The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-08-08

up Fifth avenue or down Broadway recalls
Hawthorne's weird story of a new Adam and
new Eve coming upon our civilization, and
walking down State street at high noon, the
Sabbath of eternity shedding its stiffness along
the street. no breath of created being dis
turbing the earthly atmosphere. The fashion
able churches are closed, and country preach
ers, who come with rural fervor and piety,
complain of empty benches. Every Euro
pean steamer is burdened with pleasure-seek-
ers, anxious for the boulevards and the Ger
man springs. The theatres are given over to
strolling players who wander from the coun-
try towns in the hope of obtaining even a
summer recognition in New York. The
libraries are closed. We have faint touch
of summer life in the musical gardens of
Thomas and Gilmore. The hotels are prac-
tically abandoned. The city has come to
standstin. The newspapers devote them
selves to sentimental questions and have
hardly the energy to take up living issues.
New York has thrown a large part Of her
population into the suburbs, to the sea shore
and mountains. The familiar faces at our
clubs, our court houses, on Wall street, Fifth
avenue are to be found in the
Adirondacks chasing the deer, or painting
along the trout streams of Pennsylvania
or scudding for bluefish on the Jersey coasts,
or gossiping around the springs at Saratoga.
We long for an excitement, murder or fire
or an elopement case-for anything to break
the dead, dull midsummer silence New
York is in a condition of suspended ANNA
ton, and will so continue for the next six
weeks.
This arises partly from the natural tendency
of all to fly from the heats of the city to the
seashore and mountain to find rest from a
long winters labor and to gather strength for
the labor of the winter that is TO come. At
the same time much of the desire to abandon
the city during the summer arises from atfec-
tation-from foolish fashionable notion that
it is not proper or becoming for those who be-
long to high society to spend the summer
months in New York. Consequently there is
conspiracy on the part of society and those
who govern US TO make New York during the
summer months practically a dead city.
There is no reason why this should be so. So
far as physical comfort is concerned there are
few days, indeed, even in this dead summer
season, when New York is not agreeable. We
have the cool breezes from the sea and the
tempering influences of the rivers. Central
Park is always open and always attractive.
There are no rides in the world to be
compared with the ride to Fort Washington
or into the Westchester valleys over the
Brooklyn boulevards to Fort Hamilton and
Coney Island. There are the Palisades, with
their wonderful view of land and ocean and
their high, clear, pure air. There is New
Jersey, filed with beautiful and attractive
places, the bay studded with villas and the
ocean within an hours ride from City Hall
Take our poor, despised, neglected Battery,
which no one thinks of visiting and which is
given over 10 emigrants and sailors. If such
walk as the Battery existed in London or
Paris or Berlin our tourists would write home
in raptures about the magnificent view of
hill and river and sea, and speak in most
eloquent tones of bounteous nature bringing
ocean breezes, as it were, to the doors of the
inhabitants. The view from our Battery and
the attractiveness Of this quiet little park to
those who really know its merit are only
equalled by those at Hamburg and Venice
We print this morning succinct narrative of
the resources of the city as a summer resort
of the multitude of charming summer places
that win the weary citizen from his days
labor and permit him to return the next day
full of life and vigor.
If we only treat New York properly and
utilize her resources we should never have
reason to complain of the dead summer days.
New York should be as inviting in the V1m-
mer time as Paris is to France or London to
England We can understand the wisdom
which leads so many of our people to take a
few weeks of recreation in the midsummer
months. Even if New York itself were as
charming a summer resort as the Bernese
Alps or the lakes Of Killarney it is al
ways wise to seek change of air
as a preparation for the stirring duties of
winter Why should not New York be made
O summer resort foI thousands of our fellow
countrymen who take summer jaunts? Why
should not a trip to New York be as much
matter Of interest to the citizen of Illinois or
Wisconsin or Georgia as trip to London is
to the resident OF Northum berand or Ayrshire
or Derry2 There is no reason other than our
incapacity to make it so. If we abandon New
York and close up every object of interest or
amusement if we seal our churches, close
our Libraries and picture galleries, aban-
don our theatres and opera houses and drive
all life and amusement and opportunity for
instruction out of the city, what is there to
induce an Illinoisan or Georgian to make us
q visit in the month Of July?
What we should do is to make New York
as attractive in July as in December. When
our theatres close their winter season they
should be ready with summer season. If
we have Shakespeare and high English COM
edies from September to April, why should