Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-10-13

Special Correspondence of THE EVENING SrAn
NEW YORK, Oct IL
Inc young-man-about-town has developed amaz-
ngy in the past three years He now exists In great
numbers In New York, though he is unknown lin his
IuiDioWn state) in neighboring cities He is the re-
suit OF inherited wealth and European travel, and
his stamping ground includes the FIlth-avenue
MOTEL, the Hoffman house, the Leland cafe the
Hotel Brunswick Delmonico's, and the west side
OF Broadway, from 14th to 34th street He inva-
riably spends portion OF every evening at the
theater, and would not miss e FIRST night under
the most adverse circumstances.
The young -man-ab out-town changes a bit in his
manner and in the fashion OF his clothes every
year. Three years ago he was what was commonly
known as ''swell" He wore profusion OF Jew
elry. waxed moustache and brightly gloved hands
Inc lolioWing year he was more after the Partisan
'lnaSner type. His boots were vanished leather,
with yellow tops and OF extremely small dimen-
sionS His finger nails were carefully polished
his attire ultra fashionable. He was much adj
dlcted to evening dress, and wore three Jeweled
studs in vast shirt-front 1t was his aim then to
be jolly, happy and fast He drank late, and was
the widest OF dancers at the French balls
Last year change came over the spirit OF his
| no longer jolly, but became self-contained, re-
served and inert. He discarded his jewelry, with
the the exception Of small ring and solitary plain
gold stud In the middle OF his shirt front, and his
shoes were narrowed to cruel point He affected
odze airs, gave up cigars for cigarettes. and es-
formances without smile or tear and drank
sherry, settler and milk His life seemed weart-
He leo ans 'ousers were cut extremely close to
the back Of his head His collars were so large as
TO become grOteSQue.
The Hood OF ridicule and abuse which has been
directed against the dude has had its effect, the
dude Is slowly giving In to popular opinion. His
collars have shrunken until they are now OF un-
exceptl0nable size. His trousers are larger In the
leg, and he Is often detected in the act Of smoking
mans cigars instead OF puny and il-smel1tng
and often smiles, but he Is on the ragged edge of
lndecision. He does not know what line to adopt
TINS year. In q few weeks. however, the Weather
young men about town Will have returned from
their European trips with new wardrobes and
manners. They win be eagerly copied by their
l 1Hs Il and the result Will that the winter
The indications are that he win be something
present quite the goin the British metropolis. He
VIII wear dress suit On all possible occasions and
new ne VIII AFFECT an easy but slightly
music halls as Roster BEARS and the Casino me
ana VIII remain as ever the AFFECT worshiper Of
At rough estimate should say there are from
one hundred to one hundred and twenty first
class specimens OF the yOuDg-man-a bOut-tOWn in
NewYork. They are all more or less acquainted and
are together constantly. They know almost every
theaters, as they are constant attendants, and
always buy the best seats. A large part OF their
enjoyment OF a theatrical performance consists in
their neighbors VIII they see an &C
a qua 1nraa they bow with great sweetness
at them and that there is a good chance to make
an impression. They go out after every act, and
Browns chop house, Delmonico's, or one OF tie
numerous hotels Here they Sit and chat in des-
uitory way until two or three O'Clock in the morn
Ing, When they wander off to their various nests
They are usually joined by theatrical men late at
night Not intrequently poker beguiles the weary
serve to Tighten their lives Thus do thev i've all
the season through. They do no work, never APP
pear IN the streets before noon, and do not go into
or the Lambs, Racquet or Calumet clubs They
spend all the way from four to twenty thousand a
year, consider themselves the cream OF mankind,
ana are undoubtedly the popular ideal OF gentle
men.
THE DUDES MENTAL TRAITS
Concerning their mental traits something Is to
be said. 1 know great many OF them and must
say that at bottom they are well meaning and gen.
erous fellows. Their extraordinary Alterations
make them seem, more or less contemplate but
they are scrupulously polite when one has been
property introduced, and very hospitable. They
are, certainly, admirable theatrical critics These
9 in New orR Hs rs1 ID
IL, more or less, degrading to work. and so devote
their tine to pleasure. They do not stick to it
after one OF them has kept up the round for two or
three years he usually disappears. Whether he
ge.s married or goes on 10 recruit his health ls
sight.
The young men about-town. Of whom have
backing to insure respect, and are usually well con-
nected. But they have class OF fnitatOrs who
are extremely amusing. They are the 10-dollar-a-
week clerks and statesmen, who have aspirations.
They worship the genuine rounder with a faith
that Is beautiful and true. Their ingenuity in
eking out their resources and making a presenta-
a at tall lie CHM
ply amazing. They go my twos and threes, ana
usually patronize the theaters on the "standee'
and stand haughty up behind the rear row OF
seats. They treat each other on the Dutch pr1n-
clplenrst one and then the other and II one
up at the end Of the evening. They drink
9eerroe e%nEs IT. costs ve cents glass
cents. Manager stetson has begun to cater
to them by reducing the admission price OF his
the to @ cents Hundreds OF them go to
week now. Their remarks about the players are
grotesque In the extreme. They always call the
readers OF the dramatic papers heard one of
them night or two ago call ''Pique" pie-kue and
. Rose Michel" Rosie Michael, But what Of
that? He wore evening dress and constantly re-
ferred to himself as a Thoroughbred" He was
one OF the class who are rapidly forming them
selves into band OF cOckneyS not one whit fnfe.
rior to the pests OF London
WHO OWN THE STREETS
The Western Union Telegraph company practi-
cally owns the streets OF New York. They have
carte blanche permission apparently to tear up the
highways, plant forests Of poles and swing
nets Of iron wires all over the town. For weeks
they have been at Broadway. They tear up about
one quarter OF the streets and pile EARTH stone and
t timber on more than another quarter so that
great street left free for trucks and stages They
refuse to work at night and so the JOB viii be
stretched out interminably. All day long Broad
way is blocked. An extra force Of policemen is
required to help the trucks along and stage travel
Is a deluston and snare. Nobody who can help
It gets into Broadway stage now, and the dust
and dirt Is awful The telegraph company is lay
Ing brass pipes under the pavement They ex-
pect to blow messages from Esd street and 5th
avenue down to the main office at Dey street
through the pipes. OF course the underground
pipes will occasionally get out of order and it
VIII be necessary to dig up Broadway again to get
at them The prospect Is not an encouraging one
What with the depredations OF the electric light
company, the steam heating company and the tel
egraph company the pavement OF Broadway has
now become menace to horses hoofs 1t looks
as though it had suffered from rolling earth
quake.
JAY GOULD GIVES UP HIS YACHT
Jay Gould has given up his much-talked-of trip
around the world, and decided to remain in New