The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-08
BEAUTY'S PLUCK.
A Midday Sensation in the Principal
Thoroughfares of New York.

A Midday Sensation in the Principal
Thoroughfares of New York.
New York World.
A solid-looking black mare, with the faintest
snip of white on the end of her nose, drew a
trim little. coupe, with red stripe running
around it, through the tangled network of
vehicles on Broadway and Grand street, yester-
day, and pulled up with jerk on the west side
of the thoroughfare. Rumbling along behind
the coupe came big ice-wagon. The driver
wore blue shirt, open at the neck, and had
his trousers tucked down his boots. The
bright blue uniform, adorned with glistening
silver buttons. When the black mare stopped,
the driver sprang for his box and pulled the
coupe door open. The ladies alighted. One wore
a maroon colored silk DRESS red plush coat,
with chenille trimmings and heavy black kid
gloves. conical shaped bonnet, from the crest
Of which ostrich feathers nodded, was perched
upon her head. A spangle dotted veil of white,
drawn up around the brim Of the bonnet, pre-
scented to view the face of somewhat delicate
and evidently very arstocratic lady. She was
Mrs. r. A. Sarlis, and resides in West Thir.
teenth street Her companion was younger
in years, and wore black silk
overdress, and some fabric of crimson
tint only couple of inches at the bottom of
which could be seen, for an underdress. Three
or four differentcolored feathers rose from
ground of gold on her bonnet Her veil fell to
her eyes. Not one of the passing thousands
thought for a second what was going to take
place when the ice wagon sided up to the couple,
or that the blueshirted driver possessed the
slightest acquaintanceship with the ladies. But
he did. His first action was to lift his hat re-
spectfully, and then tighten up the harness of
his two horses. The lady with the conical-shaped
bonnet had determination written on every line
of her countenance. Her companion smiled, but
she, with the grim determination, arranged her
gloves, and then, before the crowd around
could divine her intention, she placed trim
a yula and n
seat of the wagon. The blue shirted driver sat
next TO her, and the carnaton mounted with
alarming rapidity to his temples when the lady
moved closer to him in order to get good
square seat in the wagon. She took the relns In
her hands, and after preliminary flap their
backs the steeds started. The other lady had
made an unceremonious dive into the coupe, pulled
down the curtains, and cried to the coachman,
follow them closely" The reason of this I'M
expected and novel picture on Broadway was ac-
counted for in variety of ways. The exact
fact was that the younger of the ladies made u
bet that Mrs. Sarlis would not have the courage
to drive an ice wagon up Broadway at midday
The lucky hundreds who were abroad at2 o'clock,
witnessed the feat being done and the
bonnet won. Adverse fates seemed to
have conspired against plucky lady
in the wagon. Trucks and wagons poured out
of Grand street from the west and east side.
There were stages before her and furniture vans
behind her, and each driver had stopped short to
have look at the conical bonnet in the ice
wagon. Matters came to crisis when Mrs.
Sarlis lifted whip and struck the horses a
singing blow. The animals plunged forward,
the trucks were showed back, and the hubs of
the stage twisted when the ce-wagon met them,
but the ice wagon was forced ahead. There was
an open space beyond, and the wagon ratified
across it like an ambulance going to fire. The
driver did not seem the least bit afraid or awed
by the faces turned toward her. She held the
rens like female Hank Monk, and
looked straight ahead. The case was diff
ferent with her companion. Alone IN
the wagon he could, of course, have driven
A through the tangle of wagons without fear but
at this particular time he did not do so. He
seemed in perfect agony. The perspiration
| stood upon his cheeks and forehead and the
breeze blowing the pumes in the lady's bonnet
could not cool his face. Once, when near
Blocker street, he took off his hat to fan himself
| with it and then in a moment of torgetfulness
| placed it under him on the seat. His companion
| paid no attention to his tortures, but drove on
| gamely. The road from Blocker street to Broad
way was almost clear and the ice wagon rolled
over the cobblestones regardless of all rules.
But here was difficulty which the lady in the
coupe had not bargained for. The majority of the
drivers when they saw charming lady seated
beside an ice man and squirting a team of horses
to their best, turned their animals aside the ice
wagon had fairly clear course, the coupe was
caught in the jam of wagons surging behind.
Then the blinds of the coupe went up and very
emphatic sentence to the effect that the coupe
must keep nearer the ice wagon was shot at the
man on the box. The trackmen at length began
to understand that there was some connection
between the ice-wagon and the coupe From
Fourth street to Ninth the coupe got pretty close
to the ce-wagon.
There was perfect jam of people at Ninth
street, and the shop-windows were crowded with
faces. A robust gentleman, whose coat was
somewhat chalked, giving the impression
that he had just left a billiard table,
declared in stentorian language that the
feminine Hank Monk was daisy This
expression had the effect of causing the
blue -shirted traveller to cast side glance at
his lovely companion, and then, as though
alarmed at his own audacity. he turned his head
away suddenly and changed yard of white on
the black horse into pretty mahogany tint
with tobacco juice. Ice-wagon and coupe shot
by Fourteenth street to the astonishment of the
people, and whirled along past Sarony's Seven
teenth and Eighteenth streets, up to Nineteenth
street. Here was a crowd of people which can
better be imagined than described Every lady
paused every salesman and clerk ran out to look
at Mrs. Sarlis in her strange position, and the
jam and crush, when couple of hundred bust
ness men got sandwiched into this crowd
until the coupe got alongside the ice.wagon, and
the blinds were run up. She looked at her
friend in the coupe and said, 'Well, have
won" And without waiting for an answer she
flung the reins to the driver and sprang from
ice-wagon into the coupe, and the black mare
shot away. The biueshirted ice man picked up
the reins and gazed sadly down at the vacant
seat. There only Jack" rose where the
beautiful driver had been a minute before. The
ice man said. 81 have seen good deal of nobby
ladies drive, but never before saw q lady that