The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-08-17

From Oar 0trn Correspondent
NEW YORK. Aug. 10, 1870.

1t is not easy to learn the entire truth with
reference to the ice question, the subject is so
slippery. The majority of ice-consumers in
New York suffer under the suspicion that they
are being swinded, and nothing that the Presi-
dents of the two rival ice companies do can
remove this suspicion. The cause of complaint
is that the price which private consumers are
obliged to pay for ice is $3.50 per hundred, and
that there is q rumor of the luxurys going up
to 50 per hundred or to just five times the price
asked for it last summer To fathers of families
such figures are distracting. Such a state of
things is almost as bad as it would be to put
a tax on sleep, for ice in summer
may be described as a sort of frigid
dream to whose enchantment the stomach never
tires Of delivering itself. That dream, however,
was sadly shattered this summer. The ice that
has been showed upon private consumers in New
York has been of that equivocal character
known snow-ice, and the average price of it
has been four times as great as that charged a
year ago. The Presidents of the Knickerbocker
and the Washington Company protest that
they are as innocent as the babe unborn. With
those who believe in the doctrine of original sin
the protestation will not go for much, since it is
not contrary to that doctrine to hold that the
embryo contains good deal of incipient de-
pravity. Those presidential gentlemen, whom
/ have mentioned twice already, likewise declare
that the false newspaper rumors with respect to
a contemplated rise in the price of ice have
picked the ice-dealing Yankees, from whom we
obtain the article into making eXtortionate de-
mands. Hence it is no longer possible for the
ice companies in this city to obtain Kennebec ice
at eight dollars per topy The kennebeckers
see, by extracts from the New York papers, that
the New York ice-dealers are making inordnate
profits, and the Kennebeckers themselves wax
proportionately greedy. "Go to-" say they.
"Now let us sell ice at $40 ton" And behold
they sold at $40 ton ice which it costs the
New Workers $15 ton to import. And that is
the reason why the crystalline gelidity is now
carted round at $3.50 per hundred That's
what's the matter with the metropolitan Hannah!
Dir. JeGerson's Opening Night.
have never seen Mr.. Jefferson play before
larger, more intelligent, and more enthusiastic
audience than that which last night waited upon
his performance of "Trip Van Winkle." Although
confess to growing feeling of weariness with
so long a repetition of the same thing, however
perfect, vet / also confess that Mr.. Jefferson
portrays the character with no diminution of
delicacy or force. If he has made up his mind
to remain an actor of one character, and to let
noble ambition be lost sight of in the desire to
make money, it must at least be acknowledged
that he rests his claims to consideration upon a
role in the delineation of which he puts some
of the rarest gifts to use. l freely
own, however, that l have no respect
for the character of Grip" and but little SYM
pathy with it. / doubt whether any right
thinking person has such a respect and sympa-
thy. In their enjoyment of the perfection of the
art with which Mr.. Jefferson photographs the
character, the vast majority of Mr.. Jefferson
admirers lose sight of the moral worthlessness
of the character itself. The sympathy lavished
upon such incorrigible ''neer do wees" is not
altogether healthy sympathy. "Gretchen"
might to be sure, have chosen finer night in
which to have put him out of DOORS but her
spirit had been sorely tried by years of deeep-
tion and broken promises on the part of her
worthless husband. Let us not give all our
sympathy to the vagabond and drunkard. His
easiness OF nature was very different from
goodness of nature and does not deserve to
be exalted into virtue. 1t would
have been a great deal better for every one,
himself included, had he been less easy with
himself. Mr.. Jefferson is certainly responsible
for not SO modifying the character as to make
purer and wiser the moral lesson which it is
capable of teaching. But how many actors, 1
should like to know, make it the habit of their
lives to connect moral purpose with the prac-
tice of their art? And yet can no reason
why the stage should continue to be much more
atIvariance with such moral purpose than lite
rature is.
Nathan Murder Gossip.
The Nathan murder is rapidly taking its stand
beside the Rogers assassination and other
bloody mysteries. There are, however, large
number of gossippers who continue to cherish
a suspicion of Frederick or Washington Nathan,
or of both, for no reason other than that of
unreasoning prejudice. What, for instance,
ought to be thought of ah intelligent woman's
declaring that she thought it probable Frederick
was the zone that did it-he eoas so dough-
faoedr Does innate criminality reside in the
complexion, and is ''doughiness" of feature in
dicative of murder in the first degree If so,
may Heaven have mercy on the entire race of
feminine American blondes, for in the
whole realm of confectionery you will
find no habbier or paler pastry than
that which is suggested by the sickly cheek Of
Washington-poor fellowsl-have had a hard
time of it, not only because of the anguish re-
sulting to them from their fathers manner of
death, but also from the cruel gossip OF the
world and the malignant falsehoods of more
than one newspaper. They cannot appear in
public without becoming the centres of vast
.circumferences of scandal. Surely next to
having member of ones family hanged, ranks
the misfortune of having a member murdered.
If that misfortune is yours, every spot however
slight upon your cloth or your character, be-
comes blooo-spot then. ALI BABA.
"A deacon at Cavepdish, Vermont, was
ftu fuad cider q M ba