New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-01-05
CHANCES HERE AND THERE.

OIJhAN CI-D JLILHI A4fD Il ILLAt1s
AT architect riding uptown on the elevated road
said to friend: cone disadvantage aesthetically Of
the erection Of many high buildings in this city is
that the people losing old ideas OF proportion.
They scarcely the beauty Of building which
Is not echt or ten stories high I have heard num-
bers of people speak OF the City Halan architectural
gem "dumpy." The Metropolitan Museum
Is, OF course, incomplete, but receives moro crti-
csm han It deserves. because is disappointed
al not finding It several stories higher. II were to
take New-Yorker blndfoded to the front Of build
Ing and say, Here IS beautiful and imposing struct-
ure and then take the bandage from his eyes, saying
Look at the roof his gaze would nstinctively be
fixed at point in the air eighty or one hundred
feet above the ground. The beauty OF wel-pro-
poroned building forty or fifty feet high, is scarcely
understood. ~ every one could spend more iIme
among the palaces and old buildings of Europe, the
public taste on this subject would be greatly m
proved"
In General Boulanger's address TO the electors Of
tho Department of the Seine he used tire expression:
/" Really it is not l they fcar' In French It was,
presumably: &c nest pas moi etc. AZ furnished
by the Associated Press tho Translation read: 1t Is
nor me they rear, anu II SO appcareu yesterday III
all the New-fork papers except The Tribune.
The experiment has Just been tried the Bridge
railroad OF dispensing with the division bars between
the seats. In two cars the bars have been taken
out, and they are run with the purpose of seeing
<how the srran cement Will work. There have
been some complaints Of late in regard to people
iniuring themselves by taking wrong aim and
sitting down the bar instead OF the seat, and ono
of the train guards said yes erday that woman was
suing the Bridge trustees for $4,000 for injuries
caused in this way. An old traveller said that no
considered the divisions good thing, since they
marked off accurately the amount Of space one man
could occupy. He called attention to the difference
between the streetcaIs and the elevated roads in this
respect
8" In street carr he said, people often re-
quested move up and give for another person
10 sit down, while IN the elevated and Bridge cars 1t
is obvious at glance whether there is vacant seat
OF not. If you remove every sign OF division be-
tween the seats you give for crowdng and you
also make 1t practically Impossible for any one TO ted
whether all the space is occupied. cannot imagine
how any person in his right mind and In full possession
of his could Djure himself by contact with the
division bar.
Step livelylo cried an elevated train guard on an
afcr-mldnight train the other night to some people
who showed particular haste in stepping on board
step lively This is supposed to DO rapid transit"
and he ierked tho bellrope savagey. All the passen-
gers within the sound Of his voice smiled grimy and
reflected that the guards supposed was extremely
well timed
Among the interesting curios in the cabinet OF Isaac
J. Greenwood No 21o West Fourtcenth-st. is pistol
which was once In the possession Of George washing
ton and carried in the holsters of HIS saddle during
a part Of the Revolutionary War. 1t is Ketland
flint lock, mounted In mahogany with brass trimmings
cavalry sword crossed flags and the initials
&C. W. ornament the stock. On the butt are flag,
drum and cannon. The flint is encased In leather and
flashes fire as perfectly when in the hands of the
I" Father Of His Country The bore OF the barrel
is about one-hat inch in diameter. The pistol Is
of pair which General Washington presented TO
Colonel Samuel Hay, an officer of the Revolution and
was purchased tho sale of Colonel lays effects by
a gentleman named Baldwin, friend of Mr. Green
woods father.
The accident at Irvington, by which two boys
who were skating on New Years Day lost their
lives, calls attention to the carelessness which New
York boys show in the Of the ponds near the
city before the Ice has become sufficiently thick to
be SAFE The lakes at the older public parks well
guarded from the intrusion of ventlIresome skaters,
bat any one who has had occasion to pass ponds
near the city within the last few weeks has seen
and boys skating about on fee which has been
recently formed and seems insecure. A party OF
one two young men and several boys skating on
Van Courtandt Lake In of the new city parks
IN the Annexed District attracted the attention Of
some passengers on a New-York and Northern train
at about o o'clock moderately cool morning
When the Same passengers went by on the return
Journey, few hours AFTER the ice had entirely DIS
appeared, and the lake showed a surface OF clear
smooth water The ice could scarcely have been
thick enough for safety. The residents near the
suburban lakes tell of many hairbreadth escapes from
fatal accidents occurring almost every day. and the
good luck rather than the good sense, of the skaters
saves them from the natural results OF their rashness
4 city ordinance might well be passed and en-
forced which would prevent skating on the lakes
In the parks and on other sheets Of water in
the city limits until the ice has become sufficiently
strong TO be safely used.
Curious names are always interesting TO the general
public and there probably few persons who would
not throw a second glance from Broadway car as
they passed the dry goods house of Mr. JXques the
barber shop of Mr. VI The Engllsh-spealhng public
have become moro less accustomed to the odd APP
pcarance OF German proper names, but there are few
persons comparatively who appreciate what peculiar
meaning is hidden behind the average tumble Of con-
sonant, and vOwels which forms the TeutOn name.
One cannot imagine the possibility that the English
trauslatons of German names could be used for
the same purpose among an Ango-saxon people with
ont at least causing a howl either Of indignation or
Of hllarity In NewYorks directory, for example,
there are such names beginning with f" alone as
Feigenbatt, meaning " fig leaf; Fahnestock flag
STAFF: Faul, lazy" rotten"; Faust, fist"
Feuchtwange "mostchoek' Flelschhacker, e meat
choppers and Frauenheim home for women" And
when these facts are considered there arises at once
te conviction that smith, Brown and the rest OF them
should feel grateful that they are not approached
every day and addressed: How are you, Mir. Home
iorWomen, etc.
EY.PREsIDENT HIVES IN TOWN.