The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1879-02-27
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.

the other night, was, technically speak
ing, big thing, and as fine for its raei.
ness and peculiarity as for its size. The
Circle Of Harmony is French, and what
the French don't know about mask ball.
could be held on the point Of that needle
through whose eyes camels and rich
men cannot pass, and is such a mole
cule that it would not be worth teach
ing to a young lady. remark that pa
pers seem to have made up their ac-
counts Of that ball about A. ", which
was at least two hours too soon, for il
was just at that time that the fun be-
| gan, and the girls dressed as pages be-
gan to get decidedly acrobatic, aud in
fact seemed to be the pages Of the very
| lightest French novel. This is a bad
| joke, but new. IL is certain that the
mask on the face renders a lady less
careful Of her general behavior, and
more frolicsome withal. 1t has been
established, beyond the probability of a
doubt, that the pretty wife of a very
rigid preacher was at the ball in a
symptom Of attire which to call coat
would be base flattery. a large num-
Der Of young lawyers were present for
business and pleasure-the pleasure of
dancing, and the business Of catching
the divorce cases that they expect to fol-
low the great mask ball.
] nf vsshaf Ar 4
call "eontemporaneous human interest"
there has been little or none this week
in the metropolis. There has been no
terrible murders, accidents, fires or
scandalous divorce suits. \ week of
comparative purity and peace, with rare
good sleighing, has made the city seem
what it must have been like in the good
old times when republican simplicity
reigned, and was the only king; when
the people were single-minded and sim
[ ple-mannered, and vice was not another
word for enjoyment. The cold weather
has inevitably brought much suffering
to the large class Of needy people, coal
. continuing at such an exorbitant rate
that they with difficulty can procure
sufficient fuel to cook their scanty food.
Notwithstanding the quantity of ice
which will be the sure result Of this
hard winter, the price Of that necessary
article will doubtless be as high next
summer as it is in years of ice famine.
/ Nothing is at a fair and reasonable
charge any more, owing, I presume, to
monopoliss.
To know what beauty and art are in
billiards, you must first know how Ia
play, and then see such a player as Gar
nier, who can carom from one table to
another, and spin his ball upon stove
pipe with "Euglish" enough on it to get
into the room overhead. The grand
tournament at Cooper Institute is the
greatest display of the kind on record,
as much by the skill aud brilliancy OF
the players as by the individual features
Of the game.
There is quite a stir in sporting circles
over a challenge Issued by a well-known
millionaire. The gentleman in ques-
tion to match a double team, for S5O,-
600 a side, now being driven on the road,
against any double team in the United
/ States. The conditions are a race OF
mile heats, best three in five, to wagon,
over mile track belonging to the ma
tioual association, not more than l5C
miles from New York City, to be named
by him at least thirty days before the
race, which shall occur June Il, 1879,
goOdday and track; the race to be trotted
under the rules Of the National Trotting
Association. The Spirit Qfhe Times to
be stakeholder, and a forfeit of S25, ,OOC
to be deposited at the Office on or befor,
twelve o'clock, February 18th. Turfmer
are in a quandary as to who the challen
ger is. Several say it is Robert Bonner
but il is well known that he has tim,
and time again refused to trot any on,
Of his galaxy Of fast horses once, excep
for charitable purposes, in a match race
And again it is whispered that W. H
Vanderbilt, who probably, with the ex
ception Of Bonner, owns the fastest team
in America, throws down the gauntlet
He has three fast double teams, an,
turfmen seem to agree that be has issue,
the challenge, or that it has been don
in his behalf. Who will accept is tn
next question. \ trotting race, will
Vanderbilt's horses engaged, and 70
su,h u large stake, would attract thou
sands, and the race would be the tur
event OF lS79.
The question Of horse-cars for Broad
way is being debated from time to time
meeting, when it was first broached
with great disfavor from the prineipa
merchants Of the gres thoroughfare
Any means Of rapid aud eomfortabl
transit on Broadway could not but be
boon to the public, and it would seem t.
be the only means Of preserving tn
trade Of Broadway, for, with the excep
=. ton OF people who have carriages, thu
great thoroughfare and shopping an,
business street is almost deserted, the
surface and elevated roads Offering con
. veniences for travel on the avenues
"hich cause the public 10 do their shop
ping on them Instead Of Broadway
where the only means OF travel by peO
pie generally is the dreadful omnibus o.
stage The stage is a remnant Of th'
unclvilized past; II j. at the risk Of one'i
neck that one gets in or out Of a Broad
way stage; the interior Is uneOm
Portable, the jolting is horrible, the far
exorbitant, aud the travel not faster thar
that Of the snails. Slow as the surface
cars are compared to those Of the ele
waited roads. they speed along as il ~, ~,