New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-04-18


fashion. When Twas admitted by the ponceInan
on guard at the door, / went INTO the gTea5
cold, vulgar-loOking parors, with those Gheap
and dreadful pictures upon the waits wnIcn alo
displayed in all such asylums for the homeless
Mr.. COnuery was crOss-examin1ng the non.
Daniel UIlman, then KnOw-NOth1ng pOhtlciIan
Of some little importance who was iouger aiS4
at No 81 DR.. Burdel was dead on the s S9cna
floor; and Mrs. Cunningham and tpe M ISS
Cunningham like the widow in The New way
to Paw Old Debts" were "clOistered up" III
some remote part of the edltce. TWAS nOuSe'
as / remember it, in which murder Would nat
uTally be cOmmitted-it was cold and cOmIOTt-
less 'the furniture was all hOrse-hair and pom
derous mahogany and / fancied the Doctors
room as dreadful without reference to It's DatUery
of surgical instruments or his own IN
animate presence there ut the mone emu
sickness rs you went. IN, sucn as
YOU get the impression of in reading BLEAK
House about Mr.. Crooks residence after MS
combustion. Official boots had muGale9 t tE
carpets. Official cigars had demOTailZed the
atmosphere. Official documents III Official SIDE
pockets had reduced the sacred sense OF nome
to the unfragraDt publicity OF pohee-eouIIV
lobby. ] do not think that even before Ihe SUI
den demise Of the Doctor, which made BOnd-st.
a particularly nice place to remove from, the
Cunningham mansion could have been cheer
full place of residence whether morally or ma
terially considered. The matrOnly Mrs, Gun
ningham had not an assuring record, ana Wnen
poor Dr. Burdel let his house to her, retaining
the second floor, he got into one scrape Wnicn
was speedily followed Icy others. VINO killed
him. How should l knOwY We discussed
the question for months afterwards everybody
who was indicted for the murder was acquitted
they buried the Doctor with his body so full OF
wounds, that experts abstract of coursel said
that they must have been multiplied by feml-
nine vehemenCe; the Luerczia OF the tragedy
disappeared from New-YOrk; has been re-
ported dead and sunk in the ocean has been
also reported living in California. Inc WnOlee
affair went into history before the Summer OF
1857 had dried tho mud in front OF the house;
and when passed ii the other day IN my walk
down town, it looked so quiet and respectable
that could hardly be sure that 1t WAS the same
residence which for seven days the gaping
crowd stared at from the other SIDE OF the
street. That old saw that murder Will out " is
all we'll enough III novels ana dramas Oh the
Bowery school; but every journalist knows
that there are great many murders the eX-
PLANTATION of which is calmly awaiting the great
Oyer and TeImIner of the Day OF Judgment.
The last which particularly remember or the
event which for time mOnopOlizcd our New
York talk is, that going upon business soon after
through the T0m6s, myI polite and much-tut-
toned conductor showed me the cell occupied
during her imprisonment by la 6ette ddme sans
Dlerci, 1t still looked as neat and orderly as II
feminine hands had arranged its scanty furni-
ture and clean white coveret upon the bed
was suggestive of innocence. L brcame
straightway full of pity-the old sympathy
WHICH i nave never DCCu lDlc W SCO llu VI LOl
n woman in q scrape; and l did not feel quite
relieved in my mind until had gone down
stairs and interviewed three undOubted muir
delers, all Of whom declared to me their perfect
innocence, and two of whom, few mornings
after, came out of their cells and never going
back agalu, became in a few hours the uncOn-
sciOus heroes Of the evening newspapers
PIeasanter than Newgate Calendar adapted
to the meridian of New-YOrk, which my last
recollection suggests, would be History Of
Things Which Have Had Runs-ot reforms
which never got much further than projection
of schemes intended TO make everybody
healthy and happy, which somehow or other
fell short of their benevolent purpose. q, the
Isms which have seen spring up ard Eprout
and flourish and fade away! That harmless
termination, "Ism," has surely been much
overworked. 1t fits handlly enough to O sur
name, only the surname itself has such trick
of giving up the ghost. The blossoms OF the
Tree Of knowledge have such way. OF falling
off, and disappointing us of the fruit. There
was the Dress Reform, for instance, which was
started by a lady bearing the efflorescent name
of BloOmer, indie " BOOmerism," Jas perhaps
the man of middle age may remember. Some
where about 1864 it was, l think, that there
came Oud-voiced protest against long skirts
| from the strong minded woman Of the West
above mentioned. She was q moral person,
| believe, and therefore she could not have got
her notion Of costume from the variety
theatres; possibly she got it from the parti-
| cOlOred posters; but, poor dear lady, she
wanted to make all our American girls and
mothers too, think dress exactly like the Circas
| sian Beauty Miss Snevellicci or Miss Mortimer
| jim the six cent show. Those who submitted
| to this apparel were called Boomers and as
| there were not many OF them, 1t was great
| amusement for the young boys to run after
them in the Streets and for the old boys to peep
! silly around the corner at them. was one of
| the middle-aged and, OF course, took no notice
| whatever of these Zuleikas as they prOmeDaded
| under their lovely umbrellas. The newspapers
= n .,It., b. LHx,.o r..
ciful dressers--I daresay that myself wrote
dozens of squibs about them, bad ana indiifer-
| ent IL my memory serves me- there was
| waist of one bright color, and skirt coming to
| the knees Of another bright color, or perhaps
| vaIiegated and then trousers of the Turkish
variety, buVtOned at the apkle.. This was the
protest of 1853 against long skirts IF were
Professor TeufelsdrOeckh what quantity Of
excellent moral philosophy might here intlict
upOn my readers apTOpOS Of the freaks Of
| fashion But the truth is, the BlOomer abbre-
| Walton never was in fashion, although its we'll
| intentiOned deviser made 1t almost matter OF
religion. Since that time the world has wit
messed many holder innovations; but tho lntul-
| tive good taste and common sense of the AmeTi-
can woman have prevailed over the passion for
Outre novelties; and hope that 1t will con-
tinue to do SO, in spite Of the hOwls of amateur
psychologists and the Ingenuity OF those who
always cOntrive to be in leau minority.
There are fashions In popular literature as
we'll as in dress. Just about forty years ago
there began to be demand for cheap books
and for newspapers which, considering their
size and the enormous amount of reading matter
which they contained, were sold at q small
price. Perhaps 1t was about this time that the
phrase "yell0w covered literature" came into
vogue-pcrhaps it was little later. The type
used In printing these books was necessarily
small, aud frequently it was old and battered,
while the press work was not of thu. best; and
these faults, with the character of many of
the works thus issued, drew from Edward
Everett, when he was President of Harvard
College, bitter protest against publications
which began by cOi1upting the readers morals
books are not as Iuc Imprinted, and the news
paper sheet has been enlarged to such IN ex-
tn1t tbot the NrpekIv nubIicatioIsS of 1910 do