The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1885-07-25
|Bp0adDEimS New York Letter

In the middle of what was once theI
SPark-and which indeed is still so called
sby courtesy-is the City Hall. In thisI
tage of vast buildings it cannot be called
3pretentious; the unsightly TribuneI
building overpowers it on one side, andI
sthe new Post Office looks down upon III
Hike some ungainly giant from the 9th
Ter, and other immense buildings chal-
slengo the sky, completely robbing it of
sany effect that it might ever have had !;
Eand yet, three quarters of a century ago
sthis old dilapidated, weather-beaten
Sstructure was looked upon as the per-
Election of municipal magniicence.
4 When it was finished, in the early
ispart of the present century, green fields
8stretched far away up Broadway, and in
/ the eyes of the old New Workers the
kcapitals of the Old World faded into
xutter insignifcance before this maglifi-
Ecent pile. They placed on its summit
athe Goddess of Justice, ,blindfolded, with
gher scales in her hands, symbolizing to
aafter generations that under its dome
the weak should be defended, and the
fguilty punished. There the poor crea-
gturc stood till Tweed got control of the
Scity, and then they took her down. II
lis hard to believe that the town ran wild
Sover the completion of this rickety old
Hbuilding, and that the orator who made
kthe dedication speech compared it to the
smost magnificent structures of Greece
aand Rome. 1t was qnite fresh look
Sing building when Lafayette was re-
I5ceived here in 1924. In the Governor
ARoom, where the old hero was received,
@was the furniture of Independence Hall,
Mwhere the first Congress sat, and there
sswas the writing-desk of Washington,
Hand many otherrelics which were sacred
ESin the old French hero's eyes. some
Etimes wish that l had never seen the
Elikeness of Lafayette. In my child.
Ehood's days he lived in my memory
Nwith Washington, and jefferson, and
@Adams, and Hamilton, and that ire
Hmendous galaxy of heroes whose light
Nwill shine down through the ages a:
Elong as time shall last. To me he wa:
Enot only brave but handsome. l coult
Esee him in my minds eye, in knee
Ebreeches, with flowered vest, em5roid.
kcred coat and powdered wig, his smal
Gsword by his side, as became gentle
imam of his rank, his ruflled sleeves ant
Enecktie, and all that elaborate magnifi
Ecence that is associated with the patriot,
Kof the Revolution. 1t is terrible shocl
to ones romance to see the portrait o
I This hero which hangsin the Governor
Room. TO commence at the founda
l. ltion: his feet-of which you woul(
Il think Frenchman would be proud
Hare large and ungainly; then-horror o
3horrors!--he wears pair of loose, bag
kIgy pantaloons, of bright yellow color
lH such as never was seen on mortal maj
Hbefore, and sincerely trust will neve
( sbe worn by mortal man again. His YES
Emight have been white, or any othe
Ecolor; his swallow-tailed coat was o
kblue; his necktie red, and, if the pictur
His true, he squinted. Lafayette ma
@.have been brave and noble, ana III
,Edoubt he was; he helped US out OF a ba,
lEscrape and we ought to feel grateful, bu
Gas matter of history, he wore a numbe
E1l boot, and was one of the homeless
,Eand most addressed men that has eve
kbeen transferred to canvas.
y In close companionship with Lafay
ettc are the noble elligies of George an
&DeWitt Clinton, who, after the Ion
a&lapse of years, Notwithstanding moder
improvements, still stand out from tn
4 Eimperial line of the rulers of the Stat
as the model governors of the time
ENear at hand is the full length portrai
Eof William II. Seward, as he appeare
Eover forty wears ago. The figure
-fslight, and the face, though not hant
n Ssome, is bright, clear and confident
y How little he could have dreamed whe
Ethat picture was taken of the tremeI
> Edous drama in which he was destined t
eE be one of the principal actors. Anon
the historical portraits which adorn til
x kwalls is the most authentic likeness i
-$eXistence of Alexander Hamilton, copie
ykfrom picture taken only short tin
before he was killed by Aaron Bur
81 Some of the pictures would disgrace
barn,-the full-length portrait of Mare
belng particularly disgraceful; 1t lool
as if it had been painted with whit
,e wash brush, by ahouse painter or a ka
ri sominer. and yet this horrid daub co
n the city $1,000. All notable reception
II have been held here for years. 1t WI
There that the Prince of Wales was fo1
Hally received by the City, and here Il
aEsame courtesy was extended to the Ca
al Eowich, the present Emperor of Russia
In the days OF the Tweed ring rece
~ Htions were numerous and costly, al
"A aOakey Hall, who is now wanderil
mr. bohemian in Europe, dispensed Il
in Ecity's hospitality, He was mayor of Il
rsg gcity; its vast resources were in Il
ne hands of his friends aud himself. On
i'd Gsingle morning, as he sat in that lii
20 room to the right, he signed the bi
/ for three millions and five hundr
IN ! thousand dollars, and swore on his trI
In that he never suspected anything wrou
ne He was one OF those weak, vain, br
a llnt men who come to the surface
e. troublous tiues, just as the scum al