Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-06-14

AnickerbOckers-Jun Amusement.
Death OF James Gordon Esenne,,
Tho Home of Edgar A. Poe. Etc.
NEW York, June 9Th, 1872.
wonder If there isn't some subtle inf,
ence In Wall Street that writes itself ~,
the faces of men, and makes that pecn,,'
expression which you see ia the hab;t,'es
of no other locality. Perhaps it is ONLY 4,
fancy of mine, but 1 always leave The
CROWD with the sensation of having ius,
come out of Il high-toned Pandemoni,,m
wherein humanity exhibits its most dis
cOuntenances as dogs and children turn
from with instructive dread. You NAV
hunt the purlieUs of the old Five Points
and find filth, and rags, and crime, undis,
guiSed; but If you want to encounter
mass Of wen-dressed rascality-a process
sion Of social hypocrites- hard. bil,nteI
Eoulless, selfish men, whose faces would
stock a 1irst-class Rogues' Gallery, and fitl,.
illustrate passions and vices that one woulI
not like to run against after dark-iust
walk through Wall street. Let me sIow
you some of the pictures from INV
mental pOrtfolio--types of classes
Here is boy of twenty-One or two, dress
ed i'm he height of fashion a swagperina
member of the Gold Board, or Stock Nv,
change, and a loud-mouthed, jmpndart
member Of society generally. His father
has money, and the son CANDLES with 4,
In few months he will have been fjeeced
out of his bottom dollar, and you will hear
of a forgery, defalcation, or flight Mean
while he initiates his seniors to the extent
of his poor brains, drinks his wine with a
bLdse gustO, drives home in Il coupe. and
finishes the day with a frolic among the
girls, or buck at some fashionable tiger
Another. This subject is gray-haiTed,
smooth, sleek, and oily. A person couldn't
be more clrcumspect. He almost QUITS
when he talks to you, and yet is living
falsehoOd-ou the street. at l,ome. and Is,
his church. Those cold, green eyes, never
she'd anything but crocodile tears, and never
looked real sympathy on any child of want.
They seem to be part ofthe straight, thin
! Tipped mouth, which has just said, savage
| ly-" Crush en-"
! Here is d third, with face that might
! have belonged to old Fagfn sharp-nosed.
! with strong lines running down, and ar-
! parently looking on TO the corners of lbs
! mouth, which they witch up i'll converse
! ton, until you sec the snail that prec, G IS
the bite of the dog, and wOnGer if he hid
tusks. An animal built for dirty work,
from his Uranium to tendo AchiIis.
The fourth specimen is fellow born to
good luck, for it has kept him out Of the
penitentiary, and put money in his pocket.
lie has managed bogus stock companies
by the score; don't hesitate to change a
few figures here and there, to make his az
counts balance; knows the detectives and
politicians TO dot; keeps i'll the ring, and
Is trst-rate stool-pigeon for lis peculiar
! business son the street" lie spends
4 money freely; is quick, plausible and po-
lite, and has a bank account that insures
an entire into ''Our best society,"
l might 30 and describe dozens of other
characteristic old men who totLer among
their former haunts, 'iust TO fe,l the
pulse of the market: the fancy clergyman,
in his straiSht-buttoned frock and white
cravat, who has come down To make a call
OH some rich parishioneI; the nabOb who
moves millions, and is the wonder of the
young clerks; the pOnr, rOInd-shOuldered
fellows, who drive their pens and rack their
brains from morning until night, in keep
ing the run of the business on which their
employers thrive; the hurry ing office bows
rushing to or from bank with their books
or boxes containing money, chained around
their bodies to keep thieves from snatch
ing the treasure, en- rOute-all these and
more, but the want of space forbds Come
and see the panorama for yourself, and
you will say That it is "A mixture OF moral
pigments that represents every shade OF
humanity, and every road on which il is
jOurneying, save that which leads to
heaven. In short, Wall Street is an im-
mense sum i'll vulgar fractions, and the
more Won NEEDLE with them the worse YOU
| are OFF.
BY the way, 1t is not generally known
That the locality derives its name from the
fact that the wall or boundary of old New
DIRK here ran across the city from river to
TsIN XIrl-
fore the revolution. at which time the
present City Hall Park was called the "Old
Fields, and American prisoners were exc
cuted there.
The changes that have taken place
within hundred years have oblterated
most of the old landmarks, but a few are
still preserved and cherished.
At the foot Of Broadway, for instance,
the mansions are standing that were Cccu-
pied by Gen. Washington, Lord Howe,
Benedict Arnold and other historical cele-
5rities. Castle Garden itself has in its
structure the bones of a colonial fortifica-
ton. Bowling Green, in the same neigh
borhoOd, is surrounded by the ident zeal
iron railing from which the patriots broke
on the iron knobs representing the head of
Hing George, to use as cannon balls. The
present city pOStOfllce is a part OF the IA
nous Dutch church used first by the settlers
for worship, and subsequently by the
British as military riding school and
prison. Further up town one will find on
the corner of Thirteenth street and Third
avenue, a pear tree planted by Gov. Peter
Stuyyesant, il 1647. Every May it is
! covered with blossoms, a patriarch two
hundred and twenty-five years odd, stand
lng'ln the midst Of strangers, crow ned with
the hoary hOnorS of age and clustered with
wonderful associations. Another ancient
chapel Ill the neighborhood enthrones the
tombS OF Stuyvesant, and many Of the dead
hnlckcrbockers. Go still further up the
| island, and you will find on either shore
mansions erected, and once occupied by
| the aristocratic citizens of New York a
| hundred years ago as country residences,
now, alas. converted into resorts whittier
people flock on SUNDAYS to enjoy horse
flesh and whiskey. Perhaps you are not
| aware OF the fact that the name Manhattan
signifies i'll the Indian vernacular "a place
OF drunkenness and there is no doubt
that the Inhabitants are fully determined
to maintain its tItular reputation
June opens gloriously. Music i'm all OF
the parks attracts the crowd TWO or three
times week, and the base ballists, ana
yachtmen have begun their usual Sum
mer contest. Racing week hes commenced
at Eordham Oh the elegant Jerome grounds,
and every day witnesses a congregation OF
fasllionables and celebrities Of both sexes
in fun dress that is positively dazzling
Returning from the TacecOurse one may
pass the little lowTonfed cottage wherein
Edgar n. Poe wrote The Raven The
poet here passed some Of the happiest and
saddest years of his curious life.
The death of James Gordon Bennett " as