Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1874-02-13
Correspondence.
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
THE "BEAUTIFUL" OwS--SHOE-KETTLE
DRUAS-COMMERCE-
NEW YORK, Februdry 10. 1874.

NEW YORK, February 10, 1874.
Snow in country is one f!he most pleas
ant incidents oflife. From the farmer who
has logs and wood, to get out to school
boy who has long waited for an Opportun-
ity to get out his sled, it is a good thing.
But snow in New York is an unmitigated
curse-a curse without n redeeming fea-
ture or mitigating circumstance. write
feelingly, for New York is suffering from
snow at this time. Last week very heavy
snow fell as it did all over the country.
Here it was, and is, frightful. The moment
the snow was an inch deep the trouble COM
menced. The street car companies were
compelled to double teams, which, as they
have just enough horses for their cars, re-
duced the number Of cars just half, at the
very time when the cars should be doubled.
Hundreds of thousands of poor people live,
of necessity, three or four miles from their
places of labor. The withdrawal of half
the cars compelled fully the half of them to
walk to their wretched homes. Imagine
poor, weak, halfclad woman or girl walk
ing through six inches of snow in binding
storm four miles, after twelve hours of ex-
haustive labor This is what the poor of
New York were compelled TO do this week.
AS q matter of course the terrific storm
filled the station houses with the shivering
poor, who, but for these refugees, would
have perished in the streets. Many touch
ing incidents are related. Last evening
laborer, with his wife and children, entered
the Mulberry Street station and asked Cap
tain Clinchy for shelter. The kind officer
put them in a warm cell, when the woman
asked him to be allowed to go out and get
food for the children. Seeing how weak
she was, Capt. Clinchy told her to give him
the money and he would send. The woman
handed Capt. Clinchy four cents. "Wnt
sort of a supper do you intend to get with
this ?'' Bread, sir ~ "Well, you won't
get enough for yourself for four cents"
That's so, but l and my husband can do
without" Handing her the four cents
Capt. Clinchy went to bakers and return
ed with three loaves, some ham and fish,
and subscription was raised among the
men, all of whom gave their mite to assis.
the poor family. That night at tie Acad-
emy of Music, there was an Opera-seats
S4-crowded with people clad in silks
satins, velyets and furs, and the air redo
lent with perfumes. In the gorgeous man.
sious up town society was holding high
carnival, each vicing with the other in
recklessness of expenditure. What ex-
tremes! A family living on 100000
year--another trying to make supper OF
four cents And all descended from
Adam
FASHION CHANGES.
Fashion is tickle and its slaves Obedient
If Fashion DEGREES bonnets ten feet high,
ten feet high would be worn, and should
fashion decree bonnets as flat as pie dish,
these would be worn. For several years
The fashion in shoes has been absolutely
or uel. The shoe was made as narrow as the
foot-the sole much narrower than the up
per, aud the hecl-Heavens two inches
was common and three not uncommon,
and it WAS set almost in the centre OF the
foot. Walking could only be accomplished
with pain with such shoes and cOrns, and
bunions were multiplied Garfully. But
fashion has blundered into good thing for
once. The new shoe, which every fashion
able woman in New York must wear, is
square-toed the soles project beyond the
uppers and the heel is no. only broad but
is of proper length, and set where heel
ought to be set. This is a shoe that wo-
man can walk in and enjoy it. How eager
ly the little dears must have looked for the
coming home OF the first pair of the new
style With what feeling of relief they
must have flung into the street the high
heeled, narrow soled tortures that they had
endured so long! How like little lambs
they must have leaped and frisked in their
new freedom This act Of emancipation
will bring well nigh as much happiness to
the world as that of Lincoln. The chirop-
dists las the corn-doctors style themselves)
will mourn, but there will be rejoicing in
the feminine world.
THE KETTLE DRUM
Is the last folly of this most foolish city.
Do you want to know what kettle drum
is? Well, lady invites her friends to her
house from four to six p. NJ. Tea is made
by the hostess in the parlor and each lady
takes cup thereof to the gentleman whom
she prefers. If he says "Sugar, please"
she remains with him-if not she leaves
him. Now it will always happen that some
one gentleman will have no tea offered him.
The hostess provides kettle drum in a
corner of the parlor, and this luckless weight
must go to that drum and beat it, not loud
ly, throughout the entertainment, or until
a later unfortunate relieves him. The rub
a-dub of the drum makes just enough noise
to enable the couples properly mated to in
dulge in all the soft talk they desire without
being overheard, and the luckless drummer
makes an excellent butt for all the small
wits present. The tea is taken through
straws, as male drinkers in saloons take
cobblers and juleps. BY the way, Russian
tea is the variety offered at these entertain
ments Russian tea is the ordinary tea,
with slice of lemon added to each cup.
How long this absurd thing will last no
one knows, but it is all the rage now.
Frivolous New York has to have some
thing new which is not profound enough
to require thought, all the time. The spec
tacle of fullgrown man beating a kettle
drum for two hours is one of exceptional
sublimity.
THE COMMERCE OF NEW YORK.
The merchants of New York are in sore
trouble. The fact is, the exporting ofsrain
from this city is growing small by degrees
and beautifully less. Montreal is taking it
one side, and Baltimore and Philadelphia
on the other. For instance the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad and the Pennsylvania
Central have both reached out to Toledo,
the second grain market Of the country
the latter HAVING buiIt n branch To that CITY