Omaha daily bee., 1883-02-12
GOTHAM GOSSIP.
The Close Of a Brilliant Season,
The Pleasant Paths Of Muir.
derers and Pugiliste.
Theatrical and Shopping Notes.

| Special Correspondence Of the Bee.
New YORK, February 6.-Lent
came so early that there has been q
crush of entertainments, and society
| bellies found themselves three or four
I deep with invitations every evening.
The events of this week have been the
| L ks ball, the Palestine commandery
reception Yale college promenade,
Twenty-second regiment ball, Trinity
college alumni dinner and a host Of
private and semi.public receptions.
Tonight the children have their car.
nivsl at the Academy Of Music, and
the L~iederkranx bali OF Monday was
the biggest kind Of q carnival for the
grown folks. The same evening q
dinner was given to Attorney General
and Mrs. Brewster by Mrs. Fred
Thompson, when covers for eighty
were laid. Mr.. Conkling declined an
invitation to be present, and, very
singularly, he was not invited to Gen.
eral Grants big mass meeting In dc
Tense Of q protective tariff. The Van
derbilts were to have given . big ball
this week, but 1t has now been post.
poned until after Lent, as the railroad
parvenus discovered that the observ-
ance OF Lent would be made an excuse
by society people for declining the In.
vitations. The truth ID that society
does not take to their patroni1lng and
rather boisterous ways, and, while
they can always fill their houses at 9
reception, It Ii with curious guests
who dodge their hosts and 60 on voy.
ages of discovery through the man
sion. William K. Vanderbilt does
not mind this 10 much ~ the old man,
and he has already given out that he
will have the grandest private mas.
querade ball New York has ever seen
at his houses on Tuesday after Easter.
The young men In the clubs promise
themselves q CIRCUS on this occasion.
Ned Stokes, who came very near
having hi, neck judioislly Heightened
for the murder Of Jim Fisk, Is In
treaty for the lots on which the Park
Theatre stood, that was recently de-.
stroyed by fire. R1mors says that he
intends to erect q o theatre there
and 60 into the dramatic business on
his own account. Fortune has smiled
upon his financial enterprises since he
emerged from his enforced s~eolusion
at Sing Sing State Prison, and he has
money enough at his command for
any reasonable speculation. He Is a
notable figureon Broadway, and seems
to have plenty of speaking acquaint.
anoes. Time and Imprisonment have
not lessened his passionate resentment
the man whose life he took,
and more than once he said that Fisk
deserved his fate and that he had no
for his murderOus act. The
group Of murderers who now walk the
of this city free are an interest
Ing study. As the world goes, they
are mainly prosperous men, and none
Of them look asif they we're kept awake
by any remorseful brooding
over the sos which brought them under
Tho ban OF the law. Besides Stokes,
We have Slokles, Soannell, Simmons,
Tracy and one or two more Of less wide
n~otoriety. The services which Slckles
rendered during the war have largely
him from the social ignomi.
ny he underwent after the shooting of
Key. He L. . rich man and IL still
potential In politics. Tracy, who
found the way Of escape from the gal
lows easier than any of the others,
gave q dinner to Jsm Mace and his
Maori champion q few days ago..
there Is an unpleasant
In the coincidence that all
these non Of blood had money at their
In their fight to escape the
Of the law; and 1t is so unpleas.
ant to reflect that the victims Of the
hangmen r poor men. Three of the
are now awaiting execution at
the Tombs.
l heard Of si artist the other day, q
woman, who has painted q large can-
vas on an attractive subject, which
was recently exhibited In this city. It
was seen by MI. Stokes, whose Hotf..
man house bar room Is almost an art
gallery, and no liked 1t 80 we'll that he
offered her a large sum Ct money for
1t. The woman is very poor, and of
was delighted at the Idea of
the sale Of her picture, but when she
found out that It was to adorn q bar
room she positively refused to make
the sale, and the picture now hangs
unsold upon her own wall. Perhaps
II she had not had such . bitter expe.
In her own family she might be
more lenient to the bar rooms. But
under the circumstances she hardly
felt that she could lend her talent TO
making such q place attractive.
The new play at Wallack's IL n of
the low order of plays. 1t Ia the
height, or rather the depth, of sensa.
tionalism from the first act to the last.
Drunken men, murderers, house.
breakers, sneak thieves, detectives,
idiots, "wharf-rats" and all sorts of
dregs are gathered together In this net
and set before a fashionable audience.
Too much of this sort of thing has
taken away from the tone of Wallack's
theater. There was a time when o
Wsllack's '6rst night" was as select
as a reception In q private house; but
that day is passed, and, though there
is a rprinkling Of fashion among his
audiences, there is q mixture almost
as strong as that ON the stage.
The critics say with q sigh
that this Is the best of lts kind; but
they are 80 tired of kicking against
the prieks that they are glad to get
off without more TO do. What Is the
use of telling a manager that he Is
trailing his proud standard In the