late date; many of
your readers having seen it, and most of the
others having read detailed and well-written ac-
counts of it. first published in the daily papers
of this city, and then copied into their weekly
editions for country circulation. Besides, some
of the best of these articles have been reprinted
in one half of the papers Of the Union, SO that
all America may be said to know as much Of the
Crystal Palace as is possible to be known Of a
thing by reading about it The general impress
sion is that the enterprise has been Of incalcul-
able benefit to our country as whole, IN many
ways, while, on the other hand, it has been pee
/ III
| have also been made and lost on real estate, in
/ the upper part of the city, which was expected
1 to rise in value higher than it did, and to con-
tinue to be held at enormous rates Hardly one
of the numerous showmen has escaped without
losing from $500 to $4,000; and not single
rumshop has paid its expenses; the proprietors
of some of the frst-class saloons, after they had
vainly endeavored to sell out, have been obliged
to go out ssdead broke sssss
| However, native inventors, and manufacturers
of all kinds have been benefited by the Elk
bition, and great good has been done by bring.
| ing them in personal contact with Europeans d
the same class, many of whom have made their
visit to New York Immediately and prospectively
profitable. An English manufacturer told me,
yesterday, that he has already made $50, 600 by
coming here, and that he has orders for ST
600 worth of his goods-lace goods, believe.
This will probably result in his having q regular
trade with America He had none at all before.
Our own manufacturers Of such articles as are
made better here than in Europe, have, in some
instances been quite as fortunate in opening q
trade with Great Britain and the Continent Of
Europe In some cases, theyhave even received
so many orders from European houses that they
cannot supply the home demand for their goods
Stearns s. Marvin, of this city, the manufactur.
ers Of Wilder's celebrated safes, with Rich's i'm.
provement, have received orders from clever
kingdoms and principalities Of Europe, and art
contemplating the erection Of a new building, Il
be devoted solely to the manufacture of safes t
supply European orders their present building
being hardly large enough to supply the home
demand, which has also been largely increased
by the Great Exhibition. So with many othel
branches of business. Capital has even been in
vested in the establishment of barber's shops ane
oyster saloons in London and Liverpool on til.
American plan; and two or three magnificent
drinking shops, in which "sherry cobblers,s
ssmint juleps," "brandy smashes," .dogs
nose" and other fancy drinks, y manufactured
by genuine American bar-keepers, are to b,
shortly started in London. The English-poor
benighted people, how much they are behind US
now drink their liquors "neat," or with i
slight admixture Of water, they seldom ssdrow1
the miller, y and sometimes little sugar.
I know of no other cause to attribute the pre-