The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-02-18
FERRIS OF NEW YORK.
Tbs Dangers to Which PedestriaDs ar,
Subject Especially in Winter.

You have no idea how dangerous it is tc
walk the streets of New York. Coal holes
in the sidewalk cause the pedestrian TO dis
appear out of sight as suddenly ms if he was
a bank cashier There is difference, how
ever. The man who disappears into coal
hole is apt to be arrested as q thief, but not
30 with the missing bank cashier.
Everybody tries to run over you, but the
drivers of the omnibuses and beer wagons
are experts ut it, The only people who are
not in danger of being run over by omni.
buses are those who are inside of the bus
II is difficult for an omnibus driver to run
over man who is inside. If you stop be.
fore the store windows to look at tho pic,
lures you get neuralgia of the lower limbs,
and somebody picks your pocket ut the
same time. There are, moreover, unforeseen
accidents awaiting the pedestrian. A friend
of mine had very narrow escape this sum-
mer. An unhappily married couple were
having an explanation and they had seri-
GUS falling out. They fell ont of window
in the eleventh story just as he WIS passing
underneath. Fortunately he saw what was
coming and got out of the way. He did not
care to be mixed up in their private affairs.
Il is n sign of bad luck to have husband and
wife both fall upon man at once on the
street.
The aforementioned accidents are always
in season, but just now a new peril is laying
for the pedestrian with club. 1t is the ice
ON the sidewalk. At present the people do
not walk the streets with q bold stride and
head erect. On the contrary. they stoop
over and go slowly, as if they were afflicted
with a permanent curvature ofs,tha spine or
hunting for lost dime. They want to be as
near the sidewalk as possible when it flies
ap and hits them On a slippery day the
people do not seem to have anything to do
except to pick themselves up, brush them
selves off and fall down again. It Is sur.
prising how many people are picked mp il
New York by slippery methods. There are
two distinct ways of sitting down on the ice
One is to come down with rush like drop.
ping a safe from u second story window
That's the way General Grant came to hurt
himself. There was nothing in the safe Mt
the time, however, ms Ward had made away
with the assets. That is the most popular
way to come down. II happens all at once
Yesterday | saw n fat woman come down so
quickly that her poodle dog was buried
among the ruins SO tospeak. The dog was
completely hidden from view, but his
smothered howls OF agony were really dis
tressing. After the woman was lifted of
the poor brute, how feebly did he wag his
tail think he was injured internally.
The woman was not injured in the least, al
though she might have been had il not been
for the dog. l think this explains why wo-
men in New York have dogs following them
ON the streets. am not row referring TO
puppies following ladies on the Streets al
though ladies sometimes Lave to sit down
upon them too. | should think, however,
an air cushion, properly adjusted, would
answer the purpose just as well MS dog. A
/ dog that, like Truth, is being constantly
crushed TO earth, cannot last very long
f Some people prefer TO sit down on the
I ice more gradually One foot slides out.
The unhappy man endeayors by spasmodic
contortions to re-establish his equilibrium.
He assumes :. ha is this dagger l see
before mefn expression, clutches the air, as
! II fighting unseen foes. and collapses into a
I pile Of legs and arms ON the sidewalk
There is only one way by which slipping
/ up on the icy sidewalk can be prevented
1t is to put on rubber overshoes and stay in
Ea 4 ~, y,.to g -.
,ess.-Aler. Il. Street in Tecas !Sif1iags