Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-04-08
NEW ORLEANS CUSTOMS.
The Jolly n a. Rara Avis in the Cres-
cent CiJy-Criticssm Not Welcomed.

From, the Nso York San.
NEW ORLEANS, March 2S.-A promi-
nent railroad mao, who is here for a few
DAYS, said LAST night:
tine manners ana customs of the men
OF New Orleans are peculiar The preYa-
lPns expression Oh their face is not a
ehe7rtut one; it is s0mbre and thoughtful,
II not melancholy, ana visitor who wan
defs aDont town IS struck by the number
Of men who seem to be broodiuS over
! wr9nZ. JoHity attracts attention. In
| the Northern cities there is an end
less number OF men who slow by
their cheerful faces. free man.
ners, and pr0sperous-looldng clothes
! thdt they take life easy, d enjoy things
! By the way. Every enc is familiar with
this type OF man. His wit may be cheap,
has talk slangy, and his perpetual cheer
| tUiBess at times a bit r8sping, but his.
| laughter is none the less infectious, and
| his face insures him a welcome every
! whefe. tie talks too loud in the reading
room OF the club. plays practical jokes on
the walters in the restaurants, is apt to
/ look too long upon the wine, aud COM
mlts various other indiscretious that an
ney the frigidly polite; but it
Is to be observed that he
has hosts OF friends, t9Rt his purse
Is always open, and that he is asked to
ten dinners month where the frigidly
/ polite muss content themselves with two
or three. When he sails up to a bar or
into a cafe he is greeted with smiles, and
! there is rustic OF satisfaction ali around.
/ He usually has a waistcoat that bellies
/ out like the jib of yacht in a gentle
! breeze, his trousers are natty, his boots
! we'll polished, and his hands white and
! soft. Every one calls him Charley
| Billy 'Smithy,' or some other affection
| ate version OF Charles William Smith, if
| that happens to be his name, and he goes
/ through life and about town in a manner
! that does good on every hand.
''This type of man is no rarity in New
/ York, Boston or Philadelphia, but he is
! almost unknown IN New Orleans. He is
not to be found at any Of the excellent
| clubs the town can boast of, at the bars
! or in the streets. The men drink here
| with the sOberness of mOurners. They
! walk along the streets with their eyes
! half closed and their hands in their peck
| cts, and the ring of quick and vigorous
/ step on the pavement never comes from a.
natives heels.
II wandered into one of the Oldest bar
/ rooms in New Orleans last night about 8
/ O'Clock, and the melancholy air which
! hung over the place struck me at once. 1t
| had low ceilings and was musty. Myth
cal faces painted on the panels of the wall
in ante-bellum days were as faded as the
gilt that encircled them, and the sanded
floor was worn as smooth as a hit of pol
ished marble, save where the knots in the
wood rose above the level. The bar and
all the decorations of the big square room
were painted white, and the bartenders,
| was told by the man who took me there,
had been in their places for years and
| years. The man with me knows every
body here, Is a member OF three clubs. and
popular as popularity goes in this lynn
phatic town.
81 find Pm growing old too fast heah, ,
he remarked, slowly, the other day. Pm
| healthy enough, sound as a dollah, as far
as | know, weigh 1S5 pounds, and stand
| six feet high. | eat and sleep well, but
there's something wrong with me shuah.
When | was Moth at college | was as
spry on my toes as a French dancing
| master, but now Pm as languid as a ma
laria dude. ! go home at night five or
six times a week and sitdreaming of what
| shall do some day in business way,
and 90 TO bed full of ideas and resolutions.
On the following morning | am so ener.
waited, weak, and lifeless that go crawl
ing about like man of sixty. It's the
climate, | think
scattered about the barrOom were
half a hundred men of the same social
status as the crowds that drink in the
cafe OF the Brunswick or at the Hoffman
House. They were sitting at small tables
in little knots of tWos and tbTees, taking
in subdued tones. Most of them wore
frOck coats. which hung in wrinkles on
their shoulders, while their faces were
shaded by soft felt hats. They were New
| Orleans gentlemen, though not New Or
leans swells or club men. There was
not a Tuddy, healthy-lOOking face among
them, most Of the cheeks being either
I pale or sallOw. AS the man with
me passed along he nodded right and
left, and was saluted in return by solemn
duckings of the head and such greetings
as well, David Good evening, Dave
'Ah, Dave and simply David Though
4 these men had grown up with him from
| childhood, and had been companions with
him for years, they were as quiet, cold
and formal in their greetings as though
meeting a recent acquaintance. 1t was
not the seR-repressiOn and very proper
air that Englishmen affect, but an almost
sullen manner, and barely relieved of dis
courtesy by the softness of the voice.
III you think this place is quiet now
/ you should have seen it a few, a very few
years ago. said the proprietor Of the sa-
/ loon, a little later on. Policemen were
stationed at the doors then 10 search every
one who entered to take a drink, so as to
see that no concealed weapons were car
ried. This searching process took the
irons away from all the bows. and they
/ felt kinder lOnesOmer and quieter than
ever. The place was like a tomb them
"This downcast air is as prevalent
among the members of what is called the
best society as it is elsewhere. The men,
when you meet them, are courteous,
quiet, and sad. They talk about the
grayest of things, and when a dozen Of
them get together it is only at rare inter-
walls that a laugh is heard.
"rhat they look down upon Northern
ers is an Indubitable fact. Every little
while a word or an expression viii crop
out here and there which shows torcibly
how much superior to his Northern broth
er the SOUtherner considers himself. The
men are not well built. They are nearly
all round shOuldered, and the few who
nave been taught by military training To
stand erect shine by Comparison with
their fellows. Solled linen is very often
/ displayed.
"rhe New Orleans man-about-town diff
fers from me rOuuder of colder climate.
/ he has small regard for his attire, but he
/ drinks whisky and gains the reputation
Of beng fast solely by his consumption
/ Of spIr' IS"
While these views are. perhaps, rather
/ pronounced, 10 IS certainly true that the
men Of New Orleans are, in the majority
/ OF cases, solemn and grave. They are,