The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-08-13

burned into cinders on Monday, August r. and he
would have had many persons to give him credence
and sympathy; but this business Of the comet was
going too far, and it would involve the destruc-
ton of the mysterious PlantamOur himself there
was great deal Of bad feeling manifested against
him yesterday.
At eight O'Clock II was noticeable that the stores
were all being opened by the lazy clerks on Broad
way and other streets. As early as five O'Clock in
the morning the ice wagons loaded down with con-
gealed masses Of that cooling agent, were seen
to stop at private residences and hotels, and large
squares of Ice were dropped by the tongs held in
the hands of brawny- chested fellows, who were at
tired in red flannel shirts and heavy, big c0whide
boots that came up to the knee.
eyer leavin' too much this morning-there's three
times much rs you left yesterday" said one ice
man to another at private residence IN Lafayette
place.
hot as they say it Is every house in the city Ill
want cart load of ice before dark to cool them
selves of,'' answered another Ice man.
In the whskey shops at an early hour the heat
was so burning that the bars swarmed with Gus
toners. Brandy plain, whiskey sours soda sours,
mugs of ale were in great demand. And the bar
keepers seemed to think the comet good joke,
a " the
habit OF stealing money from his employers drawer
stopped thieving yesterday On that account.
And the Car conductors who are in the habit OF
knocking down fares never dreamed OF hesitating
yesterday in their tremendous piage of passenger
fares. The pawnbroker charged Just as high as
ever for hanging up an overcoat, and the Wall
street capitalist or broker, who has high-backed
pew on the avenue did not hesitate to swindle his
customers out OF thousands Of dollars without any
conjunction Of conscience.
The minister, rocking in his easy chair with his
glass of old port cool from his cellar standing be-
fore him after dinner remembered that on the pre-
vious day he had not said word about the comet
or It's anticipated coming In collision with the
earth. 1t Gid not trouble him Bit and he never
thought OF Daniel in sackcloth and ashes; he
never thought OF Nineyeh or the wolf Of Israel com
ing the heath en- and sparng not.
The day progressed, hot as an African simeon,
and the breath OF the atmosphere was like the
breath of the lava which Pliny saw coming down
the side OF Vesuyus when Pompei and Herculaneum
OF the Almighty.
The day progressed. and the gambler came out Of
the substance of his fellow man. or out Of his
hell hole in Houston street where he had held con.
sort with other dark birds OF night Ike himself and
he spoke to his associate, a thief, and said =
This is damned good Joke OF old Plantys'
boy,n answered the thief, and they separated, the
In crowded tenement houses wretchcd women,
with babes half naked at the brcast-the women
almost wholly baked to crust with the terrible
heateach pray cd Heaven, If she have to starve any
longer and be beaten any more, that the comet
might come at once and crush her life out, but that
the life OF her child might be spared.
In the English chop house the bloatcd British
publican, looking Jolly, rosy and fat, sat covering
the girth OF OF his beer hopsheads, and his
washed down portions of side OF roast beef with
the brew OF Bass and Burton, and the song was
raised which Is as old as brewing Itself
cannot eat but little meat,
'sTri sSsS ss FifsS A.. srn.
Though r 20 bare, take ye no care.
S In; %$' : :s'$ r. M within ia
Both foot and hand 90 cold;
Whether il be new or old.
In the hot, swcltering cells OF the PRISONS where
where not thread of the hot sunlight entered
to stab the prison miasma to death, the comet was
spoken of in an incoherent way as Il it could never
forgers and confidence men. side by side with wild
beasts whose hands were covered with gore, made
right royalty merry with the name Of the far OF
and confused PantamOur, whom they denounced
as q mournfu maniac.
In boarding houses, where scanty hash Is served
out to starving boarders, the boarding MISTRESS
only trouble was to ascertain If she could stave OF
the bills that were haunting her like the terri
BILE Eumendes and the only desire of the starving
clerk, pinched on ten dollars week, seven OF
which he had to give TO his landlady, was to know
if he was to be cheated ont Of his threadbare din.
per by the assimilation Of his threadbare andlady
Along the docks the sailors, swart Spaniards
dusky negroes. fery-eyed Italians, exctive Celts
gross and placid Germans, greasy Russians, dreamy
Danes and fair-skinned, fair-bared Norweglans lay
painting upon ships decks, their tongues parchea
unucky fate that could SEND anything hotter to dry
up their veins than the sun, which haunted them
like burning fever. The blueeyed Saxon, lying on
a coil of rope, looked at the sky and saw no comet
bark on whose deck he lay grinding through the
mud OF the Mersey, homcward bound, and he sang
the refrain OF an Old sea song
Lord bingham kicked the Armada down.
And Drake was a.iightine The world all round
sa Sir kn ss Ssar wa and s%ohe
wsSt al o h % 's N hs s and the other
On Broadway the policemen were roasting like
crabs in their shells before slow fire. and they had
not energy enough to answer bystander's ques-
ton in regard TO the internal comet" OF their
special adherence The stage driver looking
down on his blue-coated tormentor, gasped out at
.'Say dye think that the CONT can beat this ere
thermometer If 1t kin, none for me- I'm of TO
Jersey, or to hotter place than jersey
The thermometer for the day manifested one
thng-that II the city was not positively to be
burned up into cinder yeti was to get very good
burghers Of their safety from the comet and their
comfort from the rays OF tho sun. The thermome.
MORNING. ep pnTe until IL late last 'D ec de
grees; 0 A. NJ, 70 degrees; Q a. NJ, 81 degrees;
IL NJ. 81 degrees; $3.50 r. NJ 81 degrees; 7. NJ.
20 degrees; p NJ, IS degrees II p. NJ, 81 de-
And finally the shadows descended, and the tired
business man. as he made his way homeward to
his wife and babies, felt that the comet did not
intervene to save him from the disgrace and an
noyance Of protested note or the horrors OF an
soately he heard a rumor that Plantamour
had committed suicide for very shame that
he was alive as an evidence OF the utter laacy
of his prophecy OF the destruction OF the world
And at six O'Clock in the evening, when lager beer
saloons were beginning TO fill with thirsty Prus-
slams the roll of the thunder from an ominous and
angry sky broke the ears OF thousands OF people,
and as the sidewalks were covered with rain drops
| those who had religious faith in their hearts re-
membered with resignation and sorry cheer that
another assurance had been given them that God
had not broken Ills covenant on the 18th Of August
1872