Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1860-08-03
The Great Eastern" and New York
As seen through Phi!adcI phia CLASSES.
,slondenoe Of the Star L Chronicie.l

Correspondence Of the Star Chroniee.l
NEw YoRK, July is, 1850.
Over here among the Goihamites on busi
ness, like good, ,du,ifu correspondent have
thought Of you, and siI down 10 give you the
proof of it. All the world, you know, has
been over here TO see The "Great Eastern
and 1.-The rest of mankind" have been run
ming after the "Benicia Boy" and Hicks the
Hanged-and the newspapers have given
themselves up, body and soul, TO those popu.
lar subjects, till nothing but New York and
lis lions are talked about, or thought about
aud there don't seem TO be any place but New
York this side of Jordan. Now, this York is
gag and ahumbug! You can'tresi o'Iishts
for the noise and confusion you can't think
by daylight for noise and confusion you can't
cross Broadway without endangering your
neck. nor walk up and down without having
your moral sensibilily shocked. New York
is great auction mari, where the crier en-
deavors by animal excitement 10 create an
impression of an immense business going on,
whereas, like wild beer, il is nothing bu,
fro,h and foam. You can ge, what you want
here, but You must keep your eyes open. Il
did not Sit down to blow up Gotham, but
find have been doing ir-ihey are only my
impressions)
As in duty bound. of course I visited the
Leviaihan steams hip, and am bound say
tina, greater folly never foaIed. The Great
Eastern may introduce new era in naval
architecture, but the present experiment will
never pay. She will be nine days wonder,
and remain monument of folly. Without
doubt. there has never been such an exhibi-
tion of mechanical triumph. The size of The
monster is not, al first view, so striking, but
when you mount her decks, and measure the
distance from stem 10 stern, you begin 10 ap-
preciate something of her immense size. Her
symmetry is perfect, which reduces, in ap-
pearance. her bulk.
Much has been said of her fittings, internal
ly, bu, people never cease exaggeraiing. Not
more than one tenth of her interior is fitted up
at all. Her slaieroomS are eGualled BY al
most any common sea boat, and her grand
saloon is contracted and jumbled up piece
OF gingerbread work. When say contract
ed, of course speak in reference TO the size
of The great vessel, which would surely ADMIT
Of better saloon, and better rooms, Than any
here seen.
Her height, cut of water, is wonderful, and
standing on her wheel house you actually
"loOk down" upon New York.
But the whole institution, TO my mind, is
nothing 10 her machinery, which is positive
miracle. Divided off by partitions Of ponder
GUS iron plates, and arranged in the most in-
trica,e confusion, in a depth of several sto-
reys, are the mighty pislons and shafts and
cranks and valves. bright as mirror. Re-
fecting on the mighty pulsations Of that Won I
derful system, and the power necessary to set
in motion such heavy masses, one be- |
Comes awed al the idea Of such force let ,
loose, aud ceases 10 wonder that SO few we're /
willing to risk the trip across the ocean.
The exhibition has not been profitable, e1-
cep, 10 the parasites who are always on hand
over here, as everywhere. 1t is positively 4
worth trip to New York TO see the impro-
vised "shanties" which line the wharf for the
Two blocks occupied by the ships. The Bel
GUM Giant, who occupies very diminuiive
enti performing grizzly bears; shooting gal
enes, where men and boys play away al a
;halked board with lite spikes sho; from
'pring guns; Ice Cream saloons Lager-beer
ents eating tents, with the usual array Of
rinerant merchants-make up an "array Of
alenf," as the circus bills say, rarely seen
oselher. I should say lha, not less than one
hundred establishments" besides the barna-
les and sea weed, are fastened 10 the -Great
Eastern" and all needing very much the
ame applicaiion-"fresh water!"
When repeated experiments produce the
anne result, you are likely TO conclude that
'ou have established a fact. l have never
been in New York for whole day, that did
lot wish for home; and never pushed of
rom the dock, that I did not breathe freer:
rom which argue that the two cities Of New
iork and Philadelphia have nothing in ccm-
mon. ihe frs, is grea, scamper, the latter
qaiet and coniemplatiye retirement, yet do
ns. IN lis quie, way, very large amount Of
business, and adding little 10 the prevalent
OF the times. Yours, S.HS.