The New Orleans Democrat., 1876-08-20

suburban villa near Paris, has been
softened Into dentilly. the rue du
Maine has become Dumaine street, but
the others are all left us.
Conde street, the original name of
Char,res beyond Orleans, has faded
away, Congo Square, which cammeno.
rated the dancas and voudonish seetivi.
ties Of the Congo negroes. just beyond
the city walls. has also disappeared aud
given place to the absurd title II Place
d'Armes. once appropriately borne hy
jackson Square, ~ dillling ground for
the French troops.
| Many others OF these names have be-
come slightly AngllciZ "a. Enghicn
street has become Engine. and will pro.
badly be so spelt In n short time. and
we have seen u tendency OF lase years
to make Charter out OF Chartres.
On the other hand. the French names
OF streets. In the upper part of town,
have played sad havoc with orthoi
graphy and pronunciation. We stili
Insist on spelling the street next to Ba-
rome, Dryades, the French style. in-
stead OF Dryads. rs It ought 10 be
Melpomene, Calliope, Terpsichore rs
Melpomeen, Callioop, aud Terpsikor Is
easily explained by the fact that, while
the English accent the last q Of these
names. the Frencheho not aud, though
we are supposed TO speak English, we
have, unwlttingly, adopted the French
pronunciation OF the early settlers,
There would seem, however, 10 have
been no general systetn on which our
streets have been baptized. Successive
city surveyors have each adopted u
new system. History, art, nature, have
all poured out their wealth on our
theroughfares. until our directory OF
street names looks like an encyclo
pGdia where everything. everybody Is
fully represented. 81. n faI.....l j'i..f
BEGINNING at the lower part Of the
city, the Ninth Ward, we start herui.
cally with Cato. a Solon and Pelo-
pidas, followed closely by Ne-plus-
ultra street. very appropriately named.
because no one can go beyond 1t, on ac-
count OF mud, swamp and ailigators.
We have three OF these Ne plus ultras
close together; In fact, the city map
thereabouts shows considerable uncer-
tainty, the streets seem to be quite
mixed up and Observation-Disclosures
OF glass too much OF todJy bv the
drauynsman who laid them out. Next
to the heroes come, very appropriately,
u batch OF virtues; u Humanity street.
u Virtue, a Geuius aud u Pleasure To
.
OF Virtue street.
But the Seventh Ward is ths cham
piou in names. The Inun wno cllrislened
its streets has exhausted history, geo
mythology, botany, natural
history, all the arts and sciences scat
tered them right aud left on knee-deep
swamIs aud retired c,w-Iatths. We
have II Brutus, a Virginius, several Leo
nioiuses, 50 many OF these Spartans thHt
the negroes, who constitute a. large pro-
portion of the population within that
riassic portion OF the town, are ON the
best of terms with that gentleman
Dat fellow. Leoni,ias, he am sarliuly
some big coon, you bet, cause wy dey
call 30 many Ob de streets Hrter him
reckon, he must be, some perlicelnau Or
udd-r. Jes 80.
Lurking next to Leonidas are the
smooth Dryden, the majestic S.cratts.
the three dramatists OF England. H-r- |
many aud France: Shakespeare, lh~ih.' |
and Moiiere. Vxndike anu Rossini,
Rousseau aud Mithradates aud even !
Charles Reade, y strange and mOtie, !