Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-01-02

ted-as vet and consequently cannot speak
from personal experience. But the parrots
in that awful house in Regents Park are
capable of making mere hideous noises in a
given moment than any other wild beasts
in the world, except brokers. Here the
human animal comes out triumphantly su-
preme.
To add to the refreshing variety Of the
din, long, laDl1y youths in gray sauntered
about ike the keepers Of the csrnivora, and
bawIed necessarily till tLey were red in the
face. These, we were told, we're the pages,
who reported the state of the market and
delivered orders and commissions. TO the
uninilizted they were fraud and delu-
sion, but so was the whole thing. A
crowd of men, walking about or standing
in groups, notebook in hand, talking ca
gerly yelling uDinteligible nonsense at
the top Of their voices, and gesticulating
with the fury of madmsn, while in and
around the crowd stroLied these extraordi-
nary pages, calmly shouting full in the bro
kers' flces-this, we were told, was "busi-
nessr' This is the mysterious occupation
to which our friends, countrymen and low
ers devote so large a portion of their time
aud thoughts. at this strange diversion
ylllllDuS Vi UOit4to 1nAtAo IL q AZ"
hours. and bulls and bears in this little nest
agree to make things generally uncomtOrt-
able and uncertain for the outside world.
But where were the white hats, and what
Of their daring wearers? As the crowd
thickened, they began to shine out upon
the general blackness in obvious distinction.
At first, the bowling multitude, eager for
filthy lucre, took no particular notice OF
them beyond an occasional hurried poke or
Pat, but th delusive mAdness did not long
continue. After the first fifteen or twenty
minutes, during which The fsvOrite stocks
b ad been danCsd up and down few times,
Ike so many crying babies, t.Tc appetite or
the hund-ed-headed hydra t.bs'ed little,
and the general attention to bC-ness relaxed
Suddenly-no one knew whence or where
fore-up rose a white hat in the air, high
above the heads Of the people, and bare
headed individual was seen struggling wild
" in the arms Of the mob, who set up iron
icsl cheers at his unayailing efforts to regain
his fying head-piece. 1t rose and fell fast
er and farther than any fancy stock Of them
| sU. now soaring to the yaulted roof, now
being kicked along the dusty floor.
Press where ye see my white hat shine amidst
the ranks Of war,
seemed to be the sentiment Of the OCCASION
as the unruly mob swayed aud struggled
about the diIapidated victim OF their sport
In one corner stood quiet, dignifed gen.
tleman, talkin. sedately to a.little knoG o.
| friends. lie wore tail white 'sLoye-p pipe
/ of The most obnoxious kind, In twink
| linz it was seized and sent flying toward
the roof with its softer predecessor. Its
owner gaze one glance over his shoulder
and asniied a sickly SMILE" while 1t was
very eysa--s that
The subs equent proceedings Interested him NJ
more,
| The fun grew fast and furious, the air was
| literally darkeued with flying hats Of every
shape and size, but all white. The stout
| tall beavers were converted into footballs
| till their crowns were kicked out and their
! brims torn of, when they were seized upon
| SIS instruments for further torture. Some
| innocent member of the large fraternity,
| now, TO use a nautical phrase, scudding un-
| per bare polls, was Pounced upon, and oV-
| er his unfortunate head the CTOTnless hat
was drawn till the ragged remnant Of its
| brin rested upon his shoulders. One poor
! creature was thus bonnetted with at least
! three tiers Of hats, and was last seen on the
edge of the cockpit struggling with immi.
neDt sdfocatiOn.
| A. the height of the bowling, scu1Hing,
kicking and lighting, short diversion was
| effected. a tall and portly broker appeared
uuOn the scene in an entire suit OF new
| broadclOth. It was uUnistakably new, its
/ brilliancy quite undimmed. Instantly q
| rush was made for him by the tickle crowd
| they swept him, as by some mighty
! wave, into the centre of the room; they
/ turned him round and round like pivOted
| statue. and examined him and patted him
apDrOvingly on every side. Then they
/ made a large ring round him and gave him
three cheers. Not content with this, with
one sudden impulse they rushed at him
again, and tried to Lift him upon the table,
! .5a- they might see him better. But this
| the pOTtly broker resisted: he fought Ike a
| GOOD fellow, and the crowd, tired Of strug-
| Cling with q man Of so much weight, gave
one fiaal cheer and went back to the chase
of the white hats.
We STAYED about half an hour to watch
these elegant and refined diversions: at the
end Of that time our patience and the white
hats were giving out together. The din
was deafening, and the dust was rapidly
rising. The floor was streTn with
scraps o. papers and the m2ngled
remains of felt and beaver. Brimles5
hats and hatless brims, Innings, bands, rent
and tattelei crowns, and ragged rag
! meats Of the fray, were al over the place.
A writhing victim iD gray, masked by a
! CrCWnless hat, was struggling upon the Ia
BILE to the evident danger of those unhappy
flowers; the president was calling across
the tumult in stentorian tones; but the to
multi refused to fall, and the imperturbable
| pages we've bawling upon the skirts of the
crowd with stolid pertlnacity. The noise
was terrific, the confusion indescribable.
We are often told that women are un-
fitted for business pursuits. II this was bu-
siness, 1 should say decidedly they were.
My acquaintance with women has been
/ large and varied, but have yet TO see the
woman whom | consider qualified to be a
member ofthe New York Board Of Brokers
l have been present at many gatherings
composed entirely Of women, from tie
! "Woman's Parliament" to country sew
ing societies, but never, even IN that
nIch-sbused body, the New York Sorosis
/ have [ seen crowd of women, however
excited, however frOlicsome, however full
Of fun, capable of playing football with eact
others bonnets even upon April FOOLS day
| am convinced thatn0t even Miss Anthony
or Mrs. Stanton would have hesitated tC
admit, had she been present on the auspi
cious occasion above recorded, that then
are limits even to Woman's sphere
Let her preach and practice, and
sail ships, and make horseshoes, and com
mand armies, if she will, let her vote for al
sorts of disreputsble characters to be Sc
over her, if she choose, but let her recog
nize the fact that between her and the gen
tie amenities of the New York Stock Ex
change there is a great gulf fixed, whicI
ONLY the superior. being man, with hi
lor6ly inteIlec5, his keen morality and hi
exquisite and unVarying courtesy, ca
bridge over.
A MASSACHUSETTS murderer who, som
five or six wears AGO. killed a woman unde