The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-05-10

From Our oSn Correspondent
The Popular "whnt-is-it."

u
it becomes a cattle fair; then a poultry show
secondly, circus lastly, and to conclude, a
mechanical bazaar; and fourthly a sum mer-
garden. That is the inspiration it is enjoying
at present. The cocotte goes there and the thief.
So do the poor families to whom cheap pleasures
are godsends, and who enjoy the economical
lager and the frugal music. This skating rink
you must know is an immense affair so far
size is concerned. 1t is about as large as Wash
ington and Independence Squares thrown
into one, and at night, when it is
lit by hundreds of gas-jets, and has shrub
berry gracefully disposed, people who know
nothing about the matter compare
it to the Jardin Mabille. For how many clumsy
public-garden contrivances, by-the-by, has that
poor Jardin Mabille been made responsible? In
fact this great wooden building, made bright
with lights and green with snrubbery, and
a-clink with glasses, and a-buzz with people,
has all the brazen roysteringness of the open-air
concerts of last summer, with none of the
artistic delights due to the fine playing of Theo-
dore Thomas band. It is a poor-peoples gar
den-concert abundantly sprinkled with the
grisettes aud flash men of the city. Still it gives
pleasure nightly to large quantity of innocent
people and on that account is not to be
despised.
The Smyth Smash.
The Rev. Mr.. Smyth has performed q work
which society will not willingly forget With
reference to drink he has shown, as Pumble-
chook would say, that it is right to do it, that it
is kind to do it, and that he would do the same
again True, he has tenderly admonished his
flock from the pulpit to be kindly affectionate
one to another (meaning forgiveness to him),
and has condescended to intimate that if it is
expected of him he is quite willing to resign.
But he has given no assurance that Sunday
Ill I,l IL
he chooses to make il so. There was funny
paragraph in one of yesterday mornings papers
to the effect that new drink, called "Smyth's
Recuperator," had been started.
Seriously, and without joking, if you ask at
any bar in the city for the "Smyth Smash" the
bartender understands Immediately that you
desire some preparation of milk-and-gin. The
drink may not be, strictly speaking, 'smash,"
but the name sufficiently hits off the beverages
peculiar properties.
Summer and Soda.
Summer and soda, like impudence and igno-
rance, always go together. They have come
now, at least the one has, aud we may very soon
be expecting the other. The one that has
already made its appearance is soda. Its cool
and sparkling qualities announced every
wherein the apothecaries shops, in the side
walk stalls, in the parks, at the theatres,
through the lobbies-everywhere, in fact, where
thirsty humanity is crowded together. 1t is
emphatically an American drink; nine -tenths of
the imbibers Americans, as has been proved
by statistics already. The apoplectic English
man shuts down upon it, and dogmatically
informs you that it 'ain't proper stuff for you
to put in your belly" He absolutely prefers
his ginger beer the blarsted and delusive crea-
ture. The lymphatic German surveys you with
smoky eyes as you empty your half-dozenth glass
l. - h1a, a. .Ix.\
assumes look of mild contempt. The French
man adheres to his 'thimblefull" of absinthe-
only he makes the thimble large. But the
American quaffs his soda, throws back his head
to feel its billion of bright bubbles melt in his
mouth, and is refreshed for the hour There is
more soda water drank in New York during the
summer than in any other city in the world.
Not that New York deserves to be therefore set
upon pedestal and worshipped by the provin-
cial circle of the United States. Not by any
means-ony you know our civic vanity is gra-
titled in doing anything bad or good, to a
greater extent than any one else. "The hap
piest people on the face of the yearth," is the
boast of the United States citizen. 'We beat
the world" is the New Workers. motto. Aud
SO you will excuse our being puffed
up on the question of soda water We derive
our speeches from its sparkle and our foresight
from its fiZz! We do about one-eighth of the
whole soda water business of the Union One
thousand fountains are in blast in New York
city alone during the summer months. There
is a certain store upon Broadway that during the
hottest days of the season sells ten thousand
glasses per day. The average quantity sold,
however at the few stores where the thing is
made a speciality is three thousand glasses per
day, though five thousand is considered nothing
extraordinary. 1t is computed that during the
three hottest months we drink two hundred
thousand glasses daily, or eighteen millions in
the aggregate of ninety days. How's that Amt
it quite enough to account for the organic injury
done to the Gotham Hannah
Palace Lifting TO Eternal Etcetera.
Since Mr.. Fechter revived the Lady of Lyons
it has become the fashion to quote from ''Claude
Melnotte" All mean to imply from the above
quotation is that we really do expect to have
big glass house soon and then of course we shall
stop throwing stones at our neighbor cities as
we sometimes do. 1t ought to be as easy for us
to support crystal palace as for our little sister
Brooklyn to run Blot's restaurant. What is
the use of our having Young Mems Christian
Association which presents prizes to holy target
shooters end gets opera artists to sing for it,
what is the use of our forever throwing our
park, and ''our" Greenwood, our post-0ffce and
our city hail. our arcade railway, and our
East River bridge into the eyes of the world
palace not second to Sydenham? charter has
already been granted by the Legislature which
eonfers sufficient power upon an industrial