The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1884-12-24
HOWARD'S LETTER.
Significant Landmarks In New York
City.
Castle Garden, Trinity Church,
Union Square, Etc.
Memorable Scenes Before "the Old Clock"
Points.
Boston Herald. |

Boston
NEW York, Dec Is, 1884 Many people
have an idea that sentiment is confined to
lovers, and that the rustic bench. the camel
coal flame, the 2 o'clock in the morning ball
room, the last lingering moment of delight
full evening, romance in the mountains, fir
tations in the springs. the long sWeepings OF
the steamer over the cerulean crested waves,
are the only inspirations-in other words,
that opportunity alone decides all things in
life.
This is poppycock.
No man lives, who is worth living, who
hasn't friends by the score, knitted to him
with hooks of steel, and bound to him by bars
and bands Of iron. No man lives, who is
worth living. who hasn't enemies, quick to
spprehend everything to his disadvantage,
anu " utilize il, il possible, to his absolute
RnuihilatiOn All of us had forefathers.
Where are they? From our earliest infancy
we have been familiar with men, women,
buildings, significant physical develop
ments. Where are they? The men have
long since dried up and blown away, to Par
adise or elsewhere. The women naturally fol-
lowed suit. The great buildings were pulled
down years and years ago, and the signif-
cant physical developments no longer exist.
Now and then some llldefned echo of the
past brings to us q "reminiscences of u floating
suggestion OF what was, but which will new
or be again. | was standing this morning
on the steps of brokers' Office, within q
stones throw iof Madison Square, when said
to myself: Whats the natter Something's
gone, What do you miss" l looked and
looked long time in vain. All of a sudden
said: why, the old clocks gone" And
SUE enough IL was. Even the standard, the
sbsl ely iron pillar, on which it rested, had
beer taken away, and the hole made by its
frp foundation was filled up with logs of
wocd, temporarily placed there. 1 declare,
in moment, in the twinkle of an eye, my
mind rushes back 70 1858, when the old clock
was reared, and l thought "Where under
heaven are the men who put it there2 What
has become Of the millions who have looked
at it for information, for warning, for sug-
gestionPn Absolutely gone. 1t was taken
down day before yesterday, and prior to that
! time had any one said to any well-informed
maR about town, what do you consider
the significant landmarks in New York
cityY" the answer would have been: castle
Garden at the Battery, Trinity Church at
The head of Wall street, the POstoffice, the
! City Hall, Union Square. the old clock on
Madison square and Central Park" Every
| one Of these has passed through significant
| chance; some of them series,
CASTLE GARDEN
! today il no more the Castle Garden of my
| boyhOod than my baldheaded, grizzly
| bearded self is like the boy l knew some
| forty y ears ago. My first recollection OF
l Castle Garden is that it was fort; than that
/ it was changed into 3 vast smphithetre in
/ which the most magnificent lyric artists OF
| the age made then. sel Ves harmonious for the
\ delectstiOn and the dollars Of the great
/ American public. Mario, the mgst superb
| combination of lyric and dramatic art ever
| known, made his debut there, so far ss
America was concerned, and Grist, the abso-
I lute personiication, the type, the very
! mould and fashion of the com poser sNorms,
I there first burst. refulgent and melodious.
| upon the American ear. There /
recall distinctly the great IN.
| Ian and his magnificent orches.
| trh, the king pin OF which was Herr Koenig,
I prince of cOTnetists. Julian seemed to re-
| gard himself ss 4 kind OF FIVE legged calf, q
sort OF fat woman. He appeared to feel that
he was curiosity and that he was to be on
exhibition all the time, The consequence
| was that his conducting was q series of
| grimsnces so far as his face was concerned,
and o sequence OF c0ntortions 30 far as his
| body had anything TO do with the perform
| snce. Then came Jenny Lind, and, after
| that Castle Garden sank lower and lower,
| until finally it became what IL is today. a
| receptacle for immigrants, great big apart
< meDt absolutely echoing with cries of dis
| tress and with signals OF disturbance from
| January 20 Decembar and from January te
| Dece Der again.
The next landmark,