New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-03-29
Special Correspondence Of the Republican.
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.

HOhSAA, ul3bu dAilNIhS uh int AltITOD- 1
oils, still rushes off to Niblo's, and loses
himself in wonder and admiration at the |
unveiled beauties of the White Fawn;n |
but the New Yorker declines to accompany |
his rural relative to this place of enchant. |
ment, and votes the whole thing to be |
bore. He has had rather too much Of it,
and feels as did the Western man who went |
to visit some friends in New England and |
after sojourn of two months was asked |
how he liked baked beans. "They are very
good" said he, for change. like them
well enough for fifty or sixty meals, but as a
steady diet they are rather too rich" The
"Black Crook did very well for two hund-
red nights, but one began to tire of it when
it entered on its second year; and as the
"White Fawn is only new name for the
same thing, its popularity has been much
more brief. have never been able, how
ever, to sympathiZe with those who mourn
ed over the vast crowds that focked to
these exhibitions, as indications of popular
bad tuste and inherent depravity. No
one but Puritan has ever contended
that the effect of seeing Fanny Ellsler dance
was demoralizing.n Is it any worse TO see
one hundred beautiful young girls and
splendid dancers at once than to see one ?
ThC essential feature of all these spectacular
pieces is the ballet. Never before has it
been given to American audiences to know,
by experience, what this word meant, and
the pleasure afforded by the sight of an i'm.
mense stage filled with eXQuisitely grace
full dancers, was not necessarily an impure
or a degrading delight. Equally true is it
that by these displays we have for the first
time learned what wonders can be effected
by stage machinery. To walk from the
Broadway pavement into Niblo's garden,
was to enter fairy land. The illusions were
so splendidly done that they ceased to be
Illusions, and appealed to the imagination
as realities; and the taste of the spectators
was heightened and refined, instead OF being
lowered and blunted by the spectacle
Even the theatres where the Legitimate
draman still maintained its sway, felt the
influence thus eXerCised-and the improve
ment perceptble in the stage business and
| scenery of all of them may be traced chiefly
| to this source.
have forgotten, if I ever knew, why it
is that at the two periods Of the year when
the days and nights are exactly of the same
| length, there must be wild conflict of the
elements. The equinoctial storm, which
| commenced here precisely at one o'clock
| on Saturday morning, and ended Just
same night, was one of unusual
severity, and of a very extraordinary
| character. For some days before this the
weather had been very warm and pleasant.
| The long ridges of ice and snow mad at last
vanished from the streets, and on Friday
| night, for the first time in many weeks
| Broadway had been swept from Union
| square to the Battery, and was as clean as
| steam-brooms could make it. But no sooner
| had the first moment of the equinox ar
rived than the wind began to howl iercely
through the city, and the snow began to
fall as it had never fallen before, When day
! light daWned the city woke up to find itself
bloekaded. So deep was the snow that the
street cars could not run; the railroads rum
ming from the city were impossible, and no
! trains could arrive or depart, The storm
continued with violence during nearly the
| whole of the day, and people generally gave
up all idea of locomotion and sat down dis
contentedly at home to spend the hours as
best they might. During the whole of Sat
urday but one of the almost countless lines
of street cars was running, and even the
omnibuses found it difficult to make their
way through the dritted snow that filled the
streets. The storm ended promptly at mid.
night, To-day the sky is cloudless and the
sun shines warmly, and by tomorrow night
the city will be itself again.
There are in this city ninetY-four public
school buildings, in which are one hundred
and eighty seven separate and district
schools. In these schools, during the past
year, 226, 1877 children were taught by 2206
teachers, Of whom all but 176 were
2O56 colored children, who are
taught in separate schOols-"the Northern
prejudices against colorn not having yet
been sufficiently oDliterated from the minds
of the New Yorkers to induce them to re-
move this discrimination. The progress
made by the colored children in the &C.
quirement of their education is quite as
great as that achieved by their fairer skined
competitors, and equal pains is taken to
furnish them with competent instructors.
Excellent as are the public schools of this
city, there are vast numbers of children
here who receive no benefit from them. The
| superintendent of education states that on
this island there are not less than 40 600
children between the ages of five and fifteen
who are Yagrants, and who are growing up
in ignorance, vice, and crime. The numer-
GUS charitable institutions founded for the
purpose of securing these classes of chill
dren from the paths that are leading them
to destruction are unable to reach but a
small fragment of the whole number, and
nothing but a law compelling the arrest of
all vagrant children, and their transfer to
industrial and reformatory schools will
suffice to check this great and rapidly grow
ing evil.
Absurd as it may appear, it is nevertheless
| true that the Democratic politicians here
are seriously canvassing the chances of
George Francis Train as candidate for the
presidency. They fear that the Fenians
/ throughout the United States will unite
7 upon him, or some other man of their own
] selection, and thus draw off so many votes
| from the regular" Democrat candidate as to
/ entirely destroy the chances of his success,
| poor as they are at best. A paper of some
standing in Philadelphia urges the Fenians
| to this course Of action, using the argument
that "a million Of Irish votes in America
cast for Fenian-that is, for a thorough,
! honest, pro-lrish candidate for the presi-
| dency-would startle the world, whether
I the election was gained or lost.n Looking
J over the history of Democratic president
/ making, 1t is clear that the managers of that
/ party have often been content to do their
work with very poor tools. Ten years be-
| fore the nomin alton of poor Pierce he
was an obscure lawyer in Concord, given
! to low company and cheap whisky. But
! Pierce was elected; and the Democratic
managers believe that Train may be. The
New York World thinks that the expert
ment is worth trying; and clique of poll
ticians, who make the New York hotel their
headquarters, have "put up money on it,
I The Democrats ought to be the best judges
of what they want; and if they want Train
for candidate no Republican will be dis
satisfied. The once powerful Democratic
organization of the Union has fallen low
1 indeed when crack Drained speculator like
| &C. F. T." can be even spoken OF as its pre-
destined leader. But its condition is now
so desperate that 1t is prepared to accept
any man who can promise Il any hopes Of
I success in the approaching campaign.