Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-09
(Copyright. 1881

Copyright 1880
few days ago / Glanced to be walking down
the sunny side of 5th avenue. when discovered
an acquaintance leaning against the railing OF
a corner house, the picture OF boredom and
detection His hat was on the back of
his head, his hands In his trousers pockets.
and he gazed moodily and mournfully at the
pavement He is the son of one of the famous
rich men of New York, man of thirty years.
and Is usually regarded as an amiable and good
natured person. He nodded as l came along.
and asked me if there was anything going on.
I'm what way?" / asked
Il any way out of the humdrum of everyday
existence"
mot that know Of"
"Of course not, was the morose reply New
YORK Is as stupid as a back-country village
love IL, and so do you, but / cannot help think
ing what bowling outrage il is Just the same.
that all the amusement and fun is being crushed
out OF the town 1t is not only that they are
stopping the public balls. cutting up the Polo
grounds, moving the driving parks miles out Of
the city, preventing all boxing. sparring and
athletic exhibitions by police force, and shut
ting up all the places of amusement where wine,
women, and song affect felicitous combina-
ton, but II is the spirit of everlasting repres-
SION and eaddishness that governs the town.
NEW ToRKs FUTURE.
"A hundred years from this New York will be
the greatest city'in the world. We will have
glorious climate, and the will of the people will
predominant, so that we will have all the en-
tertalnments of the fun-loving Germans and
French, as well as the sports Of the English and
Americans. don't know what to do to amuse
myself My life is monotonous as that of
confidential clerk in a downtown dry goods
house. rise at 10. breakfast at H. and at IL So
N n 10 lima hare har
and shaves me. / can't go cut until he
does me up, because if any one else
shayes me, / look as though somebody
had passed a lawn-mower over my face. This
gets me up to noon, and at O'Clock am down
at the club for luncheon. After that would
Ike to know what on earth there is to do
There are a thousand things going on every
afternoon in the other great capitals of the
world but no longer in New York. 1t is all
nonsense to say that we have no leisure class
here, for the town is filed with sight-seers
pand strangers at all times"
"a why don't you driver
''Oh, drive be blowedi The park is filed
now with lot OF youngsters whom nobody
ever saw before and hopes never to see again.
No one ever thinks of going out there until
4:30, and then there is a continuous stream of
queer English traps. driven by rank outsiders.
who have little clothes, and drive their little
horses around the little circle, and then return
home, feeling that they have done a great
thing. went in for trotting stock for a while,
but up the road 1T is SIMPLY a succession of
drinks. Once in while get desperate in the
long afternoons-we do not dine until 8. you
know-aEd drop in at a matinee 1t did not
last long. If there is anything on earth more
utterly disheartening than the feeling which
comes over a man after he has come out of a
matinee. / do not know what it is. You feel
exactly as though you had been playing poker
all night"
HEALTHY ATMOSPHERE.
hot H., -
best feature of New York life. There is abso-
iutely nothing going on during the day. and
even rich mems sons are driven to work That
Is why the atmosphere of New York is so much
healthier for young men than the atmosphere
OF the big towns of the old world. A man who
does not toll in New York is looked upon as
more or less of an anomaly: whereas. in London
or Paris, the man who works for living is re-
garded with feeling of gentle but fathomless
curiosity by the greater number of his friends
When our leisure class has reached its full de-
velopment there may be more fun in New York
before the gas is lighted for the night but it
viii be healthier atmosphere for young men.
THE AMUsEMENTs
OF New York's younger generation do not be-
gin and end with what may be called show
driving" The fact is, there is very little real
solidity in the procession Of traps in Central
PARK There are but two or three tandems in
the city now, and they are driven by men
whom nobody knows. T-carts, dog-carts and
gigs OF various patterns are not a. fashionable
as they were. They are still correct enough,
but queer fad has caught the Anglo-maniacs
here. The most ultra-English of all vehicles
are the little ash buck-boards which were re-
Gently adopted in Great Britain. The buck
board itself is an American invention. About
ten years ago our carriage manufacturers
developed the vehicle, and it was taken up by
lot OF wealthy people at Newport and Len
nox. Sideboard springs were introduced the
dashboard and seat were constructed of beau
TRULY embossed leather of a light brown
shade, the wheels were almost as light as those
OF a sulky. and the horses were harnessed well
forward to long ash pole. Altogether it
made a wonderfully smart and taking little
wagon for rambling around the country roads
At all events it caught the fancy of the rich
people OF Great Britain, and the carriage man.
ufacturers here had endless orders. Then the
British carriage builders took up the fad
THE BLACKBOARD FAD.
In the course of time a few Anglo-maniacs
discovered what a stupendously swagger thing
the blackboard was, and brought back some
English limitations from London. That was
enough Now the buckboards are decid-
edly IN the van. As is usually the case how
ever. the An2io-rnaniacs have made the mistake
OF using the vehicles for city use as well as for
the country. They drive them in the park dur
ing the afternoon TO teams of well-matcbed
at she top. Notwithstanding this however. the
Duekboards are a welcome relief TO the eternal
sameness of the carts and gigs.
THE TAIILEss DREsscoAT
This same misconception of the time and
place for exhibiting a new fashion may also be
applied to the tailless dress coat or shell
jacket Everywhere one goes in public now
there are TO be found troupes of young men in
evening dress, but nearly all of them wear the
tallless coat At a theater opera. even when
they accompany ladies'. the Anglo-maniacs ap-
Parently feel thoroughly au fait in what is to
them a new garment. If man were to appear
IN such dress in England in public he would
be the cause of universal derision. The shell
jacket Is regarded in England simply as a
slight improvement upon the dressing gown or
smoking jacket. man would no more think
OF going TO the opera there in a shell Jacket
than be would think of wearing his dressing
gown.
Originally the jackets we're worn by officers
on service IN India. The heat there is yery
great. and the officers devised light and cool
imitation Of the dress suit to wear on state oc-
casions. When they got back from service in
England great many Of them kept their fond
ness FOR these light and comfortable little gar
ments; but, at no time did they rise to the dis
tinction and dignity Of the old-time clawham-
mer. Now that they have started here how
ever, there viii be no stopping them for the