Wilmington daily commercial., 1872-05-04
"a ca PHILADELPHIA.
II tE 49, ~ ~ u 80
OUR SATu RDAY LETTE

Pennsylvania--T Southern Mail Steamship
Co. Opening Of the Base Ball Season : Mrs
Cushman as Lady Macbeth "A queer story
about Davenport, &C., &c,
Especial CorreS 3ondence of the Commercially
PHILADELPHIA, May 3.
Everybody here is onfa broad griu Horace
Greeley for President To call the best joke
of the season is to pay it poor compliment =
| it is the champion jest Of the age, the one
browning and overtopping mirthprovoker of the
generation. Every individual in doors and on
of doors is in a fit Of combustious laughter. 1t
is within the range Of possibilities, certainly that
they may laugh ON the other side Of their mouths
before many month"; but that consideration does
not render the joke it stands the less irresist
ible. Tho time when all the young men are to
| go west 1 when all the old men who remain east
| are to live on vegetables when the Franking
Privilege is to be abolished when in effect,
the millennium is to immediately and positive
| ly set in, has at last arrived. The '.oomic'
campaign" as it was dubbed in advance,
without the least idea that the words had
real significance has absolutely been inal-
gurated. The accounts are so straight that
there can hardly be any mistake about it and
yet 1t will take men some time to get the fact
well into their brains. At present it only affects
| their risibles. "Do we sleep2 do we dream
or ID visions about ~ Is it indeed the fact that
the World and the Age will fly the name Of Hor-
ace Greeley for President OF the United States
| After this the Deluge or any other little eccen-
| trioity of that sort may come alsng and society
need express no surprise. The feeling as far as
| l have observed it this afternoon, s-after the
whim Of the thing-one Of astonishment. The
best informed people did not allow their specu-
/ lations to range beyond Adams Davis and Trum-
bull. 1t is a veritable big thing and 1t has
lighted up the ruts and the routine wonderfully.
Is il a spontaneous movement, or could the Sage
| Of Chappaqua tell us il he chose What he Knows
About managing Presidential Conventional Can
| ii bo possible that the Later Franklin had thir
momentous day in his eye when he made his
| Southern tour months agol You must excuse
| me asking 80 many questions. 1t is what every
| body is doing to-day. All hands want to know,
| but none of us have answers. The Democrats
are about the worst puzzled people you ever
/ saw. just think how they have been black
guarding and making fun Of Greeley all his life
Truly it is a situation not likely to come twice in
any mans experience of politics.
| The University Of Pennsylvania has made a re-
quest of Councils that is reasonable in itself and
which will II granted add another to the noble
| charities for which this city is famous. The
| University proposes to erect large hospital on
that portion Of the Almshouse grounds bounded
| by 34th and 36th Sts. d Spruce d Pine Sts 1t
| will erect the building at its own expense, the
sum of S275,000 being already secured to that
end and if the city will donate the land the thing
will be done without any expense to Tax Payers.
There is no doubt but that the deed should be
| made aud not much but that it will be. II the
i city consents II will by 10 much addto the magnih
/ cent improvements that the University are ma
/ king in that section. The Collegiate Department
i is now nearly completed and it is a stately am
| pie and picturesque structure, such as would be
| credit to any community. The Medical school
| is designed on correspondinRly generous scale
| and is expected to be built within years time,
| and with the Hospital building in close proximity
| and with finely laid out grounds surrounding the
| whole Philadelphia will have Accommodations for
her great educational establishment equal to,
if not superior to, Yale, Harvard or any of our
| other colleges.
The Philadelphia Southern Mail Steamship
| Co. held their annual meeting this week. This
| Company has not met with any considerable
success, result the more trying inasmuch as it
has perfectly deserved to succeed. 1t has done
its best to advance the business interests Of this
port, but Philadelphia merchants are hard
class to cater to. Many shippers ignore our
home enterprises entirely and sending their
goods by rail to New York, reload them at that
port. 1t is no wonder that capital is chary of
| investing under the circumstances; the wonder
would be if it did anything else than hold aloof.
The Southern Steamship Company has fought
gallantly against great odds. 1t reports that the
Passenger Traffic to Wilmington, N. O. has baen
30 trihng that it does not pay to continue the
accommodations for that trade and that the
steamers have been altered to carry freight alone.
Although the New York steamers do large pas
senger business the fact is not altogether sur
prising, but it is little depressing to learn that
four fine vessels in which are locked half a mil
lion Of money, should have made profit OF only
$4,000 in an entire year. But 1t is the old story ::
and at the same time we are deploring the fal-
| ling away of our commerce.
The Base Ball Season was formally opened by
a match game for the championship on Wednes-
day last, between the Athletic and Baltimore
lclubs. A number Of practice, games had been
played previously and in one of them the Ath-
letic nearly escaped defeat at the hands Of the
amateur Olympic. The game with the Balti-
more was not good one, although there was
some heavy batting. 1t strengthened the fears
of friends of the Philadelphia club fears al
ready great from the result of the Olympic
game, that the champions we're not up to their
mark of last season. This may be only another
phase Of the prejudice that whatever is over and
done with is the best, and further, it must be re-
membered that there are number OF first class
clubs in the field this year. The time was when
the Athletic and Atlantic were pre-emnent over
all other clubs then the Red Stockings took an
equal place; and now there are at least six clubs
! of whom 1t s almost impossible to say that one
, is any better than another, with some three or
four other organizations whose prowess is not
to be despised. The Athletic may therefore be
, as strong as ever, and yet not make as formida-
! ! BILE showing.
! Miss Cushman has acted Ladg Macbeth this
week. It is much finer performance than her
Queen Katharine and thrills her audiences as
keenly as Of old The sleep walking scene re-
mains still the greatest tragic effort to be seen
. | upon stage III inns cOunIIy IL uob III tHe
2 world. The horror, the intensity Of anguish of
: this scene it is impossible to describe. 1t is a
glimpse OF Inferno When she says He'll is
Murky !" che carries US to the fearful place, and
makes US approach to a realization Of her utterly
abandoned and hopeless state. No one who has
ever heard her say "Who would have thought
the old man had so much blood in him? will
ever forget it Tor that awful, that unearthly
sigh, which is prolonged in its agony until the
i sense almost breaks under the woful pressure
Indeed, it is too dreadful 1t has been like a
4 nightmare npon me for some days For this
= = also was Greeley ordained perhaps among the
: rest Who shall say l only know that the
I, ridiculous image of old Horace running fol
! President is the first thing that has made me
: : laugh heartily since 1 saw Miss Gu ushmant
: sleep-walking scene.
= There is rumor that reflects npleasantly OF
= Mr. Davenport in connection with the Cushmar
!, Season. He was announced for Macbeth il
y which part it was rightly judged that he woulC
? add very much to the attraction. At the last min
u ute he was taken sick and MIR. Couldock played
! the part, and played it more vilely than it /
= easy to conceive. The business at once fell of
u aud there has been a very great difference be
tween this week and the last. The belief II
/ annaa ouartara 10 that nayannort Waa raall,