The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1889-01-26
BROADBRIM'S N. Y. LETTER.

Once each year fashionable New York
breaks its charmed circle, steps down from
its gilded throne, and mingles with the
common herd In the name Of sweet Charity.
don't mean to say that Mr.. Arthur o.
Leary will lead the German with his wife's
mantua maker, or that Mr.. Hall McAlister
will dance the Lanciers with the wife OF
the gentleman who does up his Worship 6
linen. No, no, blood is blood, and blood
will tell. You can pay your ten dollars,
and you can 60 TO the Charity Ball, and II
you have luck, and know them, YOU can
see all the people IN New York society,
Ostensibly pig iron touches elbows with
renpenDS nails; but in reality 1t does moth
ing of the sort. Pig iron is still pig iron
ard temporary nails are still tenpenny nails
But all New York turns out, nevertheless.
because it is the proper thing to do, and
sweet Charity profits thereby, scattering
untold blessings TO the poor. Among these
gided aristocrats are many blessed angels
whose appeals for help are ever needed, be
cause they give freely of their own. No
the least among these is Mrs. Astor and
Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, ladies who art
ever foremost in every good and charitable
work. January the eighth was the day
chosen for Charity's ball, and, as said, il
brought out all New York. The sale OF
the boxes brought several thousand dollars,
and the entire profits will not be known
for several weeks to come. As no one Is
barred who has ten dollars to spare, ana as
everybody wants to see our society leaders,
with the exception of the two great Ger
man balls, the Arion and the Liederkrantz,
and ball of the Cercle Franchise, there is
no such crush to be seen at any ball in
New York.
The list of patrons, headed by Mrs Astor,
embraced every society leader in the city,
and President Grover Cleyeland was given
conspicuous place among the gentlemen
the name of his lovely wife, however, was
notably absent from the list, the only con-
ceiYable reason being that the first lady of
he land would, on this occasion haye had
10 take second place, as the head of the
house of Astor is our acknowledged Society
Queen. and she abdicates her throne for
no one-not even for the wife Of the
President.
The Metropolitan Theatre is the largest
ballroom In the city, but, large as 1t is, ii
was scarcely large enough to contain the
TItAr de- 4 kaN T.
Ball. 1t was a good-natured crowd, how
ever, and the show of diamonds and i'm
ported dresses was something marve GUS
Our creme de la creme got away early in
the action, but the crowd was 81 great tina
their absence was scarcely noticed, and the
early hours on Wednesday were ringing
from the great church clock when the band
struck up "Home, Sweet Home"
Speaking of the Metropolitan Opera
House puts me in mind that we have just
produced at this magnificent theatre
Wagner's Rheingold; and for the benefit
Of my out-of-town friends, If you want to
pronouce the name of the great composer
like tip-top sawyer, call it Vogner, not
Wagner. All musical New York has been
on the tip-toe for months in expectation OF
this wonderful production. Well. we have
seen it, and now, what9 Well, If a man
declares his honest conviction, what does
he get? Numbskill, brute, savage, ignora-
mus, barbarian, sans-culotte, and every
o.her choice name in the vocabulary. The
production of this piece has cost no end OF
trouble and money. 1t is sort of IN, tho
logical hodge-podge, made up of dwarfs.
brownies, gnomes, mermaids, mermen,
Ithein gods and Rhein devils. and all sorts
OF impossible and improbable monstrosities
A more dissolute set of yagabonds than
these Rhein gods It would be impossible to
conceive, and, as matter of public safety,
the yer. best place TO keep such fellows
would be in the bottom of the Rhine, al
belt these jolly gods were no great lovers of
cold water. Tie goddesses are prett,
enough, but are not safe persons to let run
loose around o nights, and if they liyed ~
New York instead of the bottom of the
Rhine, the chances are ten TO one tha
they would be picked up by the police and
sent to Blackwelps Island as disorderly
persons, while the principal character
would stand a good chance of going to
States Prison for blgamy.
There is dash of insanity about every
thing that Wagner ever wiote which gives
evidence of a distempersd brain. All of
his later operas were produced for the
delecta:ions Of the mad King of Bavaria,
who eventually went hunting mermalds at
the bottom of the lake adjoining his palace.
1t may be that Bishop Berkeley was right,
and that we are all as mad as March hares
If we are not, 1t would not take many
doses of Vogner to make US as crazy as
looms.
In the production of the effects Of the
Rheingold, no attention appears TO have
been paid to the comfort of any one except
the composer himself and his royal patron.
To produce the effect of swimming on the
water wonderful machines have been In
vented, fifteen and sixteen feet high; these
rock and float and dive and sink in the
most illusive manner on the waters of the
Rhine Mounted on the top of these are
Rhine daughters, and the feeling that
some of these spirits experience is very
much like being tossed about in a cookie
shell in high sea. Now German fairy
is a very different thing FROM an English,
on Irish, or aFrench fairy. A very moder-
ate German fairy weighs anywhere from
two hundred to two hundred and fifty
pounds, sOlia beef, and a waist-band of
hfty-six inches is not uncommon. It took
five men TO move every fairy, so that the
expenses of the opera were enormous; but
New York footed the bill, and the house
was crowded every night.
am indebted to the New York World
for the following lucid explanation of the
motive, which know will Law nv musieal