The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-01-09
GOING ABOUT TIE STREETS.
Mr.. Sala ON Locomotion in New
York.
London Telegraph.1

i lLOuuOu ltatBrhphi
Uncertainty. however, as to the par.
ticular elevated railroad station to which
Sixty-third street was nearest led me tc
patronize one of the neat little coupes
which now stand for hire in front of the
principal hotels in New York. Ameri.
cans in the full possession of their facnl.
ties rarely, am told, use these handsome
and commodions vehicles, of which the
fare is 81, or 4s., an hour; and if youi
journey only extends to ahundred yards,
or, for the matter of that. hundred
paces you will have to pay a dollar all
the same. The New Yorker who is com.
pos mentis jumps into horse car, OF
ascends the staircase of the nearest ele-
waited station, and is, for few cents,
swiftly borne tc his destination, however
far up or far down town it may be; but
the foreigner who does not "know the
ppes'-that is to say, who is grossly
ignorant-must be, after manner, dis
traught.
Y Americans should be tender to him,
TOR he knows not where he is, nor what
to do for the best. Under these circum-
stances the coupes at 81 an hour are a
smiling boon. The carriages are neat,
clean, and even elegant with rugs inside
to keep you warm. They are capitally
well horsed, and the drivers are civil
Irishmen. No pourboire is expected, al
though, of course, a triae for % drink"
would not be refused; the men drive
quickly and cleverly, and you may get
over an immense amount of ground for
your dollar.
Altogether, New York hack coupe is
as superior structurally, decoratively,
and locomotively to one of our four
wheeles as Havana regalia is superior
to "two-penny smoke" at a suburban
tobacconist's. But mark this: the Lon
don "growler," infected and unsavory in
stitution as it undoubtedly is, and de-
serving all kinds Of contemptuous dispa-
ragement, possesses two distinct advanta-
ges, of which the neat, pretty and expen-
ditious coupe is destitute. The "growlet"
will convey four passengers instead of
two, the coupe's compliment, and its
much-enduring roof will carry besides
any quantity of heavy trunks, to say
nothing of your portable bath, perambu.
lator, and your bicycle. "
We reached the fair about 8 clock in
the evening, to find the thoroughfares
surrounding the capacious and stately
armory building flooded by the electric
light; nor was this brilliance by any
means superhuity, for the gas in New
York seems to be somewhat weak, and
when the stores are closed the lighting
of the streets, although the lamps are
very numerous, appears to leave much to
be desired. An analogous objection will
apply to the pavement. There is plenty
of it-at least, the sidewalks are abund-
antly tagged; but in the side thorough
fares ruts and assures, and those via
torial complications, which the Irish
term "curiosities," abound.
As for the roadway, it is so hopelessly
cut up by the trains intersecting each
other in every imaginable direction that
you scarcely know whether the middle
of the street is paved or not; and the
discomfort of walking is increased by
the circumstance that the inhabitants Of
the houses are still permitted to deposit
ashes and other refuse in barrels placed
at stated intervals along the curbstone.
In free country the people have, of
course, the right to "dump" their ashes
wherever they please; but when a stiff
northeast wind is blowing every ash
barrel becomes the center Of a little
sirocco Of its own. The dust and other
refuse perform "Sahara waltzes" of an
erratic but distracting character, and you
are half-blinded by the flying particles.
These observations do not, of course,
apply to the fashionable thoroughfares,
in which promenading is as facile and
pleasant as it is on the Paris boulevards
or in our Regent street. 1t is only in the
back streets that you feel from time to
time that the Commissioners Of some
thing or another or the board Of you
know not what might do something for
the pavement and the dust nuisance.
But what American in his senses walks
about the back streets of New York un-
less he have some direct and special bus
mess on hand taking him to a specified
locality? To my misfortune, l have
been during twoscore years prowling
about back streets all over the world and
taking notes of them. ...